Better weather is on its way

After a cold weekend which was made to feel even colder by a biting wind, daytime temperatures rose by 6 degrees at the start of this week.

Tuesday was the windiest day with speeds of 49.9 km per hour recorded in Orihuela. On open ground at El Realango, near to Crevillente, gusts of over 100km per hour were recorded. The wind chill on mountain tops would have dropped temperatures by –40 degrees.

Unfortunately the return to  warmer weather was not set to last, yesterday the maximum was 12 degrees (down 5 degrees from Monday). It will continue to be cold for a while but not as cold as last weekend and without the wind, it should feel a lot milder.

I know of quite a few people who forgot to bring coats with them when they moved to Spain. Lulled by the hot summers they had spent here, they thought that summer was all year round. Not so, winters can be harsh here in the Costa Blanca. Generally speaking, the weather is fine up to December with maybe the odd spell to remind you that winter is coming. January and February seem to be the worst months with rain, wind and cold snaps. Come March, things improve although there can still be odd periods where the wind picks up or we face a deluge of rain - how many Easter parades have had to be cancelled because of rain?

April going into May are usually mild, a time when you can get your shorts out and wear just a T-shirt. Then of course we move on to June which is a lovely month.

For those, like Pam and I who love the sun, July and August are the best months of the year. As long as you know how to dress properly and avoid the hottest part of the day, these months are brilliant. September, October and November are like spring again and then we move to December which can be either good or bad – sunshine on Christmas Day beats snow in my book!

The Rock is a hard place

The fact that Gibraltar is still British is a running sore with the Spanish government who are now trying to up the ante by asking the British government to take Gibraltar out of talks regarding sovereignty.

The contrast between Gibraltar and its neighbour is stark.

Gibraltar has a GDP of just over £1 billion, growth is expected to be over 4% this year and unemployment is almost nil. Businesses in Gibraltar are booming. By comparison Spain has an unemployment rate of over 20% and expects growth this year to be in negative figures.

However we must remember that Spanish workers in Gibraltar earned £43m in 2007 – the most recent data available – which would be repatriated to Spain and  Gibraltar businesses imported £174m worth of goods from Spain.

Gibraltar makes its money through offshore finance, tourism, its port and online gaming – and an enticingly low corporate tax rate of 10 per cent has brought businesses flocking to their shores.

For certain, the people on the Rock do not want to be considered Spanish and why should they be? They hope that David Cameron will defend their rights in talks with Mariano Rajoy unlike Tony Blair who came close to conceding joint sovereignty when he was Prime Minister.

The circle of debt

It isn’t just Bigastro that defaults on payments, I read this morning of a complaint by the Green Party in Torrevieja that the company who are building the new Santa Semana museum are owed over two million Euros for the work they have completed.

Although the project is included in the Plan Trust by the Consell in Valencia, it was the city council that contracted the work so it is to them that the company are making the claim. In all, nine certificates for completed work have been issued (they are waiting for the final certificate).  Normally the constructor would expect staged payments following each completed certificate.

The company concerned now say that they have exhausted all dialogue between them and the council and so are considering taking the case to court. However, as we know from reports in the newspapers, Valencia is in a worse financial state than the towns in this area so I imagine, if they do take the case to law, they will join a long list of other pending claims. 

This is all part of a viscous circle of debt.

Since there is no longer any point in building houses, companies rely upon public works to keep going but then they find that the municipalities and regions have no money to pay for the work they commission.  The companies cannot borrow money from the savings banks which are strapped for cash so they cannot pay their suppliers nor their workers and so eventually everything grinds to a halt. The companies go out of business leaving half finished building projects which are just an eyesore.

The new museum in Torrevieja has a budget of 5.6 million Euros to be paid for by Valencia and was supposed to be open for this Easter. Somehow I don’t think that is going to happen!

Not all dogs are dangerous

My neighbour Eladia tells me that I do not need to be wary off their two dogs, Luka and Nero. They may bark a lot when people go past the house but nothing more.

Actually the two dogs are a delight.  They come to the gate to greet Pamela and wait for a word or two and a stroke.  Strangely, the dogs seem to understand both Spanish and English!

