Welcome New Lady

[Chrisjay]

 Hi this is a better place to chat

Are you retired like me and if so do you mind telling me what you did before or even now?

Do you realise I was the only active lady till you joined and I joined the site to look at pensioners issues although we do get side tracked and more often than not politics are debated.

Chris

[caminito]

Hi Chris
An easy mistake to make . My wife who is fluent in Spanish thought that "Caminito" could be miunderstood .
I have a passion for all things Argentina . My wife and I are tango dancers .I used to run a club in the UK . My authentic tango Argentino music is one of the biggest collections in the world (about 20,000 tracks)
Retired early (53 yrs) . Got bored ,went back to work .Retired again to Spain . Was there for seven years ,back in the UK now !
Qualified as a construction (civil) engineer . I have worked as a consultant for American , Dutch ,Japanese ,Italian & UK companies.
I have many muslim friends in the UK. My two sons were always in and out of their houses. Discussed the differences in our religions and cultures. Picked up bits of the Qur'an . Especially when attending four muslim weddings ! Would I have been invited if I was prejudiced I think not!
This is it ! Life is not a rehearsal . So I have tried to pack in as much as possible before I shuffle off
Been to the USA , West Indies , Far East , Middle East , Africa N & S,   Brasil , Argentina , Paraguay and places like Croatia and Montenegro Always try to understand the cultures ,Have always enjoyed the food  
Besides all the obvious holiday locations.
I will stay on the forum because there seems to be many members that have something relevant to say on a wide range on subjects !

[Chrisjay]

I have lived in Tennerif but I am originally from Canada,  As my first husband was in the Royal Navy we did tend to move around a lot especially before the Falklands war.

I spent eight years in Dublin at the time of Bobby Sands and so like you am very aware of different culture and religions.

You must have a large music room to house all your records and CD's. Although I have no sense of rhythm I do enjoy most kinds of music and the Tango is one of the most expressive of all the Latin dances.

My son's Godfather is a African American who was American but came to Canada to avoid going to Vietnam which in hindsight as it turned out was a good thing.  I like you travelled a great deal and spend time in Hong Kong every year as I started going there on business but now go for pleasure as I have do many friends there and the shopping is to die for.

Strangely I have more friends out of this country than in it but I think when distance is involved you make more of an effort to keep in regular contact.  I speak to my friend Paul in HK every morning on Skype (I am just getting up as he is just going home from work) his wife is a Canadian so we have a lot in common.

I still do a lot of design work in HK and the States and also love Amsterdam for it's culture and diamonds:-)

On the forum we do have a wide range of views on very diverse subjects and although we bicker it is usually without malice till now but hey Coventry works as if no one replies you finish up only talking to yourself kinda looses it attraction after that.

Well I hope you will be happy back here in the UK I am just about to move house back to England as I live in Wales (in the Brecon Beacons) but the health care in Wales is very poor and I need treatment sooner than it would be done here hence the move plus financially I will be better off there.

Chris

[caminito]

Hi Chris
My wife says that I  always have to give 100% to anything that I do in life.

My greatest moment in Tango was after dancing with a very beautiful and fantastic Argentine lady tango teacher , she led me by the hand ,back to her table and said to her friends ...... "Milonguero "

I quote.... Milonguero - a person whose life revolves around dancing tango and the philosophy of tango.

A title given by other tango dancers to a man (woman) who has mastered the tango dance and embodies the essence of tango.

That made my 11 years of dancing complete ! 

[Hugh]

Hi Caminito
                 As a keen dancer do you watch strictly come dancing on saturday night. It always amazes me how some one with two left feet turning into a great dancer. Tango being one of the hardest to learn or it seems that way.
                 Glad you are getting on well with Chris we get along quite well and can talk about thinks without falling out.
                 What part of UK are you staying? I live near Mansfield north of Nottingham

[caminito]

Hi Hugh
I live near the new forest ,south coast.
I have given up on "strictly" , it seems to have turned into a parody these days.
Tango Argentino is not Choreography based. My partner will not know the next step I/she will take. I have to lead with my body energy .
Never push or force my partner .
That is what takes years to learn properly. Also Tango Argentino is not just a dance , it is two people -one body -four legs !
It is my "feeling " for the particular music being played that makes a good or a bad dance.
I watched & talked to tango maestros before I understand the "culture" surrounding tango !
An Argentinian milonguera ( lady) watched me dance a couple of years ago and said " you are English " ...... I replied ..Yes .... but you feel the music  she said with surprise !   
There is a definate culture surrounding tango. Until you get it ,you can't dance it !
Here is a youtube clip of one of my argentinian friends ( Laura) dancing. She teaches in Rome & BsAs.

