A great decision

I was charged with the responsibility to find a photographer for Laura and Dave’s wedding. There are literally hundreds of wedding photographers advertising their services on the web with prices ranging from the affordable to the astronomical. This was going to be more difficult than I thought.

The first criteria was to find someone whose style suited our requirements – a mix between traditional and reportage was what we wanted.

I came across Ian Jardine fairly early on and bookmarked him as someone who fitted the bill perfectly. As I continued my research, I kept coming back to him. There was something utterly  compelling about his pictures that I was drawn to. They were more natural than most, as if they had been tailored to the subjects rather than the other way round. Looking at his blog, you could see that each couple was treated differently – that was very important. 

Once we had decided that Ian Jardine was our best choice, he arranged a meeting with us at which time we could have said no. However, in person he was unassuming, gentle but yet thorough and very professional. At that meeting he showed us more of his images which was enough to convince us to go ahead and book him.

We then had a further meeting with both Ian and his wife Cathy who will be assisting him on the day. We discussed the type of photos that Laura and Dave were looking for and the time schedule for the day. Ian explained that there would be a second photographer working alongside him to capture those moments that he might miss.

As part of his packages, Ian offers a pre-wedding shoot. This is intended to get to know the couple better and at the same time provide them with some memorable shots. That took place last Saturday in an area of Manchester by the canal. Today, I have the results of that session and I can tell you they are stunning. Ian has captured the characters of Laura and Dave perfectly and as a bonus has included a few shots with Molly as well.

Here are some of my favourites. Picking out a few was difficult because they are all just so good. Visit his website to find out more about Ian Jardine Photography. 

Top of the list

MUNICIPAL DEBT

By law, towns have to comply with Royal Decree Law 4/2012 which calls for all local authorities to make plans to  pay outstanding debts to suppliers.

You may have noticed the item on the Bigastro web site seeking information from its suppliers so that the town can draw up its own plan.

Bigastro. 6,788. Has 3.7 million in unpaid bills, 545 euros per resident.

Redován. 7,500. Has 3.6 million in unpaid bills, 489 euros per resident.

San Fulgencio. 2,500. Has 4.4 million in unpaid bills, 353 euros per resident.

Callosa. 8,000. Has 5.5 million in unpaid bills, 306 euros per resident.

Orihuela. 88,000. Has 25 million Euros in unpaid bills, 281 euros per resident.

Guardamar. 6,900. Has 3.9 million in unpaid bills, 231 euros per resident.

Torrevieja. 102,000. Has 16.5 million in unpaid bills, 161 euros per resident.

Pilar de la Horadada. 23,000. Has 2.6 million in unpaid bills, 115 euros per resident.

Almoradi. 19,000. Has 1 million in unpaid bills, 51 euros per resident.

Los Montesinos. 15,100.Has 48,000 in unpaid bills,  28 euros per resident.

Benejúzar. 15,400 inhabitant, Has 53,000 in unpaid bills, 9.8 euros per resident.

NB These figures represent the debt to suppliers. They do not include debts to banks and other financial institutions.

Prepare for the shock

Last October the previous government in Spain froze electricity tariffs; that decision has now been revoked.

What this means is that electricity companies will raise their charges from April not only to bring them into line with present costs but also to recover the monies they have lost since last October. 

For Easter

On Sunday April 1 at 6:30pm in the  Auditorium,  the Asociación Amigos de Jesús de Nazareth de Callosa will be presenting “the Passion” for Easter.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at Town Hall from 9:00am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. The price is 5.00 € to cover the cost of the performance.

Jobs for grabs

With nearly 50% of young Spaniards unable to find jobs, any opportunity for employment is not to be sniffed at.

I read this morning that the Catholic Church in Spain is on a recruitment drive. It seems that the number of priests in the country has declined by 25% over the last decade and that some parishes have to share a priest.

Although 73% of Spaniards claim to be Roman Catholics, less than 15% admit to attending mass regularly. In a bid to reawaken Christianity in the country, Pope Benedict XVI has visited Spain three times since 2005 with some success because the number of young men joining the clergy has risen since his visits.

So what is on offer?

Well it is a job for life, there is no such thing as redundancy packages for priests. Although the salary is not great, priests in Spain are paid an average of 700-800 Euros per month, the rewards are described as eternal, it is regarded as a happy job and it beats being unemployed.

Bucking the trend for equality, it is a job which is only on offer to young men.

Easter scaled down

Almost as fascinating as the real thing are the miniature versions of the pasos that are paraded at Easter. Many are produced as models to show what the finished article will look like. They are made to gain approval from the cofradia before embarking on the full scale paso. Others are just marvels in minature made for the sake of it.

At 7:30pm today in the Exhibition Hall at Vista Alegre, a display of miniatures created by Alfonso Pascual Ruiz and Pedro Manuel Grimao Melgar will be on show. The exhibition, which is described as the largest collection of Easter, will be open until the April 22nd.

Well thanks a bunch boy George

Thanks a bunch Mr Osborne. You cut income tax for the rich to 45p in the pound. That was jolly nice of you, I’m sure the 300,000 who pay the highest rate will be thankful.

Those who won’t be thankful are the pensioners like myself and Pamela because you introduced a “granny tax” to pay for your other tax cuts.

It was Winston Churchill, who in 1925, decided that pensioners like us should enjoy a more generous personal allowance against tax once we reached 65. I actually didn’t know that so it came as a nice surprise on my 65th birthday to find that I would be better off.

To add insult to injury, Mr Osborne described the removal of the tax break as a “simplification” that would be welcomed by pensioners who would not have to fill out tax forms. Because we are older does not mean we are too senile to understand a simple form and take the trouble to fill it in. I think it took me all of five minutes to complete the task. It took a darned sight longer than that to fill out the form necessary to claim my state pension.

The increased allowance, which starts at £10,500 and then increased each year, will now be frozen at £10,500. For those who turn 65 next year, the allowance will be £9,205, the same as working people – just as well that Pam and I are 65 this year.

Ps Isn’t it sad that those people with homes worth more than £2 million will have to pay stamp duty at 7%, I really feel for those people!

Now for the good news

The rain that caused such chaos yesterday along the coast has passed over leaving today as one where things will start to dry out. By tomorrow, it should start to feel a whole lot warmer and more like spring.  

The forecasts said it would rain yesterday

The rainstorm yesterday caused chaos in Torrevieja and on the Orihuela Costa. The rain started at four am and continued until five pm and dumped over 130 litres per square metre of water in Torrevieja. That is half of the total rain that fell during 2011 in just one day. The worst period was between 8am and 9:30 which created huge problems for children going to school and for people going to work.

All four lanes of the CV-905 were flooded between the roundabout at McDonalds and La Siesta. The road had to be closed for five hours. They say that in parts the water was 50cms deep. Many of the other roads in and around the town were affected including the CV-95 by the hospital. 

The combination of heavy rain and winds up to 50kms per hour have spoilt many of the beaches in Torrevieja and on the  Orihuela Costa. With Easter on its way, that is not good.

There are videos of the problem in the local Spanish press. http://www.laverdad.es/alicante/local/orihuela/

I heard that, pardon!

The Department of Social Welfare in Bigastro invites all the citizens of the municipality to take a free hearing test courtesy of GAES. Tests will take place on Wednesday, March 21 in the auditorium of the Integrated Social Centre, during office hours 10:30 to 13:30  and in the afternoon between 16:00 and19:00.

Last time Pam and I went for one of these free tests, the lady told Pamela she had the hearing of a 20 year old. She told me that I had some loss of hearing in the right ear but that no corrective measures were necessary.

You can test your hearing online courtesy of Lloyds at this site. All you need is a computer with an internet connection, a sound card and a pair of headphones. The test which takes about five minutes or so consists of bursts of sound at different frequencies first in one ear and then the other. You click you mouse each time that you hear the sound until the point where it become inaudible.

Just for Pete who may well remember the TV series from whence the catchphrase came: of the three great aunts from Glossop, "You can allus tell when they're coming, cause t'water curdles in t'goldfish bowl"

Spring has sprung a leak!

