The Bigastro band will be playing their traditional concert for Corpus Christi on Friday, 5th June. This year though, the venue will be the plaza in front of the church. I do hope the sky gods are kind.
Pam and I will be there - I will be recording the concert in both audio and with pictures. I will also be making a video of Corpus Christi for the church as I did last year.
What a sight that was, the three Queens from the Cunard fleet in Liverpool with a fly past by the Red Arrows.
The Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Victoria and the Queen Mary 2 visited Liverpool on the 175th anniversary of the association of the company with Liverpool.
Before people took to air travel to reach America and Canada, liners like the Queen Mary 2 were the only way to get there.
When we emigrated to Canada in 1956, my mother, grandmother, brother and I travelled on a Greek ship – my father had flown across ahead of us to find a job. When we returned in 1957, my father was also with us on the Empress of Canada (an earlier Cunard liner). I still remember entering the Mersey and seeing the Liver building knowing that we were then back in Blighty.
Although flying to America might be convenient, there is something magical about crossing the Atlantic on a liner.
Since I wasn’t in Liverpool yesterday, this photo is not mine. It is taken from the Liverpool Echo.
 | The picture for Alicante province is complicated. The smaller parties have broken up the dominance of PP/PSOE reducing the PP from 20 seats to 11 and the PSOE from 12 seats to 9. Neither PP nor PSOE can rule without forming a pact with another party. |
 | In 2011, the PP had a majority of seats. |
 | The situation is more critical in Valencia where neither the PP nor the PSOE have anywhere near enough seats to hold a majority. |
 | The results for this year show that the Conservatives (PP) won 7 seats taking one each from the Socialists and the Liberals. That means they have a slender one seat majority. Note that the percentage turnout reduced to 78.75%. In 2007 and 2011 299 votes were needed to gain one seat on the council. This year that dropped to 263 which is why every vote counted. With just 173 more votes than they received in 2007, the PP have gained two seats and taken control. |
 | Although the Socialists had the most seats on the council in 2011, they did not have enough to form a majority. The Conservatives (PP) and Liberals formed a pact to take control. When that pact broke down, the PP continued to govern in the minority. |
 | This was the result from 2007 when the Socialists held the majority with 8 seats on the council. Notice that over 88% of the eligible voters turned out. |
The company that was awarded the contract for the swimming pool and bar-restaurant La Pedrera says that the reason the area is in such a state is because there has been no electricity supply since last August. The transformer was broken, then repaired and broke again.
The company now says that it is working overtime to get the place ready for San Isidro. The pool will be open on May 31st and there will be swimming lessons available from June.
In the televised three way debate between the candidates for the municipal elections, Raul Valerio Medina (PSOE) claimed that the fiestas in Bigastro have been destroyed over the years and are now shameful.
I think that I understand his point. The budget for fiestas has been eroded over the years since the financial crisis hit hard. If Raul Valerio Medina’s purpose was to suggest that the new council should provide a more suitable budget for fiestas, then sadly he was misconstrued by some.
His remarks have insulted members of the recent committees who have employed great ingenuity to put on something worthwhile within the confines of a restricted budget. The lavish budgets of the past meant that it was easier to stage something spectacular, to hire artists and pay for activities. Those days though are gone and so we have to applaud the people responsible for even being able to stage any kind of fiesta at all. The fact that they have brought back traditions from the past such as the “Carrera de Cintas” that provide entertainment at minimum cost is, in my opinion, pure genius.
Mainly though, we have to recognise that the members of the Commission are volunteers who give many hours of their time without any financial reward. In fact, I dare say that they are out of pocket. Destroyed and shameful were perhaps the wrong choice of words by the PSOE candidate for mayor. Watered down by budget restraints would be a better way to describe the situation.
AEMET have issued a warning for maximum temperatures of up to 38 degrees for tomorrow. The reason that we are getting such high temperatures is a wave of hot air coming from the Sahara desert. The good news is that temperatures will drop then on Friday back to about 25 degrees. As we have experienced in the past, spring seems to have been skipped as we moved from winter to summer almost overnight.
Whilst these high temperatures might be uncomfortable for us, they are a real cause of concern for farmers.
We had very little rain in autumn and winter, another year of drought. Water reserves in the soil are low and this affects those crops that rely solely on natural irrigation like the almonds and the olives. Although the almond trees blossomed well and set fruit, this heat could well have an effect on the quality of the produce. Olives are in flower now and this heat could adversely affect both the quantity and quality of the fruit.
Also affected will be cereals, citrus, vegetables along with the wine and table grapes.
Whilst the Conservative party might be rejoicing at their success during the General Election and the SNP are basking in the glory of having 56 seats in the House of Commons, the other parties are less pleased with what happened.
