After a mixed career as an aircraft technician, London fringe theatre playwright, Franciscan friar, and secondary school teacher, I find myself looking after the needs of four donkeys in a remote location in the mountains in the Costa Blanca. I like to listen to BBC Radio 4 and the wind in the pine trees. My favourite film of all time is "Jean de Florette" as it details the concerns of country people and quietly shows how evil enters our lives through mundane and petty matters. Now retired, I have lost the need to fight past battles and recognize that my various contributions to life - both ecclesiastical and secular - have been enjoyable, sometimes flawed, occasionally disastrous; but mostly times worth celebrating.
It has been a month since the country which I no longer regard as home elected a clown as its prime minister. I have stopped actively listening to the daily news from the UK and only catch it accidentally between symphonies on Radio 3. When the leadership of countries is given over to individuals who … More Time to turn off the crisis
From Morris, Matilde, Aitana, Rubí and me.
I have noticed the growing use of the term anthropocene to describe this second epoch of our current quaternary geological age. It was called the holocene until recently, describing the epoch that began 12,000 years ago at the close of the paleolithic Ice Age. Anthropocene is now used to describe the same epoch as an … More In praise of the equocene
Through the summer I have been deliberating over the possibility of returning to academia. Having passed my rather easy test for Spanish citizenship in June, I found the study sufficiently enjoyable to consider doing a postgraduate course of study at the University of Alicante. I explored the possibility through July and August and the course … More University of the wind in the trees
During the past years on this blog and in my old Costa Blanca geography teaching blog, the hydrology of Alicante province – and this part of it known as Marina Baixa – has been a frequently mentioned topic. As a geography teacher I brought local hydrology into the Key Stage 3 and GCSE curriculum, and … More Come on in: the apocalypse is delightful
A short exercise in silence: a quiet afternoon. Come to something a bit different on Sunday 1st September from 3pm to 5pm here at El Parral. Many friends have enjoyed a relaxing afternoon here sharing a barbecue or a paella – and we will do that again soon – but I would like to offer … More Quiet afternoon Sunday 1st September
As the political situation becomes more absurd by the minute – and let’s say no more about that – we arrive at the end of the summer holidays. For those of us newly retired the thrill of NOT returning to work in the first week of September is still a novelty and I look forward … More A la Recherche du Temps Perdu
I am very curious to know why do donkeys burrow their heads deep down in straw when eating? I delivered this morning’s feed to the indoor stable manger because I thought it was about to rain. In fact the heavy dark clouds dispersed half an hour later. Once again I observed the donkeys very quickly … More Straw burrowing
El Parral is in a pine wooded valley under the Aitana ridge in the Costa Blanca. It was on Saturday 18 June 2016 – starting at 6 a.m. – that we walked the donkeys from the old field I had rented for six years in the valley below Finestrat to their new home here in … More El Parralel universe
It is the end of the school year, but after a year of retirement I have only noticed this because there seem to be more children in evidence when I go shopping. The daily physical work involved in the care of four very large animals keeps me very active but the mental challenges in such … More Bath time for Morris