Today is the first day of spring but you would hardly know it looking out of my window this morning. The lovely weather that we have experienced over the last week or so which brought many Brits out in their shorts and T-shirts has given way to a cold, wet spell.

Twenty one Spanish provinces are on alert today for cold, wind or snow. Four of the areas are on orange alert for snow.

In Almeria the forecast is for up to seven inches of the white stuff and at nearby Albacete they can expect up to 20 inches to fall. Thankfully, snow will only be at 900 to 1,500 metres which means in Bigastro we will just get rain.

Along with snow, the temperatures will be below freezing in parts of Spain like Madrid where the thermometers could record as low as –7 degrees centigrade.

Those who thought they could safely put their winter coats away will have to get them back out again for today. Either that or they wait until tomorrow when the forecast is for the sun to break though the clouds or Wednesday which is forecast to be sunny!

All I ask is please, please – can we have a dry Easter this year. 

Put your feet up dad!

Today is Father’s Day or El Día del Padre which happens also to be the Feast day of Saint Joseph.Today, all fathers, regardless of their name are Josés. 

Don’t bother trying to go out to the shops because they will be closed as will all banks and other businesses. It is a day when fathers throughout Spain will open their presents and show great surprise when they find that they have yet another tie to add to the collection.

Last night we had the special annual concert for fathers which was in two parts. In the first half the Juvenile Band from the School of Music played for us. Their programme included: Agüero, a pasodoble by José Franco, Music from Shrek by Harry Gregson-Williams, Hobbit and a selection from Lord of the Rings by Howard Shore, Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken and finally Lluna Meditrerránia by Teodoro Aparicio.

To be honest, some of those pieces were bold choices to make for the young musicians. They did struggle a little with some of the slower passages and their timing was a little wayward. However, there were some good solo performances and of course the audience were suitably gracious in their applause.

In the second part the senior band treated us to three glorious pieces from their repertoire. Nostalgia de tí, by Francisco Grau Vegara followed by Estampas de mi tierra by the same author and finally a new piece for the band, El caserio by Jesús Guridi.

Again there were some outstanding solo performances including those by the young lady on flute.

The day the world turned green

The Palace at Monaco, the leaning tower at Pisa, the river in Chicago and the Sydney Opera house all turned green to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

Even the fountain at the White House was green though I doubt that Barack Obama can claim to have Irish blood in him! Pictures taken from the Guardian newspaper.

At Casa El Willo Pam and I were turned green as we spent the day gardening. After several hours working out in the hot sunshine, we could have done with a pint of Guinness to revive us!

There may be justice at last for the forlorn mothers

During the Franco regime, babies were removed from families if they were deemed to be politically dangerous. Most targeted were the poor and in particular single mothers. It is thought that there were up to 1,500 cases of illegal trafficking of babies during the 70s and 80s.

Now, one of the nuns who was suspected of being involved, a Sister María Gómez  has been accused of the crimes she committed. Everything centres on the case of María Luisa Torres and her 29-year-old daughter, Pilar.

Torres was pregnant by another man after leaving her husband and contacted the clinic where Gómez worked. She was told that the baby would be put in an orphanage where the mother could visit her but was later told that the baby had been placed with a family.  When Torres complained she was threatened and told she would go to jail and have her other child taken away from her.

Now, years later, Torres has been reunited with her child and is seeking to bring the case against the nun who forced the separation. Let us hope for the sake of all the mothers involved, that the case sticks and justice prevails.

Ah begorra, where did I put my shillelagh?

Since most of the coastal strip from Torrevieja towards San Pedro can hardly consider itself Spanish, the celebrations there are centred on the largely British population. 

One of the most popular causes for celebration these days on the British calendar is St Patrick’s Day. Why the patron saint of Ireland commands more attention than the patron saints of England, Scotland and Wales is due to the fact that a lot of Brits have an affinity with drinking copious quantities of Guiness. Of course, you don’t have to be Irish to join in, you just need a good thirst and perhaps wear something green on the day. I reckon, if the other countries that make up Great Britain had a nationally recognised beer then things might be different but they don’t. 

This year the coastal strip has gone all out to promote its St Patrick Day celebrations with a full programme of events taking place including a rugby match between England and Ireland. They have even gone to the trouble of posting notices about it on our estate and put flyers in our post boxes. Of course we all know that the main event will be drinking pint after pint of the black stuff (Guiness) everything else will be subsidiary to that!

PS A shillelagh is a cudgel (kind of stick) made of oak, blackthorn, or other hardwood. Basically its a club made out of knotty wood.

Five years to sort themselves out

We have read about the level of debt that our town is laden with and of other towns nearby that have no debt whatsoever. Although it is no consolation to Bigastro, there are towns and cities in the Alicante province that are worse off. I read in the Costa Blanca News that three of the main town halls may owe as much as 235 million Euros to their service providers alone.

Benidorm, for example owes 44 million Euros to the company that collects the town’s rubbish. That is a figure far higher than any other town hall owes to a single provider. And the city of Alicante owes 179 million Euros to companies that supply the city and to the financial institutions.

The CB News goes on to explain that the government has ordered town halls to settle their outstanding debts and has offered them a lifeline by way of five year loans at 5% interest once they have produced a list of creditors.

That may seem to be generous but I calculate that if Alicante was to borrow the full amount and pay back monthly, it would have to pay almost 23,700,000 Euros in interest over the term of the loan raising the total cost of the debt to 202,700,000 Euros.

In terms of our town, which Aurelio says owes 35 million Euros in total, the interest paid would be 4,629,600 Euros which represents a huge chunk out of the annual income.  Even if we take the lower figure of 17 million that the ex mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina claims to be the case, the interest would be just shy of 2,250,000 Euros.

I reckon that the lifeline offered by the government could turn out to be a noose around the neck for those towns with the highest levels of debt leaving them with little or no money to provide services over the next five years.

Football in Bigastro

Especially for Father’s Day, there will be a football competition organised in Bigastro which will take place on Saturday and Sunday at the Polideportivo.

On Saturday it will be the turn of the Bigastro veterans to face the men from Elche at 2pm.

Then on Sunday there will be knockout competition for youngsters from the football schools in the area with eight seven-a-side teams taking part. The knockout games will last 25 minutes and the semi finals etc will be 30 minutes long in two halves.

All the participants will get complementary hamburgers and drinks and of course there will be medals and trophies for the winners etc.

For full details see the Bigastro web site.

Father’s Day or Mothering Sunday

It will be Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day as it is now known in England. Here in Spain, we will be celebrating Father’s Day with a concert in the Auditorium.

Of course, Father’s Day is not until Monday 19th March, a day when all the shops and businesses will be closed. 

Rather interestingly, Father’s Day assumes a lot more importance than Mother’s Day here in Spain. That is not necessarily the same in all countries though. Nor of course, is Father’s Day on the same day each year in other parts of the world.

The chart below shows the day in different countries of the world.

 

 

Countries	2012	2013
USA, UK, India, Canada, China, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey	June 17	June 16
Russia	February 23	February 23
Italy & Spain	March 19	March 19
Germany	May 17	May 9
Australia & New Zealand	September 2	September 1
Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland	November 4	November 3
Thailand	December 5	December 5

On the verge of breakup.

On paper, the Mancomunidad de promoción Económica is a good idea and no doubt, over the years it has proved to be a useful forum for the towns in this area. It has also provided funding for joint courses between them. It does not have any legal standing though and as such is purely voluntary.

Unfortunately times are hard and towns no longer have the luxury to afford another layer of administration above their own. The fact that some of the towns owe money to the Manucomunidad, including Bigastro, is a sore point and has caused a lot of tension at recent meetings. Insults have flown, mayors have walked out and our own mayor, Charo Bañuls has resigned as president. The problems have been made worse by the mix of parties; e.g.,  PP mayors are accused of making remarks about socialist mayors which sounds perfectly possible given the nature of local politicians in Spain.

