5. The weather seems to be on the turn

We have had an incredible Summer this year but like all good things it must come to an end eventually, after weeks of glorious sunshine and at times unbearable heat it looks as though the weather is now on the turn. I think the weather buffs call it changeable which to me means they have no idea what it is going to do next. In the last few days we have had torrential rain, high winds and lower temperatures so low that on two mornings we actually put the heating back on!! and also a warm sunny day or two but nothing like what has gone before. I t is almost as if we now only have two seasons a year, Summer and Winter.

As I type this both Lorni and I are holding our breaths as tomorrow our potential buyers surveyor is coming round if that all goes off without a hitch then we should be on the move within six weeks, if there is a problem then we are going to just auction this place off and get the hell out we both want to be out of here before Christmas! On a more pleasant note the insurance company has paid out on my accident on my Yamaha Diversion 900 I am now in the process of finishing off my old Harley I have now got her in a"go"state.

I still have a lot of work to do on her before she is sold but at least I am getting there, my son has rung me to say that he now has the money to enter the Hot Rod Drags at Santa Pod Raceway in the middle of September so a little more work on that front is required and it will mean another weekend away time I can't really afford but on the other hand I don't want to miss it either. My grandson Joe has just returned form a three week trip to Canada and has come home to his GCSE results and he just about smashed it, 1 "A" 3 "A*" and one Distinction well done Joe I would like to bet my Daughter KT is one very proud mum

4. A weekend racing

Everything is starting to get on top of me now, I am in constant pain with my back and now my teeth are playing up big time, I went to see my dentist a while back and the first thing he told was to go and see a gum specialist as my gums are in a bad way and there is no point in doing any work on my teeth if they are all going to fall out soon. So I went and saw the specialist and she was great, she told me that one of my blood pressure pills was causing the problem and that I need to see my Doc and get them changed for a more modern alternative and then she will sort out the damage done to my gums using a laser, the only drawback tot his is...yep the cost I have to find £1600 to fund this, I will do it as I don't want to lose anymore of what's left of my teeth.

So to help stop worrying about all this I decided to go racing with my son, I gave over all driving duties and the financial problems of racing to Steve so it would make a change to watch him race rather than getting stressed about getting in and out of my race suit etc.

All in all a good weekend Steve won two trophy's one for coming 4th overall from 22 teams and one for the best reaction time. I came home Sunday evening to be told by Lorni that the people who have put in an offer on the house now want a full structural survey done..hmm that my throw a spanner in the works, time will tell if that falls through then this place is going to be auctioned off.

This morning, Tuesday, I had to get up early and take Lorni tot he train station so she can get to work, then it was a case of get home and load Beth's stuff in the car and take her back her place then get home and walk our incredible dog Harry.

Harry is heading for  7 years old and he is a lurcher a cross between a Greyhound and a Border Collie he is my best friend and my constant companion  and boy does he have a personality, I am never sure on who is training who to do what with him but what I do know is life would be bloody boring without him and of course I take him out at least 3 times a day so he is my personnel trainer as well so to speak. On a more upbeat note I have been contacted by my insurance company reference my bike accident, they have written my Yamaha off and have offered me exactly what I insured the bike for so can't complain, the money will be in my account any day now less the excess.

I sit here nearly every day of my life dreaming about my new life in Spain ad just when we think it is touching distance something always seems to go wrong, both Lorni and I are getting fed up with the lost time so might have to push things along a bit soon as there is no way I am spending another Winter in the UK and as I already said I am not waiting to see what Brexit brings tot he UK as anyone with half a brain cell knows we were conned into voting to leave and we need to remains I do hope common sense prevails in the end or I can see no future for my Country

3. Can't come quick enough!

One of the most awful things in life is to see someone you love suffering, my poor Lorni has suffered more than most over the last few years and none of it through her own fault, everyone knows what her daughter and ex has put her through and what that did to her mental health but then while she was away from work she was blamed for something that wasn't her fault but the powers to be didn't think she was going to return to work so they used her as a scapegoat.

My gorgeous wife is now suffering from joint pain, she has arthritis in her fingers her shoulder and even worse her knees. After an operation to remove part of her cartilage having waited nearly 6 months, things have gotten worse. Courses of Physiotherapy, Acupuncture and pain killing injections into her knee have resulted in deteriorating physical mobility and increase in pain levels, what she needs of course is a knee replacement and even if she can get referred there is a two year wait!!!! this is unacceptable. In the meantime she continues to  struggle to work with knee splints and crutches, she is my hero.

