text:
John "Legs" Diamond (Philadelphia, 10 juli 1897 - New York, 18 december 1931) was een beruchte Amerikaanse gangster van Ierse origine. Hij was ook bekend onder de namen Jack Moran en Gentleman Jack. Hij was vooral actief tijdens de drooglegging in New York, waar hij betrokken was bij de illegale handel in drank. Zijn mentor was de joodse zakenman Arnold Rothstein. Tussen 1919 en 1931 overleefde hij verscheidene moordaanslagen, hetgeen hem de bijnaam kleiduif van de onderwereld opleverde. Zijn andere bijnaam, Legs, is Engels voor benen. Deze bijnaam verwijst ofwel naar zijn danstalent ofwel naar het feit dat hij vaak wist te ontsnappen uit de handen van zijn vijanden. Zijn grote rivaal was Dutch Schultz.

Biografie

Beginjaren
John Jack Diamond werd geboren als zoon van John en Sarah Diamond die tijdens de lente van 1891 van Ierland naar Philadelphia waren geëmigreerd. In 1899 werd Eddie geboren, de twee jaar jongere broer van Jack. Beide broers hadden problemen op school en hun moeder had last van haar gezondheid; ze leed onder andere aan artritis. Op 24 december 1913 stierf ze aan de gevolgen van een bacteriële infectie en hoge koorts. Vervolgens gaf vader John zijn baan als fabrieksarbeider op en verhuisde met zijn zonen naar Brooklyn, New York.

Daar sloot de jonge Jack Diamond zich aan bij de straatbende Hudson Dusters. Op 4 februari 1914 werd hij gearresteerd wegens inbraak. Het was de eerste van verschillende arrestaties. Tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog sloot hij zich aan bij het Amerikaanse leger. Maar rond 1918 deserteerde hij. Diamond werd later dan ook veroordeeld wegens desertie.

Na zijn gevangenisstraf begon hij in dienst van gangster Jacob "Little Augie" Orgen te werken. Diamond werd ingehuurd om een vijand van Orgen te vermoorden. Later werd hij de persoonlijke bodyguard van Orgen. Toen Orgen door Louis Buchalter werd vermoord, werd Diamond zelf twee keer geraakt.

Levensstijl
Jack Diamond hield er een flamboyante levensstijl op na. Hij werd omschreven als een energiek individu. Verder stond hij ook bekend om zijn loyaal gedrag, al durfde hij ook weleens iemand verraden. Zijn echtgenote, Alice, vond zijn levensstijl onaangenaam, maar zou nooit hebben geprobeerd die te veranderen. Ondanks zijn huwelijk met Alice bleef Jack Diamond een vrouwenversierder. Zijn bekendste maîtresse was showgirl en danseres Marion "Kiki" Roberts. Diamond was erg geliefd bij het grote publiek.

Drooglegging
Eind jaren '20 vond in de Verenigde Staten de drooglegging plaats. De handel in drank werd illegaal en dus probeerde Diamond tevergeefs om in Europa bier te vinden. Na de dood van Orgen was hij echter verantwoordelijk geworden voor de illegale bierhandel in Manhattan, hetgeen hem in conflict bracht met Dutch Schultz. Maar Diamond kreeg ook problemen met andere bendes en er volgden al snel heel wat aanslagen op zijn leven.

Stanley Wheeler werd een goede vriend van Diamond en werd zelfs zijn persoonlijke chauffeur. Met Wheeler achter het stuur kon Diamond meerdere keren net aan de dood ontsnappen. Om buiten schot te blijven, dook Diamond een tijdje onder in Catskill Mountains, een natuurgebied ten noorden van Albany, New York.

In oktober 1929 werden Jack Diamond en zijn maîtresse beschoten door enkele gewapende mannen, terwijl ze dineerden in zijn suite in het Hotel Monticello. Diamond werd vijf keer geraakt. Na zijn revalidatie vluchtte Diamond naar Europa. De rest van zijn bende verliet New York eveneens. Na zijn terugkeer naar de Verenigde Staten begon hij aan een nieuw territorium in Albany te werken.

