Dawn of a New Era — Two South of Granada

On 2nd September I reached the grand old age of 60 and it’s not really something that I particularly wanted to celebrate. I don’t like getting older, and as I wait for surgery on both my knees, I realise that I am creaking slightly more than I would like.

Andrew, on the other hand, loves birthdays and feels that they are far more personal than Christmas or any other celebration in the year. For months, he secretly planned a birthday getaway to mark my 60th, and in the run up to the big day we had such a busy time with guests that the date for the surprise suddenly appeared. I was told simply to pack light, remember my passport and maybe take one or two items of smart clothing. I was told, nay, ordered, to sit in the passenger seat of the car while Andrew drove to the airport (that in itself was a treat!) and in the glove compartment I found a brown envelope containing my boarding pass for a flight to Palma, Mallorca.

Mallorca has a very special place in our hearts. Andrew and I had our first holiday together there in the most lovely, rural cottage near Campanet in the north of the island. The cottage had a large plot of land climbing up the side of a mountain, and at the top there was a hammock in the trees that provided breathtaking views and utter peace and quiet. There was a pool tucked into a rocky setting, and we felt as if we were completely alone. One of the most romantic moments of the past 10 years was listening to a Chopin Nocturne with Andrew on the terrace at the back of the cottage at night, under the stars.

A couple of years later, we celebrated Andrew’s 40th birthday in a large house near Pollensa with a group of 10 friends. We had an amazing week of great food, lots of drink and many laughs. Andrew is extremely lucky to have so many close friends from both his school and university days, and it was a joy to spend a week on magical Mallorca surrounded by good company. The following year, 4 of these friends joined us again in a very remote stone house in the mountains above Fornalutx, in what must be one of the prettiest corners of this most photogenic of islands.

It was during the 40th birthday week that the idea of moving to Spain first began to germinate. The pleasure of having friends to stay with us for a week made us realise that this was not something that happened in London, where we previously lived. We would regularly see friends and family, of course, but generally only for a drink, or dinner. We realised that by being abroad, in a house where everyone could relax, we had time to really catch up. This may only have meant gossiping by the pool reading an edition of Grazie magazine, but those are the moments that generate memories.

Those trips to Mallorca were responsible for the life-changing decision we made only a year or two later.

This year, we celebrate a couple of landmarks. Ten years ago, this November, Andrew and I first met. Six years ago, at the end of September, we embarked on our journey to move to Andalucia, and we have just celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. Would all this have happened had we not first gone together to Campanet on holiday, and listened to Chopin under the stars?

Back to my 60th, and Andrew had told me nothing about where we were going. I did discover that we were going to Palma, as we hadn’t really spent much time exploring the city. The taxi pulled off the motorway well before we reached the city centre, which was a surprise, and we rolled up beside a beautiful little harbour in the now very fashionable Portixol area on the near fringes of the old city. Portixol used to be a fishing harbour and now it is lined with delightfully restored fisherman’s cottages fronting bays and beaches along the coast. The Hotel Portixol is right beside both the sea and the marina and it was absolutely perfect. I love boats, the sea, harbours, marinas - anything to do with the sea - and this could not have been better located. The staff, from the moment we arrived, were fabulous: warm and welcoming without any sense of intrusion, and they knew exactly how to look after their customers. They knew it was my birthday (Andrew’s months of planning!) and we had a gorgeous room with french windows opening onto the endless stretch of sea and the mouth of the harbour, where we could see little boats coming and going from early every morning.

As part of the holiday, Andrew had organised e-bikes for two days, knowing that my knees would not permit miles of city walking. Oh, the joys of getting older! Fantastic bikes from Nano Bikes which allowed us to cycle up to the Castell de Bellver, high above Palma Marina. The bikes gave us the freedom of nipping up and down side streets and up steep hills to get to corners of the city that we might otherwise have missed. Coming back down from the castle, we stumbled upon a hat shop in the Santa Catalina quarter and Andrew was in need of some protection from the sun. We both ended up with new hats and a gift from the shop owner of a terracotta bowl for my birthday!

We ate delicious food, and enjoyed a great deal of Mallorca wine, especially their Rosados. We lay on golden beaches with very few other people, and had the occasional hour relaxing by the hotel pool. We discovered a free exhibition in a stunning palacio, and did a spot of shopping but eschewed the main tourism hubs. We were both quite happy to just spend time getting to know the city a little better and using the time to relax away from house restoration, guests, cultural courses and the other minutiae of life.

