http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1 A family chose a different lifestyle... Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:37:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Everything started out as it should have done. Antonio and Carlos picked me up an hour late and we went immediately to a bar for some fortification. Had I known how the rest of the night was going to pan out, I'd have had ten more and stayed there. To cut ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2008/10/17/diary-of-a-downshifter-part-6/ Been out of the country, but now back and starting to write again. Have been here for nearly 3 years now. On the down side, horrendous car accident (smashed up by a 16 year old driving a UHT), loss of job, heart surgery, feeling 'What are we doing here...' but on ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2008/09/29/back-in-nz/ It was now time to acquire some bees. After all, that was why we were there. We heard from a friend that an old boy was downsizing his bee stocks and contacted him in Velez Malaga. He turned up about an hour and a half late for our appointment and ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/07/25/diary-of-a-downshifter-part-5/ Due to compete in the club's 10km race this past Sunday, however on Friday my back locked. I was sitting on the stairs tying up my laces prior to the last training run with the club when the back muscles went into such spasms I could hardly breathe. Luckily my ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/06/04/benefits-of-life-in-new-zealand-part-3/ After stalling this potential thief who was the owner of the supermarket in the nearby village of Los Romanes, we contacted our lawyer. Once you have a set of deeds in Spain, you can keep them, even after you have sold the property. New deeds are made up for the ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/06/04/diary-of-a-downshifter-part-4/ So we had arrived. It was unnerving to think that this was it. The cottage was fairly sound but still lacked electricity and in fact compared to what was to come over the next few years, it was pure luxury. Many days later the electricians came and in the meantime ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/05/11/diary-of-a-downshifter-part-3/ Joined the Mount Joggers (Tauranga, North Island) and am following a 10 week plan to run up the 'Mount', a hill over 200m high next to the harbour entrance. Great way to meet like-minded people and to get fit at the same time. Club offers creche facilities for Mums, so no ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/04/27/up-the-mount/ The Journey On October 3 1993 we set off for Plymouth and the ferry to Santander in a Luton Van driven by our friend Graham and us in the lightweight Landrover and trailer. It was strange to think that ‘that was it’. No more salary. No job. No England and all ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/04/24/diary-of-a-downshifter-part-2/ Sustainability in all aspects of our lives is a laudable aim in my opinion, but what has this got to do with downshifting. Take an example: Mike and Lynn decide that they’ve had enough of the stressy jobs, the grumpy bosses, the commuting and the sheer lack of time to ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/04/22/downshifting-hijacked-by-the-green-movement-2/ How it all started This diary tells the ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies and daily routines of a typical overseas downshifting couple which grew into a downshifting family. All of it is true and it all began in November 1993 when my wife Anna and I left the UK for ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/04/19/diary/ After more than 10 years in rural Spain, and over 1 year in New Zealand, I completed my first duathlon (run, bike, run) at the young age of 41. Never too late to try a new country and a new experience. A week before the event I duly completed my ... http://bassdrumbooks.com/blog1/2007/04/02/benefits-of-life-in-new-zealand/