Stephan Bergmann, CEO of aeromax has kindly posted this comment to me which explains the difference between WiMAX and systems which utilise WiFi for connectivity.
Hello,
the difference between aeromax and clearcom/bigastel is, that aeromax does WiMAX and the other two do Wi-Fi. The difference is the quality: WiMAX is working always at the same high and stable level, QoS including. E.g. the 512kbps of aeromax has a guarantee of 25% and it normally works at 460-480 kbps bidirectionally(!). Telephone service at aeromax is done over TDM, so "real phone connection" giving you a very high quality of speech, incl. Fax service. aeromax offers carrier class service.
Thank you for your attention.
Greetings
Stephan Bergmann, CEO of aeromax
As Stephan point out, the Clear Comms. system to our estate is a hybrid one i.e. the connection to the Pedrera is via microwaves and from there to our houses via wireless. The speed we get varies but is normally 890 + Kbps download and 190+Kbps upload. Telephony via a VoIP phone is very good but not carrier class.
The Bigastel system will be purely wireless from the town to each house.
It is fair to point out that WiFi connections are used successfully throughout the world to provide access in private situations, in commercial settings and to whole towns and cities. The reason for the popularity of this service is probably because many laptop computers now have a WiFi card built in making roaming access simple. As far as I know, it would not be possible to roam with a microwave system because the antenna used is highly directional. It is also fair to point out that the standards for wireless connection have improved significantly over the last few years and continue to improve.
However, both Aeromax and Clear Comms. will tell you, that for the best quality of service, you need an ADSL(2) connection i.e. via a copper or better still fibre cable as close to the exchange as possible. In those circumstances speeds of 10Mbps and much higher are achievable. A higher speed connection is necessary if you want to watch streaming TV and video at full screen sizes but is overkill if all you want to do is send the odd email.
As the Bigastel site explains, Bigastro are initially providing a service to the centre of the town. The company that are installing the system though can easily extend it. The Ayuntamiento are keen to provide a service for ALL citizens in Bigastro and are therefore prepared to extend the service if there is the demand.
I think even Stephan would admit that a 1Mb wireless service for 120€ per year is the best value for money you will ever achieve. There is no set up fee nor any equipment to loan.
You can indicate your interest in Bigastel by clicking on the link which takes you to the online form.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Phew
Apparently the FA finally got the keys to the new Wembley Stadium late on Friday. The building, which was scheduled to be finished January 2006, has finally been completed at a cost of £757m. Just imagine, you could have bought the whole of the Vega Baja for that price!
There are to be a couple of 'dummy' runs to test out the facilities. If they prove successful then the Cup Final will be held there on the 19th May.
So who will be playing Manchester United on that day?
There are to be a couple of 'dummy' runs to test out the facilities. If they prove successful then the Cup Final will be held there on the 19th May.
So who will be playing Manchester United on that day?
An end to the long wait
Our main bureaucratic headache, the residence card procedure, has been scrapped by a royal decree that finally brings Spain in line with EU directives.
That means that we will no longer have to queue up for hours to obtain or renew our ‘residencia’ cards thanks to Ministry of Presidency Royal Decree 240/2007 published in the BOE official state bulletin on February 28.
The decree states that EU citizens who wish to live in Spain more than three months must personally request their signing on the Registro Central de Extranjeros register – a procedure that can be carried out at the provincial Foreigners’ Office or at a National Police station.
All you have to do is to present a valid passport or national identity card to sign on the register and a certificate would then be issued on the spot indicating your name, nationality, address, NIE number and registration date.
Those of us who already have residence cards will not need to re-register until our residence card expires. When it does we will be issued with a certificate.
A word of caution though:
A press release on this subject from the British Embassy in Madrid recommends British citizens in Spain always carry with them some proof of identity.
Despite the non-obligation of carrying a residence card, residents are advised to carry existing non-expired residence cards or a passport when approaching certain local administrations or purchasing items with credit cards – as formal ID should be requested.
Turning up with the Registro de Extranjeros certificate, although officially sufficient, could prove an obstacle course that will be easily avoided by carrying ID.
That means that we will no longer have to queue up for hours to obtain or renew our ‘residencia’ cards thanks to Ministry of Presidency Royal Decree 240/2007 published in the BOE official state bulletin on February 28.
The decree states that EU citizens who wish to live in Spain more than three months must personally request their signing on the Registro Central de Extranjeros register – a procedure that can be carried out at the provincial Foreigners’ Office or at a National Police station.
All you have to do is to present a valid passport or national identity card to sign on the register and a certificate would then be issued on the spot indicating your name, nationality, address, NIE number and registration date.
Those of us who already have residence cards will not need to re-register until our residence card expires. When it does we will be issued with a certificate.
A word of caution though:
A press release on this subject from the British Embassy in Madrid recommends British citizens in Spain always carry with them some proof of identity.
Despite the non-obligation of carrying a residence card, residents are advised to carry existing non-expired residence cards or a passport when approaching certain local administrations or purchasing items with credit cards – as formal ID should be requested.
Turning up with the Registro de Extranjeros certificate, although officially sufficient, could prove an obstacle course that will be easily avoided by carrying ID.
Brilliant
If anybody was going to come up with a great suggestion for our role in the Fiesta it was going to be Pete Brooks who I used to work with at Anfield.
He says " Get your tambourines out Keith - it's Morris dancing any day of the week!". How quintessentially English would that be?
The Spanish would love it - they'd laugh their heads off. In fact they'd probably want us to start a Morris Dancing group that they could join in with.
He says " Get your tambourines out Keith - it's Morris dancing any day of the week!". How quintessentially English would that be?
The Spanish would love it - they'd laugh their heads off. In fact they'd probably want us to start a Morris Dancing group that they could join in with.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Any suggestions?
It appears that we have been invited to take part in this year's August Fiesta but have not organised anything so far.
Each year different neighbourhood groups called Camparsas parade through the streets of the town in fancy dress. The participants obviously go to a lot of trouble choosing a theme and costumes for the event.
If we are to take part we will have to come up with a theme and start preparing costumes. One suggestion was that we should parade as Guy Fawkes but that might just give the locals the idea that we are about to blow the town up!
So we have to think of something less threatening, possibly English but not trying to overshadow the essence of the parade.
Much scratching of heads followed by a lot of stitching is required.
International Women's Day
Yesterday, ladies from the Spanish classes attended a presentation in the new library about 'Women in Literature'.
The English ladies from our Spanish class were very well received. Following a talk about important women writers, the ladies were offered coffee and cakes and each was presented with a red rose to commemorate the occasion.
This was yet another example of how the Ayuntamiento work hard to make all of the citizens in Bigastro feel both important and welcome.
The English ladies from our Spanish class were very well received. Following a talk about important women writers, the ladies were offered coffee and cakes and each was presented with a red rose to commemorate the occasion.
This was yet another example of how the Ayuntamiento work hard to make all of the citizens in Bigastro feel both important and welcome.
AGM
It seems that I rattled a few cages with my post on Saturday about "The power of telepathy".
Apparently the reason the AGM had not been publicised was because people are worried that a poster announcing a meeting might let 'robbers' know that our houses would be empty. So why has it been OK previously to put up posters advertising dances?
The other reason given was that there wasn't enough time to advertise the meeting because it had been organised in a hurry. I have to ask myself "what is the point in organising an important meeting and not letting everyone know about it?"
It seems that the Chinese whispers about the Mayor being asked to attend our AGM were untrue. However, we were told that a letter had been taken to the Mayor outlining our concerns for the urbanisation two weeks ago. Wouldn't it have been better to have waited until the AGM to get approval for that letter?
The Committee can't claim to represent our views if they don't ask us what they are. For example, we personally would not want to see speed bumps on the roads and I dare say there a quite a few others who feel the same. We are quite happy to go along with the consensus of opinion but definitely not happy to be directed by a minority viewpoint.
Lastly there was the question of how we should spend the ill-fated subscriptions that only a third of the residents paid. The Chairman was very keen to point out that only those who had paid should benefit. The suggestions from the floor of the meeting were; to buy palm trees in tubs to brighten up the urbanisation, to buy books for the proposed monthly Book Club or to buy seats for the park area where the office used to be.
Trees are a good idea but then the questions raised about "where they would be placed" and "who would water them" probably makes that suggestion a non- starter. It was even suggested that people would ask "why have they got a tree outside their house and we haven't got one outside ours". It was hard to believe that we were dealing with mature adults by that stage.
Don't get me wrong, the Committee do an excellent job of organising dances and we are very grateful to them for all their hard work in that direction but......
PS It was very pleasing that Les Rowlands received praise for his hard work in organising the Bigastro Golf Society. The Society is an excellent model of how to integrate effectively with the community in which we live. Les even allows the Spanish to win!!
Apparently the reason the AGM had not been publicised was because people are worried that a poster announcing a meeting might let 'robbers' know that our houses would be empty. So why has it been OK previously to put up posters advertising dances?
The other reason given was that there wasn't enough time to advertise the meeting because it had been organised in a hurry. I have to ask myself "what is the point in organising an important meeting and not letting everyone know about it?"
It seems that the Chinese whispers about the Mayor being asked to attend our AGM were untrue. However, we were told that a letter had been taken to the Mayor outlining our concerns for the urbanisation two weeks ago. Wouldn't it have been better to have waited until the AGM to get approval for that letter?
The Committee can't claim to represent our views if they don't ask us what they are. For example, we personally would not want to see speed bumps on the roads and I dare say there a quite a few others who feel the same. We are quite happy to go along with the consensus of opinion but definitely not happy to be directed by a minority viewpoint.
Lastly there was the question of how we should spend the ill-fated subscriptions that only a third of the residents paid. The Chairman was very keen to point out that only those who had paid should benefit. The suggestions from the floor of the meeting were; to buy palm trees in tubs to brighten up the urbanisation, to buy books for the proposed monthly Book Club or to buy seats for the park area where the office used to be.
Trees are a good idea but then the questions raised about "where they would be placed" and "who would water them" probably makes that suggestion a non- starter. It was even suggested that people would ask "why have they got a tree outside their house and we haven't got one outside ours". It was hard to believe that we were dealing with mature adults by that stage.
Don't get me wrong, the Committee do an excellent job of organising dances and we are very grateful to them for all their hard work in that direction but......
PS It was very pleasing that Les Rowlands received praise for his hard work in organising the Bigastro Golf Society. The Society is an excellent model of how to integrate effectively with the community in which we live. Les even allows the Spanish to win!!
Very strange
We count ourselves lucky that all we lost was the cane fencing because a lot of people have suffered more damage than that. According to Meteo, the weather channel, the winds gusted up to 117kmph in this area during the period from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday morning.