In 1930 werd Diamond beschuldigd van kidnapping. De rechtbank van Catskill sprak hem vrij. Maar hij werd meteen opnieuw beschuldigd, ditmaal op federaal niveau. Ditmaal werd hij veroordeeld tot een gevangenisstraf van vier jaar. Een derde rechtszaak in Troy, New York sprak hem echter opnieuw vrij.

Dood
De avond van de rechtszaak in Troy vierde Diamond de goede afloop met een feest. Na een zware nacht trok hij naar Dove Street in Albany, New York om te gaan te slapen. Diamond werd rond half zes 's ochtends gedood. Hij werd drie keer in het achterhoofd geschoten. Er werden echter meer dan drie schoten gehoord, dus er wordt aangenomen dat er eerst een korte vechtpartij heeft plaatsgevonden alvorens hij werd vermoord.

Tot op heden is het niet duidelijk wie Jack Diamond vermoordde. Mogelijke verdachten zijn Dutch Schultz, de broers Oley, en het politiekorps van Albany. In het boek O Albany van schrijver William Kennedy wordt verteld dat Dan O'Connell de moord regelde. O'Connell was een politieke figuur die aan het hoofd stond van het politiekorps. De mogelijke uitvoerder van de moord was sergeant Fitzpatrick. Hij werd later zelfs baas van het politiekorps. Deze theorie wordt algemeen aanvaard en werd bevestigd door verscheidene personen die destijds lid waren van het politiekorps.

Twee jaar na de dood van Jack Diamond werd zijn echtgenote Alice vermoord. Fitzpatrick werd in 1945 in zijn kantoor doodgeschoten door een collega. De dader kreeg een gevangenisstraf van 20 jaar.

Diamond,Jack

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Gianmarco Cardia happens to be one of the most talented yacht designers, currently. The young prodigy recently unveiled his newest creation, Vela, which is a new and stunning yacht concept that utilises the infamous Dyna Rig sails. It is deemed as a distinctive because a yacht designer rarely uses these sails in his or her designs. They are currently seen on very few yachts, such as the Black Pearl or the Maltese Falcon. Cardia has not only used the sails in his design but has also made them dual purpose - part of these majestic sails can also be used as a screen for a jaw-dropping outdoor cinema!


These outside lights are the unified mix of two worlds: the natural and the commercial. Positioned next to bushes, trees and hedges, the Tree lamp offers an amusing nod to the spectator, interesting with white and also dark color contrasts and also shades.
Space embellishing with an arc light is a fantastic idea that Italian interior developers Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni supplied to the world. They developed modern floor lights, which are torchieres with arch-shaped legs as well as pendant lights at the same time. Arc lamps are versatile as well as can be used for numerous eye-catching as well as practical room enhancing suggestions.
Lace textiles and also shoelace patterns are versatile as well as widely attractive. There are numerous stylish and creative methods to add shoelace to space style. Your creative imagination and a sense of design, specialist guidance as well as motivations help produce gorgeous room design devices, furniture as well as lighting fixtures that are special, charming as well as trendy.
MOOOI creates modern illumination components, residence decor accessories, numerous furnishings for contemporary home style, that look fascinating and also attractive, commemorating modern design and ordering the attention.
The light tones are developed by felting the wool over the metal frameworks, creating an uncommon joint in between these two materials, making every home illumination fixture different and interesting. Tel Aviv-based industrial designer Dana Bachar developed amazing Felted collection of lights that are lovely as well as truly unique.