The British system of “first past the post” does not truly represent the wishes of the people. To make matters worse, proposed changes to the boundaries that the Conservatives will now drive through will be to their advantage at the next election. Although the notion of proportional representation was rejected in 2011, maybe it is time to revisit the idea.
These bar charts from the Independent highlight what this would have meant to the results this year.
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As you can see, the Conservatives, SNP and Labour would have lost out and neither of the two largest parties would have been able to form a government without entering into a coalition. It is also pertinent to note that 36.9% of a turnout out 66% means that the Conservatives actually represent less than 25% of the voting public.
There are two swimming pools at La Pedrera; the original one is by the barbecue area, the new one is at Camping La Pedrera. The contrast between the two could not be more striking.
The original outdoor pool at La Pedrera used to be a popular place for young people from the town. The restaurant next to it served refreshments and even at times meals. At one point, they held fortnightly salsa dances up there which seemed to be popular as well.
It is now in a very sorry state, weeds are growing between the paving slabs, the water is green, the toilets are in a terrible state and the purification system is broken. There are heaps of rubble, large bags of prunings and the signs for the restaurant are broken. It is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests.
The opposition parties in the town complained that the mayor had taken three years to sort out a contract that would maintain the area. After a series of meetings during June of 2014, a contractor was finally appointed. Loespama Mediterranean promised to invest money and make the place good for the summer but that has not happened.
With San Isidro later this month, the matter has become urgent. Whether it will be ready in time is hard to say, there is a lot of work to be done.
José Joaquín Moya, former mayor of Bigastro, faces another case in court. This time he is accused of six offences; fraud, disclosure of secrets (two counts), prevarication, influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds for which the prosecutor is asking for up to eleven years in jail, a fine of 450,000 euros and a seventeen year ban from public office.
Also accused is the former secretary, Antonio Saseta for whom the prosecutor asks for four years in prison and a five year ban from public office. Two others are implicated as well.
The case will be heard in Elche.
If you recall, Aurelio Murcia was expelled from the PP with which he had differences of opinion. He went on to form his own party which he described as liberal -centrist. At the last election Aurelio obtained enough votes to win two seats on the council. In coalition with the PP, the liberals ran the council with Aurelio as Deputy Mayor.
The pact though was fragile and broke down when Aurelio reported in a local paper that he did more work than the mayor and therefore should be paid her salary.
Aurelio intends to run again and hopes to gain more seats this time around.
Here are his proposals which will be outlined in more detail at a meeting he hopes to hold up at Camping La Pedrera.
--Rubbish collection by 25%.
--Private parking entrance reserved by 50%
--No charges for: administration services, using the streets for private business, establishing new companies or for using municipal buildings.
--Introduce a service specialized in getting grants from Valencia, Madrid and Europe.
--Stimulate private expenses in new buildings.
--Update all municipal debts.
--Approve new plans parciales.
--Negotiate the financial cost of debts with banks and government.
--Reduce expenses of : electricity, petrol, etc.
--Energy saving of 25% over the actual cost.
--Better control on usage of materials and machines.
--Join services to save expenses and make better use of local installations and staff.
--Purchase the part of the cemetery not owned by the Town Hall.
--Register rural land and garages owned by the Town.
--Recover plots of land sold but not paid for.
--Enlarge the industrial area with plots for
the Town hall.
--2% of the budget will be for these services.
--The Alzheimer and La Pedrera associations will be declared very important for the municipality.
--Town Hall will pay for maintenance and other works.
--Co-ordination between municipality services and these associations to get the maximum use of the buildings.
--Social services at home only for people that really need them and have no money
-- Reduce local taxes for new business, new building works, and use of the streets.
--Give more land to camping La Pedrera and extend the contract.
--Use La Pedrera area to install a nature reserve to promote this zone for education and environmental activities.
--Use the old school Calasanz as a professional school for young people.
--Create a special development office to help young people finding jobs.
--Increase industrial land to install new companies.
--Only companies from Bigastro will work for and provide local services paid for by the Town Hall.
--Municipal jobs board on the internet.
--Collaboration with the community of rural workers.
--Purísima street open to the traffic during commercial hours.
-Help the local shops and promote their activities.
--Local TV run by a private company.
--D6: Finish the project make it cheaper and give licences immediately.
--D5: Build the streets. Clean and lay out plots.
--D4: Clean and maintain.
--D12: Meet with owners to agree what is the best course of action.
--Only allow ground floor and two stories on the following streets:General Bañuls, Cervantes, T. Villanueva and C. Murciana.
--Remove the granite setts from remaining streets.
--Finish the works at la Acequia.
--Include Bigastro in Diputación´s plans.
--Finish the cemetery works.
--Lay asphalt on rural ways and install lights.
--Repair parks Lo Chusco and surroundings of old Calasanz school.
