We adopted Teo and Tigra in 2013 (March and July respectively) and not for one moment have we regretted it. I had never met a Galgo until I was fortunate to transport Briken to Germany. He was the first dog we transported and the first Galgo that I met. Some things are just meant to […]
M2 Associates was set up in 1995 as a VAT Partnership between Sandra and myself. Since we based ourselves in Spain it has been semi-dormant to say the least. Initially a Business and Management Consultancy Business we concentrated on the Blogging and Internet Consultancy for several year, with the focus more and more on the […]
Since 2011 we have been transporting pet cats and dogs across Europe with a monthly pet transport between Spain, Germany and the UK. In addition we offer regular pet transports across Europe and within Spain. We have two vans, a 2012 Vauxhall Movana and a 2011 Nissan NV200 both with a DEFRA Animal Welfare Certificate […]
This 2001 Fat Boy was the first Harley I owned and I love it. Have spent way too much money chroming it up, and whilst it can be set up for touring I much prefer it set up in solo seat mode. Love nothing more than cruising round the bars and along the beach on […]
Married in 1992, Sandra is the island of sanity in my world. She has a tolerance towards me that is beyond belief. Happily she enjoys the use of technology but isn’t a ‘techy’ by any stretch of the imagination! The majority of her time is spent in helping re-home the stray and abandoned cats here […]
Meet the Gang! We have adopted 6 cats to share our life with us here in Spain! To be more accurate we have been adopted by them as they really are the focus of our lives these days, and have led to the ALStrays Re-homing and Transport Project which Sands started around the same time […]
Today we have had Kasper (aka baby Cat) two (2) years. I was in the UK at the time, which is slightly ironic as Sands is in the UK at the moment, and returned to find Sands hand feeding this little kitten. He had been found by a lady called Kim Sheppard in Murcia, tied […]
Birthdays are great but the really special day with a rescue animal is the day it entered your life, and that is what happened four (4) years ago today with little Fleur. Alerted to her plight (she was stuck in a high walled garden, unable to get out, with the skeletal remains of her sibling), […]
Birthdays are great but the really special day with a rescue animal is the day it entered your life, and that is what happened three (3) years ago today with little Dusky. Life is full of “What If’s” and we rarely no the answer, but I do know that if we hadn’t decided to walk […]
Our little boy (and he is still a very skinny, agile little monkey) is two years old today. He remains a little bundle of mischief, who thinks nothing of just butting in to get his own way. One way or another he has manged to befriend all the cats: Saidi is more than happy for […]
Just back from dropping Sands at the airport as she is off to the UK for a week, which means I am ‘home alone’ for the week. Nothing particularly interesting about that, other than the (outdated) responses I got when I told people. A neighbour responded with “I know who I will be feeding then […]
Recently bought myself a Philips AT892/22 AquaTouch Wet and Dry Electric Shaver with Jet Clean and Charge system, I think the first electric shaver that I have owned. I recall trying electric when I first started to address the old bum fluff, but never really liked it and have been a ‘wet shave’ man all […]
So that is the end of my vegetarian month and to be honest not a lot changed from my earlier update. Sticking to a vegetarian diet at home was easy: ate far more pasta than usual, a reasonable amount of rice, but very few potatoes. I lost a little weight, but not as much as […]
ONE is ten years old. Received this email from co-founder, Bono (not personally you understand just a mail shot) with a link worth looking at. A lot has changed in a decade. 10 years ago, Facebook existed on a computer in a college dorm. There were no tweets, hashtags or iPhones. The only people occupying […]
No! Love it or hate it the sound or a Harley is distinctive, but for how long is now the question. The Milwaukee-based motorcycle company could be going a bit quieter with its next model. The outfit posted a teaser video with a bike briefly zooming down a section of Route 66, and while there […]
After months of neglect I have finally got round to charging up the 2002 Road King Classic, and bless her she fired up first time and sounded great. Next on the list: air in the tires and then a good clean (she more than deserves it) and then …… start riding her. I have never […]
Up until recently I had both the 2001 Fat Boy and the 2002 Road King Classic here in Spain, so was fortunate to have them set up as solo (Fat Boy) and two up (Road King Classic. Personally I think the two bikes look best set up this way, but check out the photos below […]
Just fitted the new Brawler Solo Seat to the Road King Classic, took all of ten minutes and looks great. Haven’t had a chance to try it out yet as bit wet and am tired from the last UK ALStrays Transport so going to save that pleasure until tomorrow. Huge thanks to all at Stoke […]
Finally, after literally years of trying, I have found a case for a phone that I actually like, and use! I bought the on HTC ONE M7 802W 802t 802D Dual SIM Cards Matte Hard Case eBay from China and was more than a tad skeptical that it would turn up as some over priced […]
Wish I had the Security & Antivirus|Lookout application for Android when I had my Samsung Galaxy S3 stolen in Bosnia last year! The updated application has a tool suite called Theft Alerts which monitors your phone for unusual activities, sends you alerts and allows you to initiate a series of actions, including finding the phone […]
Love my HTC One Dual SIM and am very happy with my two Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1′s (long story but I bricked the SIM card on my first one so bought a replacement intending to sell the bricked one as WiFi only ….. but I am still using it in the TV room in the […]
I have just replaced my Samsung S4 Dual SIM phone with the HTC One Dual SIM, which was the phone I had on pre release order before I found out that I could get the Samsung S4 Dual SIM from Asia. The only reason I cancelled the HTC and went with the Samsung was so […]