She's on the move and she brought her Sarah Mulder Jewelry collection with her! Romanian Fashion Blogger Vintageena posted this beautiful photoshoot on her blog and she always blows me away with her stunning photos by her boyfriend. To view the full set and see what else she has going on with her travels check out Vintageena's Blog!


text:
Experts Question Death Penalty in Cleveland Case
6 years 7 months 3 weeks ago Sunday, May 26 2013 May 26, 2013 Sunday, May 26, 2013 11:51:50 AM CDT May 26, 2013 in News
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Experts say a death penalty case against a Cleveland man accused of kidnapping three women and forcing one of them into several miscarriages would be close to unheard of but not a legal impossibility.
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty has said he's weighing capital charges against Ariel Castro, who's accused of imprisoning the women in his house for a decade while beating and sexually assaulting them.
McGinty says capital punishment must be reserved for crimes that are the worst examples of human conduct.
Several experts agree no one is on death row nationally for killing only a fetus.
Case Western University law professor Michael Benza says proof will be a challenge, especially because no human remains have been found at Castro's property.
Castro's attorney has said he'll plead not guilty.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


24, Doctor Who, and Halo: Nightfall actress joins Star Wars!
You may not have heard of Christina Chong, but you've probably seen her and didn't even realize it. Most recently, she was in that surprising reboot for 24 as Mariana. She was in a really brilliant episode of the new Twilight-Zone-style show Black Mirror called "The Waldo Moment" (highly recommended), and she was on Doctor Who playing Lorna Bucket. Do you remember Lorna? She was in A Good Man Goes to War, she apparently met the Doctor once before in the Gamma Forest, and she gave Amy that cloth with her baby's name in the language of Lorna's people. The one that translates as "River Song."
And then she dies! But not before doing an awful lot of heavy lifting for a one-shot character.
What's impressive, though, is that her film and TV career didn't really start until 2008. She's done a lot in just six years. And now she'll be adding to that by joining the cast of Star Wars. We haven't heard what part she'll be playing, but just based on what we've seen of her, we're very excited to see her on board.
We'd say she's very lucky to be part of one of the largest sci-fi franchises of all time, but, really, Star Wars is lucky to have her.


text:
Maui Pops Orchestra Performs Winter Pops Feb. 21
February 17, 2016, 11:36 AM HST
Maui Pops Orchestra photo.
The Maui Arts & Cultural Center will present the Maui Pops Orchestra's Winter Pops concert on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016, beginning at 3 p.m. in the Castle Theater.
Winter Pops will feature violin soloist Benjamin Baker. Born in New Zealand, Baker moved to the UK at a young age to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School.
He has won several prestigious violin competitions.
Maui Pops, Benjamin Baker. Photo credit Kaupo Kikkas.
Baker will play two very flashy violin works: Poeme by Chausson and Faust Fantasy by Wieniawski.
The orchestra will also perform the William Tell Overture, Clair de Lune and the Polovetsian Dances.
Tickets are $15, $30, $40 and $50, with half-price students 18 and under (plus applicable fees).
Patrons who purchased tickets to all four shows in the Maui Pops series (Dec. 6, Jan. 24, Feb. 21 and March 20) received a 10% discount off each ticket price. The student discount does not apply to $15 tickets.
To purchase tickets, call The MACC Box Office at (808) 242-SHOW (7469) Monday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., or go online anytime.
Maui Pops Orchestra to Host Holiday Concert November 22, 2018
Maui Pops' BROADWAY POPS Concert, Jan. 13 January 4, 2019
Maui Youth Philharmonic Orchestra Winter Concert, Dec. 8 November 26, 2019
Comedian & YouTube Star JP Sears Performs on Maui, Jan. 5 November 12, 2018
Maui Crime Feb. 2- Feb. 8: Burglaries, Break-ins, Thefts February 11, 2020
Maui Crime Feb. 9 - Feb. 15: Burglaries, Break-ins, Thefts February 22, 2020


