For The Love Of Spain

They say that life is a journey, and the next part of my journey is to Europe. On Monday my wife and I fly from Tokyo, Japan, to the Middle East and then on to Madrid in Spain. After one night in the Capital, we will fly South to Andalucia, where I still have a rented apartment full of all my stuff.

As soon as we arrive in the South we have to get stuck into emptying my apartment so I can stop paying rent for an apartment only used for storage. It's a big drain on my meagre pension and it is high time I paid my way in Japan. The money that goes out every month will immediately be re-directed to my lovely wife's account to take some of the economic strain off her.

Once the apartment is dealt with we will hopefully be off to the UK to touch base with my brother and some dear friends. I will also be visiting a printer I used to use about forty years ago to get my third book printed up in a format twice that of a novel. That should be fun.

In all, we will be away until the end of October. Which means no writing or editing online. The break will do us both a lot of good. There are times when one has to get away from everything that tires you out on a daily basis. And I am looking forward to returning to Spain in a lot better condition than when I left.

I am looking forward to the things I miss at home in Spain, the Mediterranean climate, the cuisine (especially Jamon and Salmorejo) the relaxing company and a glass of sherry with good friends, and being able to dine at night al fresco in some wonderful restaurant in my favorite plaza, a spontaneous flamenco concert in some side street cafe, a visit to the beach, a refreshing dip in the Atlantic Ocean, I miss it all so much.

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Three years ago, in Spain, I was taken seriously ill with some sort of mystery ailment that flummoxed the Spanish Medical Profession. So I had to leave immediately for a solution in my other home country, Japan. The Japanese medics knew exactly what it was as soon as they saw me and started very effective treatment post haste.

So here I am, three years later and in much better health than when I arrived. What I have cannot be cured, but it can be controlled, keeping me pain-free and mentally and physically active with no ill effects. It has taken a long time to get to the point of being able to travel long haul, but I am more than ready for it.

Meanwhile, as well as having to plan and organize the trip, I have been mad busy writing for two online platforms and several publications. In addition, I am very close to publishing at least two books, one a novella, and the other a collection of short stories. As if that was not enough, I decided to launch a suite of what is now six Medium publications under the banner brand name, Time To Shine.

I think when I had my health scare I decided to fill every day with doing what I love doing most, writing. I find the activity very fulfilling and highly rewarding in many non-monetary ways. Above all, I do it for the sheer love of writing.

I will miss the writing massively, but the trip is long overdue and once our objectives are achieved, we will be able to return to Japan in a much more relaxed state. Hopefully by then at least one or two of my books will have been published and I can look forward to seeing how well, or not so well, received they have been. I also hope to see that my pubs have gained some attention and traction. Then it will be onward with my nose to the keyboard and screen for a lot more great writing trips.

So, if I am missed, everybody will know where I am. I will try to check in on a computer somewhere, but I cannot guarantee access to a PC. So I will take this opportunity to wish you all well in my absence and hope to see you all again soon.

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PS: To my followers and friends here, I'm sorry I cannot respond to your kind comments for reasons that are beyond me. Just to say, I do appreciate very much your continued kind support.