A rainy week at Isla Cristina + a new Kirsty McGee #Kickstarter

I'm linking up with The Sunday Post at Caffeinated Reviewer.

We've spent this week at Camper Park Playas De Luz which is just outside Isla Cristina in Andalusia. The campsite only opened in August of this year and consists of a two tiered gravelled plateau overlooking marshlands. Dave chose it for its proximity to a via verde which runs directly alongside the campsite entrance. We thought we would be able to cycle for quite a distance in two directions to explore the area. Unfortunately torrential rain on our first night followed by more rain on pretty much every other day has rendered the via verde more a canal so not ideal for cycling! We've had a few walks - tiptoeing along its edges! - though and cycled into Isla Cristina for shopping and sightseeing. The older part of town is pretty and quaint. I loved a seated statue of a man reading (couldn't spot a sculptor's name).

I was put off by the state of the litter- and glass-strewn cycle path over the bridge into town - and having to push my bike back with a puncture one time. Even by Spanish standards, the roadway looked uncared for. Once into town it was ok though and the red painted cycle route around the edge of town is nice to ride along.

We actually shopped at a Lidl too! Having been quite rude about them in the past because I couldn't ever find food there that I wanted to eat, I discovered this week that Spanish Lidls at least have improved drastically over the last few years! They had organic fresh fruit and vegetables, plus a good range of preprepared vegetarian foods. I had thought vegetarian and vegan food would be much more difficult to find in Spain, but in the supermarkets at least it's been as easy as in France and the UK.

For music fans amongst us,

There's A New Kirsty McGee Album On Kickstarter!!

Get pledging! I love Kirsty's music and she needs £5500 or the album won't happen. Pleeez join me?!

In bookish news I am currently (finally?) getting into the Christmas spirit by reading Christmas At Black Cherry Retreat by Angela Britnell. I got a copy as part of it's Rachel's Random Resources blog tour - Rachel gets some great books on her tours. Take a look and sign up your blog if you haven't already!


Giveaways closing soon
28th Nov: Anthony Spaeth books giveaway at Dab Of Darkness
29th Nov: An Unpromised Land by Leon Gettler audiobook giveaway at Dab Of Darkness
See all giveaways and free books in my Giveaway Linkup

On my blogs this week were:

Stephanie Jane
2019 New Release Challenge sign-up post

Literary Flits
The Bees by Laline Paull review
Divided We Stand by Rachel McLean spotlight
Hildegard of Bingen by Honey Meconi review
Sweet Days Of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy review
Becoming Someone by Anne Goodwin review
The Dragon and the Lumberjack by S W Ellenwood spotlight + excerpt
The Girl And The Rat by Jari Jarvela review

Artisan Rainbow
Westie #Scottie Dog Tree Decoration by Cherish Handmade
House Number Sign by Sol Pixie Dust
Ceramic Daisy #Flower by JG Ceramic Gifts
Stained Glass #Mistletoe by Mayfly Mosaics
#Kawaii #Penguin Key Charm by Claytive Designs
#Snowman Toilet Roll Cover by Tilly Knits Shop
Upcycled Book Apple Ornament by Creaton Crafts

Airing Out
Campsite - Playas De Luz - Isla Cristina - Andalusia - Spain

Stained Glass #Mistletoe by Mayfly Mosaics

Upcycled Book Apple Ornament by Creaton Crafts

Upcoming music gigs I'm eagerly anticipating!

Julian Littman and Charlie Dore 

I've just received my brand new Peter Mulvey album, Are You Listening, which I helped Kickstart back in February. It's fab and you should get yourself a download via Amazon US / Amazon UK!
We've only got another week on mainland Europe before we head back to Devon so are planning our entertainment once we return. Fortunately we've already spotted a half dozen or so appealing gigs during the next three months, some in Devon and some further afield, and I am going to tell you about the April/May trio here.

Charlie Dore is playing at Kingskerswell on the 20th of May. We discovered and I blogged about Kingskerwell Parish Church as a South Devon music venue last summer and I love the space for its wonderful acoustics. It's a bring-your-own-cushion venue with a lovely atmosphere and don't forget your cake money for half time. Having previously heard Charlie play at Hailsham Pavilion, I believe her music will perfectly suit Kingskerswell so this gig should be a real treat.
Charlie will be joined by Julian Littman and supported by Peter James Millson and Totnes Pop Up Choir. Tickets are £13.75 including booking fee and you can Buy Online Here. Check out the rest of the Kingskerswell season too.

