Fuengirola

Fuengirola

The Ghouls of Calle Goya

Published by Owen Jones on 18 May 2020

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The Ghouls of Calle Goya book cover
The Ghouls of Calle Goya

International Translations

The Ghouls of Calle Goya

When malice results from good intentions!

by

Owen Jones

When Frank, a staid, middle-aged, confirmed bachelor takes his new, diplomat Thai bride to a friend’s apartment on the Costa del Sol for their dream honeymoon, they are in Nirvana… until the ghouls of a secret Scandinavian society torment the superstitious young woman to the point of seeking death to end her suffering. Frank is way out of his depth… What is he to do to save the first love of his life?

The Ghouls of Calle Goya

This novel, often called just Calle Goya is the perplexing story of how Evil can result from the happiest of circumstances and good intentions, and how madness can be the result.

It is based on a true story and is set in Norway, the UK, Spain and Thailand.

Calle Goya is available in several languages in several ebook formats (Barnes & Noble, GooglePlay, iTunes, Kindle, Kobo), paperback and possibly even audiobook (Amazon/Audible) too.

The cover is an original in crayon by Aliya.

Click a link below to learn more about the availability of the book in the language of your choice:

English   Norsk   Português   Español   Svenska

Daddy’s Hobby – The Story of Lek, A Bar Girl In Pattaya

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The Ghouls of Calle Goya – Audiobook

Published by Owen Jones on 17 April 2019

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The Ghouls of Calle Goya

The Ghouls of Calle Goya

The Ghouls of Calle Goya

When Malice Comes from Good Intentions

by

Owen Jones

Narrated by

Elizabeth Bray

Londoner Frank marries Joy, a beautiful young Thai, who works in town. She has always dreamed of going to the Costa del Sol, so they head to an apartment in Fuengirola on Calle Goya loaned by Frank’s boss for their dream honeymoon.

Things start to go wrong when Joy fears that the apartment is haunted. Fear leads to depression and deepens into terror. Frank has no idea what to do, except take her back to her family in Thailand, but that brings its own misfortune.

Life finally looks brighter because of the intervention of a secret Scandinavian society.

This is the story of how Evil can result from good intentions.

Free Audiobook

Free Audiobook

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Growing Old Abroad

Published by Owen Jones on 21 July 2018
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Growing Old Abroad

Growing Old Abroad

Growing Old Abroad

Old age creeps up on us, as does getting older in general. Parents regularly wonder what happened to their youth, and older people wonder why they hadn’t noticed it happening to them. These are common experiences, but when you have been growing old abroad, there are other factors.

Those who are growing old abroad probably only have elderly friends. More than likely, they don’t have younger family members around them as they would, if they had stayed at home (in Britain, for example).

That can make growing old abroad pretty difficult for an ex-pat, much more so than if they had stayed at home near their family.

This is quite obvious, but it still surprises most elderly people because they didn’t see it coming. It seems as if one day, they were frolicking on the beach, or at least going out for walks every day, and the next they were house-bound or in a wheelchair and lonely.

However, it is a very depressing experience that a lot of ex-pats growing old abroad will have to come to grips with one day.

Sex Matters

It is easier for a man in some ways. He can go to the pub, but many women will not do that alone. They tend to live longer than men too, giving them longer to have to cope with ever-deepening depression.

This now very common phenomenon of ex-pats growing old abroad is one of the reasons why Neem Jones established Fuengirola Home Help Services. It is meant to provide home help and companionship to those who need it – the elderly, the infirm, the house-bound and busy parents.

If you would like to discuss your requirements completely confidentially with Neem, please go to her Facebook page and click ‘Submit Message‘, which will give you the option to phone, email or Message her.

https://www.facebook.com/fuengirolahomehelp/

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All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Growing Old Abroad

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Thai Food in Fuengirola

Published by Owen Jones on 21 July 2018

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Thai Food in Fuengirola

Thai Food in Fuengirola

Thai Food in Fuengirola

I have been living and eating Thai food in Fuengirola for about a year, so I know the place fairly well. I also love Thai food. In fact, I lived in Thailand for thirteen years with my Thai wife and her family in a small, rice-farming village in the north.

