We were looking forward to a few days respite in Spain …
Firstly, no I did not attend the annual procession of the local romería after last year’s unpleasant incident.
Secondly, the house is falling apart after some Gib years of neglect so Partner set about personfully to repair it.
Spaniards use sand and cement but he’s using Sika which is waterproof – good idea on soft stone – costs more, but should last longer. Fingers crossed.
Thirdly, the Endesa issue. The electricity company.
Jeez.
On 10 May we received a letter, dated 19 April, telling us because they hadn’t been able to get access to our house they were going to begin proceedings to cut us off within a month of us receiving the letter.
This is ludicrous at all levels.
How would they know we received the letter on 10 May? For example?
And, when did you try to gain access? How about prior notification? How about telling us you had been? No. Nothing.
Spain still lives in the days of women stay at home and cook and clean all day. And if they aren’t around, for some unimaginable reason, then someone from the family will be hanging about.
This is light years from commuting into London I tell you.
I fired off an email. And another. And another.
Response? Absolutamente nada. Jack shit nada.
And so, we have been patiently sitting. Waiting for, at best, an appointment, at the least an unannounced visit. But again? Nada.
Not to mention, the following day, 11 May, we received a letter dated 23 December! Seriously. Telling us we needed to pay a bill by some date in February. We’d not just paid that, we’d paid the subsequent one. What are these people smoking?
Fourth. This vegetarian of thirty years finally bit the bullet and stood in front of the pre-packed deli counter looking at jamón. (Spanish cured ham.) I finally decided on some from Extremadura. Then I paused at the next deli counter with yet more jamón. Hmmm. A cheaper similar one. Picked that up and took the other back. Who knew buying jamón was so difficult?
Partner had taken Tosca into the vet. She was biting herself and pulling out her fur. ‘Tiene mange’ said Pedro. In that succinct way Spaniards have. One of her tablets is omega oil in capsules.
‘She won’t like it.’
‘We’ll give it to her with cheese.’
‘Jamón.’
And, he was right. The cheese debacle was a disaster. Hence the search for jamón.
Tablets in cheese? Spat out. Tablets in jamón? Yum yum. More please.
No. I haven’t eaten the jamón.
Five. I am bloody knackered with all this stress.
And I will be in absentia again. Waiting from my incompetent friends from Endesa … could be a loooong wait.
roughseasinthemed 
That wasn’t a like so much as a sympathy vote, Kate. :)
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Cheers Jo. Let’s hope June is better. It is after all, birthday month :)
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Oh roughseas, you really have had a rough month. At least you got the doggie fixed up, right? And you’ve got a veggie – nice! We haven’t even planted yet; the danger of frost hasn’t passed yet. :( Hopefully by the weekend. Best of luck with the electric company – suppose they got a new Accounts Receivable clerk who doesn’t know their arse from a hole in the ground?
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Well Tosca is still biting herself, so slow going there. One radish. I planted what felt like hundreds. Most of them seem to end up as long tough nothings. Gah. Go back to broad beans.
I think the electricity company just likes fucking people about. Especially foreigners. My neighbour spoke to them when they turned up. ‘They don’t live here all the time,’ she said. She told us, ‘Either they didn’t understand me (she’s spanish ffs) or they didn’t believe me.’ Jeez. What a shower.
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That’s a very handsome radish. Funny Tosca doesn’t like cheese. Finbar would kill for a piece of cheese rind. Commiserations over the bureaucracy. We get that too. Especially the letters telling you they couldn’t gain access when you’ve been rooted to the spot, twitching the knicker curtain for weeks looking out for them.
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It’s great. Fed us for a week. OK, maybe one pasta salad. The straggle at the bottom is my normal radish achievement.
Oh Tosca does like cheese, just not enough to eat tablets with it, whereas the jamón went down in no time.
We have been in bloody residence since 1 May. Obviously not right now, but as they haven’t given me a chuffing appointment, responded to my emails, I think I am allowed a couple of days off sitting around waiting for goddamn fucking Endesa. They probably turned up today knowing my luck.
It is beyond belief.
