We first came to Lanzarote in 2002 after sticking a pin into a map to decide where to go on holiday. We fell for it straight away and bought a property in 2004. We now spend just under 6M of the year there, usually around 7/8 weeks at a time. Two things have changed for us, firstly the increased number of tourists and secondly the increase of English-speaking people. When we first came we were dealing with people in shops who in the main couldn’t speak much English whereas now we are dealing with their children who have learnt it at school. Sadly to say, they speak better English than I speak Spanish and it is so easy to fall back into speaking English instead of persevering. I have to say however that when I try, my imperfect efforts are generally well received, and it’s amazing that when you make the effort how people’s attitudes towards you can change appreciably, especially if you are outside the tourist areas of the island.