Just what is a ZAL?

It is a Zona de Actividades Logísticas or dry port for goods in transit,  something which has been promised to the Vega Baja for a few years now. Along with the ZAL will have to come the necessary transport links to make it work.

Mario Flores, the Regional Councillor for Infrastructure,  met with mayors from the Vega Baja the other day in Orihuela and promised that the project to install a ZAL in the region would now go ahead. However, he did not mention a timeline nor the budget for the project not even its proposed location.

There are several towns that are hoping to host the ZAl including San Isidro and Callosa.  It will form part of the Mediterranean corridor and is regarded as far more important to the region than the arrival of the high speed train (AVE). The installation will be funded regionally, all that the town which hosts the ZAL will have to do is provide the land.

Now the mayor of San Isidro says he just hopes that this was not an election ploy on the part of Mario Flores and that the project will go ahead during the next mandate.

A special present for Mother’s Day

ACOBI, the retailers association in Bigastro, are giving a gift to all mothers who make a purchase at one of their shops.

Voices of angels

A Concert of Song

On Sunday, April 17th at 7pm, students from the adult choir of the Sociedad Unión Musical de Bigastro, under the direction of Susanna Vardanyan, will  delight us with their varied repertoire and vocal range.

Ryanair are not happy with the new terminal

Ryanair has continued its growth and domination of the budget airline market with an 8% increase in passenger number in March of this year and a staggering 73.5 million seats sold so far this year.

They have also announced that despite the actions of other travel companies, and despite their reputation for charging for any sundry item or service that they can, they will not put a fuel surcharge on any of their flights ever.

All of this together, and the promise of frequent low price sales, have ensured that passengers are gaining confidence in the airline and seem to be quite happy to pay for what some people may consider to be premium services.

Despite this growth in loyalty and traffic, Ryanair have now announced that they are planning to slash their base in Alicante by 80% because the new terminal wants them to use the so called “airbridges” which they say will increase the cost to the airline by some 2 million euro per year.

Ryanair has been operating at Alicante Airport for over five years without the use of airbridges and they consider that forcing them to use the covered facilities are an abuse of the airport authorities monopoly for which they have submitted a formal complaint to both the Spanish government and the European Commission.

In a move designed to force AENA’s hand, Ryanair have announced that, from October this year, they will reduce the number of aircraft based at Alicante from 11 to 2 resulting in a loss of half of their scheduled flights on 31 routes. That means less than 200 weekly flights, compared to their original plan of 600. They also anticipate that their actions will create a loss of 2.5 million passenger places and 2,500 jobs.

Routes cancelled will include Bournemouth, Cork, Kerry, Doncaster, Humberside, Kerry, and Knock along with reductions to Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester in the UK alone.

The financial implication for the airport is estimated to be in the region of 18 million euro from fees directly paid to the airport authority, and the loss of 12 million euro in lost commercial revenue.

Ryanair points out that the new terminal at Alicante has exactly the same boarding gate stairs as the old terminal, which they say would allow Ryanair’s flights to continue to apply the same walk on/walk off boarding facilities which have been in place since 2007. They say that using steps to both aircraft doors reduces turnaround time and thus cost.

You know this strikes me as being a major piece of bluff on the part of Ryanair. The company knows that AENA cannot afford such losses having just completed the new terminal. At the same time, Ryanair will not want to reduce the number of its flights to Alicante because they are in the business of expansion not reduction. It’s not as if they could move to another airport because there isn’t one nearby that could cope with that capacity.

It is very much a case of who is the more powerful, the airline or the airport – we shall see who gives in first.

The new roads

The mayor mentioned the new route into the town on Sunday which takes you through Sector D5 towards the road out towards Torrevieja. This map shows the roads through the new development.

Easter in Torrevieja

PALM SUNDAY

MORNING: At 10.00h.: SOLEMN BLESSING OF THE PALMS at the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Then will begin the traditional procession to the Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, with images of "OUR FATHER JESUS ​​TRIUMPHANT" and "San Juan Evangelista
ITINERARY: Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Zoa, Knight of Rhodes until reaching the Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.
AFTERNOON: At 20:30 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION from the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the participation of the following guilds, "CALL" and "OUR LADY OF HOPE AND PEACE."
ITINERARY: Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Zoa, Ramón y Cajal, Avenida de la Libertad, Maria Parodi, Ramón Gallud, Clemente Gosálvez, Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.

HOLY MONDAY

At 22:00 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION
From the Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, with the participation of the following guilds, "CALL and SAMARITAN WOMAN", "OUR FATHER AND JESUS ​​IN THE LAST Supper", "OUR FATHER PRAYER OF JESUS ​​IN THE GARDEN OF OLIVES" "Holy Christ of the Flagellation", "SAN PEDRO repentance" and "OUR FATHER JESUS ​​CAPTIVE (the Nazarene)."
ITINERARY: Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, Caballero de Rodas, Patricio Pérez, Ramón Gallud, Zoa, Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.

HOLY TUESDAY

At 22:00 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION
From the Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, with the participation of the following guilds, "CALL", "Christ crucified and Holy Mary of Silence" (which processions only with the image of Our Lord Jesus HEALTH), "OUR FATHER JESUS FALL "," Saint Veronica "," SAN JUAN EVANGELISTA "and" OUR LADY OF SORROWS "
ITINERARY: Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, Caballero de Rodas, Patricio Pérez, Ramón Gallud, Zoa, Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.

HOLY WEDNESDAY

At 22:00 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION to start from the Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, with the participation of the Brotherhood "OUR LADY OF HOPE AND PEACE
ITINERARY: Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, Caballero de Rodas, María Parodi to its intersection with Ramon Gallud.
At the same time, and from the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, include the following guilds, "CALL" and "OUR FATHER JESUS ​​THE FALL" accompanied by the traditional "SPANISH MANTILLAS (Cofrades member of Saint Veronica).
ITINERARY: Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Zoa, Ramón Gallud to its intersection with Maria Parodi.
At the confluence of the streets with Ramon Gallud Maria Parodi, arrivals and unified all the guilds participating, will be called "Meeting in the Via Dolorosa" between the images of Jesus and His Mother, "the Blessed Virgin."
ITINERARY: Then follow the procession through the streets Gallud Ramón, Patricio Pérez, Campoamor, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Joaquín Chapaprieta, Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.

HOLY THURSDAY

At 23:00 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION OF SILENCE from Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, with the participation of the following guilds, "CALL" and "Christ crucified and Holy Mary of Silence." At the end of the image, the Coral "Francisco Vallejos" They chanted "Lord I get tired of life" and "Mother of Silence."
ITINERARY: Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, Caballero de Rodas, Patricio Pérez, Campoamor, Turkish, Gabriel Miró, Orihuela, Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.
At 24:00 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION OF THE DESCENT OF CALVARY, from the Plaza del Calvario, with the participation of the Brotherhood "OUR LADY OF MERCY" to the image output Coral "Francisco Vallejos" singing the song "The Passion of the cake Aunt."
ITINERARY: Plaza del Calvario, Holy Trinity, San José, María Parodi, Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.

