Interesting!

It’s been a funny old week, unfortunately not all in a good way. Firstly we learned that a neighbouring Finca has been sold off

On the other side of the lane from us, a view I have always loved, the suspicion is that it will be turned into a holiday Centre, with cabins dotted about the hillside, this will mean more traffic, more noise as it will be filled with holiday makers, not locals, the very reason we moved from Copacabana, will this mean us moving again? I honestly don’t know, if it does, I may just give in to Marcela’s desire to move back into the Urban jungle, maybe I’ve had my time, and now she should have hers.

If it does come to selling up, I will look closely at renting next time, the overriding advice from many quarters, seems to be, not to buy, but rent, totally contrary to all I have been brought up with, but then it depends on the environment you are living in. It would mean the end of my woodworking hobby, unless I got a unit somewhere, but maybe life is trying to tell me something.

Anyway, before making any decisions, we will wait to hear definitely, what is happening!

I have my authorisations for physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, I was supposed to have my first hydrotherapy yesterday, we were literally just about to walk out of the door to go, when they rang to say the therapist was ill, so now it’s on Saturday. The first Physio is on Thursday, I am going to try to get some of the sessions doubled up, the Centers are about 35-40 minutes away, I can’t afford to be going back and forth, with the way fuel is rising in cost every month.

We have made the decision to invest more in our own security, despite Marcela’s best efforts, we have still not seen any Police activity in the area, and there has been yet another burglary, neither the Municipality nor the Police seem in any way interested, it appears to be down to us. We made contact with regard to buying a VHF radio, there are 26 others in our Group who have made the investment, and that gives us direct contact with not only those Members, but the Police HQ in Medellin.

This decision, means that both Marcela and I have to go to Medellin next week, to be vetted by the Police, and issued with a Licence to broadcast, because of my background Marcela wants me to be the main registered user, my intention was to only use it within the confines of the house, but apparently we are encouraged to carry it with us at all times when within the Department / County of Antioquia, hence the need for a licence, in case we are stopped with it. The Radio wasn’t cheap, but unlike the UK, the licence itself is free, we only have to pay for the card.

Another worry for the whole of our area, is water supply, there was a meeting held in town at 8am Sunday morning, the venue had to be big enough to accommodate the number of people expected.

There are two major problems, this stems from the fact, that being in a rural area, we do not have a Water Company providing our water, we are an Association, and the Users are the Owners.

The first, is that we have no money, in fact we are millions in debt, the Accountant hasn’t submitted a correct Tax Return in five years, for which we have to pay a fine, and interest, and unlike most businesses, most Users had to go to the Office in town every month to pay their bills, it is suspected that the Secretary has pocketed millions over the last five years, she is suspended and under investigation, but is refusing to cooperate. If they can prove these suspicions, she will be looking at Prison time, which is only right, but doesn’t help us, and is a little sad, as she lost her husband a few weeks ago, not the best time for her.

The Committee accepted that the quality of the water we have been receiving is poor, which brings us to the second, maybe most important point, the source of our water is drying up, and they are having trouble finding an alternative, the two closest are licenced to provide the Town itself, and the nearest available is five miles away, which is a cost in piping we couldn’t afford, even if the funds were there. On top of that the infrastructure is old and falling to bits, we need a new filtration Centre, and pumps, none of which we can afford.

Apparently there are about 700 registered Users, only 300 have been paying their bills, the Committee, believe that 700, could be double that number, with illegal connections to the water supply.

They have a new Engineer, who is slowly working his way around the area, cutting off illegal connections, from new builds, and families who allow a new neighbour to connect via their pipes, if it wasn’t so serious I would laugh.

We have been told that in the worst case scenario, we could be without any water…period! Any other country, I would say, that wouldn’t be allowed to happen, but here!

Yes, we have the stream passing the bottom of our property, but it’s illegal to take direct from that source, and that is one of the town sources, however if we end up with no water supply at all, I won’t hesitate to tap in to this. It appears the Mayor and Local Authority, don’t wish to be involved, even though we pay our taxes, if that is the case, then I think many will be saying their piece before long.

Back to domestic issues… in 2015 Marcela had her finger in a number of pies, one of which was selling costume jewellery, and she asked me to make her a portable display case for Fairs.

This is what I came up with, a plywood and pine box lined with felt. It’s still in use to this day, but by her Sister and Mother, who make their own costume Jewellery, and attend a lot of Fairs, so they asked me to make another, on a different design, and it is now nearing completion, my part is easier this time.

All the timber is scrap or from my stock, the 1/8″ plywood and 2″x1″ pine. It consists of three panels the main 24″x24″ back panel, and two wings to help it stand unaided. I have bought a piano hinge to join the wings to the main panel, today I did the painting, then after the hinges are attached, it just needs a carrying handle, and hooks to keep it shut.

I will then hand it off to the Ladies, the three panels will have a firm upholstery foam inserted, which they can then pin their earrings and necklaces onto. I just hope it lasts as long as the first!