January 2026 Castlnel,Castalla ,Alicante

 

I am here in Castlenel in January for the first time in many years. I was here for the Dia de Los Reyes a few years ago. That was because Philip was over from Taiwan for Christmas to introduce Teresa to his dad. Andrew, Lucy and I came over to celebrate with them.

After Andrew, Lucy and Teresa left, Philip and I were here for the arrival of the three kings, it was a truly wonderful evening in the town square.

John and I lived here in Castalla for about four years from about 2004 till 2008. I got used to the cold winters back then, since then I have mostly been here in the summer when the task was to keep the house and myself cool. This time it is quite the opposite, how to keep warm. I have come to terms with the reality that I have to close down some of the rooms, because it is just silly to heat them ( unsuccessfully) when they are not being used. When I am here in Summer I use all the rooms and love all the doors being opened I like to see them all as I wander about the lovely old house.

I usually do my morning writing in El Garret on the top floor with the gorgeous views over the rooftops to the distant hills.

I do my work on my laptop  my phone and I pad in La Galleria. I can hear the neighbours going about their business and I am not distracted by that. I have always done my ironing in the big bathroom on the top floor; as the laundry line is on the top floor balcony. In the past the utility room with the washing machine was on the ground floor; it was quite a task carrying the wet laundry up to the top floor especially when  all the family had been here and all the bedding and towels had to be done, Happily now we have had the huge top floor bathroom  completely remodelled and the utility room is now part of that. Laundry is a treat now. 

This visit, I will use the kitchen , LosAngelos ( large lounge)  and my bedroom, for most things, this way I can keep just those rooms warm.

I will be back in April and by then it will be warmer and I imagine I will be able to open up the other rooms.

In spite of it being a very wild night on my first night with howling gales , this morning it was still windy and 7 degrees I was able to have a cup of tea on the top balcony with lovely winter sunshine; we are very lucky as it is quite sheltered.

I am reading and enjoying reading The Secret of Blythswood Square, by Sara Sheridan.A gift from my sister Jackie.

I watched the first episode of Jeeves and Wooster last night, as soon as the music started it took be back to 2005/6 when Philip lived with John and I  in Castlenel. We watched the whole series a few times, I have lovely memories of John and Philip helpless with laughter. As always I found that more delightful and funnier that what is on TV. It is still very very funny. I will watch some more while I am here.

Oojah cum spliff

26/1/26

I slept much better but still feel very tired. I was hoping to lie low for a few days; but after I did my morning writing and had breakfast; the doorbell rang and Sofia was there with baby Amber. We had a catch up, I heard that both Sofia's mother and father are not very well, her dad is waiting to have heart surgery. Sofia and Frank are about to exchange contracts and hoping to move into their new home in February. 

It is a few streets away from where they live now.

I went out to  get some shopping and went to the bank and got the 400 euro we owe Sofia for the painting of the bathroom. I am amazed at the ATM machine in Caixa Bank here in Castalla I have never seen one like it.

I was like a country cousin trying to work out what to do. I am pleased to say I worked out what to do in the end.  My brain is hot with the things I have been dealing with since I got here, wifi was not on for the first day; I had trouble fitting the top to the gas bottle and when I did it did not light. I was worried it would leak so I just used the microwave and the kettle. Thankfully Frank came and solved the problem for me, and Philip called from Taiwan and solved the wifi problem for me; Then I discovered the a/c units in two rooms would not work as heaters..  

There have  been a lot of challenges  to deal with made harder when I am so in need of rest. I am seeing Sofia tomorrow for coffee and a stroll round the market.

I enjoyed doing some cooking in the kitchen as I always do.Cooking also helps warm up the kitchen

Pilar then let me know she is home from Almaria with Africa, her dad's 90th birthday celebrations were a big success. I am going to see her tomorrow afternoon and see her new training space.

So much for lying low. I hope after a busy day tomorrow .I really can withdraw and recharge by batteries.

I am in such a lovely space and feel the need to be quiet and have it all to myself with a loose structure each day but mostly just pottering around and see where the days take me.

I have managed to get some heat in the kitchen by taking another heater up there. I have them on 24/7 so far and it is still just warm. The heaters are either too old and dying or more suited to a smaller space.

I am now switching  the lounge and my bedroom heaters off at night. The house was so cold that I had  have them on for 24/7 for the first two days. I think I might need to buy a new heater for the kitchen. 