I see the expat papers have been trundling out their usual rubbish about Expat Dreams becoming nightmares etc etc. I don’t think I have even come across an Expat who claims to have ‘dreamt’ about an Expat Lifestyle. For the majority (those that have retired abroad) I suspect that there dreams when they were younger […]
Fergie may we have been a genius of a manager (he was certainly successful) but he has rapidly shown himself to be a disaster in the boardroom, and a huge liability. I don’t think anybody thought that David Moyes was ‘ready’ for the job as Manchester United Manager (except it seems for Fergie and Moyes […]
I am interested as to how European the ‘typical Brit’ feels, because as far as I can tell the UK is remarkably un-European. Most months our ALStrays Pet Transport business sees me driving through Spain, France, Germany, Holland, and Belgium, as well as the UK. In addition we regularly visit Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Croatia […]
Seriously does anybody care about Scottish Independence? I appreciate that for some (but let’s face it it is a small number and a minority in their own country) passionate Scots it is an important subject, and I have no issue with their desires for debate, referendum, or indeed independence. My question is: does anybody really […]
Did a new PB on my Cube Peloton Pro Compact Road Bike 2013 yesterday. My first recorded ride on the bike was on the 15th February: 18.02km in 55min 23secs. Yesterday I recorded the same ride: 18.06km in 44min 46secs. An improvement of 11min. A number of reasons for this: 1. I am fitter for […]
In theory the fact that we live by a nature reserve should make for some good off road cycling but at the moment I am struggling because it is so sand based. Their are a lot of paths through the nature reserve but so far I am only finding ones that are very sandy, so […]
Bought Sands a new bike recently, a Vitus Bikes Mach 3 City Bike 2013 from, you guessed, www.chainreactioncycles.com So far so good. She is getting used to the thinner tyres, lower weight, better gears, smaller saddle, and is doing well. She is finding it tough on her wrists at the moment but they will strengthen […]
Bought another bike recently from www.chainreactioncycles.com/es/es, a Corratec X-Vert Motion 2013 Specification Featuring RST Gila disc fork, refined over the years, now a benchmark entry to the world of MTB suspension. Shimano Deore 9 speed. A proven great value performer. Low Profile Chainstay – The lowered chain stay ensures additional distance to the chain. This […]
United Utilities recently slaughterd 60 geese at its headquarters in Warrington. There are far more humane ways to deal with this issue. Earlier in July, officials at United Utilities headquarters in Warrington shot and killed 60 Canada geese. Many of the birds’ babies had just hatched; now, those goslings will be orphaned, if they haven’t […]
The first beavers to be seen in England for centuries may be about to be captured or killed before they even get a chance at life in the wild. For the first time in centuries, the wild beaver has been spotted in Britain. But rather than try and encourage this unique animal to thrive in […]
A teenager named Kendall Jones hunts animals for sport all over the world, including endangered ones. But instead of being punished or discouraged, she’s getting her own TV show. The first animal Kendall Jones killed was a white rhino, which she murdered with a Remington rifle. Since then, the 19-year-old Texan has slaughtered leopards, lions, […]
There are only about 500 Djibouti Francolins left in the whole world. But if we act now, there still may be a chance to save them. With its vibrant markings and unforgettable call, the Djibouti Francolin is one of Africa’s most unique birds. And unfortunately, it’s also one of the continent’s rarest: There are only […]
The world’s bees are dying out, and many scientists think neonicotinoid pesticides are to blame. The EU banned them, but now the UK might grant one huge pesticide company an exception. The world’s bees are in trouble. Over the last decade, bee populations all over the planet have plummeted in an epidemic called “colony collapse […]
Born in 1963 in Yorkshire, England I was educated in the UK and USA ending up somehow with a BA (Hons) Economics and a MSc Information Systems Design and Management. I have lived and worked in the UK, USA and Spain before settling down in Almerimar, Spain in 2003, where I spend my time running […]
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Sky + HD Thomson box users will soon see a warning message on their screens, saying that they can receive a FREE replacement SKY + HD box at no extra cost. Obviously this only applies to Sky users in the UK, as users in Europe will simply not be eligible to receive these boxes directly […]
The Railway Man by Eric Lomax is described as “a remarkable true story of forgiveness–a tremendous testament to the courage that propels one toward remembrance, and finally, peace with the past. A classic war autobiography, The Railway Man is a powerful tale of survival and of the human capacity to understand even those who have […]
Anyone picking up The Kingmaker’s Daughter as their first Philippa Gregory book will not be disappointed. Anyone who has already read The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Lady of the Rivers may feel that they have read the book before, which in a way you have. The above three books cover the War […]
United: Don’t Kill Any More Geese!
United Utilities recently slaughterd 60 geese at its headquarters in Warrington. There are far more humane ways to deal with this issue. Earlier in July, officials at United Utilities headquarters in Warrington shot and killed 60 Canada geese. Many of the birds’ babies had just hatched; now, those goslings will be orphaned, if they haven’t […]
Save the British Beaver from Being Captured or Killed!
The first beavers to be seen in England for centuries may be about to be captured or killed before they even get a chance at life in the wild. For the first time in centuries, the wild beaver has been spotted in Britain. But rather than try and encourage this unique animal to thrive in […]
Don’t Give This Animal-killer a TV Show!
A teenager named Kendall Jones hunts animals for sport all over the world, including endangered ones. But instead of being punished or discouraged, she’s getting her own TV show. The first animal Kendall Jones killed was a white rhino, which she murdered with a Remington rifle. Since then, the 19-year-old Texan has slaughtered leopards, lions, […]
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