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Sounds like hell. I bet it’s hot as hell too. I bet you wish you hadn’t eaten the whole radish…
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Harvested twelve today. What to do with twelve hot radishes?
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I’d put them straight on the compost heap since I don’t like them much. Do you know a rabbit or a guinea pig?
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Bloody hell, Kate!
Dottie has been on the injured list, herself. Strained her CCL. Trying to keep her quiet so it heals and doesn’t tear. Have been giving her tablets, too. Only she’s wise to my hiding them in peanut butter(long story) so now runs at the smell of it.
Hope Tosca is better soon. And that it hasn’t passed to Snowy.
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Poor Dottie. I think I’ve strained mine too a few times. Knee joints are tough. Hope she heals soon. Jamón is super good for tablets though. Says the veggie.
It’s not the infectious one according to our vet, so Snowy is his arrogant little perfect white self. Thanks for your good wishes :)
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Please take care of yourself. Thank you for these updates on what is happening in your world. I know that life can be stressful and overwhelming sometimes. It sure is for me at times. I just wanted you to know people care and think you are special. Be well. Hugs
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Thank you so much Scottie. There is a caring community on the internet that is so thoughtful. The problems are when we are out of control. And so, we become stressed. We’ll see. All we can do is try and sort. Hugs to you too.
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Bureaucracy – I can tell you love it as much as I do. Fail at everything else, become a bureaucrat and make everyone else’s life miserable.
Example: we live in a community with lots of ugly eucalyptus. There are beautiful species but our faux forest is wooded with the ugly ones. After weeks of winter rain, for which I am very grateful (mitigation of California’s seven-year drought) our flora looked much better, but some of the trees were falling over. So I called our housing association to alert them about one of the community trees leaning precipitously over our house. They came a few days later – had not called or mailed us, just showed up. No worries, I’ve seen lots of trees cut, always better than seeing them fall – seen that too. They began to cut the dangerous tree. I didn’t bother to watch as I’ve seen hundreds cut safely by the pros.
But then I felt an earthquake that wasn’t an earthquake and heard a boom that wasn’t thunder. It was the 70-foot tree, fallen onto our house. I rattled and ran and called the association. The woman came out, took a look (they’d already moved the tree off our house, and I, having no camera, had no photos) and declared that was the only way they could have cut the tree, as they are professionals.
I reminded her that I hadn’t been warned that they were going to cut the tree that day, that they weren’t going to tie it off first to direct the position of the fall (the actual professional way,) and that I might have been in the room under which the tree fell. Not that they had any idea if they were going to let it fall on my house, if my house would stand under such a heavy drop.
She continued to dissemble over the next weeks as did the rest of the association board when they were not being simply silent. Weeks later, not a single official apology but lots of community concern about geese walking on the grass. Gotta love those goofy geese and their importance to our neighborhood.
Not trying to up you on the amount of incompetence in my community over that in yours – just sharing another chapter in bureaucratic inefficiency. Otherwise known as POOP – Plain Old Officious Poppycock!
At least Partner knows how to do a truly professional repair.
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OMG. That is horrific. Actually Partner can cut trees too. Not usually on top of houses though.
I’m in charge of our block management. Hopefully I’m not guilty of POOP.
Buy a phone with a camera …
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A radish is a radish. A little bite with bite.
Should it cheer me up that lack of service or sense from services is not confined to our area?
If your normal meals are bland, you should try spreading a little jamon to sweeten them up. Tosca’s recommendation.
I can recommend Sika. It works, and you save in the long run.
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He’s used Sika at work, hence choosing it for home. Spaniards use sand and cement and are quite happy to redo it every two or three years cos they have all the time in the world.
The rads are good. In moderation.
Nope the jamón is not enticing at all. My fingers stink after opening up the jamón and pharmaceutical department in the mornings. Besides, any for us means less for Tosc.
Services? What services …
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I think I may have mentioned before, roughseas, that the frustrations of Spain sound a lot like those of life on Bequia – but now I believe it’s much worse where you are! Hang in, and all will be right soon … I hope! Perhaps Tosca is suffering from sympathy stress?
