Last night we went along to the Foro first anniversary celebration. To call it a party would be a overstatement and show a lack of understanding about how the Foro operates. Their prime objective is to facilitate get togethers and events and encourage initiatives. They have a very relaxed style, and while that may not suit some, it is the way it is in Spain, so needs to be accepted and accommodated when dealing with them.

Now that summer is well and truly here it is time to brush up on all those essential summer skills:

• Getting brown but not burnt
• Cooking on the BBQ so the food doesn’t get burnt
• Late night drinking in the music bars - talking 6am here!!!!
• The art of the perfect siesta!!!

The Telegraph have some advice that I 100% disagree with!!

Using a tried and tested UK company can be one way of minimising your risk when buying overseas property.

OK 100% may be an exaggeration but the gist of the article is that with property markets across the world struggling you should ‘protect’ yourself from the increased risks of investing abroad by using a reputable British company that has already sort out the ‘best’ investments for you.

The addiction has kicked in again!!! Actually that is an exaggeration (although many say that getting tattoos is addictive) as I have been meaning to get my next tattoo for a while now - ever since we got Moreno to be exact. All my tattoos are related to my life and specific times in my life:

• A South Indian ‘Heartline’ bear for ‘Power and Luck’ as a reminder of my time living in the US

This post is inspired by a recent comment left by site regular Francis who asked:

What would be the principal reason for people to want to leave such a climate and culture of life which seems so more suited to healthy living? Is it becoming more difficult for British people, who had originally moved to Spain to sample the way of life, to have the opportunities to live comfortably?

I have just made a few changes to the layout of the blog, and at the same time added a page on How To Use The Blog which you can find here. I thought it wouldn’t do any harm the post the page as a post (if you read the information that will be a good test of whether I explained things well), so below you will find a copy of the page.

Here is a useful article, based on personal experience from Charmaine Jarvis of DBJ Properties:

I am writing this short article so all of you are aware of the damage the sun can do. All you have to do is apply to yourself and your children high factor sun protection. Three years ago I noticed a mole on my knee had changed shape so I went to Almeria to have it removed. I was so shocked to find out it was a malignant melanoma. I then had to have a couple of operations to remove it. It wasn’t nice but it all could have been avoided.

Here is some advice from Emma for anybody looking to take a pet back to the UK:

Recently having decided to return to the UK, one of the things that we were faced with was how best to deal with our small dog who we adopted here in Spain shortly after we arrived four and a half years ago.

Just learned that another couple that we have known for a while are returning to the UK to live. This triggered something in my mind that I had read a while ago about the potential pitfalls of returning to the UK and the things you can do to plan ahead if you do decide to go back to live in the UK after a period of living abroad.