I am making an urgent appeal for my friend Katie Stewardson. I met Katie while living in Spain. Katie became a close friend and has even written for Roaming Brit. A few days ago Katie and her family, including her two week old son Sebastián were evacuated from their Southern Spanish home, after their property flooded along with thousands of others in the region. Katie is now trying to raise money for the local community who have lost everything, trying to ensure animals and livestock are re-homed and looked after, following the worst storms to hit Spain in a century. Katie has asked me to advertise this plea for help, so she and other victims can start to rebuild their lives!

Please click on the 'Go Fund Me' picture below, to take you to her appeal!

"Our farm was hit bad by the flooding of the 'south eastern Spanish gota fria.' Paddocks are flooded and sheds are destroyed, the kennels for the dogs are non existent and they have no shelter. We are not the only ones affected .

We are fundrasing to build new kennels for the dogs and new shelters for the goats at our finca. We are also fundraising for other fincas and shelters in the same mess as us.

Dog food to buy. Beds etc

Please help if you can, every little counts to remaking homes for the animals."

I would like to wish two fantastic friends, Katie and Andy Stewardson, huge congratulations on the birth of their new baby son Sebastián, born on 28th August 2019. It has been a while since I saw these two, but they are both very much in my thoughts as I write this entry today!

Katie, husband Andy and their little daughter Lexi, became close, during mine and Darrell's time living in Gran Alacant, especially Katie and I. Both our husbands were away quite a lot during the time I lived here, consequently Katie and I became inseparable and enjoyed a fruitful friendship, despite the ups and downs of Spanish life.

Andy and Katie have found happiness and prosperity in Spain and now enjoy a productive and vigorous life, living in the country they love. Sebastián will be brought up alongside his Spanish peers and will become part of continental life, in a way many of us can only dream of. I hope to return to Spain one day soon and rekindle our friendship by starting where we left off. Whether or not Darrell and I decide to live there long term, as we did three years ago is anyone's guess, but in the meantime we are delighted to observe from the sidelines, watching this family grow and flourish in their new chosen home!

As Brexit turmoil continues to engulf British sensibility, it is heartwarming to see young people taking the plunge and forging a new life abroad. Whether you support Britain's withdrawal from the EU or want to remain, all of us should agree that our destiny lies at the heart of Europe. It would be a travesty if future generations were stopped from moving to pastures new because of policies that are designed to isolate Britain from the rest of the World. Katie and Andy are an example to us all, in how we can proliferate in new, untested, untried corners of the globe!

Congratulations to you all!

This was always a special time of year, living in Gran Alacant. The sun was shining but the hoards of tourists had not yet descended on this perfect little urbanisation on the Costa Blanca. Everyone seemed happy and cheerful, giving a friendly wave as they walked by and the bars and restuarants were slowly beginning to fill with home owners and visitors, returning from the long winter break. Social media is a sure fire way of being reminded of where we used to live, the friends we once knew and the wonderful times we shared. Today my 'memory' feed is full of stories from our three years living in Spain, and as usual I am able to smile and recall the events that made my time living in GA memorable, unforgettable and indellibly etched on my soul.

I have spoken about negative aspects of my life on the Costa Blanca before and there were many, but after returning to the UK nearly a year ago, I am able to see past the difficulties and remember with passion the more carefree, contented times and to be honest, I miss living in this beautiful part of Europe, I do have some fond memories that continue to give me great joy today.

Despite the ducking and diving and financial struggles, Gran Alacant offered a community life that I fell in love with. The people who lived and worked there were always welcoming and willing to pass the time of day, share a joke and chat about subjects important to the Expats who had made this place their home. There were very few people I didn't like, I got on with most of my friends and neighbours, who were there for me at strenuous periods, especially after just relocating to Spain. Darrell and I asked others for very little, preferring to do our own thing, succeeding and failing in equal measure. The years we spent living in GA were character building and important for our future direction. As individuals we grew and experienced many aspects of life we hadn't before. The battles we fought then seemed terribly arduous at the time, but they were a catalyst for the way we cope today. My general sense of well-being is better now than ever, because I learned to survive in the harshest of climates.