So far, I have discovered four fully or partly Thai restaurants in Fuengirola and Los Boliches.

Mr Noodles: cooks some types of Thai food and Thai noodles from what I have seen, although I have not eaten there yet, because noodles are not my favourite food.

Padthaiwok: is located in the same street, opposite the bus station, as Mr. Noodles. It seems to be mostly noodles again, and so I have not eaten there, but my Thai wife has and she liked it. I did notice that they do not provide pork there and that it is Halal.

Srithai: is about two hundred yards opposite Padthaiwad in ‘Fish Alley’. I have eaten there and loved the food. I can vouch for the fact that it is authentic. The staff are very friendly too.

Thai Lanna: this restaurant is located in Los Boliches. I have eaten here too and it is my favourite in the area. The food is fantastic and the decor made my wife cry one day when she was feeling particularly homesick.

I have been told that there is another in Los Boliches on beach road near the border with Fuengirola. My wife went looking for it one evening, but failed to find it.

The other thing that I want to say about the above restaurants is that the staff are either mostly or completely Thai. The waiters are often local, but the cooks are Thai.

Give them a try. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

** Breaking news! There is now a Thai home catering service active in Fuengirola and Los Boliches. I have tried their food too and it is authentic and delicious Thai cuisine cooked by Thai ladies. They will either cook for you in your home or pub for your special occasion or cook in their homes and deliver it. See Thai Home Catering Services in Fuengirola on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThaiCateringInFuengirola/ **

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All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Thai Food in Fuengirola

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A Lonely Night in Fuengirola

Published by Owen Jones on 4 April 2018
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A Lonely Night in Fuengirola

A Lonely Night in Fuengirola

A Lonely Night in Fuengirola

I wasn’t happy that night – an argument with the wife, or possibly a misunderstanding… she is Thai, I am Welsh and I know for certain that we still don’t fully understand one another, even after fifteen years.

So, I went for a walk around the town where I live, Fuengirola.

My first encounter was with a young man and his female companion blocking the pavement. They were asking an Indian shopkeeper directions and he was struggling to explain in English.

“Can I help?” I offered.

“No, fuck off! We don’t need any help”, came the reply in a broad Irish accent proving that he was a liar as well as rude and ignorant. The woman looked at me apologetically, and I walked on by.

Musing on that experience, I called into Geordie’s new bar (he is a friend I have mentioned before – Coast to Coast) under Las Rampas. As I sat there, I watched people playing pool.

And this is amazing to me… a man broke and went in off. His opponent pointed at the black and proceded to put his seven balls and the black down ON A FULL TABLE in two or three minutes.

I was astounded! It was the best pool-playing I had ever seen in my forty-five years of hanging around bars.

Anyway, a younger man challenged him after about ten minutes, and, God’s honest truth, made him look like a novice! He had five balls left on the table at the end of the game!

A little while later, I got talking to a bloke, and he said that a lot of the Spanish international pool team meet there to practice…

So, if you like pool, call into Geordie’s and maybe you too will be lucky enough to see something like I did.

I watched every game untill kick-out, and then started walking home. It was around midnight.

The walk home was not uneventful, it is nice to be offered the company of pretty, young ladies, although I declined, and arrived home in a far better disposition than I had left.

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and list of audiobooks

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: A Lonely Night In Fuengirola

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The Weather on The Costa del Sol

Published by Owen Jones on 5 February 2018
Playa de Calahonda, Costa del Sol
Costa del Sol

The Weather on The Costa del Sol

The weather on The Costa del Sol is quite legendary in the UK. In Scandinavia too, which is the biggest reason why people from those countries flock here in such vast numbers. (One of the others being the relatively low cost of living).

The Costa del Sol faces Morocco on the Maghreb in north Africa across only 14 kilometres of Mediterranean Sea, which is less than nine miles!

Admittedly, I had never spent a Christmas here before 2017, but this was my second January, and I have been coming here off-season for decades. In fact, many people do come here for the festive season to avoid the weather and expense at home.

