Model making with minimum materials and greatest ingenuity

Manuel's Model Making Knows No Bounds

It seems that Manuel can turn his hand to anything.. model making, gardening, cooking - and making the best popcorn ever. He is one of the youngest 82 year olds we know. And we both love him - our Spanish papa.

Manuel with his model of his chalet
When we first arrived in Spain we had only the most basic words of "tourist-type-spanish" between us. Yet Manuel and Antonia (our Spanish mama) made us feel so welcome, looked after us, showed us the traditions of the village and introduced us to their friends and family (now our family)

Manuel had lots of things he enjoyed doing but he always made time to be with us. He is a people person and loves his hobbies - talking, entertaining, repairing watches, making faulty electrical items work again and - perhaps most important - making his guests feel extra welcome.

Manuel and Antonia used to see us almost every day. It was easy. They are our neighbours and one of their houses is just two minutes away from Los Limoneros, our bed and breakfast Granada. The house they have near us is a chalet with a big garden.

However, things change. Nowadays Antonia hasn't been very well and Manuel doesn't have the same desire to rotovate his garden and grow his beans, peppers and tomatoes etc. Consequently they both spend more of their days in their apartment in Padul.

A pair of throne chairs

The pair of throne chairs (above left) has a photo of Antonia and a detatchable mantilla on the chairback. Antonia is top right.

Side Note It is normal in this part of Spain for (those who can afford to) to have two, three, or even more houses. The village gets hot and noisy in the summer and so, to have another house in the countryside or by the sea to go to where it is peaceful and cooler makes life so much more pleasant.

Manuel has always been a "doer". Always making, growing, repairing, cooking, entertaining or helping. We did wonder how he would fill his time, living in the apartment "full time" with no garden to tend to. But we knew he would soon find plenty of things to do.

Model double bed

We should have known.

He took up the hobby of model making.

On this page you can see just a small selection of the wonderful models he has made.

The models are wonderful to touch, hold and look at, and you may wonder what comprehensive selection of tools and materials are used. Actually the materials and tools Manuel uses are quite minimal.

He has made his models using

Wooden kebab skewers
Wood from strawberry punnets
Plastic mesh from vegetable bags

His tools are

A file
A knife
Sandpaper
Some glue!

He is the model (pardon the pun) of make and mend do-it-yourself. We love him. We would happily vote for him being the model making champion of Andalucia.

This is a model of Manuel's and Antonia's chalet house which is just a couple of minutes walk from Los Limoneros, our bed and breakfast accommodation.

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