In Spain I lived frugally, only spending what I needed to, surviving without luxury but never going without. As a couple we had an old car that barely got us from A to B, but it was ours and we learned to live as my parents would have lived in the 1950s. Cooking in bulk, no convenience food, no take aways and rarely eating out - the natural way to live, for those of us who weren't tourists that is and I actually enjoyed it. I'm sure I complained bitterly at the time, but the truth is, I look back with fondness at this struggles we endured and I am proud of what we achieved during our short time living in Gran Alacant.

The photographs from our Spanish life, tells a story of independence, doing things our way and sharing a special chapter with some truly exceptional people. When I read back over my blog from that time, I hear and see the determination inside of me to succeed living in Spain and for a long while I did; both of us really began to think we had found our eutopia. Had our circumstances been different we probably would have stayed and built a life for ourselves away from the stress and stain of Britain, but it just wasn't to be. The smiling faces in the selfies, photographs with friends and pictures of an outdoor life were really just a facade. This enlightening aspect of life was only ever going to exist all the time we lived abroad and to be honest, I am glad that is the case.

My spanish memories are positive in the main, because of the journey I travelled, an excursion that ended at Alicante Airport in April 2018. That doesn't mean Spain is over forever, I do hope to return one day. I have a special place in my heart for Gran Alacant, its people, the bars and restaurants and our little Casa over looking a revine with amazing views over Alicante Province. Today I look back with satisfaction at a life that could have been and remember with warmth and affection a place that will always remain home!

I recently saw this heartwarming video online, it really did bring tears to my eyes. A beautiful dog rescued from almost certain death. The love shown in this beautiful animals eyes was testament to its owners dedication, throwing a lifeline to ensure this little dog had a second chance at life. Named Freddie, the hope is she will now have all the devotion and love she needs to try and live a full life. Rescuing an animal is a truly amazing thing to do and something my partner Darrell and I have done many times ourselves!

Our first rescue cat was Lily, an oriental foreign white. She was a breeding cat, kept in a cage for most of her life and badly in need of a forever home. I saw her story in a local newspaper in 2007 and immediately fell in love with her. I had seen no photographs, just a write up about her situation. After giving birth to her last litter of kittens, she suffered complications from a botched cesarean, leaving her badly scarred; as a result she acquired a hernia, which required a further operation. Her life as a breeding cat had come to an abrupt end and she was about to be euthanised when she was rescued by a local charity.

Lily was a fantastic cat, who Darrell and I loved with all our hearts. We were lucky enough to have her in our life until her death in 2017. She was extremely needy, but wonderfully loving, always close to both of us wherever we went, even travelling with us across Europe to our new home in Alicante. Her final few weeks were terribly upsetting; the bond we had with this amazing intelligent cat was so close and unforgettable, that we found it very difficult to let go. Knowing when the time is right to say goodbye is important. When I rescued her from an uncertain fate in 2007, I knew instantly it was the right thing to do, just as I knew it was time to put her down in 2018.

The memories I have with Lily will be with me always, she was a big part of my life, as any pet is. Her plight pulled at my heart strings and I was so content watching her grow after such a traumatic ordeal. Because of her past, she did have many heath problems, surviving cat flu on several occasions, when she should have died, but she was such a special girl everyone who met her, just couldn't help falling in love. When she died, we had her ashes scattered in an animal sanctuary near our villa in Spain. A part of her will always remain there and it will always be an excuse to return to our old home from time to time. I am glad she was a part of my life, I will always have her close inside, often looking at photographs and remembering the times we all spent together as a family!

A few months before Lily died we rescued two tiny kittens, while living in Spain, they were no more than five or six weeks old and it was touch and go whether or not they would live. Thankfully they survived and we were lucky enough to have Mollie and Wildling for nearly a year. Of course we would have loved to have spent more time with this wonderful brother and sister duo, full of adventure and character, even after being dumped in a garden, trying to survive in the hot Spanish sun.