Well, it has been cold this season. At the time of writing, 10:30 am in February 2018, the weather in Fuengirola is 2c (Real Feel -1c).

-1c!

People, even residents, are talking about how bitter the weather is around here. Fuengirola is in Andalucía – holiday resort! So, I should imagine that there are quite a few holiday-makers who wished they had stayed at home!

There is no real wind to speak of, nine mph, and it is not raining… it is just freakishly cold. If I didn’t think I knew better, I would say that it is about to snow.

That would be something, wouldn’t it!? Snow on the Costa del Sol – The Sun Coast?

“It has happened before”, one of my long-term resident Brit friends tells me, “but the last time was twenty years ago”.

Well, if I were a betting man, and if there were any betting offices around here, I would put a couple of pounds on the weather on Andalucía turning to snow over the next couple of days.

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All the best,

Owen

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Thai-Lanna Restaurant, Los Boliches

Published by Owen Jones on 21 August 2017
Thai-Lanna, Los Boliches, Fuengirola
Thai-Lanna, Los Boliches, Fuengirola

Thai-Lanna Restaurant, Los Boliches, Fuengirola

**UPDATE** There are no Thais working here now and the owner still owes wages from August 2017 – AVOID!!!

The Thai-Lanna Restaurant is situated at Calle Francisco Cano 80, which is the third street back from the sea in Los Boliches, a suburb of Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol in south-eastern Spain. It is open Monday to Saturday from seven until eleven p.m. but the closing time is flexible (and the staff arrive at six) and if you ring +34 952 587 139, ask for Jose before Sunday, he may open for you on their day off.

The decor in the Thai-Lanna is exquisite – there is no other word for it. When I took my homesick Thai wife there, she kept touching the woodwork and artefacts murmuring: “Oh, this is real Thai!’ She must have said it twenty times before our food arrived.

There is a wide selection of food and I can vouch for the fact that it is authentic Thai too, because I know the two chefs. They are both middle-aged Thai ladies who grew up in Thailand, and in Thailand, ALL females (and most men) learn to cook from a very early age. In addition to that, I lived in a northern Thai village for thirteen years.

Needless to say, but I will anyway, as this is a review, the food was superb.

The name of the restaurant needs some explanation, but I will jump to the second word first, ‘Lanna’, which is actually two words, but Thai does not leave spaces between words. “Lan” means a million, and ‘Na” means rice field(s), since Thai does not use plurals. So, Lanna means “The Land of a Million Rice Fields”, which was a kingdom stretching across northern Thailand and beyond between about 1292 and 1607. “Thai” means free, so Thailand is the land of the free, and Thais are “The Free People’.

Give the Thai-Lanna Restaurant a try, you will not find a better or more authentic northern-Thai style, which is not as hot as the food from Isaan or the south west, although if you want it hot, just tell the waitress. Those ladies in the kitchen can cook anything Thai.

Five Stars out of Five.

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Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

Published by Owen Jones on 30 July 2017
Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola and Los Boliches
Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola and Los Boliches

Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola have launched!

The Three Lions in Fuengirola is now offering authentic Thai Sweet Green Curry made by Neem of the above-mentioned company in Fuengirola and Los Boliches.

Nick and Luke of the Three Lions took delivery of two of Neem’s home-made Thai meals this week, so they are now offering Kaeng Kiouw Wan (Thai Sweet Green Curry) and rice and Pom Pia (Spring Rolls) the latter with Thailand’s most popular accompaniment to Pom Pia, a hot and sweet sauce.

Thai Catering Services

When asked about the range of food she can provide, she said: ‘I can cook any Thai food you want to order, but at the moment, I have selected eight of Thailand’s most famous and popular traditional dishes. I have chosen to prepare them with chicken because it is the least likely meat to offend, but I can adapt the recipes for pork, beef or prawns if someone wants it. The same with the Spring Rolls. My standard Spring Rolls are vegetarian, but I can easily add meat or prawns if people want’.