______________________________________________________________________

FRIDAY

At 19:30 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION AND MAGNA BURIAL OF CHRIST, from Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, with the participation of the following guilds "CALL and SAMARITAN WOMAN", "OUR FATHER AND JESUS ​​IN THE LAST HOLY DINNER "," OUR FATHER JESUS ​​IN PRAYER THE GARDEN OF OLIVES, "" Holy Christ of the Flagellation "," SAN PEDRO repentance, "" Our Lord Jesus CAPTIVE (the Nazarene) "," OUR FATHER JESUS ​​THE FALL " "Saint Veronica", "OUR LADY OF HOPE AND PEACE", "Christ crucified and Holy Mary of Silence", "OUR LADY OF MERCY", "Holy Sepulchre (Lying)", "San Juan Evangelista and "Nuestrso LADY OF SORROWS."
ITINERARY: Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, Caballero de Rodas, Patricio Pérez, Ramón Gallud, Del Mar, Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.

______________________________________________________________________

HOLY SATURDAY - "Drums"
At 22:00 pm: After the "Solemn Easter Vigil" of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception, "POPULAR DRUM" general expression of joy as the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. All persons who wish to participate may come with its own drum.
Itinerary: Avda of Habaneras (Bus Station), Antonio Machado, Zoa, Ulpian (Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: 2 laps), Moriones, Caballero de Rodas, Joaquín Chapaprieta, La Paz, to the Plaza Maria Pastor Ramos (1 second stop), to Then follow the itinerary Gosalvez Clemente, Maldonado, Plaza de la Constitution (2 laps), Ramon Gallud, Bazan, Caballero de Rodas, Maldonado, Bazán and Maestro Francisco Vallejos (FINAL).

______________________________________________________________________

EASTER SUNDAY

At 08:00 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION OF THE MEETING, from Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, with the participation of the Brotherhood "SAN JUAN EVANGELISTA, the image of the Immaculate Conception (Patroness of Torrevieja)" and " BLESSED SACRAMENT IN PALIO "
ITINERARY: "St. John the Evangelist" and "Immaculate Conception." Archpriest Temple of the Immaculate Conception, Caballero de Rodas, Azorín, Photographers Darblade to its intersection with Conception.
ITINERARY: "Blessed Sacrament under a canopy." Archpriest Temple of the Immaculate Conception, Caballero de Rodas, Clemente Gosalvez, Fotógrafos Darblade to its intersection with Conception.
At the confluence of the Calle Concepción with Fotógrafos Darblade will take place the traditional "encounter."
At the time of "meeting" release "Flower Petals" from the balconies of the houses located at the confluence of the Concepción and Fotógrafos Darblade. During the return of the procession to the Temple act Arciprestal, will launch the traditional "Hallelujah" from the balconies of the houses of way.
ITINERARY: The Return to the Temple of the Immaculate Conception Arciprestal run along the streets Concepcion, Ramon Gallud, Bazán and Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple.

______________________________________________________________________

MONDAY (San Vicente Ferrer)
At 08:30 pm: SOLEMN PROCESSION OF THE BLESSED-TRANSFER
After the Eucharist, will start from the Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, the transfer of "BLESSED IN PALIO" accompanied by the Banda Musical "Musical Union Torrevejense"
ITINERARY: Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception, Caballero de Rodas, Clemente Gosalvez, Canon Torres, Azorín, Knight of Rhodes until his arrival at Temple Archpriest of the Immaculate Conception.

WOW!

I get all sorts of emails from people who are trying to scam me on the Internet. The theme of this message is all too familiar but notice the change of direction. This is no longer a Nigerian diplomat who seeks my assistance, this is the fourth son of Muammar Al-Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator.

Dear Friend,
My name is Al Muttassim Billah Al-Gaddafi (born 1977), a former Libyan Army officer
and the National Security Adviser of Libya. I am the fourth son of Libyan leader 
Muammar Al-Gaddafi. I want to believe that you are familiar with the stories on the
media about the unrest in Libya, as the Libyan National Security Adviser to my father,
I have warned him to step aside and allow the people of Libya to have their peace 
but he refused, I cannot die with my father, but during this period my father gave 
me US$400 Million Dollars cash to keep. I was able to move US$40 Million through 
diplomatic immunity luggage system to an undisclosed location abroad for safe 
keeping which I will disclose to you if you come to agreement with me.

Due to our restricted movement, I would want you to present yourself as the beneficiary
of the funds, based on this I will issue an authorization letter instructing the 
release of the deposit to you under 24 hours of confirmation and verification. You 
will be entitled to 30% of the total sum as your share while 60% will be for me, 
I will inform you when to transfer my share to me when the problem in my country has
finally calm down. The remaining 10% is to cover all expenses that may be incurred 
in the course of this transaction. This arrangement is known to you and me alone for 
security reasons. I will not be able to communicate with you on phone because I am 
hiding in a secured place. If you are able to handle this deal kindly send email to
me on my private email: rubbish@noway.com, I awaiting your positive response, 
may Allah's peace be upon you.


Sincerely,
Al Muttassim B. Al-Gaddafi

A close run battle

In a straw poll conducted by Vega Baja Digital, an online news bulletin, the two main parties were almost neck and neck.

96 -42.3% PSPV-PSOE (Socialists)

95 -41.9% PP (Conservatives)

So, it looks like a close run battle with everything to fight for in this region of Spain.

The main opposition Popular Party (PP) has enjoyed a double-digit lead over Mr Zapatero's Socialists during the past year.

However, in a poll published on Sunday by the newspaper El Mundo, the PP had a lead of between 7.1-7.9 percent over the Socialists depending on who replaces Mr Zapatero, compared to 16.5 per cent during the last poll published on March 9.

The poll showed that the Socialists would capture 37.8 percent of the vote with Defence Minister Carme Chacon, 40, at the helm of the party against 44.9 percent for the PP or 37.7 percent of the vote with Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, 59, a pillar of the Zapatero government since 2004, against 45.2 percent for the PP.

Holy week in Orihuela

Last year we watched the Good Friday procession in Torrevieja so this year we will be visiting Orihuela to watch the processions there.

This video will give you a taste of what to expect and this link will provide more information about Easter week in Orihuela.

NB Search the site and you will find fascinating pictures of the city dating back to 1903.

These are the main parades that will be taking place.

Palm Sunday

00:00 pm: HORN, TWIN AND CLARINES. Of the various guilds, brotherhoods and Stewardship announced through the streets and plazas of the city the beginning of Holy Week.

01:00 pm: ACTION OF THE TWO GROUPS OF SINGERS OF PASSION, HORN, AND TWIN CLARINES. Of the various guilds, brotherhoods and stewardship in University Square.

11:00 am BLESSING AND PROCESSION OF PALMS. Church of the Monastery of the Salesians to the Holy Cathedral. SOLEMN MASS Held by the Hon. and Rt. Bishop ..

11:30 am Blessing of Palms and RAMOS. Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, with a procession to the Royal, Illustrious and majestic Church of St. James Parish

Holy Monday

22:00 pm: PROCESSION OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF "THE SAMARITAN 'AND THE BROTHERHOOD" The Arrest. " Departure from the Church Museum of Our Lady of Mercy to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Monserrate.

Holy Tuesday

22:00 pm: PROCESSION OF BROTHERHOODS "Forgiveness" and "Ecce Homo." Departure from the Departure from the Church Museum of Our Lady of Mercy to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Monserrate.

Holy Wednesday

18:30 pm: PROCESSION OF THE STEWARDSHIP OF OUR VERY ILLUSTRIOUS FATHER JESUS ​​OF NAZARETH. Church of Santa Ana (Franciscan Fathers), to the Shrine of Our Lady of Monserrate.

