We’ve had Swedish friends here for the last few days and, yet again, I’m astonished that all of them speak perfect English. But then again so do the Italians, Germans, Poles, Rumanians and Spanish people we’ve met in Lanzarote. I know I’ve touched on this before in my blog, but why are we Brits so bad at speaking other languages? Why does everyone else learn English and then go on to speak it but many Brits who learn a language at school are reluctant to use it?

I think my own experience of learning languages is exceptional because we had 2 years of French at primary school. And this was in the 60s! I can remember learning carols in French which  read more »

We received the following message from John Taylor, a resident in Lanzarote who had nothing but praise for the local general hospital Hospital Doctor José Molina Orosa when his wife required emergency treatment.

You obviously receive numerous letters in praise of the general hospital Arrecife but I felt that i needed to write this letter to emphasize their brilliant care and dedication. My wife came out to join me on a elongated holiday in October 2011 to spend time with me as I have lived on the island for two and a half years and she cares for her mother in the UK.

My wife has suffered constant health problems for the last 2 years with numerous visits to the doctor & consultants in the UK with no positive outcome. She was so ill by the 10th October that I forced her to go to A & E at the General Hospital Arrecife where she was admitted. At 9:20 am the following morning they performed an emergency 5 hour operation, this was a  read more »

I thought it was time to make some resolutions for the New Year in Lanzarote.

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1. I promise not to stare at people’s sunburn or shake my head and tut as they pass me with their red shoulders and noses. Please, holiday makers! Remember that the Lanzarote sun is hot and you need a powerful sun protection here!
2. I resolve to walk more often and spend more time walking at a brisk pace rather than the gentle stroll we have perfected. A bit more exercise is certainly called for after the excesses of Christmas.
3. I will refrain from making sarcastic comments when
   

The Christmas and New Year holiday tends to make us very nostalgic and I’ve found myself thinking about family rules over the last few days. It’s said we all change into our mothers eventually and I can actually hear my mum’s voice in my head – especially when she was telling me off!

On Christmas morning, Robin had a long hot shower and managed to flood the bathroom by leaving the tap running in the sink! Every towel that we own is kept on a shelf in the bathroom and so they were all soaking wet. We threw them on the floor to help mop up the flood, just as it was heading for the top of the stairs! Nancy watched in disbelief as the tide moved towards her. This left us with several sodden towels and I put them all in the washing machine. This was when I could hear my mother’s voice – ‘you don’t put washing out on Christmas Day’. But we had no choice and so out they all went and I’m sure both my mum and Robin’s mum were looking down and tutting at me!

I’d noticed my mum’s voice several times in the long hot Lanzarote summer. When we were  read more »

The Top Catz Dance school in Lanzarote has been established for 23 years, offering dance lessons to children and adults as well as professional shows.

There are established dance classes for all ages including tap dance, Irish dance, Flamenco, Sevillanas. Lessons are also available for Classical Spanish dance, Belly / Oriental dance, Jazz, Hawaiian / Polynesian dance (which is a fun mild workout for seniors) as well as Flamenco & Sevillanas for children.

The school was founded and is still run by Marlene Pierce who takes delight in showcasing her students at local events, you can see from these photos just how much fun they all have too. If you have an event where you would like a performance then the student shows are generally available for a small donation to help with the costume expenses,

Top Catz Dance School Classes

Tap Adults

Beginners -  read more »

I always try to steer clear of national stereotypes and we’ve found our German, Spanish and Irish neighbours and friends in Lanzarote great fun. I often wonder what stereotypes they have of the British? The main one is that Brits don’t bother learning languages and expect everyone to speak English. But how true this appears to be!

We’ve known several Brits living in Lanzarote who expect to be able to work here without being able to speak Spanish. Can you imagine how people in the UK would react to immigrants who don’t speak English? The UK government is now requiring some spouses to speak English before they are allowed to join their partners in the UK.

Our doctor told us we  read more »

We can hardly believe we’ve been living in Lanzarote for a year! Looking back over our time here and our first year in retirement, we have had lots of highs to remember and very few problems. How lucky are we?!

I can remember when we decide to emigrate that we reassured each other there would be scary bits but that we’d get through. With hindsight, there’s not much we would have done differently and we are thoroughly settled and happy here.

I am most proud of our little personal achievements because when you live in a foreign country and have to learn the language and customs, it’s the little things that matter. Things like getting the kitchen repair man out to see to our oven and explaining that I thought the thermostat was broken. Also we were pleased with ourselves for buying a new car with all the paperwork that goes along with that! We’ve had a few tussles with the local health service which I’ve covered in detail earlier in my blog. That has been the worst thing and yet we’ve had great care from the health centre so it was really the bureaucracy that got us down.

We’ve made friends with our new neighbours and had some great times with them. It’s lovely when people come out here for longer periods as we can spend time with them but it’s also nice when everyone has gone home and we have the place to ourselves.

We’ve had  read more »