Giles Brown
AS I write this gentle reader I am on the second day of my holiday. Now, before you all chime in, with me living in Marbella and working in the media it could be argued that everyday is a bleeding holiday.
However there are times that even the most enthusiastic of us get a little jaded so it’s always good to take a little time out.
Of course, then the problem arises of what you’re actually going to do. As a person who lives on a lake with his entire house behind him, going to the beach doesn’t have that much attraction. The thought of leaping on a plane and going somewhere like the Maldives to sit down and look at the sea seems rather pointless.
What I should have been doing in an effort to broaden my admittedly tiny mind is to hop on a plane and go to some cultural centre. To check out an exhibition in London, go sightseeing in Lisbon or indulge in my admittedly somewhat worrying fascination with the Third Reich by doing a little bunkering in Berlin. (Although recent shenanigans in Westminster gave me all the doomed leadership scenarios I could ever want).
My ongoing, ahem, interesting struggles with paperwork however (still not being able to locate my green residency form) meant that this was a no no as well.
So the solution came when a good friend of mine offered me a break in her home for a bit of luxurious cat sitting. Or as I put it ‘elegant slumming’. Here was a chance to catch up on my reading, indulge in a little movie marathon and generally take stock. To kick back, relax and contemplate on life in general.
Such navel gazing, however, was booted firmly into touch.
First off, my brilliant and bonkers God daughter Ziggy has landed herself a superb new job working on a massive film project that will keep her busy for the next 18 months, so she decided to take the opportunity to visit her beloved godfather.
We planned road trips and general cruising around the countryside in my latest automotive acquisition – a gleaming X5.
The X5, however, had different ideas, deciding to break its rear suspension on the first day of her visit.
So it looks like my week off will be spent reacquainting myself with the mechanics of the Costa del Sol.
Once again I’m expecting Christmas cards this year from the mechanics, with grateful thanks with money I spent having put their children through school for another year…
