Spanish drivers

In a survey of 1,173 ESO and  Bachillerato students undertaken by the Universitat de València :-

• 31% admitted to driving/riding a moped without a license
• 20% admitted to committing offences e.g. speeding, skipping traffic lights or riding without a helmet.

In spite of that:-

• only 5.9% had been stopped for speeding
• and 7.6% had been caught jumping traffic lights

When the students were asked about the penalties:

• 22% didn't know the penalty for speeding
• 45% didn't know the consequences of having an excess level of alcohol in their blood.

According to one of the authors of the study, the women that were surveyed were more prudent and less likely to break the law than the men.

Appeal rejected

The judge in the court of First Instance and Instruction 3 of Orihuela has rejected the appeal by the layer, José Sánchez Alarcos, for the release of  the ex-mayor of Bigastro, José Joaquín Moya. The judge considers that, in spite of the fact that Moya is in poor health, he could still destroy evidence against him if he was released from prison.

Ex Mayor of Alicante

The spotlight now moves to Alicante where the anti-corruption public prosecutor, Felipe Briones has asked the judge Cristina Costa to pass the Mercalicante case onto the Tribunal Superior de Justicia.

The scandal, which involves the embezzlement of the public company Mercalicante for 6 million euros, exploded in 2002, when an audit revealed irregularities in their accounting . Between 1999 and 2001 the organisation supposedly used different projects to cover up their economic movements.

The people involved in this scandal include the ex- mayor of Alicante, Luis Diaz Alperi; the Councillor for Property, Juan Zaragoza; the chief of Ciudad de la Luz, José María Rodríguez Galant- the last two members of the executive committee of the company; two representatives of Mercasa and the ex- manager of the company, José Emilio Clavero, who is the main defendant.

You can't help but notice that, whilst there may be many people now out of work, Felipe Briones, the anti-corruption public prosecutor has got more than enough on his plate.

In favour of Bigastel

I understand that Bigastel are in the process of preparing to install wi-fi connections here at Villas Andrea.

You may remember that I'd reported a comment on this blog from the United Left party in Bigastro. They were denouncing Bigastel as a "FRAUDE y una ESTAFA" - their words not mine. On Izquierda Unida's web site they complain that the service is still not available to everyone and that Phase 2 is more expensive than Phase 1.

IU are correct on both counts but of course there are very good reasons why this should be the case. You only have to examine the topography of Bigastro to understand the problems that Bigastro Telecomunicaciones S.L. face in providing wi-fi access to everybody. Wi-fi over short distances on the flat is relatively easy to achieve hence the extremely competitive price of Phase 1. When there are hills and other obstacles to overcome it is a different ball game.

Nether-the-less there are ways of overcoming the problems and Phase 2 is now imminent. However, the technology required to overcome the topography is going to be more expensive than that used for Phase 1, hence the elevated price. What Bigastro Telecomunicaciones S.L have sought to do is provide a good reliable service at the most competitive price they could achieve.

Consider the alternatives. ADSL via Telefónica is very expensive. The cheapest Duo package (phone line, local and national calls and ADSL) costs about 74€ per month. You can, of course opt just to have just a phone line and use dial up. That would reduce the cost to 18€ per month for the line rental plus the cost of the calls whilst you are on the Internet but it is going to be disastrously slow*.

Going to a different provider for ADSL can shave a few euros of the price. Sadly the market for ADSL is no where near as competitive as it is in the UK where there are some exceptional deals to be had.

Having said all that, at 29€ per month for a 2Mb connection, Bigastel provides a very attractive way to get a broadband connection especially for those who don't have a Telefónica line.

If that is the case, then why do I pay 78€ per month for my ADSL package ?

Experts agree that ADSL via cable is superior to any wi-fi solution**. I use my Internet connection A LOT and I was used to a good ADSL service back in the UK. If we had a fibre optic cable e.g. via ONO I'd be even happier because those support speeds up to 50Mbs at a much lower price (e.g. 12Mb/500Kbs for 60€ per month including phone connection).

So, if you live more than 4km from the exchange, are in an area where there is no telephone cable infrastructure or want to keep costs down then Bigastel seems to me a perfectly useable and cost effective solution. For people at Villas Andrea , it should work well because there will be relatively few people sharing the connection.

As I said to George, the installer, "if Bigastel had come before Telefónica, I would have jumped at it".

* Dial up is at best 52Kb per second that is almost 40 times slower than the 2Mb that Bigastel are offering you and a whopping 160 times slower than my Telefónica connection.

** It isn't just a difference in speed of the connection between the two. The quality of a wi-fi connection is subject to atmospheric conditions and even when conditions are good they can vary in quality. Try a simple ping test to a wi-fi server and you will see what I mean. Even if none of the pings are dropped they will vary in speed.

Ladies' darts

The ladies here do seem to be much better at organising themselves than the men. Each year they take themselves out for  a meal out and even organise taxis to take them there and back when their chosen restaurant is too far away

For today, they have booked a trip to Benidorm. They've got a coach to take them there and back and  have lunch booked at Monroe's carvery for 2pm

We haven't been to the carvery in Benidorm but if it is as good as the one we visited on an earlier trip, the ladies are in for a real treat. Monroe's is famous for providing  a Sunday type roast dinner at menu del dia prices. There'll be no evening meal for the men tonight!

The only blot on the horizon is the weather forecast for Benidorm.

	Mañana	Tarde	Noche
Previsión
		10.5º/15.2º

En la primera mitad del día se esperan chubascos débiles. Por la tarde es probable que se registren chubascos localmente moderados

Still I doubt whether that will dampen their sprits. I'm sure the resourceful ladies will find plenty to do without getting too wet. 

I hope they have a lovely day.

Students against violence

The Council of Social welfare, the Council of Education, Infodona and the Secondary School “Miguel Hernandez” will  celebrate  next Tuesday the 25th of November the "DIA MUNDIAL CONTRA LA VIOLENCIA DE GÉNERO".

This event will take place in the Municipal Audience “Francisco Grau” from 11:00am to 1pm. The Infodona Association will chat with the students of 4th grade  E.S.O  pupils from  I.E.S. Miguel Hernandez. The pupils will also participate by  reading manifestos related to the theme.

Culture at the weekend

The Municipal Audience “Francisco Grau”,  Bigastro welcomes this  coming  weekend two activities as part of the cultural programme for Autumn.

SATURDAY, 22nd at 6:30pm

Concert  featuring VIBESLAP DÚO

The group, which was formed in 2007, presents modern music for percussion and saxophone.
The members are Joaquín Sáez (Saxophone) and Lucía Carro(Percussion).

SUNDAY, 23rd at 6:30pm

A comedy musicial show - “BUENHUMORADOS” by the Group "Lokaga Falta"

A characterisation of daily situations told through songs and gags.

In court

Yesterday morning, Inmaculada Martínez (acting mayor), Raúl Valerio Medina (first lieutenant mayor) , Mari Carmen Grau (Secretary General of the local PSOE), Herminia Ortiz and María Jesús Torres (both ex councillors) along with their lawyer, José Miguel Porras went to the court of First Instance and Instruction No 3 in Orihuela to declare before the magistrate, Joaquina de la Peña and the Anti-corruption prosecutor Felipe Briones .

They had already been called to the offices of the Guardia Civil in Almoradi last week and have now been imputed for their involvement in the crimes that the ex- mayor José Joaquín Moya is accused of. Their involvement seems to centre on the fact that they were party to the approval in council of the city planning irregularities that are being investigated.

The crimes that Moya is apparently accused of include "delitos de prevaricación, la ordenación del territorio, falsedad documental, cohecho, malversación de caudales públicos y negociaciones prohibidas a funcionarios públicos" which I translate to mean "crimes of:- corruption, the arrangement of territory, documentary falsification, bribe, embezzlement of public assets and prohibited negotiations with government officials".

Testing your connection

I was pleased that some found my reference to Speedtest.net useful for checking the speed of their connections. Can I remind you that this kind of test needs to be repeated at different times of the day because it will vary - hopefully not by too much.

If you are contemplating VoIP for your phone calls or if you currently use VoIP and want a measure of your call quality, then it might be useful to also visit this site.

The score you will get is from 1 to 5. To help you make sense of this they have given very apt descriptions of what the numbers mean:-

• less than 2 - Forget the phone, try Pony Express
• 2.8 - Like tin cans and string
• 3.2 - As bad as a crummy cell phone call
• 3.8 -As good as a decent cell phone call
• 4.4 - Like calling next door
• 5 - Better than being there!

This is a different type of test to that at speedtest.com.

Good drivers!

One of my readers sent me this comment referring to my item about the police cracking down on drivers using mobile phones.

In Guardamar I saw a woman turning into the main road from a side street. There was a child of about 2 stood in the front of the car leaning on the dashboard (no seat belt on) and the woman driver was on her mobile! Methinks she would have been in severe trouble if the police had spotted her.