We did loose our connection to the Internet at about 9:00am yesterday and I had wondered if the mast up at the Pedrera had been blown out of alignment. I tried phoning Clear Communications several times to alert them and got no reply. Other people on the estate had come to the conclusion that the company were going out of business. Some are already looking at an alternative company which uses a similar microwave technology. We got the answer to our concerns this morning when the connection was back on.
Telefonica will definitely install phones on our estate sometime in the near future so I can see little point in paying out a lot more money for an alternative microwave system at this stage. However, interestingly enough someone delivered leaflets about the Bigastro Connectate system to all of the houses on Villas Andrea yesterday evening. According to the Bigastel website, coverage is only for the centre of town. Maybe they are considering extending that which is why they have delivered leaflets to us. I shall certainly fill in the application and take it down to the Ayuntamiento and see what happens.
For the Bigastel connection you can pay 99,99€ for a 1Mb Wi-Fi connection in the first year. The German company Aeromax, that people are looking at, are offering 512Kb i.e. half the speed for 45€ per month including a phone connection with call costs of 3,9c per minute to the UK. We currently pay 40,60€ per month for 1Mb from Clear Comms. plus £3.51 a month to have a UK phone number with call costs of 1p per minute to all of Europe. If the Bigastel system works out we could be paying just 13,46€ for 1Mb internet including our phone per month.
It is a no brainer really! Now where is my pen?
We did loose our connection to the Internet at about 9:00am yesterday and I had wondered if the mast up at the Pedrera had been blown out of alignment. I tried phoning Clear Communications several times to alert them and got no reply. Other people on the estate had come to the conclusion that the company were going out of business. Some are already looking at an alternative company which uses a similar microwave technology. We got the answer to our concerns this morning when the connection was back on.
Telefonica will definitely install phones on our estate sometime in the near future so I can see little point in paying out a lot more money for an alternative microwave system at this stage. However, interestingly enough someone delivered leaflets about the Bigastro Connectate system to all of the houses on Villas Andrea yesterday evening. According to the Bigastel website, coverage is only for the centre of town. Maybe they are considering extending that which is why they have delivered leaflets to us. I shall certainly fill in the application and take it down to the Ayuntamiento and see what happens.
For the Bigastel connection you can pay 99,99€ for a 1Mb Wi-Fi connection in the first year. The German company Aeromax, that people are looking at, are offering 512Kb i.e. half the speed for 45€ per month including a phone connection with call costs of 3,9c per minute to the UK. We currently pay 40,60€ per month for 1Mb from Clear Comms. plus £3.51 a month to have a UK phone number with call costs of 1p per minute to all of Europe. If the Bigastel system works out we could be paying just 13,46€ for 1Mb internet including our phone per month.
It is a no brainer really! Now where is my pen?
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Update
Well the wind is still blowing this morning but nowhere near as fiercely as it was last night. The pony tail palm that I tucked into the corner is still there and the furniture seems to have stayed put.
The fence though took a real battering. The strong wires that I had used to hold it up were just about keeping it from ripping off the wire netting completely. The problem was that at least one of the steel posts that hold the netting up had bent with the force of the wind and the top wire that holds the netting straight had snapped. Rather than leave the fence up to possibly cause further damage we struggled against the wind, avoiding the strongest of gusts and snipped the remaining wires. We now have a whole pile of broken fencing to get rid of!
Looking down at our neighbour below; his plastic cane was holding to the fence but then his is a lot more sheltered. I suppose it is the price we have to pay for living on top of a hill with open views.
Everything on the roof seemed to be fine except that one of the pots was rattling the terrace tile it sits upon which woke me up earlier than I would have liked.
So I have a bit of a job on this morning tiding up all the bits of fence that we took down. I'll also have to screw the clothes lines back to the wall. Then we have to consider how we are going to make the garden private again.
Further update
The wind, which seemed to have abated, has picked up again so I guess we will have to keep the hatches battened down until there is a lull.
The fence though took a real battering. The strong wires that I had used to hold it up were just about keeping it from ripping off the wire netting completely. The problem was that at least one of the steel posts that hold the netting up had bent with the force of the wind and the top wire that holds the netting straight had snapped. Rather than leave the fence up to possibly cause further damage we struggled against the wind, avoiding the strongest of gusts and snipped the remaining wires. We now have a whole pile of broken fencing to get rid of!
Looking down at our neighbour below; his plastic cane was holding to the fence but then his is a lot more sheltered. I suppose it is the price we have to pay for living on top of a hill with open views.
Everything on the roof seemed to be fine except that one of the pots was rattling the terrace tile it sits upon which woke me up earlier than I would have liked.
So I have a bit of a job on this morning tiding up all the bits of fence that we took down. I'll also have to screw the clothes lines back to the wall. Then we have to consider how we are going to make the garden private again.
Further update
The wind, which seemed to have abated, has picked up again so I guess we will have to keep the hatches battened down until there is a lull.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Hey ho
First off the dwarves performed much better this week during rehearsals. There are still a lot of rough edges that need to be worked on but we are starting to get there.
Secondly: hey ho - the wind doth blow. This time last year we arrived back from England to find our cane fencing blown down following gale force winds here in Spain.
Well, after a calm start this morning, the wind has picked up to gale force with very strong gusts this afternoon. The wires that I used on the side fence are holding most of that in place but the back and the front fencing, which was held with nylon ties, is lying on the floor. The furniture has shifted all over the place and the pony tail palm tree has blown over.
Pam decided that her washing would blow dry nicely. Well it would have done if the screws that held the lies to the wall hadn't pulled out depositing the clothes on the patio.
I can probably fix the fence back up but it will look tatty. So we may have to consider a more permanent solution i.e. having the walls at the side and back built up higher to give us our privacy.
Anybody know a decent builder?
Secondly: hey ho - the wind doth blow. This time last year we arrived back from England to find our cane fencing blown down following gale force winds here in Spain.
Well, after a calm start this morning, the wind has picked up to gale force with very strong gusts this afternoon. The wires that I used on the side fence are holding most of that in place but the back and the front fencing, which was held with nylon ties, is lying on the floor. The furniture has shifted all over the place and the pony tail palm tree has blown over.
Pam decided that her washing would blow dry nicely. Well it would have done if the screws that held the lies to the wall hadn't pulled out depositing the clothes on the patio.
I can probably fix the fence back up but it will look tatty. So we may have to consider a more permanent solution i.e. having the walls at the side and back built up higher to give us our privacy.
Anybody know a decent builder?
Our new van!
I had a phone call on Monday at 7:30pm to say that the Skoda Roomster we had ordered had arrived from the importer in Barcelona. So we went down this morning to Rubio Mar; sorted out the paperwork and arranged to take delivery next Friday.You may not have heard of the Roomster because it was new on the market last July. This, aptly named car, is Skoda's take on the mini MPV. Like other cars in the genre it has versatile rear seating which can be removed entirely to carry large loads. Unlike some others though it doesn't come with a hefty price tag.
Ours is a 1.9 TDI Fun in Ocean Blue metallic just like the picture above.
For sure you won't miss us on the road in this car!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Alternative solution for some!
The problem of gaining access to the internet without a landline cable is solved for some.Bigastro City Council are setting up 1Mb Wi-Fi access for bigastrense at very competitive rates i.e. 3€ per day, 12€ per month, 120€ per year with a promotional offer of 99,99€ for the first year if you apply before 31st December.
Sadly the zone covered by their transmitter does not seem to extend as far as Villas Andrea.
Anyone interested in this service can obtain more information by phoning 96 535 00 00 ex. 7, calling in at the Ayuntamiento or by visiting the www.bigastel.es website.
Home-made-lemonade vicar?
We have so many lemons on our trees it seems a pity to waste them so one of our neighbours took a bagful to make lemon curd. There is only so much lemon curd you can eat though and it doesn't keep very well. So I thought about lemonade - typed "home-made lemonade" into Google and came up with pornography sites.
It seems that home-made lemonade is a term used to describe urine which some individuals apparently have a fetish for. No wonder parents worry so much about their children surfing the net.
Let me reassure anybody who comes to my house that if I offer you home-made lemonade it won't have been passed through my body.
It seems that home-made lemonade is a term used to describe urine which some individuals apparently have a fetish for. No wonder parents worry so much about their children surfing the net.
Let me reassure anybody who comes to my house that if I offer you home-made lemonade it won't have been passed through my body.
Back to our roots
Even though we have adapted to a Spanglish diet, our taste buds still need to be reminded of our English heritage. We buy Heinz baked beans, Tetley teabags and pork pies and sausages from the English butcher for example.
We don't normally eat in English restaurants though so yesterday was a rare treat.
Ken and Kay, our neighbours have been very good to us, particularly in the last year when we've needed to go back to England so many times. By way of thanking them we took them to the Downtown Quesada restaurant for the self-service Sunday carvery. There you get the usual mix of soup, salad, roast dinner and dessert. For meat we had a choice of beef, pork, turkey and gammon or all four if we'd wished. The desserts, which can often be disappointing at these places, were excellent. I had apple crumble whilst the others had home made trifle. The portions were generous and the quality was superb. Having thoroughly enjoyed our meal, we weren't surprised to find that they had served 200 covers yesterday over the two sittings.
The only carvery we have been to here in Spain that came near to the quality of Downtown Quesada was at Monroe's where a full three courses including half a bottle of wine cost an unbelievable 5,75€.
One incident that amused me yesterday; when we were getting our meat, Kay asked me if I liked "batter". Now Kay lived in London prior to moving to Spain so I thought she was asking me if I wanted "butter" which she pronounces the same. I couldn't understand why I would want butter with my meat. What she really wanted to know was whether I liked Yorkshire puddings. Yes I do but I have to say the ones they served weren't like the ones my mother used to make!
We don't normally eat in English restaurants though so yesterday was a rare treat.
Ken and Kay, our neighbours have been very good to us, particularly in the last year when we've needed to go back to England so many times. By way of thanking them we took them to the Downtown Quesada restaurant for the self-service Sunday carvery. There you get the usual mix of soup, salad, roast dinner and dessert. For meat we had a choice of beef, pork, turkey and gammon or all four if we'd wished. The desserts, which can often be disappointing at these places, were excellent. I had apple crumble whilst the others had home made trifle. The portions were generous and the quality was superb. Having thoroughly enjoyed our meal, we weren't surprised to find that they had served 200 covers yesterday over the two sittings.
The only carvery we have been to here in Spain that came near to the quality of Downtown Quesada was at Monroe's where a full three courses including half a bottle of wine cost an unbelievable 5,75€.
