Back After a Three Year Absence

It’s getting on for three years since I last put anything on these pages, an awful record, and something of which I am deeply ashamed. You’d be forgiven for thinking that we’d done nothing in the past three years but on the contrary we’ve been very busy, and that is partly the reason why I’ve not blogged.

The other reasons are wide and varied.

I’ve been constantly frustrated with the Brexit disaster unfolding in my home country and disgusted at the rise of nationalism that has gone hand in glove with it. It makes me shudder the way that you hear of foreign nationals being treated by some of my fellow countrymen and politicians, especially when the people of Galicia and Spain have been so welcoming to us in the six and a half years since we moved here. It’s ‘done and dusted’ now, the UK will have to make the best of it, while we will stop ordering items from home due to the prohibitive taxes and fees, and consider applying for Spanish citizenship once we are allowed to in five years’ time.

Over the last year coronavirus has ravaged the globe and while we’ve been on the periphery of everything in our rural idyll, I understand that my posting photos and stories of live as usual may have not been what many wanted to see. We have had virus cases in our small village, and we have been incredibly careful with who we meet and what we do, but I know we’ve got off very lightly.

As the building works intensified, I had an increasing desire to keep things to myself until the ‘big reveal’. It has not been all plain sailing, coronavirus, the cost of materials, the availability of tradesmen and an increasing need to do a lot of the work myself has meant that progress has been slow.

Where are we now?

We have two ‘finished’ apartments. The heating system needs to be installed and some of the taps and drains need connecting up, but apart from that it is simply a matter of furnishing the downstairs (upstairs is totally finished), installing a few lights, and giving the whole place a good clean. We need to apply for the relevant tourist licenses, tidy up the outside suitable for a soft launch, and get ready to open and receive our first guests.

So why am I blogging again now?

I’ve a couple of ulterior motives which I must confess to.

We have launched our apartments website, very much in it’s rudimentary form, and you can find it at www.casalineiras.es. As time moves on we will add photos to tempt you, and details on availability and we look forward to seeing you once the worldwide coronavirus situation improves and international travel is back on the agenda.

I’ve also had another little business idea to make use of some of the skills and knowledge which I have picked up along the way. I am offering my services, on an hourly basis, to look after your property in Galicia. This could be grounds maintenance, regular checks for problems and resolving them, overseeing renovations works, helping you to source and commission such works, or if you are new to the area, helping you to shortlist and select a property from an independent viewpoint. You can find more information at www.ourmaningalicia.com and I’d be happy to discuss how I can help you.

I will endeavour to start writing more frequent blogs to tell you a little of what I’ve been up to in recent months and share some photos and experiences.

Thanks for your patience, hope to see you very soon.