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islandeditons may be on something there with the stressed dog. Skin issues are often the first sign – but then again it’s mange.
On the farm one of the dogs we took in came with mange. Dad went to the local feed/livestock store and bought a dip you mixed with water in a tub and put the dog in. Smelled like sulfur. And the poor dog was completely unhappy with the bath and the smell – ran around like crazy. An old fashion cure, but did completely solve the problem with one application….find an old timer who’s got knowledge of vintage cures?
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It’s a tedious story here that I’m not getting into right now. For another post but I need to write about something different. Nah, Tosc just has mange mites :(
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Jeez and I thought BT internet was crap. Phnark. Well, look, if it’s any consolation, the radish is a lot better than the ones I tried to grow.
I sincerely hope your June perks up, it’s our birthday month, too. I say ‘our’ because McMini and I … well, let’s just say, I did a LOT of drugs on my 40th birthday, but the emergency C section wasn’t quite so much fun.
As for the power well, yes, I guess it might be sorted by Christmas, right?
Cheers
MTM
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We had problems with BT too (and British Gas). BT were all set to cut off the phone when my mum died because, ya know, we weren’t there. Endesa revisited. Partner talked them out of it.
Ugh. I knew there was a reason me and babies didn’t go together.
You mean we might have bought a generator, gas fridge, battery lamps?
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What with trump et al it might be a good investment.
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Utility companies the word-over are the same. I think the water people just make up their monthly figures.
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I can live with my water company. It’s the bloody intransigent electricity company.
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Endesa, for reasons best known to themselves, changed the account to my name, rather than the name of the company who owns the house….my lawyer is stil trying to sort that out.
Is Sika anything like Unibond?
Mentioning radish reminds me to check the progress of the kimchi in the fridge…that it hasn`t made its presence felt yet leads me to believe it is not yet ready…we shall see.
Our electricity board – ICE – has been busy renewing cables, etc., unfortunately this has resulted in a complete loss of internet in the evenings…how do cables know the time?
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And therein lies the story. Twas not endesa fifteen years ago but sevillana, who didn’t boyher changing the name to ours. Hence we can’t do anything without the permission of one Roman Pardo. Deceased for 20 years and more.
Unibond is a sealer. Sika is a render mix although best to seal before and after.
It’s a conspiracy :)
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`Thanks. We used to use a mix called Patrimoine to repair and remodel limestone curlicues on the houses…but it needed a coat of Unibond first to make it stick…
As to change oif names…that happens with the electricity supply. Ours on the old house is still in the name of the mother in law of the woman who sold it to us…apparently if you want to change the name ICE insist on installing a new meter….for a considerable sum.
So when I hear the phrase the name endureth for ever more it makes me think that our immortality will be our current electricity meter.
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Ah yes. In the past, Sevillana would come and inspect, none of which we knew at the time. Fine back then, it was all hunky dory. Since when, Spain has gone onto live, neutral earth, which it didn’t originally have so we’re fucked either way. Such quaint customs these countries have.
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I am so glad that partner knows what he’s doing. That first photo is clearly an artist at work. Does the stuff dry white, or is there painting involved in your future too?
Insane re the electrical company. May they come and deal with whatever they have to deal with, BEFORE the cut off any power. And may all end up great.
Jamon — ham, I gather — sounds pretty scary to me. Isn’t it full of salt and sulphites and things like that? I have to feed my beastie meds twice a day — and they seem to be multiplying (the meds, not the days or the frequency of administration). The ONLY thing that makes this easy (and it is!) are pill pockets. Not sure if you have access to these, but Chia loves them. I have a feeling they are laden with less-than-stellar ingredients, too, but the vet sells them, and the cat loves them, so it saves me violent altercations alternating with a terrified cat avoiding me for days on end. So I love them too.
May Tosca’s skin return to the healthy, non-itchy, softish and supple-ish surface that it should be. And may your days in Spain turn into great ones. I look forward to your ending hiatus (at some point in your future).
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Sika dries grey, but he used fine filler too which dries white. But, yes, it does all need painting.