One incident that amused me yesterday; when we were getting our meat, Kay asked me if I liked "batter". Now Kay lived in London prior to moving to Spain so I thought she was asking me if I wanted "butter" which she pronounces the same. I couldn't understand why I would want butter with my meat. What she really wanted to know was whether I liked Yorkshire puddings. Yes I do but I have to say the ones they served weren't like the ones my mother used to make!
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Hot it's not
I'm not referring to the weather which continues to be glorious.
I went out on my bike this morning for the first time in ages. I enjoyed the ride but my bum didn't like the saddle very much. Then we did our Spanish homework on the porch in the sun. That was enough work for one day, so we sunbathed by the pool for a few hours. It was so hot I decided it was time for a first dip in the pool. The best description for the temperature of the water is "refreshing". Still it cooled me down and allowed me to lay in the sun for an other hour or so.
We could hear a party going on up at the Pedrera. The music sounded more Moroccan than Spanish though and I thought I heard someone announce "Ponemos hoy la primera piedra de nuestro mosque" which if my Spanish is correct means "we lay today the first stone of our mosque". Only joking!!!
I went out on my bike this morning for the first time in ages. I enjoyed the ride but my bum didn't like the saddle very much. Then we did our Spanish homework on the porch in the sun. That was enough work for one day, so we sunbathed by the pool for a few hours. It was so hot I decided it was time for a first dip in the pool. The best description for the temperature of the water is "refreshing". Still it cooled me down and allowed me to lay in the sun for an other hour or so.
We could hear a party going on up at the Pedrera. The music sounded more Moroccan than Spanish though and I thought I heard someone announce "Ponemos hoy la primera piedra de nuestro mosque" which if my Spanish is correct means "we lay today the first stone of our mosque". Only joking!!!
The power of telepathy
We knew that the Residents' Committee were due to call an AGM because it is over 12 months since the last one. We only found out by accident that the meeting is scheduled for this Thursday. There is no notice on the Community noticeboard, nothing on the board up at the Pedrera and nobody has been around to tell us. It's almost as if the Committee are relying upon the powers of telepathy to keep us informed about these things.
Apparently the Mayor of Bigastro has been invited to the meeting to answer questions relating to the development. Well, I have to say he failed to turn up to court last week because he had flu, so I hope he is well enough to attend on Thursday. If he does turn up it might be less embarrassing for him to face a full audience. No doubt he will give the answers you would expect, considering we are just months before the local elections.
Ah well que sera sera.
Apparently the Mayor of Bigastro has been invited to the meeting to answer questions relating to the development. Well, I have to say he failed to turn up to court last week because he had flu, so I hope he is well enough to attend on Thursday. If he does turn up it might be less embarrassing for him to face a full audience. No doubt he will give the answers you would expect, considering we are just months before the local elections.
Ah well que sera sera.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Chinese whispers
Rumours abound about the possible date for installation of our landline phones.
First off we would have them by Christmas. Then it was January - definitely! Possibly by February. Telefonica won't commence work until Calle Escocia is rebuilt. The latest, from someone who apparently knows everything, is that they will be here in two weeks time.
Go down to one of the Telefonica shops and they know nothing about it. Mind you they are just agents so may not be party to that sort of information anyway.
The definitive version is this:- landlines will be installed when the van arrives outside your house and not before. This will be proceeded by people installing the cables to the boxes in the roads; a process that will be accompanied by a very loud cheer audible throughout the development. So there is little chance that you will miss it. If you happen to be out on the day when this happens don't worry because there will be plenty of people eager to let you know.
Once the process is completed and those people who want phones have them, then we will start worrying about when the Hiperber supermarket on the corner of Calle Alemania and Calle Inglaterra is going to be built.
First off we would have them by Christmas. Then it was January - definitely! Possibly by February. Telefonica won't commence work until Calle Escocia is rebuilt. The latest, from someone who apparently knows everything, is that they will be here in two weeks time.
Go down to one of the Telefonica shops and they know nothing about it. Mind you they are just agents so may not be party to that sort of information anyway.
The definitive version is this:- landlines will be installed when the van arrives outside your house and not before. This will be proceeded by people installing the cables to the boxes in the roads; a process that will be accompanied by a very loud cheer audible throughout the development. So there is little chance that you will miss it. If you happen to be out on the day when this happens don't worry because there will be plenty of people eager to let you know.
Once the process is completed and those people who want phones have them, then we will start worrying about when the Hiperber supermarket on the corner of Calle Alemania and Calle Inglaterra is going to be built.
Hot stuff
In 15 days they have sold 5,000 tickets for the Shakira concert to be held on 31st March in the Park Antonio Soria in Torrevieja. The organisers anticipate selling 20,000 tickets by the time the concert is due to take place. The venue has a capacity of 40,000.Shakira is only appearing at three venues in Spain which could explain the popularity of the Torrevieja concert.
Three euros of the ticket price is to go to the local Association for Alzheimer and a local Association for parents of children with special needs.
Warning: - any male with a heart condition should not even consider going to the concert.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
For free
My Epson Stylus Photo 870 inkjet printer is just sitting here doing nothing now that I have a new photo printer.
I would prefer someone to take it rather than just put it in the bins. It comes with a UK power lead, USB lead, the CD of software for Windows and Mac OS and even some spare cartridges.
So anyone who would like it can have it free of charge provided they come to pick it up of course!
If you want it, just send me a comment back and I'll get in touch with you.
I would prefer someone to take it rather than just put it in the bins. It comes with a UK power lead, USB lead, the CD of software for Windows and Mac OS and even some spare cartridges.
So anyone who would like it can have it free of charge provided they come to pick it up of course!
If you want it, just send me a comment back and I'll get in touch with you.
What is slow food?
In a message on Tuesday 27th I mentioned that there were plans to open a "slow food" restaurant in Bigastro.
Slow food doesn't of course refer to the speed of the service nor the time taken to prepare the dishes. It is an international organisation promoting and supporting the preservation or restarting of the growing and producing of the many artisan foodstuffs that are being swamped by urbanisations, the McDonaldisation of eating out and processed foods reliant on E.additives rather than natural flavours and colourants. Look it up on www.slowfood.com or just ‘slow food’.
Bigastro is committed to the principle of "slow cities" so opening a "slow food" restaurant is a logical step to take.
Slow food doesn't of course refer to the speed of the service nor the time taken to prepare the dishes. It is an international organisation promoting and supporting the preservation or restarting of the growing and producing of the many artisan foodstuffs that are being swamped by urbanisations, the McDonaldisation of eating out and processed foods reliant on E.additives rather than natural flavours and colourants. Look it up on www.slowfood.com or just ‘slow food’.
Bigastro is committed to the principle of "slow cities" so opening a "slow food" restaurant is a logical step to take.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
They call him called "Golden Balls"
..so what name should we give to her?
Ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham is to star in a fly-on-the-wall documentary about her forthcoming move to the US after signing a £10m deal with NBC.
The programme will "look inside her world", her spokeswoman confirmed, but will not feature her footballer husband David, or their three sons.
The former England captain transfers to Los Angeles Galaxy this summer. Last month Victoria described the move to the US - which will reportedly earn her husband $250m (£127m) over five years - as "really exciting".
She said it was a decision which had been "thought about carefully". "I'm really looking forward to making new friends and enjoying the sunshine in California," she wrote on her website.
She had difficulty learning Spanish, hopefully she'll fare better with American.
Ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham is to star in a fly-on-the-wall documentary about her forthcoming move to the US after signing a £10m deal with NBC.
The programme will "look inside her world", her spokeswoman confirmed, but will not feature her footballer husband David, or their three sons.
The former England captain transfers to Los Angeles Galaxy this summer. Last month Victoria described the move to the US - which will reportedly earn her husband $250m (£127m) over five years - as "really exciting".
She said it was a decision which had been "thought about carefully". "I'm really looking forward to making new friends and enjoying the sunshine in California," she wrote on her website.
She had difficulty learning Spanish, hopefully she'll fare better with American.
Jealousy does not become you
I don't want to upset those of you who live in cooler climates but yesterday it was so hot here we got the sunbeds out and had a few hours catching the rays.
In fairness it is the first time we have sunbathed this year. Mind you it is only February!
I don't ever remember sunbathing in the UK during February.
In fairness it is the first time we have sunbathed this year. Mind you it is only February!
I don't ever remember sunbathing in the UK during February.
Not good
The first rehearsal yesterday was not good to say the least. In fact it was b***** awful.
The biggest problem we face is that we have a different set of dwarves each time we rehearse. Added to which, they have difficulty reading their lines so they just make them up. Worst of all though, when they left the stage half went off to the right and the the other half to the left.
The look of despair on our teacher's face said it all. She told us we would be performing in May - luckily she didn't say which May.
Caperucita Roja was never this difficult.
The biggest problem we face is that we have a different set of dwarves each time we rehearse. Added to which, they have difficulty reading their lines so they just make them up. Worst of all though, when they left the stage half went off to the right and the the other half to the left.
The look of despair on our teacher's face said it all. She told us we would be performing in May - luckily she didn't say which May.
Caperucita Roja was never this difficult.
So who will be cooking dinner?
Just imagine the headache you'd come back with if you went down to that!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Ambitions
On display in the Auditorium Francisco Grau is the City Council's project, "Bigastro Innova", which is the economic part of the municipal project " Bigastro Avanza ".
The seven projects proposed include a clothing company by Julio Diaz; a convention centre at the Pedrera by Francisco Paredes Quesada; a hotel with a spa, pitch & putt and golf practice ranges at the Pedrera by the company Promociones and Inversiones Rambla; the restaurant "Arroba" by Enrique Rocamora based on the philosophy "slow food"; a solar energy assembly plant by Eurener SL; the restaurant "La Alborada" by Mario Lopez and the "Hiperber" supermarket by Jose Bernabeu which he says will open this year.
Five years, ten at the most and this town will be so smart people will be queuing up to live here.
The seven projects proposed include a clothing company by Julio Diaz; a convention centre at the Pedrera by Francisco Paredes Quesada; a hotel with a spa, pitch & putt and golf practice ranges at the Pedrera by the company Promociones and Inversiones Rambla; the restaurant "Arroba" by Enrique Rocamora based on the philosophy "slow food"; a solar energy assembly plant by Eurener SL; the restaurant "La Alborada" by Mario Lopez and the "Hiperber" supermarket by Jose Bernabeu which he says will open this year.
Five years, ten at the most and this town will be so smart people will be queuing up to live here.