--Recover the parks in industrial area.
--Keep the traditions and encourage everybody to participate in them.
--Celebrations for everybody and with everybody.
--Support all sports schools and clubs, providing them with the best facilities.
--Open the heated pool.
--Open a police office in the village.
--More police agents in the village.
--Special care to the rural areas and la Pedrera.
--Updated equipment for the agents.
--Reorganize the traffic routes in the town.
--Private company to run the nursery Bigastrin.
--Special budget for Unión Musical.
--Declare Unión Musical as strategic institution of local interest.
--Activities of culture and education at old Calasanz school.
--Buy electronic screens for all primary schools.
--Promote the exchange of books at schools.
--Meal service and activities in summer.
--Promote exchange of students to practice languages, mainly English.
--Recover the classes for adults, and Spanish for foreigners.
--Keep activities in Auditorium, specially for children and young people.
--Create an ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL with representatives from all of the local associations so that they can give their point of view on important matters before decisions are made.
--The political parties out of the government will be part of any local committee and part of any local contract. Also they will have direct free access to any municipal information.
--DIALOGUE: there will be a special committee of political parties leaders to study jointly all important matters.
--Every month the following information will be on internet:
--The state of the budget.
--Income and expenses..
--How much money there is in the municipal accounts..
--Record of all meetings.
WE ARE A BROKEN VILLAGE WITH VERY HIGH TAXES
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF BEHAVIOR
1.-TAKE LOCAL TAXES DOWN AND INCREASE INCOME.
2.-INCOME AND EXPENSES MUST BE BALANCED.
3. FIRST PAY STANDARD EXPENSES.
4.-THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INCOME AND
EXPENSES MUST BE DEDICATED TO:
A.- SOCIAL SERVICES.
B.- ECONOMICAL PROMOTION.
C.- CITIZENS SECURITY.
D.- CULTURE , SPORTS, CELEBRATIONS.
The PP wanted to bid for 150,000 euros in support of a plan to install solar panels on municipal buildings and to buy two electric vehicles, one for the police and one for the council. At the time, the Socialists and Liberals opposed the idea. Instead they wanted to replace the boilers at La Paz school and to a new lighting system for the town with energy efficient bulbs. The deadlock meant that the town was unable to make a successful bid.
The deadline for submission is this Sunday, so the PP called an emergency council meeting in an attempt to get agreement from the opposition parties. This time, Aurelio says that he will back the PP because it is important that Bigastro does not miss out on the money available.
The other issue that is on the agenda is to look at the legislature from 2003 to 2007 which allowed José Joaquín Moya to exchange the right to build above three storeys in the town for agricultural land.
Road improvements on the N-332 have hurt the AP-7 toll motorway. Autopistas del Sureste (AUSUR) made an appeal to the Ministry of Development for compensation but that has been rejected.
AUSUR, who have the concession until 2048, claim they will lose 311 million euros in tolls.
I would say that part of the problem lies with AUSUR who increase their tolls almost annually and have a higher rate for the summer months than for the winter. If you join the motorway and leave it at the right junctions then you pay no toll at all but stay on through the popular sections and you are several euros out of pocket.
As the voting finished, the polls were still predicting a close run call between Labour and Conservatives in the UK General Election. The exit polls told a different story with the Conservatives in the lead but still without enough seats to form a majority.
As the night rolled on though, things were becoming a lot clearer. Nicola Sturgeon’s charismatic personality worked in Scotland where the SNP have scooped up all but one seat. The Liberal Democrats have all but been wiped out and Nigel Farage looks as though he might lose in Thanet leaving his party with just one seat.
UKIP will be smarting, having 12% of the vote (more than the SNP and Liberal Democrats) but only gaining one seat so far.
With the possibility of such a slender majority, David Cameron will have his work cut out to hold on to his policies given that he has 20 rogue MPs on his benches and the SNP/Labour barking at his heels.
We could see a call for a second referendum on Scotland’s independence and with Nicola Sturgeon at the helm that could provide a different result to last time. Cameron has promised a referendum on EU membership which he will find very difficult to manage. The next five years could be both turbulent and decisive for British politics. In the end, the electorate will get what they voted for.
Looks like the Ayuntamiento managed to get some funding to help pay for the events that took place in March 1) the Ruta de Tapa and 2) the Catwalk show.
Last year I thought it would be cool to get some photos of the riders stamping on their pedals as they climbed the hill up past the old tip to La Pedrera. I positioned myself on a bend where I could see a fair stretch of the hill with trees as a backdrop. Then it started to rain.
I stood in the rain for almost an hour waiting and waiting and then gave up. When I came back down the hill, the marshals had gone and cleared away the barrier.
Hopefully this year we will be blessed with better weather so that I can get some action shots of riders on their bikes.