Unbelievable! She was presumably unaware of the great risk  to the child.

Apart from the many drivers you see on mobile phones, there are a lot of other incidences of bad driving that you see on the roads here in Spain. Let us put aside the inability of most Spanish drivers to use direction signals and the reckless overtaking manoeuvres that they make.

We've seen countless people on mopeds with a child sat in front of the rider. We even saw one instance where four people had managed to squeeze on one of these machines. How it ever got up the hill to Villas Andrea we will never know.

We've been nearly pushed of the road by drivers who clearly thought that they were in England where you drive on the left. Even the local police Land Rover forced us into the kerb once when we were travelling up Calle Le Vegan.

As for ignoring one way systems - don't let's get started on that one.

I'm not suggesting that British drivers are all good because they are not but they'd have to go a long way to be as bad as some of these locals.

My Christmas (and birthday) present

Remember last November I wrote about the Eeepc notebook computer that Asus were selling for £170. It wasn't the fastest, slickest computer on the planet but was good enough to surf the Net, write documents and send emails on. I thought it would be ideal for anyone looking for a computer just for those sort of tasks particularly if they wanted something they could take away on holiday or use in the garden.

It wasn't going to be long before Asus were going to refine that idea. Faster processors, longer battery life and larger screens have brought the price of their latest offerings up to about the £300 mark. At that price point they are verging into the territory of more powerful laptop designs.

In the meantime, other manufacturers have cottoned on to the idea including Acer with their Aspire One range.

Priced at £179 with a faster processor, larger screen, larger keyboard and better build quality than the original Asus 700 series, this seems to me to represent excellent value of money. So I have one on order along with a 16Gb SD card to boost the storage capacity.

The idea is that I'll use the Acer instead of my Dell laptop which is about eight years old now. With its top of the range specification (for the time) , it could almost be considered a desktop replacement. When I was at Anfield I used the Dell a lot. I've used it here in Spain especially when we have visitors and I can't get into the spare room.

A couple of years ago, the laptop had slowed down to a crawl taking ages to boot up into XP so I reformatted the drive and reinstalled Windows. That made a vast improvement rendering the machine useable again. The battery life is down to about 20 minutes but no matter I can still use it on mains. The problem is it is so damn big and heavy and way over the top when all I want to do is send an email, find some information from the Net or write an item for this blog.

The Acer is about the size of book (249mm (W) x 170mm (D) x 29mm (H)) and weighs a shade less than a kilogramme. It is not quite a palm top but certainly won't cook and crush my knees like the Dell does. It runs a version of Linux (the operating system of choice by my good friend Pete Brooks) which apparently loads up ready to use in under 30 seconds. So when Pam asks me a question about the bank accounts or wants me to find out what is on Digital+ at the weekend - the Acer will provide the answers in double quick time

Of course the notebook has limitations so I will still use my Dell desktop for serious work like photo editing etc.

ETA boss arrested

The military boss of ETA, Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu, alias “Txeroki”, has been arrested this morning in Cauterets, in the southwest of France.

Cauterets is a town in the High Pyrenees, 32 kilometres from Lourdes. The locality is a well known tourist resort for skiers.

The police operation was the result of a joint investigation by the French information services in collaboration with the Guardia Civil. Agents of a special assault unit entered the house where “Txeroki” and his companion were located shortly after three in the morning. Both“Txeroki” and his female companion were armed at the time. However, the rapid intervention by the the elite French forces prevented the pair from using their arms to counter the arrest.

For five years , Garikoitz Aspiazu, “Txeroki”, was the head of the ETA commandos and was responsible for organising and issuing orders to the terrorist cells. It was “Txeroki” who ordered the car bomb in the car park at Barajas airport on the 30th of December 2006, that killed two people and broke the truce between ETA and the government.

Members of an ETA command in Pamplona, arrested by the police on the 28th of October, said that “Txeroki” had also confessed his involvement in the murder of two Civil Guards in Capbreton (France) on the 1st of December last year.

Shortly after the arrests, the French minister of the Interior, Michèle Alliot-Marie, offered his warmest congratulations to officers involved. The operation demonstrates the determination of the police services and the French gendarmerie in the fight against all form of terrorism and illustrates the excellent collaboration between France and Spain in the fight against Basque terrorism.

Phew

Pam and I enjoy doing our Spanish homework. We usually work independently and then compare notes. Sometimes (not often), this can lead to a little "discussion" which calls for the dictionary.

The problem is that there are so many words in Spanish that either have several meanings or are used in an idiomatic way that changes their meaning entirely. Take the phrase "desde luego" which cropped up in a piece of work last week. You might literally translate as "from until" but actually it means "of course".

At our last lesson, Eduardo explained something of the geography of Spain; from the Sierras to the Rios and then asked us to write something about the geography of the country we came from.

Neither Pam nor I are geographers. Apart from admiring the scenery, we took little interest in the geographical features of the area where we lived. Ask me to name the rivers in England and I can get to about five before drying up.

So the first task was to find out something about the geography of the Wirral where we lived. Then we had to simplify the information down so that we could write it in Spanish. Finally we had to go through and hopefully correct the Spanish; remembering to put in the necessary prepositions which we English often neglect.

The end result is as dry as those rivers I couldn't name but at least it is done.

Next week I hope we can write about something more "lively".

About time

On Wednesday, the DGT traffic department in Spain launched a 12-day blitz on drivers who use mobile phones while they are at the wheel.

A DGT spokesman says that 500,000 checks will be made across Spain and 200,000 will take place in Alicante Province.

Punishment if caught can be a fine of up to 300 euros, three-month suspension of licence and the loss of three points.

Government sub delegate in Alicante, Encarna Llinares, made the announcement on Tuesday saying that using a mobile phone, tampering with a car radio or onboard navigation system as well as smoking are all distractions and the cause of 37 per cent of traffic incidents.

A new broom

The penal code of 1995 legalized prostitution in Spain. As a result you see "ladies" working on roadsides, at roundabouts, in night clubs and in the streets of cities throughout the country.

There are all sorts of myths that surround their circumstances. Many believe that they are brought into the country, robbed of their passports and made to work long hours for little reward. Some indeed do look very young and a lot of them are clearly not native Spaniards. Most that you see on the roadside are well dressed (or undressed as the case may be) and look to be in good health - they smile and wave to you as you pass them by.

As the "oldest profession", prostitution continues in spite of any crisis. It manages to transcend eras and changes in ideologies. Next to arms trafficking , prostitution is the most lucrative business in the world. Whilst people might be cutting back on extra spending, on holidays or a new car etc., the girls seem to be still doing a good trade.

There is wide spread concern about the organisation of prostitutes. So, the Ministry of Equality lead by Bibiana Aído is going to take a new approach to the fight against sex Mafias and pimps. In order to fight by them, eleven ministries and a pile of experts have come up with a three years plan.

Out of the million prostitutes that work in Spain, it is those that work on the streets that cause the most problems for city councils. The "ladies" who work the streets though are demanding an end to the harassment they receive. The majority of them neither consider themselves to be victims nor slaves to anybody. In fact many Spanish ladies are now returning to the profession after having left it for foreigners for ten years or so.

There is no doubt that there is a criminal element involved in the industry but is it really possible to move prostitutes from the streets and the roundabouts and institutionalise them? Could their work ever become a regulated economic activity with pension schemes and the like?

The illegal gas tanks

Along with the investigation into the re-classification of green land to build industrial units, the Guardia Civil are also examining evidence in relation to other city planning irregularities in Bigastro e.g. the gas tanks that are located in area where the new houses are being built.

The two propane tanks in sector D-6 were constructed with out a license and without the authority to reclassify the land. The 49,500 litre tanks are located on a 1,170 square metre plot in the area which is denominated "garden JL-5" which was meant to be a public green space.

A license was asked at the time but was denied. When the issue was put to the vote in Council it was passed with the approval of the eight PSOE councillors. The company that installed the tanks paid the council 430,000€ for an agreement which gave them 50 years use of the land to store propane along with permission to build a network of distribution to the houses.

A heated session

The first plenary session for the Bigastro Town Council following the resignation of José Joaquín Moya was by all accounts a tense affair.

First off, the acting mayoress had decided to reduce the number of seats available for the public. Sensing this, some of the townsfolk waited an hour outside in the cold to make sure they got a place.

The first complaint from the PP centered round the fact that information had not been given to them 48 hours before the meeting as required by law. Following that, the meeting took the form of a sparring match between Aurelio Murcia for the PP and Raúl Valerio for the PSOE which continued after the session finished.

It was only on point six, which was an item about changes to the local tax rates (A reduction in the rate applied to IBI and a rise in vehicle taxes) that seemed to be some accord.

Inmaculada Martínez apparently controlled the debate well by allowing each three minutes in turn. By all accounts though she was merely a spectator to the bitter discussions that took place.

It seems that when one target gets taken away, another pops up to take its place.