Originally, there was just the one dog, Luka, who got all the attention. When Nero came along, he tried to push Luka out so Pamela had to employ both hands and try to separate them thus making sure that each got equal attention.

In the summer, when it is hot, they just lie on the porch and might just look up before going back to sleep.

I have said it before but it does bear repeating, the family that live across the road from us are some of the best neighbours we have ever had, they are just such wonderful people. In fact, all of our Spanish neighbours on Calle Irlanda are good people who we get on well with.

Why I am always wary of dogs

A 35 year old man and a 30 year old woman were admitted to Alicante General Hospital yesterday after being bitten by a dog. The wounds are described as serious and the owner of the dog faces prosecution even though one of the victims was his daughter.

The man was working clearing the garden in the rural cottage just outside Alicante when the dog became very aggressive, broke free from the rope that was holding it and bite his right leg and left forearm. The daughter tried to stop the dog and she too was bitten several times on her leg and arm. 

The two of them tried to escape by getting into a van but the dog managed to follow them and bite the man again on his right foot. Finally they managed to escape and called the security forces. Eight policemen along with members of the Canine Unit arrived and managed to sedate the dog which has now been impounded.

The dog in question has been described as a cross breed and was five years old. Presumably, it was being used a a guard dog by the owner and so was only doing what it was supposed to.

Certain breeds of dogs have a naturally aggressive nature and no matter how placid they may seem to be, there is always the possibility of them turning nasty. There are countless cases of people being attacked and in some cases killed by so called pets. Pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, Rottweilers etc, I would not trust any of them. I’m even wary of some German Shepherds. 

At long last

The desalination plant at Torrevieja was supposed to be the ‘jewel in the crown’ and the answer to the shortage of water in this area but it has stood idle since completion.

The issue was the last piece of the jigsaw - the two giant pipes needed to bring water to the plant from the sea and then return the waste water back. The port is managed by the Department of Infrastructure who were demanding too high a price to the State Corporation Mediterranean Basin Water SA, the company that developed the plant.

Now, five years after work began on the largest desalination plant in Europe, an agreement has been reached. The company will pay 1.2 million Euros per year, an estimated 5% of the revenue, to the Government in exchange for access.

Work began on the 25th of January with eleven trucks a day bringing rock from a quarry in Murcia to build the platform on which a reinforced concrete box will be constructed to  house the tubes. The whole structure will then be covered with a boardwalk which will stretch out to the lighthouse.  Although the constructors are working flat out to try and complete the work as quickly as possible, it is likely that there will be disruption on the Castaway beach during the tourist season.

The main hold up to the work was of course caused by a political clash between the socialist Government and the conservative controlled Generalit in Valencia with the government opposing the plant on environmental issues.

This area has, for some time, relied upon transfers of water from the Tajo to the Segura via the pipelines which run the other side of Orihuela. The regional government of Castilla-La Mancha have always opposed that arrangement which had to be renegotiated each year. Once the desalination plant is complete, it will be capable of producing 80 hectometres of drinking water per year which will mean that  the area will no longer be reliant upon the Tajo/Segura transfer.

Candles are not just for decoration

We have a number of candles in the lounge/dining room; on the coffee table, in the fireplace and on the dining room table. Mostly they are there for decoration but occasionally we need to use them for light.

Yesterday evening, just as we came back to the house at a few minutes after 8pm, the electricity for the whole of Villas Andrea went off. it had happened twice already during the daytime and on both occasions the power returned within seconds.

Last night though the power stayed off for over an hour. It came back on and then went off again a couple of times more but only for a few seconds. We have no idea what caused the problem but it was a pain in the backside because a) it delayed our evening meal and b) it stopped the television box from recording Boardwalk Empire.

Each time it happens, not only are we plunged into darkness; the television box has to reset itself, the Internet router has to reset itself, the Voip phone has to reset itself and we have to reset the clock on the oven because that won’t work if the clock isn’t set. To be honest, I don’t bother setting the time properly  on that clock anymore – just set it to zero.