Holy Thursday

23:00 pm: PROCESSION OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF SILENCE. Royal, Illustrious and majestic Church of St. James Parish. During his tour play the SONG OF THE PASSION for the Singers of Primitive Passion "Federico Rogel (Pl Cathedral of Santiago and Senate) and singers of the Passion (C / Alfonso XIII, C / San Pascual).

Good Friday

19:00 pm: Procession of the Passion. Leaves from the Shrine of Our Lady of Monserrate up to the Museum Church of Our Lady of Mercy.

Holy Saturday

17:30 pm: PASSACAGLIA by marching bands and drum and bugle participants in the Procession of the Holy Body of Christ.

Easter Sunday

00:30 pm: PROCESSION OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE HOLY RESURRECTION AND MEETING. Holy Cathedral.

12:00 pm: TAMBORA of joy at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Plaza of the Friars.

The best way to spend an afternoon

Yesterday we received our reports for this last term. First off though, we all watched a video of our performance for the children at Christmas – that was hilarious.

Then we sat down for some special cakes baked for Easter washed down with hot chocolate. The cake was delicious but no where near as good as the company. The Spanish ladies from the other adult classes are some of the nicest people we have ever met.

That was a wonderful way to spend a Monday afternoon.

Easter 2011 in Bigastro

This is the schedule for events at the Parish of Ntra. Sra. de Belén in Bigastro.

- Wednesday, April 13
20.00 to 22.00 H - Penitential Celebration
- Friday, April 15
22.00 H - Way of the Cross through the streets (Tour of the Rosario de la Aurora)
- Sunday, April 17
Palm Sunday
11.30 am - Blessing of the palms in the Park "Huerto del Cura" followed by a procession and mass.
- Monday, April 18
9.00 H - Mass
11.00 H – Chrismal Mass in Alicante
16.00 H - Church Cleaning
- Thursday, April 21
Holy Thursday
18.00 H - Holy Mass
19.30 H - Celebration of the Lord's Supper
22.00 H - Holy Hour
- Friday, April 22
Good Friday
11.30 am - Holy Hour at the monument
17.00 H - Celebration of "The Passion of the Lord"
18.00 H - Via Crucis
- Saturday, April 23
Holy Saturday
23.00 H - Celebration of the Easter Vigil
- Sunday, April 24
Easter Sunday
07.15 H – Procession of “the encounter” followed by Mass
12.00 H - Holy Mass with baptisms
- Thursday, April 28
18.00 H - Easter Retreat for Catechists
- Monday, May 2
09.00 H - Procession with the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Mass

Ooops nearly forgot!

On a cordial note yesterday, the mayor asked us if there were any special fiestas that we Brits celebrated. Well the Irish celebrate St Patrick’s day and the Welsh St David’s Day. The English should celebrate St George’s Day but even in England, very few bother.

The only examples I could bring to mind were the forthcoming Royal Wedding between William and Katherine and the Royal Jubilee next year. However, I can’t imagine that we will be collectively celebrating either of those. I dare say the Resident’s Committee might have done something for those two events but since that committee no longer exists, I don’t suppose anything will be organised. 

As one resident remarked, now that we live in Bigastro, we are quite happy to join in with the celebrations for local fiestas. We are more than happy to continue with our contributions to the Gastronomic Day in August.

My recollections

For the benefit of those who could not attend the meeting on Sunday, these were the main points as I recall them.

The mayor told us he had read my item about the party on Saturday night. He said that the law in relation to fireworks allows them to be set off during fiestas and at other times, with permission, before 11:30 at night. I am now told that the party last Saturday could well have been a wedding and in the exuberance of the celebrations someone may have gone beyond the normal times. I think we can forgive them for that and at the same time offer our best wishes to the happy couple.

In relation to the houses on the estate that have not been completed, the mayor said that this was a private matter between the company that built them or the bank that own them and the buyers. He welcomed any parties that had an interest in these houses to visit him at the town hall to discuss the matter privately. In other words, it was not an issue that he could discuss with us collectively.

The mayor told us that, if we were registered on the padron and had been registered to vote at the last elections then we should be OK for the election in May. However, if we wanted to check, we should go down to the Town Hall and speak to Javier before Tuesday.

With regards to the state of the road down into the town. the mayor said that once the houses on the land next to Avenida Europa are complete, there will be two access roads to Villas Andrea; one taking us down to the town and the other returning back.

With respect to the problem of dog fouling, the mayor said this was a matter for education rather that legislation. He added that the town had plans to install three new pipicans for dog owners to deposit waste into. One of these would be at Villas Andrea. However, as we all know, it is one thing to provide facilities to dispose of waste and another for dog owners to use them.

A further comment was made about graffiti. The mayor said that the town would impose heavy fines if they caught the perpetrators. He added hat the best and most cost effective solution was to paint over it which is in fact what has been done on the concrete blocks by the waste bins.

Moving on to the issue of cadastral values for our properties, the mayor said that Bigastro had requested a revision of values for 2013. He explained that Cadasre could only work on a few municipalities each year because of the complexity of the task.

When asked about the proposed aparthotel at La Pedrera, the mayor said that was no longer viable and therefore would not be built.

The issue of cars parking on the road above the park and the people leaving litter was raised. In response, the mayor said this was a problem in several parts of the town. He suggested that we should phone the local police who will come and move the people away. I dare say this would only have to happen a few times before the young people would get the message.

The mayor was very much aware that we pay a lot more for collection of waste than the people who live in the centre of the town. He said that the council had plans to revise the amounts so that we pay a little less and those in the centre a little more.

During a humorous moment, the mayor answered a question about respect for the one way system in the town. He said, that is was only natural for people to want to take the shortest route for a journey even if this meant going the wrong way on a one way system.

I apologise if I have missed any important points – as a former Deputy Headteacher used to say, “a sharp pencil is better than a blunt memory”. Unfortunately, I did not have a pencil with me yesterday!

Hoping for a more cordial future

On Saturday morning, all eleven city councillors from the present mandate in Bigastro received gold badges as a reward for their hard work over the last four years. Following the ceremony, which was commissioned by the mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina, the councillors signed the guest book as they would normally do at the end of a term of office.

The mayor thanked both the government team and the opposition and went on to say that "we must all work to improve the image of Bigastro, from the commitment and responsibility that comes with holding public office." Finally, the mayor requested a return of cordiality and mutual respect to the council chamber because as he said, “this is where you decide the future of all bigastrenses."

I think we would all share that view. As I have said before, the role of opposition is to oppose when they feel that is necessary and agree when they feel it is right to do so. However, by all accounts, the confrontations in the chamber in the recent past have gone beyond that and have become bitter. In my opinion, there is no excuse for bitterness in a council chamber, it is a place for reasoned debate. I think the whole town would agree with me that it would be better if our elected representatives spent their time and energy forging a future for the town rather than squabbling and bickering.

The recipients were:

- D. Raúl Valerio Medina Lorente
- Dña. Inmaculada Martínez García
- Dña. Mª Dolores Andreu Marcos
- D. Raúl Ortuño Moya
- D. Mateo Rodríguez Ortíz
- D. Isidro Ricart Mira
- Dña. Mª del Rosario Bañuls Rodríguez
- D. José Manuel Sánchez Delgado
- Dña. Mª Mercedes Hidalgo Pomares
- D. Aurelio Murcia González

Here comes the sun

	If you take notice of the state web site then we are in for a pleasant week ahead. Maybe not the sizzling temperatures that we saw at the weekend but still good enough to keep your shorts on.
	WeatherBug on the other hand paints a different picture for nearby Orihuela. They are forecasting lower temperatures with a chance of a shower tomorrow and rain for next Sunday.