I dare say that life for a mayor in this area used to be easy; they just planned new and more adventurous projects and everyone loved them. Now they have to juggle between what has to be paid, what should be paid and what they can get away with not paying. Life is constantly about looking over their shoulders to see who is trying to stab them in the back.

You probably have to be very thick skinned to enter local politics in the Vega Baja.

Cut down on the T-bone steaks and live longer

During the Franco era very few Spaniards would have eaten meat because it was just too expensive. Little did they know that their meagre diet of vegetables and fruit supplemented by fish was in fact contributing to a longer life expectancy. The so called ‘Mediterranean diet’ came to be regarded as the healthiest in Europe.

Even today, you find a lot more vegetables and fish on sale in shops and supermarkets that you do red meats. And on the meat counters you see more chicken for example than beef. There is though a lot of processed meat in the form of chorizo and other spicy sausages.

Recent scientific studies show that eating red meat and processed meats like bacon, sausages and salami increase the risk of an early death. It is the high concentrates of saturated fats in red meat and the salt  in processed meats that are the killers.

And it isn’t just heat disease that we are risking by eating red meat, there is also a heightened risk of cancer as well.

There are some benefits though to eating red meat so the answer is not to cut it out altogether but rather to reduce the consumption to reasonable levels. As my mother-in-law used to say, “moderation in everything” (she was of course a Methodist). 

Age is creeping up on us

Some of those who participated yesterday in the walk from Bigastro around the Huerta may be looking forward to the Poet’s Trail which will take place on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th March.

This annual event follows a route from Orihuela to Alicante passing though; Redován, Callosa de Segura, Cox, Granja de Rocamora, San Isidro, Carr, Elche and  finally Alicante where the poet is buried. Last year, 4,000 people took part; the organisers are expecting a similar number again this year.

You can be sure that Pam and I will not be joining them. Pam’s knees suffered badly from the walk yesterday so her plans for us to take weekly and even daily walks in order to slim down for the wedding have been set aside. There is not much point in us being an inch or so  slimmer around the waist if that means her knees are blown up like balloons. As for me, well my hips were a little sore after yesterday and my left leg ached a bit.

In my twenties I used to go out on Sundays for 20 mile hikes with my brother and thought nothing of it. Even in my fifties, I would go for 20 -30 mile bike rides and return home refreshed. On holiday, Pam and i would walk for miles leaving others to take taxis or catch buses. In the first few years that we were here, we would regularly walk down into the town and back and I bought a bike that I rode around the Huerta several times a week.

I think Pam and I have to admit that the days when we were fit to walk for miles have long since past.

Worn out

This morning, Pam and I went for a very long walk. We were not on our own though because half of the town were with us. The event was organised to raise much needed funds for the Alzheimer’s Association in Bigastro that helps families with Alzheimer sufferers.

Having paid our two Euros, we set off across the bridge to the Huerta or market garden. There we turned left and then right to follow on of the paths towards the river Segura and its canals.  At the canal we turned right and followed it along in the direction of Jacarilla.

When Pam and I set off, about half of the group were behind us. However, the leaders set a blistering pace that we could not keep up with. One by one the walkers passed us. Actually it was Pamela that was suffering most; first with her back and then her knees. No pasa nada, by the time we’d walked for an hour all but a couple of stragglers had left us behind.

That was when Pam and I decided to cheat. When we reached the Sports Centre we turned right and headed back into  Bigastro. The rest of the walkers carried on towards Jacarilla and then turned right at the next bridge which brought them down to the roundabout. From there they walked back into the town.

As Pam and I reached the park, the people gathered there must have thought we were great athletes who had completed the course well ahead of the pack. No, not at all, I just wanted to be there to capture the leaders arriving*!

When they arrived back at the park,  the participants were in need of refreshments. Fortunately, the Association had thought of this and had laid on a bar with drinks and tapas at 1 Euro each. I tell you, a bottle of San Miguel never tasted so good and as for the meat balls – they were divine. 

You can see my photos of this event here.

If you took part, then you might be on one of them. Barbara, Carol O and Gillian were certainly there as was Raul Valerio, the spokesperson for the Socialists but where was Aurelio? Tucked up in bed I suspect!

* That sounds like a fair excuse for taking a short cut to me.

Get out of bed

Come on get up, it’s time to get your shoes on and go for a walk. Starting at the park at 10am walking in the direction of Jacarilla in aid of the Alzheimer's Association of Bigastro. A 2 Euro donation to the society is all they ask.

And when you have finished, your reward is tapas or a drink for just 1Euro each.

Moya will go to court

In 2006, the mayor of Bigastro, José Joaquín Moya supported by the municipal technician, María Jesús Ferrer granted a license to build a solar farm at La Pedrera. The PP spokesperson, José Antonio Ricart alerted the environmental group Seprona to what was going on. The licence to build was deemed illegal because there was no declaration of community interest and no environmental impact study conducted.

The project had already gone ahead and thousands of square metres of ground were cleared without permission from the Department of Land. The process was eventually halted and the license was revoked but by that time it was too late, the natural habitat had been destroyed.

The case is due to be heard in the Provincial Court where the Anticorruption Prosecutor, Paul Romera is seeking 15 months in prison and a a ban of nine years from public office for both of the defendants. Moya made an appeal to stop the trial but that has now been rejected so the trial will take place.

As a relative newcomer to the town, it seemed to me that José Joaquín Moya  had been in power for too long.

I have no doubt that Moya was a driving force in the development of Bigastro during his early years of office but after over 20 years he had gained too much power and had become misguided in his judgements. Ultimately, power corrupted him and led to his dismissal from office and a term in prison whilst the cases were being investigated against him.

Now Moya faces a series of cases against him and  is paying the price for believing that he was above the law. It is sad that it should have come to this both for him and for Bigastro. Hopefully, the current politicians will take heed of this and avoid the mistakes that Moya made in the future.

Gala night

The Department of Social Welfare and Women has organized the 8th Gala of Working Women for Saturday, 17th March at 7:30 pm .

Free admission.

In case you were wondering, the messages are “I am not giving it up” and “prohibited not to attend”. 

A wonderful end to our week

Last night we had a tasting session of the food for the wedding. Laura and Dave had already chosen a company called Pink Pepper to do the catering, it was now down to deciding the exact content of the menu.

To be honest, I was just expecting samples of the food that would be served; what we got was a full meal just like the one that we will enjoy on the day.

We started with the canapés; with a selection of fish ones, meat ones and vegetable ones to pick from. Then we moved on to the starter to the main course which must remain a secret for now. Then the main course itself and finally the dessert. Without giving too much away, I can tell you that the lucky guests who attend the wedding will be both surprised and delighted with the choice.

Many thanks to Sarah and Neil from Pink Pepper for a fantastic experience. They took over the kitchen at Laura and Dave's house to prepare the food and when they had finished washed up, dried up and even put the plates and cutlery away.  It was the most delightful way to round off our little holiday in Sale.

Hats 'r us

Yesterday was mostly about shopping. We had to take Molly's bike back to the shop to sort out a couple of small issues. We also wanted to call at the hat shop to choose a hat for Pamela to wear at Laura and Dave's wedding.

The lady told Pam that she had over 300 hats in stock and I can well believe it. There was a bewildering array of hats in a range of styles and colours. Mostly they were in pastel shades of beige, creams, pinks, blues and greens. There were also plenty of blacks and greys but very few in the berry colour that Pam was looking for.

Fortunately, there was one that was just the perfect colour and style to suit Pam so she will look the part as Mother of the Bride.

Today, it is the men's turn as Dave and I visit Moss Bros. to be measured for our suits. The choice has already been made so it is just a case of finding a tape measure long enough to encompass my ample figure.

Tonight we have the food tasting to look forward to and there are plenty of choices to make there. It isn't easy for couples these days with a bewildering range of decisions to make. It was far easier for Pam and I.

