Casa Pilar Alto, Illora Newsletter 21st March 2007

Illora Weekly News
Dateline 21.03.07

"Muy, muy bonita, muy, muy barato, muy, muy antigua" these phrases, accompanied by elaborate hand-kissing gestures, have dominated the last week as we worked to disregard the dust around us and to look to the future rustic-themed Casa Pilar Alto - www.casaillora.com

We were delighted to discover "Casa Rustika" - a shop in Illora that specialises in rustic and largely antique furniture. Conchie and Francisco took excessive delight in discovering us and our plans for a Casa Rural. The assurance that everything we buy will be incredibly beautiful ("muy, muy bonita"), very old ("muy, muy antigua") and unbelievably cheap ("muy, muy barrato") became the topic of endless jokes between Klaus and myself whilst Cathy suffered the barrage. Klaus, Cathy's uncle, had joined us for a week of heavy labour from Rudesheim (not far from Frankfurt, Germany ) last Thursday. Cathy, Klaus and I stripped tiles from the room that will eventually become our bedroom and Klaus kindly back filled all of the resulting rubble in a pile which will eventually form the highest terrace of our property with the very best views. Klaus is saddled today with completing the wall that will support the terrace before returning to Germany tomorrow.

This week we have learned that there are ways in which we may get some financial support but that we should have done our homework much earlier. The message that we tried but could get no joy from London is lost on the messengers of doom here. Doom, however, is often followed by much more positive news - this Friday we shall again meet up with Francis - a local with a disturbingly strong Essex accent gained over 30 years there - to get a list that will have been prepared of financial help we may get and what is required to get it. Of course, you will understand that it is due to be ready on Friday but may well not be until sometime next week, or possibly later.

The locals remain eager to get to know us better - a feeling that we are eager to reciprocate. Imagine a string of neighbours in London inviting you for breakfast lunch, dinner and anything in between - no ? You can't quite see it ? Come to Spain ! This also comes down to the amount of time Cathy, Klaus and I are willing to spend in the endless collection of local bars consuming beers and exchanging jokes in better and better Spanish. It's a tough life but somebody has to do it.

This PR exercise has brought us into contact with many characters, such as Diego. Diego is very slight, has a fixed, genuine smile of alternating teeth and gums, speaks as though permanently drunk, is regarded as the town idiot but is also wealthy and more widely travelled than anybody else in Illora. Diego was the one person to have got hold of our newly installed landline number and treated us to a Saturday late night near-incomprehensible call and yet had total recall of the event and the time of his call two days later.

Casa Alto Illora, in the meantime, is coming along in leaps and bounds. The first en suite bathroom with suitably over-sized shower tray is almost complete. Our lounge cum kitchen in the higher level stables is at a similar, if not more advanced staged. Our belongings from London arrived late last week - much of these having been in storage for nine months - but cannot be unpacked due to the amount of dust still being created. "Manana" remains our most used word but gains more and more credibility - our computers may still be in boxes to protect them from the dust but the end of this situation is in sight, if less than imminent.

In the meantime, we can content ourselves with making a growing list of contacts in the local furniture trade, all of whose products will not only be "muy, muy bonita" but, delightfully, "muy, muy barrato" and, in many cases, "muy, muy antigua" - much of what we are buying here is 17th or 18th century Poniente Granadino rustic furniture. Casa Pilar Alto will have a strongly rustic rather than Moorish theme, whilst offering the up to date comforts to which we are strongly committed.

Hasta luego !

Matthew and Cathy Brooks

Casa Pilar Alto
4,6 Cuesta Pilar Alto
18260 Illora
Granada
Spain

Email: stay@casaillora.com

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