Thursday 23 rd September 2021..Hiccup!!

Another great two hours on the courts somehow makes my day when it starts with 🎾!!!

The story is a little complicated so I will do my best to explain.

I have a Temporary Resident visa which allows me to stay in Mexico for up to 4 years.....it is first issued for one year then I have to re new it here locally for the remaining three years.

I hire a facilitator to help with the process and although it costs a little well worth it.....my appointment to renew my visa was this afternoon and I met Jessica at Immigration...she had all the paper work done and I waited only a couple of minutes before we went into the little booth...after a few minutes of thoroughly checking the paper work the officer said there was a problem.....she pointed out that in my passport my city of birth is listed as Doncaster England but on my application it is listed as Yorkshire England, which is the country where Doncaster is located, because of this I was not able to get my Visa extended and I now have an appointment on Monday.

These kinds of little mistakes happen and it does not bother me at all I take it all in my stride and will go back on Monday and get my visa!!

Now to the car...this is a different set of problems......I am allowed to get the permit for the car also for four years with the same process.

When I returned into Mexico in  May with my car I was issued a permit which expires and as above I need to renew that locally and have it tied into my residency visa and then I am good for four years.

This problem arose when I went to renew the surname on my visa is Hallgate, which is my Mum’s maiden name.......what I believed happened is when I was getting the permit for the car even though my Passport, Visa, immigration form list me as Pearson the a*ent must have asked me my mothers maiden name as that is usual here and then my permit came out in the name of Les Pearson Hallgate.

As that name is different to my visa I have to return to the Mexican birder and get a new correct one!!

Still with me?????

So my plan is now to return to the local office on Monday and get my visa and on Tuesday drive to the border in Laredo and get a correct car permit and drive back.

I cannot drive into the states because the border is still closed to non Us citizens except for essential travel...I love to drive so none of this is a problem for me!!

I love this.....

Stay safe and healthy!!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Wednesday 22 Nd September 2021...always busy on a Wednesday!!

This morning I went back to the trailhead where I went two days ago and got a bit beaten up...

This time I did manage to find the right trail and hope you enjoy the morning photos!!

This afternoon at poker still the winning ways continue with another 150 pesos in my pocket .

I then went and picked up Frida for our usual great walk....her Mum Jude sent me this photo of when she was first adopted almost a year ago and she was about two months old..

She sure has grown up to be a beautiful dog!!

I met with Martha late afternoon for our  one hour English conversation..I always enjoy this time and Martha has been my student for over three years and her English is excellent!!

Watching a soccer game from England!!

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Tuesday 21 st September 2021..yea tennis!!!

Back on the courts this morning was a lot of fun and great to be out in the sunshine again........

Walked Frida this afternoon, which I always enjoy and then met my great friends Teri, Mike, Juan and Chris at the restaurant next door for country fried chicken, great food and conversations we have all been friends since our RV ing days years ago!!

Now some fun..

Winston Churchill loved paraprosdokians, figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected.

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

6. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

7. They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

9. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out, I just wanted pay checks.

10. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put "DOCTOR."

11. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

12. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street...with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

13. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

14. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

15. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

16. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

17. There's a fine line between cuddling and...holding someone down so they can't get away.

18. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

19. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

20. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

21. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

22. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

23. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

24. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but now it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one. 

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Monday 20 th September 2021...casita cleaning..me hiking!!

Lilly comes on Monday morning to clean for me, I never see her but she does an amazing job, always has......and I go hiking...enjoy the photos!!

Beautiful skies

now you do....

No pain thank goodness...

Full harvest corn moon tonight..

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Sunday 19 th September 2021.......soggy Sunday!!

Woke up to rain and the forecast is not great for this coming week..I will forget what a tennis ball looks like!!

Spent most of the day lounging, cleaning, making plans for my trip next weekend to the  border and watching live soccer games from England.

Sorry it is not a more exciting blog🤢

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Saturday 18th September 2021.....delivery day!!

Ok it is getting a bit boring all my tennis matches being cancelled because of flooded courts!!

Last nights heavy rain did it again this morning.

