You can read Pepe’s blog at http://badaje.wordpress.com

As you can see from the photo, our Leonberger dog, Bruno, is quite at home here in his new dog cave, although he does sort of swamp it.

Forgive me for being cynical but by keeping interest in the championship going does the revenue increase?

The power of Ferrari over the sport has been demonstrated throughout the season. They have always had the “rub of the green”, usually at Maclarens expense. That is why on this final day Hamilton, that fresh faced Englishman, will not win the title. There is too much at stake money wise for the controlling bodies not to allow Ferrari to win.

My prediction: Expect to see Hamilton’s either…….. have a puncture at a critical moment; be shunted off the race track by another driver; or, the Maclaren team make some unbelievably bad calls.

Either way, Massa will go onto win the title. And if for some reason my cynical side has got it all wrong, then I will eat “humble pie”, apologise to all afficionados of the prancing horse and run naked round my swimming pool!

Ive roped in my daughter, Emma, recently, to help out with some repair work to my roof and the pool area. She hasnt had any experience with construction but she has done really well and got “stuck in”, as can be seen from the photos!

I Justified the whole thing on the basis that I would need it for work and to keep in touch with emails etc when up in the mountains. Amusingly, I also said that we could use it to obtain up to date weather forecasts when out on multi day trips in the Sierra Nevada. Fact is though, I’m a bit of a gadget man at heart. I am also, I guess, computer literate. Not a professional but, like millions out there, I’m an enthusiastic amateur.

So off I went to Orange in Granada and purchased a Nokia E51. Good price, good tarifs and even a good phone, with good internet reviews. Great I thought, now where do I perform those few mouse clicks to get it all connected?

That is where the trouble starts. We need PC Suite (Nokia product) loaded first. Now unfortunately I have had the misfortune to have used this software before, so I really should have known better, but I trusted that those lovely folk at Nokia had at last got their act together and produced quick, easy, reliable software to accompany their phones. How wrong I was!

Sp what’s is wrong with PC Suite? Its too large, too slow to install, too slow to load, and incredibly overcomplicated. Furthermore, there are lots of differing cable drivers and Blackberry Connection software products that have to be juggled (loaded) as well. Problem? One doesn’t always work with the same version of the other. Orange couldn’t help, Blackberry couldn’t help and there are so many forum threads on similar problems about Blackberry connection with a Nokia E51 on the net, I could write a separate book on the subject!

It seems to me that Nokia software boffins and developers are clever people. However, they presumably get a new computer with updated memory every other week and forget that mere mortals such as I can’t afford to do this. We get new computers every 3 or 4 years. The software seems to struggle on anything over a few months old! They have lost the plot.

What I and millions like me require is a simple plugin and connect system for these new smartphones. Stick it into the USB with a normal run of the mill cable, turn it on and easily and simply get connected without tying up either machine or human resources.

Orange, Blackberry and Nokia should also tie up better to produce some software that is portable throughout the range and that everybody understands. I have spent 2 days of my time connecting the phone firstly to my computer (the hardest bit) and then to the Blackberry system (using a different software version than suggested). I think it is working now? Come on Nokia, lead from the front, or my next smartphone might just be a Blackberry.

OK. So the Rhinos in question have 2 legs,  there’s 13 of them and they charge into one another like the real thing. I am of course talking about the Leeds Rhinos, who won the Super League Grand Final last night after beating St Helens 24-16. We had a fiesta here at my cortijo with some friends and my daughter.

Rather too many local shots were consumed prior to the game, but this made for a very merry atmosphere. Have you ever tried to explain the game of Rugby League in a foreign language whilst being thoroughly intoxicated?

This was followed by a traditional spanish curry and chips, which in time honoured fashion, I proceeded to dribble all the way down my prize Rhinos replica shirt (sad eh?), to join and mix with the red wine and absinthe stains.

I watched a reply of the game this morning just in case I was either dreaming or had passed out and missed most of the action. No, we still won it!

How times change eh? Now they give us a lot less food, albeit looking wonderful, and charge us more money for it? Good marketing, snob value or pulling the wool over our eyes? The trouble is that we are very gullible for this type of “Nouveaux Cuisine” style food these days.

Anyway, today for the first time ever I tried my own “Nouveaux Cuisine” recipe on my partner, Kiersten. She is a vegetarian, by the way. This was the result:

• Slowly roasted Andalucian red peppers stuffed with a mixture of rice, homegrown millet, gently sauteed butter mushrooms and locally picked oregano, dribbled with olive oil.
• Sliced leeks cooked in butter and costed with a light Alpujarra cheese sauce.
• Steamed carrots served with a smoky barbecue salsa.
• Peach and Avocado side salad with a mango and chilli salsa.

Conclusion:
I like proper food. You cannot change overnight. I never could quite restrict myself to putting just 3 carrots, a teaspoon of leeks and half a red pepper on the plate. Life is for living and good wholesome food is part of that life. Don’t think I will be entering the Masterchef challenges somehow. Nevertheless, it did put a smile on the face of both Kiersten and myself. Might have to have a big plate of egg and chips for supper!