The best laid plans of mice and men

Yesterday was jobs day, so we got to Laura and Dave's nice and early. Molly had gone to nursery which meant the decks were clear for us to crack on.

First on the agenda was the curtain rail in Molly's room which had been giving Dave a lot of problems. I reckon that the wall had been made up with plasterboard when the house was refurbished. That meant that the holes he drilled were not going into brick. Without cavity wall fixings, keeping the bracket that holds the curtain pole up was going to be difficult. Still we managed it with an oversize screw and a tight fitting plastic plug. I hope for Dave's sake it stays up this time.

That job done, we moved on to sorting out the loft. As I said to Dave, lofts are a double edge sword, great for storing things but also places to harbour junk that you are never going to use. There was a lot of stuff up in Laura and Dave's loft that needed either to be sent to the charity shop or taken to the tip. There was also a lot of great memorabilia which of course delayed the job somewhat.

After a break for lunch, we returned to work and we were making good progress when the phone rang. It was the nursery calling to tell us that they had found a spot on Molly's tummy which they suspected was chicken pox. A couple of children had already gone down with the infection so it was perfectly possible.

Having Molly back in the house early rather curtailed operations and it will mean changing our plans for the next couple of days. Still more time with Molly around will more than make up for a few hours at the shops.  

On the 11^th March you will have the opportunity to explore the surrounding area of the town and at the same time benefit the Alzheimer's Association in Bigastro.

Leaving the park at 10am, the walk will take you round the huerta in the direction of Jacarilla. A perfect chance for those who have not explored this area to discover the fascinating agricultural roots of the town and the Arabic system for watering the crops.

The walk will take about 2 hours returning to the park at about 12am. The cost will be a 2 Euro donation to the Associaton.

Having walked for a couple of hours, it will be time for well deserved refreshments. Fortunately, for a mere Euro, you will be able to enjoy a drink or a tapas on Calle Purisima.

Pam and I will of course be taking part, me with my camera and Pam with her walking shoes. 

More about Molly

That's the thing about English weather, one day you are fooled into thinking that spring has arrived and the next day it turns bad. Yesterday it was lovely, today it is cold and damp.

One thing that was not damp was the welcome we got from Molly when her mother brought her round to our hotel. With a smile that spread across her little face she ran to us with her arms open wide looking for that first big hug and a kiss.

Once the niceties were over, she proceeded to tell us all about the exciting things that had been happening in her life and yes, it was soon to be her birthday which meant a party and lots of presents. Most important though she was having a Toy Story cake with Woody and Jessy on top.

How wonderful it is to be 2 years old, sweet and innocent. We really need to make the best of these years because before we know it, Molly will be a teenager with all the issues that will bring for her.

Anyway back to yesterday, once we had given Molly a few pre-birthday gifts, it was off to the shops. I can remember as a child hating going to the shops with my parents because shopping was a grown up thing. Not so these days, there are all sorts of interesting distractions on the High Street to keep a young person happy especially in places like Mothercare where children are positively encouraged to play with the toys out on display.

Later in the day, we met the photographer who is going to cover Laura and Dave's wedding. What an excellent choice we made there.

I was charged with the responsibility of researching this aspect of the big day and was very much impressed by the photos that Ian Jardine showed on his website. Having now met him and talked to him on a couple of occasions, I am even more impressed by his approach to the task. He does have the benefit of a wife who was a wedding organiser which shows in the thorough way he structures his shoot. I just know that Laura and Dave will be highly delighted with the results once everything is complete.

In the meantime, we have a birthday to cover, and having produced a photo book of Molly's first birthday, it looks like I will be doing the same this year and probably for several years to come. Just as well then that this is going to be a labour of love!

Molly time

We are back in England, Sale, Manchester to be precise to celebrate Molly's second birthday. Is it really two years since we were here, biting our nails, waiting for our little bundle of joy to arrive?

For the first time in a long while our flight was delayed. Still we made good time in the air and got back some of the minutes lost.

The weather is surprisingly mild, not greatly different at night to the temperatures we'd left behind in Bigastro. The main difference will be during the daytime when the sun struggles to break through the clouds. It was 20 degrees in the daytime as we left, I doubt we will see those temperatures here.

Still, we are not here in Sale for the weather. We are here to see the little tinker who should arrive at our hotel room sometime during the next hour. We have a few presents for her to open before the big day on Monday which should keep Molly happy. As for us, we will just be delighted to give her a big kiss and listen to her chat away.

Now, if you will excuse me, there is a pot of porridge just waiting to be eaten.

Regaining the upper hand

As if to prove that it is hard to get the upper hand on Aurelio Murcia, he has come back on the remarks made by the socialist spokesman in the press.

He says that Raúl Valerio Medina should worry more about the cases in court against him and the former mayor, Moya and less about what the current council is doing. He added that Medina should think carefully before he makes statements to the press and alluded to the employment status of the  family company which is involved in transport and agriculture (not quite sure what that is about but it sounds fishy). 

Murcia then moved on to the case of the complaint made about the rubbish dump at La Pedrera which was actually closed four years ago, long before the PP/UNPLC alliance came into power. He says the present council would be able to clean it if the previous council hadn’t cleaned out the municipal coffers – touché!

With regards to the complaints about sewerage at Villas Andrea, Murcia reminds us that this is a matter between the individuals and the constructor which the courts will decide upon. In fact, he points out that he did attend to the complaints made and did so in good English! That is a fair point, Aurelio does speak very good English.

We are a commodity

My very good friend Pete says about Google’s change in its privacy policy, This really brings home the critical core of Google's business model. We're not the customers, we're the product.

How right he is. We are all lead to believe that Google, Facebook etc are altruistic organisations that simply exist to provide us with a free service. The truth is they are big businesses that exist to to make money. By sharing the information we willingly provide them with, these companies get rich and fat.

At one time, they would rely upon pushing adverts from interested parties to us as a means to gain revenue. Now they are going a step further by collecting information from us to disseminate to others in exchange for payment. When Google talk about the benefits of their changes in policy to users, they mean their paying clients – not us. We are no longer the customer with rights, we are (as Pete says) the product that they sell to others.

Why would you want to do that

There was a time when you bought a phone to be a phone, a camera to be a camera etc etc. Not any more, the technologies are converging to allow us to buy one device that does everything bar making the cup of tea that I desperately need right now.

High in the ranks of this “one for all” approach is the Apple iPhone. Sure it is still a phone but much more than that, it is a camera taking both stills and video, a game machine, a music player, a personal information manager, a web browser, a GPS tracker and for all I know a whole lot more via the readily available apps.

To a certain extent, the iPhone is a Jack of all trades and master of none. For example, internet browsing on a phone is not the best way to view the web. It is the same issue with our new “smart” TV. Without a keyboard and a mouse (or track pad), navigating your way around the net can be a slow and tedious process.

It is the same with the built in camera on these phones. Upping the resolution to millions of megapixels only serves to make matters worse because the inherent problem is always going to be the size of the sensor that records the image. In the slim confines of a phone, the sensor is tiny making each pixel site miniscule. Small pixel sites equals noisy images in anything but bright light. Processing the noise out, reduces the resolution so it is a Catch 22 situation.

This morning I found an advert from an American company who take the concept of the iPhone camera a step further into the absurd by marketing lenses you can attach to your phone to increase the zoom to 6x, or to give you wide angle shots (including fisheye) and even turn it into a microscope.

Those of us who have dabbled in photography for awhile know that add on lenses, no matter how well they are made,  degrade image quality. On a device that already has limited image quality, that is not a good thing.

In any case, smart phones are already cumbersome to carry, imagine carrying a supplementary lens or two in your pocket as well.  I don’t want to appear to be a luddite but I think I will stick to using an orthodox camera to take my pictures thank you.

My son in law won’t like that

David, who is soon to marry my daughter Laura, bought himself a Spain away shirt after they had won the World Cup in 2010. Although he liked the red shirt, the navy blue appealed to him more and I agree with him. Being a practical colour, Dave wears the shirt a lot and it suits him.