Muchisimo gracias a todos

Many thanks first of all go to Raúl Valerio Medina and the members of the Socialist party in Bigastro for taking time out on a lovely Sunday morning to come up to Villas Andrea to talk to us. And of course a big thank you to those of you who took the trouble to go up to La Pedrera to listen to him.

Although Raúl had an interpreter with him, he hardly needed her help to understand and speak to us in very clear English. His English puts our Spanish to shame.

Unlike towns like Torrevieja, Guardamar and San Fulgencio where there are a lot of Brits, we form just a small part of the community which made it all the more impressive that Raúl and his party should go to all this trouble on our behalf.

First impressions count: Instead of hiding behind a table, Raúl positioned himself amongst the audience and thus connected directly with us – that was very astute.

Once the meeting started, Raúl went on to answer even the most tricky questions with confidence, honesty and clarity and avoided making false promises that he knew he couldn't keep. In my opinion, Raúl presented himself as a man who is passionate about his town and is prepared to work damn hard to make it succeed. He knows that there are huge problems to overcome but with his young and energetic team, he his prepared to be creative and find solutions.

Maybe I am showing my bias here, but I was very impressed with both his manner and what he said. It will take a lot of persuasion for me to vote for anyone else.

A right royal gaffe

When you are a commoner, you can invite whoever you like to your wedding but when you are a royal there must surely be some protocol to be observed.

I read this morning that Crown Prince Felipe of Spain and his wife, Princess Letizia have not been invited to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Only King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia have received invites.

What makes the snub to Felipe even more surprising is that space had been found at Westminster Abbey for the owner of a Spanish tile company who donated generously to Charles’s charities, Manuel Colonques, and his wife, Delfina.

His firm, Porcelanosa, met a “significant proportion” of the costs of a lavish charity dinner at Buckingham Palace in February.

Of course, Charles was a guest of honour at the wedding of Felipe and Letizia in Madrid in 2004. He attended both the ceremony and the sumptuous banquet that followed.

It now seems that a nervous courtier has suggested that Charles had asked for Felipe and Letizia to be added to the guest list. Too late William, don’t bother trying to book into Torrevieja for your honeymoon!

I’m not intolerant but…

If you live out in the country without another house in sight, then you can make as much noise as you like and nobody will complain. However, when you live on an urbanisation with other houses in close proximity, then I’d say you have to show some consideration for your neighbours.

In the summer months when the weather is good, it is only natural that people will want to hold parties outside and when you have a large group of people together then there is bound to be noise. I think we all understand that and show tolerance of those sort of situations.

In my opinion, the party that someone held at Villas Andrea yesterday went beyond that. The fireworks started in the morning and were so loud that they hurt your ears. Those continued throughout the day. If you heard the swoosh, then you were prepared for the almighty explosion that followed; otherwise they would make you jump out of your skin- it must have been terrifying for any pets living here.

At about 11:30pm the fireworks culminated with one long salvo of explosions that we thought might mark the end and it did for awhile. Sure, you could still hear the people shouting and the children screaming at the tops of their voices but at least the fireworks were finished. That was until 1:30am when I can only assume they found another supply of maroons and decided to set them off. It is one thing to put up with fireworks all day long but quite another to be woken from your sleep by them.

If we had been in England then the police would have been called out and they would have made the partygoers show some restraint. However, we are not in England, this is Spain and we know that Spaniards love noise and loud fireworks sow we have to respect that.

I might be on my own here (I doubt it) but I thought that yesterday’s party went a step too far.

See you there

Remember there will be an information meeting up at La Pedrera this morning at 11am organised by the Socialist party.

PS Message to Raul, If we are a little bit late that is because our sleep was disturbed last night – see my other post!

Unión Popular Liberal Centrista in Bigastro

Having been replaced by Charo Bañuls as spokesperson for the PP, Aurelio Murcia yesterday presented his new Centrist Liberal People's Union party and its headquarters located on Calle La Purisima near the Socialist headquarters.

The candidate for mayor says it is a party open to all, neither anti PP, nor PSOE but rather aiming to be " probigastro ". This will be a party that looks to the future rather than dwells in the past. Aurelio Murcia says the town has only a future and adds that, whatever the result,  his new party will  last beyond the May 22nd elections.

Murcia goes on to say that his party provides a creditable alternative for Bigastro without fear. Although he says the work of the party will be on-going, Murcia aims to get seven seats on the council in May.

On the only negative note during his interview, Aurelio Murcia said that any party that has been in power for 28 years must have made mistakes. Prior to his joining the PP in 2007, the town had been governed by José Joaquín Moya, the socialist mayor for 24 years.  He was imprisoned for three months following various allegations made against him, resigned from his post and  was replaced by the current socialist mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina.

Positive, creative thinking

The only way to lift yourself out of a crisis situation is to apply “positive, creative thinking”. With the virtual collapse of the construction industry in Spain people are having to broaden their horizons to find new employment opportunities. They are out there, they just need to be explored.

Fortunately in Bigastro, help is at hand in the form of various courses which are aimed at retraining people in areas of employment that may be open to them.

The mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina recently presented thirteen students who have just completed a 304 hour course for Tourism Development Officers with their certificates at the Auditorium.

The course, which was funded by the European Social Fund, covered many aspects of tourism including recognizing, detecting and investigating in a particular area the resources and tourism opportunities, cataloguing, defining the demand, the characteristics and needs, analysing projects and their impact ; carrying out marketing plans for products, routes and schedules.

The course wasn’t just theoretical; the students focussed on four municipalities and participated in various activities related to trade fairs held in the area. In Benejuzar they developed a plan to help restaurants, in Los Montesinos they developed a cultural route and in Redován they worked on a tourist information brochure. The group also worked on a municipal project called “Casa de Riego” and made proposals about various workshops for children.

This part of the Vega Baja is just waking up to the idea that tourism could provide a vital source of income as it does for example in Torrevieja and in Orihuela. There is no doubt that there are a lot of opportunities for tourism out there just waiting to be tapped into, all that is required is the creative thinking that these newly qualified people should be able to provide.

It is heartening to read that Bigastro is not just sitting back and moaning that nothing can be done, the town is getting out there trying hard to find ways out of the economic depression. This is only one of many examples of ways that Bigastro is helping to ease the problems in the labour market.

Good luck to the students, I hope that the future proves rosy for them.

Spanish keyboard

	If you buy a computer in Spain it will come with a Spanish keyboard unless you specify otherwise. Although the letter keys are the same as a UK keyboard there are some important differences in the other keys.
	Here is a UK keyboard for comparison.

A warm up for the cycling season

The 9th Tour Orihuela kicks off today. This is a three day cycle race taking in many of the municipalities of the Vega Baja.

The first stage will start from the Glorieta in Orihuela and is scheduled to finish at about 6pm. The 90 kilometre race will take in Campaneta, Granja de Rocamora, Cox, Callosa de Segura, Redovan finishing in Benferri.

The second day will be split into two parts. The first will be a 68 kilometre race from Benferri to the Avenida Duque de Tamames in Orihuela. This will be followed at 4pm by a 5km individual time trial starting at the Water Palace next to Ociopía.

On the final day riders will start at the Arbor Gabriel Miró and will climb the mont San Miguel. Along with that climb, riders will also take in the hills of the Hondón.