When I left for Spain in May last year we reluctantly decided to have Mollie and Wildling re-homed. Our destiny was moving firmly away from Gran Alacant and it seemed unfair to uproot these two young cats and take them to a new home in the UK. The last thing we wanted to do was give up the new additions to our family, but we found them both a home together with two of our friends living an hour and a half drive away in the southern Spanish province of Murcia.

We were happy to take on Lily, Mollie and Wildling, they were all very special pets. Every rescue animal has a story to tell and suffers from the memories of a past they would rather forget. They did have their own set of problems and we did have to dedicate more time to their rehabilitation, but the love they gave in return was so precious, it was worth all the pain and heartache.

If you are thinking about re-homing a rescue cat or dog, don't think twice, you will not regret it. The time we had with all our pets was rewarding and special, there was never a dull moment. When Darrell returns from Australia we hope to once again settle down and welcome some new rescue cats into our life, until then, it is great to continue reading stories of others, doing what they can to help animals in need, just like those in the video above. Animals do indeed make a home; my life certainly wouldn't have been the same without them!

This Sunday I had been given a personal day off from work, the first one in a long time. To be honest I have never really liked Sundays anyway and would rather be at work, so it was strange not being sat behind a till. After working at the Newcome on Saturday night, I hadn't planned to do anything the next day, except have a lay in and relax, which is a rare thing for me. True to form, I woke up on Sunday morning, as early as ever, ready to start the day!

After sitting down watching a film, I spent the evening cooking a roast dinner....Proper roast potatoes cooked in beef dripping, roast pork and vegetables. It tasted pretty good if I do say so myself!

As we approach Christmas, I am looking forward to the festivities more than I have done for many years. Like the impending Yuletide, spending time with family on a Sunday is not something I am used too. As a child I used to sit down to lunch with my Brother and Parents, but we did it as a small unit and rarely with extended family and friends. Living at my Aunts house I am experiencing a very different side of life, quite foreign in nature, but one I like and have accepted better than I could have expected. Living here has also taught me much about survival under the most strenuous of circumstances!

I suppose Darrell and I were very similar to my Aunt. We would always have people in and out of our home on a regular basis and rarely got a moments peace. There were other periods when we also kept ourselves very much to ourselves, especially when we lived in Spain. We chose not to have close friends in Gran Alacant, because of our past experiences, living in the UK. We passed judgement on others based on our own topsey turvy life, preferring to keep everyone at arms length. My life was all the poorer for the distance we kept, but it has also made me appreciate the things I have today.

I rarely get time to myself, except maybe when I am blogging, like today, but I am happy with that; I enjoy having friends and family around me these days. I am content cooking a Sunday roast and comfortable living my life around children for the first time ever. Watching my Cousins grow is probably the most special part of my time in Portsmouth. Bonding with all of my family has been a fulfilling experience and I am sure there will be many more occasions we can enjoy each others company. First and foremost I am here for my Mother and Father at a difficult time, but I am also here to rekindle my relationships with those close, who possibly understand me more than my parents. Having an important network around you at demanding times is the biggest Christmas present of all. My wellbeing is enriched and enhanced dramatically because of the life I lead today!

Ah, supermarket shopping, the bane of my life, it is the one part of the week I hate. Usually my Aunt Trisha undertakes the weekly trip to procure supplies, but today I was persuaded to go into town with her and my Cousin Rachel. Trisha and Rachel had to buy some Christmas cards and since I had a day off, I towed along. The weather wasn't great  and it was pretty miserable outside, but spending time with family is good, rain or shine.

As you would expect, my favourite supermarket is Tesco; I work there, how could I say anything different. In all seriousness, I actually enjoy walking around the isles in this Fratton store and find the whole encounter far more enjoyable than many other retail experiences. In the past I would rush into a superstore, grab what I needed and run out, equally as fast. To be honest, having an Aunt who does the shopping is a bonus. It allows me to avoid those gleaming, inviting shelves and keeps my money firmly in my pocket. Going back ten years, I spent far more than I needed to. If I look back to 2006, I could spend a hundred and fifty pounds a week on food shopping and probably a lot more if I am truthful, so I am glad I am not doing the same today. It is easily done here; the variety and amount of goods on offer is huge and I am easily led!