National teams like to change their shirts from time to time and so Spain has introduced its new away shirt for the forthcoming European Championships. Usually, the changes are subtle but not this time. The new shirt is pale blue with a dark band across it to highlight the badge and has the words «campeones de Europa 1964/2008” embroidered on it.

I know David will not object to the design, nor the inscription but the colour, that is a different matter.
You see my son in law to be is an avid Manchester United fan and therefore approves of anything red. On the contrary, United’s arch rivals Manchester City play in light blue and so he hates that colour. To those of us who are not aficionadas of the beautiful game, this might seem a little ridiculous but that is the way it is. 

Sorry Spain but I know that David will just hate the new away shirt and will stick to the dark blue one he has already.  Never mind the colour, at 80 Euros apiece, I don’t altogether blame him.

PS Thankfully, Dave and Laura’s first child was not a boy otherwise Dave might have had to endure his offspring wearing lots of pale blue clothing.

More photos for you

For those of you who might be interested, you can now find the other photos I took of the Concierto del Socio here. Many thanks to Germán Martín at the Auyuntamiento for hosting them on the town’s server.

I apologise for the blurring on the photos of Pepe presenting the diplomas. When you realise that these were taken at shutter speeds of 1/8th of a second, it is kind of understandable. Taking pictures with a 200mm lens handheld at those speeds is only possible because of Canon's fantastic image stabilisation system which prevents the effects of camera shake but can't stop blur due to subject movement.

Pepe is very good because he pauses for a moment to allow a photo to be taken but the recipients don't always follow.

The age of Big Brother

When you want to find something out, you turn to Google, it is the biggest and most efficient search engine out there and not only that but Google offers very useful software and apps that make out digital life a lot easier. This blog is hosted by Google and I use their Chrome browser almost exclusively.

However, we should be aware that Google has changed its Privacy Policy in ways that may affect us. These changes will come into effect on Thursday. I won’t bore you with all the details, you can read those for yourselves. The important bit is about what information Google will be collecting about you.  

Information that Google collects

We collect information to provide better services to all of our users – from basics, such as which language you speak to more complex things, such as which ads you’ll find most useful or the people who matter most to you online.

We collect information in two ways:

• Information that you give us. For example, many of our services require you to sign up for a Google Account. When you do, we’ll ask for personal information, such as your name, email address, telephone number or credit card number. If you want to take full advantage of the sharing features that we offer, we might also ask you to create a publicly visible Google Profile, which may include your name and photo.

• Information that we get from your use of our services. We may collect information about the services that you use and how you use them, such as when you visit a website that uses our advertising services or you view and interact with our ads and content. This information includes:

  • Device information

    We may collect device-specific information (such as your hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers and mobile network information, including phone number). Google may associate your device identifiers or phone number with your Google Account.

  • Log information

    When you use our services or view content provided by Google, we may automatically collect and store certain information in server logs. This may include:

    • details of how you used our service, such as your search queries.
    • telephony log information, such as your phone number, calling-party number, forwarding numbers, time and date of calls, duration of calls, SMS routing information and types of calls.
    • Internet protocol address.
    • device event information, such as crashes, system activity, hardware settings, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request and referral URL.
    • cookies that may uniquely identify your browser or your Google Account.

  • Location information

    When you use a location-enabled Google service, we may collect and process information about your actual location, such as GPS signals sent by a mobile device. We may also use various technologies to determine location, such as sensor data from your device that may, for example, provide information on nearby Wi-Fi access points and mobile towers.

  • Unique application numbers

    Certain services include a unique application number. This number and information about your installation (for example, the operating system type and application version number) may be sent to Google when you install or uninstall that service or when that service periodically contacts our servers, such as for automatic updates.

  • Local storage

    We may collect and store information (including personal information) locally on your device, using mechanisms such as browser web storage (including HTML 5) and application data caches.

  • Cookies and anonymous identifiers

    We use various technologies to collect and store information when you visit a Google service, which may include one or more cookies or anonymous identifiers sent to your device. We also use cookies and anonymous identifiers when you interact with services that we offer to our partners, such as advertising services or Google features that may appear on other sites.

There is a bad smell around Germany

The spokesperson for the socialist party, Raúl Valerio Medina has echoed complaints from some of the residents at Villas Andrea. The main issues seem to on Calle Alemania where people are complaining of sewerage odours. Some of the houses are now empty and that seems to be the cause of the problem. Sewerage pipes in the street are of course the responsibility of the council. 

Whilst we are on the subject of waste, one of our neighbours was told categorically by Aurelio Murcia that the item on our water bill for “basura” should now be 35 Euros and not the 50 Euros we have been paying since moving here. I can assure the councillor that it not the case, our recent bill from Aguagest still shows 50 Euros.

And just to round off, we should mention the problem with the storm drain on Calle Le Vigan which spills out onto the road during heavy rain creating a river of yellow water down the road.

We are all aware of the huge debt that Bigastro Town Hall faces, however that is not of our making. In Bigastro, we pay the highest council taxes for this area, we do expect something back in return!

The corset and the pamela

There is an exhibition, currently on at La Lonja in Orihuela, that shows how changes in fashion have liberated women.

First off the hat – at the start of the century, no respectable woman would go out without a hat on her head. The more adorned it was and the more uncomfortable it was, the better because it showed your status.

Secondly the corset – best described as an instrument of torture. It was designed to reshape the figure and lift the bust. At the same time it severely restricted movement. My grandmother wore one for most of her young life.

Women these days only wear hats to weddings and Ascot and as for the corset – well that is mainly worn by ladies offering “special services” to men with a penchant for that sort of thing.

* Fancy my wife’s parents naming her after a broad brimmed Spanish hat!

Another great concert

When musicians are enjoying themselves, their performance is so much better. Clearly, the Bigastro band were taking great pleasure from the music last night.

They started with an immaculate performance of 1492 by Vangelis and then played El Caserios by Jesus Guridi. For the second part of the concert they started with El Quijote, a piece for band and narrator by Ferrer Ferran. They followed this with a selection from Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber and finished with El Relicarion by Jose Padilla.

	Mateo Marco Amoros narrated the tale of Don Quijote. He spoke so clearly, we could mostly follow what he said.
	Asuncion Galvez Mesples sang the selection from Phantom of the Opera. Her voice is like crystal with perfect pitch. Makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

It might be warm in the daytime

I’m betting there were quite a few people went to the beach yesterday or sunbathed in their gardens. If you found a sheltered spot, it was really pleasant out in the sun. But then as the sun started to go down, they would have been looking for a sweater to keep them warm.

You can see the fluctuations in temperature recorded in Orihuela. The best period was between midday and about 6pm, then the mercury dropped quickly.

There was a party going on up at La Predera with a lot of people coming and going and a disco to keep them happy. After a cold winter of being inside, it was nice for them to be able to get out and enjoy some fresh air again free from the smell of wood smoke. 

The musical gala

Last Saturday, the 7th Gala de la Música Vega Baja y Baix Vinalopó was held in Orihuela. This event was organised by the Federación de Sociedades Musicales de la Comunidad Valenciana (FSMCV).

Each of the 13 musical societies attending, presented diplomas to chosen members for their outstanding contributions to music.

La Sociedad Unión Musical de Bigastro presented their diplomas to D. Joaquín Grau Murcia, Lieutenant Colonel Director of the Military Music School in Spain and to D. Joaquín Sáez Belmonte, a musician in the band who has recently finished his higher level studies for the saxophone.

After the presentations, the participants retired to another room for a meal where they held a raffle for various prizes.

Dance school performs

Students from the Estefanía Selfa School of Dance will be performing for us on Saturday, 3rd March at 6:30pm in the Auditorium.

Looks like they will be performing in a mixture of dance genres; classical, Spanish, funk, bolliwood and boody compat (not sure quite what that is, I think it might be belly dancing).

Got that right

It seems my information was correct, there will be a concert tonight in the Auditorium  at 6:30pm as you can see from this poster.