Monday, February 26, 2007
We like Helen Mirren
US mob drama The Departed has won four Oscars, including best film and best director for Martin Scorsese, who had missed out on five previous occasions.
Dame Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker collected best actress and actor, and there were three Academy Awards for Mexican fairytale Pan's Labyrinth.
Dame Helen had described her Oscar nomination as "amazing"
"All kids love to get gold stars, and this is the biggest and the best gold star that I have ever had," she said.
In the meantime Basic Instinct 2 has swept the Golden Raspberry Awards - the annual ceremony which mocks the worst of Hollywood ahead of the Oscars presentation.
The film picked up four awards - or Razzies - for worst movie, worst actress for Sharon Stone, worst screenplay and also worst sequel.
Perhaps Shazz should try keeping her knees together for her next film
Dame Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker collected best actress and actor, and there were three Academy Awards for Mexican fairytale Pan's Labyrinth.
Dame Helen had described her Oscar nomination as "amazing"
"All kids love to get gold stars, and this is the biggest and the best gold star that I have ever had," she said.
In the meantime Basic Instinct 2 has swept the Golden Raspberry Awards - the annual ceremony which mocks the worst of Hollywood ahead of the Oscars presentation.
The film picked up four awards - or Razzies - for worst movie, worst actress for Sharon Stone, worst screenplay and also worst sequel.
Perhaps Shazz should try keeping her knees together for her next film
Set to get hotter
From the Leader newspaper
Climate change will make drought a permanent phenomenon in Alicante.
That’s the warning from The Ministry of the Environment who say there will be 40% less rain in the south of the province this century, with temperatures rising sharply.
The report by Spanish scientists to the National Climate Council looks ahead to 2071. If emissions of greenhouse gases are not reduced, Alicante province will be one of the worst affected areas in Spain; reservoirs may never be able to recover from the effects and river diversions may also be affected.
The 40% decrease in rainfall is equivalent to 150 litres per square metre and will mean not only more intense droughts but also more intense torrential rain and higher sea temperatures.
The 156.4 litres that fell in 2005 made the area the 6th driest year since records began in 1856, and the 5th since 1994. The average temperature will also rise by 4.5ºC, mostly between April and October.
Head of the Climatology Department at Alicante University, Jorge Olcina, indicated that the principal problem is that, “all the signals point to climate change marked by aridity and the advance of desertification in Alicante, where rain will be less often and more irregular.”
Torrevieja and Pedreguer registered average temperatures above 20ºC for 2006, a rise of 3ºC, according to the Institute of Meteorology. This is the highest since 1950 and the six highest years have all been since 1994 right across the province, with an average of 16.2ºC, 1.2 degrees more than normal.
The worst case scenario for the month of July, which currently registers the highest summer temperatures, could see an 8ºC rise during this century. This can be broken down into a 1-3ºC rise from 2011-2040, a 3.5-4ºC rise between 2041 and 2070 and a 4-7ºC increase from 2071 to 2100.
Climate change will make drought a permanent phenomenon in Alicante.
That’s the warning from The Ministry of the Environment who say there will be 40% less rain in the south of the province this century, with temperatures rising sharply.
The report by Spanish scientists to the National Climate Council looks ahead to 2071. If emissions of greenhouse gases are not reduced, Alicante province will be one of the worst affected areas in Spain; reservoirs may never be able to recover from the effects and river diversions may also be affected.
The 40% decrease in rainfall is equivalent to 150 litres per square metre and will mean not only more intense droughts but also more intense torrential rain and higher sea temperatures.
The 156.4 litres that fell in 2005 made the area the 6th driest year since records began in 1856, and the 5th since 1994. The average temperature will also rise by 4.5ºC, mostly between April and October.
Head of the Climatology Department at Alicante University, Jorge Olcina, indicated that the principal problem is that, “all the signals point to climate change marked by aridity and the advance of desertification in Alicante, where rain will be less often and more irregular.”
Torrevieja and Pedreguer registered average temperatures above 20ºC for 2006, a rise of 3ºC, according to the Institute of Meteorology. This is the highest since 1950 and the six highest years have all been since 1994 right across the province, with an average of 16.2ºC, 1.2 degrees more than normal.
The worst case scenario for the month of July, which currently registers the highest summer temperatures, could see an 8ºC rise during this century. This can be broken down into a 1-3ºC rise from 2011-2040, a 3.5-4ºC rise between 2041 and 2070 and a 4-7ºC increase from 2071 to 2100.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Did you get my emails?
I still seem to be having a problem with emails and wondered if other people using the Bigastro server were experiencing the same difficulties.
It's not receiving but sending mail which seems to be the hiccup. I've checked my settings and tested them by sending myself mail; that all works. Then I send a mail to my Hotmail address and it doesn't work. Several people who I have sent mail to say they haven't received them either. The messages just don't get through.
So I am completely at a loss to identify where the problem lies. If you are using the Bigasto server and experiencing the same problem I'd be pleased to hear from you.
Just send me a comment back to this message. Muchas gracias
It's not receiving but sending mail which seems to be the hiccup. I've checked my settings and tested them by sending myself mail; that all works. Then I send a mail to my Hotmail address and it doesn't work. Several people who I have sent mail to say they haven't received them either. The messages just don't get through.
So I am completely at a loss to identify where the problem lies. If you are using the Bigasto server and experiencing the same problem I'd be pleased to hear from you.
Just send me a comment back to this message. Muchas gracias
Fantastico
Last night at the Auditorium Francisco Grau we were privileged to attend a spectacular flamenco show performed by "Grupo Flamenco Manzanilla".
The eight dancers under the direction of Maria del Mar Gea and six musicians/singers under the direction of Felix Amador performed a mixture of songs, music and dance to a very appreciative audience. At the end of the evening the "Grupo Flamenco Manzanilla" received a well deserved standing ovation.
Thank you Bigastro for an excellent evening's entertainment.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
In trouble again
This time it was the spokesperson from the Green Party of Bigastro, Carmen Castaño, who publicly denounced that they had asked four months ago for the municipal authorizations for the construction of a solar panel farm at the Pedera.
Castaño had asked for the work license which had been granted to build the solar panel farm along with a copy of the special plan of the Pedera, a copy of the act of the awarding table and the concession to hire Eurener S.L. to undertake the work.
Castaño said that municipal civil employees hadn't refused their requests but told them that they could not provide the information without the authorization of the Mayor, Joaquin Moya. The works on the solar farm were denounced before el Seprona de la Guardia Civil.
The mayor of Bigastro is already being investigated by the courts for 44 counts of denying municipal information to the municipal group of the Popular Party and was recently denounced for allowing Euroner S.L. to build an assembly plant on council land the other side of the bypass from the town.
Castaño had asked for the work license which had been granted to build the solar panel farm along with a copy of the special plan of the Pedera, a copy of the act of the awarding table and the concession to hire Eurener S.L. to undertake the work.
Castaño said that municipal civil employees hadn't refused their requests but told them that they could not provide the information without the authorization of the Mayor, Joaquin Moya. The works on the solar farm were denounced before el Seprona de la Guardia Civil.
The mayor of Bigastro is already being investigated by the courts for 44 counts of denying municipal information to the municipal group of the Popular Party and was recently denounced for allowing Euroner S.L. to build an assembly plant on council land the other side of the bypass from the town.
Bad luck really
Keith and Lynn Ashton came over to see us yesterday on their way back to Alicante airport.Lynn and Pam used to work together at Pensby Park so it was good to see them. They'd just spent a week in Benidorm on holiday hoping for some nice sunny weather. As those of you who live here know, the weather this last week has been poor. Still they enjoyed themselves and got to see a lot of places they would have missed if they'd spent their time on the beach.
Keith is a keen gardener and so cast an expert eye over our garden area. He couldn't believe how the plants could grow so well in what looks like the poorest soil imaginable.
They left about 5pm with a few lemons from our trees to put in their drinks back home. Hopefully they will be back and will stay longer next time.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Save yourself some dosh!
I got this email this morning from PCTools. I use both Spyware Doctor and Registry Doctor and can therefore recommend them. We don't have a milkman so I'm passing the offer on to you.
Dear Keith,
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To start saving please visit www.pctools.com now, select any PC Tools product, enter 25VIP7216 in the coupon field in shopping cart and save 25% off your entire PC Tools order. You can use the code as many times as you want, on as many products as you want and share it with anyone you think could benefit from some world-leading software at a huge discount.
When we say everything we mean really mean everything; Spyware Doctor, Registry Mechanic, PC Tools AntiVirus, File Recover or Privacy Guardian (even Spyware Doctor Enterprise); one license or a thousand; for home or for work... no catches, no limits, 25% off everything.
Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your milkman, just don't delay, we're only doing this for 72-hours and the offer ends at midnight (GMT) on Monday February 26th 2007.
And remember, all of our products get free upgrades during the subscription so if you have Spyware Doctor 4.0 or lower make sure you get free upgrade next week when Spyware Doctor 5 is released. You won't be disappointed!
And thanks as always for being a PC Tools customer.
Best Regards,
PC Tools Team
Dear Keith,
We are so excited about the up-coming release of Spyware Doctor 5.0 that we wanted to celebrate with all our loyal customers and we thought the best way was to save you some serious money!
Spyware Doctor 5 is the most important release from PC Tools since the first version of Spyware Doctor back in 2004 and even in its pre-release beta state it has been suggested by a major PC publication that Spyware Doctor 5.0 may be the best AntiSpyware utility available!
To start saving please visit www.pctools.com now, select any PC Tools product, enter 25VIP7216 in the coupon field in shopping cart and save 25% off your entire PC Tools order. You can use the code as many times as you want, on as many products as you want and share it with anyone you think could benefit from some world-leading software at a huge discount.
When we say everything we mean really mean everything; Spyware Doctor, Registry Mechanic, PC Tools AntiVirus, File Recover or Privacy Guardian (even Spyware Doctor Enterprise); one license or a thousand; for home or for work... no catches, no limits, 25% off everything.
Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your milkman, just don't delay, we're only doing this for 72-hours and the offer ends at midnight (GMT) on Monday February 26th 2007.
And remember, all of our products get free upgrades during the subscription so if you have Spyware Doctor 4.0 or lower make sure you get free upgrade next week when Spyware Doctor 5 is released. You won't be disappointed!
And thanks as always for being a PC Tools customer.
Best Regards,
PC Tools Team
The aaaah factor
Some of these Spanish children are so cute with their expressive brown eyes. This little gem is the daughter of the teacher who takes the Spanish reading and writing class.
She was down at the Auditorium on Tuesday when I took her photo. All the ladies at the school loved the picture so I thought I would share it with you.