I think it’s victimise the foreigners time. We’ve been there for six weeks and no one has turned up.
For a month I can live with them guzzling jamón. Spanish labelling isn’t the best so it doesn’t say what unsavoury ingedients are included.
Tosca’s skin seems to be taking a time, but hoping it will improve. Many thanks.
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It’s the worst when you don’t feel that you are in control. I’m sure you know lots of Spanish swear words. Good luck.
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I’m not. I do. Thanks.
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Seems someone in the electricity company has second sight knowing when you receive their letters. Pity they can’t apply it to knowing when you’ll be home. I hope you get it sorted.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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Customer service no existe.
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Our power company in dealing with issue of unpaid bills introduced prepaid meters. You don’t pay no power but then they no longer come to disconnect. Whenever you get money, you can pay.
Get some rest good friend and hopefully a bit of the stress may take a walk
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Oh our bills are paid up. This is about changing the meter.
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Sounds so much like doing any business in Spain. When I was working with Spanish companies /publishers, it was nuts. The only timeline that means anything to them is their own…and it’s very loose and fluid – even if there’s a specific date it out be completed by. It was always “what’s the hurry?” and a shrug with it will get done when it gets done. Oh, holiday…weekend…summer hours/vacation. More than one person I dealt with revealed that having a ton of emails left over from the week before was to depressing, so on Monday they just deleted all the old emails and started over with a clean in box. They said if it was important, the person trying to get something done would send another….of course if it came in towards the end of the week and there were already many emails in front of it…(All of the hair I pulled out during that time period probably made me look like I had mange)
Dogs, vegetable, gardening, and water scenes are supposed to be soothing, hope those work for you!
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Now all of that makes sense. I can totally understand it.
Well normally they do. But not this week.
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Same here, same here. The Chinese say a house is never finished because once you finish the one end the other needs attention. We live in an old house well built but things get old….and has to be replaced.or fixed or maintained. so here goes good luck.
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Well we’ve always bought old houses – my preference. It’s just finding the time. Originally we totally sorted it, but then started working in Gib.
Chinese saying sounds like the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Finish painting it, start all over again.
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I am sorry to hear of the continuing problems with Endesa. You have my sympathy, Roughseas!
The cats here will not take any meds tucked into any kind of food. This creates certain challenges from time to time. :-)
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Thanks Lavinia.
Your cats are clearly very smart!
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A is such a grafter! I’m sure your right about the waterproof stuff… should do the trick and last much longer. 🙃
Sorry to hear about Tosca and hope she’ll be to rights soon! She deserves jamon! ☹
Ooh no precious… Sneaks! Editses tasted it she did… Greedy editses ate jamon while Toscses and partner was sleeping-Look! Hamon crumbs on the sofa!!! Nice Smeagol had to hide his fissh, precious. Ooh yes! Sneaks! 😲
That electric company sound like a living nightmare! 😕
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A needs to be as I am useless.
I keep peering at Tosc for signs of improvement and I’m not sure.
Editses did NOT steal the nasty jamón. Oh no. Sméagol might have tried it I think. Not cooked, only cured. Greedy Sméagol.
Yes.
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I wouldn’t say you’re useless. You’re a brilliant editor/reviewer and provide a great contribution to this blog. Not to mention that you’re probably just as brilliant when taking care of the books for A… Accounting is not easy!
Editses dids steals it precious! See, she admits it… she tasted it precious. Oh yes! Sneaks!!!
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The house repair looks good, it always helps to have a helper close by with a camera!
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Yes. We do use photos for promo shots. I just need to get rid of the 200 I don’t need.
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Hello again… it seems the Roughseas blog fell off my list of Follows. You were on my mind, so I came looking and here you are… growing radishes that look a lot a like the ones in our vege garden.
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Our dogs are agreeable to cheese, with our without pills. – Oscar
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Grr…too much stress and hassle! Your partner seems to be making a good job repairing the house. I hope the electricity problem has sorted for you – bureaucracy can be a nightmare. Take care and wishing you a lovely peaceful summer without any problems!
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