A further blow to the socialists

The newspaper, Público  tried to take on El País when it was launched in 2007. It was aimed at a young audience but also found favour with the older generation. However, it was too close to the socialist administration of the former prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for the newspaper El País and so they were rivals.

Público apparently needs 9m Euros to continue printing and has failed to find an investor willing to put up that sort of money. Sunday’s edition could be the last one. It will continue online though in a web based version.

There is now only one left wing national newspaper. With four titles representing the right wing, it looks like the Conservative PP have won not only the general election but also the voice to the nation.

Wetting your appetites

Having not seen any publicity for the concert to be held in the Auditorium Francisco Grau on Sunday, I went to the Bigastro web site this morning just to check but unfortunately it seems to be experiencing some problems. 

I am assured by our teacher Antonio that there will definitely be a concert on Sunday at 6:30pm and on this occasion it will be free. If I see my neighbour Pepe, I will check just to make sure I have this right.

Moving on, I also understand that Percuseve are in the process of preparing a new production, Ritmos sobre lienzo "Rhythms on canvas" which is due for its first showing in April.

Those of you who have seen previous productions by Percuseve;  Ritmos de papel, El ritmo del tiempo and Ritmografía de una vida will be looking forward to this new work.

For more information about the group  see their blog at http://percuseve.blogspot.com/

The Percuseve group is made up of 25 secondary school  students from C.E.S Severo Ochoa de Murcia. The group rather cleverly transform every day objects and even their own own bodies into musical instruments and have taken this form of music  and developed it into making social statements.

Their  first project, El ritmo de los tiempos, represented the evolution of technological development from prehistory to the present time.

The second project, Ritmografía de una vida, was an x-ray of the present society through theatre, percussion, hip-hop and break-dances. It touched upon subjects like: education, solitude, sport, work, risks, el botellón and the conflicts we perceive in helping people with incapacities.

The third project was Ritmos de papel  in which the group looked at the present education system. It was also a form of homage to Miguel Hernández and included poems by  the great author both recited as sung as rap.

As I said the present work is Ritmos sobre lienzo - a story about the great Murcian painter, Ramon Gayo. So the theme this time is painting.

I will let you know when I have a date for its showing in Bigastro.

Mr Brown hasn’t been to see the doctor for awhile!

I remember hearing of schools in Liverpool that tried to claim for pupils that did not exist, I did not expect to find doctors in the UK trying the same trick.

An article in the papers today says that there are 55 million patients registered by doctors in the UK. With an actual population of 52.5 million, that means there are potentially 2.5 million ghost patients in the system. These are people who have moved house, left the country or are dead – in some cases for up to 40 years.

I thought it was only the Greeks that claimed pensions for dead people, now it seems that doctor’s surgeries in Britain do the same. At £65 per patient, the potential wastage is £162 million a year.

In many cases it will just be a matter of neglect or the patients haven’t bothered to de register themselves. How are the surgery to know that a person has died or has moved house unless someone tells them? Still, at £65 per patient per year, there is not a lot of incentive for the doctors to chase these matters up.  

The war against drugs continues

Police in Torrevieja have busted a gang of ten who were selling drugs in one of the parks. Amongst the ten were three children who were used as couriers. The modus operands was familiar; members of the gang would act as sellers, others would deliver the drugs and yet a third party would collect the money. 

During the raid, the police seized cocaine, heroin, marijuana, "speed", tranquilizers and hallucinogens along with two vehicles and 726 Euros.

Near the entrance to our estate people arrive in cars supposedly to meet up for a chat. Apart from the litter that they leave, it does make you wonder if there is some other purpose to their visits. Why would people take the trouble to come out of their way to an isolated spot just to chat? Why not just go to each other’s houses?

Every now and then a police car will patrol the area but with a clear view of the road up to the estate, they can be seen arriving well in advance.

For the true romantics amongst you

Opera 2001 will be performing Puccini’s "La Bohème" at 8:30pm on Saturday in the Teatro Circo de Orihuela.

This famous love story between a seamstress called Mimi and a poet called Rodolfo is set in 1830s Paris. The pair almost immediately fall in love with each other. Rodolfo later wants to leave Mimì, supposedly because of her flirtatious behaviour. In fact, it is because Mimì is very ill, and Rodolfo feels guilty, since their life together may have worsened her health even further. They reunite for a brief moment at the end before Mimì dies. A story with a sad ending!

Tickets cost between 18 and 22 Euros; students rate 9 Euros and a 5% discount for large families.

Our teacher Antonio told us yesterday that he would be going. 

A caring world

We all want our technology for less which is why the manufacture of much of it takes place in countries like China and Taiwan where labour costs are low. This does raise cause for concern in certain quarters because people do have a conscience about these things until they get to the shops that is.

Nike came under a lot pressure in the 1990s for using cheap labour in the far east to produce its goods. Now it is the turn of Apple to face the same dilemma.

Apple uses Foxconn plants in China to assemble iPhones, iPads, iPods and computers. Staff in the factories work for six or seven days a week, for up to 14 hours a day to earn 1,800-2,500 yuan (217 – 302 Euros) a month.

However, it isn’t just Apple that Foxcomm produce for; Xbox 360 video game consoles for Microsoft, and computers for Dell and Hewlett-Packard are also produced at their factories but the pressure at the moment is on Apple because of its success.

Of course, if we feel so bad about it,  we could return to sourcing components from countries where working conditions are more acceptable but then what price would we be paying for that new mobile phone or that laptop? In any case, Foxcomm employs 1.2 million Chinese in its factories. How would they feel if we stopped buying the products they produce? 

Apart from the advances in processor power, it is the price of RAM (the memory all these devices use) that has driven computing forward. In 1973 12 Kb of RAM would have cost you 4,680 US $, even in 1985 2Mb would have set you back 699 US $. Now you can buy 2 x4GB of RAM from Newegg for 39.99 US $.

Remember there are 1024 Kb in a Mb and 1024 Mb in a Gb so you can figure out what 8Gb of RAM would have cost in 1972 – I will spare you the maths it would have been 3,271,557,120 $.

Where goods are produced and the price of RAM reflects in the price we pay for our technology. Back in 1981, a Model A BBC computer, cost £235  with  16kKb of RAM and a 2Mz processor. Storage was via a tape cassette or a floppy disc drive. Today you can buy a Dell Inspiron for £269 with a 2.9Gz processor, 4Gb of RAM and a 500Gb hard drive. Components made in the Foxcomm factory of course!

Tension mounts in Spain

I think we can safely say that the mass rallies that took place on Sunday in cities like Madrid and Valencia were just the tip of the iceberg to come. I would not be surprised to learn of a call for a general strike in the country sometime soon.

The protests at the weekend were about the government’s plans to make it easier for employers to fire workers and to introduce wage cuts. The labour reforms are meant to create jobs and and reduce the 23% unemployment rate in the log term. However, the economy is set to shrink by 1.7% this year and even the government expects the unemployment rate to increase in the short term.

From the workers perspective the moves will only serve to worsen their situation, we all understand that. However, the fact is that employment in Spain was stagnant. It was very hard for companies to fire people and when they did, the redundancy payments they had to fork out were crippling. That might have suited those who were employed but meant that companies struggled to keep their completive edge in the European market. They were also unable to create new jobs for the young people fresh into the job market.

By comparison with countries like Germany, Spanish workers were overpaid. During the boom years when the economy was buoyant, Spanish workers enjoyed pay rises which far exceeded their European counterparts. In present society, we have all come to expect more; to be now told you are going to have less is therefore a bitter pill to swallow. There aren’t a lot of choices open to Spain if it wants to regain its former economic stability, maintaining the status quo is no longer an option.

A good cause

I read in the paper today that the Association of Relatives of Patients suffering from Alzheimer’s,  'Remember Me' in  Bigastro has signed a collaborative agreement with the Social Work of the La Caixa Bank to carry out the second phase of its Family Respite Unit for dependents. The donation of 12,000 Euros to the association will ensure the permanence of the unit which was set up last year in the Integrated Social Centre.

