Jamaica Villas - Cool for Cats?

Very cold and it's clear to see

As far as good days go, Monday 13th of February was not really one of the best, well, not for my cats it wasn’t. No, Monday was the day that I took my cats Alfie, Pinky and Squeaky to the vet to be Spayed and Neutered, so, as you can imagine it was a bit of a “bad day at the orifice”

The vet was some 60 miles away and so being carted off to be deflowered and locked in a cage to get there really did nothing to improve matters but it had to be done. Living in the wilds of Andalucía, Spain, a feral female cat can produce hundreds of offspring in her lifetime and the road kill toll mounts. For the un-neutered male cat it can be a short and pleasant life as they wander around looking for lady cats to get it on with, they often get run over, shot, poisoned or attacked by farmers dogs of which there are plenty.

So, to the vets it was and the deed was done. On arrival back at the ranch two of the cats were up and about with no obvious signs of distress, poor Squeaky though, she was groggy and remained in the cat box for several more hours. I must say, the change in the male cat, Alfie, was amazing, he had gone from a shy, skittish cat to an almost hip, laid back cool moggie. I fed them, fed myself and then it was off to bed as it was getting late.

Next morning, all the cats looked OK, they were a bit ginger in their movements (The cat was a bit Ginger????) but they were fine, but for one exception; they were very thirsty and were moaning for water. This surprised me as we have a large bowl of fresh water for the pets under the verandah that they can get to at any time, the trouble was though, the bloody water bowl had frozen solid during the night. The horrible freezing cold weather that has blighted Europe for the last 2 or three weeks had kicked in again and frozen the poor cats water solid.

Oh my poor moggies!

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Jamaica Villas - With a little help from my friend

Watcha sayin der bro?

Sometimes, just sometimes there comes along a comic genius and they don’t have to be famous or even well known, they just have to touch on something so funny that you just have to pass it on. Well, here it is.

If anyone has ever heard Jimi Hendrix sing Purple Haze then they will have become a member of the ‘misheard Lyrics’ club, you know, those of us who cannot make head nor tale of certain songs. Jimi is famous for singing ‘Scuse me while I kiss this Guy’ when in reality he actually said “Scuse me while I kiss the Sky”

As a teenager I had my own disco and I loved Trojan label Reggae, we just called it ‘Trojan’ as if it was a different genre of Reggae and one artist that stood out was Desmond Dekker and his big UK hit “The Israelites” I could not understand a bloody word at first. I thought it went like this;

“Wake up in the morning sleep four at breakfast, So that every mouse can beef head”
It was of course;
“Wake up every morning slaving for breakfast so that every mouth can be fed”

Jumping Jack Flash by the Rolling Stones is probably the worst of the lot, what the hell Mick was smoking when he made that, I don’t know?

No matter, watch this brilliant video of Joe Cocker doing that Beatles Classic “A little help from my friends” at Woodstock in the 60’s and look at the interpretation in graphics of the lyrics. This really is funny. Enjoy!


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Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra - Peace, Love and Misunderstanding

Old words for new worlds but still no change

I have spent this weekend reflecting on what a truly mad world we really do live in. It would seem that the more some people try to reform society, make it more open minded and susceptible to new and modern ideas and beliefs, that the more other people want not only obstruct these people and their new ways to completely reverse anything they have done.

How has this manifested itself?  In many ways but to be brief I will give you two incidents that spring to mind, one religiously and politically motivated, the other racially motivated.

Firstly, and in some ways much more importantly is the story I read in a local paper here in the Andalucía area of southern Spain, called The Olive Press, a free monthly paper for English and Spanish readers. The story is entitled “It’s Too Controversial!”

The article tells us that the new ruling right wing government party (PP) Partido Popular or “Popular Party” has scrapped a course taught in all schools on Civic responsibility, much to the delight of the Catholic Church. What is this course that has caused a government to scrap it when there are more urgent and pressing things to be dealt with? It’s a course made mandatory five years ago by the last socialist government for all state and private schools to encourage more open mindedness towards issues such as Homosexuality, Racism and Sexism. No problemo, or so one might think?