Why not pop into the Three Lions this evening to sample the ambience and Neem’s traditional, authentic Thai cuisine, or give her a call and arrange for your own order to be delivered to your premises?

You can find out more about what Neem has to offer on her Facebook pages here:

Fuengirola Home Help Services

Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

All the best,

Owen

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Dead Centre by Owen Jones

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The Three Lions – Fuengirola

Published by Owen Jones on 5 July 2017

Three Lions - Fuengirola

Three Lions – Fuengirola

The Three Lions – Fuengirola

The Three Lions is fairly large pub in Reyes Catolicos, a street in north Fuengirola about fifty metres from the beach. It is not far from Los Boliches and easy to find on the Internet, which will give you more precise directions on how to get to it.

The Three Lions is owned and run by two British brothers, Luke and Nick, who, if not behind the bar, are usually to be found on the small square outside, which they share with the restaurant next door ‘Just Ribs’.

This is handy, because although the Three Lions is a well-stocked bar, they are not able to provide much in the way of food yet. Their temporary solution is to allow their clientele to order something to eat from next door, or the pizzeria or chip shop near-by, which will deliver.

Nick and Luke are also in negotiation with Neem of Thai Catering Services to provide authentic Thai food (see her details elsewhere on this blog or her page on Facebook). I will keep you informed about how that pans out.

The Three Lions is basically a sports bar, but it is not obtrusively so. Not being particularly sports-orientated myself, I would call it a music bar, because, despite the three large flat-screen TV’s showing sport, the two pool tables and the dartboard, and the competitions and leagues they are in, the two brothers can answer any question on music you care to fire at them. Their knowledge on the subject is quite impressive!

The clientele is mixed. People of all ages and both sexes go there, both expats and holidaymakers. Their nationalities are also varied, with British and Scandinavians making up the majority, followed by Spaniards and Moroccans. Being situated so close to the sea, many customers often take a break from the bar to go for a dip in the water, and many sunbathers pop in for refreshments. This means that casual is the dress mode at all times 🙂

The Three Lions is not open all day, but usually is from about five till twelve or one, when you will find young and old wandering in and out or enjoying a game of pool, which many of them take pretty seriously.

Why not pop along and join in the fun one evening, I am sure you wont regret it. Say, you read about them on my blog for an extra warm welcome, and if I hear you say that, I will say ‘Hello’ as well 🙂

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All the best,

Owen

Podcast: The Three Lions, Fuengirola

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Fuengirola and Los Boliches

Published by Owen Jones on 3 July 2017 1

Fuengirola and Los Boliches

Fuengirola and Los Boliches

Fuengirola and Los Boliches

It is my pleasure to introduce to the residents of, and the holidaymakers in, Fuengirola and Los Boliches, Pranom Jones, better known as Neem. Neem is a Thai lady who moved to Fuengirola with her husband in January 2017, and is now keen to take part in the local community.

Neem is offering two separate types of services to the folk in Fuengirola and Los Boliches. They are, in essence, home help and Thai catering, but I will explain them in more detail below.

Fuengirola Home Help Services

Fuengirola Home Help Services is about caring. Neem is learning Spanish, but currently speaks only Thai and English. However, there are many elderly expats and young English-speaking families in Fuengirola and Los Boliches, who might want to use Neem’s home help services.

Neem is offering to cook, clean, shop, walk the dog, push the wheelchair and be a companion, do the gardening and the laundry, or anything else of this nature. She can also babysit, pick up the kids from school or just keep them amused until you get home.

If you would like to talk to her about this sort of thing in complete confidence, please use the button on her Facebook page here:

Fuengirola Home Help Services

Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

In this business, Neem is offering to cater for private parties in people’s own homes. She is a Thai chef par excellence, and will prepare the Thai food of your choice, with aqdvice from her, if you want, from start to wherever you want. She can do the shopping, prepare and cook the food in her or your own home and leave you to serve it, or she can do that too.

So, if you are looking for a meal with a difference, hot or not so hot, plan it with Neem.

Contact her using the button on her Facebook page here:

Thai Catering in Fuengirola

You will find Neem easy to talk to and very caring. She wants to help – it is one of the first things you will notice about her.