The rain in Spain

Just as in English, the Spanish have a variety of words to describe rain. When you first learn the language, you tend to describe all forms of rain as lluvias. Our teacher put us straight on this a week or so ago.

Here are some of the words that you may hear in relation to rain.

tronar is the verb to thunder,  llovar to rain, granizar to hail, nevar to snow and nubar the verb to cloud

• precipitaciones - rainfall
• precipitaciones débiles - light rainfall
• llovizna - drizzle
• chaparrón - a shower
• chubasco - a shower
• lluvia - rain  
• tormenta  - a thunderstorm
• rayo - a flash of lightening
• trueno -a clap of thunder
• un aguacero - a downpour
• tromba de agua - a cloudburst
• granizo - hail
• nieve - snow
• hielo - ice
• nevada - a snowfall

of course you also hear locals describe rain as simply agua or water.

Speaking about the sky you will hear:-

• cielos  nubosos  - cloudy sky
• cielos despejados- clear sky
• nube - a cloud
• nubes - clouds

English children sing :-

"Rain, rain go away. Come again another day".

In Spain the children sing:-

“Que llueva, que llueva,
La Virgen de la Cueva
Los pajarillos cantan
Las nubes se levantan
¡Que sí! ¡Que no!
¡Que caiga un chaparrón
Con azúcar y turrón!”

How delightful that if the clouds produce a shower they want it to be sugar and turrón.

Two caught but how many more to go?

Guardia Civil officers have arrested two men on suspicion of the burglary of properties in Los Montesinos and Almoradi. The police had noticed that since early September, the numbers of burglaries in these areas had increased and the modus operandi was always the same - entry via the smashing of windows and the theft of anything of value.

When arrested, the two men, who are both Spanish, were found with a revolver, several household appliances and audio-visual equipment, all valued at about 10,000 euros. The robberies had caused a considerable amount of public alarm in both municipalities over the last few months, especially in the more isolated farm areas. The two men have been charged with committing eight robberies.

Let us hope that the Guardia Civil go on to catch the people responsible for the recent burglaries at Villas Andrea where thieves removed the security grills before taking the windows out.

Highwaymen arrested

Three ‘highwaymen’ have been arrested in connection with a series of hold-ups and thefts on the AP-7. The suspects, of Iranian and Pakistani origin, are said to have dressed up as police officers in order to pull over unsuspecting foreign drivers.

Police began their investigations when they got wind of a number of robberies taking place in September and October at service stations and toll-booths along the Costa Blanca. The victims tended to be expatriates or tourists who, after being pulled over and shown fake police ID, were usually told to leave their vehicles. They were then relieved of any money and valuables they were carrying.

Thefts of this nature were reported as occurring on the Benissa, La Vila Joiosa and San Juan exits on the AP-7. A police raid on the home of one of the suspects in El Albir led to the seizure of cars used in the thefts. Officers say all three have a previous criminal record for similar offences in Italy, France and Germany.

Worse in San Fulgencio

The problems that the council face in Bigastro seem bad, then consider the situation in San Fulgencio where things are much worse.

Mark Lewis and fellow councillor and countryman, Mick Blake, decided to split with their fellow AIM member, Manuel Barrera amidst the chaos that has ensued in the Council at San Fulgencio and allied themselves with Trinidad Martinez the mayoress. Following this they have allegedly received death threats from Barrera, which they have reported to the police, although Barrera denies the allegations. Things seemed as if they were returning to some sort of normality when the Mayoress was arrested along with four of her councillors, although she has refused to resign from her post, insisting she will ‘see it through.’ She was arrested for apparently ‘employing’ the men - seen in the video that instigated the Barrera fiasco – who are apparently private detectives who were paid with town hall funds.

Lewis and Blake are two of just seven councillors left running the town and neither can speak the language at all well, but Lewis, from the AIM party, is the only Deputy Mayor who has not been arrested in what appears to be a hive of corruption in the Town Hall.   Lewis was fourth down the list, after the Mayoress, Trinidadad Garcia, who was arrested a couple of weeks ago, the Deputy Mayor, Manuel Barrera, who was arrested the previous week, Manuel Marti, second in command and Juan Antonio Gamuz, third in command, who have also been arrested. Lewis was probably as surprised to find himself with the reigns of power in his hands, if only for a day, as anyone else was. 

According to El Pais newspaper the arrests were made due to an alleged scheme that involved the videotaping of Barrera accepting a bribe of 5000 euros in exchange for his political support of a development project.  It is now believed this may have been a set-up of AIM councilor Manuel Barrera, who was arrested on October 20 after the video was circulated by La Verdad Newspaper. The transaction, in which Barrera could be heard saying “It’s better if you give me big bills, they take up less space,” was leaked.  After the scandal broke, Barrera turned the money over to investigators and was censured by the town council, which proceeded to approve the construction of 4,600 homes. Mayor Martínez, who denied having anything to do with the videotape scandal, was arrested along with two Socialist and two independents councillors. 

The council team found itself in a clear minority compared with the opposition.  It looks as if dissolution of the present council will be the only way to proceed now, and a temporary ruling body may have to be drawn up, similar to what happened in Marbella.  It appears that all the councilors are involved in “Operacion Barrera” except the AIM delegates.  The police chief, Bernardo Cortijo, were arrested for revealing secrets and the Security Councilor, Juan Antonio Gamuz, was latr released, but still faces charges.  The police investigation is centering on the fact that the Town Hall  changed the use of land without changing the Plan General. 

The remaining councilors are obviously worried about their own situation, and frustrated at the lack of information they are being given. 

The Spanish government may well step in and dissolve the council which will mean the town will be run by administrators until the next elections which is three years away.

Early success

Two Britons wanted on fraud charges in the UK have been arrested in Spain within 24 hours of being featured in a special Crimestoppers campaign to catch on-the-run criminals.

Anthony Kearney, 43, and his 41-year-old partner, Donna McCafferty, both from Scotland, were arrested in Alicante on Thursday. Ms McCafferty, who was using one of her aliases, Elizabeth McAndrew, is suspected of benefit fraud while Mr Kearney is accused of several fraud offences between 1999 and 2004.

The Guardia Civil say the two were picked up following an anonymous phone call. They will receive fast-track extradition to Scotland, where they are wanted by Strathclyde police.

The arrests came just a day after Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) launched Operation Captura to track down 10 criminal suspects thought to be hiding out in Spain. The list includes fugitives wanted for murder, sex offences, drug trafficking and kidnap.

Alicante's second castle

The Castillo de San Fernando was built in 1813 on Tossal Hill as part of Alicante's defence against Napoleon's advance.

A recent study claims that the vertical fractures which can be seen throughout the tower, as well as other cracks mean that is in danger of sliding down the hill damaging surrounding properties.

The structure was built onto the hillside without foundations. The stones that were used are not bound together and there are hollows inside the walls where rainwater drains. Furthermore there are ditches surrounding the tower where water has eroded the soil. Faults in the land also contribute to the problem and were probably the reason for the ditches.

The study concludes that lot of work will be required to make the castle safe again. The main thing is to reduce the weight of the castle by removing to metres of filling.

The end of an era

The twenty five years that José Joaquín Moya spent as councillor and mayor of Bigastro ended at 1:30pm yesterday. The meeting, which lasted less than three and a half minutes was attended by councillors from both parties along with members of the press and a handful of citizens from the town.

In the press conference that followed, Inmaculada Martínez said that since 1983 Moya had transformed Bigastro putting the town before his own family and personal interests. She said that he was an excellent person who believed that coexistence and respect were a life philosophy.

The process of appointing a successor now begins. With only 5 seats on the council it is unlikely that this will be someone from the PP party. The two most likely candidates are Inmaculada Martínez and Raúl Valerio.

Problems at El Altet

One of BMIBaby's planes was forced to return to El Altet yesterday when the pilot detected a failure in one of the systems.

The plane set off at 14:52 for Manchester and returned to Alicante at 15:49. None of the passengers were injured and the plane made a normal landing. The airport activated its Plan de Emergencia. The passengers were safely put on a later flight at 19:25.

Meanwhile, El Altet has come under criticism from the neighbours Association of Urbanova who intend to present their complaints to Aena, the Spanish airports authority.

The Association says that certain planes do not follow the rules for night time flights, that planes fail to observe the entrance and exit corridors to the airport, that planes fly too close to the houses and give off too much pollution.

The two parties will meet in January next year to try and resolve the issues. Aena point out that they have already soundproofed 1,500 houses in the area next to the airport between Alicante and Elche.

One man's solution to the crisis

At the Euro Bar Cafetería in Avenida Duque Tamames, Orihuela business is booming because the owner, José Navarrete,  is offering all drinks and snacks in his bar for one euro each.

In the evenings couples "vienen a picotear". Then later, the young people arrive and enjoy whisky, gin, cognac, vodka or rum etc all at one euro a shot.