There are a range of prizes on offer to various age groups along with the overall winner and winners of the mountain sprints.

Perfect timing

The council tax that we pay is based upon the value of our properties as set by the Land Registry. When Pam and I first got a bill from SUMA it was clear that this value had been set incorrectly for our house. The amount we were being asked to pay was way higher than any of our neighbours with similar sized properties. It took a trip to Cadastre in Alicante to sort that out. With a corrected valuation, the bill was reduced to about one third of the previous amount.

By law the valuations have to be revised every ten years. The last evaluation for Almoradí was done in 2008 and so would be due for revision in 2018. However, the mayor of Almoradí is seeking a review of the values after just five years. He says that the current evaluations were made when when the housing market was at its peak. Since then the market has collapsed and with it land and house prices. As he says, this means that people are paying more tax than they ought to which his why he is requesting a re- assessment in 2013 rather than waiting until 2018. It is interesting to note that this announcement comes just before the municipal elections in May.

I am not sure when the assessment for Bigastro took place so I cannot tell you when it is due for revision. The calculations are complex, taking into account not only the size of your property but also the distance from the town etc. This means that similar properties within a short distance of each other can have different cadastral values and hence pay different amounts of local tax.

Just for us

At our meeting yesterday, the mayor told me that the Bigastro web site will be revamped in May and will be available in both Spanish and English for us to read.

As you will have gathered, I am a big fan of the site and visit it every day to find information about what is going on in the town. I also contribute to the site by sending photos to my friend Germán who then posts them onto the photo gallery.

In fact, those of you who want to read the site in English can already do so. Google Chrome browser gives you access to the excellent Google translator which will automatically translate Spanish into English. The first time you visit a page in Spanish it will give you the option to translate or not translate. If you select “always translate” that is what it will do.

And you thought my Spanish was so good that I could understand all I read – now my secret is out!

Interesting times ahead

It will not have escaped your attention that local elections in Bigastro are almost upon us. Official canvassing will start two weeks before the date and must cease two days before.

At the appropriate time we will be given lists of the candidates for each party in order of importance. Spain has proportional representation which means that the number of seats on the council that each party gains will be in relation to the number of votes they obtain.

In 2003 the socialist party had a slim majority of 85 votes which meant they had just one more councillor than the conservatives. In 2007, they managed to regain ground and so currently have 8 councillors to the PP parties 5. Now we know that the socialist government has lost popularity since the economic crisis cast its shadow over Spain and so the feeling is that socialist councils may come under a lot more pressure this time round.

The previous mayor held office for 25 years, the current mayor for less that 3 which means that very few will remember a time when Bigastro was not controlled by the socialist party. In fact, Bigastro is one of only a few councils in this area that are under socialist control (the others are Guardamar, Benijofar, Redovan, San Isidro, San Fulgencio and Los Montesinos). The conservatives in Bigastro say it is time for a change but then I imagine they have been saying that for the last 24 years!

I have tried to maintain an apolitical stance on this blog by presenting a balanced view. However, it is in our interest to know just what the parties have to offer and to put over our point of view. I therefore agreed to meet with the mayor this morning at which time he told me that he would be holding a meeting up at the restaurant La Pedrera on Sunday 10th April at 11am to gather the opinions of the British voters and to take questions before formulating the party manifesto.

This morning, the mayor expressed his wish that as many of us as possible would attend the meeting. He firmly believes that it is important to know the feelings of all factions of the community including the British contingent. For my part, I feel this will be an important meeting for us to attend – Pam and I will certainly be there and hope to see as many of you as possible.

Please pass this information to your friends and neighbours.

Just to remind you of the date: -SUNDAY 10th at 11am in the Restaurant, La Pedrera Camping.

They were there

As I have mentioned already, one of our classmates, Christopher Riley and his wife Kim were at the British Legion concert in Alicante last Saturday. Christopher plays saxophone in the Bigastro main band and flute in the junior band.

I’m now told that two of the residents from Villas Andrea were there as well.

Pat and David Steele were in fact playing as part of “Just Brass” and Jacobo, from the Bigastro band, was playing the timpanis which had been kindly loaned to “Just Brass” for the occasion.

Fireman sets Guiness record

British fireman, Steve Moore will enter the Guinness Book of World Records by driving a fire truck 50,000 miles around the world. In doing so, Steve will have raised £100,000 for charity.

Steve’s long journey started in London on the 10th July last year and has taken him across five continents. He has visited Moscow, Beijing, Lao PDR, Singapore, Australia from Perth to Brisbane, New Zealand, USA, Morocco and now Spain.

Steve is near the end of his epic journey. On Wednesday, he visited Torrevieja where he was met by the mayor, Pedro Hernández Mateo. During his stay he met with some of the Spanish firemen at Torrevieja’s new fire station along with retired firemen from the UK.

Steve’s next stop will be Barcelona where he will begin the last leg of his journey taking him through Paris and back to London where, in Greenwich Park, there will be a huge party for him on Sunday 10th April.

Steve chose to stop off in Torrevieja because of the large number of British residents there.

The highs and the lows

Following the huge success of the Feria at the weekend, we now read that Pastor Medina, the company that completed the remodelling of Avenida Apatel which leads from the roundabout into the town, claim that Bigastro still owes 186,000 Euros for the work. The project, which was completed at the end of 2009, cost 355,000 Euros and was to be to be funded 70% by the government under Plan E and 30% by the local council.

The mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina, claims that the 70% has been paid and that the amount owed is actually 107,000 Euros. He says this will be paid in instalments once the council have received further moneys from local taxes.

For their part, Pastor Medina, who employ sixty workers, say that the mayor is “shameless” adding that other towns they have worked for including Pilar de la Horadada, Los Montesinos and Formentera del Segura have paid in full for work they have completed for them. They say that Bigastro has not even approached the company with a plan to pay off the debt. Knowing that the town already owes large sums of money for electricity and rubbish collection, they are considering taking legal action against the council.

The PP party in Bigastro have already accused the mayor of using part of the money from Feil to pay off other debts. They say that the council are “exhausted”, that the town needs “fresh air”. Whether that will come with the local elections in May remains to be seen. We know that Zapatero’s socialist government have lost popularity and that he has already said that he will not be taking part in the next full elections in 2012. He hopes that, making this announcement now, will prevent voters from defecting to the PP in May.

However, I’m told that local elections in Bigastro are more about personalities than party politics so we may not see a change in the town hall come May. In fact, whichever party takes control of the council for the next term of office, the huge debts that Bigastro owes to various companies will still remain. It is hard to imagine just how any party will be able to form a plan to clear such massive amounts of money even in the long term.

Got there in the end

	Right next to the cathedral in Orihuela is the museum of sacred art which we went to yesterday with the students from the adult classes in Bigastro. First job was to find somewhere to park the car. That done we had to find the museum. Pam and I originally thought we were visiting the new Pedrera museum that has just opened with a collection paintings donated to it.

In the picture bottom right you can see the place where the museum is housed. As you can imagine, this would originally been an open cloister without the roof and those windows on the upper storey would not have been there. Now it is all temperature controlled with dimmed lighting to protect the precious artefacts.

It looks like Pam and I will have to visit the Pedrera museum on a different day.

