Three dimensional chess.

It was that or an emotional roller coaster ride but the chess analogy plays less to the feelings of helplessness you can feel when you have little or no personal control over “events”.

Recap – a VERY large (to us anyway) sum of money had departed the UK and 48 hours later did not appear to have arrived anywhere else – that we were aware.

I said our evening out would be subdued and – indeed – subdued it was.

Pleasant with good food and drink – but definitely subdued.

But, when we got back to the rental, I was looking through my emails to find that the solicitor had confirmed the receipt of the funds.

At a little after 19.00 local time…

Three dimensional chess or thereabouts. Image by PIRO4D from Pixabay.

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m not checking my emails after close of play until just before bedtime in the main. Life’s just too short.

So the dilemma – check your emails all hours of the day and night or have the odd subdued evening out?

Hmm.

But at least we got a better night’s sleep.

And a weekend with public holidays.

So a chance to relax?

Emphatically not – daughter will be taking advantage of the relaxed restrictions on travel in Spain to cross from Gibraltar to Cadiz and on into Malaga.

Can’t remember whether I’ve covered the restrictions in the past or not.

Suffice to say that Spain is divided into a series of Autonomous Communities of which we are in Andalucia and these are divided into provinces.

And we are in Malaga. A quick glance at the maps shows eight provinces of Andalucia.

Until recently all non-essential travel has been prohibited between provinces. Even if the international border with Gibraltar was already open – probably for economic reasons as much as anything else.

So Die Tochter could visit Cadiz province but not come to us as it would have involved crossing a provincial border.

Technically I suppose we could have stood each side of said border and waved to each other but that would have been very silly, also time wasting and expensive.

But that’s been relaxed within Autonomous Communities at least.

Spain has different public holidays to the UK.

Which can be good and it can be bad.

But the one thing we have noticed is that, unlike the UK, if it falls on a weekend it happens on a weekend.

So May 1st being a Saturday, Labour Day was on a Saturday and pretty much all the retail shops were shut.

Including the supermercados. Imagine THAT happening in the UK…

You’ll notice I didn’t translate that word – I thought it might just be obvious.

But all the restaurants, bars and cafes are still open (or most were anyway) and helping people part with their hard earned dosh.

So the daughter and her significant other arrive Saturday afternoon with him returning Sunday lunchtime and her on Monday evening.

And they decide to walk from the bus station to us. Good for them. We would but I expected one of the local taxis to get an outing.

On the Sunday and Monday (el domingo y el lunes) we walked around parts of Estepona that we have discovered since last time she was here in October (?) or thereabouts.

Good idea or not?

After stopping to photograph “stuff” every twenty metres or so for the whole day I do wonder.

That and she’s playing some video game I can’t remember the name of but it correlates with actual, real places so the team she belongs to now controls most of Estepona as not many other people play it around here!

Bless.

So when are you getting to this week’s disaster?

During the visit we get an email from our Spanish solicitor.

On the Monday which, as I’ve said, is a UK bank holiday but a general working day in Spain.

Completion will happen on 27th and she will sign for us.

So what’s wrong with that I hear you ask?

Well, the contract says 14th May and I’ve given notice on the rental on that basis.

We are renting here until the 26th.

Notice the “issue” that arises?

No one had said to me that the completion date was movable and when we asked our property agent Sarah she said it couldn’t happen either.

Not only that but we’ve agreed to go to Sevilla for a long weekend with Die Tochter and Mr. Tochter as a sort of slightly belated birthday bash commencing 28th.

And as 31st is a UK bank holiday it works to our and daughter’s advantage.

But not unless completion reverts to the original date.

Fired a response off to all parties expressing our disappointment that we couldn’t delay as they wished and setting out the reasons noted above.

Lorraine said I did a very thoughtful email and I’m very pleased about that.

Well it’s now Thursday and we’ve still not heard anything back so we’ve chased our property agent so she can put a rocket to our solicitor.

And presumably at sometime we’ll get our response.

Are you starting to understand the reference to three dimensional chess yet?

And that’s not to get started on healthcare again.

Because without the healthcare set up we can’t (easily) get the Covid vaccination.

And there’s no sense in doing anything about Spanish driving licences if we’re moving in the very near future.

Quite understandably I woke up with a massive neuralgia yesterday.

It’s mine, I earned it. But it’s the first one I’ve had for a long, long time.

And I’d forgotten quite how paranoid it makes you feel.

Which makes seeing life coach Becki this morning one of the best things that I could have arranged had it not been circumstance.

And it’s helped me immensely with not getting myself wound up about things I cannot influence.

Okay. Control.

So much help in fact that it wasn’t until lunchtime that I realised I no longer had the neuralgia at all.

I’ve never (or not for a long time) shifted a neuralgia and its aftereffects in less than three days.

Ask Lorraine.

So we’ll be off out again tonight. Our Thursday evening treat.

And it won’t be quite so subdued this week.

I hope.

Three dimensional chess.