During the week, the "menu del dia" for six euros represents excellent  value for money. For that price you get a choice of drink, salad, bread, a choice of four first courses, four second courses followed by dessert.

The breakfast menu is equally popular with coffee, fruit juices, toast, montaditos. The tapas  menu includes ensaladillas, tortillas, croquetas, muslitos, consomé etc etc.

José Navarrete, who  has decades of experience in the hotel trade, says he is still making a profit even after paying rent, employing six people and paying taxes. After all José successfully ran the Diamante Rojo disco, La Fortaleza and Metro Dance Club so he knows what he is about.

This example proves the point that you don't have to be greedy to be successful. When times were good, many people here in Spain got greedy; they wanted more and more. It wasn't just bar owners; constructors, estate agents, shops and of course as we are discovering now, politicians saw a golden opportunity to get rich quickly. With the economic downturn, they are set to become poor even faster.

Investigation widens

The six councillors who formed the socialist group in Bigastro during the previous municipal mandate were called  to the offices of the  Guardia Civil in Almoradí on  Tuesday. They arrived at 10am, accompanied by their lawyers and were later released at 2pm. Each will have to ratify their statements in court at Orihuela during the next few days.

Between 2003 and 2007 , the members of the socialist group were: the mayor José Joaquín Moya and six councillors: Mari Carmen Grau, Maria Jesús Torres García, Juana Ortiz Ferrer, Maria Francisca Nortes, José Espinosa Espinosa (also in the current group) and José Julián Sánchez Martínez.

All of them were involved in auction of rustic land at La Pedrera which was then urbanised to enable building to commence.

Different names for different dwellings

Eduardo explained to us the different names that are used for dwellings in Spain

• casa - a house of any type
• villa - often used to describe a casa but more properly describes a small town or group of houses
• bungalow - a house on one level
• chalet - a house that could be in the country or on a mountain or by the the beach
• adosado - a semi detached house (there is no Spanish name for the popular quad houses)
• hilera de casas adosadas - a terrace of houses
• duplex - one house on top of another
• piso - a large apartment
• apartamento - a smaller form of piso - a flat
• ático - top floor apartment in a block of flats - the penthouse
• casa rural - a house in the country
• finca - a farm with a casa 
• chabola - a shanty house - there's apparently a district in Madrid which is composed of these
• casa cueva - a cave house cut into a mountain - usually a cheap form of housing
• caseta - is a hut or a stand at an exhibition or the dugout at a football stadium or even a dog kennel

Phissing

Like many of you, I have had the round of emails purporting to come from banks. The links in the emails would have directed me to sites where I'd be asked to enter my account details only to later find that my account had been emptied PDQ.

I used to get them in the name of UK banks but more recently I've been getting them supposedly from Spanish ones as well. No bank will ever ask for your details by email.

The trick is so well known and the advice from banks is so clear that I don't know why people bother to try and use this form of scam anymore.

This morning I got an email which was a subtle twist on that theme. It said it was from someone called José and was written in Spanish. This person claimed that he needed to contact me urgently but couldn't locate me. He asked me to phone him as soon as possible on the phone number he gave and finished the message with an abrazo (a hug).

Now José is probably the most popular man's name in Spain. This could have been from anybody - even the President! However, I don't actually know an José and this person obviously didn't know my name.

So Instead of phoning him, I emailed him back to ask him who he was and what he wanted to discuss. No surprise, his email address was rejected by Terra's email server. Phissers commonly use bogus addresses to protect their identity and stop them being traced.

So nice try José. I hope you never succeed in finding anybody daft enough to phone you.

My advice to anyone:- if you get an email from someone you don't know and don't recognise asking you to phone them - BIN IT!

Five languages

Our Spanish teacher, Eduardo, also explained that there are five different languages spoken in Spain.

Castilian Spanish or Castellano as it is known, is the official Spanish language of the State. It is the language we are learning. All Spaniards have the duty to know it and the right to use is.

However, the Spanish Constitution recognizes the right of the Autonomous Communities to use their own languages.

The Spanish languages that are officially recognized by the Statutes of the Autonomous Communities are: Euskera (País Vasco and Navarra), Gallego (Galicia), Catalán (Cataluña and Islas Baleares) and a variety of Castellano -Valenciano (Comunidad Valenciana).

Other Statutes give special protection for further Spanish languages: Bable in Asturias and the linguistic diversity in Aragón.

Then there are dialects which both alter the pronunciation of words and add new regional variations. For example In the Balearic Islands, Mallorquín is the dialectic form of Castellano.

A complicated system

During our lesson yesterday, Eduardo explained something of the complicated system of government for Spain.

The Kingdom of Spain is a parliamentary monarchy, structured on the 1978 Constitution, which states the King is the Head of State.

The current monarch is Juan Carlos I (Juan Carlos de Borbón y Borbón) who was proclaimed King on 22nd November 1975, following the death of the previous Head of State, Francisco Franco. It was Juan Carlos who oversaw the transition of Spain to a democracy.

The 1978 Constitution established three powers as the form of government: the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary.

The Cortes Generales – the Spanish Parliament – forms the legislative branch: a bicameral parliament with 350 members elected by popular ballot to the lower chamber, the Congress of Deputies, every four years. The number of deputies per constituency depends on the population of each province.

The upper chamber of the Cortes Generales is the Senate, which currently consists of 259 Senators. 208 were elected in the 2004 general election: 4 are allocated to each Spanish province, 3 to each of the larger islands (Gran Canaria, Mallorca and Tenerife), and one each to the smaller islands (Ibiza-Formentera, Menorca, Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro, and Lanzarote). The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla are each allocated 2 Senators.

The remaining Senators are designated by the Autonomous Communities: one each, plus another for every one million inhabitants.

The Senate lifetime is also 4 years.

The national government is headed by the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), which is, in turn, headed by the President of the Spanish Government, or Prime Minister, who is appointed by the King after investiture vote in Congress following general elections.

The current President is José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero from the PSOE (Socialist party) which won 164 seats in the last general election: the opposition right wing party, the Partido Popular, won 146 seats.

The Constitution structures the Spanish State into 17 autonomous communities (Ceuta and Melilla were granted more limited autonomy in the mid-1990s). Each region’s right to self-autonomy is guaranteed by a Statute of Autonomy. Each has its own parliament, regional president, government, and supreme court.

Legislative powers vary between the communities. Elections generally take place every four years.

Most of the communities are further divided into Provinces of which there are 53 in total. Government in the provinces is led by the provincial government, the Diputación Provincial, with members elected by the members of the city councils. It has no legislative authority.

Some of the provinces are further divided into Cormacas eg the Vega Baja which is described as a Mancomunidad. These again have no legislative powers.

Local government divides Spain into municipalities – more than 8,000 - where towns and cities are governed and administered by a Town or City Council. The Council is made up of councillors elected by a popular four-yearly ballot, and is required to meet in full session at least every 3 months. The Mayor directs municipal administration and is elected from amongst the councillors after local elections, although is generally the candidate who led the majority party’s list in the local poll.

Eduardo defined a city or cuidad as a conurbation with more than 10,000 inhabitants. Conurbations with less than 10,000 are pueblos or towns. Bigastro, with about 7,000 inhabitants, he defined as a municipality. However, Bigastro still has a Council, raises its own taxes, is responsible for its own budget and by-laws and sets out its own town planning.

So in order; Bigastro is a municipality within the Vega Baja comarco , the Vega Baja is part of the province of Alicante which in turn is part of the Valencian community, an autonomous region of Spain.

The Autonomous regions are:- Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta*, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura ,Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla*, Murcia, Navarra and Pais Vasco (Basque Country). * These are autonomous cities.

Frozen account

Since February, the Guardia Civil have been collecting documents and records of municipal accounting in Bigastro. The police have already visited the laCaixa, CAM and Caja Rural banks to verify information about payments to and from the council. Now they have placed an order blocking one of these accounts.

However, Raúl Valerio has assured the citizens that business is normal. The council workforce were paid this Monday and the council meeting which was postponed on the 31st of October will take place this Friday along with the other two meeting to accept José Joaquín Moya's resignation and to appoint a new mayor.

To add to the misery, the United Left (IU) yesterday denounced the Bigastel wi-fi system as a fraud and a swindle. They say the system which was originally offered for 100€ per year does not work. In presenting the system, the council described it as being available to all citizens of Bigastro. Because of the lack of infrastructure, this promise has not been fulfilled. IU are either unaware of the intention to use WiMax to extend the system to a wider audience or are concerned about the extra cost that the different technology imposes.

Protecting yourself

A team of researchers across the globe,  co-ordinated by BT found that two out of three companies were not clearing personal data from their computers before selling them on the second hand market.

The team were given hard disks purchased second hand by BT, without knowing where they were from. They then carried out a forensic imaging process to have a look at the drives. If companies had disposed of data correctly, customers details would have been overwritten with random data, leaving the drives clean. The researchers found that this was not the case with 66 per cent of hard drives they encountered.

