Dining with friends

Last night, the ladies from the other adult classes asked us to join them for an end of year meal at La Roma bar in Bigastro.

The tapas there are very good and as it turns out, the bar is owned by the sister of our neighbour Eladia and her husband.

Even better than the food though was the company, these ladies are delightful to be with.

It isn’t always easy to follow their conversations but we mostly get there after maybe a repeat or two. Thank you ladies, Pam and I had a wonderful night.

PS On the menu were: bowls of fried almonds, bowls of crisps, plates of little fish in vinegar with slices of red pepper and olives, Russian salad and seafood salad with breadsticks, potato slices roasted in olive oil with garlic mayonnaise, squid fried in batter and bread rolls filled with black pudding, pork or sausages followed eventually by cake with cream.

Guapas

With beautiful teachers like this, how could you not want to go to classes.

Not only are they stunningly beautiful, our teachers are also truly delightful people. Ana on the right teaches us Spanish and Sandra on the left is in charge of adult classes. After five years of classes, Ana is like a member of our family, we regard her as our Spanish daughter and treat her as such. Sandra comes pretty close!

It is almost holiday time for both of them, Ana is looking forward to being in her beautiful new house in Molins and Sandra will join her husband in France where he is working at the moment.

Pam and I hope they both have wonderful holidays and look forward to seeing them again in Autumn.

PS Actually, I am hoping to see Ana before then because I desperately want to take my camera to the amazing house that she and her husband have designed in Molins.

For those seeking to improve

We all know the poor situation that the country is in as far as employment is concerned. With forty per cent of young people out of work it is time to do something about it. The Government can’t create jobs but they can make the situation better for those who just need to improve their skills to help them find better work in the future. This is what they call “lifelong learning” - when the skills you have become redundant, it is time to re-train for emerging markets. 

To help those who want to progress, the Association of Economic Development and the Ministry of Education in Spain have launched their Classroom Mentor scheme which offers free, open and distance learning via the Internet to those who seek it.

There are more than 100 online courses available in the following categories:
- Health & Education
- Environment
- Introduction to Computers
- Culture and General Education
- Networks & Equipment
- Electronics
- Web Design
- Programming
- Office automation
- Courses of a professional character
- English
- Courses for SMEs
- Internet
- Design and Desktop Publishing
- Audio-visual
To take advantage of this offer, you need to be over 18 years, choose a course and complete the registration process.Then you can study at your own pace from anywhere that has a connection to the Internet. A tutor will be n hand to guide your steps through towards a final examination.

NB All courses are certified by the Ministry of Education.

Find out more at:
The Association of Economic Development of the Vega Baja. (Avenida Libertad, 35 Bigastro)
Tel 966770606 - www.mpevegabaja.com or www.aulamentor.es

We are proud to call Bigastro “our town”

We know there have been and still are a number of Brits that moved here to Bigastro who have found it difficult to settle into their new surroundings. There are very many reasons why life in a small Spanish town just has not worked out for them. In some cases they had to reluctantly give up on their dream of a life in the sun, in others things just were not right for them.

It certainly isn’t easy to fit into a predominantly Spanish, tight knit community especially when you have to try and cope with a different climate, the language, the customs and the bureaucracy, it requires a lot of hard work and patience. It must be especially difficult if you have lived most of your life in the same place and have become entirely familiar with your surroundings and the people around you. I dare say that the same would apply to any bigastrense who tried to settle in an equally strange environment in England.

For Pamela and I there were three strokes of luck that have helped us to “find our feet” here in Bigastro. The first was joining the Spanish for Foreigners class where we got to meet both people in our own class and the ladies from the other classes. That helped us to establish some contact in the town and find out a lot about our new home. It has also allowed us to perform on several occasions for the local children.

Then I started to write this blog with the intention of keeping our friends and relatives informed about what we were up to. It seems that others quickly latched on to what I was writing, both Spaniards and English, and soon I became known to a wider audience. Rather than filling this blog with personal news, I now look further afield for information about what is going on as well.

The third stroke of luck came about because of my interest in photography. I’d taken pictures of events in our daily lives which I posted to my blog. Germán Martín, who looks after the excellent web site for the town, spotted my photos and asked if they could be included in his web site’s photo gallery. At that time there was no official person taking pictures of events in the town, so my pictures proved to be a useful resource.

Pamela and I have also gone out of our way to use local tradespeople and local shops as far as we can rather that go for the easy option of using English speaking companies and shopping in British shops. It was a struggle at first to make ourselves understood but in time that has become easier and has proved to be of great benefit.

We have tried to immerse ourselves into the local culture by going to local fiestas and other occasions. We regularly attend events at the Auditorium –not because we feel it is right to but because they are just so enjoyable. Bigastro and the neighbouring towns and cites have so much to offer by way of culture and entertainment, it would be foolish not to get involved and take advantage.

Others have found their own, equally successful ways to integrate into the life of Bigastro for example, three British couples have already been crowned as “Third Age King and Queen” for the annual fiesta and I am sure there are more to follow. One of our neighbours formed a golf society which has found recognition with the Town Hall and many locals, others formed a seven-a-side football team to challenge the local teams. A couple of residents play in the town band and at least one couple sing in local choirs. I know of two ladies who regularly visit the local hospital to sit with patients. There are probably countless other example which I either cannot recall or am, as yet, unaware of.

In some cases it may simply be a weekly trip to the market that brings them into contact with bigastrense. Whatever way people have found to make Bigastro their home, as long as it keeps them happy then that is fine. It would be so wrong for locals to get the impression that because some have chosen to leave that we are all unhappy with out lot here because that is patently not true. As long as you keep reading this blog, I will try to keep you in touch with the town and its people!

A touch of real class

Yesterday afternoon, we went down to the Auditorium for the Entrega de Notas (presentation of diplomas and reports to you and I).

Our teachers had gone to an awful lot of trouble to set this all up for us. We had a slide show of pictures taken throughout the year of the various classes and the activities we had engaged in, we had speeches by the leader of the Adult Education classes, VIncente from the book shop in Orihuela, the Councillor for Education and five of the students from the classes (including me).

