My name is Ann Hodgson nee Odell. I was born in Albion Street in 1942.

I later lived in Lower Ladyes Hills after my marriage. My husband and I have retired and moved to Spain two years ago. It is a mountainous region near Alcoy about 45 minutes’ drive from Alicante airport. We bought a small finca in desperate need of tender loving care, which we are working on bit by bit between the fiestas and siestas and the obligatory saints’ days.

I didn’t know how many there were until we went to suppliers for materials only to find them closed. The solution was to go to a Chinese restaurant who after the meal give you a calender with all the dates of fiestas etc. on. Time has little consequence here and what doesn’t get done today gets done tomorrow or next week.

To reach our property we have to cross a river and on the rare occasions that it rains on two adjacent mountains we can get flooded in for two or three days. However our Spanish neighbours are wonderful and show us great affection and assistance. Life here is so laid back that I can’t imagine returning to live in the UK, only to visit family. It would be interesting to here from some of my former classmates who also left the UK.

Contact Ann Hodgson