PS: if you own a bar and would like to use Neem’s catering services, that is possible too, just as her babysitting service is available to hoteliers.

Just contact her and ask, she will find a way.

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Fuengirola and Los Boliches

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Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

Published by Owen Jones on 24 June 2017 1

Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

The lady behind Fuengirola Home Help Services, Pranom Jones, better known as Neem, today launched a new service to add to her already impressive array – home Thai catering services in Fuengirola and Los Boliches.

“Thai food is widely acknowledged to be one of the best cuisines in the world,” said Neem with an air of pride, and I have been cooking it, village style, since I was a schoolgirl! Every day of my life for about forty years!”

“I can cook real Thai style for those that want it that way, and basically I am talking about hot, but perfectly spiced, or I can tone it down a bit, as I have been doing for my British husband of fifteen years, but still retain the authenticity of the Thai meal”.

“It all depends on what the client wants. I can cook any Thai dish – from the north, south, centre or Isaan, because I come from the north, but worked in the south with many people from Isaan and the more commercial centre”.

When asked about the details, Neem replied, “The easiest for me, is to walk into a fully stocked kitchen with the food that I have bought to cook the meal. However, I understand that not every bar has cooking facilities or even a license to cook, so in those circumstances, I am willing to cook in my house and deliver it. I am very flexible, just call and see what we can work out…. satisfaction and authenticity is guaranteed… I only left Thailand a few months ago and I have been cooking Thai all my life.

“I want people in Fuengirola to realise that Thai country cooking is fantastic, but that they do not have to burn the skin off their tongues to appreciate it. Ask my husband, he eats the milder version”.

If you would like to know more about Neem’s Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola and Los Boliches, please head over to her Facebook page and contact her on the following page:

Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

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All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Thai Catering Services in Fuengirola

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Working Abroad in Fuengirola

Published by Owen Jones on 20 June 2017

Working Abroad in Fuengirola

Working Abroad in Fuengirola

Working Abroad in Fuengirola

Often, it seems that everything takes longer when living abroad, and this can make you really short of time when you are also working abroad. For example, in Britain, we tend to work for eight hours straight from eight or nine a.m, whereas in southern Spain, like the Costa del Sol, most people work from nine or ten until two p.m. and then from five until nine, which ties you up for twelve hours a day.

The locals on the Costs del Sol grew up with the system and it suits them, but it often leaves northern Europeans wondering where the day went!

Twelve hours tied up with work and eight hours sleep only leaves four hours for shopping, cooking, socialising, sport and everything else.

The ‘relaxed’ southern Spanish lifestyle leaves many Brits and other northern Europeans feeling exhausted.

This is what led Neem Jones to set up Fuengirola Home Help Services – a new business covering Fuengirola and Los Boliches.

Fuengirola Home Help Services provides mature ladies to help around the home and garden, so that busy working people have more time to enjoy themselves.

Fuengirola Home Help Services provides assistance with: children, caring, cooking, cleaning, gardening, companionship, house-, dog- and baby-sitting, shopping, although any normal household or family activities will be considered.

If you would like to book a meeting with Neem Jones to discuss your requirements, it can be done through her business’ Facebook, Fuengirola Home Help Services:

https://www.facebook.com/fuengirolahomehelp/

Neem Jones says that she will take on any type of home help, but she is particularly interested in becoming involved with children and the infirm or house-bound, because she is a people person.

So, if you are working abroad in Fuengirola and feeling a bit frazzled, get in touch with Neem and let her give you some of your life back.

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All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Working Abroad in Fuengirola

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Fuengirola Home Help Services

Published by Owen Jones on 18 June 2017

Fuengirola Home Help Services

Fuengirola Home Help Services

Fuengirola Home Help Services

There is a new Home Help Service in Fuengirola, called, not surprisingly, the Fuengirola Home Help Services. It is run by Neem Jones, a Thai lady who is living on the Costa del Sol with her British husband of fifteen years, the Welsh writer, Owen Jones.

