Getting to Mañana

Miranda Innes

Getting to Mañana

Miranda Innes stepped out of her situation and catapulted into a new relationship and a new country looking for a life rather than a treadmill.

Having spent a lot of her adult life worrying, running from deadlines, bills and stress Innes accomplished what most people only dream of. Wherever it remained the dream you have to find out yourself.

Having single-handedly brought up her now rather large boys and supported them as writer, book author and garden editor for an upmarket magazine she leaves soggy London, the unending life survival course and debts hanging, to live the dream or escape.

On a property-viewing trip with her youngest son they both fall in love with a jumble of hilltop ruins with incredible views but hardly habitable. The rather innocent thoughts of a little necessary DIY to transform the goat pens into a liveable property are overlooked.

Along comes sexy, now available acquaintance and the dream of escaping from the rain becomes a new relationship to boot. A ruin, local builders, death-defying hairpin bends up to the house, rows and patience, poverty and windfalls give this book immense charm.

From rats in the dressing-room (barn) to run-away turkeys, dust and rubble to fancy four-posters you have to admire her grit for staying, her determination for doing it in the first place and the two of them for making a new relationship work in the most trying of circumstances.

When she finally got to mañana, relationship established, house almost finished and self-esteem more or less esteemed, mañana wasn’t really a point in the future, they found that mañana is life’s attitudes today, and it wasn’t enough.

The upheaval, the mess, the planning , the building seems to be their mañana. A different sort of stress, with bright and sunny deadlines.

I really enjoyed the back to basics rat-droppings in the closet, dog poo on the rather nice rug, and a centipede in the bed – I mean a 12 cm centipede in the bed - ughh. At least mine was underneath and dehydrated.

The run-of –the-mill eccentric builders, odd-ball neighbours and Spanish locals being Spanish locals makes this a good read. Innes can write and my dictionary come out more than once – I always find that enjoyable.

These new-life books I almost inhale as memories come crashing back to my times like that. An enjoyable read, it will make my re-read pile - but not too soon.