My next job, when it gets light, is to find out which of the pots on the roof has moved because every time the wind gusts hard something rattles on the roof terrace just above the bedroom. Not a huge problem in the daytime but it is at night when it wakes me up.

Life in Spain is mostly ‘Esto es Jauja’ but not always!

A top tip for residents of Villas Andrea

If you are going to put your washing out this morning, make sure you use strong clothes pegs because the wind is blowing quite hard:-)

Shaken but not stirred

Even though it was well outside of living memory, the earthquake of 1829 which destroyed Torrevieja and killed 389 people still has a profound effect on people’s perceptions of earthquakes in this area.

So, when the earth started to tremble in Torrevieja yesterday at 5:43 in the morning, people went outside as a precaution. The first signs were apparently a loud noise which increased until it sounded like thunder. In some cases, furniture inside houses moved. Luckily there was no damage reported and no casualties.

The quake, which measured 3 on the Richter scale had its epicentre 3kms off the coast of Torrevieja and was 11kms under the sea. The effects were reported to be felt in Benijófar, Rojales, Los Montesinos, Almoradi, Benejúzar, Torrevieja, San Miguel de Salinas, Algorfa and Crevillent.

Torrevieja is in one of areas of greatest seismic activity in this region and often has minor quakes of up to 3 on the Richter scale.

Some say that a series of minor quakes is good because it means the earth is shifting a little at a time rather than building up to a larger 5.1 quake like the one in Lorca, 11th May 2011 which was only 1km below the town.

Roads closed in Spain for snow!

Not to be outdone by other countries, there has been some snow in the interior of Alicante province which has closed a few of the roads.

In Alcoy, Biar, Ibi and Xixona there have been significant snowfalls creating problems for motorists. The CV-780 between Alcoy and Benifallim has been closed along with the road between Elda and Monóvar. Driving through Muro de Alcoy, Ibi and Banyeres de Mariola and surrounding areas is also described as tricky.

DGT recommend care when driving in these areas, be on the lookout for snow and ice sheets. Me - I am going nowhere near those places!

Don’t be fooled

Looking at the three day weather watch in the left hand sidebar you may be thinking that the cold weather is going to be over with but the long term forecast tells us something different.

By the middle of next week the lull of warmer weather will come to an end and we will be back to single figure daytime temperatures and cold nights again – sorry!

Shake up in the Socialist Party

Having lost badly in the last General Election, the Spanish socialists have had a bit of a shake up as follows:

President: Jose Antonio Griñán

General Secretary: Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba

Deputy Secretary General: Elena Valenciano

Secretary of Organization: Oscar López

Secretary of Foreign Policy: Patxi López

Secretary for Equality: Purificación Causapié

Ministry of Economy and Employment: Inmaculada Rodríguez Piñero

Secretary of Institutional Relations and Regional Policy: Antonio Hernando

Secretary of Participation, Networking and Innovation: Maria González Veracruz

City Secretary and Municipal Policy: Gaspar Zarrías

Secretary of ideas and programs: Jesus Caldera

Secretary of Social Policy: Trinidad Jiménez

Secretary of Education and Culture: Maria del Mar Villafranca

Secretary of Planning and Sustainability: Hugo Morán

And in the other departments will be Rafael Simancas (Training), Juan Moscoso (European Union), Marisol Pérez (Cooperation and Immigration) and Carmela Silva (Emigration). The Executive will also have twenty members : Eduardo Madina, Jaime Lissavetzky, Emiliano García Page, Sergio Gutierrez, Carlos Perez, Carolina Darías, Jose Zaragoza, Francina Armengol, María Teresa Noguera, José Miguel Rodríguez, Esperanza Estévez, Alejandro Soler, María Gámez, Javier Fernández, María José Fernández, Carmen Montón, Maite Fernandez,  Maru Menéndez, Pachi Vázquez and Dolores Gorostiaga.

All smiling faces now, let’s see how they look in just over three years time when they face the vote.

Peace at last

The kitchen door to our house is made of aluminium* and has vents top and bottom. They are there because we have gas; not necessary for the boiler which has a balanced flue but if we had a gas hob then they would be essential (there are no air bricks in the kitchen).