I am listening to The Rest is Politics with an interview with Neil Kinnock... very moving.

27/1/26

I slept much better last night. I think having hot home cooked food helped. After my morning writings I did a list of things I would like to have while I am here in Castlenel.

A new kitchen heater , an electric blanket and some matching kitchen chairs. I also needed my new puffer coat zip repaired, and a dress I have here that is frayed round the hem fixed, and someone to tell me if the A/C units in bathroom and" room of requirement "can be switched to heat.

I met Sofia and Ember at La Bassetta at 10.30 for coffee.. I brought out my list to share with her to see if she could help me order the heater and the blanket or if she knew where I could get them in Castalla.

It turns out she is on Amazon Prime ( Spain)  and suggested we looked on there and she could order for me and get it much quicker that the Alicante shop could deliver.

We found a heater and a electric blanket on amazon at approximately the same cost I saw in a shop in Alicante, they would charge for delivery.;Amazon will deliver tomorrow and Thursday. I am buying the heater for the kitchen with my own money rather than from La Comparsa budget.  I am the person here now and likely to be here in winter in future and remodelling the bathroom used up a lot of our budget...worth every penny ,its gorgeous.

I then told Sofia about the chairs I saw in Ikea at 79 euro each. Reduced from about 300 euro each. 

We looked online but they were no longer available . Sofia introduced me to Wallopop which you can find preloved things. 

We found four dining chairs for E 80 for all four. Sofia called the woman and they are still available; tomorrow Frank will take me to IBI to see if I like them and collect them.

We then got a new zip for my coat and the man in the market sold it to me and repaired it for 4 euro.

We met Isabel at the market and she said she will repair the dress for me. Sofia has given me the name  and number of her friend Susana who's husband  will come to take a look at the A/C units. 

All in all a very productive coffee morning, and I met Pepe-ita

This afternoon; I will see Pilar and Africa. In the mean time " siesta time "

 I watched I walk the Line...still a good film

10.00PM

I met Pilar and Africa at 6.00 PM and we went to see Pilar's Gym ; She starts officially on Monday helping people , just woman if I understand correctly, to build up their core strength among other things.

Africa and I then went for a Vishy Catalan and some crisps while Pilar cleaned a bit more of the floor.

I really loved chatting with Africa who is now twenty six, she has her hair red now and really suits it , wears a lot of black. She is very bright still studying ; at the moment it is criminology and gender issues

Pilar arrived about an hour later and she had a beer and we inevitably talked about politics.They are both very passionate.

Pilar asked if I was happy with the painting in the bathroom; I of course am happy. She said she felt invested in our bathroom as she was the one taking messages between Andrew and Miguel.

Miguel was a very difficult builder to deal with.

She also said Andrew is a great project manager and if she is getting any work done she would want his to project manage it. She then said how much Philip's Spanish has improved, she could see how much work he has put into it....always nice for a mum to hear.

28th January

I was wakened with the doorbell ringing this morning at 10.00 I have a lot of sleep to catchup on and as I am warmer now I am sleeping much better;  when my electric blanket comes how much more will I sleep?

Vicente is a very charming man who  came to look at the ailing a/c units. His wife was on the phone as his interpreter  

The upshot is one unit is ok now , he cleaned it out and showed me how to switch to heating :) the other is caput, his words,  Vincente can repair it it will cost 180 euro.

After my morning writings I did some cooking ,then had a bath in our beautiful bathroom on the top floor of Castlenel( our lovely 400 year old house on the oldest street in Castalla.)

I have been here for five days now and there is still a fierce wind howling around the town. In fact as far as I understand it, all over Spain.The shutters , persiana's and doors all rattle and at some point each day a door is blown open.  The other day the wee window and the shutters in the second floor loo were wide open.

I had to go out to the bank and I had a feeling I could be blown away, While I was out the rain started. A combination of this wind and lashing rain is something to see.

With all that going on the amazon guy still got here with my new bathroom heater. I am very pleased and grateful to him.

At 7.00 PM I met Frank at the town hall and he took me to Ibi to look at some kitchen chairs. Sofia knew I wanted to order some chairs from Ikea and encouraged me to look at Wollypop a local website where people sell things.

I saw some chairs and she said Frank wold take me to look, she said this without consulting Frank :) but he did and seemed happy to help me.