May 7th is polling day in Britain and by all accounts it could be a close run thing with neither the Conservatives (PP) nor Labour (Socialistas) expected to gain enough seats to hold an overall majority. Of course we all know that the polls can be woefully wrong in their predictions; all those undecided voters may turn out in force and give one or other of the parties the seats they are hoping for.
In preparation for this and knowing that West WIrral was a marginal seat, I registered to vote. There were two choices, a postal vote or a vote by email so I opted for the latter. I did receive notification of my registration on the electoral roll in good time but there was no indication of how I was to exercise my franchise.
I thought that maybe I would receive instructions in due course or perhaps they would send me the form for a postal vote but no. I have had nothing to tell me how to vote, what a waste of time! I will still keep my eye on what happens but it is not the same when you haven’t actually cast a vote yourself.
When you came to Spain on holiday, one of the first things that struck you was the traditional siesta. In hotels that cater for tourists service is continuous throughout the day but venture into the local towns and everything shuts down for two hours or more. This is the period in the middle of the day when you want to avoid the heat, have a meal and enjoy a quick nap. it makes sense in the summer but less sense in the winter.
We got caught out by this one time in Estepona. There was a free shuttle bus to the town from the hotel where we were staying so we set off at 11:00 am; the return bus was at 5pm which we thought gave us plenty of time for some shopping and a bite to eat. How wrong we were, everything shut down at about 1:30/2pm and remained closed, even the cafes and bars were closed. It was a long wait for the bus on a hot summer’s day. We eventually managed to find a bar that was open and sat there for nearly two hours sipping water. When the bus arrived to take us back to the hotel, we were the first to get on it!
Of course, if we had waited long enough, the shops would have re-opened and stayed open until 7 or 8pm. In tourist areas we even found some shops open until 9pm to catch the after-dinner shoppers out for a stroll in the cool of the evening.
The problem for Spaniards is that the siesta makes for a long working day. Most start work at 8:30 to 9am, then they have that break for a siesta followed by work until 7pm. The evening meal can start at 10pm meaning that bedtime is around 12pm or later. The pattern deprives them of time with the family and time for leisure.
Attempts to reform the working day though meet with resistance. Once you have established a pattern of sleep that counts on a midday nap, it is hard to break it. I routinely have an hours sleep during the day and without it feel tired and grumpy.
Young people continue to leave the province in the hope of finding work elsewhere. The loss is particularly noticeable in the 30-34 age group and is most pronounced amongst men over 25 years of age.
At the same time, there are fewer babies being born, over 500 less are predicted for this year. By 2018, that number is expected to climb to 2,000. Along with increased life expectancy that means that the average age of the population will increase.
Whether or not the young people will return to Spain when or if the economic situation improves remains to be seen.
Yesterday marked the end of the Fiesta at the area of the Holy Cross.
First off, the Junior Band along with the courts of the queens from last year’s August Fiesta did a tour of the streets. Then at 12am there was Holy Mass in the pavilion erected by the park at Holy Cross. That was followed by paella for the neighbours and finally games for the children.
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It isn’t just in Bigastro though where they celebrate the Holy Cross. Yesterday was the date that the Catholic Church honours the cross on which Jesus Christ died. In Granja de Rocomora, they hold a centuries old celebration of the cross. Each May 3rd they ask for God’s blessing for all the people and especially their crops to ward off all evil and to prevent natural disasters that could damage their land.
 | This is Patio Andaluz as it was back in 1975, how times have changed! |
 | Just look at the N-332 back in those days. |
The partnership “Remember Me”, dedicated to supporting families and Alzheimer, have organized for today an activity that they call “Solidarity Movement” to publicize their activities with patient care and respite service.
This second edition will take place outside the Metro nightclub from ten in the morning. There will be musical performances along with children's entertainment and a craft market. Of course there will be food and drink prepared by residents of the municipality and volunteers from Remember Me. The aim is to raise at least the three thousand euros they managed last year.
This weekend we can enjoy the FIesta at the Holy Cross in Bigastro with a diner dance on Saturday followed by paella on Sunday. For those who like flamenco dancing, the Sevillana Festival at Pilar de la Horadada finishes tomorrow.
Then, from the 6th until the 10th May, there will be the May Fair in Torrevieja. Plenty of dancing, a free concert by the duo “Camela” on Friday and the horse and carriage parades on Saturday and Sunday. It is anticipated that there will be 300 horses and between 25 and 30 carriages taking part this year.
And on the 16th May, the traditional Romeria for San Isidro, the patron saint of farm workers.
 | Always worth a visit, Patio Andaluz serves good food and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays there is the bonus of a cabaret show with flamenco to entertain you. Booking on those nights is essential though because the restaurant gets full. |
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