“I have always had a special interest in helping those who cannot care for themselves”, she said, “People such as children, the sick, the aged and the infirm. After all, they deserve a decent life too, they just need a little help to achieve it”.

“In Thailand, it is quite normal for women of my age to take care of their parents, elderly relatives and their grandchildren”, she added, “and I would like to do the same thing here in the area where I live in Spain on the Costa del Sol”.

When asked whether not speaking Spanish might be a problem, Neem replied, “It can be, if people want it to, but I have been here a year, now and it never has been yet, although we have had a few amusing misunderstandings. That’s all right though, having a laugh is mostly what it’s all about, isn’t it? Life can be so boring when you can’t get out to meet people”.

When asked for further details about her new venture, she supplied the following information:

Neem said that she speaks Thai and English, but is learning Spanish and the services that she is offering at the moment are those to do with running a household. When pressed, she said: cooking, cleaning, laundry; baby-sitting, caring for the house-bound including taking them out; shopping, picking up the kids from school, gardening, running errands and anything else that is considered ‘normal’.

Neem explained that she didn’t want any ‘problems or misunderstandings’ with single gentlemen, so she would prefer not to work for them, unless they came recommended by an existing friend.

“It would be nice if we could set up an on line community so that the house-bound can keep in touch. In, fact, I have started doing that with a closed Facebook Group, which is attached to my business’ page on Facebook. Friends, or clients, if you like, and their friends and family will all be welcome to join and take part”.

“I live near to the border of Fuengirola with Los Boliches very near to the sea,” she added, “and since I don’t have any transport, I know that area the best… well, we have lived from Las Lagunas to where we are now, but often walk in Los Boliches, so that would be where I would like to work, but I am open to any request”, she said cheerfully.

If you want to contact Neem, you can do so through her Facebook page Fuengirola Home Help  Services, which also carries her email address and telephone number.

“I just want to bring a smile to people’s faces as I help them,” said Neem, “but I have to charge for it to be able to live here too”.

When asked what sort of clientele she was expecting, she replied: “Anyone who needs help, but I expect most of them to be retirees… retired ex-pats living or holidaying in Fuengirola and Los Boliches, but it could just as easily be a busy, working family… perhaps with children”.

Click here to contact Neem at Fuengirola Home Help Services:

Fuengirola Home Help Services

All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Fuengirola Home Help Services

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Fair of the Peoples – Day Four

Published by Owen Jones on 1 May 2017

Groote Halle at the Fair of the Peoples

Groote Halle at the Fair of the Peoples

Fair of the Peoples – Day Four

Update: it rained heavily from Thursday evening until late Saturday night, so we didn’t leave our apartment for two days. This morning, I was aroused from my zombie-like state, induced by my daily advertising routine, by a passing band, so we went outside to see what was ascertaining. It was part of the Dutch contingent of the Fair of the Peoples in Fuengirola, so we followed it up onto the market place where the fair is being held.

It was about a hundred times busier than when we were there on Thursday afternoon!

My wife loves that sort of thing – music of different kinds blaring from every doorway, hundreds of smells of different cuisines, and thousands of people milling around seemingly lost, because most people were in small groups that took three steps forward, two steps backward and then stopped suddenly to debate for five minutes where to go next.

In an effort to give my wife something physical to remember the fair by, I suggested she try a bratwurst from the German site. The bratwurst kiosk was outside the bar, so we took a place at one of the counters. There was about 45 foot of selling counter and it was three-four people deep. There were two guys cooking hundreds of sausages at two six-foot diameter woks or skillets, two others opening boxes of bread rolls and sausages and about four more serving, and still they could not keep up with the demand. It was incredible, but the six or seven-inch bratwurst in eight-inch rolls were such good value at 4€ that they could have doubled their sales team and still not have been able to cope.

We waited fifteen minutes and left – sadly without having come even close to being served.

It was a nightmare for me. I cannot understand how any living beings except swarming insects, pick-pockets or drunken teenage boys can find any pleasure in it.

However, that is my problem, and I wish for my wife’s sake that I was able to enjoy it with her, because she has no-one else here to go with, but it is beyond me. I get angry and stroppy – it is a failing, I know, and I am trying to deal with it.