Then we had the presentation of the diplomas and certificates, various students then gave their teachers presents and finally we got to sit down for a mini fiesta.

You can’t see it but the lectern we used was decorated with beautiful fresh flowers -this was a very classy occasion!

	The new Councillor for Education, Aurelio Murcia was invited to attend. In his speech, he spoke of the importance of the adult education programme and made a commitment from the Town Hall to carry it on next year. We were all delighted that Aurelio found the time to attend and even stayed to join us in our mini fiesta – it was a gesture much appreciated by all. Now that he knows I attend Spanish lessons, Aurelio has said that our conversations in future will be in his native tongue!

We would like to thank our teachers, Sandra, Ana and Eduardo for all their efforts throughout the year and for making presentation so special for us. We would also like to thank the Ayuntamiento for making all this possible. The various classes that we attend are of great importance to all of us, they make our lives richer and help us to integrate better into the community we live in.

A turn up for the books

Saturday’s election for the mayor in Bigastro brought no surprises, in Orihuela though things were very different. The situation in the city was that the previous Mayor, Monica Lorente PP had 12 seats and the opposition parties of CLR-Claro, PSOE and Los Verdes, had 13 between them, enough to take the majority.

Clearly some sort of pact needed to be formed to gain an overall majority. The PP needed to persuade just one opposition party to join its cause to maintain its 25 year hold on the municipality. On the other side of the fence, reports of a possible three-way opposition pact were confirmed and negotiations began. With six seats, PSOE candidate Antonia Moreno was favourite to be the Mayoral candidate with Pedro Mancebo CLR-Claro a strong contender. However, Friday brought reports of the pact failing after the parties failed to reach an agreement.

Given this background, what actually happened at the pleno meeting was truly amazing. The Los Verdes candidate, Monserrate Guillen, pulled off one of the biggest surprises when he was voted into the Mayoral office by PSOE and CLR-Claro party. Not only does this end the 25 year reign by the Partido Popular but it also put into office the candidate that had the least votes and fewest seats awarded – just three - in the election.

It also appears that the drama will not end there as thwarted PP candidate Monica Lorente has hinted at a Motion Censure – where a councillor or party may change allegiance – may be on the cards. If this happens the balance of power and the role of mayor would revert back to Monica Lorente and the PP, so it’s still a case of watch this space.

In another surprise, the Valencia High Court suspended the investiture vote in Torrevieja, after the electoral results there were challenged by Izquierda Unida. The results gave an absolute majority to the PP candidate, Eduardo Dolón, and he is expected to be invested at the beginning of July.

The young ones

Friday, June 17th at 7pm

Choral Concert  & Festival for the End of the Year

Younger pupils from the Musical Union Choir in concert along with students celebrating the end of their courses.

Sunday, June 19th at 7pm

Youth Bands

Two groups  of younger students from the  music associations  in Bigastro  and San Fulgencio provide a concert for us.

Good day sunshine

	That’s more like it, sunshine every day and not a drop of rain to spoil things.
	Please excuse me, I need to clean the pool!

A night of firsts

Last night we went down to the Auditorium for the concert in aid of the people of Lorca. It was the first concert where Charo Bañuls was present as the lady mayor of the town. It was also the first time that our neighbour Pepe got to present a visiting band with a commemorative plaque since becoming President of the band.

Coincidentally, it was the first time Pam and I have seen the Torrievieja band and what a band they are. They tackle the most difficult pieces of music with aplomb. Slow passages, crescendos, solo performances – this band has got the lot! They also have a very full sound which I think comes from the careful balance of instruments in the band. I must mention the soloist on flute because he was possibly the star performer.

Following the Torrevieja band, we had our very own band from Bigastro. Their programme was perhaps easier to listen to but equally good. I particularly enjoyed their performance of the Spanish Fiesta by Michael Sweeney.

See the rest of my photos here.

The investiture

	The investiture of the new mayor of Bigastro took place on Saturday. I imagine that Rosario Bañuls Rodríguez must be feeling very proud, excited and perhaps a little nervous about the job she has taken on.

Of all the pictures, I particularly like the one of Raúl, the previous mayor congratulating the new lady mayor by touching her arm - it shows the character of a man, gracious in defeat. Congratulations again to all those who were elected, you have a tough job ahead of you!

Winners and losers

Our hearty congratulations go to Charo Bañuls upon being elected Mayor of Bigastro. I must confess, I know very little about the lady as yet; I will have to put that right since it is likely that I will be writing a few lines about her on this blog over the next four years!

For Bigastro, this is a step into the unknown since the town has been under control of the socialists for 28 years. Over the term of this mandate we will find out whether this has been a change for the better or for the worse – hopefully the former (oops got that wrong first time).

At the same time our commiserations go to Raúl Valerio Medina who took over at a time when things were at a very low point both politically and economically.

In my opinion, Valerio’s downfall at the election was not entirely of his own doing because I believe that he succeeded a mayor and a party that had been in power for too long. My feeling is that Valerio, in spite of his best efforts, stood in Moya’s shadow for a long time and possibly still does.

Although no case as yet has been proven against him, I am convinced that the mere suggestions of scandal were enough to taint people’s opinions of Sr Moya and the Socialist party. All credit is due to Valerio in this respect because it took a brave man to try and pull the town out of the mire it had sunk into.

Valerio would probably argue that, given more time, the problems could have been sorted out but the truth is that he was a part of the administration that created the problems. And so the poised chalice has been passed onto someone else, we shall see what they can do.

Viva San Antonio

Last night we went to watch our teacher Ana in the parade of comparsas at Molins.

Molins may be just a pedania, (more like a village than a town) but they certainly push the boat out when it comes to their annual fiesta.

See the rest of my photos here.

Ana as a Madrilena	A smile for the camera
Ana with her friends from the comparsa	Ana’s son Angel
Ana with her niece Africa	Ana’s husband, Angel with Africa

Enough to make your skin crawl

As we were about to go to bed last night, Pamela noticed loads of insects on the kitchen window. We’d left the shutters open and the light through the window had obviously attracted them.

