Down but not out in Spain!

Life has been quite eventful since my last blog post here, and indeed this one has little to do with model soldiers, having not lifted a paint brush since then, but for completeness sake I thought an update was in order.

Just over two weeks ago I was struck down with the worst throat infection I can remember, so bad that even drinking water became painful, let alone eating. I spent four solid days in bed mostly sleeping before it finally began to ease up. I then woke up with an incredibly painful left knee. That spread to my right knee and my right ankle and foot, I could not stand up or weight bear at all. Last Monday we went for a second viewing on a property -more on this later - my Daughter was driving us and when we arrived I was unable to get out of the car! The Estate Agent was shocked as he had met me a couple of weeks previous when I was fine, and indeed he urged me to go to the medical centre for treatment.

We drove back to Calpe, picked up my medical card and passport and off to the medical centre where I was helped into a wheelchair and into the waiting room. Having completed the paperwork, within 20 minutes I was in with the Doctor who asked me to remove my 'pantaloons' (not an easy process in that state I can tell you). I spent half an hour so on an intravenous drip and left with my left knee heavily bandaged and a prescription, I was in and out within an hour or so.

It's now a week since my trip to the Doctor and my legs are slowly regaining strength, very slowly, still hobbling but able to stand and move about. I should just add that I have never had any problems with my legs before, indeed as my wife reminded me I have not been to hospital at all in at least 40 years so this came right out of the blue. Positive side is that I have shed over a stone in weight and I intend to work on my fitness going forward.

I have been spending a lot of time reading blogs and I'm really keen to get painting again. The 40mm Napoleonics are now in Kent ready to make the journey to Spain by van in due course. I also have the 'Tank Wars' German and Soviet starter sets with my Son in Law in Kent, as I'm itching to paint some armour again.

On the plus side we are loving life in Spain, the Spanish people are so friendly, warm and sociable. You notice how if you are sitting in a cafe or bar for example and a Spanish couple come in they will come and sit on the table beside you and immediately begin smiling and speaking to you - our rudimentary Spanish is getting us by! The seafood is fantastic,being the staple diet of this stretch of the Costa Blance coastline. You can still smoke in bars and cafes -although we avoid it - and dogs are welcome just about anywhere. Parking is mostly free of charge even along the popular beaches, and on Sunday everything closes as families take the opportunity to relax together. Children are encouraged to speak to people and be confident. What I have not been able to find is a bar selling English draught ales... yet. Every small town has it's grow shop as the cultivation of cannabis for personal use is legal here in Valencia region. Healthcare is good, expats we have spoken to tell us they get two medical screening sessions per year free of charge. Not saying it's the land of milk and honey, but certainly life in Spain is suiting us well, now I just need to recover the use of my legs again!

I hope the next update will feature some painted figures finally, please bear with me!