We dined at the hotel on the night of my birthday on the large terrace looking out onto the marina, shimmering beneath the stars, a new moon and the distant lights of the city. Next to us, a group of friends celebrated another birthday. The following evening, we were walking through the Santa Catalina area on our way to dine at a restaurant recommended by my son when we bumped into the self-same group. It transpired that one of the group had an apartment in the area and another had been visiting Mallorca for many years, so knew it very well. In Hollywood parlance, this might be referred to as a ‘Meet Cute’ but without the romantic connotations! We exchanged emails and have been in contact and it would be interesting and agreeable to meet over a drink next time we are on the island. One of the guests subsequently sent a photo of their group and in the background there is my face staring at them intently; clearly, I was eavesdropping but felt I had been my usual discreet self!

We only spent three nights on the island this time, but it was restorative in the best possible ways and we were surprised that it was quite difficult to leave, even after only a few days. The hotel had made us feel so welcome and at home that it was a real wrench to pack up on the last morning, even though we knew that we were returning to the home that we love. The day afterwards, we both suffered post-holiday blues, such is the spell that Mallorca has always cast.

We returned to Moclín to get ready for a houseful of guests, booked to stay with us for 4 nights. We are finalising our programme of Cultural and Creative course holidays for 2023, along with a rebrand and change of name, and we are co-creating a traditional British Fête for the week leading up to the Fiestas en Honor del Santíssimo Cristo del Paño, the village’s most important annual fiesta. This year, following the pandemic, this promises to be a special week with upwards of 10,000 people expected to descend on our quiet little village.

It seemed surreal, with all this going on, that we watched with increasing unease, events unfold yesterday. I saw news that parliamentary debate had been disrupted in the early afternoon and knew, then, that the Queen had died. The protocol in the event of the Monarch’s death is that a call cascade is implemented, informing the Prime Minister and leading politicians, and the news is embargoed until an official announcement is made by Buckingham Palace. Andrew and I have both experienced the death of a parent since we have been together, and it is at times like this that you do find yourself remembering those people close to you and who are no longer here. Without getting too philosophical, life is such a transient thing. The Queen had lived for 96 years and had done more in those years than many of us could even begin to contemplate. I was fortunate to be present in Buckingham Palace when my father was invested, many years ago. My father had always been hugely impressed by Her Majesty and a typical investiture lasts around 2 and half hours, and is attended by many people. Bear in mind that the Queen held many such investitures throughout the year, bestowing medals on the great and the good. When my father went to collect his medal, the Queen spoke to him as if she knew everything about him and that sense of being valued probably meant more to my Dad than a medal or any other recognition.

Such is the importance of being valued, and loved. It is this that forms lasting memories. Being valued and feeling loved as a friend on a week’s holiday in Mallorca; loving being surrounded by friends. Being valued and loved as a husband on their 60th birthday; being valued and loved as a husband at any time of the year, and valuing each other. Being valued as a parent and loving children and family.

It does feel like the end of an era but it’s important to remember that the end of one era brings with it the start of another, new era. Summer is coming to a beautiful, warm and clear end - one of our favourite times of the year - and we look forward to our creative courses later this month and in October. We can’t wait to finish the restoration of Esperanza 9, and we have all sorts of plans for next year when we hope that travel will be back on everyone’s agendas. Most of all, we look forward to seeing much more of our families and friends, creating plenty of new memories and definitely nipping across to Mallorca once again. Top of my agenda is to start planning for Andrew’s 50th!!

Palma, Mallorca. Our recommendations from this visit:

STAY

Hotel Portixol

EAT

Assaona Gastro Beach Club. We had dinner here on our first night, as it was within waling distance of the hotel. Great food in a lovely location right on the beach.

Cafe L’Antiquari. We stumbled upon this little bar (right next to the famous Babel bookstore) in a really quiet side street, and only intended to have a drink. We stayed for a large a tasty lunch; great for people watching and relaxing.

Vandal. We stopped here for a cocktail before going on to dinner, and sitting at the bar with a drink was quite something. The kitchen is open and the food looked incredible; the cocktails were delicious too!

Fabrick. My children paid for us to dine here as part of the birthday celebrations. Owned and run by a couple, this is a quirky and dynamic little restaurant with a very small and eclectic menu.

VISIT

Ca’n Balaguer. A permanent exhibition in a beautiful Mallorquin palatial home. Free entry and well worth a look.

Bicycle Hire

Nano Bikes. The best way to get around a city! We recommend the Cube Hybrid city touring bikes.