I quickly went outside with a can of insecticide which I liberally sprayed everywhere that I could see them; on the walls, by the windows, on the paving ugh it was disgusting the number of these insects that were about.

They are or should I say were flying ants brought out by the combination of hot weather and a drop of rain.

There is a bit of a clear up job to be done today!

PS As you can see, I also managed to kill one of those horrible black beetles.

Dawn of a new era

Finally, the PP and the UPLC signed their pact yesterday at the new headquarters of the PP (next door to the hairdressers that Pam and I go to).

That means that today, Charo Bañuls should be elected as mayor of Bigastro ending 28 years of socialist rule in the town. This will be a double honour because she will be both the town’s first non-socialist and its first lady mayor.

Addressing the media, Bañuls said that a change in the town was both necessary and urgent adding that it could only be realized through the covenant that the two parties have made. She went on to say said that there was an affinity between the programs of the two parties but stressed that what united them most was the desire to work for Bigastro and take the town out of its current bankrupt state.

Charo Bañuls, a graduate in law, admits that this will be a difficult challenge and said that the coalition will start by controlling spending and working on debt reduction and added that this will necessitate a project based on austerity and efficiency in administration and especially transparency. The PP and UPLC want to end the lack of control over the economy, the debts, the defaults, the informality, the cronyism and favouritism which they say the town has suffered from under the socialists.

As a starting point they will commission an audit of the finances of Bigastro going back over 10 years to reveal the true position of the town. From there, they will be able to draw up more concrete plans of how the savings can be made.

The jobs will be divided between the two parties; Bañuls will be Mayor, Sonia Belmont will be deputy, the PP councillors will be responsible for Finance, Employment, Social Affairs, Sports and Youth leaving the two members of the UPLC to take responsibility for Planning, Works, Services, Education, Maintenance and festivities with Aurelio Murcia as their spokesperson.

Paella more popular than a pork pie– unthinkable!

Fashion in food is just as fickle as it is in clothing. When I grew up in Yorkshire, there was no such thing as foreign restaurants. All you could find was British cuisine with maybe a touch of French at the posher end of the market. Then gradually foreign restaurants started to appear. At first it was the Chinese and Indian restaurants where you would go to after a Saturday night at the pub. They were not the sort of place you would take a girlfriend though on a serious date. Things are very different these days, restaurants that sell just British food are in the minority and are almost unfashionable; you'd hardly take a girl to Harry Ramsden's for a first date would you?

How did this all happen?

As we started to venture abroad more for our holidays, so the taste for foreign food grew. Surprisingly, even though Spain was and still is a favourite destination for Brits, Spanish food did not seem to get a look in. That was probably because we did all we could to avoid the native cuisine on our visits to the country. We might have tried paella, but certainly not the more challenging dishes, such as octopus tentacles drowned in oil, or the bright red chorizo sausage. Hotels and restaurants knew this and catered for our British tastes by serving “international cuisine”.

Now though things are different and the Spanish invasion in Britain is gathering pace. Several supermarkets report that paella, tapas and chorizo are outselling Italian favourites such as lasagne and prosciutto. Asda says that sales of chorizo (as slices and sausages) are up 21 per cent on last year, with Parma ham up only 8 per cent; Tesco reports that Manchego cheese is growing each year by 9 per cent, while Parmesan plods at 1 per cent. At M&S, paella is now more popular than lasagne – not to mention British pies.

Ever so slowly, Spanish food culture crept into the British way of life. It began with tapas, little tastes of foods that did not challenge. Like babies, Brits were gently weaned on to patatas bravas and delicious ham and cheese croquetas. Moving on, boquerones fritas were similar to fried whitebait and actually calamares a la romana were not that bad really.

Tapas bars fit neatly into the lives of those who are strapped for time and cash, sitting somewhere between fast food and a three-course dinner. They also serve a healthier purpose than a pure drinking den, where five pints are downed over the evening with nothing but a packet of Golden Wonder crisps to soak it up. The British have – thanks to the Spanish – finally learnt to eat when they drink.

Impossible marriages

Three parties were involved in the elections in Bigastro; the Socialistas, the PP (conservatives) and the Unión Popular Liberal y Centrista ( right wing liberals) and none of them won enough seats to hold an overall majority. That meant two of the three parties would have to form some sort of pact if they wanted to take full control of the town.

Normally it would be almost inconceivable that the socialists and the conservatives, who are after all at opposite ends of the political spectrum, could ever work together but in local politics you never know. The most likely pacts would have to be between one of the two main parties and the liberals at the centre.

We know from reports of many council meetings that there is no love lost between Murcia and the Socialists. He is the one largely responsible for the former mayor and in some cases the current mayor appearing in court, so a pact with them would be almost beyond belief.

Murcia was spokesperson for the PP up to a month or so before the election when they voted him out and he lost his seat at council so there is possibly not a lot of love between him and them as well. However, politically Murcia is a lot closer to the conservatives than the socialists. So if any deals were to be made, those two were going to be the most likely candidates in spite of the fact that the PP said in their campaign that they would not form a pact with Murcia. However, as we all know, politician's promises only last as long as Spanish bread.

In the newspapers today we read that, Raúl Valerio Medina, acting mayor and PSOE candidate for mayor of Bigastro said that Charo Bañuls, PP candidate "has been kidnapped by her party" and has refused to establish any discussions with his party to establish governance of the town.

Valerio Medina talked yesterday about the negotiations that have taken place regarding the formation of the new corporation. He pointed out that we need to bear in mind that the Socialists actually won the election - in case anyone has forgotten - with a relative majority of 6 councillors against the PP’s 5. The third party led by Aurelio Murcia have 2 councillors.

Valerio is of course aware that negotiations between the PP and Murcia are almost at a conclusion and that they are close to an agreement. The acting mayor went on to explain that he had approval from his party to enter into negotiations with the PP and has tried unsuccessfully to make contact with Charo Bañuls since the 23rd May.