She was down at the Auditorium on Tuesday when I took her photo. All the ladies at the school loved the picture so I thought I would share it with you.
Not a good idea
Second Lieutenant Wales, otherwise known as Prince Harry, is being sent to Iraq. The third-in-line to the throne in the United Kingdom will be deployed as part of the latest troop rotation over the next few months.Critics say he could prove a highly-prized target for insurgents, raising the risk he and his colleagues in the Blues and Royals might face.
A representative from his unit said on Euronews that the insurgents were not that intelligent. Any British soldier was a target for them. They wouldn't select Harry as anybody special.
So now that you have told them on television that Harry is going to Iraq. You've even shown them his picture and you expect the insurgents to not know! You might as well stick a target on the back of his flak jacket.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
They love to dress up
The children we saw on Tuesday had taken part in the annual carnival. Students from the infant's schools " Bigastrín " and" La Paz " and the primary school " San Jose de Calasanz " participated in a parade through Calle Aureliano Diaz and Calle Purisima. It wasn't just the children in their different costumes who enjoyed the parade though. Their mothers, grandmothers and relatives all came out to cheer and support them.
After the parade they all went to the park for food, drink and to play on the bouncy castles and other attractions that the City Council had provided.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Rehearsals
Reina Madrastra
Espejo mágico
La Reina
Blanca Nieves y los siete enanitos
Mendiga con la manzana
El príncipe esta enamoró
La reina malvada esta muerta!
La directora tímido
La narradora
Proud to be here
Yesterday we went to our rehearsal at the auditorium. Outside the auditorium, in the park, were all sorts of bouncy castles, roundabouts and other amusements. The local council had obviously planned a fun day. As we left the auditorium we could see that the park was full of children thoroughly enjoying themselves.
After our rehearsal we went to see the exhibition "Bigastro Avanza" which celebrates the achievements that the town has made over the last seven years along with the future plans for its development. As we left we were given carrier bags with literature and posters. All very impressive stuff. For those who haven't yet visited the exhibition, we would highly recommend that you take the time to call in and see what a small Spanish town can do.
After our rehearsal we went to see the exhibition "Bigastro Avanza" which celebrates the achievements that the town has made over the last seven years along with the future plans for its development. As we left we were given carrier bags with literature and posters. All very impressive stuff. For those who haven't yet visited the exhibition, we would highly recommend that you take the time to call in and see what a small Spanish town can do.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Bigastro innovates: competitive economic development
This Thursday, at 8:00pm in the Auditorium Francisco Grau, there will be a meeting to celebrate BIGASTRO INNOVATES: competitive economic development.
The investment that Bigastro makes in new productive sectors diversifies and enriches its enterprise structure. Construction accompanied by commerce, tourism and services forms a suitable combination to confront the challenges of the future.
Projects like the Urban Commercial Centre and the improvement of the industrial sector in the Apatel Enterprise Park support and promote the economic development of the town.
On Friday 23 of February at 8:00pm bigastrenses retailers will debate whether Bigastro needs an Urban Commercial Centre.
With the local elections coming up in May we will probably see a lot more of this sort of promotion.
The investment that Bigastro makes in new productive sectors diversifies and enriches its enterprise structure. Construction accompanied by commerce, tourism and services forms a suitable combination to confront the challenges of the future.
Projects like the Urban Commercial Centre and the improvement of the industrial sector in the Apatel Enterprise Park support and promote the economic development of the town.
On Friday 23 of February at 8:00pm bigastrenses retailers will debate whether Bigastro needs an Urban Commercial Centre.
With the local elections coming up in May we will probably see a lot more of this sort of promotion.
Monday, February 19, 2007
A slow journey
Anyone trying to get down to the coast via the CV95 yesterday would have had a problem when 300 protesters blocked the route for an hour and a half.
The protesters included members of each political party along with members of "la Vega Baja No Se Vende".
It makes you wonder who in fact does favour the proposed new autovia.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Technology - humbug
It seems my emails are eventually filtering through. My daughter Laura received one of the four emails I sent her three days after it was sent. Even the Post Office can delivers faster than that. One email I sent to two people arrived in one inbox but not the other. So it is hit an miss at the moment.
Somewhere in Cyberspace there must be a virtual depot where unsent emails are kept. This high tech warehouse probably has thousands of emails all waiting to be re-transmitted to the rightful owners. I imagine it is a bit like the airport baggage reclaim lounges which have stacks of cases waiting to be re-directed to the right airport.
Sometime in the future Laura will receive all the other versions of the same message with notes explaining why they weren't delivered on time.
Perhaps not.
Somewhere in Cyberspace there must be a virtual depot where unsent emails are kept. This high tech warehouse probably has thousands of emails all waiting to be re-transmitted to the rightful owners. I imagine it is a bit like the airport baggage reclaim lounges which have stacks of cases waiting to be re-directed to the right airport.
Sometime in the future Laura will receive all the other versions of the same message with notes explaining why they weren't delivered on time.
Perhaps not.
Introductions
Now that I have completed the wedding album and it is all boxed up ready to post, let me introduce my family. This picture was taken at the wedding reception.
From the left: Dave (Laura's boyfriend), Pam, Laura, me and Jemma.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
We can have our say
A total of 57,628 EU citizens resident in Spain have registered their intention to vote in the May 27th municipal elections.
Figures released this week by the census office show that of these over half are British with 31,409 people registered followed by Germans with 8,807, Netherlands 4,103, France 3,271, Belgium 2,185, Italy 2,010, Romania 1,608 and Sweden 1,148. Other EU groups number less than 1,000.
Surprise, surprise though not everything about the Electoral Register is above board.
Reports this week show that the electoral role in 63 Costa municipalities grew twice as much as the number of people registering on the Padrón.
This revelation comes at the back of the scandal in Pego where former mayor Carlos Pascual is alleged to have revived 400 dead people in order to ensure a comfortable win in local elections.
Over the last six months the national statistics institute (INE) has detected possible electoral role irregularities in 187 municipalities throughout Spain.
Figures released this week by the census office show that of these over half are British with 31,409 people registered followed by Germans with 8,807, Netherlands 4,103, France 3,271, Belgium 2,185, Italy 2,010, Romania 1,608 and Sweden 1,148. Other EU groups number less than 1,000.
Surprise, surprise though not everything about the Electoral Register is above board.
Reports this week show that the electoral role in 63 Costa municipalities grew twice as much as the number of people registering on the Padrón.
This revelation comes at the back of the scandal in Pego where former mayor Carlos Pascual is alleged to have revived 400 dead people in order to ensure a comfortable win in local elections.
Over the last six months the national statistics institute (INE) has detected possible electoral role irregularities in 187 municipalities throughout Spain.
A very happy couple
Yesterday we went to visit Chris and Linda Walsh at their new house in Lomas de Cabo Roig.
After three years of waiting for it to be built they have finally moved in. The kitchen appliances are all fitted, the lights are on the ceilings, the beds are made and Chris was putting up the last of the curtains on the windows.
To say they were delighted is an understatement. They really didn't want to fly back to England, they wanted to stay for at least another week. Who could blame them, it is a beautiful house and the weather yesterday was glorious. Still it won't be long to Easter when they will be out again.
Chris and Linda "wetting the concrete"
Number 58 Playa Golf
After three years of waiting for it to be built they have finally moved in. The kitchen appliances are all fitted, the lights are on the ceilings, the beds are made and Chris was putting up the last of the curtains on the windows.
To say they were delighted is an understatement. They really didn't want to fly back to England, they wanted to stay for at least another week. Who could blame them, it is a beautiful house and the weather yesterday was glorious. Still it won't be long to Easter when they will be out again.
Chris and Linda "wetting the concrete"
Number 58 Playa Golf
Watch out though Chris, Linda is getting the bug. Each time you come out she will find it more difficult to return to England!
Friday, February 16, 2007
So confusing cont.
When we lived in the UK most of the people we knew were local to the area so we understood them well. Now we live on an urbanisation with people from all over the UK things are a bit different.
When we get together, like we did on Saint Valentine's night, it's like being on the sets of Eastenders, Brookside, Emmerdale and Coronation Street all at the same time.
Just for good measure we have Norfolk Dave, a couple of Scots and a sprinkling of Irish.
I have a solution though. We only speak to each other in Spanish.
When we get together, like we did on Saint Valentine's night, it's like being on the sets of Eastenders, Brookside, Emmerdale and Coronation Street all at the same time.
- "Coor blimey it ain't af ot in eer."
- "Or ey queen, watch you moanin about now."
- "See thee, some barm pots shut door. No wonder its wam in here."
- "So how r u in yourself."
Just for good measure we have Norfolk Dave, a couple of Scots and a sprinkling of Irish.
I have a solution though. We only speak to each other in Spanish.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
So confusing
Whilst we are trying to get to grips with Spanish, our teacher is struggling on with English.
Most of the people in our class are from the south of England and so pronounce some of their vowels in ways which sound inconsistent to us northerners. They even try to change a few of their consonant sounds. Of course we are correct and they are wrong!
For example the "o" sound as in lovely which is pronounced more like a long "a" by people south of Watford.
The "a" in bath should be the same as the "a" in cat but listen to any southerner and suddenly it becomes a totally different sound.
Let them ask for a cup of tea and wonder why the "u" sounds more like a "a". We prefer our tea in a cup than a cap.
Is it any wonder the poor girl gets confused. Still it makes you "laff" doesn't it?
Most of the people in our class are from the south of England and so pronounce some of their vowels in ways which sound inconsistent to us northerners. They even try to change a few of their consonant sounds. Of course we are correct and they are wrong!
For example the "o" sound as in lovely which is pronounced more like a long "a" by people south of Watford.
The "a" in bath should be the same as the "a" in cat but listen to any southerner and suddenly it becomes a totally different sound.
Let them ask for a cup of tea and wonder why the "u" sounds more like a "a". We prefer our tea in a cup than a cap.
Is it any wonder the poor girl gets confused. Still it makes you "laff" doesn't it?
Possible problem
Some of the emails I have sent in the last week don't seem to have arrived at the recipients. I tested my SMTP server by sending myself a test message and that worked. So I don't know where the problem lies.
I've had to resort to the ludicrous situation where I send a text message to check whether my emails have arrived. Next stage is to phone to say I am sending a text message advising of an impending email. I might even have to fill my pen with ink and write a letter first!
I've recently sent messages to Andrew and Richard Parry-Jones, Dave Brooks, my brother Brian and my daughter Laura. If you are reading this and haven't received an email in the last couple of days please let me know so I can try and sort this out.
