Wednesday 1 September 2010

End of summer break

Not for us obviously as we aren't going anywhere, but our neighbours have come to the end of their traditional fortnight's break from the hustle and bustle of Granada.  Miguel has strimmed and strimmed the land nearest to their house and it's all looking nice and tidy.  The children are as brown as berries - as is Marie-Carmen - and  peace and quiet has returned.

Miguel  had an extra weeks  holiday in July,  which he  enjoyed, but unfortunately it was for all the wrong reasons.  He works at a Renault dealership in Granada and sales are so slow, that the boss said to take extra time out.  So slow in fact, that they haven't sold a car in the past 2 months.  Part of the reason for buying the strimmer and getting the land clear is just in case things get worse,  they have land that is ready  for digging and planting up with vegetables.  The family are in the fortunate position of owning a house in Yator and this one here in Montenegro where there is also 2 hectares of land.  

So off they went with last minute instructions not to forget to pick everything as it'll go to waste otherwise.  I made a good start this morning,  28 lbs of figs  which are on their way to being wine, and this afternoon I found some early almonds ready for picking.  They are outside de-husked (the husks  go in the wood burner when dry)  and the almonds are drying off in the sun and will be shelled another day - the shells burn too - not much wastage around here!

It'll be a few weeks before they get back down for a weekend, but Miguel's  hoping to buy a chainsaw next and get the olives pruned for firewood,  he's turning from a city boy into a  campesino.

Just found this article about car sales here:


The increase in IVA/VAT has put the brake on car sales in Spain, with the numbers down in August on the same month last year by 23.8%. It is the worst August for case sales for 20 years, with numbers also pushed lower by the end of the Government’s scrappage scheme.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_27046.shtml#ixzz0yJIaOFEY
 
So, no surprise that Miguel had  extra holidays....probably not the only person!

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