The purpose of my trip to Spain in January was to organise for Ann to be able to go there with me to celebrate our Silver Wedding on Tuesday 7th April. We set off on Monday, this is the Easyjet Airbus A319 being prepared for departure to Malaga.

At Malaga Airport I had arranged for an English speaking guide to meet us and help load the luggage into a wheelchair accessible taxi which he had booked for us. This took us to Fuengirola, where we had a penthouse suite with full disabled facilities on the top floor of the hotel where I had stayed previously. Through MartinGrenoble of xmarks I was able to arrange for an English nurse who now lives in Spain to attend at the hotel mornings and evenings to see to Ann's medical needs, washing and bathing etc. This is a view I took from the balcony while Ann was with the nurse.

Tuesday was the day of our anniversary and I took Ann to visit Fuengirola Zoo.

Appropriate to our anniversary we saw these loving monkeys.

A braw Sumatran Tiger. Unfortunately on the way back to the hotel we were waylaid by five "helpful" youths who offered to carry Ann's wheelchair down a flight of steps. They were quite insistent despite my assertion that we did not want to go that way and I had to grip the wheelchair very firmly to prevent Ann being snatched away and while I was doing so one of the youths plundered my pocket and made off with the day's spending money. Fortunately after my previous experience of Fuengirola most of our money, as well as passports and Ann's handbag were locked up in the hotel.

Eventually we got back to the hotel and got dressed up for our anniversary dinner. I wore my lightweight Hunting McLeod wool kilt and Ann wore her xmarks tartan jacket.

At the dinner table, silhouetted against the sea.
More to follow shortly.