I've had to resort to the ludicrous situation where I send a text message to check whether my emails have arrived. Next stage is to phone to say I am sending a text message advising of an impending email. I might even have to fill my pen with ink and write a letter first!
I've recently sent messages to Andrew and Richard Parry-Jones, Dave Brooks, my brother Brian and my daughter Laura. If you are reading this and haven't received an email in the last couple of days please let me know so I can try and sort this out.
Trial begins
11th March marks the third anniversary of the Madrid train bombings.
The trial of the 29 suspects begins in Madrid at 10:00am this morning. Seven of them, mostly Morrocans, are accused of murder and belonging to a terrorist group. The rest are accused of collaborating with a terrorist group and handling explosives.
The series of bombs devastated four trains killing 191 people and injuring 1755 more. Coming just days before the Spanish general elections, it was thought to be the reason why the socialist government were replaced by a conservative one.
The trial of the 29 suspects begins in Madrid at 10:00am this morning. Seven of them, mostly Morrocans, are accused of murder and belonging to a terrorist group. The rest are accused of collaborating with a terrorist group and handling explosives.
The series of bombs devastated four trains killing 191 people and injuring 1755 more. Coming just days before the Spanish general elections, it was thought to be the reason why the socialist government were replaced by a conservative one.
Muchas gracias
Last night's dance at the Pedrera was much better attended than the one at Christmas. The group, PDQ, entertained us with a good selection of tunes from the 60s, 70s and 80s. For me, a live band is preferable to a disco but only if the band are good and PDQ were good.
These socials provide us with an opportunity to get together with people we miss on a day to day basis. It was especially pleasing to see David, who had suffered a stroke when we first arrived at Villas Andrea, strutting his stuff in his cowboy hat and to meet the Spanish couple, Juan and Lourdes, who live on Canada de Andrea.
So many thanks to the Residents' Committee; Alan, Ron, Lynda, Ramon, Carol, Jim and Lynne for your hard work and efforts. You provided us with another night to remember.
These socials provide us with an opportunity to get together with people we miss on a day to day basis. It was especially pleasing to see David, who had suffered a stroke when we first arrived at Villas Andrea, strutting his stuff in his cowboy hat and to meet the Spanish couple, Juan and Lourdes, who live on Canada de Andrea.
So many thanks to the Residents' Committee; Alan, Ron, Lynda, Ramon, Carol, Jim and Lynne for your hard work and efforts. You provided us with another night to remember.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Sunday morning
There will be a protest meeting about the proposed new layout of the CV95 road from Orihuela to Torrevieja. This protest, "La Vega Baja No Se Vende" (the fertile valley is not for sale), has been organised by groups from San Miguel de Salinas and Bigastro and will be held at 10am, Sunday 18th at Vistabella.
Back in December 2005, the group proposed an alternative route which they say would minimise the damage to the area. This route follows the CV95 onto the CV945 to Los Montesinos and then the AP7 to Torrevieja. To make this work, they suggest that the present toll at Los Montesinos should be dropped.
If the ladies who frequent the CV95 find out, I'm sure they will be there to offer their "support" on Sunday.
Back in December 2005, the group proposed an alternative route which they say would minimise the damage to the area. This route follows the CV95 onto the CV945 to Los Montesinos and then the AP7 to Torrevieja. To make this work, they suggest that the present toll at Los Montesinos should be dropped.
If the ladies who frequent the CV95 find out, I'm sure they will be there to offer their "support" on Sunday.
Sunday evening
The Municipal Autitorium is honoured to present a concert of music by "la Orquesta Sinfónica de la Vega Baja" which was formed to play experimental music of the region."El lago de los cisnes" y "Vals de la Suite de jazz nº 2" de Tchaikowsky, la "viuda alegre" de Franz o la "Danza Hungara nº 5" de Johannes Brahms, are some of the works that the Sinfónica offer under the direction of Ángel Lasheras Canales.
I think we might go to that - there's nothing like a bit of culture before dinner!
Hi ho
The rehearsals for "Blanca Nieves y los siete enanitos" (Snow White and the seven dwarfs) are coming on. Next week we are going to rehearse in the Auditorium Francisco Grau where we will eventually perform to children from the local primary schools.
The biggest problems we face are with the seven dwarfs played by Spaniards from the class that are learning to read and write. The one who says "Look! There is somebody sleeping in my bed!" doesn't seem to realise that she has to be standing by the bed to deliver that line. The next dwarf who says "A girl so beautiful! Who can it be?" stands about four dwarves away. If they came on in the right order these problems would be resolved but they come on differently each time we rehearse.
The most difficult part though is when all seven of them have to say lines together; for example, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Speaking together seems to be just impossible for them.
Ah well, I'm sure it will be sorted out. Hopefully the children will get a laugh out of it, I know we do.
The biggest problems we face are with the seven dwarfs played by Spaniards from the class that are learning to read and write. The one who says "Look! There is somebody sleeping in my bed!" doesn't seem to realise that she has to be standing by the bed to deliver that line. The next dwarf who says "A girl so beautiful! Who can it be?" stands about four dwarves away. If they came on in the right order these problems would be resolved but they come on differently each time we rehearse.
The most difficult part though is when all seven of them have to say lines together; for example, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Speaking together seems to be just impossible for them.
Ah well, I'm sure it will be sorted out. Hopefully the children will get a laugh out of it, I know we do.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
A few facts
Totally boring to Pamela but not to me! As you can see from my statistics, my humble blog has attracted 2,415 visitors loading 5,749 pages.
Fascinating stuff - not!
- 87% of my visitors were running Windows XP against 4% Mac OS - no Vista users yet!
- 38% viewed the pages at 1280 x 1024; 38% at 1024 x 768 resolution. Amazingly 4% had monitors displaying 800x600 pixels.
- 36% were using MS Internet Explorer 7 against 35% using Firefox. It seems that Microsoft have edged back in the browser wars. Before the introduction of IE 7, tabbed browsing in Firefox ruled the roost.
- 42% were from the UK against 24% from Spain. Incredibly 14% were from the US.
Fascinating stuff - not!
Almost finished
The cartridges arrived yesterday (third time lucky) so I managed to get the final 18 pages of the wedding album printed. I asked the delivery man why they hadn't been delivered on Thursday or Friday. He didn't know anything about Thursday but said there was too much to deliver on Friday.
I've sent Best Prints an email complaining. Apart from anything else they currently offer a free HP bag for orders placed by registered customers and they now use express delivery for all orders. Anything quicker than the nine days I had to wait would be an improvement.
When I had finished printing I went to see Les on the other side of the estate. Les is having problems connecting his analogue phone to VoIPtalk. He has a Linksys adapter which connects to his Internet router and converts his analogue phone to a VoIP signal. There is obviously a problem with the adapter because when he connects his phone the phone light on the adapter stays blank. I brought the Linksys back to my house and tried connecting to my DHCP enabled router and found that it doesn't show a connection to that either. It's not a case of the "lights are on but there is nothing there" the lights aren't even on!
I'm no expert but I'd guess that a VoIP phone connected directly to the ethernet router is Les' best solution.
I've sent Best Prints an email complaining. Apart from anything else they currently offer a free HP bag for orders placed by registered customers and they now use express delivery for all orders. Anything quicker than the nine days I had to wait would be an improvement.
When I had finished printing I went to see Les on the other side of the estate. Les is having problems connecting his analogue phone to VoIPtalk. He has a Linksys adapter which connects to his Internet router and converts his analogue phone to a VoIP signal. There is obviously a problem with the adapter because when he connects his phone the phone light on the adapter stays blank. I brought the Linksys back to my house and tried connecting to my DHCP enabled router and found that it doesn't show a connection to that either. It's not a case of the "lights are on but there is nothing there" the lights aren't even on!
I'm no expert but I'd guess that a VoIP phone connected directly to the ethernet router is Les' best solution.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Empty houses
Half of the houses of the province are either empty or are second homes.
Alicante is the third zone of Spain with the most vacated houses.
Alicante is one of the provinces that in the last five years has been in the forefront of the " real estate boom ". The result is that 43% of the 980,048 houses in the province are empty or are a second residence i.e used for about 45 days per year, according to the last data publicised by National Institute of Estadística (INE).
Now that causes a problem to the economic infrastructure because shops and businesses cannot thrive in areas where homes are either totally unoccupied or are empty for such a large part of the year.
Alicante is the third zone of Spain with the most vacated houses.
Alicante is one of the provinces that in the last five years has been in the forefront of the " real estate boom ". The result is that 43% of the 980,048 houses in the province are empty or are a second residence i.e used for about 45 days per year, according to the last data publicised by National Institute of Estadística (INE).
Now that causes a problem to the economic infrastructure because shops and businesses cannot thrive in areas where homes are either totally unoccupied or are empty for such a large part of the year.
Glorious weather
What a great weekend weather wise. Saturday we had blue skies and very warm sunshine (24 degrees C). Sunday there was thin cloud but it was still nice and sunny and warm.
It must have been warm yesterday because there was a large party of people up at the Pedrera celebrating. They had the bbq's going and the music playing; you could hear them chattering and laughing half a mile away down the hill. We even saw Aurileo, one of our Spanish neighbours, out in his shorts!
This week is going to be busy. Hopefully the ink for my printer will arrive so I can finish off the wedding album. I need to post it to the bride and groom early this week because Lee is over from Hong Kong for the week and Laura is off work for half term.
I've been tracking the parcel of ink on the Internet. According to the courier's system it was out for delivery on Thursday but was taken back, it was out again on Friday and taken back and is now out again this morning. So fingers crossed for third time lucky!
We also need to sort out Pamela's retirement pension application and open an account for her in Bigastro to put it in.
Our friends Chris and Linda are over this week from England to complete on their house at Playa Golf.
It must have been about two years ago when they first put their deposit down so it has been a long process for them.
They have all the legal stuff to finalise and furniture to buy but hopefully there will be some time for us to go over to the house and "wet the concrete" with them.
Of course we also have our Spanish classes to attend, the weekly shopping to do and a whole host of other jobs that need doing. Just as well we don't have to go to work.
I nearly forgot that Wednesday we have the Valentine's Day dance at the Pedrera. That's it, next week we will definitely need a rest!
It must have been warm yesterday because there was a large party of people up at the Pedrera celebrating. They had the bbq's going and the music playing; you could hear them chattering and laughing half a mile away down the hill. We even saw Aurileo, one of our Spanish neighbours, out in his shorts!
This week is going to be busy. Hopefully the ink for my printer will arrive so I can finish off the wedding album. I need to post it to the bride and groom early this week because Lee is over from Hong Kong for the week and Laura is off work for half term.
