I’ve just got the bus to the metro stop and am now on the tram on the way into town. Granada. Where I live now. Again.

I first lived here for two years when I came to Spain in 2014 after living in London. I lived in a small village in Almeria in the south-east of Spain for the last seven years.

We have a car and in less than 20mins we can be in the city centre, but I wanted to use public transport. Like I used to when I lived in London. To make living here feel more ‘normal’. For me at least.

As someone who only started driving regularly seven years ago, albeit on the incredibly sparse roads of Almeria province, walking or taking public transport still feels normal. One less car on the very busy roads in and around the city can’t hurt either.

I’m listening to the new Depeche Mode single ‘Ghosts Again’ (their first in five years) on repeat as I have been on and off since it came out a couple of weeks ago and it’s proving to be the perfect soundtrack.

As a big music, and especially Depeche Mode fan for 40 years, what’s not to like about the song’s subtle melancholy with a big pop chorus tinged with sadness and hope?

Their first album in five years ‘Memento Mori’ is out later this month. The very Stoic title translates from Latin into ‘Remember that you will die’ which I take to be an incredibly positive message in that we need to live now because who knows how long we have left.

The new album title now has an even more significant meaning since the sudden passing of band member Andy Fletcher in 2022.

Today, walking around my new home town, I’m really feeling hopeful. That anything’s possible. Whatever has been, has been. And we have no control over tomorrow. It’s all about now. Though we have worked hard to get here, I feel very lucky to be where we are and have the life we live here.

I’ve just popped into Oum Kalsum, one of the first places I visited when we arrived in Granada nine years ago. A lovely Moroccan place with delicious tapas including brewat (chicken in flaky pastry) and really, really good falafels.

I’m meeting a friend later to talk about starting a new creative, social and community project. One of the things I really love doing is partnering with one or two friends to create something new. In the past, it’s been a band or cultural project. Let’s see what happens this time.

It all feels possible at the moment.

Sometimes it’s difficult to appreciate what we have. But today I’m getting it.

Exciting times…