DC Comics loves origin stories. Just about every superhero in their stable has had their beginnings retold at least twice. On television, DC continues to produce prequel series that explore the early development of some of its most iconic characters. From Smallville to Gotham, they've done it so many times now that it's become a formula. A young man is on the receiving end of both great tragedy and incredible power, pushing him to untold heights of heroism with each new season, all the while unaware that his closest friend will become his greatest foe. When the show Krypton was first announced, I expected more of the same. I figured it would be fun if not unique, but by the end of the first episode I was both pleasantly surprised and immediately hooked.
Few superheroes have had their origins detailed more exhaustively than Superman. The story of the Last Son of Krypton is so well known that my grandmother could recite it to me. Countless pages have been spent examining his personal and family history, and it gets retold every time he appears in a new show or movie. Much like mythological figures of old, his story shifts and changes depending on who's telling it, but Superman is always the same. The Last Days of Krypton, a novel by Kevin J. Anderson, consolidated many different versions of the mythos into a history of this world's slow decline and ultimate destruction. While the show clearly takes some inspiration from this book, Krypton has found a way to make one of the most well-worn tales in all of comic books feel new and exciting again.
Even if you've read all the comics, there is no guarantee you know what will happen next.
The show begins about 200 years before the birth of Superman, following the adventures of his grandfather, Seg-El. This period of time has not been as thoroughly excavated as the rest of Krypton's history, giving the writers a lot of room to work. They can make bold moves without having to worry about derailing canon. Krypton likely learned a few lessons from Gotham, which suffers this drawback more and more with the passing of each season. Characters that played pivotal roles in Batman's early career, most notably the crime bosses Falcone and Moroni, are killed or written off before young Bruce Wayne ever puts on the cowl. While still entertaining, Gotham has deviated from canon so much that it is no longer about THE Batman, but just A Batman. It feels more like an Elseworlds tale of an alternate reality, rather than the history of the Dark Knight. Krypton does just the opposite. It begins in unfamiliar territory, then slowly inches ever closer to what we know of Superman's homeworld.
Krypton also manages to solve one of the more persistent problems that plagues prequels—a lack of stakes. Since we know this is the story before the real story, there are limitations to what a prequel can do within its narrative space. There are things that must happen as well as things that can't happen in order to preserve continuity, which can make the show predictable. We always knew that Clark Kent and Lana Lang weren't going to work out on Smallville because Superman has to marry Lois Lane one day. No matter how imperiled young Bruce Wayne might be on any episode of Gotham, we know he certainly can't die before he becomes Batman. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker aren't in any real danger for three whole movies. Krypton finds a fun and interesting solution: time travel. An arch nemesis from the future has travelled back to erase Superman from existence, and a plucky hero has come to stop him. This little subplot transforms a dry historical text into an engaging adventure. While we still see all the familiar narrative landmarks, temporal tampering means the official timeline can go flying off the rails at the slightest provocation. They even introduce a ticking clock in the form of Superman's cape slowly unravelling into oblivion. These are real stakes. Now we are not just watching to learn exposition—there is a good chance that the greatest hero to ever live might never be born.
Even if you've read all the comics, there is no guarantee you know what will happen next. For the well-informed, watching the recognizable pieces move in different ways is quite entertaining. And if the villain succeeds, it will be even more fun to watch our heroes try to repair the fractured timeline. For those less familiar, the writers have chosen an excellent tour guide in Adam Strange (not to be confused with Marvel's Doctor Strange). Although from the future, Adam is not a member of the Justice League yet, so he doesn't know Superman's whole backstory. The audience gets to learn along with him as he tries to figure out what is the actual past of Krypton and what is temporal interference. At first he thought Brainiac was the threat from the future, unaware of the alien computer's terrible chapter in Kryptonian history. Adam Strange is quite clever, but not incredibly powerful. So even when he does identify the problem, there is no guarantee he can fix it himself. Adam will have to learn everything he can about Superman's home in order to save him, and we get to join him on a ride that is as exciting as it is educational.