A busy week ahead

This week, the Municipal Auditorium Francisco Grau in Bigastro hosts the following cultural program: From 7th to the 30th April in the Multipurpose Hall Exhibition "La Caixa dels Somnis. The red and black. An interdisciplinary development by students from the University Miguel Hernández in Elche (Campus of Altea) . on Thursday, April 7 at 8pm Three short films. 1. Two reasons 2. In the shadow 3. Where art lives

Saturday, April 9th at 7:30pm Concert – Audition of students from the Musical Union Bigastro Sunday, April 10th at 6:30pm Gala for Manos Unidas. Entrance: 5 € (on sale at the Auditorium and at the Church of Our Lady of Bethlehem)

Be on the look out

A 56-year old British man was arrested after trying to pay for items at a supermarket using a forged €50 note. The man, an Orihuela Costa resident, was at the supermarket in the Punta Prima complex when he presented the fake note and following a call to the Local Police, he was promptly arrested and taken to the Guardia Civil station in Torre de la Horadada, where he was charged with the offence and fast tracked to Orihuela court.

This was the second occasion recently when a forged €50 note has been used in the area. The other incident involved a 25-year-old man who tried to pay for his petrol at the supermarket in La Zenia using one of the forgeries.

He too was apprehended and taken to the Guardia Civil station in Torre de la Horadada where he was charged with the offence.

The Local Police ask all residents to be extra vigilant, especially local businesses, as it appears that there may be a lot of these fake €50 notes in circulation, particularly in Orihuela Costa.

The Royal British Legion celebrate in style

One of our class members told us yesterday that he and his wife had attended a fantastic concert in Alicante last Saturday so I searched for information about this and found an article in the Coast Rider which forms the basis for this post.

The Royal British Legion is 90 years old this year and to celebrate in style they organised a gala celebration in the brand new auditorium at Alicante. Two performances were planned for the day the first being at midday last Saturday and the second in the evening at 7.00 pm. Both performances were very well attended with the evening one being completely full. The use of the auditorium had been organised by the Diputación of Alicante and in his address to the programme for the celebrations the President of the Diputación, Joaquín Ripoll Serrano said ‘As soon as we heard about the project undertaken by The Royal British Legion in Spain, we wanted to play our part in organising this event’. Representing the Diputación at the evening event was the Provincial Councillor for foreign residents Maria Asunción. Paul Rodwell who is the British Consul from Alicante and the District North President of the Royal British Legion in Spain also attended and read the first lesson.

Set in the wonderful setting of the new auditorium the programme had been very cleverly designed to provide entertainment, information and the recreation of a church service in the field of battle; everything being underscored with the theme of remembrance.

A host of stars were present at the event including ‘The Massed Voice Choirs’ consisting of the Coral Crevillentina, Crescendo International Choir, The English Choir, The Coral Classica Javiense and the Costa Blanca Male Voice choir all under the musical direction of Charles Smith. In front of them sat ‘Just Brass’ with their leader Gordon Higginbottom.

Apart from the Massed Choirs, providing the vocal entertainment there were ‘All Angels’, Cathy Carson and Ruth Lorenzo. Ruth will be familiar to many for her performance in X Factor. She demonstrated the power and range of her voce and her talent in Alicante with numbers from opera and popular music including one of her own compositions. ‘All Angels’ are an all-female quartet of young women who sang accompanied and a cappella. They make truly beautiful music, once again with a wide variety of material. Formed in 2006 they have already sold half a million albums. Cathy Carson has been singing professionally from a very young age she came to Spain in 2003 continuing to entertain people.

Alongside the vocal entertainment, the Torrevieja Pipes and Drums marched on stage looking extremely smart to fill the hall with the sound of the bagpipes and some sterling drum work.

Current battlefields were brought into sharp focus with the attendance at the celebrations of two serving members of the Armed Forces back from a tour in Afghanistan and one man, Lewis Elliott, who lost his leg whilst serving in Afghanistan.

The Drumhead service is the name given to a church service held in the field and the name comes from the use of drums draped with flags and standards to form an altar. Prayers for this particular service recreated in the auditorium in Alicante were led by representatives of churches of different traditions, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican all coming together to pray for governments to restrain evil and oppression, those in the armed services truly serving the cause of justice, freedom and peace and for the work of the Royal British Legion for enhancing the lives of those who depend on them. Showers of paper red poppies were thrown from the balcony of the auditorium in remembrance of all those who have given their lives in the cause of freedom. This was followed by the well-known lines from Laurence Binyon’s poem ‘The Fallen’.

They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old……

Now I understand why our classmate said that he thoroughly enjoyed the event.

 

Oh dear

Torrevieja has invested 1.7 million Euros on its sophisticated system of CCTV cameras to monitor the city. In all there are 191 cameras, 71 of which have been installed to monitor traffic.

The town now needs permission to use the other 91 because they may be deemed to be intruding on people’s liberty. The application will be reviewed by a joint commission consisting of a judge from the Superior Court of Justice, state attorney, a member of the Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and a member nominated by the Government delegation at Valencia.

Normally you would expect permission to be sought before embarking on such a project but in this case the director general of the police in Torrevieja explains that there was a limited time to use the money and deadlines to comply with for funding. He says that it may be the commission will recommend that some of the cameras are re aligned or that the cameras are only operative for certain times of day. Even if a camera has to moved altogether this will not affect the overall operation of the system.

The police unions wonder why it is that the town can invest in such a system when they can’t afford to wash the police cars and have to use an obsolete computer for other tasks. They also query who will be manning the system at night when they only have two patrols available.

Let us hope that, in the end, the 1.7 million Euros has been well spent and that the system makes Torrevieja a safer place for its citizens.

All the fun of the fair

	The Commercial fair seemed to go down well with the Bigastrense. We went down there on Saturday and gave the dog show on Sunday a miss. The most popular stand seemed to be the one staged by the Fiesta Commission.
	Whilst I wandered round looking for subjects to photograph, this family asked if the could pose for a shot – of course. My daughter asked if I knew them. I didn't but I dare say they have seem me around with my camera. Maybe they thought I was from the press! PS I hope they like my photo.

More sun expected

	The sunny weather is set to continue for the next week. Just look at those temperatures – time to get the shorts out and maybe do a bit of sunbathing to start this year’s tan off.
	The only blot on the landscape is that It will be blustery midweek but should calm down towards the weekend.

WOW

Following an interesting afternoon in the park visiting the fair we returned in good time to find seats for the fashion show. The show lasted a good three hours and moved from children’s clothes to young adults and included hats make up and underwear.

The clothes on show were beautiful, the models stunning and the whole show was organised with precision and style.

You can see my album of photos by clicking here.

A weekend for all

The programme for the next two days is as follows:

SATURDAY, 2nd of APRIL

* 11 am - Official opening of the fair in the park

* 6pm – Catwalk fashion show

*10pm - Concert by the local group “Outside cover”

SUNDAY 3rd of APRIL

* 10am – Fair opens

* 10:30am - Exhibition, training and canine obedience followed by the competition for the best dog.

* 1am – Prizes for the best participating stand

* 5pm - Exhibition of ballroom dancing

* Teatime

*The fair closes

* Concert by the group “Hammer”.

Don’t mention Gibraltar

Prince Charles visited Gibraltar on his honeymoon with Princess Diana in 1981, a move that led to King Juan Carlos of Spain turning down an invitation to their wedding.

This time round, Charles tried to avoid the issue being raised again by not visiting the rock on his trip to Spain with Camilla. However, as if not to let the opportunity go by, the Prince of Asturias chose to make passing reference to the disputed territory in his speech at a gala dinner at the royal palace in Madrid.