At first Bañuls showed interest, but the meetings did not materialize including the one scheduled for last Friday. Valerio therefore claims that ""Charo Bañuls has been kidnapped by her party" and adds that she has refused to talk to the PSOE saying that a pact between them would not work. He goes on to say that the PP are putting the interests of the political party over the needs of Bigastro.

Talking about other options, Valerio said that the PSOE did reluctantly have a meeting with Aurelio Murcia for the Unión Popular Liberal y Centrista party which they knew in advance would come to nothing. Valerio says that it is an impossible love between them - that is probably an understatement!

The acting mayor is now pinning his hopes on the PP councillors voting with their consciences; the ballot for mayor will after all made in secret. As he says, even after Saturday, there is a possibility that councillors representing 80% of the town will be able to win over those representing only 50%.

Close but not final

Aurelio Muricia’s new party and the PP are now in the final stages of making an agreement to take over running Bigastro with Charo Bañuls as mayor and Aurelio as deputy. The ex member of the PP says that there is broad agreement on the main principles, it is just the detail that needs to be clarified.

He goes on to say that a pact with the socialists is far less likely but adds that in politics things can change in a minute. It is therefore still very much a waiting game to find out what will happen on the 10th.

Talking of debts

Debt to the banks is something that towns and cities in the Vega Baja have come to live with since the financial crisis took hold and the construction boom ended. The amount of debt varies according to how each town has managed their finances: the average for the region stands at 325 Euros per resident.

The town with the largest debt per inhabitant is Daya Vieja. With a population of only 700, the town has a debt of 823,000 Euros which represents 1,182 Euros per person. Next comes Bigastro with a debt of 5.7 million Euros. With a population of 6,757 residents that equates to 844 Euros per person. Dolores follows this with a population of 8,000 and a debt of 5.2 million Euros.

Of course the largest debts are in the cities like Torrevieja which owes 65 million Euros to the banks. With a population of over 100,000 though that represents 650 Euros per capita. Other figures include Orihuela with a debt of 42 million, Pilar de la Horadada – 12.3 million, Guadamar del Segura – 12 million, Callosa de Segura- 10 million and Almoradí - 6.4 million euros. The good guys are Granja de Rocamora and Formentara both of which owe nothing to the bank.

Just why do these towns owe so much to the banks?

From my limited understanding the answer is that during the boom years they borrowed money to finance ambitious projects that they can no longer afford. To try and balance the books, a number of municipalities, including Bigastro, then sold off council land, in many cases at knockdown prices. Of course you can only sell land once, when that money has gone, then there is nothing left.

At the same time that they were undertaking building projects, many towns also increased the services they provided and took on new employees accordingly.

Once the construction boom came to a halt, the income from licenses dried up. The only recourse then was for towns to increase local taxes but there is a limit set by law on the level that they can charge. Here in Bigastro I believe we pay the maximum allowable for both our houses and our cars added to which we pay highly for collection of rubbish and for child care at the local nursery school.

Towns now have very limited options for trying to balance their accounts let alone pay off the huge debts they owe. In Bigastro, for example, the town defaulted on the payment plan it had agreed with Iberdrola to clear its debt for electricity. The result was that Iberdrola cut the supply to four of the public buildings. So clearly that was one area where a saving could not me made. There was talk of cutting the council workforce by offering early retirement which would bring a huge saving but as yet that has not been implemented. I recall reading that the council owed salaries to its workers before Christmas, whether that is still the case I could not say.To not pay council workers is one way to save money in the short term but is hardly an honest one.

A problem for the new council to sort out

Parents of children at the nursery school, Bigastrin have been given a circular informing them that monthly fees will be reduced by 20 Euros. They currently pay 110 Euros, the highest rates for child care in the area and have done so since 2007. The council wanted to raise the rate further but the Courts ruled that the report that was submitted did not justify the fees charged.

As I understand it, the council now has three options; return the extra money that has been paid since 2007, reduce the rate for now and submit a new ordinance to justify the increase or to leave the rate as it is and make an appeal against the decision.

PS Just to put this into perspective, our youngest daughter and her fiancé pay £40 (44.68 Euros) per day to a nursery in Sale to look after our granddaughter Molly.  That equates to over 893 Euros per month.

The 10th June looms close

Apparently the Partido Popular and the Popular Liberal and Centrist Union are at least a step closer to reaching an agreement which will allow them to take over the running of Bigastro. The two parties held meetings on Friday and again on Monday to thrash out the details.

Charo Bañuls, for the PP, says that negotiations have not been easy but that a pact between the two parties is more possible than impossible. She goes on to say that, although informal contact has been maintained with the acting mayor, a pact with the Socialists was out of the question. On the other hand, the socialists say that Bañuls had a meeting with them last Friday.

We have to remember that we are dealing with politicians here. I suppose it should come as no surprise to find that what exactly is going on is not 100% clear!

Music for your ears

	Saturday, June 11th at 7pm Flute Recital Raquel Diaz and Pilar Sáez, two young flutists who started playing in the Bigastro School of Music.
	Sunday, June 12th at 7pm Music for Lorca The Unión Musical de Bigastro and the Unión Musical Torrevejense present a concert entitled "Music with Lorca." This is to help the earthquake victims in Lorca. Tickets cost 2 Euros - the proceeds will be given to Red Cross.

Called to testify

The former mayor of Bigastro, José Joaquín Moya and the acting mayor, Raúl Valerio Lorente Medina have been called to appear in court on the 17th June to answer allegations made against the former mayor regarding misappropriation of public funds.

According to the indictment, Moya withdrew between 375,000 and 700,000 Euros from the municipal accounts over a five year period without justification.The notes were signed by the secretary, the treasurer and the mayor. Valerio Medina was the town’s treasurer from June 2007 until late 2008.

Following this case, there are three more to be dealt with in what has been described as “Operation Bigastro”. 