text:
Amp Simulation
SwitchAxe
Category Metal
Tagged: H&KHughes & KettnermetalSwitch BladeSwitchAxe
Positive Grid SwitchAxe Amp is available under the Metal amp group and is inspired by the Switch Blade Amp from Hughes & Kettner (H&K).
Hughes & Kettner
Neunkirchen, Germany (1984; 38 years ago (1984))
Hans and Lothar Stamer (CEO)
St.Wendel
Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Australia
Hans and Lothar Stamer
www.hughes-and-kettner.com
Hughes & Kettner is a German manufacturer of instrument amplifiers, cabinets and effects boxes.
The company was founded in Neunkirchen in 1984 by two brothers, Hans and Lothar Stamer, and moved to St. Wendel three years later.[1]
It is cited as a "long and good standing reputation as a maker of solidly performing tube amplifiers".[2]
In 1989, Hughes & Kettner offered the first realistic Leslie speaker emulation device, the Red Box, providing the sound of a Leslie without needing a microphone.[3] In 1997, the company designed the Rotosphere, a tube-powered effects pedal simulating the sound of a rotary cabinet, similar to a Leslie, but in a much smaller form factor.[4] It has been used by guitar players but also but some keyboard players, such as Jon Lord.[5] In 2011, Music Radar named the Rotosphere as one of the best modulation and filter pedals of all time.[6]
The company is actively producing new models, both tube and solid-state amplifiers. In 2020, the company released the 50W Spirit Nano amplifier head, which combines a transistor amplifier with a Red Box Leslie simulator.[7][8] The era 1 and era 2 are general purpose amplifiers that are suitable for acoustic guitars and microphones.[9]
Notable users
Notable users of Hughes & Kettner products include Rush's Alex Lifeson[10] and Kiss' Tommy Thayer, who have signature amplifiers by the company (The TriAmp MKII Alex Lifeson and the Duotone Tommy Thayer).[11][12] Marillion's Steve Rothery is a longtime user of the Rotosphere and prefers it to other Leslie simulators.[13]
Other Hughes and Kettner users are Joel Stroetzel who has used the company's Rostophere,[14] Adam Dutkiewicz,[15] Joe Bonamassa,[16] Peredur ap Gwynedd who uses a GrandMeister 36,[17] Nuno Bettencourt,[18] Tony Macalpine,[19] Michael Wilton and Allan Holdsworth.[20]
Hughes & Kettner made a custom rig of steampunk styled guitar amplifiers for Rush's Time Machine Tour in 2010.[10]
^ "Hughes & Kettner". GAK. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ Hunter, Dave (2013). 365 Guitars, Amps & Effects You Must Play: The Most Sublime, Bizarre and Outrageous Gear Ever. p. 251. ISBN 978-0760343661. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
^ Dorian, A. "Hughes and Kettner Redbox Classic". Retrieved 9 January 2021.
^ "User reviews: Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere". en.audiofanzine.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
^ "The classic Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere rotary pedal: true Leslie speaker sounds in compact form". blog.hughes-and-kettner.com/. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
^ "The 33 best modulation and filter pedals of all time". Music Radar. April 14, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ Astley-Brown, Michael. "Hughes & Kettner unveils tiny, super-affordable 50W Spirit Nano amp heads". Guitar World. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
^ "Hughes & Kettner's new Spirit Nano Heads could be affordable micro marvels". Music Radar. October 1, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Review: Hughes & Kettner era 2 Amp". Guitar World. July 11, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ a b "Rush go steampunk for Time Machine tour!". Music Radar. July 6, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Tommy Thayer Reflects on Going from Kiss Fan to Spaceman to the End of the Road". Guitar World. March 12, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Interview teaser : Tommy Thayer von Kiss". Guitarbass (in German). January 5, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Marillion's Steve Rothery and Mark Kelly have nothing to fear". Music Players. January 20, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Killswitch Engage Guitarist Names Strangest Guitar He Ever Used on Recording, Details Gear From New Album". Ultimate Guitar. August 23, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Kytaroví velikáni - Adam Dutkiewicz a Joel Stroetzel". muzikus.cz (in Czech). November 18, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Guitar master Joe Bonamassa shoots from the hip about selecting the right effects pedal". Music & Musicians Magazine. February 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Rig tour: Pendulum". Music Radar. November 11, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Nunno Bettencourt's Guitar Gear Rig and Equipment". Uberpro Audio. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Rig Rundown: Tony MacAlpine". Premier Guitar. November 12, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^ "Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 5 Amp review". Premier Guitar. February 9, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_%26_Kettner
Insane 6508
Treadplate
Insane (Formerly 5153)
Rocker V


text:
Q: Android game countdown timer I'm working on a game where I need a countdown timer.
I need to be able to pause the timer, resume the countdown and to add some time to current countdown state.
I've looked at CountdownTimer class and its methods, but it seems like it doesn't have the required features.
I need advice - which component is best for this case?
How to use it?
What are the possible problems?
Thread? AsyncTask? Timer?
Does anyone have experience with this?