That is wonderful news, well done all those members of the Association and especially our neighbour Eladia who is of course one of them.

Children meet the players

The audience of children from the municipal sports school had plenty of questions to ask Sergio Mantecón and Cristóbal Márquez from Elche Football Club on Monday.

At the end of the chat, there was a raffle, the players signed autographs and had their pictures taken with the children. The players then invited the children to watch the match against Recreativo Huelva next week.

To thank them, the players were presented with two boxes of lemons courtesy of "Perales and Ferrer-La Perdiz".

Braving the cold

In spite of the cold, hundreds turned out yesterday to take part in the costume parade in Bigastro. Many came as individuals and others came in groups. The gymnastic club, the tennis club, the basketball club and the football club all came out in force and put on a great display.

You can see the rest of my photos here. 

It is hard to feel sorry for them

Spain has to make 40bn Euros of adjustments in this year’s budget. The government has already found 15bn Euros by means of cuts and tax rises but there is still a lot more to come.

Last week, the Government announced that the golden handshakes to executives from the banks taken over by the state would be cancelled. The 1m Euros that the executives had approved for themselves if they were laid off outraged many Spaniards.  Executive pay to nationalised  banks was also capped at 300,000 Euros and to those that had borrowed from the state to 600,000 Euros. This means the Rodrigo Rato, chairman of the Bankia Bank will have suffered a 75% pay cut.  The fact is the recession in Spain was caused in part by a housing bubble pumped up by loans from the banks that now need taxpayer help like the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo and the  Caja Castilla La Mancha.

Now, in a further measure, the pay for executives in state-owned and partly state-owned companies has been cut by up to 35%. For the smaller public companies, salaries have been capped at 80,000 Euros and 55,000 Euros including perks. The number of directors of these companies has also been curbed.

Reading this in conjunction with the stories about British bank executives awarding themselves huge bonuses even though their banks had to be bailed out by the government makes you realise that banks are the biggest thieves in society. The notion that they have to award obscene salaries and bonuses to attract the right people does not sit well with the ordinary investor who has seen the value of his savings drop because of miserly interest rates. These people ‘play with our money’ and lose it because of bad investments but still expect to be paid their high salaries. It’s a bloody cheek if you ask me, I cannot feel one bit sorry for them.  

Saving money on health

Although the proposed strike by chemists in December was called off, the situation that led to this desperate measure still exists. Chemists are still not receiving payments from Valencia for the drugs they dispense. In desperation, they have requested that the Government intervene and take over health matters from the cash strapped region.

Now we read that many health centres in the region will be closed at weekends as part of the cost cutting measures. The Health councillor says that it will be those centres where patient numbers are low on Saturdays that will close and that they would be open for an extra hour, Mondays to Fridays to make up for it. Whether this affects the health centre in Biagstro or not, I can’t say. I do know that last summer the air conditioning in the centre was shut off to save money.

Putting the record straight

In a press conference, Raul Valerio, spokesperson for the PSOE in Bigastro, referred to Aurelio Murcia as a partner in the company Andreas Villas which he said owed money to the Council for construction work in 2004.

Just to clear up this misunderstanding, Ginés Ruiz, one of the three directors of Andrea Villas, told the newspapers that Aurelio Murcia is not a partner in that company. He pointed out that there are two court rulings that highlight this fact. He said that he was doing this because he would not want any misunderstanding that could aversely affect the company.

If you lived on Calle Irlanda, then you would have been well aware of the bad blood that exists between the two ex partners. The house that Murcia lives in was built by Star Sol and so, when the company was in financial difficulty, Ruiz tried to force him out of it; even resorting to having the electricity and water cut off and the gate to the parking area rammed. Eventually, the courts ruled that the house was constructed for Murcia as a “gift” from Star Sol and therefore he could continue to live there as he still does today.

A word of advice

I am a keen internet shopper. From the comfort of my home, I can research and find those things I want to buy without hassle. I can take my time and plan my purchases. It beats getting in the car, struggling to park and battling with queues in a shop only to find the goods you want are out of stock.

There is a downside though. When you go to a shop and buy, you get instant gratification. You come home with the goods in hand. Buying on the internet incurs a delay as you wait for your order to be processed and then dispatched. A lot of UK companies say, if you order before a certain time, then you will have the goods next day. That is almost the same as going to the shop.

Living in Spain, delivery from the UK does take a little longer but where companies use a courier, that is only a matter of a couple of days. I would expect ordering directly from Spain to be a lot quicker and I am sure with most companies it is.

There are always exceptions though and one such is Carrefour Online. Ordering from them has been the worst Internet shopping I have ever experienced. It has been worse than my orders with Simply Electronics and they were bad! 

I placed an order with Carrefour Online on the 7th February and received an email telling me that the order had been placed satisfactorily. On the 9th I received a further email telling me that I needed to send copies of my passport, my credit card (showing the last four numbers) and a signed note authorising them to use the card to pay for the order. I sent the copies back straight away but had to wait until the 14th before my order was finally being processed.

At that point I thought it would only be a matter of a day or two before the courier was ringing the bell at the gate. How wrong I was, it is now Friday 17th and my order is still being processed. Even if the order is dispatched today, it will probably be Tuesday 21st before I receive the goods. That means it will have taken Carrefour a staggering two weeks to fulfil my order.

I suppose I should have been aware of the clues, "available in 6 working days" clearly means they don't have stocks to hand but get them from distributors as and when they receive orders.

My advice therefore is NOT to use Carrefour Online if you want something anytime soon. Instead order form El Corte Ingles who do have stocks and promise next day delivery.

They’re after your money

The Costa Blanca News recently warned its readers about scam emails and now the British Embassy in Madrid is echoing that warning.

The original scam email that the newspaper unveiled said it was from HM Customs and Revenue requesting bank details in order to pay a tax rebate. And now a further email doing the rounds supposedly comes from the Spanish tax office (Agencia Tributaria AEAT). Neither are of course genuine. The third type of scam are emails asking for urgent funds to be sent to help friends or families in distress.

Unfortunately, these email scams are becoming common place and are largely targeted at ex-pats.

The advice provided by banks is never to give your banking details via email. Since neither HMRC nor AEAT have my email address, it would be extraordinary for them to contact me and I know my bank will never contact me in this way.

However, I was asked recently to send a copy of my credit card by email. Since the company only needed the last four digits to confirm the details I had given them via their secure site, I carefully erased the other numbers so they were totally illegible. If I hadn’t the software on my computer to do this, I would have covered them with a piece of paper.

Sadly, there are some very unscrupulous people out there determined to try and con us out of our money by any means at their disposal. It is up to us to make sure they do not  succeed by applying common sense when using the Internet.

Cheaper than a new computer

If your PC crashes for no apparent reason, you keep receiving error messages and don't know why your PC runs much slower than when you first bought it, the chances are you have a problem with your registry. I personally use TuneUp Utilities to keep my PC happy but here is another product which might work well for you.

Digeus Registry Cleaner

I would not have this in my house!

If one of the purposes of art is to spark controversy, then this sculpture succeeds

The work by the artist, Eugenio Merino shows the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco set inside a fridge.

Merino says "Always Franco" is meant to be a comment on how the former dictator continues to make headlines in Spain and adds, "It represents the idea that in Spain people are keeping the image of Franco alive. We don't stop talking about him, debating about him. A fridge is where things are kept alive and fresh".

The piece is currently on show at the ARCO art fair in Madrid. If you want it, then the Barcelona-based gallery ADN will sell it to you for about 30,000 Euros.

Previous works by the artist include a sculpture of the British artist Damien Hirst shooting himself in the head and "Stairway to Heaven" which depicts an Arab man on his knees praying, with a Catholic priest on the Arab's back also knelt in prayer and a Rabbi in turn standing on the shoulders of the priest.

I understand that, if Damien Hirst shot himself, his works would increase in value but does he or we need to be told that?

I ask you, “whatever happened to art that was meant to convey beauty, the human spirit and serenity; art that uplifted the soul?” 