Our plan for moving to Spain was for Lorni to complete her work contract until she is 55 and then join me in Spain but! with all this pain I have told her that as soon as we sell up she will come with us take early retirement and we will pay to get her knee sorted so she can start to enjoy life again. So we wee over the moon the weekend before last when we were offered what we considered to be a great price for this house our hopes went up but and isn't there always a but! the offer fell through as the couple who wanted to buy this house lost the sale on their place.

As you can imagine our hopes were dashed yet again we felt low very low and then the Estate Agent phoned us to arrange viewings for two more families one of which put in an offer and even though it was a bit lower than our first offer we accepted as we just want to get out of here and of course get Lorni's health sorted. Talking of health I was sent to a gum specialist a few weeks back as one of the medications I am taking for hyper tension has caused problems with my gums which I need to get sorted before anymore work is done to save my teeth, so as always its never boring in this house.

The need to leave the UK is even more required than ever and in that vain we continue to pack and throw things away that we no longer need and therein lies another problem what I think needs throwing and keeping is a mile away from what Lorni thinks needs throwing or keeping, this has of course lead to some serious discussions, that's a nice way to put it and eventually we compromise, so we just  keep on packing and hoping.

Now while all this is going on one of the other things that I am trying to do is to start to learn a new language, while I was at school all those y ears ago we had French language lessons and I always found the grammar not just difficult but downright silly this was mainly due tot he fact that we and by "we" I mean the kids who were at school with me were the first not to be taught English grammar so to learn another language well we had no hope I got an "A"in French "Absent" but now I have to really try and get my head round it.

Well you never know

While all this packing and learning is going on I still have a garage to empty, I have loads of radio controlled planes to get rid of various bicycles that over the years the kids have outgrown, and then there is all my tools to sort out as I am not leaving them behind, I have to try and sell the planes and bikes and give away all my home wine making gear and then I can finish off sorting out my Harley and get her ready for sale it looks as if my Yamaha's future has been decided by the insurance company.

I wouldn't say we are ready to move yet but we are getting there and I am sure if this offer sticks then all of this packing sorting and selling stuff with speed up, and as anyone who has moved house before knows it can be very stressful even more so when you are about to leave the Country as well, we keep plodding on!

2. So why Spain and why Valencia?

Why did we end up buying a house where we did? well lets start with me first, after years of trying to get me to go "abroad" my then wife Helen managed after a few small trips to Holland to agree to go on holiday to Spain this was back in 1992 or 3. She had booked us into a holiday village on the Costa Brava called "La Ballena Alegra" We took our own camping gear with us and we had a great time, the place is still there just click on the link. It has changed a bit since we were last there but I loved it, I loved the location, I fell in love with the Mediterranean Sea and the people and the way of life, Over the years we re-visited the area many times using other centres for our stay. We have many happy memories of our times in Spain so much so the kids, I know they are all grown up now but I still call them kids, would love to go back in fact two years ago Lorni and I went back to our favourite Holiday Village "Castell Montgri" in the same area with my eldest Grandson Joe and step Daughter Bethany.

The main pool at Castell Montgri

Lorni and Joe at the Olympic Stadium Barcelona

Now Lorni has spent far more time in Spain mainly in Madrid with her "Spanish" family who didn't speak English so Lorni learnt Spanish at an early age, her late Father Len also spoke Spanish and spent a of of time in Spain. So it is no surprise to learn that Lorni wanted to retire to Spain. I don't think that sums up Lorni's passion for Spain, Lorni lives, eats and drinks Spain, the moment we arrive in that Country her eyes light up, a huge smile makes its way across her face, and you can see her physically relax and you can watch all the stress's and strains of her life just lift away. I think I can safely say that Lorni really really loves Spain

A few years back Lorni's Father passed away and we went looking for a property in Spain with his blessing, Of course we wanted the typical villa with a swimming pool but then we started to get practical. It would be better to part of a Spanish community near local amenities, shops, doctors etc. Then we looked at where we would like to be and we decided we didn't want to be in the middle of an ex pat community or I would never learn the language. In the end we looked at the Valencia region, we got hold of someone who knew the area and is an advisor on TV programmes like Homes in the Sun Nick Snelling, a lovely guy who guided us through all the homes we wanted to look at with  information on all the villages in the area. What we found was all the properties we wanted to look at were in fact the worse ones and the last property we looked at was the one. The moment we walked though the door we knew it was the one for us.