A: I think Thread can be used, but its easier to implement your features using CountdownTimer wrapper class:
    static class MyCountdownTimer {

    long mCurrentMilisLeft;
    long mInterval;
    CountdownTimerWrapper mCountdownTimer;

    class CountdownTimerWrapper extends CountDownTimer{
        public CountdownTimerWrapper(long millisInFuture,long countDownInterval) {
            super(millisInFuture, countDownInterval);
        }

        @Override
        public void onFinish() {

        }

        @Override
        public void onTick(long millisUntilFinished) {
            mCurrentMilisLeft = millisUntilFinished;
        }

    }

    public MyCountdownTimer(long millisInFuture, long countDownInterval) {
        set(millisInFuture,countDownInterval);
    }

    public void pause(){
        mCountdownTimer.cancel();
    }

    public void resume(){
        mCountdownTimer = new CountdownTimerWrapper(mCurrentMilisLeft, mInterval);
        mCountdownTimer.start();
    }

    public void start(){
        mCountdownTimer.start();
    }

    public void set(long millisInFuture, long countDownInterval){
        mInterval = countDownInterval;
        mCurrentMilisLeft = millisInFuture;
        mCountdownTimer = new CountdownTimerWrapper(millisInFuture, countDownInterval);
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Vanlife Business Directory
Portuguese residency
The Pets
Van Cooking
Our first year of Vanlife - the Highs and Lows!
We set off for France on June 17th 2019.
We have lived in our van full time since then, travelling as a family of 3 plus 4 pets, sometimes joined by our fourth person when he's not at college!
The first week was amazing. We tried out wild camping for the first time, each night being nervous that we would get a knock from the police or an angry local, and each morning realising that we were ok, that we could sleep in peace and not have any hassle at all!
Our first wild camp spot:
We bought fresh french bread and strawberries every day for breakfast and ate them as we drove. Phoenix and Rosie did art on a picnic table in a forest where we also saw wild boar with babies. The dogs paddled in rivers and on beaches, and the cats explored on their leashes too. We prepared dinner while sitting outside surrounded by vinyards as the sun set in glorious technicolour. We visited Dom's childhood home in Spain and paddled in the Spanish sea. We slept by an abandoned castle, a river, sand dunes, windmills and a waterfall.
The weather was fabulous - lots of sunshine and light breezes. I began a new routine of sitting outside with my morning coffee while Dom worked for a few hours and the kids slept in. That coffee outside is something I still do now, one of my favourite parts of the day.
We had a few mishaps - We got lost and drove around the same town six times because our trucker satnav was a bit useless. We had to reverse down a motorway sliproad because there was a height restriction bar on it! We got stuck in soft ground and were rescued by a tractor driver and an awful lot of Spanish people who came to watch the spectacle.
All that, in our first week! We reached Portugal on Day 8...
The Highs
One of the absolute best things about the last year was making new friends at random parkups. We first met a wonderful couple, Stefan and Nina, when Nina wandered over to our van in a remote spot to offer us half a watermelon. We reciprocated with a tin of mistakenly bought anchovy olives, and then spent several lovely days chilling and chatting with them and cooking for each other. We've met up several times since, and look forward to seeing them again soon!
We enjoyed campfire chats with so many people, including Nick and Sarah (the exPAWers) and Oliver of Magic Bus Art in Quarteira; we shared a secret UK parkup with Symon (vikingvanlifer) for an evening; met up with Rainbows on the Road at their favourite spot when we were in the UK at the end of August; and were happily surprised to have an impromptu meetup with Indie Projects' Bee and Theo in the wilderness of Spain.
We also thoroughly enjoyed meeting Mandy and John Gadget, and Greg Virgoe and Lou in Tarifa in February. We ended up travelling in convoy with them for 3 weeks and had so much fun together!
Orgiva
With a bohemian atmosphere, hippy craft markets, a campsite for emergencies (showers and electricity), a pizza lady who handmade pizzas and bread and delivered right to the van, a beautiful parkup under a stand of eucalyptus trees, AND a lovely town full of fab shops and several vegan eateries, Orgiva is our favourite town in the whole of Spain! It's also very close to...