As it transpires it was very much a problem for some enraged parents who saw the course as a violation of their rights to educate their children according to their own beliefs, there were also an astonishing 3,400 lawsuits against the government and before the European Courts by seething Spanish parents. The Catholic Church made sure they got their money’s worth as well, criticizing the government for what they saw as “another attack on the family unit” (I love this one, coming from an organization that doesn’t allow it’s priests and Nuns to have a family but, hey, whatever rings your bell!”)

The Minister Jose Ignacio Wert came out with some waffle that the course went beyond ‘civic formation and guidelines’ set down by the Council of Europe and it caused ‘serious divisions in education and society’ he went on to say that the course was charged with indoctrination. Wert went on to proclaim a new program to teach the text of the Spanish Constitution, rights and responsibilities and will focus on ‘pluralism, liberty and democracy and knowledge of European institutions’ (you asleep yet?)

Guess what? Not everyone is happy!  The Basque Minister of Education (Basque region of Spain, autonomous region bordering Spain and France) has accused the government of being led by the most ideological of the Spanish Right Wing and an editorial in one of the major Spanish newspapers El Pais that the changes were down to the Spanish Catholic Bishops and the more radical sections of Spanish society that reject all forms of change to the alternative visions of the model family unit or identity.

Just in case you’re not that sure about ‘Pluralism’ (The existence in a society of groups having distinctive ethnic origin, cultural forms, religions, etc)

So, one lot want us to be enlightened about sexuality, race and gender because they think it would make a better world and the other lot are against it because it goes against centuries of political and religious dogma. I’m no politician. Any ideas on this one people?

The other issue that has caused me to think on issues other than my breakfast, walking the dog and going to the pub this fine Sunday morning is the problem relating to two football players (Soccer if you are from the USA) Luis Suarez (Liverpool FC and Uruguay) and Patrice Evra (Manchester United and France) who created one hell of a fuss over two months ago that everyone thought would be resolved with a simple handshake. It goes like this;

Liverpool v Manchester United is one of the most hotly contested of the domestic fixtures in the premier league in England, one reason is the intense local rivalry with Manchester and Liverpool being separated by the East lancs motorway and 35.6 miles from Liverpool city centre and Manchester city Centre, not just that but in footballing terms Liverpool have won more European cups than Manchester United whilst Manchester United have won more titles and so on, you catch my drift? So, there is always friction when these two sides meet.

This meeting was very much different though; this meeting would end in Patrice Evra, a small black Frenchman being racially abused by Luis Suarez, a Uruguayan of mixed ancestory. Suarez repeatedly used insulting words towards Evra through the match which Liverpool won; afterwards, Evra made a complaint which was upheld weeks later before a Football Association Committee and Suarez received a ban of 8 matches and warned against his future behavior he also paid a 40,000 pounds fine. That, so we thought, was that.

Oh no! Everyone had something to say on the matter for and against and when the Liverpool team wore T-Shirts supporting Suarez, this made things worse.

Wind forward to the next meeting at Old Trafford of Manchester United and Liverpool and the talking point was would Suarez shake hands with Evra and vice versa? All indications pointed to a yes vote as both Liverpool and Manchester United had made requests for the fans to unite in the spirit of football and put this issue to bed. Guess what?

Yeas, when the two sides lined up for the pre match ritual of the sporting handshake Luis Suarez snubbed the outstretched hand of Patrice Evra, this eventually led to confrontations in the tunnel at half time and again at the end of the match when Evra celebrated a little too much right in the face of Suarez.

The same situation again on only a smaller scale, one side seeks reconciliation and the other side seeks to remain stubborn and refuses to change. Any ideas on this one?

That’s my Sunday morning rant out of the way, I don’t normally ‘do’ politics and religion in my Blogs it’s just that this week it seemed a little too much to ignore.

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Jamaica Villa Phoenix

Villa Phoenix at Tryall Golf & country club in Montego Bay, Jamaica is a very versatile property as it can be rented as a 4, 6 or 7 bedroom holiday villa. Villa Phoenix also enjoys an absolute waterfront position with unopposed views of the Caribbean Sea and the Tryall Country Club estate. A staff consisting of a cook, laundress, gardener, housekeeper, pool man, security and butler will make sure everything goes according to plan, no matter that it’s a vacation, reunion or wedding that you use this fantastic Jamaica villa for.