"I express my hope that our authorities make progress towards a solution to our historic bilateral dispute which is yet to be resolved," said the 43-year-old Prince of Asturias in a speech at the Palacio Real in Madrid.

Spain still claims sovereignty over the Rock which is  home to 28,000 Gibraltarians, who in a 2002 referendum overwhelmingly rejected a deal to shared sovereignty between the two nations and demanded to remain a part of Britain.

The King of Spain, his wife Queen Sofia and the Prince and Princess of Asturias are to be guests at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The two royal families share the same ancestor, Queen Victoria.

PS How do press photographers manage to consistently get pictures of Charles like this. Not only is he pulling the strangest face but he seems to be commenting to Felipe about  his wife’s backside .

A novel idea

Someone called Brad has contacted me after reading my blog with the following message:

Hi Keith, I'm Brad, I'm contacting you because you are a Brit in Bigastro, Spain! :) We've created a new car rental company in Spain, Brit Car Hire, the one and only specialized in right-hand-drive cars. We need all the support and love we could get from the expat community in Spain, because we're launching this summer and we're small and new. That's another reason I'm contacting you.

Right-Hand drive cars for Spanish roads? Sounds crazy. Well, it is. But it also makes a lot of sense. We thought of all the British drivers that are having a really hard time adapting to the roads in Spain on small trips, for example on a six or seven day holiday. We created Brit Car Hire so that they can enjoy more pleasant drives and better holidays.

The idea is strange and different, we know. But before launching we've done studies, to evaluate what we could do to help British drivers (and Irish and Australian) to drive more comfortably on Spanish roads. That's why we've included alerts to help drive in roundabouts, remind what mirror is most important and what lane to drive in. We've also adapted the cars so that the headlights and other items are perfectly adapted to Spanish roads, since the cars we provide have been directly imported from the UK. (please visit Brit Car Hire Benefits to for more detail)

If you want more information, please drop me a line and it will be a pleasure to reply. I know that your blog is personal, but we'd be very happy and very grateful if you could give us a hand mentioning us, it is a very different idea and it would be great if the people that follow your blog could get to know it.

Best regards, and congratulations for your blog,

Brad

It is true that it can take a while to adapt to a left hand drive car especially if you have driven a right hand drive car for some time.

For example, when I first tried a left hand drive hire car for a few days, I was constantly hitting the door with my left hand as I went to change gear.

Strangely enough, when I take a hire car in England now, I adapt back to changing gear with my left hand without a problem - I suppose it is because it is deeply ingrained in my memory to do so.

The bullfighting museum

Some of the famous bulls are hung as trophies on the walls. Only when you see them in this way do you appreciate just how big the animals were.	Amongst the memorabilia in the museum is this collection of posters. Posters from corridas are an art form in themselves.

Even if you are not a great fan of bullfighting, it is worth calling in to the museum in Murcia. The trajes de luces on display are quite spectacular and show just how diminutive the taurino that wore them were.

Bloomin lovely

Yesterday, we took Jemma to Murcia for the day. At 2.20 Euros each on the train, it was hardly going to break the bank and certainly wasn’t worth taking the car for.

On our way up to the Cathedral we passed the Glorieta de España where these geraniums provided a splash of red for my camera.

We had morning coffee with crepes and then made our way to the Salzillo museum.

Next stop was the Bullfighting museum which is housed in the Association of Bullfighters.

Having absorbed ourselves in the history of bullfighting, it was time for lunch so we made our way to the Plaza San Domingo where the menú del día was more than sufficient to keep us going.

By this time, the shops were closed so we took a leisurely stroll along the river and then headed back to the railway station.

En route we were stopped by three different people who asked us if we were English. When we told them we were, they were delighted and took the opportunity to try out their command of the language. They were surprised and equally delighted when we told them we lived in Spain in nearby Bigastro and  kindly told us that our Spanish was good. 

Met with indifference

At 43%, Spain's youth unemployment is the highest in the EU by far, and more than double the average. For those aged 16 to 19 the rate is 64% – an 11% increase on the previous year. One in five of those under the age of 30 are still looking for their first job, and almost half (46%) are on short-term contracts of less than 6 months.

Youth unemployment here is higher than in Tunisia and Egypt. It's so high that many young people have to look long and hard to see past it.

Spanish unemployment has always been stubbornly high. Even at the height of the boom it was higher than that in Britain at the depth of the economic crisis.

Electorally, most expect an increase in voter abstention among young people at the next elections. While British youth invented punk, and black America created hip hop as popular cultural responses to economic crises in previous decades, there seems to be little evidence that resistance is being expressed in other ways beyond trying to forget all about it.

Given that the situation of young people is so bad it should come as no surprise to find that Spain has one of the highest rates of cannabis and cocaine usage among its young in western Europe. The botellón, the social activity for younger people of drinking alcohol in public areas such as the streets, also increased in popularity until recent police clampdowns.

Gongs for all

The proposal was made at the council meeting last night to award 10 of the local councillors along with the mayor with the Isignia de Oro, the highest distinction that the council can give, in recognition for the work they have done during this most difficult term of office.

The award will be for all of the councillors from both the PSOE and the PP including those who are currently under investigation for various infringements of planning regulations and Aurelio Murcia who recently resigned his position as spokesperson for the PP.

The meeting also approved the auction of spaces in the multi story parking at La Paz. This building has only been open for one week since it was completed over a year ago. You may recall that the cost of the building overran by 800,000 Euros which the council could not pay so the constructor refused to hand it over.

They also plan to auction off 62 parking spaces in the basement of the Auditorium to re pay the loan from the Cajamurcia bank.

Parking in the centre of the town is at a premium so the council expect a demand from both residents and local businesses. The price per parking space will be between 10 and 12 thousand Euros.

The council must now look into the legality of auctioning the parking spaces.

That’s more like it

	This is the kind of weather we were hoping for this week because our eldest daughter is over to stay with us. Temperatures of 25 will feel like a good summer day to someone from Wolverhampton.
	Weatherbug are not as optimistic so I think we will go with AEMET’s forecast.

Why Bigastro was picked on

As you already know, Iberdrola restored power to the municipal buildings in Bigastro last week after the town made a payment of 80,000 Euros and promised to pay 20,000 Euros off its debt each month.

Reflecting on the situation, the mayor of Bigastro asks why this town was singled out to have its electricity cut when it owed 280,000 Euros and cited the example of Torrevieja which he said has a debt of 1.3 million Euros to the same company. Raúl Valerio Medina Lorente claimed that Iberdrola showed its political bias by acting differently towards socialist and conservative led towns.

However, as the Councillor for Finance in Torrevieja, Joaquín Albaladejo pointed out on SER radio, Torrevieja accumulated its debt because of the increased price of electricity which had not been budgeted for. He went on to explain that, unlike Bigastro, Torrevieja had stuck to its payment plan and added that suggesting Iberdorla had shown political bias was just a way for he Socialist Party to cover up for its disastrous management.

It’s later than you think

Check the time on your computer and you will find that we have lost an hour somewhere. Of course you knew that all along because last night the clocks went forward. I had to send a text message to my two daughters to remind them of that. Our eldest daughter is flying out to stay with us on Monday and we would not want her to miss the plane!

Actually I remember when I taught in Liverpool there would always be a handful of children whose parents had forgotten to adjust their clocks and I recall that one time there was even a teacher who turned in an hour late one Monday because she had forgotten. It took some time for her to live that one down.