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All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Fair of the Peoples – Day Four

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Fair of the Peoples – Fuengirola 2017

Published by Owen Jones on 28 April 2017

Fair of the Peoples

Fair of the Peoples

Fair of the Peoples – Fuengirola 2017

We went to the 2017 Fair of the Peoples in Fuengirola yesterday just hours after it opened. It was already quite busy, as the photo shows, despite it being Thursday afternoon, during the Siesta time.

The idea of the Fair of the Peoples is to shine a spotlight on the peoples of the various countries of the world and showcase their different cultures and cuisines.

Of course, not every country was represented, but dozens were. I am Welsh – British – so I naturally looked out for our ‘bar’, but there was nothing for Wales, Scotland or England or even the UK. Ireland did have a large representation though. I was later told that the Fuengirola council wanted 10,000 Euros for a UK bar, and no-one was prepared to pay it.

Neem in the Thai bar Fair of the People 2017

Neem in the Thai bar Fair of the People 2017

My wife is Thai, and there was a Thai bar. When I say ‘bar’, I mean a small, four-walled building with a roof, which houses a bar, a kitchen, a shop and a dance floor. The countries put on various typical cultural events inside, which are free to enter. There was authentic Thai food and bottled Thai beer in the Thai bar.

I remember seeing bars for Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Ireland, Mexico, Paraguay and the USA, but there were dozens more. The atmosphere was very up-beat and enthusiastic, reminiscent of carnival.

There was also a fair ground with a large Ferris wheel, dodgems, merry-go-rounds and stalls. Candy Floss, hamburgers and hot dogs abounded!

The weather today, 24-hours after our visit, is dreadful. The worst for months! It hasn’t stopped raining for twenty hours, so that is a real shame. Tomorrow, Saturday, there will be a procession around town, and my wife was asked to help represent Thailand in traditional Thai costume, which one of the other women can provide.

I hope that the weather has cleared up for them by then, although it shouldn’t affect the activities inside the various countries’ bars.

*** Update*** I have just read on the official website for the XXIII rd. Fair of the Peoples that the parade has been cancelled due to a ‘Yellow Rain Alert’.

You can find out more here: http://www.fipfuengirola.com/fip17.htm

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All the best,

Owen

Podcast: Fair of the Peoples

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Lizarran Bar, Fuengirola

Published by Owen Jones on 4 April 2017

Lizarran Bar

Lizarran Bar

Lizarran Bar, Fuengirola

It was our ninth wedding anniversary and our first one in Spain, but my wife wasn’t sure that she wanted to go out to celebrate it. We dithered the whole day long, but at about six p.m. we checked what time it would get dark (about eight thirty) and left for the city centre ten minutes walk away.

The basis of our decision to go out to eat was that we would find ‘somewhere nice’ and spend about fifty Euros. We passed several likely candidates situated around the church, but settled on the Lizarran Bar for a drink and a think.

A very nifty-looking waiter, who introduced himself as Eduardo, brought us our drinks and said, “I would like to give you some tapas. OK?”

We love tapas, and they are still common in local Spanish bars in Fuengirola, so we agreed, and the most elaborate tapas arrived a few minutes later.

They were gorgeous – ham and cream cheese on small cobs topped off with green olives. We were delighted, and Eduardo kept them coming.

No two rounds of tapas were the same, and cold soups (not gazpacho, I was assured) were served as well. Two rounds and fourteen servings later, we decided to head off for a restaurant.

Eduardo presented us with a bill for 31€

Well, we had got wind that the tapas were going to have to cost us something, but most of them were pretty basic, and I had guessed 50¢ to 1€ each. We were stunned when we realised that they cost 1.90€ each, especially when Eduardo had definitely said, ‘i want to give you…”

We left feeling deflated, disappointed and a little conned. We had the money to still go for our anniversary meal, but our hearts were no longer in it.

“It is a new style of dining!” Eduardo had told us proudly when I complimented him on the quality of the tapas, but a string of tapas will never beat a three-course meal, and we will never go back to the Lizarran Bar again.