I've been tracking the parcel of ink on the Internet. According to the courier's system it was out for delivery on Thursday but was taken back, it was out again on Friday and taken back and is now out again this morning. So fingers crossed for third time lucky!
We also need to sort out Pamela's retirement pension application and open an account for her in Bigastro to put it in.
Our friends Chris and Linda are over this week from England to complete on their house at Playa Golf. It must have been about two years ago when they first put their deposit down so it has been a long process for them.
They have all the legal stuff to finalise and furniture to buy but hopefully there will be some time for us to go over to the house and "wet the concrete" with them.
Of course we also have our Spanish classes to attend, the weekly shopping to do and a whole host of other jobs that need doing. Just as well we don't have to go to work.
I nearly forgot that Wednesday we have the Valentine's Day dance at the Pedrera. That's it, next week we will definitely need a rest!
Friday, February 09, 2007
Stealing water
The Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura (CHS) who are responsible for the management of the Segura have apparently been lax in preventing the illegal use of water from the river. They are accused of not following up properly the sinking of illegal wells and extensions of irrigation systems. The Superior Court of Murcia (TSJM) concluded that the problem was due to negligence of the different directors, the ignorance and the apathy of certain civil employees and the lack of personnel to deal with these cases.
Apparently in Bigastro we consume an average of 225l of water per person. The recommendation is 100-150l per person. So although we are not stealing our water we are not helping to avoid the problem of a drought.
Apparently in Bigastro we consume an average of 225l of water per person. The recommendation is 100-150l per person. So although we are not stealing our water we are not helping to avoid the problem of a drought.
Oh dear
Icente V Celedonio, spokesman of the Liberal Centre in Bigastro, will denounce on Friday before the public prosecutor, Anticorrupción, the ground auction, the license of works and activity, as well as all a series of city-planning irregularities that " have been committed " in sector D-10 of Bigastro.
According to Celedonio, the mayor Jose Joaquin Moya, " granted all class of concessions " to his cousin, Manuel Moya, " for his company " Eurener SL. who intend to assemble solar panels in the premises they have just completed on the other side of the CV95 bypass.
Celedonio says that, in his opinion, serious city-planning irregularities have been committed. He also is challenging the process of auctioning land that was municipal property. Apparently the land adjacent to the main road is not meant to be built upon.
Mind you, at the last Municipal Elections, the mayor admitted that his own house was not legal.
The Yorkshire saying, "they all p*** in the same pot" adequately covers this kind of problem.
According to Celedonio, the mayor Jose Joaquin Moya, " granted all class of concessions " to his cousin, Manuel Moya, " for his company " Eurener SL. who intend to assemble solar panels in the premises they have just completed on the other side of the CV95 bypass.
Celedonio says that, in his opinion, serious city-planning irregularities have been committed. He also is challenging the process of auctioning land that was municipal property. Apparently the land adjacent to the main road is not meant to be built upon.
Mind you, at the last Municipal Elections, the mayor admitted that his own house was not legal.
The Yorkshire saying, "they all p*** in the same pot" adequately covers this kind of problem.
England 0 - Spain 1
In freezing conditions England woefully underperformed to slip to their first home defeat under coach Steve McClaren in an international friendly against Spain at Old Trafford.
Spain were on the back foot at the start of each half, but the visitors survived to take control of the match.
So poor were England that it was hard to remember Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas having to make a save.
Well what can I say?
Spain were on the back foot at the start of each half, but the visitors survived to take control of the match.
So poor were England that it was hard to remember Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas having to make a save.
Well what can I say?
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Not just on the beaches in Devon
Spanish police have arrested 52 people and seized 300,000 archaeological artefacts they describe as "of great historic and economic value".
Officers say the items were seized in 68 raids across Spain at 31 sites of Iberian, Roman, Visigoth and Arab cultures.
The raids uncovered objects like bronze statues, ancient coins and columns from digs across the south.
Although that is good news, they missed a couple of relics here in Bigastro.
Officers say the items were seized in 68 raids across Spain at 31 sites of Iberian, Roman, Visigoth and Arab cultures.
The raids uncovered objects like bronze statues, ancient coins and columns from digs across the south.
Although that is good news, they missed a couple of relics here in Bigastro.
So glad not to be there
It appears that Winter has come to the UK with a vengeance. As per usual the snow has brought the country to a standstill. Schools are closed, roads are impassible etc.Poor Jemma though had to drive to work in Wolverhampton at the Outdoor Adventure Playground that she runs. This is the picture she sent from her camera phone. You can bet all the children who didn't go to school today will turn up. Jemma could well have one big snowball fight on her hands!
Meantime it has been gloomy here most of the day with a bit of fine drizzle off and on. The temperature is 20 degrees C, so I can't see us getting any snow. The forecast for the rest of the week is sunshine and getting warmer.
For Mel!
Sorry about this - Mel is still having problems getting his VoIP phone working.
I found Allnet on the Internet but could only get instructions from their German site (the relevant pages are 40 and45). However it seems that you need to disconnect the Allnet router from your Wi-Surf router but leave your computer plugged in. Then type 192.168.0.1 in your web browser. That address should take you to the configuration screen of the Allnet router. Login is Admin with the password admin. Fortunately the menus are in English so you should be able to follow from there which settings you need to apply to change to your VoIPtalk account.
To find the IP address of a Handytone it must be plugged into the LAN and connected to an analogue phone. Press the button on the Handytone, you should hear a menu prompt announcement on your analogue phone. Dial 02 and you should hear the IP Address.
Call me on 83462157 once you have your account working.
I found Allnet on the Internet but could only get instructions from their German site (the relevant pages are 40 and45). However it seems that you need to disconnect the Allnet router from your Wi-Surf router but leave your computer plugged in. Then type 192.168.0.1 in your web browser. That address should take you to the configuration screen of the Allnet router. Login is Admin with the password admin. Fortunately the menus are in English so you should be able to follow from there which settings you need to apply to change to your VoIPtalk account.
To find the IP address of a Handytone it must be plugged into the LAN and connected to an analogue phone. Press the button on the Handytone, you should hear a menu prompt announcement on your analogue phone. Dial 02 and you should hear the IP Address.
Call me on 83462157 once you have your account working.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Muchas gracias
I know that there are a few people at Villas Andrea who have now signed up with VoIPtalk. Some have been successful and others are having problems because they were supplied with an analogue phone converter which is not listed on the VoIPtalk site.
The first thing that you need to do, as part of the process, is to get into the configuration of the phone converter to change the settings from Wi-Call's to VoIPtalk's. That is not easy if you 1. don't know the IP address of your converter and 2. the username and password to change the configuration.
My first suggestion would be to contact VoIPtalk and ask them if they have specific instructions. If that fails try entering the name of the converter into Google. Hopefully you will then find the site of the company that makes your device along with a downloadable instruction manual.
Anyway many thanks to whoever it was who used me as a referral . I now have a further £2 credit. Hopefully you will get your £2 by getting someone else to sign up.
The first thing that you need to do, as part of the process, is to get into the configuration of the phone converter to change the settings from Wi-Call's to VoIPtalk's. That is not easy if you 1. don't know the IP address of your converter and 2. the username and password to change the configuration.
My first suggestion would be to contact VoIPtalk and ask them if they have specific instructions. If that fails try entering the name of the converter into Google. Hopefully you will then find the site of the company that makes your device along with a downloadable instruction manual.
Anyway many thanks to whoever it was who used me as a referral . I now have a further £2 credit. Hopefully you will get your £2 by getting someone else to sign up.
Limpieza de mi piscina
Those of you who follow this blog may remember that before we went to England I was having problems getting my pool clean.
Yesterday was nice and sunny so I had a go at cleaning it properly. I vacuumed the bottom of the pool to waste instead of through the filter. It took about six inches of water out of the pool but did leave me with sparkling clean water. So it was worth it.
It's just a pity that the water is still way too cold because once the pool was cleaned it looked so tempting I wanted to get in and have a swim. Our Spanish neighbours wouldn't dream of going into their pool until July but I will be in come by April at the latest.
Yesterday was nice and sunny so I had a go at cleaning it properly. I vacuumed the bottom of the pool to waste instead of through the filter. It took about six inches of water out of the pool but did leave me with sparkling clean water. So it was worth it.
It's just a pity that the water is still way too cold because once the pool was cleaned it looked so tempting I wanted to get in and have a swim. Our Spanish neighbours wouldn't dream of going into their pool until July but I will be in come by April at the latest.
Monday, February 05, 2007
A dire warning
THE PROCESSIONARY CATERPILLARThis pest attacks pine and cedar forests in all Mediterranean countries but Southern Europe is most affected. They are highly toxic and extremely dangerous to animals and humans alike. The hairs of the caterpillar can cause anything from mild irritation to the skin to severe allergic reactions that can even be fatal. They MUST NEVER be touched without appropriate protection. The adult moths emerge during the warm months of the summer between July and August. They will travel for many kilometres, searching for a suitable 'host' tree in which to lay their eggs.
The five stage process of larval development takes between four and eight months. At the end of this process, the caterpillars will set off on their mammoth expedition, leaving the tree in a nose to tail procession (hence the name) in order to find soft ground into which they can penetrate. The chrysalis can wait for up to a year for the perfect climate into which new moths emerge at which point, the whole process begins again. The caterpillars feed on pine needles and have been known to desecrate vast areas of forest.
In this area of the Costa Blanca, the pine trees are sprayed to try and prevent this damage but only in areas that are protected or considered to be of natural importance. There are still huge areas of pines that will currently be home for the processionary caterpillar. They are active at night and will be climbing all over the tree both searching for food and constructing nests which are easy to identify. The nests are usually towards the top of the tree or at the end of the branches where they can gain maximum warmth from sunshine.
They are strangely beautiful nests, cocoons of spun silk that glisten in the sunlight. This beauty belies the danger however and they must be treated with extreme caution. It has been suggested by the Spanish that if a nest is disturbed, the caterpillars are able to 'fire' their poisonous hairs in self-protection. ALWAYS wear thick clothes and gloves and protect the eyes with goggles. It is best to remove the nest by cutting the branch on which it is sited to avoid too much disruption and burning it in its entirety in a metal container or suitable fire.
Some people suggest plunging the nest into strong chlorine. When the caterpillars leave the trees, they will 'process' in a long line of up to 300 at a time. Moving nose to tail, the long, wiggly lines are extremely attractive to dogs, cats and small children. They can be swept up using a brush and pan saved especially for this purpose, whilst wearing protection. As horrific as it sounds, they must be incinerated quickly. At the risk of being alarmist, it must be understood that if ingested, it takes only one or two caterpillars to kill a cat, dog, child or vulnerable person.