I enjoyed the trip to Ibi.  I have not been there for about 12 years. My dentist was there when we lived here full time. It is closer to Castalla than I remembered and much bigger. I could not visit Ibi  myself as there is no bus between Castalla and Ibi. We went to a very nice apartment where an  amazing handsome young couple live. They will only be in their twenties I would guess.The minute I saw the chairs I said YES they were in pristine condition and a good match my old kitchen table which John and I bought in Ennis in 1998.

Frank thought he would have to dismantle them to get them in the car, but that was not possible ,quite remarkably he got them in fitted like a jigsaw puzzle.

I came home very very happy. Frank took the heater up the stairs to the top floor kitchen and after he left. I unpacked the radiator plugged it in and hey presto it worked perfectly. I then removed the old, but much loves odd chairs and replaced them with my lovely new white  ones. I took a picture of it all and sent it to the family, telling them they were my treat. We will all sit round them  together in July. ( well four of us will ) My sister said she  always like the mismatch chairs and to be honest I did too, but one chair that was in the house when we bought it about twenty years ago broke last year when Pilar was sitting on it. 

29/1/26

I came up to the kitchen this morning wondering if it would be warm enough; and yes. I had two old heaters in here since I arrived and they still did not manage to warm the place up. This new one is so much better.

I have had to leave some heating on at night as there has been no heat in the house, since heaven knows when. I was here last autumn but heaters were not needed at that time.

What will today bring.....my new electric blanket...I hope.  

Jane Fonda of course

The day brought howling gales and lashing rain a bad cold for me with  lots of resting,  a wee walk to get some air. I enjoyed doing a wee bit of cooking while listening to  Super Infinite  about John Donne by Katherine Rundell. Quite shocking to be honest.

The balcony door blew open in the night and the middle floor window. Perhaps I need to be more sure they are properly fastened last thing. I realise I am not as strong as I once was. My arms especially are a bit weaker. I have increased my Jane exercise to help compensate for that.

My new blanket either does not work or I am doing something wrong.

The kitchen heater is doing a great job; I do not have to have it on all night; I put in on when I first waken then go back to bed till it heats the kitchen. I do that with the LA heater too. 

I have to put up with some rooms being cold...and thats ok when there are nice warm rooms to go to.

31/01/2026

It is the last day of January and we continue to have howling gales , rain, intermittent sunshine and blue skies on repeat.

I started with a Jane Fonda routine; shower; morning pages, gratitude journal, peace journal, my usual morning writing routine,

It is market day here in Castalla. I am going to go for a brisk walk around but I doubt whether many stalls will be there due to the weather. I was hoping to replace the two plants on the LA balcony which did not survive my absence since October.

This is the first time in the twenty years I have been coming and going to Castalla when the market was closed. Not even one stall was there. It was  little bit alarming being out as there were lots of things flying around; some cafes were closes and the chairs outside tied down.

This is my eighth day here and the wind is relentless. It makes me think of what the sounds must have been like for Captain Scott is his tent in his last days. Cold and howling gales I imagine.

My dad would have said " It's blawin a hoolie oot there" it is an apt description.

Maria our cleaner left a list of things she needs me to get before I leave. I got some things today in Hong Da.I also got some incense oil and candles.

She wants something to clean our new shower screen something that won't streak and removes limescale. I have no idea what it is and where to get it. I think I will rely on amazon.

My state pension came in today and a 6th person has signed up for the Creative Cluster which starts in February. It is encouraging me to think I will get the a/c unit in the bathroom repaired as without it while a shower and a bath in there is a lovely thing; it has to be rushed because of the cold. 

I don't mind spending my own money while I am here to improve things, if and when I can afford it.

This year it is mostly me who will benefit from the heater and a/c  units. The  chairs will be lovely when my family are all here together in July this gives me pleasure and that is a gift to me too.

I have now booked my return flight to Liverpool after Philip leaves in July.I leave on August 3rd. which give me time to recover from Philip's departure; and get the house ready for guests coming in on August 4th.

I listened to a favourite playlist and an audible book  Last Bus to Woodstock a Morse novel.

I finished the day with a Jeeves and Wooster episode.Very funny.

Farewell to January 2026.

Sunday February 1st

I wakened to a quiet morning, What a blessing after nine days of gales. My sleeping has been very disturbed with the wind and rattling noises. I have been sleeping till 10.00 and 11.00 some mornings.

I could hear the neighbours talking outside my window and the church bells ringing.  I loved to hear sounds of normality in Castalla again.