Refreshed

I'm back in Ibiza, 33 degrees and about 90% humidity, it takes a little getting used to but I am not complaining. Feel refreshed and relaxed after a great break.

it was good to get away just hang with the family and get some fresh perspective on life here.

The tall ships in Belfast were great.



The walk up to Scrabo tower in Newtonards was fantastic



We had a great but wet day in the Mourne Mountains



Millisle beach was cool and I loved looking after Stevies dogs, Dexter and Moses, this is me with Dexter, Moses was lying in the sea!


Did loads more but the ting i enjoyed most was time with the family, you can't beat that.

Break

Been a strange week, can't understand how I let last week anonymous comment get under my skin so much, it knocked the wind out of my sails a bit, which is unusual and probably just means I am tired and need a holiday.

On Wednesday I was diagnosed with having two inguinal hernias, pictured above! Got to get them sorted, they are normally brought on by heavy lifting, which I have done a lot more of this year!

Late tomorrow night we fly to Northern Ireland for a two week holiday, so I 'm signing off for two weeks.

Response

Ibiza is no different than the UK. I agree with this on one level but do think there are some areas that add a uniquness to Ibiza, especially the west end.

It's level of intensity is different, it's like 160 UK weekend nights one after another.

It has a better geographical mix of people, if you go out in Birmingham you generally tend to have people from that area etc.., with the west end you have a much broader UK mix.

If you drink spirits the measures are much larger in the West End and spain in genral, which can lead to people getting more drunk than they thought they would.

Generally I feel the West End is less agressive than the UK at the weekend, although you should have seen the guy some of our workers talked to tonight after he had his face caved in.

People on holiday are generally more chilled than people on a weekend off in their home town, I know I am.

I think I meet more drug dealers here but am pretty sure the same happens in the UK just a little more covertly.

Nudity levels are high and because of the warm weather, you will see more people having drunken sex in public.

So for me it's the intensity level that is different and the relentlessness of it all.

I do have a nice life here, it is hard work I do as many hours as your average person back home, the timing is different so your body clock gets messed with, which does leave you tired and Tracy and I work different hours so we don't see each other as much as if we had normal jobs.

Like any other father and husband I want to spend quality time with my wife and children, real quality time, so because of that we go on holiday once a year for two weeks. We have five other adults living with us we need some space. So two weeks away from our normal schedules is good.

Anyway I am being defensive, I guess all I can say is that I know I am called by God to be here, it is a joy and I am thankful for the adventure we are on and grateful to the people who support us.

As for school, well I want my children to educated in a language other than catalan, it's restrictive so they go to an international school. How that is funded is for me and the board of 24-7 ibiza to work out.

I hint and I ask on this blog and people respond, which reassures me that I have friends out there who believe in us.

I love what it says on a friend of mines blog

no one is forcing you to read it

Electricity

Our electricity has been playing up this week, our batteries aren't charging properly on the solar panels so we have been kicking over to generator more often than I would like. Last night the generator stopped working so we were plunged into darkness at about midnight, not really the end of the world just a bit of a blow for the boys trying to find the toilet in the night, and a worry for all the stuff in the freezer. The generator guy turned up at 6 pm today and has helped us get it going for the night and hopefully will fix it in the morning.

We aren't really used to life without electricity, candles are okay but they don't keep the freezer running.

A bit of research reveals that 1.6 billion people from some of the world's poorest countries have no access to electricity, that about one quarter of the worlds population. Which probably doesn't affect you because if you're reading this you probably have electricity! I can do without it for a day, but realise we are all rather electrically dependent.

How do we respond to a world without electricity, do we need to? Or is it just some form of industrial imperialism.

We could help by saving electricity, but this wouldn't provide more for other just reduce our own impact on the planet. For instance I read this about light bulbs if every one of 110 million American households bought just one energy saving bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.

That's the law of large numbers--a small action, multiplied by 110 million.