Need a slice–open a can

A gin and tonic is not complete without a slice of lemon, nor is a glass of Coke - even a glass of water benefits from a slice. The problem is that, when you have cut a slice from your lemon, what do you do with the rest? Usually it gets thrown away. That is not a problem in an area where lemons are plentiful and cheap but in northern European countries where lemons are more expensive it represents a great waste.

Luna Citric, a company based in Navarra, have come up with the perfect solution which is to can the lemon slices. Each can holds 18 slices, all perfectly preserved with the full flavour of the fruit. You take what you need and then leave the rest in the can until you need some more.

Following the success of the product, the company have now decided to open a facility in the Vega Baja where the lemons are grown. They already produce 2,400 kilograms of preserved fruit and now plan to shift 300 tons of locally grown lemons next year which they say will increase their business by 5 million Euros annually. They will also provide much needed job opportunities in the area so it is win win all round.

So how was the concert in Manchester?

Well, Take That were apparently amazing and the appearance of Robbie Williams was just the icing on the cake. The stage was stupendous - almost too much to take in from the middle of the ground where Pamela and the girls stood. Still they had the video screens to watch and the atmosphere was electric.

What did spoil things a little was the weather. For the Friday night concert, the sky was clear and the temperatures mild but for Saturday there was some light rain and it was a little colder. Even that did not spoil the experience as much as the journey back to Sale. Buses had been laid on to take concert goers back into the city centre but the system of loading them was chaotic. To make matters worse, when the group got back to Piccadilly there had been an incident involving a man on the tracks which meant delays with the trams. It was about 2am when the girls finally got to rest their heads on their pillows.

All in all, I think waiting for the DVD of the concert to come out was a wise choice for Dave and I to make.

Salad days

It is entirely understandable that people should show extreme caution in what they eat following the outbreak of cases of E coli in Europe. The death toll in Germany has risen to 22 and there are 2,200 reported cases. Hospitals in the country are stretched to the limit, they are considering bringing doctors out of retirement and nurses are being recruited from southern Germany to try and cope with the problem in the north. Over crowded hospitals filled with patients suffering from diarrhoea does not sound good. Even if you weren’t that ill when admitted, the chances are you would be after a few days stay.

The problems that this scare has created throughout the whole of Europe are immense. Supermarkets are reporting a huge drop in sales of all salad crops and not just cucumbers that were first suspected as carriers of the bacteria. Growers throughout the continent are having to throw away all manner of vegetables which are picked and ready for transportation. In this area of Spain the cucumbers have finished, it is the red peppers that are now being shunned by buyers. Has anybody actually mentioned red peppers as a possible carrier of the bacteria?

Ironically, agricultural officials in Germany are now saying that bean sprouts grown in one organic farm between Hamburg and Hanover are the likely cause of the illness. If that is true, then millions of Euros worth of salad crops have been wasted for nothing and all because someone wrongfully pointed the finger at Spanish cucumbers in the first place. They were right to be cautious but wrong to create such widespread panic before they were a little clearer in their facts.

The real culprit though is the system that spread the misinformation to the public. Such is the power and speed of communications these day, that the mere suggestion of a possible source of the problem was enough to scare people of eating anything that could remotely cause them to contact the deadly bacteria. Now that the damage is done, it will be very hard to repair. People will not go back to eating salads again until they are absolutely sure of their safety but by then there may be very few cheap salad crops available to them.

I’m sorry but the cucumbers that you now want for sandwiches at afternoon tea are all in a skip somewhere in Almeria!

Welcome back Pamela

	When it say sit will rain on Tuesday, I hope that means just as shower and not rain all day like we had last Thursday. Pam will have a case full of washing to do and she needs a dry day for that.
	Nice to see the steady progress of temperatures rising to wards the high twenties.

Rumours abound

Spanish papers have show great concern about the health of the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I de Borbón over the last year or so. Last May he was admitted to the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona for surgery to remove a growth from a lung - fortunately it proved to be benign. Sadly though, it meant that he had to give up his favourite Havana cigars.

Recently, the King has been seen sporting a dishevelled beard and walking with a cane. He also had discolouring around his eyes which lead to speculation that he was suffering from haematomas – that has now been denied. The red spots on his face have been attributed to over exposure to the sun.

The 73 year old monarch has now had an operation to replace his right knee joint. This was done to alleviate pain caused by old sporting injuries that he suffered during his younger days as a keen skier and sailor.

Apparently he is feeling well and should be out of hospital within a day. In the meantime, Crown Prince Felipe seems to be shouldering more of the responsibility of official engagements. That does not indicate that the King is ready to step down. As Queen Sofia clearly told her biographer Pilar Urbano in a recent interview.'To abdicate? Never! The king will never abdicate ... Only death can make a king retire'.

Want a new motor?

Then head over to Almoradí where they are holding the 9th edition of their used car show. Eight garages are exhibiting around 400 used cars which are all for sale. Better get there quick though because they are expecting 10,000 visitors over the weekend and the best of the  bargain will, as always, go first. 

Pepe strikes again

My neighbour Pepe was recently elected President of the local band and now he has something else to celebrate because the team from his school came third amongst the Spanish entry in the Shell Eco-Marathon race held in Lausitz, Germany.

Pepe teaches motor mechanics at the Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria (IES) El Palmeral in Orihuela where the students built the car which runs on ethanol. The car was designed to travel 300 kilometres on one litre of the fuel. At the competition in Germany, it managed an incredible 311 kilometres. It makes you wonder what the first team achieved.

Pepe is pictured second from the right in the yellow jacket.

It is ironic

Pamela flew to Manchester on Tuesday to spend some time with our granddaughter Molly, to visit her father and mainly to go to the Take That/Robbie Williams concert on Saturday at Manchester City’s Eastlands ground.

Since she has been there, the weather has been kind to her. Pam has enjoyed temperatures of 24 degrees and seen plenty of sunshine most days. Today is forecast to be sunny with clear skies at night. For the day of the concert it should be mostly sunny during the daytime, clouding over at night but still mild.

