It's all gone wrong

I agree with you.  Fortunately, I spent an inheritance on solar power, so the sun runs our air conditioning, and we hunker down in the cool as much as we can in the summer.  Anything over 35 is debilitating, I find, so we do what we have to in the mornings and then shut up shop and keep cool under the 'air' for the rest of the day.

I'd like your winter temperatures, but not you're summer ones, my idea of pleasant is a bit different to that of many others, I'm a pale northern flower and anything over 23.C, is to hot for me.

Oh yes!  I am not a lover of being cold and wet.  That said, we get really cold here, relatively speaking.  This summer, our garden maxed out at 47C.  Winters normally see daytime temperatures around 5C and around zero overnight, and on extreme nights it can get down to -5C.  So, our temperature differential is greater than the UK's often, and we are just not used to such.  But it soon warms, and we get back to pleasant temperatures by early March usually.

I bet if you came back the wind and rain would be a shock!

Somebody has to.  

I forgot you live in Spain.

Ha!  Well, it would be a change from very rural southern Spain, and I doubt the price differential would buy us anything like the sort of place we have now.  But it's an intriguing idea, not least because the boss is Welsh, but from the bottom half of the country.

Theres a lot of property for sale now and its a bit of a buyers market, so if you fancy coming back have a look at online estate agents, you might be pleasantly surprised at how affordable the island is.

I'm sure it is a wonderful place to live, but for a 14-year-old rebel without a clue, and a city boy to boot, well, you can imagine how I felt being there.    That said, now, as an old fella, I would live there given the chance.  I suspect the bank balance would have other ideas, though.

I have been to Anglesey on a lighthouse tour in my Land Rover. I had the delight of driving over the Britannia bridge as well as Telford's bridge. Went to see South Stack and look over to the Skerries as well as lighthouses on the east coast of the island. Stayed in Holyhead and got wet walking along the pier due to the rough sea before turning back and realising it was not a good idea. A nice place to live.  

No, it closed in '97, I think.  I think that's the name of the bridge; it now has a road going over the top of the rail bridge.

We were never allowed on the water when conditions were 'difficult'; even then, in the early '70s, I think losing a kid would have been a problem for the school.  One of the masters was a former CPO in the RN, and it was a point of pride that his whaler never lost in the annual school regatta.  His long experience with ships and boats, coupled with his intimate knowledge of the Straits and a whole bag of slightly underhanded tricks, meant he never lost.  He was caught one year, so the story goes, wiping the whaler's bottom down with blocks of butter to help it slip through the water better!  A canny old fella, and a bit of a cumudgeon that didn't like kids.  He was a bit of a fish out of water, surrounded by 140 boys!

I know the place, I don't think it's operational anymore. I'm guessing this was the Britainia Bridge that was being built?

Nelson was once to have said that it you can navigate the Menai Straits safely, you can navigate anywhere. Theres a lot of rip tides all round the island and strong and fast tides.

In Which We Serve is a firm favourite of mine, along with The Cruel Sea, the latter I've seen countless times and was probably one of the reasons why I joined. 

My life seems to have been a charmed one; I had left the RN by 12 months when the Falklands debacle kicked off.  No one I knew in the service was killed or injured either, though I have met a few who were harmed by their service in the South Atlantic in '82 since.  The American habit of thanking people for their service rankles with me, I don't consider that I did anything extraordinary, certainly never had a shot fired at me in anger.  It was a career choice, and the training provided is second to none, plus they send you around the world and pay you for being there!  

Speaking to people who were in the South Atlantic then, I am not sure I would have acquitted myself as well as they did.  Sure, the training would have kicked in, but.........  As for the 'poor bloody infantry', there's no way I could have done what they did.  Heroes, every one of them, just for being there, I think.

Iago said:

I chose the Royal Navy and a technical career, so boatwork and all that goes with it never really got used after I left. 

I've known both ex-Red Duster and ex-Grey Funnel Line men. They are honourable careers. I even read a few by ex-seamen or about the life. It tends to get overshadowed by the fly boys or grunt heroism. "HMS Ulysses" and "In Which We Serve" are probably out of fashion, these days.

Slack tide and good instructors are my excuse!  The school was set up for training boys for a life at sea in the Merchant Navy.  I chose the Royal Navy and a technical career, so boatwork and all that goes with it never really got used after I left.  But the 'outward bound' nature of working the boats with other boys was, I suppose, useful.  

My first term was just after the bridge was burnt down, and my dorm had a view of the Straits and the bridge being worked upon.  But it was two years of bullying, boredom, and tedium, really.

I’ve found the Ethernet brilliant for streaming smart T.V,s through. I did have smart central heating controls added as well, it’s handy when we are out and want to switch the heating on before we get home. You may not want too much tech.

My house only had one socket in each room, I don’t think you can have too many with modern needs, the height of them is much higher to meet regs for disabled use. I never had wall lights so added them as I struggle with bright light.

The only thing I didn’t get reconnected was the BT point, the broadband was useless, we now use a satellite. I had trouble with the smoke alarms, they need the backup battery in them changing regularly, Duracell seem to last.

I had already removed all of my ceilings, it made the work much easier and cheaper, I wouldn’t recommend, my ceilings were being replaced as they were damaged, it has allowed downlighting in the hall and landing.

We have a new consumer unit and this work needs doing before it can be signed off on.

I'll think about ethernet cables, I hate the amount of spaghetti we have to have. I don't want a wired in fire alarm system I had one of those before and it malfunctioned and was a nightmare, we couldn't make it stop, they also have a tendency to go off whenever theres a powercut and we often have those around here.

I’ve recently had my house rewired, the electrician used a wall chasing machine with an extractor, it kept the dust down to a minimum. My advice is to get the consumer unit changed at the same time. The property will then get a certificate to show the work as completed. I had a interconnected smoke alarm system put in at the same time.

Similar to you I have very thick stone walls, I had Ethernet cable and sockets fitted in every room, Wi-Fi now works in every room and no ugly cables. 
I often watch Sonaz on The Repair Shop, upholstery is really interesting and I think satisfying, I wish you luck with your lair.

Iago said:

I've rowed and sailed up and down the Menai Straits many times.

Wow, I'm impressed! That's a powerful waterway. 

Just knowing and being able to comment in conversation knowledgeably was very useful.

I've rowed and sailed up and down the Menai Straits many times.