They ruined our ninth wedding anniversary. You could say that we were naive, stupid or greedy, and there is a case for that, but “I want to give you” can have only one meaning to me and it is not “I want to sell you…”

Not a nice experience, but at least you will be aware if you choose to go the Lizarran Bar in Fuengirola.

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All the best

Owen

Podcast: the Lizarran Bar, Fuengirola

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Buensol Bar – Fuengirola

Published by Owen Jones on 3 April 2017

Bar Buensol, Fuengirola

Bar Buensol, Fuengirola

Bar Buensol, Fuengirola

The Bar Buensol is situated not far from where we live on Calle Salvador Rodriguez Navas, which runs from the Policia Local down to the beach. It is approximately two hundred yards from the sea, but it could be two hundred miles – it would not alter the atmosphere, I think.

We have been using the Buensol for about a month now, as it is en route to the local supermarket, and makes a convenient stopping-off point when walking back with the shopping!

That’s my excuse anyway, and I’m sticking to it.

The Buensol is not a tourist bar; it does not play music and the age group is thirty to eighty. It is basically a bar for locals. However, by that I do not mean that it is only for Spanish people. Far from it, but it is just a good, rock-solid, no messing about, local bar. A few expat Brits use it occasionally, but that is neither here nor there.

The basic reason why my wife and I like the Buensol is its friendliness – or that of its staff and customers anyway. On top of that, the food is good, the beer is good and the prices are good.

What more could you want? And if you say ‘the sea’ (and all that that entails), well, it is just five minutes walk.

The bar is owned or and managed by a Spanish man named Steven. He speaks English and is very friendly and helpful and the cooks are excellent.

The Buensol also has free WiFi, and if you want to learn Spanish in a more controlled environment, I have seen small informal classes being taught there. I am sure that Steven could tell you the dates and times, although they appear to be run by an expat British woman.

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All the best,

Owen

PS: I made this review off my own bat without being asked to or rewarded.

You can reach Steven on: 952 47 21 81

Podcast: Bar Buensol, Fuengirola

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Pizzeria La Perla

Published by Owen Jones on 30 March 2017

Pizzeria La Perla

Pizzeria La Perla

Pizzeria La Perla

Last night, while walking home, we decided to try the pizzeria located on Calle Salvador Rodriguez Navas, which is about a hundred metres from our apartment in Fuengirola. For those who don’t know the area well, it is almost opposite the local police station.

We had been wondering about the place for a few weeks, but at that moment, the time was right, so we went in. The most obvious thing about Pizzeria La Perla is that it is a tiny establishment. There is not room for more than four people between the counter and the pavement and the chef is a metre the other side. When we were there, it was a young woman, and everything that she does is in full view from rolling out the dough and putting on the toppings to baking it.

It is run and, I presume, owned by Moroccans, but the unusual thing for me was that they all spoke English. When I spent time in Morocco forty years ago, no-one did!

Anyway, I got talking to the manager/owner, Salam, and found him to be very friendly, as were the chef and the delivery staff. We talked about Saidia, a place that I had spent some time in and where he came from.

There is a wide choice of toppings, but we chose the Mexican, because my Thai wife misses hot food. Salam pointed out that each of the fifteen set pizzas comes with a complementary drink, and my wife chose Coke Cola. I must emphasise that they made my wife feel very welcome; something that I appreciate because she is gregarious and we have no friends here yet.

Anyway, we walked the three minutes home and ate the pizza. It was on a par with any pizza I have ever had, and I was sent to get another one. This time I chose a Marinara and a tin of beer to drink while we chatted as the food was cooking. It was ready before I had half-finished the tin!

We will be using the Pizzeria La Perla much more often in the future and I recommend it to anyone who lives or is staying in Fuengirola.

I want to make it clear, that I have written this review of xxx without payment or consent from Salam or anyone else at the Pizzeria La Perla. Contact details are below:

Tel: 951 07 55 71

Please tell them that you saw this article.

Thanks,

Owen.

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