At the very least, touching the caterpillars will result in skin irritation, at worst, anaphylactic shock and possibly death. If you are even slightly concerned that your pet or child may have come into contact with processionary caterpillars, do not delay a minute, seek immediate medical assistance. Avoid walking children or dogs in pine forests and keep a very close eye on trees in your garden or that of your neighbour. The caterpillar is about an inch long with long brown hairs and yellow 'blotches'.
Taken from the Round Town News
They have some nice books in there
The Municipal Library in Bigastro has again been award a prize for its reading projects by "El Ministerio de Cultura".
The prize has been granted by "la Comisión de Evaluación" for the selection of projects within "del Plan de Fomento a la Lectura", formed by "la Dirección General del Libro, Archivos y Bibliotecas, del Ministerio de Cultura; del Departamento de Educación, Cultura, Juventud y Deporte de la Federación Española de Municipios y Provincias y de la Fundación Coca Cola España".
It is not the first time that the Municipal Library of Bigastro has receive a prize. Bigastro was awarded the same prize in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
PS I wonder what happened in 2005 - our first full year living here!
PPS The department to contact about this is:- the Main directorate of Books, Archives and Libraries, of the Ministry of Culture; of the Department of Education, Culture, Youth and Deport of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and of the Coca Cola Foundation of Spain.
The prize has been granted by "la Comisión de Evaluación" for the selection of projects within "del Plan de Fomento a la Lectura", formed by "la Dirección General del Libro, Archivos y Bibliotecas, del Ministerio de Cultura; del Departamento de Educación, Cultura, Juventud y Deporte de la Federación Española de Municipios y Provincias y de la Fundación Coca Cola España".
Phew - imagine how long it takes them to answer their phone calls.
It is not the first time that the Municipal Library of Bigastro has receive a prize. Bigastro was awarded the same prize in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
PS I wonder what happened in 2005 - our first full year living here!
PPS The department to contact about this is:- the Main directorate of Books, Archives and Libraries, of the Ministry of Culture; of the Department of Education, Culture, Youth and Deport of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and of the Coca Cola Foundation of Spain.
Having a laugh?
For those who survive the climb up to the cross, the Town Hall have decided to take things a step further.
Pam keeps saying we should exercise more. I don't think she means going this far though. I think a gentle stroll to the village and back is more what she has in mind.
Anyone know?
Why are my lemons orange? In some light conditions they look even more orange than they do in this photograph. There are a few oranges on the tree, courtesy of a graft and they are no more orange coloured than the lemons.It's not just this one tree either, both trees are the same. Ah well as long as they taste of lemon I don't suppose it matters.
PS It looks like we are going to have a lot of gin and tonics this year!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Eating up the ink
Well, so far I have printed out half of the wedding album and used up almost all of the light magenta ink in my printer and over half of the light cyan. Although there is about three quarters of the yellow ink left, the black, cyan and magenta cartridges are still showing full.
Luckily the process of ordering more ink is simple and painless. When the ink is getting low, the printer software alerts you and points you to an online ordering service called Best Prints. If you order more than 30€ worth the postage is free. At 9,48€ per cartridge for each of the five colours and even more for the high capacity black that is not difficult.
The more I use this HP printer, the more impressed I am with it. I used to be a keen devotee of Epson printers, however the software, the print quality and the sheer versatility of this Photosmart D7360 have converted me.
PS I tried both Jessop's Photo Inkjet paper and HP Premium Plus paper to start with. Although the Jessops paper is whiter and more nuetral, for this job the warmer tone of the HP paper seems best.
Luckily the process of ordering more ink is simple and painless. When the ink is getting low, the printer software alerts you and points you to an online ordering service called Best Prints. If you order more than 30€ worth the postage is free. At 9,48€ per cartridge for each of the five colours and even more for the high capacity black that is not difficult.
The more I use this HP printer, the more impressed I am with it. I used to be a keen devotee of Epson printers, however the software, the print quality and the sheer versatility of this Photosmart D7360 have converted me.
PS I tried both Jessop's Photo Inkjet paper and HP Premium Plus paper to start with. Although the Jessops paper is whiter and more nuetral, for this job the warmer tone of the HP paper seems best.
Malapropisms
We are often amused by Spanish translations into English. For example we found a shop that was selling "Chester Drawers".
The English are quite capable of producing their own. Two of my favourites are:-
The English are quite capable of producing their own. Two of my favourites are:-
- the patient who thought the doctor told her she had a cute vagina.
- the student who wrote that having only one wife is called monotony
- It will take time to restore chaos and order - George Bush
- Don't tell those coming in the result of that fantastic match, but let's have another look at Italy's winning goal.. - David Coleman
- The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey - Brian Johnston
- Neil Harvey, standing at leg slip with his legs wide apart, waiting for a tickle - Brian Johnston
- Rutherford's asking the umpire how many balls he's got left... he's got two - Bryan Waddle
Picky teachers
The Residents' Committee have worked hard to book entertainment for our February 14th dance. They have even gone to the trouble of printing the tickets on nice glossy card. It is just a pity that there is that glaring error of punctuation to spoil them.
I am no expert on either punctuation or grammar but I do know that there should be an apostrophe between the 'e' and the 's' in Valentine's. If they had entitled it "Valentines Dance" that would have been OK but I'm sorry the day belongs to Saint Valentine.
Still I am sure it will be an excellent night, well worth the 6€ ticket price.
Have you got yours?
In a bid to stop any further attempts at burglary; Aurileo Murcia, the builder who lives on our development, has kindly had these passes produced. The idea is that if we put these in the front windscreen of our cars then anyone can easily identify cars that are parked legitimately on the streets. Any vehicle parked without a pass could be considered suspicious.
Of course the real answer to the problem would be for everyone to park their cars on the drives that each house has. Some people though have used their drives as outdoor living space and so have no choice but to park on the road.
We'll give it a whirl and see how it goes.
For mountain goats
If this is the cross I think they are referring to then I would need more than water to get up there!
Friday, February 02, 2007
Silver Service
I took the bold step of subscribing to the VoIP Silver Service yesterday at the princely cost of £2.99 (plus VAT)per month. That immediately gave me £2 more credit and a Manchester phone number for people in the UK to use. I then emailed the friends who we keep in contact with to let them know. Within half an hour I had a phone call from David Brooks who was the ICT System Manager at Anfield when I was there.
David is a great bloke from a great family. What he doesn't know about ICT really isn't worth knowing. Now the school has become the North Liverpool Academy David has a grander title and hopefully a salary to match. It was such a pleasure to hear from him, it made my day. So the £2.99 was well spent.
David is a great bloke from a great family. What he doesn't know about ICT really isn't worth knowing. Now the school has become the North Liverpool Academy David has a grander title and hopefully a salary to match. It was such a pleasure to hear from him, it made my day. So the £2.99 was well spent.
Something different
The Concejalía de Cultura del Ayuntamiento de Bigastro are putting on a varied program at the Auditorio Francisco Grau to try and please all ages. Thursday they showed Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" and Sunday morning they are screening "Stuart Little" for the children.
They came around the estate yesterday announcing these events via a loudspeaker.
As you can see there are also a couple of concerts to go to. I imagine Coco Illán is intended for the young people in the town. Please excuse the pun but he looks a little negative to me.
Oh yes and following complaints about the state of the roads, the road sweeper came round last night. I think it was about ten o clock when it came down Calle Irlanda.
All this for less than 200€ a year council tax!
Thursday, February 01, 2007
First phone call
We received our first phone call on the new system last night. Our youngest daughter, Laura, had tried to phone the night before when the network was down. We were really pleased that she was able to get through this time.
The call quality was excellent. There wasn't the delay we used to get nor was there the echo of our own voices. It was better than the Skype calls we had made which tended to break up at times. I imagine that is because voice calls get priority over data traffic on our system and even though Skype uses a different port to data it still shares the same bandwidth.
Full marks go to Clear Communications. They said that the microwave/ADSL hybrid system would make the VoIP phone workable and they were right.
The call quality was excellent. There wasn't the delay we used to get nor was there the echo of our own voices. It was better than the Skype calls we had made which tended to break up at times. I imagine that is because voice calls get priority over data traffic on our system and even though Skype uses a different port to data it still shares the same bandwidth.
Full marks go to Clear Communications. They said that the microwave/ADSL hybrid system would make the VoIP phone workable and they were right.
Almost there
I've been working a lot on the wedding pictures for Laura and Lee using Serif PagePlus to put the album together. I had considered using Quark XPress but I need to spend more time with that program before using it for something like this.
PagePlus is clever because it allows you to insert pictures without having to embed them in the file. Instead it creates links to the picture files on the hard drive which keeps the PagePlus file small. As you create more pages though the program slows down and with 36 pages completed linking over 500Mbs of pictures it was crashing. Athough my computer has 1Gb of physical memory it was running out of steam. Even the page file that Windows uses was full.
So I've split the PagePlus file into two with pages 1-18 in one new file and 19-36 in another. Even so the second file is slow to load because those pages have the most photographs on them. It looks like I might have to split the files again to print them otherwise I will end up with huge print spooler files which will crash either the computer or the printer.
The irony is that my first proper computer (an Apple Classic II) had 4Mb of physical memory which I thought was more than enough for any task. I understand that to run the new Windows Vista OS 1Gb is recommended. That means that for any serious graphic work you'd need at least 2Gbs or possibly even 4Gbs if you were producing video or a wedding album like I am. That is 1,048,576 times as much memory as that little Apple computer.
PagePlus is clever because it allows you to insert pictures without having to embed them in the file. Instead it creates links to the picture files on the hard drive which keeps the PagePlus file small. As you create more pages though the program slows down and with 36 pages completed linking over 500Mbs of pictures it was crashing. Athough my computer has 1Gb of physical memory it was running out of steam. Even the page file that Windows uses was full.
So I've split the PagePlus file into two with pages 1-18 in one new file and 19-36 in another. Even so the second file is slow to load because those pages have the most photographs on them. It looks like I might have to split the files again to print them otherwise I will end up with huge print spooler files which will crash either the computer or the printer.
The irony is that my first proper computer (an Apple Classic II) had 4Mb of physical memory which I thought was more than enough for any task. I understand that to run the new Windows Vista OS 1Gb is recommended. That means that for any serious graphic work you'd need at least 2Gbs or possibly even 4Gbs if you were producing video or a wedding album like I am. That is 1,048,576 times as much memory as that little Apple computer.
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