Simply deleting data by moving it to the recycle bin and emptying it, doesn't work. All that does is remove the directory entry which locates the data - the data is left intact until it is overwritten by further data.

The advice to consumers who are looking to sell their own PCs on the second hand market is to use one of a variety of tools, including some that are free, to overwrite the the hard drive with random data.

Before I gave my last computer to Age Concern, I erased the data, performed a low level format of the hard drive and then re-installed Windows. I took some time but I figured it was worth it to protect myself.

Of course the other option would be to remove the old hard drive and fit a new one. Taking a hammer to the old drive would make it very difficult for anyone to access it. That is a  bit extreme though!

The team, in an earlier investigation, found that sensitive data had failed to be wiped off one on five second-hand mobile phones.

An alarming bill

Telefónica sent José Ruiz Frutos a 9,019 euro bill for 14,976 calls made on a mobile phone in one month. The 100 page bill was for September 2007.

José had been convinced by his friend  to install an alarm in his house with a mobile phone connection to a security company. The system would use the phone  to make a call to  the company when it triggered an alert. The security company would then phone José to let him know. 

José was happy that all was well with the system because he hadn't received a call from the security company The phone was therefore put onto a contract to avoid the problem of it running out of credit.  

The security company say that they hadn't received calls from the phone and yet, according to Telefónica, the calls were made.

José has been in touch with Telefónica and although the person he spoke to said it was obviously an error, he still gets demands which have become increasingly threatening in tone. Telefónica have since passed the case on to their debt collecting agency to deal with and José is on the black list for credit.

Major tax fraud exposed

The National Police in collaboration with the Tributary Agency have ended a framework of massive fraud. Eight people have been detained for non payment of IBI tax amounting to 60million euros. They also stand accused of falsifying documents and money laundering.

The operation mainly centred around the sale of luxury cars. During the raid, the police confiscated 37 of these; including cars by Porsche, Mercedes, Lexus, Maseratti, Jaguar and BMW. The police also confiscated two yachts and luxury watches valued at 170,000 euros. The total worth of the operation is estimated at 365 million euros.

The detainees had 81 current accounts and 86 different addresses and operated from showrooms in San Juan, Onteniente, two in Madrid, Albalate de Zorita and Guadalajara.

The set up was obviously very clever but not clever enough.

PS I don't think they sold me my Skoda!

Moya's 25 years as mayor ends Thursday

The meeting to accept the resignation of José Joaquín Moya as mayor will take place at 1pm on Thursday. A letter from the Subdelegation received yesterday clarified the situation, correcting the mistake that Encarna Llinares had made on Friday when he suggested that, to keep within the law, the meeting would have to be convened yesterday.

The meeting to appoint the new mayor will be on the 24th or 25th of this month. From the socialist group there are two candidates, Inmaculada Martínez and Raúl Valero.

They have very different views on the policies of the party so it will be interesting to see who is chosen.

A quiet day

I can sense some of you yawning at today's posts.   Why on earth am I posting all this stuff about network speeds and digital noise? That is not the kind of thing  you want on this blog . What you want to read is some juicy gossip about the goings on in the Spanish equivalent of Peyton Place.

Well the fact of the matter is, at a local level,  today is relatively news free.

So until tomorrow Hasta luego.

Digital noise

My comment about digital cameras with high pixel counts was a little misleading.

Without becoming too technical; digital noise is more closely related to the ASA speed that you use to take pictures. For low light photography you would normally use a higher ASA rating than you would in good light.

To achieve that higher speed, the camera software amplifies the electrical signal from the photosites on the sensor. Along with the useful signal that you want, the background signal is also amplified. It is similar to increasing the volume on a cheap stereo - at high levels you start to hear the hiss.

Digital noise in photos is also related to longer exposure times and is a product of the heat that is generated on the sensor. This problem can also be caused by placing a large bright viewing screen just behind the sensor. The heat generated by the screen can increase the noise in the photos unless care is taken to isolate the two components. Leaving your camera in the glove compartment of a car on a hot day causes a similar problem.

The smaller sensors in compact cameras are more prone to noise. That is because the smaller photosites on a small sensor produce a lot less current than the correspondingly larger photosites on a big sensor. They therefore require a greater degree of amplification to produce an image.

Now to the issue of cramming more pixels onto a small sensor. Cramming more photosites onto a small sensor e.g on a high megapixel compact camera, not only increases the amplification required but also increases the contamination between neighbouring photosites which further adds to the digital noise.

So my explanation was only part of the picture - I apologise for that.

Consistency and security is more important than speed

I received this comment about the item I wrote about LANS, WANS and MANS

Networking's future appears to stay focused on achieving higher speeds, even though our data rates already do everything we want. The real goal is to get that speed to everyone, and do it in a secure environment.
---------
smithsan

I'm no expert on these matters but I know a man who is and I'm sure he would agree with you whole heartedly.

Since I upgraded to 10Mb (megabits not bytes) which effectively comes down to 8.5Mbs, I have only been aware of the full potential speed on a couple of occasions. For example, I recently downloaded an 86MB file in just under a minute and a half averaging just less than a megabyte per minute in the process.

On other occasions I might just as well have a 1Mb connection. Bottlenecks and contention ratios etc bring my speed down to the same as everyone else.

From what I understand, those who use wi-fi to connect a laptop to the inernet are "over egging the pudding" with a 54Mb connection to a 3Mb ADSL line.

There is a similar problem with digital cameras where the thrust is to pack more and more megapixels onto tiny sensors. The result is an increase in digital noise which kind of negates the increased resolution because the noise mars the detail in the pictures produced.

We still need more water

Following the recent torrential rain and floods when the fire service was called out numerous times to rescue people because of the adverse weather in the region we could be forgiven for thinking that we now have sufficient water. After all, over 60 litres of water per square metre, per hour, hit this part of Spain – three ferries carrying more than 400 people could not even dock at Valencia because of the conditions.

It rained hard but not for long. In the past the rains were not as heavy but were more prolonged. The heavy deluges we have experienced this year provide little benefit to the farmers in fact they have caused an incredible amount of erosion.

Set to get hotter and drier

Over the last hundred years the average temperature in Spain has risen by 1.5 degrees – compare that to the world average of just 0.6 degrees – and it is estimates that over the next 75 years the province of Alicante will lose at least 20% of its water resources. This could mean that as the southern Spanish population rises; the whole area will have a serious drinking water problem in just a few decades time.

Because of Spain’s location on the planet, it is more susceptible to climate change than many other countries. It is predicted that by 2020, the average temperature will have increased by 2.5 degrees C. By the end of the century, the prediction is that Spain will be 7 degrees hotter in the summer and 4 degrees in the winter. What this means is less rain and less often – in fact by 2050 it is estimated that there will be a quarter of the amount of rain that we have now - and, at present, there is not enough rain for the country.

The problems for this year began in the spring when Barcelona was so short of water that it had to import water, by tanker, from France while the Spanish regions argue with each other about supplies the politicians have their own ideas.

On the left, the Government (PSOE) believe the answer is to add to the 900 desalination plants that already exist – Spain has more of these than any other country outside of the Middle East.

On the right, the Popular Party, propose that water is diverted from ‘abundant’ areas, such as Aragon, where the River Ebro regularly floods its banks, to the areas in need which are mainly alongside the Mediterranean.

What it means to us

Nobody has a ‘solution’ as yet, if indeed there is one, but saving water is soon to be (if not already) incredibly important, and perhaps the one good thing to come out of the current state of the planet is that school children in Spain have become some of the most environmentally aware kids in Europe.

It isn't just the children though who need to show this level of awareness. We all need to be more conscious of the amount of water that we consume.

The cost of medical care

Foreigners made 29,000 visits to the medical centres in the Valencian Community. The total bill for the medical care they received comes to 10.2 million euros.

Not surprisingly Torrevieja was the hospital with the highest number of foreigners. The hospital recorded one in three consultations to foreigners. The patients they dealt with came from 78 different countries.

Interestingly though, 33% of the cases that were dealt with were for pregnancy and childbirth.

My new blog

I'm really enjoying writing my blog about what it was like being a teacher in Liverpool. As I put one article together it brings back memories of other events that happened. Thankfully, most of them so far have been good memories of happy times. It might be hard for teachers today to believe but we actually had a lot of fun in the early days of my career.

As those of you who have wandered over to the blog to read it will have gathered, I wasn't the sort of straight laced teacher that you may have encountered when you were at school. As I write more, you will realise that we sailed close to the wind a lot of the time.

I don't believe the children suffered as a result of the things we got up to though. In fact I'd like to think they benefited from being in a classroom with someone who was clearly barking mad. 

When things are bad - think big

The Mayor, Antonio Ángel Hurtado, revealed yesterday the most ambitious plan for a Commercial Park which he says will be located between the present sports zone and the Alicante-Cartagena motorway in Almoradi. In doing so he has stolen the march from towns like Algorfa and Dolores who had similar plans but have not made progress with them.

