Today was designated a business day the first task being to go down to the bank to withdraw enough money to pay the gardener for the next half year’s maintenance and for all the ‘little extras’ that add up to a huge amount. It looked like a good day for a business day, dismal and cloudy with rain forecast, so after a much more rapid start that usual we went down into Calpe town.
It seemed that after the four day Fiestas with shops all closed, the world and her husband had headed into town to do catch up shopping so parking was an issue. Garrath needed some glue to fix the new lampshade that broke while he was putting it on the lamp so we went to Brico Aitana (the hardware part of the store where we have a discount card) and used their car park. Even there we were lucky to get a space.
Glue purchased plus three very cute mini capacos (builders buckets) for snacks we went to the bank. We used to love that bank when it was CAM (Caja Ahorra Mediterráneo) but CAM has since been gobbled up by Sabadell and we hate it now. CAM used to have a delightful Dutch lady, Cristina, who was incredibly helpful and fluent in many languages. As soon Sabadell gobbled up CAM she and all the other CAM staff disappeared, presumably hoofed unceremoniously, and were replaced by fewer, less helpful and less linguistically accomplished staff.
On a previous trip we had to wait two and a half hours just to pick up a bank card. When we finally got to speak to a staff member and said that the wait was unreasonable she urged us to complain to head office and say they were understaffed because she herself was paid from 08.00 to 14.00 but was expected to work until 18.00. So not only does their service stink, they bully and exploit their staff too.
Anyway, we went into the bank, took a queue ticket and waited – and waited – and waited! When we got to the desk the guy was pleasant enough and we got the cash OK, but I had already determined that we need to move all our business to another bank. The wait is bad enough but I refuse to support any company that exploits its staff so from there we went to the small, very friendly little bank where Garrath has his Spanish account and enquired about transferring accounts.
The lovely guy in there who speaks wonderful English explained that we have to open accounts, provide passport, NIE numbers (National Identification Numbers) utility bill details etc. then leave it to him to negotiate with Sabadell over a period of several weeks until the transfer is completed. I expressed disappointment that it is such a complex process and he said that he knew that in the UK it is a very simple process, a matter of pressing a few buttons and that he is very jealous! So yet another business day needed. Ugh!
While we were walking back to the car it started raining, not terribly heavily at first, but enough to need an umbrella and start to creat large puddles on the badly drained roads. We realised that it would be impossible to drive anywhere for lunch so we called in at Mercadona (the GF aware supermarket) to get some stuff for a light lunch in the hope that the weather would let up enough for us to go out to dinner.
Fat chance! When we got out of Mercadona the deluge was so dramatic that the roads were seriously flooded and I was very lucky to get the car through the deep water and home. Garrath had intended us to stop at the local watering hole for tea and free WIFI but I said, “F*ck that for a game of soldiers, I’m getting us straight home through this river if I can,” and that is exactly what I did, in spite of protests from the car with four danger warnings one of which ‘Take the car to the garage immediately!’ I only hope that it dries out by tomorrow, but looking at the weather it is another case of Fat Chance!
The rain abated a little during the afternoon giving false hope that we might be able to get out for a meal. Fat Chance again. The gardener, Perran, came to collect his cash at a time when the rain had actually stopped. Deep joy and yet more false hope. He too had ploughed through knee high puddles and actually had to go to the garage to get his car fixed.
Needless to say, once Perran left the bloody heavens opened and it hasn’t stopped since, We have thunder, we have lightning and we have rain, rain and more bloody rain, roof thumping, street bouncing, flood creating, going out preventing RAIN and if it carries on like this it will be sleep preventing, sitting inside a drum RAIN!!!
Back off Thor! I am thoroughly pissed off with your antics. You have robbed me of a day’s holiday and it is not the first one. You have scared me witless by making me drive through a river to get home. I am grumpy, hungry and thoroughly hacked off. You have robbed me of lunch, dinner and a day’s recreation. Enough is enough!