The Worldschooling Community in La Herradura. This is a wonderful place to meet other worldschoolers, and is very well organised. There are regular casual meetups as well as classes and workshops for all ages. Rosie went on a trampolining and ice skating trip with them, we all took a graffiti workshop, and Rosie took a few world cookery classes too. Plus she made several friends who she looks forward to meeting up with again.
Check out www.worldschoolhubandalucia.com if you're interested!
Rosie starting a business - Rosie has always loved crafting, and brought her hot glue gun along on the van. She started making little 'critters' using shells with other trinkets and flotsom plus nail polish and sharpie pens. When we stayed in Orgiva we were given a flyer advertising the Rastro - a craft market/carboot held just outside of town twice a month. Rosie asked us to stay so she could have a stall, and then she worked like crazy making a sign and creating lots of critters. On the day, she sat for 4 hours and sold lots of critters! She made 11 Euros and was thrilled :) Since then she has sold at 2 more Rastros, and progressed to making resin jewellery. As I write this she is adding the finishing touches to her new website and plans to launch very soon! Unschooling at it's best!
In the middle of the south coast of Portugal, in the Algarve, is a place called Quarteira. There are pine trees that you can park between on a low shelf of land above a beach . If you walk along the beach for 10 minutes or so, you reach the town with it's bars, shops and restaurants. One of the nearest restaurants, Raizes, is vegan and has the most wonderful food and juices! The water is lovely to swim in and the trees give shade if you want it - it's the most perfect parkup we've found to date!
It's also special to us because it was here that Rosie made some friends who she played with nonstop for 4 days. They played by torchlight when the sun set because they just weren't done!
Seeing cool wildlife. We've seen so many cool things, here is our top 20:
Alpine marmot, beaver, preying mantis, octopus, lots of fish, storks, fish eagle, lizards, dung beetle rolling dung, terrapin, bats, crayfish, flamingos, black redstarts, golden oriole, egrets, white herons, turtles, viper, glow worm.
Other highs: Swimming in the sea and in lakes; spending so much time outside; the many many sunsets and one sunrise that we've caught; all of the historical places that we've visited - castles, monasteries, troglodyte villages, caves with prehistoric paintings, battlefields; seeing the dogs and cats learn to love vanlife - the dogs love paddling and the cats love the new sniffs and wildlife watching!
The Lows
Mosquitos - we had a lot of trouble with mozzies in the warm months in Spain. They had a lot of rainfall during August so when we were travelling there in September, there was still a lot of standing water around. Perfect for mosquitos! We tried all sorts of things to deter them from biting us, but in the end we had to close up the van just before sunset and then spend an hour squashing as many as we could find that were hiding in the van. Leo helped out by catching and eating them too!
Extreme heat - We had some nights when the Maxxfan was on full and we were sleeping in our pants on top of the duvet and were still hot and sticky. We have since bought individual usb fans, and have fitted a skylight to let extra breeze in over the beds! We also had some days when it was pretty fierce out, but found it to be manageable by putting the window covers on, turning the fan up and opening windows a crack to let breeze in.
Travelling and wildcamping in the UK - We didn't have any trouble sleeping at wild parkups, but we did have a really hard time trying to find bins to dispose of our rubbish, places to park to visit attractions (we had to leave Whitby without visiting the Abbey due to height restrictions on the carparks, one example of many), finding a big enough parking spot at supermarkets, and getting a decent wifi signal to do work. Oh and it was rainy, cold and foggy for almost the entire month of August, which meant that we were confined to the van a lot.
Saying goodbye to Phoenix - Originally, Phoenix planed to travel with us for a year, taking a gap year between school and college. That was part of our reason for doing vanlife when we did, as we wouldn't have wanted to leave him behind and only see him every 8 weeks or so.
However, plans change and Phoenix decided to start college that autumn instead, so we had to say goodbye after travelling together for 6 weeks. We make it work, with video calls and extra time spent together during his holidays, and he's happy to have his weekends free to see his friends and girlfriend.