From there on though, the weather in Manchester is forecast go downhill with a return of heavy cloud, some rain and temperatures of 13 during the daytime. Pamela flies back to Spain on Monday when rain is expected in Manchester for most of the day.

In the meantime, in Bigastro the weather has changed dramatically from the heat wave we experienced last week. There has been a lot more cloud about and temperatures have dropped considerably.

The culprit is that anticyclone centred over the Balearic Islands (glad I’m not on holiday there this week) which is keeping most of Spain and northern Europe clear.

Before Pamela left for the UK, we were using the air conditioning units during the evening and sleeping with the fan on in the bedroom. Now, I’ve had to turn the fans off because they were making me feel cold! In comparison to Manchester, daytime temperatures of 25 might seem to be good but it just doesn’t feel that way!

Ironically, after a weekend when the forecast is for cloudy weather, Monday should be the best day we have had over the last seven with mostly blue skies and a daytime temperature of 27. However, we’d best make the most of it because on Tuesday we could have a thunderstorm and by Thursday temperatures could plummet to an unbelievable 20 degrees. We are close to the middle of June for God’s sake, we should be in shorts and T-shirts from now through to late October.

Pam usually says how good it is to be back home in the warm sunshine when she returns from her trips to Manchester. She won’t be saying that this time!

One down

In one of five cases filed against the former mayor of Bigastro, José Joaquín Moya, was accused of using municipal and personnel to help build a rural hotel next to his house in Vistabella.

The judge has now said that no offence was committed by the former mayor who has always maintained that the municipal workers came to work for him out of friendship outside normal working hours.

Not long to wait now

The mayor of Bigastro, Raúl Valerio Medina (PSOE) says: "I'm working, as I believe it is my duty, to prepare the minority government" but has also said he is willing "to work for my people, even if it be from the opposition."

As it happens, Maria Rosario Bañuls (PP) and the Popular Liberal and Centrist Union of Aurelio Murcia are at a very advanced stage in their negotiations to take over the City Hall in Bigastro. By June 10th we will know the final outcome of their discussions and just who will be running the town for the next four years.

C’mon girls

Saturday, 7pm at the Camp El Molino will be a testing time for the ladies of the Bigastro Football Club. This is the last match of the season against the ladies from Villajoyosa  and Bigastro need at least a draw to move them up to the 1st regional division.

I’m sure they will get the support needed to help them do well. 

Spain may not be to blame

You notice how quickly Germany blamed Spain by saying the country was exporting contaminated organic cucumbers?

Now authorities in Hamburg agree that Spain may not be to blame after all. Tests on two cucumbers imported from Spain showed the enterohamorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) bacteria was present, but not the strain responsible for the current massive contamination that has led to 16 deaths in Germany and one in Sweden. More than 1,200 people have been taken ill in Germany alone with cases also reported in Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Spain and Switzerland. All of the cases are outside of Germany are related to people who have travelled to the country in the last weeks. 

The damage is now done as countries throughout Europe cleared Spanish salad crops from their shelves. The ban is estimated to have cost Spain 200 million Euros a week.

Standards of decorum

I remember years ago taking a school party to Lido di Jeselo - as part of the trip we visited Venice for the day. Many of the girls turned up for the visit wearing shorts and bikini tops and could not understand why I thought that was inappropriate. I believed then and still believe now that there are standards for dress that people should observe instinctively. If you don’t see local men wandering around bare chested and local women in bikinis in places like Venice – that should be a clear clue to how you should dress.

It seems that they feel the same way in Barcelona because last year they put up signs to try and encourage visitors to dress appropriately anywhere but on the beach or the surrounding streets. This year they have gone one step further by passing a by law prohibiting women from going round in bikinis and bare chested men in the city streets. Local police are to issue on the spot fines of between 120 and 300 Euros for semi nudity and 300 to 500 Euros for those that bare all anywhere but on designated nudist beaches. The rule is simple - when your on the beach take your clothes off, otherwise keep them on!

Next Sunday

On Sunday, June 5th at 7pm

Listening to learners concert by the Musical Union of Bigastro.

Students from the School of Music will demonstrate their musical progress.

Still a bit of cloud about

	There is a chance for a drop of rain which is not surprising when you consider how humid it was yesterday. It has been a little cooler at night though making sleeping easier.
	Friends from England came to visit us on Saturday. He’d been outside with his shirt off on an overcast day and spent most of his time in the shade. His chest was still red which just goes to show how powerful the sun can be even on a cloudy day.

The legendary Frank Evans

Frank Evans describes himself as the last British bullfighter. If that was all that Frank had done in his life, it would be quite remarkable but there is more to him than that – read on….. 

Frank Evans first heard enthusiastic tales about bulls from his father, Ralph, who was stationed in Gibraltar during the Second World War, and made visits to bullrings over the border in Spain. Frank later became friendly with a neighbouring Spanish family in Salford, and from them he heard intriguing stories about Manuel Benítez "El Cordobés"; when he was 20 they invited him to a family wedding in Granada, where he developed his love of Spain further - and at last got to see a bullfight for himself.

Frank worked in his father’s butcher business, and played rugby, both league and union, at a high competitive level (for Sale and Salford), before dropping everything and going to Majorca to rendezvous with English bullfighter Vincent Hitchcock, and learn from him how to fight bulls. Hitchcock didn't turn up. Moving to Valencia, Frank joined a school for hopeful bullfighters, and eventually got to face a real animal in a village fiesta - which turned into a farce - before returning to England, and back to work as a driving instructor. There he got in touch with George Erik, founder of the Club Taurino of London, who agreed to act as his manager in Spain. His first contract was a case of mistaken identity: he was known locally as "El Inglés", and despite never having killed a bull, he was signed up for a fight in France which should have been given to the other "El Inglés" - Henry Higgins, already an established bullfighter.

Marriage and raising a family brought Frank back to Salford, and he found himself in business with the legendary Manchester United footballer, George Best. Frank was given work running the boutiques and nightclubs empire, and thus had to deal with the eccentricities of Mr. Best. Frank then got into boxing promotion, which also led to some colourful adventures, and then bizarrely, he set up a bedroom and bathroom fitting service.