I first discovered Kirsty McGee several years ago when I blogged for Theatrical Eastbourne. I love her voice and style. I supported her Those Old Demons Kickstarter too and now we plan to finally actually see her play live! Together with Robert Garson as the duo Ocotillo, Kirsty will be at the Hawthorns Hotel in Glastonbury on the 26th of April. I've tweeted the Hotel to find out how to buy tickets and hope they answer soon!

Thirdly is a band we don't know much about, The Hothouse Four, but they have a regular engagement at a very local-to-us venue, Wellies Of Wellswood. Their next gig is on the 4th May - the night after my birthday. They play Western Swing and American roots music which we both enjoy so we're planning to book a table and enjoy a good meal whilst tapping our toes.

So I have got these three gigs to look forward to when we get home, plus another three in June which I will tell you about closer to the time. In the meantime, have a scroll through these South West listings from WeGotTickets and see what catches your eye!

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Sizzling in the Sagunt sunshine

We liked Camping Malvarrosa when we first arrived practically a week ago and are still

Oh look! Girlfriend on a beach with a book! 

impressed with it now which is pretty rare for us! Being so close to warm, swimmable sea is obviously one of the main attractions, but it is also generally peaceful, there is plenty of flat countryside for Dave to explore by bike, I have beaches and lovely promenades to jog and walk along, and we even have History and Culture close by. The site has a section for touring caravans and motorhomes, a separate bit for tents, and the rest is a village of various permanent places but each is an individual encampment rather than simply bland, identikit statics. We have had more luck with wildlife spotting. There are several herons that fish the nearby irrigation canals and we have also seen kingfishers and Dave came across a field, maybe of harvested rice, with dozens of egrets in it. A cheeky red squirrel accompanied us for part of the climb to Sagunt castle. It was much smaller than the grey ones we used to see in Polegate and refused to sit still long enough for us to get a decent photograph.

We visited Sagunt city which is a few miles away. We had thought we could walk there, but got as far as the pretty Canet de Berenguer in an hour and a half and decided perhaps all the way to Sagunt was a bit optimistic in this heat. It's up to 29 degrees in the afternoons! In common with several towns along this bit of coast, Canet is spread over two sites. There is a pretty coastal strip of summer homes which is practically deserted at this time of year, and the town proper is set back a little inland. Therefore our walk along the beach to Canet only got us to their part of the beach and not an ice cream kiosk in sight! There were lots of large tyre tracks in the sand where the frequent boardwalks out to the sea are being taken up, presumably for safe storage through the winter. We discovered a shady park for a rest and then wandered home.

Sagunt is famous for its historical past having existed since at least the fifth century BCE, been at war with Carthage, and been invaded by Hannibal after an eight month siege. We visited the extensive castle site on a hill above today's town. There are remnants of several eras throughout the site, but sadly not placarded so we weren't always sure what we were looking at. Roman columns and inscriptions abound, but the ancient buildings were plundered for later rebuilds including a Moorish stronghold and the Christian reclamation that followed. There is also a section at the far end which obviously very recent renovation, perhaps to stop subsidence down the hill. A small museum housed some of the best preserved pillars and inscriptions, otherwise outside was a huge jigsaw of broken stone, sorted to a degree, but not yet with its places identified. An interesting aside for the museum was that all the information was bilingual. One language was Spanish, obviously, but the other was not English or French or even German as most of our fellow campers are, but Valenciano. I knew Catalan had its own dialect but we didn't realise that Valencia does too.

There is a railway station nearby with several local trains a day into Valencia. It is supposed to be getting a bit cooler here next week so we plan to take advantage of this to spend a day or two exploring the city. Any suggestions of must-sees?

In the meantime, my eagerly anticipated Kirsty McGee album has arrived. Do you remember I blogged about its Kickstarter campaign? It's called Those Old Demons and we're really enjoying the music. Interesting lyrics and unusual orchestration make it quite different from our usual fare. I think the official release is at the end of October and pre-orders can be placed here: