Apart from still being interested in my children and grandchildren (Bless them!), I am also interested in the Internet. Because we live in 'el campo' (the countryside), we have no landline telephone system. The only system available is an Internet phone. This means having the computer in our lounge in case the phone rings. We had planned to have it in a different part of the house, but would not have heard it.
The proximity of the computer has led me to use it frequently and often.......
If you have already read my page about finding my father and half-sister through an Internet Genealogical Site, you will have gathered that I am also interested in discovering my Family Tree.
This tree is that of Antonio Banderas, the Spanish actor, who was born in Málaga:
I have traced one branch of my ancestors back to 1599. Unfortunately, I am not related to Royalty or anyone in the Aristocracy. Most of my ancestors had very ordinary, common, jobs, like Laundress, Waiter, Farmer and so on. One was a Journeyman Dyer. I had to find out what that meant!
I have ancestors from Scotland and Wales and my great grandfather was born in the USA. Most of my family were born in and around the London and Home Counties areas of England, as I was myself.
I have discovered living relatives I didn't know about, one in Australia! He is an 8th cousin! (probably removed several times!) I have found it fascinating, discovering what my ancestors did for a living, where they lived and a bit about them and their way of life! One of my ancestors was called Philadelphia, which I find a wonderful name! I think Pauline is such a boring name, although it sounds better with a Spanish pronunciation!
Another ancestor was called Octavian Vitu. With a name like that, I would have assumed that he was from abroad, but he was born in London. I have a copy of his parents' signatures at their wedding in Soho, London, in 1815.
There are of course mysteries to be solved..... my grandfather was born Willie Octavius Walter Vitu, but died under the name of William Walter Ventham. Having discussed this problem with other family members, we can only guess at the reason for this.
Another of my hobbies is reading. My daughter, Emma, flew out here for a holiday on July 23rd 2007, two days after the last Harry Potter book was published. She brought my copy with her, which I read avidly!
I got hooked on to the Harry Potters through a former pupil of mine, James, who casually asked one day if I had read the first book - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I said that I had not, so James brought in his copy of it the next day for me to borrow. I took the book home and decided to have a quick look at the first couple of pages, so I could return it to James saying it was not my sort of thing! How wrong I was! I was hooked from page one. J. K. Rowling is a superb writer, yes, for adults, too. I have not even bought the books with the 'adult' covers as I am not at all ashamed of enjoying 'children's' books! Luckily, my two children love the books, too, so don't tease me because of my love for them! As you can read and see on the 'El Portón' page, one of my neighbours is also a fan and has named her Cairn Terrier 'Harry Potter'. In full, his name is Harry Houdini Potter, as he kept escaping from the garden!
I also love romantic fiction, particularly Catherine Cookson and others like her. She combines family lives and pressures with historical facts. I have the set of Catherine Cookson stories that have been televised and enjoy watching them even those I have seen two or three times. My favourite is 'The Fifteen Streets'.
I am also interested in Ancient Egypt. Phil and I went there on holiday in 1993 and were both fascinated by the country and its history. To stand in Tutankhamun's tomb and think of the story behind Howard Carter and Lord Caernarvon's discovery of it is just an amazing experience!
Whilst in Egypt, I discovered that I suffer from claustrophobia! We entered a very small crypt, barely big enough for six people to enter. As soon as I was in, I felt as if it was enclosing me, so had to turn round and get out! Not easy, because of the people entering behind me! I had the same experience as I tried to go into the Great Pyramid, which I am sorry to say, defeated me. If I ever go back there, I shall have to try again!
Another of my pastimes is doing the Daily Mail Crossword! Unfortunately, English papers are not available in our nearest village, so it means at least a 25 minute drive to buy the paper. Often the neighbours buy papers for each other when anyone goes out.
I also like doing the Codeword and Sudoku. Online, I enjoy playing a game called Word Whomp and also online Scrabble. I think these games help stop too many 'Senior Moments'!
The Brits who live in our Urbanisation have formed a team to compete in a local quiz. There are no British pubs in our village, so we travel down to Puente de Don Manuel, which is near Lake Vinuela. There is a large British community, with several British pubs having quiz nights. There is an area there known locally as 'Little Romford'.
We call our team 'Senile Moments' (see paragraph further up this page!). Apart from our young Diane, the other five of us are around sixty years of age - years of experience you may think! Our worst round is usually the music round. I, for one, have usually never even heard the music played if it is not from the 60s! We normally hear a snatch of music, having to name the song and the artist.
We thoroughly enjoy these quizzes and sometimes win or are in the top three. Money is always given as a prize and we all combine and save our winnings. We are currently saving to go out for a slap-up meal. We nearly have enough.