When his father Ralph died prematurely of a heart attack, Frank took a long hard look at himself, and realised that what he really wanted to do was to get back to the bulls. He was fortunate to team up with professional matador Vicente Ruiz "El Soro", who was impressed by what he could learn from Frank's rugby and boxing training methods. The association benefited Frank too, and he finally started to get contracts, and rubbed shoulders with important contacts in the world of bulls.

This period culminated in Frank being upgraded to full matador, but the downside was that there were no contracts offered as a matador. This broke suddenly when a far-sighted impresario offered him corridas in the Costa del Sol plaza of Benalmadena; he could see that an English bullfighter would be a draw for tourists. Then South America called, with contracts in Venezuela and Mexico, and France too; Benalmadena continued to offer opportunities; Frank finally realised that he was being taken seriously, and he watched his name creep up the matador charts.

Serious health problems caught up with Frank; first his knee, and then his heart, and both required major surgery. After a full recovery, he felt better than ever, and planned his comeback. With other partners he became involved in a management and promotion business, and although he is officially retired, he has appeared in several festivals, with a fair degree of success. Frank speculates that until another one comes along, he may well prove to be the last British bullfighter. He has achieved the impossible, and it wasn't easy. At the end of August 2009 he made a successful comeback appearance, and announced his intention of carrying on fighting bulls thus: "I'm not going to retire. I'll just fade away in the distance; I'll do it as long as I enjoy doing it. I can't say how fit I'll feel in my seventies."

They even took the goal net

They say that football is a game of two halves – last night’s Champions League final proved to be just that. The only difference being that the first half lasted less than ten minutes. That was the time when Manchester United looked as though they could possibly win this game and get their revenge for defeat in the Rome final two years ago.

After ten minutes the relentless Barcelona machine had warmed up and from then on they outclassed their opponents in every way. They began with short passes in the midfield which kept United waiting for the return of the ball. Then they started penetrating deep into United’s backfield. After 27 minutes the inevitable happened and Pedro scored. United's defenders just stood there in amazement as if they could not believe what had just happened. To be fair, United did then come back into the game when Rooney scored a clever little goal taking them into the dressing room as equals. However even that was a goal that should have been disallowed because Giggs was clearly offside.

After half time, Barcelona came out looking even more determined and proceeded to make United look like they had no business to be there. Only Rooney seemed to be able to keep the ball for more than a few seconds before being closed down upon. One man against the might of Messi, Iniesto, Xavi and co proved to be an unequal match.

The two goals that followed sealed the result and gave Barcelona a well deserved fourth Champions League victory. They celebrated by cutting down the goal net!

Take That

We were setting off for a camping holiday to France the next day when our eldest daughter Jemma heard out that Take That were going to be in Chester to sign autographs. She wanted me to take her in the car but I was busy loading it up ready for the trip so she went on the bus instead. Jemma arrived just too late to get her autographs but she did see them and managed somehow to appear on the video. I’ve felt bad about that ever since because I’d let my daughter down. On reflection, the couple of hours it would have taken would not have made a huge difference to my schedule. Take That were after all her favourite band.

Now we jump forward to 2011 and for the sake of those who haven’t heard or don’t care, Take That are currently touring with Robbie Williams. This will be the first time they have sung together on tour since 1995 when the band split or to be correct when Williams was sacked.

A mind-boggling 1.76 million people will see the 27 UK dates, eight of them at Wembley Stadium (breaking the record seven set by Michael Jackson's Bad tour).

Getting hold of a ticket must have been like finding gold in your back garden because 1.34 million of those tickets were snapped up within 24 hours of going on sale, more than doubling Take That's own record, set on 2008's Circus tour. However, our girls know how to achieve the impossible and managed to get six tickets for one of the Manchester dates and so they will be there along with some of their friends, one of whom has flown from Hong Kong especially for the show. They even have a ticket for my wife Pamela who will be flying to Manchester next week and have bought her one of those folding seats so she doesn't have to stand for hours before the show starts.

I don’t think Pam and the girls will be disappointed, this tour involves 238 trucks, six weeks of rehearsals, a rumoured £15m budget and the Pet Shop Boys as the support band, whose scaled-down yet typically classy performance has been described as a bit like getting Michelangelo in to do the kitchen ceiling. There will be explosions of ticker tape, elevating platforms, glowing stages, ghost-like dancers wielding flaming torches, dancing trees, roller-skating bees, even a giant caterpillar and Robbie Williams being carried aloft on a glass chariot.

Nobody knows how long the reunion will last. Even though they sing, “Back for Good”, this may be the last time to see the five together on stage again. More important, it may be the only chance for Pam to see Robbie Williams and Take That live – she will love it.

Ready for the summer

There are now eight blue flag beaches along the coast at Orihuela, one more than last year. The beaches are at Playa Flamenca, Cala Capitan, Cabo Roig, Campoamor, Barranco Rubio and the Marina at Cabo Roig.

All along the coast here, the beaches are well kept making it hard to choose one that is better than the others. It all depends whether you want a long stretch of sand or a quiet cove, whether you want easy access and facilities close to hand or are prepared to walk a little way to find somewhere more secluded.

He was right

I originally thought that the plastic birds that my neighbour suggested to keep the real birds away from the air conditioning unit were not working but I was wrong. Within a couple of days, even before I had a chance to put up some reflective tape, the birds were gone. By that I mean there is no sign of bird muck anywhere on the paving by the back door.

That is a great result and at 3 Euros for the three birds from Carrefour, a cheap one at that.

I like it

I always like to read reports of criminal gangs being caught by the police. It is comforting to know that, even if it takes time, justice prevails in the end.

Today I read a report which said that the Guardia Civil have apprehended an organized criminal gang operating in the Vega Baja and Murcia. The gang of three Algerians are guilty of robbing petrol stations, bars, town houses, rural houses , pedestrians in the street and vehicles.