Lynn is on a well earned rest in Texas, that woman has five times more energy than I do!!!

So Reyes and I went out this afternoon to do some deliveries and we started at the small community where the young local  gal, Jessica, has 12 children come to her home every day and she makes them breakfast.  They are always so thankful for the food we deliver!

We then went into centro area and made six deliveries here to some special families....

This young man has been confined to his home for many years and a few months ago when I moved into my new casita I gifted him the recliner you see in the photo.....we left a nice food hamper for the family.

Next to this ladies home.....

I just love the lines and smile on her face.....

The children in the house...

Thank you everyone who donates to keep this project moving forward!!

Back at home I was thrilled to see my first flower coming up...

I have never grown anything in my life so this made me happy!!

Frida is back home from doggie day camp so we went for a long walk this afternoon....

Great to see her again we have missed each other!!

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Friday 17th September 2021...some not so good news!!

It is a little complicated but I will try to explain....

I am in Mexico on an Temporary Resident visa which enables me to stay for 4 years without having to leave the country.

When I returned here in May with my car

I was able to get a visa for six months and when this expires at the end of this month I knew I had to go to the local Immigration office and get a renewal for three years to tie it in with my Residency Visa.

The problem is that when I was issued this visa in May at the border even though my  visa permit, passport and driving licence all show my last name as Pearson I must have been asked at the car licence office what my Mother’s last name was, in Mexico some people take their Mother’s last name, consequently the car permit was issued to me under the name Les Pearson Hallgate.

I did not realize this till I was back in  SMA ......this morning I went to get the help of a local woman to help me facilitate this change and sadly it can only be done at the border!!

So this means I have to drive to the border, not leave the country, before 30 th September and get a new permit......not disastrous news but not something I really want to do, but I must......

More about that trip in future days.....

I am pretty sure the heavy rain that continues to fall...

Will again cancel my tennis in the morning, due to the rain I have not  played all week!!!

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

 

Thursday 16 th September 2021......rain cancels tennis again!!

I do like this!!!

Stay safe and healthy!!

Yashi Kochi!!

Wednesday 15 th September 2021..... a special day!!

Today is a very important day in Mexico!!

I am proud and happy to be here in this amazing country!!

A couple of weeks ago I told you about my

first day as a police officer in the big industrial town of Sheffield, England........

I was 19 years old, just a kid fresh out of the academy trying to make a career for myself.

Well now let me tell you about my very first night shift.....it was a miserable wet April night and around 3.30am in the morning, I was tired, wet and wondering if I was in the right profession.

I was on foot patrol and part of my duty was to check the door handles of the shops and businesses to make sure no one had left the doors unlocked.

This can get pretty boring after a while but my night was soon going to be anything but boring.....

I came upon a street with many shops one of which was a Chinese restaurant...

....as I approached to check on the door I heard this horrific scream from inside , a girls voice begging for help and not to hurt her...

Adrenaline kicked in and I thought what shall I do? I checked the door and it was locked but the screaming was full belt.......

I got on my radio..

and asked for assistance immediately and asked if I should try to force my way into the shop.......

My Inspector on the radio asked for a status report and I told him what I had heard and that I could still hear the woman screaming.

He told me that assistance was on the way but I should see if I could force my way into the business.

I pulled out my truncheon ...

and prepared to body check the door all the while thinking ...this is maybe my chance to get on the robbery or detective squad.

I was prepared to meet resistance not only from the door but from the culprits inside......

Just as a scream of police tires and reinforcements arrived

I charged the door broke it completely off the hinges and I fell to the floor inside.....

I rushed to my feet, truncheon poised and ready to crack some heads when I saw this very frail old Chinese man sat on a couch watching a movie on TV where woman was being attacked.

The restaurant soon filled with police officers most of them unable to hold back their snickers and laughs....

The Inspector arrived and I told him what had happened and it seemed to me I could see my career slipping away ......

I was not charged for damage to the door and I sort of still felt I had done the right thing but I did question my choice of careers after two miserable events in less than my first two weeks!!!

I love this...

Stay safe and healthy!

Yashi Kochi!!