Spain really changed my shopping habits; the supermarkets there were terrible. The service was the worst in the World, one would queue for half an hour just to join another queue to pay for ones shopping and the staff were rude and unapproachable. Equally the choice on offer was horrendous and as a couple we would have to cook everything from scratch; there were no short cuts.

I did become very self sufficient when I lived in Gran Alacant; living frugally, I spent no more than 20€ a week on groceries. What I did buy, lasted me a long time and I was able to make more than one meal with only a small amount of food; my days of living like a King were well and truly over and I had to learn a whole new way of life. If anything Spain taught me how to survive in a very unforgiving climate, so returning to Britain has been a breath of fresh air and reintroduced me back to civilization. I am jesting of course, Spain is as civilized as the UK, it just does things very differently.

When we got to the checkout today, there were no bags for our shopping and we had to use flimsy plastic carriers to take our purchases home, one bag splitting as soon as we left the car park, spilling shopping everywhere. This annoyed me, as you would expect and I vowed never to shop in ASDA again. Of course I will, but it just underlines why I shop at a particular outlet in the first place. It's not just about how much things cost, it's about the service you get and the attention you receive when you actually pay your bill. As a checkout operator, I am well versed in how to address members of the public. I have always worked in a retail environment so always treat customers how I would like to be treated. It really doesn't take a lot of energy to be polite and I am absolutely passionate about giving the best service I can, as I believe others should also!

So from an experience at the checkouts today I have rambled on about shopping long enough. This is what I love about blogging.....Sometimes it's the strangest situation that triggers a memory or gives one the motivation to write about a particular subject. Working in the retail sector gives me an valuable insight into the workings of a busy, supermarket, so when things go wrong while I am out shopping, I become more critical than I normally would. Running out of carrier bags is not the end of the World, but it is rather infuriating for the customer; I am proud to say it has never happened where I work and I hope it never happens again where I shop!

Today my partner and husband Darrell is celebrating his Birthday, at home in Australia. It is difficult being away from the person you love, especially at times of celebration, so today I thought I would speak briefly about our life together.

We met each other in 1995, whist Darrell was back packing around the UK, initially staying with friends in Newbury and later moving to Southampton. At first I didn't get on with this arrogant Ozzie and we rarely spoke, but gradually over time, we both became friends and later partners. When our relationship began twenty three years ago, we both ran away to Australia with just the clothes on our backs, establishing our relationship together. These were carefree, innocent times, happy days spent at first in London staying in the worst of hotels, with the happiest of memories, before we caught our flight to Perth, and finally Australia itself, a world away from the life I left behind!

We travelled from one side of the World to the other for a few years, eventually settling in Britain. I personally found it very difficult to adjust to Australian life and for twenty years we lived relatively happily in the UK. I say relatively, because our life was never really normal from the get go. Fighting successive Governments, to allow Darrell and I to remain together in the UK on a permanent basis, became a common aspect of our life. Deportation orders, Judicial Reviews and appeals to the Home Office, together with a change of Prime minister, eventually allowed us to stay together unhindered in 2001, after six years of battling.

During those 'bipolarcoaster' years we put much of our life on hold, unable to follow the careers we wanted, because of rules that prevented us from doing so. Both of us drifted from job to job, surviving and enjoying our new found freedoms. A combination of lifestyle and bullying, eventually opened the door for us to follow a new life in Spain. If we thought we battled in Britain, Spain was an altogether more intense period of hardship. The majority of the three years we spent living abroad we lived apart, as Darrell flew to and from Australia caring for his Mother, who was diagnosed with cancer a few months after our arrival.

We fought hard to stay in Spain, Darrell eventually obtaining his right to remain there, after returning indelibly in May 2017. For a while life was good; Darrell worked at Alicante Airport driving and I worked for a bar in Gran Alacant. This brief period of contentment didn't last like most things in our life, after the Spanish authorities threatened to remove his EU license, due to his Australian nationality. At this point we both decided enough was enough and I returned to the UK. Darrell remained in Spain to finish his employment contract and I began the process of reconnecting with family, after my Mother also fell seriously ill.