Villa Phoenix is wonderfully decorated and very pretty, the views from the oval pool deck are stunning, the house is both comfortable and private. There are all the mod cons you would associate with modern living, such as DVD, TV, sets, Internet connection and lots more besides, like air con and cable TV in all the rooms and a Jacuzzi for good measure.

There is also a private sandy beach. Phoenix Villa has everything you will ever need for a great Jamaica Vacation.

Phoenix Villa Link

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Jamaica Villas - Mr Fraser goes to the Psychologist.

"Well Doctor, it's like dis.."

I’ve touched on the subject of Jamaican Humour before in a post that now seems years ago but was more than likely in August of 2011. Some years ago, on one of the major networks in the UK there was a TV comedy called ‘The Real McCoy’. What made the Real McCoy different was that it was produced by and featured Jamaican /Asian comedians and offered a different slant on humour that was the norm for UK TV and thank god for that and for one particular reason. Mr. Fraser!

If you are under the age of 18 you may not have seen the real McCoy and there is a chance you may not have come across Mr. Fraser, in which case I consider this post public information Blog.

Mr. Fraser is a Jamaican who is not what you would call ‘handsome’ well, not in the conventional sense at least, come to think of it, not in any sense! Mr. Fraser has goofy teeth and tatty hair that looks like it has been styled by Stevie Wonder and although he has an athletic figure, he is what we would call ‘a bit of a plonker!” he is not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. He is however, one of the most inane and funniest characters to bless the TV screens.

In this video, Mr. Fraser visits the psychologist because his wife is driving him to an early grave with her constant demands for “her medicine” see for yourself and you tell me if this isn’t Jamaica’s answer to Frank Spencer.

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Here's Looking at you, Kid!

Yo! Big Bro! I told you so!

I included this picture because I thought it was thought provoking…or so I thought?

Sometimes, just sometimes, life throws us Little snippets of humour that are totally unintended, most people would call this irony and, until I started writing this post after being sent the photograph of the surveillance camera outside George Orwell’s house, I would have described the image as “ironic” but I thought I had better check my own interpretation of the word, just in case.

I Googled “Define: Ironic” and I got a list of interpretations, some of them were very straight forward and others were just plain gobblewobble!

Ironic:

A pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other’s false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning —called also Socratic irony

Hmm? Not what I was looking for but in the end I found the simplest definition was one of my own “ I told my dog to sit and he did, I thought him very clever, my wife told me to sit and I did, I thought myself very silly!”

So, how ironic it is that George Orwell (real name Eric Blair) should write a novel that decries a totalitarian government bent on total manipulation through pervasive surveillance and he ends up having his yard used by pervasive government surveillance camera! Oh, the irony of it all! (Thanks to Mike Harding for the excellent photo)

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Jamaica Videos

As anyone who has ever read this blog would know I am an avid fan of Tripwow, the video making facility on Trip Advisor that lets you easily make a video, slideshow or presentation from a selection of your own photographs.

Well, I have made about 40 videos in the last month or so, all of them about Jamaica Villas and Jamaica life, some of them I have posted on this blog for you to admire. 

I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea, why don’t I use one of my own web domains and put all my Tripwow videos on there and anyone interested in looking for wedding villas in Jamaica, holiday rentals and reunions can browse through the site at leisure, so, here is that very Jamaica Video website http://www.vallerosario.com

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Nice weather for this time of year?

How cold does it get?

Fancy some ice?

I wonder which will break which?



As much as I hate to slobber on about how cold it can get here in Andalucía where I live (I do apologies if any of you dear readers labour under the misapprehension that I am a Rastafarian or a resident of Kingston or Montego Bay, I’m not, I’m an English hippy that lives in the mountains of southern Spain. Sorry!) but it has been real “parky” here in Spain these last few days, as indeed it has all over Europe, with Rome being covered in Snow and temperatures dropping to -30ºC in the Ukraine and other eastern European countries, this has cause havoc and fatalities.