Hurtado explained that there are 300,000 people who live within a ten to fifteen minutes car journey of the proposed development which he says will palliate the effects of the economic crisis in both the Vega Baja and the regions as a whole.

The area allocated in the Plan General de Ordenación Urbana (PGOU), has a surface of 578,000 square metres in which the town plans to build a Commercial Park, a hotel zone, great public parks and the last phase of the Sport City.

Besides the stores, this ambitious infrastructure will have leisure zones, 3,500 parking places and a four star hotel with up to 90 rooms. The hotel will house a convention centre, banqueting halls with a capacity for up to 1,000 people, a spa, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and ample parking.

The Mayor anticipates that the project will create 1,300 jobs in its construction will then generate long term employment for 1,500 in the area.

The aim is to have the 120 million euro project completed by Christmas 2010.

Nobody could accuse this man of lacking ambition.

Change of plan

The assistant representative of the Government, Encarna Llinares has advised the City Council of Bigastro that they must summon a plenary session within ten days of receiving the resignation of the Mayor. Since Imaculada Martínez accepted and signed the letter from José Joaquín Moya on the 31st October that means that the meeting must be scheduled by this coming Monday, the 10th November.

Raúl Valerio reiterated yesterday the intention to summon a plenary session next week. His understanding was that the term for this will run out on the 13th of November. Valerio went on to say that it would be in this plenary session that they would receive the official resignation of the mayor. Ten working days later, they would convene a second plenary session to choose to a new mayor between proposals from the PSOE and the PP parties.

Although they had not been made aware of changes to the timescale by the Subdelegation , Valerio says that they will follow the instructions of the assistant representative and convene an extraordinary meeting of the Council for Monday.

22,000 more Russian tourists next year

The Tourism Council has initiated negotiations with several Russian airline companies to try and establish direct flights between el Altet and Saint Petersburg.

Russian tourism is at the moment one of the alternatives that is being explored to try and mitigate the effects of the economic crisis. The plan is to tap into the flow of high spending visitors from Moscow and Saint Petersburg who like to take an 11 days beach holiday each year. At the moment they are choosing Turkey and Egypt as their destinations. Those that come to Spain are visiting Catalonia, Madrid and Andalucia.

Russians wanting to visit he Costa Blanca previously have faced problems with tour companies coming and going and the lack of regular flights to Alicante. The 22 companies that participated in a recent tourism trade fair in Moscow have now secured deals with 100 Russian travel agencies to resolve those issues.

Out of the 46.9 million tourists that visited the Costa Blanca last year, 479,538 were Russian (19% more than in 2007).The Servigroup , Mágic group and the hotel Sidi San Juan have all successfully negotiated to increase that number in 2009.

Glued to their hands

Can anyone remember the time when nobody had a mobile phone?

Now it seems every adult along with a growing number of children has to have one and use it almost 24 hours a day. If the reported dangers of radiation from mobile phones are true, then the population is doomed.

In the Valencian Community, 65.8% of the 10 -15 year old children have a mobile phone, according to a survey of equipment and use of information technologies in the home.

Psychologist, Pedro Jiménez, says that “the abusive” use of this type of device can cause a “loss of the social abilities”. Children with mobile phones habitually text their friends rather than have a face to face conversations.

Vida Libre , the Alicante association for people affected by compulsive gambling and other addictions, urges parents to educate their children to make them aware of the dangers of over use of mobile phones. These children are not just making calls and sending texts; they are using their phones to connect to the Internet, to record videos, to play games etc. They are also receiving messages inviting them to participate in lotteries and other forms of gambling. Many spend all their savings on "top ups" just to keep their mobile phone going.

The Phone House says that 94.36% of mobile users in the Community choose a mobile phone with an integrated, 86.77% want a bluetooth connection and 72.23% demand an additional memory card .

I spy with my little eyes

British and Spanish security forces,  Crimesttoped  and the British Agency against  Organised Crime (Soca), are collaborating to find ten British criminals who they think might be hiding on the Costa Blanca. The nine men and one woman are wanted for a variety of offences including sex crimes, murder, drug trafficking, fiscal fraud and kidnapping.

There is no evidence to show that any of these have committed crimes here in Spain. In fact crimes among British nationals is low here on the Costa Blanca - 516 in total last year of which 471 were in Alicante province

In 2006, joint authorities conducted a similar operation on the Costa del Sol centred in Malaga.  With 134,000 Brits living in the Valencian Community - 58,000 in Alicante,  it seemed sensible to extend these operations to the Costa Blanca.

Anyone who has information about these people's whereabouts can call the free number 900 555 111 or go to www.crimesttoped-uk.org.

British TV back?

Clients of Telmicro were surprised this week to find that their screens, which have remained blank for months, now have a picture on them.

Twelve channels are available in the majority of areas, including ITV, ITV2, ITV3, BBC news and CBBC. There is also an information channel announcing, “Welcome to Simulsat TV - For information please wait for a few days.” The notice goes on to inform clients that viewing will be free of charge during the ‘Test Transmission’ period up until the 31st December, with normal programming commencing from this date.

Sadly, both the picture and sound quality are poor in the majority of areas

Speculation on local discussion forums suggests that this is merely an opportunist who has captured a crossover signal from another broadcaster as a short term money making scheme, which will be scrambled once again as soon as encryption is introduced.

This is not Telmicro back in business because their previous broadcasting outlets are still deserted, with no antennas or equipment to be seen. It would appear that Simulsat is a Spanish company which is based in Santa Pola, and is registered in the name of Gines Garcia Martinez of Santa Pola TV.

There is still confusion over the rebroadcasting of British channels. A section of registered Digital Television companies have warned that viewers should take advantage of the free viewing whilst it lasts. Authorities are still investigating the act of rebroadcasting.

The only reliable way to get British television in Spain is to install a satellite dish, either as a community or as an individual. Looking round Villas Andrea, this is the solution that many have now gone for.

The disappearing wife

Why is Pam missing from the photo on the blog?

Why is there a picture just of Keith in a suit?

I could say the answer is that I write the stuff on the blog and so it isn't fair to let Pam take the blame for any mistakes, missed punctuation or bad grammar but I would be lying.

The truth is that when I set up my new blog about teaching in Liverpool, it was under the same account.

You can only have one profile and one picture for your account on Blogger. A picture of the pair of us on a blog about my experiences as a teacher would have looked wrong.

So the glorious compromise I came to is a description that fits ¡Esto es jauja! and a photo for Teaching in Liverpool.

A very caring town

La Asociación de Familiares Enfermos de Alzheimer "Acuérdate de mí" in Bigastro has, for years, worked on and carried out many interesting projects for its members and partners.

Two of these projects

- AQUATIC GYMNASTICS AND THERAPEUTIC REHABILITATION PROJECT FOR PATIENTS OF ALZHEIMER AND OTHER DEMENTIAS .

Exercising in a pool is both preventive and therapeutic. Aqua gymnastics provides low impact exercise that people of all ages and disabilities can enjoy. Working in water reduces the stress on bones and joints. Regular sessions are held in the Municipal Pool at the Multi-Sports Centre.

- TRAINING ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIFE FOR PATIENTS OF ALZHEIMER AND OTHER DEMENTIAS AT HOME.

The Foundation “la Caixa” along with the Association of Alzheimer of Bigastro represented by their president, Mrs Mª Angels Mateo Grau, signed an agreement of collaboration to the project "Entrenamiento de las Actividades de la vida diaria a enfermos de Alzheimer y otras demencias en domicilios" that the bigastrense association presented to the Convocatoria de Proyectos de Acción Social.

This project is based on the conviction that daily training of routine activities in the home (combing their own hair, getting dressed, walking…), the basic tasks that people peform, slows down the deterioration of Alzheimer suffers and gives them greater independence.

For more information please contact either the Council of Social Welfare or the Association which is based in the Centro Social Integrado, C/ Acequia, 8 or by phone at 96 535 00 00 Ext. 3.

A sea of happy faces

The four year infants from “La Paz”, went to the the Library yesterday to enjoy the story tellers “Daisy”.

This activity was planned as part of the celebration of the World-wide Day of the Library that took place last week.

The Council of Culture and the Municipal Library are trying to get children into the habit of reading from a very early age. This type of initiative encourages children to join in the fascinating world of reading, filled with adventures and histories to discover.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Allan White has run a book club at Villas Andrea for a couple of years now. In that time he has amassed over 300 titles; a wide choice which covers all tastes.

Each month, Allan sets the books out at the Albergue restaurant, Camping La Pedrera and waits for people to arrive and borrow books. Yesterday he was there for two hours and saw about seven people.

I must admit, I read very little fiction but Pamela does as I'm sure do many others. The Book Club was something that people asked for but sadly do not support. I thing we'd all agree that It isn't right for Allan to spend so much time and effort on this venture.