Investigations began in November 2010, when the police first detected crimes that could be attributed to this gang. They started with robberies at petrol stations in, San Bartolomé, Albatera, San Miguel de Salinas and Los Calzones Abanilla (Murcia).

Police knew the robberies were related because in each case the gang used weapons and covered their faces with ski masks. They also connected these incidents with robberies of two women in Rojales and San Isidro, plus another attempted robbery at a bar in Formentera del Segura

The Civil Guard also believes the gang to be responsible for a dozen other robberies in homes and local hostelries in Jacarilla, San Miguel de Salinas, Bigastro and Crevillent and the theft of ten vehicles in other towns.

As part of investigation officers have detained four others (three Spanish nationals and one Colombian) whom they allege were guilty of receiving goods from the criminal group. They found found several televisions, audio-visual equipment, mobile telephones and decorative items believed to have come from the thefts.

No decision has been made yet

Apart from the possibility of the socialists governing as a minority under a non aggression pact with the other two parties, there are three options open for Bigastro: the PP join with the Socialists, the new Liberal Centrist party works together with the Socialists or the PP and Liberals form a pact. Both the PP and the Liberal Centrists say they are keen to end socialist rule in the town but to do so they have to come to an agreement.

The problem is that the members of the PP have been divided into three factions. First we have Charo Bañuls and the councillors managed by the provincial leadership, then then we have the local president, José Antonio Ricart, the Secretary General, Jose Manuel Sanchez and most of the local board and finally, the members of the party remaining loyal to the controversial style of Aurelio Murcia.

In her first appearance on television since the elections, Charo Bañuls along with the local coordinator, held a press conference yesterday to make the situation clear. As far as she is concerned, the only people authorized to negotiate a pact with the Centrist Liberal People's Union are the members of the candidature supported by the provincial leadership. In other words she will not countenance any back room deals made in smoke filled corridors.

There is still a lot of talking to take place before this matter is finally settled.

Bag yourselves a bargain

The Association of Relatives of Alzheimer "Remember me" in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare have organized a Flea Market for Sunday, June 5th in the Parque Huerto del Cura. Hours: 9.00am to 2pm.

A great chance to pick up a bargain and  at the same time benefit this very worthwhile Bigastro charity.

PS For the benefit of my Spanish readers, they will not be selling fleas, at least I hope not!  It is the name that we give to a rastro in English!

Did someone turn the thermostat up?

The weather was getting better in fits and starts and then suddenly, it got hot. The temperature today is 32-33 degrees centigrade which is a bit of a climb from the mid twenties we were getting used to.

The good news is that it will get cooler towards the weekend when temperatures should return to something more normal for May. The bad news is that will still be very warm at night making sleeping a little more difficult.

A cloud over travel plans

After the major disruption that the last volcano in Iceland caused for travellers to and from the UK, we did wonder what would be the effect of the second erupting volcano.

Thankfully, the ash cloud from the second volcano left British airspace early on Wednesday morning according to Nats, the air traffic controller, and it is now in place over northern Germany.

Philip Hammond, the transport secretary, said after a meeting of Cobra, the Government's emergency planning committee, yesterday that he was "cautiously optimistic" the worst disruption was over.

He also described as "irresponsible" remarks by Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary that the Civil Aviation Authority should allow flights in Scotland, after the Irish carrier sent a test plane into Scottish airspace to test ash levels.

Mr O'Leary said the plane had not encountered any ash, but Mr Hammond said the Ryanair test flight had not passed through any high-density ash areas.

A Met Office spokesman said on Wednesday morning concentrations of ash would "reduce significantly" over the next 12 to 24 hours.

However, much of the UK could be affected by the ash cloud on Friday if the volcano continued to erupt at "current levels", he added.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, said British Airways, which forms part of the business, had conducted a test flight through the ash cloud's "red zone" on Tuesday.

He said: "The levels [of ash concentration] we are talking about are tiny.

"We flew in the red zone for about 45 minutes at different altitudes over Scotland. The aircraft then returned and has been examined and the simple answer is we found nothing."

It may be the calm before the storm

The situation at the town hall in Bigastro is still not clear. The Socialist party say they only required 29 more votes to get the seventh councillor that they needed to maintain their majority*. Although there were null votes which need to be reviewed by the Electoral Board, the acting mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina is not pinning any hopes on them changing the outcome.

In order for the Socialist to continue governing with an absolute majority, they would need to form a pact with either of the other two parties. For the moment, the acting mayor is happy to govern in minority but as he says, there are issues which legally require the council to make majority decisions.

The permutations are these: the PSOE and PP form a pact which would give them 11 seats, the PSOE and the UNPLC form a pact which would give them 8 seats or the PP and UNPLC form a pact which would give them 7 seats.

Of those three, I would think that the most likely combination would be the PP and the UNPLC. The stumbling block though may be the decision as to who would become mayor. As strange as it may seem to we Brits, It is perfectly possible that the new mayor of Bigastro could come from the party that won the least number of votes.

There is obviously a lot of talking still left to be done.

* I may have misread that or my maths may be wrong but by my reckoning, the Socialists would have needed another 317 votes to get the 53.85% required to gain 7 out of the 13 seats. If I am right, they only just squeezed enough votes to get 6 seats.

It is a disgrace

Despite the vast investment made each year by the Hydrographic Confederation of the Segura (CHS) to maintain the river, it is still virtually stagnant in the centre of Orihuela.  The river is weed ridden, there are few signs of life and the odour that comes up on a warm day is just awful.

The situation is not helped by people who insist on throwing rubbish into the river. Apart from plastic bottles, there is all manner of debris floating in the shallow water.

Why anyone would want to take a stroll along the banks of the river in this state beats me.

and nationally

Nationally, the Socialists suffered their worst results since the country became democratic, with almost two million fewer votes than the PP, the PSOE lost 1.5 million votes since the last elections in 2007.The Socialists lost Castilla-La Mancha, Aragón, Baleares and Asturias and Cantabria and the city of Seville. The only communities where they retain control are Extremadura (with the help of the IU) , Andalusia and the Basque Country.