Here, in Andalucia, not far from the beautiful town of Antequera it has dropped to below -6ºC and has made life very uncomfortable for Mrs Blogspot and myself because the houses here are built to be cold! (True!) they are also painted white to reflect the summer heat and so when we get weather like this, it seems to hit harder because we are not geared up for it.

It can be hard to picture what I mean when I say it has been bloody cold, mainly because the sun is shining brightly at the same time, so, I have decided to let some photos tell their own story.

I save water when and where I can and I re use it, for example for washing the patio, car or courtyard or for watering the plants during the summer months. The washing machine uses a lot of water and so I collect the waste in a large metal rubbish bin, via the outlet tube, I then re-use where and when.

Not this week though. This week the water in the waste bin froze solid and I could not get the ice lid out for love or money, also, the washing machine went on strike because one of the pipes had frozen solid. Today we have a little bit warmer weather and so I managed to get the ice out of the bin and the washing machine has started back at work. See for yourself.

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Jamaican Jerk Sausage - Careful with that mincer



I don’t ask a lot from the people who read my Blog posts, Twitter posts and the inane dribble I slop all over face book and other social media sites, I really don’t. I am also often surprised by the reaction I get from the same readers when I ask a specific question about Jamaica, Jamaicans or the Caribbean life and culture. Some of you lot need locking up!

I thought I would give the Villa postings a miss being as it is Sunday and go for a Blog posting that would come in useful for anyone who has been to the Caribbean and in particular, to Jamaica. I thought I would revive memories of dreamy nights on the beach, sipping rum and munching on some sausage. Yes, sausage!

So, with this in mind I put out some feelers on several Jamaica related websites asking for the best recipe for Jamaican Jerk sausage, that Jamaican devil that bites you back with every chew you take. Spicy and chewy, hot and tasty a real king amongst sausages.

My begging posts for the recipe for Jamaican Jerk sausage went something like this;” I would like the recipe for Jamaican Jerk sausage, any help would be appreciated, please send your recipe and any visual aids such as photos and videos.”

What did I get in response to this reasonable request? I got a picture of what looked like a guy with his “thing” in a mincing machine and a note that read “Be careful, you can sometimes catch your fingers in the mincer!” Brilliant! I’m trying to spread the Jamaican culture across the Internet and all I get is rude photos and snide comments. I give up.

In the end, after pictures of all sorts of sausage like images (Thank you Brother  Rasta Blasta from Kingston for your photo of “ a real Jamaican sausage!”  I’m sure Mrs. Rasta Blasta would agree) I just decided to Google the question and hope I get the best recipe. As luck would have it, I came across this recipe which I think looks pretty interesting.

Jamaican Jerk Sausage Recipe

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European Weather - Europe freezes over



Mr Blogspot was unwise to take a pee at -20ºC

Anyone who landed in Europe this week would have been in for some surprising sites. For a start you would have been bloody well freezing! The whole of Europe is gripped in a freak weather cycle, everywhere and I do mean everywhere is frozen. Some places are just a white wasteland.

You expect places like Russia, Ukraine, Poland and other eastern European countries to be a bit chilly at this time of the year, what with it being winter and all that but to book a holiday in southern Spain and find yourself walking about dressed like Nanook the Eskimo? No way, José! That is what is happening right now.

In the Ukraine, there have been over 100 deaths from hyperthermia reported so far, the daytime temperature reaching lows of -30C; most of the deaths are the unfortunate homeless people and elderly.

Here, in Andalucía, we are at the edge of the ice cold slap in the kisser but even here we are frozen. I live in the hills above Malaga and we have reached -6ºC so far, with water pipes freezing, black ice on the roads and streams freezing over. I have to break the ice on the cats bowl to let him drink (No, the cat does not live indoors as there are 4 of them, they have a little house of their own, just in case you think I’m a bit heartless!)

Hopefully, this cold weather looks like it may blow out by Tuesday next week, I hope so because I’m sat here freezing bloody cold writing about luxury villas in Montego Bay and looking at pretty girls in bikinis splashing about in the Caribbean sea, it’s doing my head in



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