He is prepared to continue for one more month but if there is still no interest Allan will reluctantly call it a day. Just to remind you the next Book Club will be held on the first Wednesday in December bewteen 2 and 4pm.

This is unfair

Several of the proprietors of the beach houses alongside the playa  Babilonia that were demolished by the Servicio Provincial de Costas in Spring received bills for this year's  IBI  (council tax) from SUMA.

After several phone calls and letters to the Ayuntamiento in Guardamar, their only reply has been a second bill with a 20% surcharge added on. At the most, these people would have expected a bill for part of the year - two and a half months.

What is infuriating the ex homeowners most is that they had diligently paid their taxes along with their water and electricity bills. Ten years ago, they even paid 38,000 pesetas  each to have the obsolete lampposts replaced

In March they had to watch their houses torn to the ground as the town reclaimed the sea front for the benefit of the citizens.

To insist that they pay any tax seems unfair given the circumstances. It is like adding insult to injury.

The case continues

Monserrate Mula, the magistrate of the court of First Instance and Instruction number 3 of Orihuela, was the one who first ordered an in depth investigation into three denunciations that had been made against José Joaquín Moya, the mayor of Bigastro. From February 20th, the investigations in to these three crimes against the Patrimony of the Guardia Civil began in secret.

From the 18th of March, Moya was made aware that this investigation was taking place.

When he was taken into custody on the 21st of this month and subsequently placed in prison, Joaquina de la Peña, the magistrate who sentenced him decided that the investigations would still to continue in secret pending the possibility of formal charges being made.

Concern for his health

Whilst Moya was in gaol at Orihuela he was visited by a doctor and a social worker who agreed that he was suffering from hypertension - only to be expected given his situation. It was not thought necessary to transfer him to the infirmary where prisoners can spend up to weeks recuperating their health.

Moya is now at Fontcalent in Module 3, a unit assigned for first time prisoners.

My new blog

You'll find a new link on the left under Our Web Sites which takes yo to my blog, "Teaching in Liverpool".

As as I say on the new blog:

This isn't really a blog in the true sense i.e. it isn't a day by day diary.
I spent 34 years teaching in Liverpool. I had good times and bad times and some in between. These are some of my stories from those 34 years.
Those of you who are teachers (or ex-teachers like me) will identify with them. For those of you who aren't, they give you an insight into what life was like at the chalkface.
I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have writing them. It is good to get things off your chest.

So far there is only one item so far ( you have to start somewhere) but it will grow in time as I relate more stories of my life as a teacher in the north end of Liverpool.

I have to thank or blame my very good friends for the inspiration for this new blog - especially Pete. When I worked at Anfield with them, they always said I should write some of my stories about life in the school down.

Well Pete, as you can see, I've made a start. I hope you enjoy it.

PS Please bear in mind that you need to read the blog from the bottom up to make sense. Sorry about that.

How Obama used the Internet to win

The Democrat exploited networking websites and mobile phones to target voters, leaving John McCain struggling in his wake.

Obama raised £400million and got his supporters out to vote using the internet – and it cost him next to nothing. Websites such as MySpace and Facebook were perfect for reaching a young audience as they are trusted by users. Mr Obama could also hit older people and business workers using professional sites such as LinkedIn.

He raised a fortune by getting hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to donate small sums of £60 or even less. Many gave just £12 a month – but it meant Mr Obama had less need to target multi-millionaires for large cheques.

He also relied on thousands of “bundlers” – volunteers such as housewives or teachers – who set up websites to support him. Each site raised cash, which then went straight to Democrat HQ. And every time new donors pledged support, they would pass on an email to their friends.

Many were puzzled by Obama’s decision to turn up at dozens of low-key campaign events – but he was smartly rallying thousands of grassroots supporters.

Aides also used computer models to give millions of voters a rating based on how they were likely to behave in elections. Using huge questionnaires sent out earlier, programmes worked out who was likely to be a Democrat and where they could be found.

The sophisticated computer techniques were called “data mining”, “cluster analysis” and “statistical modelling” – all under the title “microtargeting”.

It made it impossible for a less sophisticated campaign to compete.

Third world existence

I've said before that Spain is a country of great contrasts.

Spain has some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The countryside is spectacular. However, you don't have to look too far to find abject poverty; people living in the most deprived situations in close proximity to wealth. It is there for you to see in many towns and cities, including Bigastro.

As bad as the conditions are for some in Bigastro, they don't come close to those in other nearby districts.

The spokesman for CLR, Joaquín Ezcurra, described the situation for the people living in Campaneta as "third world". From La Vereda La Fábrica to the end of the Camino Viejo de Almoradí there is no sewerage system.

The waste water from the houses flows into a back drain, El Azarbe de Las Barracas, causing bad smells attracting plagues of mosquitoes, rats and snakes. To make matters worse there is very little flow in the Azarbe so the human excrement remains at the back of the houses where it gradually seeps into the walls, permeating the interiors. Approximately 100 houses are affected.

For twenty years the people have complained but nothing has been done about it.

Appeal for mayor's release

Jose Joaquin Moya, the mayor of Bigastro, arrived at Fontcalent prison yesterday after spending four days in the Local Police gaols in Orihuela.

He is apparently in a delicate state of health and needed help getting to the van which took him to Fontcalent.

Apart from the state of his health, Moya's lawyer, José Sánchez Alarcos, will be requesting the release of his client based on three points:-

• Moya has not been convicted of any crime as yet.
• Moya has not shown any inclination to elude justice.
• And, most important, it is impossible to believe that giving him freedom would allow him to interrupt the enquiry when he has already had to attend two registries, one at his own address and the second in his office as Mayor.

Whether Moya is released from prison or not is up to the public prosecutor Felipe Briones.

The poisoned chalice

Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a white woman and a black man he barely knew, raised by his grandparents far outside the stream of American power and wealth, has been elected the 44th president of the United States by winning a decisive 349 to 144 electoral college votes.

First he had to defeat Hillary Clinton, who wanted to be president so badly that she lost her bearings, and then John McCain, who forsook his principles for a campaign built on anger and fear.

Mr. Obama inherits a terrible legacy. America is engaged in two wars — in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Mr. Obama’s challenge will be to manage an orderly withdrawal from Iraq and focus on the real front in the war on terror, Afghanistan.

By Election Day, Americans were deeply concerned about their futures and the government’s failure to prevent an economic collapse. Mr. Obama will have to move quickly to impose control, coherence, transparency and fairness on the Bush administration’s bailout plan.

Climate change is a global threat, and after years of denial and inaction, America must take the lead on addressing it. The nation must develop new, cleaner energy technologies, to reduce greenhouse gases and its dependence on foreign oil.

Mr. Obama also will have to rally sensible people to come up with immigration reform consistent with the values of a nation built by immigrants and refugees.

There are many other urgent problems that must be addressed. Tens of millions of Americans lack health insurance, including some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens — children of the working poor. Other Americans can barely pay for their insurance or are in danger of losing it along with their jobs. They must be protected.

In the next four years we will see if Obama was the right man for the job.

Record rainfall

You won't be surprised to learn that last month was the wettest October this century in the Valencian Community. The average of 180 litres per square metre was more than than the region has had in twelve months and 2 and half times the norm.

Pego and Adubia in the La Marina Alta had the most rain with 700 litres per square metre followed by Villalonga with 600 litres per square metre.

These precipitations mean that the dams of the Marina Baja de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar (CHJ) begin the winter with excellent reserves. The dam at Guadalest is at 71.22% of its capacity. The one of Amadorio is over half full and Beniarrés, is at 56% capacity. This is good news and ends the three year period of droughts ; 2004- 2006.

The other good news is that, unlike in 2007, this rain this year has produced minimal damage. Lat year the bridge at Beniarbeig on the Girona river was demolished by the floodwater.

The areas with least rain in the community were Alicante (25 litres per square metre), El Altet (35) and Orihuela (40).

Remember remember the 5th of November

The title will mean absolutely nothing to my Spanish readers.

Tomorrow night is bonfire night and although you may not get to see a bonfire here in Spain that shouldn't stop you enjoying some traditional Bonfire Night fare.

What would be more appropriate than Yorkshire Parkin

(I apologise that the quantities are in old money)

Ingredients (can be doubled for a large cake)
4oz self raising flour
4oz fine or medium oatmeal
4oz soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4oz black treacle
2oz margarine
About 5 tablespoons of milk
1 beaten egg
Grease a suitable square tin and put some greaseproof
paper at the bottom so that it is easier to remove.

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Warm the treacle in a pan with the butter and milk
Add to the dry ingredients when melted with the egg and beat very well.
Pour into the tin and bake for about 50 minutes in a preheated oven at Gas
Mark 3 (not at the top or it will burn on top). Cut into squares when cold
and store in a tin. Keeps well.

For my Spanish readers:

On November 5th, we celebrate the famous failure of Guy Fawkes to blowup the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Guy Fawkes was of course a Yorkshireman.