Here is a clip of one of the late great maestro's . He was good friend of mine.   I think he was about 71 yrs of age when this was shot ?
He started dancing when he was 14 yrs old . He was god in BsAs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mekNwq3AW4E&feature=related
This is tango !

[Hugh]

Hi Caminito. You certainly live in a nice part of the country I have been on holiday in the new forest a few times in the past and had a good time.

All our holidays are now spent a broard where I can enjoy diving in warm clear water. Going to Tenerife January and Durban area South Africa for 3 weeks in May. A beautiful country with plenty to see and do. Cost of living there very cheap.

Tango is a very hard dance to learn and seeing what they learn in one week on Strictly is pretty good to say the least.

Any way off to hospital now to have a gaul bladder removed speak later.

[Chrisjay]

Hugh

Hope it all goes well and look forward to you being back with us soon.

I like Hugh have visited the New Forest several times and last year hired a motor home and travelled all around that area.  Was having a great time time a stupid women driver forced me into a stone wall and tore all the side of it out and she drove off without a backwards glance, thank goodness for insurance as the bill was over £6k. 

I love watching Strictly and have followed it every year and must admit to becoming something of an armchair critic :-)

I do wish I was a better dancer but as I have had a knee reconstruction due to an accident even line dancing is now out of my reach but I love watching.  Saturday night for me is a take a way, bottle of wine, feet up and as I say junk viewing which can be entertaining and is pure escapism.

Chris

[caminito]

Hi Hugh
Get well soon !
Hi Chris.
The reason that I posted my Tango Argentino experience was because this is a pensioner forum , I thought I would remind everyone that it is never to late to try something new .
Like "fine wines " we should mature with age . Even though the body is getting older , in my mind I am still 25 yrs old , with all the hopes , thrills and experiences to wish for !
I really enjoyed "strictly" when it first started. Now there seems to be less and less dancing and more and more showbiz !
Anne Widdercombe's last performance was a prime example . 
I really have a problem finding anything to watch on TV these days.  Everything seems geared to the 18 - 30 yr old viewers , who are probably not watching but down the pub anyway .

[Chrisjay]

How I agree but I am hooked on NCIS and Criminal Minds.  I also enjoy Precinct and JAG but I think it has something to do with looking at the good looking men and admiring the bolshy females even it it is only fantasy.

I think being Canadian there is also an element of they are set in places that feel like 'home' as Canada does not produce many home grown series.  It is a bit the same with comedy I could never grasp red dwarf or the likes of Benny Hill it just goes over my head and yet American sit comes I understand and find funny - its a cultural thing I guess.

I think Anne Widdercombe is my guilty pleasure as I love her humour and sharp resorts especially to Craig but feel guilty that she may stay in after all the weaker contestants so.  But I do enjoy watching it.

I also love The Apprentice and find myself yelling at the scream on just how useless and hopeless they are even though they are supposed to have at least one brain cell.  Personally I would not consider hiring any of them.

Chris

[caminito]

A lovely Oscar Wilde quote ...
Maybe explains why we don't seem to laugh at the same things 

 
We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.

[Chrisjay]

  True our humour tends to be in the nursey and if Benny Hill was anything to go by yours in the gutter

It certainly would not do for us all to be alike the world would be very boring

[caminito]

Benny Hill .....Well I have always had a thing about ladies in stockings and suspenders 

Spanish TV is totally kids stuff and the humour is weird !

Tommy Cooper was my all time favourite .

# A man walked into the doctor's, The doctor said 'I haven't seen you in a long time'
The man replied, 'I know I've been ill'.
# A man walked into the doctor's, he said 'I've hurt my arm in several places'.
The doctor said 'well don't go there any more'. 

[Hugh]

Hi Caminito
                My OP got cancelled at the very last minute all paper work done gown on and then the doc spotted some thing in my blood sample. They believe there is stones in the tubes out side the gaul bladder. He wants a full body scan before he operates, as you can guess I am not very happy. But still thats life.

[Chrisjay]

Poor you I hope it gets sorted soon

Chris