TALKING WELLBEING 12

Stretch your upper body • Whilst seated, tighten your stomach muscles, and slowly rotate your torso to the left and then to the right, keeping your hips and legs facing forward, so you are only moving your torso. Repeat 10 times. • Remain seated, keep your back straight, pull together your shoulder blades. Be aware of your posture and don’t shrug. Hold this position for ten seconds and repeat 10 times.

Work your hands and arms • Squeeze a small foam ball in your left hand for 30 seconds and then repeat with your right hand. • Stand up and put your arms straight out to the sides and slowly move them in big circles for 30 seconds, rest and reverse the direction of the circles. Repeat 10 times.

Get up and march around • If you can move around, get up and move. March around the house taking lunges – it might feel weird, but you are getting the blood flowing.

Think about it, if you were on a long-haul flight you would get up and stretch your legs and your body. You may be sitting every day for more hours than that long haul flight!

2023 your year to get active and get healthy!

with David’s Coach Trips

It is a chilly overcast day in 1492. The date is January 2nd. A large silent crowd lines the streets. In the centre of the town a small group of despondent turbaned men patiently wait on horseback to surrender the Key of Granada. Isobel the Catholic accompanied by her husband Ferdinand of Aragon approaches, also on horseback. Thus, after ten years of siege, the city of Granada fell to the Christian troops ending almost 800 years of Moorish rule of Spain.

How different it had been in the year 711, when the Moors had swept triumphantly through Spain, conquering all before them. Recent years had not been so kind to them and gradually they had bit by bit ceded their kingdom to the Christian onslaught. Now the last standing Moorish city, Granada was surrendered by the Moorish king Muhammad X11, also known as King Boabdil. But what a wonderful legacy these intelligent innovative people from Africa left behind.

Granada sits amongst hills, overlooked by the magnificent, often snow covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada. During their occupation, the Moors built the world famous Alhambra Palaces.

An absolute ‘must see’, when you visit this fabulous city. A visit to the Alhambra transports you to a world of sparkling fountains, horseshoe archways, stunningly ornate ceilings and beautiful gardens.

The highlight is the mind blowing beauty of The Nasrid Palaces. Named after the last Moorish rulers of Granada the Nasrid Caliphate, the views from the palace are incredible. In the tree covered valley below, the sparkling waters of the River Darro with its ancient stone built hump backed bridges remind us of simpler times. On the other side of the valley the many white houses of the Albaicin district sparkle in the sun.

This is the area where the medieval working population lived and worked Although some buildings have been altered, the shape of this district has not changed in centuries and should not be missed. Narrow, winding cobbled streets lead past historical buildings, to wonderful squares with fabulous panoramic views of the city and the Alhambra.

At night this district comes to life with the strumming of guitars and the distinctive sound of Flamenco singers providing music for Zambra – Granada's fiery equivalent to flamenco dancing. Often called Gipsy dancing.