Throughout England, people will build bonfires and set off fireworks. On top of the bonfire will be an effigy of Guy Fawkes which the children will have taken round the streets the week before asking people for "a penny for the guy".

Traditional fare for the night includes parkin and treacle toffee along with potatoes which are wrapped in foil and then baked in the bonfire.

Keeping it real

People often ask where I get my information from. It is important for me to have good sources otherwise I could end up writing a load of rubbish that isn't true. So I regularly scour the local Spanish press as well as the free papers in English for this area.

It is also important to stick to your roots, so I also read a few of the British papers. For the tykes who read my blog, here are the few which will keep you in touch with God's own country.

Barnsley Chronicle, Huddersfield Examiner, Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Evening Post and the Sheffield Star.

Caught red handed

Local police in Orihuela caught 14 youths of about 16 years of age early Saturday morning. They were spray painting in the Plaza de la Centuria Romana, next to the Segura river and in front of the Episcopal Palace

The police received a call at about 2:15am to the Plaza where they found the youths spray painting graffiti. Although most took flight, two were caught. It didn't take the police long long to find the others.

Technicians are now assessing the cost of the damage to the walls, the fencing and the old municipal clock caused by these youths.

Cultural programme

You can pick up a programme for forthcoming events at the Auditorium or consult it online here.

In the meantime, this is the concert planned for this next Sunday.

Following the correct procedure

Although there is no question as to the authenticity of the document that José Joaquín Moya signed, his resignation is not official and so he is still mayor of Bigastro. Inmaculada Martínez and Raúl Valerio Medina, lieutenants to the mayor, have both stated that the procedure to follow in a case such as this is not the one that Moya chose.

However, since Moya is in no position to act as mayor, the process of replacing him has begun. Martinez explains that she is working with her advisers and the Subdelegation of the Government to summon a short plenary session - probably within a week. At that meeting they will accept the resignation of José Joaquín Moya both as Mayor and as councilman.

There will then be a period of ten days to elect the new mayor followed by a second plenary session to approve that decision. Both Medina and Martinez are eligible but of course neither is looking forward to having to step into Moya's shoes in these circumstances.

Mateo Rodríguez Ortiz, first reserve on the list, will also join the Socialist group as councillor to replace Moya. .

Buenas vistas

One of the reasons we like living here.

View down to the town and the Sierra Callosa from Villas Andrea

View from the top of  the town to the Huerta and beyond

Final assault on the Arizona cactus

The councils of Environment and Promotion of the City council of Orihuela have agreed to eradicate the annoying “ Arizona Cactus ” that has been propagating itself for ten years on the mountain range of Orihuela.

They've already removed and incinerated 3,000 kilos of this weed. The works will continue to try to rid the area of this species which destroys the natural fauna and the vegetation.

400,000 Euros has been budgeted for a new program to completely eradicate this plague during 2009.

The workers will be divided into three groups of eight, one of which will be made up of climbing specialists to tackle the hard to reach locations and another one will be a team of municipal technicians.

El fin de semana

You might think that the whole week is like a weekend for us now that we are retired. That is only partially true. Of course we no longer suffer from that Monday morning feeling - the one you get when you have to wake up early to go to work. It wasn't so bad in the summer months but in the winter when it was dark it was horrible. We used to hate it.

Pam and I do have a schedule. Each day there are specific things which we need to do; washing, cleaning, going to the post office, shopping, Spanish classes etc etc. Nothing gets done first thing though and we never try to do too much in one day. As I said, we don't get up in the dark anymore and as Pam's friend Kay says, "one task per day is plenty".

On those occasions when we have to be out for say 10am to visit the dentist we are edgy and irritable. Noon is a much better time for us. That gives me ample opportunity to write a couple of items for my blog and Pam time to get herself together. It makes for a more relaxed sort of day.

On Fridays, when we do the weekly shop, we aim to be there about 2pm when everyone is at home eating lunch because the other thing we don't do is busy roads. The first thing we notice when we visit England is the amount of traffic and we don't like it.

So the weekends are a time to relax and maybe potter about a bit in the garden. Without the pressure to cram all the household chores and the shopping into two days, weekends are a real treat.

Those of you who are retired like us will probably identify with all this. Those of you who are still working now know that there is a better life to come.

Much tension

Understandably there is a lot of tension in Bigastro following the arrests and the subsequent jail sentence for the mayor. José Joaquín Moya  served as mayor  for 25 years and has a strong following of devoted supporters. He has been described as the "Caliph  of the Vega Baja". Following the incidents of the last week, the party faithful's feelings range from sorrow to anger - even rage.

Moya sent a message to Inmaculada Martínez, who will now take over as mayor, telling her that she and the other PSOE councillors must continue with the work of governing the town and follow the plans that had been set out for this term of office. Because voting here is by proportional representation there is no need for a by-election. Second in line steps in as mayor and one of the reserves on the PSOE list will step in as councillor.

Meanwhile, José Antonio Ricard, the spokesperson for PP says that members of his party have received indirect threats. Rather than risk confrontation, they are going to remain low key until the situation calms down. If the threats become real then they will have to review their position. 

The rain wouldn't stop them

The 1st of November is All Saints Day when people from the village visit the cemetery to remember their past friends and relatives.

November 2005 we went along to see the floral tributes that people had been taking the day before. Seventy percent of the flowers sold during the year are bought for this occasion. It was a warm sunny day so we were dressed in shorts and  T-shirts. When we arrived at the cemetery we wished the ground would have opened up and swallowed us. Everyone was in their Sunday best as we should have expected.

Yesterday morning was dry but by the afternoon it had started to rain. I'd emptied the shed out with the intention of doing some sorting out. I had to rapidly get everything back before it all got soaked.

We didn't make the mistake of going to the cemetery but I imagine that it was still packed with people offering flowers and lighting candles in spite of the rain. 

Resignation may not be valid

According to some sources, the document that the mayor Jose Joaquin Moya sent offering his  resignation may not be valid because it was delivered by a third party - José Pérez Grau, Secretary of the Subdelegación del Gobierno en Alicante.

Pérez Grau produced the resignation document and then took it to cell where Moya had been kept. The mayor then signed the document and added his DNI number to show that it was authentic. Pérez Grau then delivered the document to Inmaculada Martínez at the Ayuntamiento in Bigastro.

Trick or treat

When we heard the door buzzer last night, we wondered just who was visiting us at 10:30 on a Friday night. The voice on the intercom was familiar and the person knew our names. We had to go to the gate to find out. It never occurred to us that anybody would be out "trick or treating".

It turned out to be Susanna who was an avid reader of my blog and who we had met at the Fiesta in August. She had taken the trouble to bring a few of her friends up to our house to show us their costumes. They were very good.

They'd all made such a great effort that we gave them treats and wished them a Happy Halloween.

Later at 11pm we had a couple more visitors who had made a similar effort so they were rewarded as well.

Susanna is the sister of Evarista Moya Moya, a member of the Bigastro Golf Society. Susanna lost her job in August and has returned to her studies at University. Susanna is such a lovely girl, we hope she is successful and eventually finds the job she deserves.

The big clean up

The number of arrests of councillors and officials  in this area over the last few weeks is almost unbelievable, even for an area  blighted by fraudulent activity involving politicians and construction industry chiefs.

Those arrested join a long list of local politicians and company bosses who are being investigated for alleged corruption including; former Partido Popular (PP) mayor of Orihuela José Manuel Medina for allegedly taking favours from promoters, former Socialist (PSOE) party mayor of Catral José Manuel Rodríguez Leal for allowing 1,300 illegal homes to be built on rural land without planning permission and Benitachell mayor Juan Cardona and his deputy Hennelore Rheindorf for allegedly taking money to alter the town plan.

End of an era

José Joaquín Moya Esquiva resigned his position as mayor and councilman yesterday before making his declaration to the court in Orihuela . Following his declaration, Moya was committed to prison pending further investigations by the judge dean of Orihuela, Natividad Navarrese.

Moya was transferred handcuffed to the Plaza Santa Lucia at ten am yesterday morning. The case was then heard at 5pm and lasted 3 hours.

Moya was kept in gaol at the local police station in Orihuela last night and will be transferred to the gaol in Fontcalent today.

The other four that had been arrested were released but have to report each month to the court whilst the investigation proceeds.

Jose Joaquin Moya is accused of a city-planning operation that began with the exchange of premises measuring 150 square metres on Calle Purisima for 1,600 square metres of land in the green zone Apatel. It was also agreed that the council should pay 192,000€ in two payments (I hope my translation here is correct).

The green zone land would then be reclassified as industrial ground without modification to the General Plan of Urban Arrangement. The property on Calle Purisima would be auctioned off as a location for a restaurant.

The industrialist paid 30 euros per square mere for the land he acquired ( 48,080€ in total) and after constructing the four industrial units then sold them for 1 million euros.