Lanzarote Information

Pauline Barclay lives in the Puerto del Carmen area of Lanzarote with her husband Clive and dog Poppy, she has just had her first book published. The novel is called Magnolia House and features a family betrayal where a mother gives half of her house to her only child and is then forced to sell the home she had lived in for  five decades.

Pauline is now busy working on her second novel and when I asked her if Lanzarote features in it she told me that there is a Spanish side to Magnolia House and even has a Casa Tías in it!

Pauline and Clive lived in Redhill where she used to work as a PR Manager for the oil company Fina, electing for redundancy when the company was taken over by Total Pauline then studied for an Open University Degree and started writing. At first Pauline used to write short stories and later full length novels, you can download the latest short story free of charge from her website www.paulinebarclay.co.uk “Next Christmas Will Be Different”.

Husband Clive also worked in the oil industry, he designed the transport and installation of offshore platforms. Clive’s job took them to Holland before moving to Lanzarote, Pauline remembers that the day the removal van came to take their furniture away, it was snowing like you wouldn’t believe, it was a white out. They have photos of their furniture being loaded in the snow, it was that cold even the canals had frozen, they found it hard to believe that within 48 hours they would be living in the sun!

The couple have been coming to Lanzarote for over 20 years, they had always planned to come and live here and in March 2005 they did it. Pauline and Clive still love Puerto del Carmen, they have since traded their apartment up for a villa and spent months looking at properties in other areas but remain in their original area of Puerto del Carmen, they just love it.

After 20 years the couple still marvel at the fantastic views in Lanzarote, they couldn’t decide on a favourite one as there are too many to choose from – even just driving to the Ferrateria in Tías gives you a wonderful view towards Arrecife!

Both Pauline and Clive enjoy roller skating which they got hooked on after a holiday in Boston, New England and had before moving to live in Lanzarote they did the Friday night skate through Paris which was a memorable event for them. Their favourite skating in Lanzarote is along the front from Los Pocillos, through Matagorda, past the airport runway, Playa Honda and to Arrecife – its fab!

They adopted Poppy from SARA two and a half years ago and love her to bits. Poppy is believed to be around 8 years old and looks like a mix between a Highland Terrier and a Yorkshire Terrier, she follows Pauline around everywhere and she’s fondly referred to as Pauline’s personal stalker!

Pauline and Clive miss the cycle paths from Holland, they were great for getting around on, and of course skating too. Their favourite meal is a tapas evening at home as they love to cook and now have the time to make lots of different dishes with fish, local sausages and what ever else they can dream up.

Pauline has now written over 15 short stories and 3 other novels, you can order a copy of Pauline’s book Magnolia House from Amazon and don’t forget to look out for her new novel which should be published next year.