Under Construction. Please forgive the mess.
Spain: A new venue on its way
A little background
The last few years have been somewhat of a journey for Suzanne. After 20 years of hard work and training, Suzanne finally reached her twin goals of becoming an SNU Minister and an Arthur Findlay College tutor and was granted the honour and privilege of teaching at the Arthur Findlay College, where she met a plethora of wonderful students and tutors.
“Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
However, ever vigilant and dedicated to her service to Spirit and her students, Suzanne began to wonder if there was more she could offer to her students and spiritualism. Thus, God willing, she began to look for new opportunities and challenges further afield and was fortunately granted the opportunity to provide international students courses in their home countries. Whilst living out of a small suitcase was at first a little difficult for her, Suzanne quickly adapted and in no small way, fell in love with visiting beautiful European countries, cities and towns and more importantly, their people. She was taken by the warm reception she always received and how loving, generous and kind people always were.
This joy, combined with her occasional habit of walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostella, (seven times so far), and its wonderful and challenging experiences, culminated in the decision in 2023 to leave the UK and make a new home in Spain. Perhaps it was time for a more balanced, healthier and rounded life. One of service to God, spirit and her students but without the strain of living in a country so… rushed and busy… that never has the time to touch grass, or meet with God or even consider your fellow man.
Being a historian, she had always loved the idea of a project house, something medieval or if not medieval, at least a couple of hundred years old. Something with a connection to people and history. Something with a little heart that she could save from dilapidation. And now with her more recent experiences, in addition to perhaps run a small centre or venue for her students, providing courses her way. Walking through Spain, Suzanne fell in love with Spain’s history and saw hundreds and hundreds of historic buildings.
Spain is filled with thousands of historic buildings and homes. But Suzanne could not settle for any house that had a hint of history. It needed to be something special. Something that spoke to her. Something that inspired her and gave her room to live and grow. Suzanne started her search for the ‘right’ property that would make a wonderful home and an inspiring venue for spiritual and mediumship development. Something that would capture not only her heart but also her students. A tall order indeed.
One and a half years later. After looking online, sifting through thousands of properties and visiting Spain three times. Seeing would-be jems only to discover that they literally, by the time she arrived, had fallen down, (to the surprise of the estate agents), or were in such bad disrepair that it would be beyond her budget to renovate them. She became a little dejected, wondering if she would ever find her new home.
But eventually, with the generosity of God and Spirit, her persistence paid off.
13th May 2025
In May 2025, Suzanne went to Spain to see 8 potential properties. At this point, Suzanne was beginning to feel a little like Goldilocks from Goldilocks and the three bears… Well, one of the eight houses had fallen down and been vandalised. Another was on the verge of falling down and needed a complete rebuild. Another had a terrible position. Another had so few windows that beyond the facade rooms, it was dark and depressing. And on it went.
But then there was one. The first one. Weirdly, from the outset, the favourite from that batch. The first time she saw it was on the 13th May 2025. Not a chocolate box historic town. Or the most beautiful of facades. Perhaps somewhat of an ugly duckling. It needed work; a lot of work. But its bones were good, and it had heart. It spoke to Suzanne, and her smile was infectious. She could imagine herself living there. Imagine her students enjoying the house. After a tiring and disappointing search, she found the one, and on May 17th 2025, she made an offer, and it was accepted that day.
The Town: Castalla
In the vally, La Hoya de Castalla, in the Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community
Castalla, Alicante, Spain
Before we visit the house, let us bury the lead a little and visit the town. Choosing the right town is as important as choosing the right house. Not only does Suzanne want a historic and pretty town to live in, but she also needs a town with sufficient population and facilities, such that it has a future and will not die. Sadly, many pretty towns and villages in Spain have been ostensibly abandoned and continue to be abandoned in favour of big cities. Purchasing a property in a potentially dying town could result in being isolated in rural Spain without sufficient facilities, which would be disastrous. Therefore, the balance between history, picturesque, population and facility had to be struck, which is no mean feat.
While not the most picturesque town in Spain, Castalla is a great town with its many virtues. It has a good amount of historic buildings: a castle, a hermitage, a convent, a monastery and a pretty church. Its population is stable, servicing thriving industries. And, she found the people to be kind, friendly and helpful. They are lovely.
Castalla is almost 700m above sea level and therefore, it is a little cooler and less humid than its lowland counterparts.
Ugly Duckling
This is the front facade of the Castalla house, and at first glance, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is one ugly house. Old, tired and in a bad state of repair. Yes. But with a little imagination and a lot of hard work, it will be very different. It is a stone facade. With some stones reset and others replaced. Cleaning. The render removed and replaced with a new colored lime render. Bowcanise painted. Gutters fixed. New windows. The door cleaned and repaired. It will be transformed into something pretty and worthy of its position in the town. Almost as good as new. The house also has a reasonably sized garden with a side wall.
Stairs
The house has a rather nice marble staircase with mahogany rail, cast iron balusters and an art glass finial on the newel post. It is four stories tall, and while a later addition to the house, it is an impressive feature. It will require some repair as it is very heavy and has moved a little. The wooden and iron support beams under it are rotten and more rust than support beam and will need replacing so that it does not drop through the floor. But what do you expect after over a century?
Halls
The house has three halls. The Ground floor entrance hall and two halls on the first floor. One Green and one Red. Both the Ground floor hall and the Green hall have crooked floors and will need straightening. That is removing the tiles, replace the substrate and put the tiles back… Well the tiles that one can save anyway.
Rooms
The house is quite large at over 1000m2 and has a good many pretty rooms. They need work, of course, but the potential is there. The top two are almost destined to become offices, one each for Suzanne and her husband. They are both off the Red hall.
Floors and Ceilings
The house is filled with traditional features. Hydraulic tiled floors. Barreled ceilings. Pretty doors. Some painted ceilings. Balcanies. Carved stone coat of arms above a large wooden front door.
"Never Let a few Cracks Detour You"
This house has become Suzanne’s “Dream House”, although she is certain that it will be a nightmarish refurbishment and build. However, her view on that before purchasing it was, ‘Never let a few cracks detour you’… And there are a lot of cracks. Some of them are really big. But dreams come at a price and require imagination, perseverance, discipline, dedication and generally, a lot of work.
Suzanne always wanted a project house. Something that she could save and make her own. In this case, Suzanne, sees herself not as the owner of a building but a custodian and a conservator of a small piece of Spanish history and culture.