Norwich Gal

They keep popping over to see what I'm up to these Norwich gals and heres another in the form of compadre Cosmopolitan Kate. I've known Kate for over eighteen years and about eleven years ago we flew to Palma, Majorca as she wanted to escape the confines and limitations of Norridge, England. She wanted to broaden her mind and her horizons and I suggested working on yachts as with her cool stylish demeanour and catering background I thought she would fit right in. And she did.

I spotted a boat I used to work on and they invited us on board as honourary guests and within two shakes of a lambs tale she was working on it as stewardess and steaming across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Now this sort of lifestyle can suck you in and soon Kate was circling the globe, Pacific, Caribbean and Mediterannean working herself up the yachting ladder. After leaving the bateaux she took herself off to the other side of the globe to New Zealand and for seven years ran a fantastic Art Deco restaurant in Whangerai, I believe, with her top rated chef boyfriend.

Alas all dreams can fall flat eventually as the couple split up and Kate rejoined her former yacht as if she had never been away. She took the time out from her hectic schedule on her present yacht which she refers to as a floating caravan to come pay Fes a visit and see the ole house here.
Impressed by Fes she wasted no time stocking up on rugs and scarfs for her future abode wherever that may be, lets hope its not too far away.

Dont Count your Chickens

So Andy P came rushing over to Fez or should that be zigzagged via Eurostar and Paris, to complete the signing on his spacious Riad....or so he thought. Of course nothing goes as planned here and there is ALWAYS a stumbling block. In this case a new owner popped his head over the parapet to claim he owned several rooms cue a frenzy of paper checking. Its not unusual as Tom Jones once said, but then again all problems eventually resolve themselves even though us clueless Europeans really have no idea how it generally happens.

The best thing to do is go with the flow patiently waiting outside various offices to meet various people to solve various problems over various usually long periods. If you have a truckload of patience then you are fine but if your are of an impatient bent and like things done promptly I would suggest you have not come to the ideal place. Try Germany. Things can move quickly but generally when you least expect them to.

Back to Andys Riad he has uncovered some interesting history about the place, generally that it was once owned by the Sultan of Morocco who apparently sold Morocco to the French after his brother had spent the army budget on his personal fetish for fireworks. This is unsubstantiated but makes for good reading nonetheless and further investigation should fill in the blanks. Andy seems very well prepared to jump through all the necessary hoops to make sure he is the sole owner and has great ideas to bring the shell of a building back to something resembling its former glory. With a modern twist.

He left with frequent phone calls from England updating him on the imminent birth of his fourth child, so heres a man with a lot on his plate I would say.