Nuance

Friends have pointed out a lack of nuance in commentary on the Costa ... and it's true ... so, in a spirit of half-hearted balance, here goes ...

Firstly, the broad brush strokes are offering a particular perspective ... in some ways it seems a shame to go overboard with detail ... and the blog is not setting out to judge folks who want to live their lives in misery or indeed to pronounce on what constitutes a good and happy life ... (through another prism make that "good" or "happy", since whole tribes subscribe to the idea that "good" requires suffering) .... hmmm ...

And clearly the Costa del Sol is not just Brits abroad, whether package holidaymakers, retired wage slaves, fleeing gangsters, all the support tradesfolk .... there are also all kinds of  nationalities  from Northern Europe ... South America ... Spanish middle classes and Spanish locals ... latest arrivals are Russians looking for warm, but not too warm, investments ...

To be clear also, just because the writer loves a simple life does not mean others don't love whatever they do in their gated communities .... maybe some first hand experience is required, or some reports from folks living life in that parallel universe anyway ... slipping across dimensions may be unwise.... like time travellers getting stuck in past or future, misguided researchers could be trapped in a hedonistic sun, sex and booze pit in Marbella ... or golf, spending eternity lost on the fairway ...

... which leads neatly to the next topic on boys and their balls ...