It’s February and I’m starting to panic as I’ve usually been abroad by now. However, so far in 2011, my plans have been partially stymied by the fact that my trusty old fridge freezer broke a couple of months before Christmas. Read the rest of this article »
Why does the weather have to be so horrible in January when everyone is already depressed? From my window, I can no longer see Sussex Heights, as the cloud has dumped itself miserably, approximately five feet from the ground. It’s a real pea-souper. Read the rest of this article »
I’ve barely put away the Christmas decorations and I’ve already had two blocked toilets, a broken intercom system, an ill-functioning boiler and a defunct lock. Read the rest of this article »
My family, lodgers and I are beginning 2011 with one less – very greedy, non rent-paying – mouth to feed. Yes, finally, The Mouse is no more. The Mouse, for those of you who have missed my past ruminations on said creature, has been living rent-free in the house since around last April. Read the rest of this article »
I know it’s only just finished, but Christmas Day has always been something of a travesty in my house. Until I had children, I didn’t bother to celebrate it at all. Read the rest of this article »
The Rough Guide were certainly not remiss when they mentioned the abundance of leeches present in one of the areas we visited in India. The fact that Kerala and most of Southern India has recently been in the grips of very unusual – and in our case most unwelcome – post-monsoon ‘heavy rainfall’ did not help. Read the rest of this article »
I know I’m only just back from Cuba, but in a few days time I’m off to India and Dubai for ten days to repeat roughly the same trip I did in January this year. I am only able to afford such copious travelling because of the low interest rates. Long may they continue… Read the rest of this article »
I did not have to wait for long after my arrival in Havana to find out what The Cuban Boyfriend’s (TCB) ‘Big Surprise’ was. Half an hour after he arrived at Yusi’s house, he disappeared into the bedroom and reappeared with… a piece of paper! Even from a distance of 20 feet, I could recognise the piece of paper and could just make out the design of the Baron Estates logo on the back. My heart entered my feet at some speed, as did my airline meal. I must have looked like I was about to fall through the floor as he presented me with a copy of my own Landlady column, carefully clipped from Latest Homes. Stapled to the clipping was a slip of plain paper, upon which was typed in neat Spanish: ‘This woman writes a column in a local magazine in my city. She is learning salsa and has a Cuban boyfriend who is a musician at Hotel Florida!’ So much for Castro’s control on foreign press…
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The Virgin bi-weekly flight from Gatwick to Havana usually leaves at around 11.30am, giving me ample time to drop The Small daughter to school, then stroll to Brighton Station and get a train to Gatwick. With the five hour time difference between the UK and Cuba, it arrives in Havana around 4.30pm, which means arriving at my friend Yusi’s house about an hour later. In UK terms, by then it is around 10.30pm, meaning that I’m just about ready for bed. Unfortunately, at 5.30pm Havana time, Yusi is usually ready for her first beer. By my fourth visit, I was acutely aware of the protocol and instructed the taxi to drop me at the off-licence at the end of the road so that I could buy 10 cans of beer. Otherwise, Yusi would have probably not let me in the house… ‘Lordy, you foreigners!’ tutted the lady in the off-licence, in Spanish, as I stuffed all the beers into my hand-luggage.
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Everyone I know is intrigued by what the surprise promised (or should I say threatened?) by The Cuban Boyfriend might be. I too am currently still intrigued as I’m writing this while sitting in a cramped economy seat, cruising over the Atlantic Ocean at an altitude of 39,000 feet on my way to Havana. Over the past four or five years – since I’ve been travelling – I have become very well acquainted with The Atlantic and have crossed it over 20 times. It is very big and very boring, and during a nine hour flight, one has a great deal of time to worry about what Cuban Boyfriends might have in store at the other end.
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