 Front Door

Downstairs Living Room (Yes there's an upstairs one too)

The village had a really feel to it everyone was friendly, there was a small supermarket in the village a once a week market and a bank a pharmacy, doctors and a vets and a few bars and cafes. There was also a large sports complex complete with two swimming pools...sorted. From our terrace you could see the Med.

View from upper roof terrace

Both Lorni and I have been both been out to the house I have met the neighbours and they are great we both can't wait to get out there and start our new life.

1. So here we go again a new blog a new start

To start with let me introduce myself, my name is Russ Heaven...honest that is my real name! I turned 60 years old April of this year 2018 and life is just starting to get interesting.

Yes that is me in a fire suit / race suit growing old disgracefully, one of my passions is Drag Racing and for the last 5 years I have raced a slingshot dragster called "Tight Fit" but, as from my last race meeting I am now semi retired and my eldest son Steve will be taking over the running and driving duties. I am married to the lovely Lorni for the last 11 years and thank God she seems to enjoy most of the  same things as I do including Drag Racing.

My first marriage to Helen who put up with me for 26  years resulted in 4 Children three boys and one girl  Steven, Katie, Philip and Danny, in age order, who I am very proud of, they have produced many many Grandchildren for me to try an remember and not only their names but their birthdays as well. All four of my kids are doing OK with life and work hard to keep life as comfortable as possible for themselves and their families.

When I married Lorni I inherited three step children Christopher, Emily and Bethany, the story of one of them would fill a book all on itself, but for legal reasons I will leave that well alone.

The reason for this blog? well life doesn't suddenly come to a grinding halt when you hit 60, there is nothing to say you can't still do all the things you ever wanted to do, contrary to popular belief there is life in the old dog yet and that is what I want to document, up to now with the odd exception I have had a great and varied life and I have no reason to stop now, so  as my wife and I are about to embark on a new phase of our lives I intend to carry on as normal and enjoy every precious second of my time on Planet Earth. My goals for the coming year are to learn a new language, learn how to dance and learn a bit more about the area we are going to live in and the culture that goes with it. that should do for a start.

Me and "Tight Fit" doing our thing

To compliment my life I have two younger Brothers Dave and Andy who are both drag racing fanatics themselves and both have helped out with running the car over the last few years with Dave attending every meeting.

Andy and Dave "The Brothers"

Brother Dave and Number 1 son Steve the new driver of Tight Fit

One of my other passions is motorbikes and yes I know at my age I am supposed to be at home with a pipe in my mouth and a pair of slippers on my feet  but I refuse to bow to stereotypes. I love being on a bike and I will continue to ride as long as my health allows me to do so, on that note............

My old Harley I've had a few Harley's now but I have hung on to this old lady a 1999 Springer Softail she has never let me down and has taken me all over France and Spain but for reasons that will become a little clearer later on..moving out of the Country, she has to go; so at the moment I am in the middle of servicing her and cleaning her up ready for sale.

My other bike and yet another near 20 year old machine, an amazing Yamaha XJ 900 Diversion these bikes have an almost cult like following and having been to Spain and back on mine I can see why, but two weekend back I had a coming together with the car in front of me...he had hit the car in front of him, the result was my beautiful machine has been written off and yes I am gutted as she was in immaculate condition and had only  a little over 17000 miles on the clock around 900 miles a year..

A couple of bits of plastic and bent fork stantions have seen this great bike sent to the scrap yard I could repair her for around £300 but I just don't have the time left to do this. The reason being that Lorni and I are about to embark on a new adventure, our house is under offer for the second time!! and if everything goes through we will be moving to our house in Spain. A couple of years back we bought a house in the village of Palma De Gandia which is about an hour south of Valencia and five minutes from the beach.

The bright green house is ours, might change that colour soon, from our terrace you can see the wonderful blue Mediterranean Sea. One of the reasons for our move is poor Lorni is suffering from arthritis and a very bad problem with her knee which will require further surgery and a replacement very soon, so her career as a premature baby nurse is coming to end quicker than she wanted, time to get out of damp England for good, I'm not even going to mention the cock-up that is Brexit.

Lorni and myself  having fun

So with a new adventure looming I decided I needed to document the journey from now at the age of 60 to prove that age is really just a number that can be  ignored if you really want to....Enjoy!