New terminal built to handle 20 million passengers

El Altet opened on 4 May 1967, replacing the older La Rabassa aerodrome that had served Alicante since 1936. It took its name after the El Altet area (a part of Elche's countryside) where it was built. The first commercial flight that landed in the airport was a Convair Metropolitan by Aviaco.

Iberia established regular connections between Alicante-Madrid and Alicante-Barcelona in November 1969. In the early 1970s passengers' traffic reached 1 million, which prompted a construction of a new passenger terminal. In 1980 the runway was extended to three kilometres

In 2010, Alicante Airport handled 9,382,935 passengers, 74,474 flight operations and 3,113 tonnes of cargo, making it the sixth busiest airport by passenger numbers in Spain, and one of the 50 busiest in Europe. Furthermore, it is the busiest airport in the Valencian Community.

The existing terminals were struggling to cope with that volume of traffic and so work started on a new terminal which was inaugurated by Aena and Public Works Minister Jose Blanco this Wednesday and opened for passengers on Thursday. It replaces both of the existing terminals 1 and 2 for all incoming and outgoing flights.

The new terminal covers an area of 333,500 square metres, six times the size of the previous Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 buildings together. It has 98 check-in desks (compared to 53 in the old terminals), 26 boarding gates (compared to 16 in Terminal 1 and 2 together) and 16 luggage carrousels. Passengers can also enjoy a choice of 20 shops and 16 food and drink outlets.

Special technology incorporated in the terminal includes the Automatic System for Luggage Management, which has capacity to deal with 7,880 bags per hour, and uses a radio-frequency chip to track the luggage and minimise the number of lost bags.

The new terminal is part of a € 628 million expansion project for El Altet, which also includes a new six-storey car park, the improvement of road access to the airport, and a power station to supply electricity for the airport.

Our eldest daughter arrives at El Altet on Monday morning so we will get a good look at the new terminal then.

Just be aware

After a couple of years without any break ins on the estate, I am now told that there was an incident this afternoon where a house was broken into and the thieves got away with an assortment of items. Although the neighbours were at home at the time, none of them recalled seeing or hearing anything untoward.

It is possible that we have become complacent and have stopped taking the security measures that we did a couple of years ago when there was a series of break-ins. The security gates, expensive locks and burglar alarms that people had fitted will only work when they use them. Leaving lights on and a radio when we are out are simple precautions that we have been advised to take.

What we don’t want, is a further spate of burglaries on the estate; it unsettles people and makes them fearful of going out.

None of us came here to live in fear.

A very different process

Having your car tested in the UK can be both harrowing and expensive. You can check many of the items included in the test yourself before taking your car for its MOT. However, it is difficult for most people to check e.g. the exhaust emissions or brake efficiency unless they have access to some fancy equipment.

In the UK most people will take their car to a normal garage for testing which can lead to nasty surprises and a hefty bill.

I remember taking my wife’s Nissan Micra to a place in Birkenhead that offered cheap MOTs. They claimed that the exhaust emissions were too high and offered to rectify the problem at a price. The resulting fuel air mixture was so weak that the car would not run properly and so I had to take the car to a Nissan dealer to get it sorted out. There was apparently nothing wrong with the original setting. Later on, I took both of our cars to a local garage for MOT. Surprisingly, because we had our cars serviced regularly, both of them failed requiring over £100 worth of work each to rectify the problems.

Wary that garages may fail cars just to provide themselves with work, some of my ex-colleagues would take their cars to the Council depot in Liverpool for MOT tests. Although the tests were deemed to be more through than those in some garages, there was no incentive to fail vehicles to create work.

The full cost of a UK MOT for a car is £54.85. Many garages will charge less if you have a service done at the same time. Some dealers, e.g. Audi, will even offer a free MOT.

Here in Spain, things are different. The equivalent of an MOT is conducted at an ITV centre. There is no such thing as a cut price test, everyone pays the full whack. In the case of my diesel Roomster that was 65.25 Euros (petrol cars are a little cheaper).

The documents you need are the registration document (permiso de circulación) and technical paper (ficha technico). The technical paper describe the conformity of the car to the manufacturers specifications which is one of the things they are looking for in the test. It is important therefore that you have paperwork to cover any modifications from that e.g. a fitted tow bar, blacked out windows or a change of wheel size/tyres.

Once you have registered for your test and paid, you wait in a queue for your car to be called forward.

Unlike in the UK where you would normally leave your car for its test and call back later to pick it up, for your ITV you stay with the vehicle. First off, the tester will check your oil. Then he will ask you to operate all the lights, wipers, indicators and horn. The tester will then get in the car to check the emissions at two points on the rev band. He will then move the car to the rolling road to check the brake efficiency (you can see the results for yourself on the monitor). You get back into the car and drive it over a pit where a second technician checks the underside of your vehicle (which again you can see on a TV screen) – that is it. A very slick process that takes about ten minutes or so.

At the end of the test you get a certificate with four categories ranging from favorable to negativa. If the result is favorable you get a sticker for the windscreen that shows when your next test is due. Otherwise you can rectify the fault yourself if it is minor or take the car away and have it repaired if it is “grave”. I’m not use what happens if you car is deemed to be “negativa” because that basically means it is unfit to drive.

On the back of the certificate is a list of items that could be included in the test and on the front is a list of corresponding numbers that were checked along with the results of the emission, brake and noise level tests. There is also a photo of the rear of the vehicle which shows the number plate printed on the sheet.

What you don’t get is a hand written greasy piece of paper like I used to get in the UK. Nor do you get greasy hand prints on the bodywork of the car, dirty floor mats and a greasy steering wheel like I once got in the UK! This is a clean, efficient and transparent process with no hidden surprises at the end.

NB You don't need your insurance payment slip to get an ITV as some web sites suggest and interestingly, you don't need either your ITV or your insurance documents to pay your local car tax. Of course, if you are stopped by the Guardia, you will need the lot!

The earth shook in Torrevieja

An earthquake of 3.1 on the RIchter scale shook the region south of the Vega del Segura and part of the Murcia region yesterday. Its epicentre was off the coast in the area called  Cabo de Palos. The quake was followed by aftershocks which shook tall buildings in Torrevieja.

As José Antonio Vidal, head of Civil Protection in Torrevieja, points out, small quakes like this mean that the tension between the tectonic plates is being released slowly rather than building up to a larger more powerful and potentially devastating quake. Modern buildings are designed to withstand shocks up to 5 with minimal damage.

A great result

The mayor of Bigasto, Raul Valerio Medina has successfully negotiated a new plan with Iberdola to clear last year’s debt for electricity. The council paid 80,000 Euros this week and will pay a further 20,000 Euros each month to pay off the outstanding amount (this will be on top of the normal monthly bill).

Yesterday afternoon, the town hall, the community centre and the auditorium were all reconnected to mains supply so there will be no more flickering lights during performances. The mayor expects the sports centre and the campsite La Pedrera to be reconnected today. 

Now the mayor’s challenge is to face Rosario Bañuls who has taken over from Aurelio Murcia as spokesperson for the opposition PP party. Apparently she continued in the same vein as her predecessor at last night’s meeting when the council voted to legalise the sale of green land in the industrial estate by pointing out that the issue was currently under investigation for a crime against planning.

No doubt Sra Bañuls will be in similar form for tonight’s meeting which was called for by the PP to discuss a range of “outstanding issues”.