Blimey Trousers…!
I can’t believe it’s nearly a year since either Ruth or I have added anything to our blog
It’s not as if there’s been nothing happening…
Emma, sunset, and the Hermitage in Almenar de Soria
I have to say, a lot of Ruth’s time has been taken up by her Bandoneon, which she describes as having 4 totally different qwerty keyboards – 2 under each hand. What with 2-3 hours of daily practice, 3-4 hours a week of teaching and the time spent on organisational admin. work, it’s little wonder that she doesn’t have the head space or energy for writing about our busy lives….on yet another keyboard…!
So, I’m happy once more, to take up my ’pen’…
Having spent January in France, trying to sort out my French Citizenship and a Carte Vitale, we spent a month or so in Totnes, before taking Emma back to Germany for Bandoneon and Tango events. Meanwhile Dan, my son, finally went under the knife and suffered a double knee operation, followed by 6 months on crutches, poor dab…! Having not been able to work for most of the year, I’m delighted to report that he’s back off to India in January 24 – a follow-up project to one he started some ? years ago and for which he has initiated a go-fund-me page. Do check out his web-site for more info…. www.dangreen.net . In April we also had the joy of a Totnes visit from my daughter, Zoe and Eva – my granddaughter who began her first term at Welsh secondary school in Sept – 11yrs where did that go….?!
Photo-booth on Totnes Station
For a number of reasons, too many to elaborate on here, I decided to give up on my beautiful house (of 41yrs) in Cardiff…!
Tidy hedge at 147 Kings Rd..!
While it’s been extraordinary to have our extended honeymoon part-funded by the rental over the past nigh-on 10yrs, we have decided to slow down a wee bit and focus on Totnes and Ruth’s gorgeous flat. To-wit, when I was ill at the beginning of April, Ruth took herself off to Cardiff and emptied 147 Kings Rd of all my stashed away possessions and delivered them to a lock-up storage place in Totnes. Anyone who knew the house (and my penchant for antiques, ’futiques’ and car-boot sales), would know what an undertaking that was and, indeed how much ‹ Stuff › was involved – it pretty much filled 2 x 35cwt Lutons…! and took me a number of months to chip away at it. I no longer have a storage unit, having sold two thirds of my Vinyl collection and half of my glass collection BUT, the remainder is in far too many banana/plastic boxes in Ruth’s attic and what has become my room, in the flat itself. One thing I did achieve, before coming away to Spain at the beginning of November, was to build a whole stack for all the different ‹ players › – turntable, a Lenco-Goldring, which I bought (2nd hand) when I was in College in 1968 for £40… linked to a pair of 12” Goodmans, which sounds more than sweet…! thanks to a german sound-engineer in Totnes….and of course(!) a VHS and CD/DVD player….
The top-heavy stack before varnishing
When we return, I will take great joy in inviting the rest of the householders at Seymour Villas, to an immersive soirée chez-moi…(having bought a 40” flat screen at the local Re-Furnish…also, as it happens for £40)
Full effect…including a ‘lazy-susan’ CD/DVD cabinet…
With regards 147, it will hopefully all go through at the beginning of January, if the Spanish/British postal services don’t go on strike…
The delays have been interminable…both mine and the buyers’ surveys threw up all manner of issues – the worst of which involved the drains, which are in need of serious overhauling and gave rise to some worrying damp problems. Anyway, that’s now something the new owners will have to sort out, my having dropped the asking price accordingly… So, onwards towards a new chapter in our lives…
Meanwhile, on the dual-nationality front, I sacked the Parisian lawyer who’d fleeced me over the past three years and said, in a poorly written letter, that I was unlikely to be granted citizenship.
Two weeks later, the person who’d taken up the baton, called me to ask if I knew that my maternal grand-mother was also born in France…Seismic change of events…in place of the 2” wadge of documents I’d prepared for the French court, all I had to deliver was certificates of birth and death of my Ma (born in Alsace) and my Nonna (born in Lyon) – I’d long held the misconception that both my grandparents had emigrated from the north of Italy (Bassetti and Berutti).
So, I am now the proud owner of a CNF – un Certificat de Nationalité Francaise , which I picked up on the way to the 2nd Rozelaar family meet-up, at my nephew’s place in Normandy, which was a huge amount of fun, involving music, great food and convivial company…. entitled Rozstock…!
Dinner under the new canopy @ Jason & Angie’s in Normandy. The last at Rozstock 2023…!
Now, however, I’m at an impasse – my British Passport and CNF (+ Carte Vitale) are in the name of ROZELAAR but my english Birth Certificate is in the name of GREEN….Aaaargh! I thought I’d done with French bureaucracy….well, it is a French word after all ..!
Before setting off for Europe again, Emma had to have some serious welding, following a failed MOT.
We’re now in Alicante, where we’re negotiating for further bodywork to be done. We had thought of going to Morocco for the work but chanced on a Moroccan garage here and we’re waiting to hear from them. It will hopefully be cheaper here than in the UK and the morrocans are old-school in their ways, which we like – Emma is very much our 2nd home…!
Why Alicante, you might ask…? Well, it’s the home of Ruth’s Bandoneon maestro, Orlando Dibelo – a truly extraordinary player and teacher. She has 3 classes a week with him and on Sundays they meet up on Zoom, for a very wonderful request session – Bando players, other musicians, dancers and Tango lovers meet up for an hour and a half and anyone can ask for their favourite piece, which Orlando and Ruth, with only a lead-sheet to follow, serve up with no prior practice – it’s a joy to be part of the experience and if you feel like partaking, here’s the link:
www.bandoneon-international.org/sunday-bandoneon-meetups/
We look forward to seeing you there…
Lotsalove from us both
F & R xxx
And, of course, Huge Seasonal Hugs to one and All
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