Don’t get me wrong, art has always courted controversy as a theme but usually in a more acceptable form. I think you could say that I don’t care for either of these!

The come back

Aurelio Murcia, who is in charge of Town Planning in Bigastro, has once again challenged the ex mayor, Raúl Valerio Medina by asking him to explain why two of the five outstanding bills for work to improve irrigation pipelines in the town were not paid. He says that the money for this work came from the Generalit in Valencia and should therefore have been paid to Pavasal, the company that completed the reformations.

The Councillor also denies that Villas Andrea owed money to the Council and points out that, if that had been the case then it should have been dealt with in 2007 when Valerio was in charge of finance. He says that the ex mayor is lying and making up debts that do not exist. 

To use a tennis analogy, I think the score is now 30 – 15 with Murcia scoring two aces so far.

Damn it, we missed the parade

The Carnival Parade in Torrevieja is almost a must on our calendar but this year we have missed it. There are two parades, one in the afternoon and one at night. The night parade starts at 10pm so we normally would go to the daytime one but that took place last Sunday when we were otherwise engaged.

Reading about it in the Coast Rider, it sounds like this year’s parade lived up to the usual high standard with 30 comparsas taking part. It was apparently very cold though, especially for those dressed in next to nothing. I expect performing the elaborate dance routines helped to warm the participants up a little but it would have been cold for us standing there for over four hours.

Turning back the clock

I read in the Guardian this morning about a town in La Mancha that has reintroduced the peseta but just for one month. There are still millions of pesetas in circulation according to the Bank of Spain, lots of people clung on to them when the country changed to the Euro in 1999.

The move has turned out to be profitable for local businesses  because people from around the area  have taken the opportunity to visit Villamayor de Santiago to spend their old currency. At the end of the month, the shopkeepers will take the pesetas to the Bank of Spain in Madrid to exchange them for Euros. Since the rate of exchange was set at 1 Euro = 166.386 ESP, they will have large bundles of notes to take with them.

We won’t be going there

It was entirely predictable that the combination of traffic going to the market in Orihuela and the work on the high speed train line was going to cause chaos in the area of the Recinto Ferial and it did. That was the reason why the local council proposed moving the market to the area around Ociopia.  The market traders objected to the move and so, yesterday the market reopened in its original location.

Pam and I have only been to the market twice at the Recinto Ferial and twice was enough. To find a parking spot, you have to be there early and we don’t do early anymore. Go at a sensible time and it is a devil of a job to find somewhere safe to park your car. And that was before work started on the high speed train line.

Yesterday was apparently a nightmare with traffic crawling along the roads, especially the routes from Callosa. It will be absolutely awful for those people who live in the area, I imagine they won’t even bother trying to move their cars on Tuesdays for the next two years.

Carnival time

On Saturday 18th February, to mark the last Saturday of Carnival, the Merchants Association in Bigastro and 15 of the bars, cafes and pubs are organizing a costume party in the town with a cash prize of € 300.00 along with various gifts which will be delivered on Sunday from 4:30pm onwards.

1. - To be eligible, you must be in disguise and buy a drink in at least 5 of the 15 bars participating in the contest. They will then stamp your card in one of the five spaces.

2. – All the bars will have a box in which you can place your completed card.

3. – On Sunday February 19th from 4:30 pm, the various draws will take place in the bars.

4. – In cases where the winners are under age, the awards will be delivered to their legal guardians or carers (over 18)

My friend  German, from the Ayuntamiento, tells me that the parade will take place at 5pm, Saturday on Calle Purisima. 

PS That very much sounds like a great photo opportunity for El Willo! See you there.

Figures for El Altet look bleak

El Altet airport at Alicante had 10% fewer passengers in January compared to last year and 20.2% fewer flights. Cargo flights also dropped by 10.9 percent at El Altet.

The biggest problem for El Altet has been the loss of flights by the budget airline, Ryanair who cancelled 20 routes from the airport because of the instance by Aena that they must use air bridges to load and off load passengers. Summer looks as though it could be even worse because Ryanair threatens to cut 300 flights per month during the peak period. 

To put these figures into perspective, flights to and from Spain during January dropped by 2.9% overall in comparison with last year.

Medina fights back

Defending his position as ex mayor of Bigastro, Raúl Valerio Medina accuses the present government team of colouring the truth in their comments to the papers because they would have been aware of the debt of 376,000 Euros of which 80,000 Euros was interest because it was included in a report prepared last October. To be fair, whether they knew previously or not is kind of a mute point.

Medina goes on to say that part of that debt occurred because Andrea VIllas, the company that Aurelio Murcia was part of, owed over 65,000 Euros to the Council for work constructing 180 houses in 2006.

In his report to Informacion , he acknowledged the claim by the company Idearco of 7.5 billion Euros for losses related to the building of an apartment complex at La Pedrera.

Finally, Medina maintains that the actual debt of the town is 17 million Euros and not the 31 million claimed by the PP/UNPLC. Now we all know that over exaggeration is a trait that politicians specialise in and 17 million sounds a lot better than 31. However, even if Medina’s figure is correct, for a town of 7,000 people it is still a hell of a lot of debt.

From one rubbish dump to another

Visitors to Orihuela in recent weeks cannot have missed the piles of uncollected garbage that have strewn the streets. The problem was caused by workers, on strike because they had not been paid.

On Friday, the strike was called off and the rubbish started to shift but that has now caused a further problem.

Garbage from Orihuela used to be collected by Proambiente, the company owned by Angel Fenoll and was dumped near to Crevillente. The new contractor has nowhere permanent as yet to offload the garbage and so is dumping the waste at a site near to Villamartin which is intended only for garden waste.

Naturally, the local residents complained and so the Guardia Civil from Guardamar were called out to investigate.

One man’s waste is another man’s fortune

It is surprising how much money there is to be made from garbage collection. However, having it dumped on your doorstep does not make you best friends with the guy bent on making his fortune this way. 

A sleepy town with a noisy problem

You hear so often about the problems caused by young people in England drinking to excess at the weekends, the so called “binge drinking” and assume that this is peculiar to our native land but apparently that is not the case.

This morning I read about similar problems in the small hamlet of los Palacios, near to Formentera del Segura. Apparently weekends in the pedania are a nightmare for the local residents.

It all starts with chairs being taken from the local bars, cars coming and going and a throng of young people congregating in the streets where the bars are located. The car doors are left open to provide a mobile disco and then the party starts.  The noise and the revelling carries on until the early hours of the morning. On Fridays and Saturdays the bars close at 3:30am so that is about the time when things start to quieten down.

It isn’t just the noise levels though that people complain off, it is the fact that the streets are littered with bottles and glasses and the stench of urine which lingers permanently in the air. That is not what you would expect in a sleepy little Spanish hamlet.

People have complained to the police and the town hall.

In 2006 the area around the bars was declared to be “acoustically saturated”, bar licences were revoked and regular patrols by the Guardia Civil were instigated. Since then though, the problem has got worse. There are more bars and therefore more people and more noise.

The local people have asked for a greater police presence with constant patrols rather than just the odd car driving past. Some have even decided to try and sell up. Fat chance they have of doing that!

It isn’t just in Formentera where this problem exists, visit any Spanish town or city during the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning and you will likely find a similar scenario. It might be convenient to have a flat in the centre of a town but it certainly will not provide you with a quiet life. For that you need somewhere outside like Villas Andrea. Even here though, we suffer from groups of young people carrying their bags of bottles up to La Pedrera to party in the summer. You have to be sound asleep not to hear their noisy return to the town in the early hours of the morning.

Some say the problem has been worsened by the high levels of youth unemployment; I’m not so sure about that. Perhaps I am wrong, but I believe this is a social phenomena brought about by modern attitudes gleaned from American television. Like the introduction of junk food into the Mediterranean diet, it is the inevitable McDonaldisation of the world and the spread of American culture across the globe. It's as welcome to older Spaniards as the law preventing smoking in public places.