Hogie's incontinence - Hogie is an old dog, and has a dog version of dementia. He started to have a few accidents in the house while we were building out the van and then shortly after we set off the accidents (always at night) became more frequent. We were cleaning up big puddles of wee several times a week, started buying puppy pads that we had to tape to the floor every evening, and then clean up every morning... The van stunk, and it was a pretty awful way to have to spend the first moments of each day! We've solved the problem now though, we buy pullup nappies for teenagers that we tape around his groin with gaffa! He wears one in the day if he's inside, usually when we drive somewhere, and two at night which contains all his leaks! When we're parked up he sits outside and is nappy free.
Morph's dodgy tummy incident - We were driving from Orgiva to Granada, a journey of about an hour, so that Rosie and I could meet some new worldschooling friends at the science museum. Halfway into the trip, Morph started yowling. That's not unusual, particularly on mountainous roads, so we ignored him. Then he started to get really restless, which is unusual. He was pacing around on the front seat, and kept trying to jump on the cab floor, or into the back. We don't let the cats roam free when we drive, they have to stay seatbelted in the cab, so I kept pulling him back and making him sit down on his seat. He was yowling and howling, and panting too now although it wasn't particularly hot. I suggested to Dom that perhaps he needed the litter tray, so we should maybe pull over. Dom agreed, but we were on a motorway so it would have to wait until we found services... Morph was really desperate to get in the back now, clawing his way up the back of the seat, so I pull him onto my lap to try to calm him down - did I mention I'm wearing my best, almost brand new dress? A pretty little dress all soft and flowery that I save for going out to nice places... that's an important detail...
We don't see services and Morph decides he can wait no longer and he squirts out the most vile smelling diarrhoea all over the seat, all over my dress, all over my hand - and then we go over a bump and he falls over in it.
So he's covered in squits and I'm covered in squits, and the van STINKS to high heaven, and STILL there are no services - but luckily we spot an Aldi off the motorway, so we headed there to clean up with baby wipes. The final part of this story? We couldn't find anywhere in Granada to park the van, so Rosie and I didn't get to go to the museum. We just turned around and drove all the way back. And then had to give Morph a bath.
Breaking down - This happened as were leaving the UK. We had been parked for 2 weeks over Christmas at Dom's mum's house and had run our diesel heater almost all day every day to keep the cats warm. We left to take Phoenix home to Devon before continuing on to the Eurotunnel, and while we were on the motorway the van lost all power and we had to pull over on the hard shoulder. We called the RAC and had to be towed to a services, then collected by a second truck to be taken to a garage in Devon. The next day the van was tested for all sorts of potential problems until someone thought to try putting some diesel in. The van started up just fine, and we realised that by running the heater without ever driving, we had used all the diesel but the van's fuel gauge didn't know it!
Lockdown - We were very fortunate to be in the UK when lockdown began (having come back to visit and run our event). We were also fortunate to be able to stay on Dom's mum's driveway - we know a lot of vanlifers in the UK have had a lot of problems with hostile locals and uninformed police, and we were lucky to be able to avoid that. However, during the three months we spent locked down, we missed out on two months in Spain, two weeks of having Phoenix with us (he was due to fly out to meet us in Malaga), Camp Quirky, 4 weeks exploring Denmark, and a visit to my dad in Holland. We also spent a LOT of time inside a house and not enough time outdoors, and we all suffered in some way from this time. I know some people had it harder, and I know it was necessary to contain the spread of the virus, but I'm listing the lows, and this was definitely one of them!
To finish on a high, here are some of our favourite places so far (click to expand)
We're thrilled to be on the move again soon, borders are opening and we're heading to France and Spain to begin our second year of Vanlife!
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