After four months Darrell returned to the UK before flying  to Australia to care for his ailing Mother, leaving me firmly rooted in Portsmouth, living with family, while my Mum also battles illness. We are both once again living apart for reasons beyond our control, but the enduring strength of longevity ensures we are very much a couple still, and will always be so.

As Darrell celebrates his Birthday with family in Australia, we are more self aware and comfortable with who we are than we ever have been. From a relationship that saw us together 24/7 for our first twenty years together,  to our current circumstances, forging our own unique ways in life independently, for now. The sense of achievement and satisfaction at our forbearance as a couple is palpable; I am proud of us and looking forward to a future that was born from adversity. We will survive because we have to, we are the sum of our own experiences because we have learned to, and we have a history behind us that dictates who we have become.

The milestones in our life our many, the journey is not yet over and I am looking forward to many more happy years together. Happy Birthday Darrell, all my love! x

It is feeling distinctly cold at the moment, winter has come to Portsmouth and I am starting to feel the chill. I haven't experienced a British winter since 2015 when I left to start my new life in Spain, so I am probably suffering more than most from the cold.

Of course when I moved to Gran Alacant I threw most of my winter clothes away, not needed in the hot Spanish sun. Moving back to the UK in May I disposed of the rest, in order to comply with the Flybe baggage allowance regulations, leaving me with just summer attire, certainly unsuitable for November in Britain.

In many respects I am beginning to remember just why I left the UK in the first place. As someone who suffers from mild Arthritis, I have started to experience the first twinges of pain, since my return, especially in my neck and hands, always a bad sign for me. On top of the the long winters here, Britain has been responsible for some particularly difficult periods of depression. The lack of natural light has proven to be a major factor in the ups and downs of my life at least. In Spain, the 320 days of sunshine, warm winters and hot summers did go a long way to helping me improve my state of mind and wellbeing; now I have to readjust once again to the cold, no mean feet after three years away. Walking to work in the dark, returning at night is not fun and recently I have been looking back with fondness at my time living in Gran Alacant.

Like most people in my position, having emigrated, now settled back home, it would be foolish to say everything was bad, living abroad. I did have some great times living on the Costa Blanca and met many wonderful people, but the truth is it was doomed to fail from day one. When one makes a decision to move to pastures new it should be for positive reasons, for us it was about running away from some very difficult times.

The winter in Spain was unbearable, a period I am glad to have left behind. The cold was equal to anything we have in the UK and although the days were warmer and more tolerable, the nights were bitter, especially inside. When I look back at my second winter in Gran Alacant I recall just how cold it was. We had no heating inside our poorly insulated home, so had to wrap up as best we could, using warm clothes and blankets. The houses were damp, with water frequently entering through windows and doors, especially when the weather was bad outside. The cost of heating even our small town house was cost prohibitive, especially during the winter months. Electricity prices were a third higher than they were in Britain and with houses on the Costa Blanca poorly constructed, the majority of the warmth generated through archaic heating methods, was lost through single glazed windows and ill fitting doors, cracks in concrete walls and large airy stair wells, only serviceable during the summer season.

Gran Alacant became a ghost town during the winter which only added to a sense of isolation and discontent. As we approach the festive season here in Portsmouth, I am suffering from the cold, as I did in the past, but the Christmas lights are up, the houses are warm and inviting, centrally heated, double glazed and comfortable, spacious and full to bursting with family life; I know where I would rather be!

Wherever you live in the World, there will always be pros and cons, but at this time of year I am so grateful for being home. My time as an Expat ran its course, because my country of birth offered more than Spain ever could. At my time of life I need to be around those I care about, away from the loneliness the the Costa's perpetuate during November to March. After the long hot summer, on my return home, I am finding it hard to finally readjust to British life, but surrounded by loved ones that task wont be as hard as it was living through winter in Spain, for that reason alone I am thankful!