Since our hob and oven are electric, in winter I cover the vents with pieces of foam rubber. That stops the wind blowing through and prevents the hot air from escaping. However, even with the foam in place, the wind from the west was still howling through the door. At night we had to  turn the television up to drown the sound out. It has been like that for over seven years but not any more.

One night, when the wind was howling through the door, Pam pushed her foot against the bottom of it and miraculously the sound stopped. Although there is a rubber seal all round, the bottom of the door is slightly out of line and so the seal was not effective there. So, on my next trip to the ferrateria I bought a roll of one of those self adhesive foam strips and last night found the right place to apply it. Instantly, the howling stopped and peace returned to Casa El Willo – great result.

It has only taken me seven years to work this one out, just think what I might accomplish over the rest of my life!

* In case you are thinking – aluminium door – that is easy to break into;  we have a steel security gate outside it which has been heavily reinforced with extra locks, bolts into the brickwork and industrial strength hinges. 

A return to what they know best

Our teacher told us that, before the housing boom, the area of the Vega Baja was dedicated entirely to agriculture. It was the lure of rich pickings from selling houses that drove owners to sell their land and young people to working on building instead of in farming.

The fact that, once you have sold your land that is it, the income from it has gone did not seem to  matter because there was still plenty of land left to sell.  Everyone hoped there would be a never ending stream of buyers for the houses they planned to build and for a number of years that was true.

The two things that killed off the dream though were greed of the constructors who thought they could continue pushing their prices up and of course the economic crisis. Both of which mean that, those of us who bought during the boom years, have seen the value of our investments plummet as house prices returned to 2002 levels.

It wasn’t just constructors who became greedy, all the allied industries (carpenters, electricians, painters etc) also wanted a piece of the action and with their new found wealth, they bought expensive cars and big houses. Life was good in the Vega Baja; people who had faced poverty for years were suddenly rich and they took to new money like ducks to water. 

However, as fast as the boom developed, it came to a halt. The market for new houses stopped almost overnight leaving the construction industry with large tracts of land which they had bought up in preparation for building more houses. At least they had assets, the allied industries were left with nothing but what were the companies to do with the land they owned? The savings banks had taken a big hit on loans for construction and were no longer in a position to lend money for further developments. Although on paper, the companies still had huge assets in the land they owned, they no longer had the cash to develop it.

In the last couple of years, some of the construction companies that survived the economic crisis have decided that, since there is no point in building, they might as well use their land to grow crops instead. You can see the evidence of this in the areas of land that would have been covered in houses but which  are now planted with artichokes, lemons, onions, broccoli, oranges and lettuce. Of course the returns are not as great but using the land in this way is at least profitable and there is the added bonus of creating employment.  

The Vega Baja may well return to the situation our teacher told us about, an agricultural area where people do not become millionaires overnight but enjoy a life that they were once happy with.

In years to come, when the economic crisis has resolved itself, there may be a need for more new housing. Hopefully though, the Vega Baja will have learned the lesson and will not rush headstrong into a construction boom again; rather it will stick to what is knows well. Land used for agriculture may not bring the same returns but at least the income from it is year on year; whilst the demand for new houses fluctuates, the need for food remains constant. 

Come to the market

What is in store for those of you planning to go to the Medieval Market today or tomorrow?

You will find lots of places to eat and you’ll find lots of interesting characters wandering about. For the first time, as far as we know, you’ll be able to warm up with some mulled wine (it is going to be cold in that bitter wind so you’ll need it!)

There are lots of things to buy and did I mention, there is lots of food to eat.

You will find all these pictures and more in my Flickr album.

A bit of old news

The Gürtel case filled the front pages of newspapers in the region for some time. The allegation made was that the former regional president, Francisco Camps and the ex regional PP secretary general, Ricardo Costa had received gifts including bespoke suits in return for political favours. If I remember correctly, the issue was about the awarding of contracts to the promotion company, Orange Market for the Volvo Ocean Yacht Race. 

After the six week trial, the jury found them not guilty by a narrow 5-4 verdict. The case faltered because no documentary proof was given that showed they hadn’t paid for the clothing. Added to which, the relationship between the two and Francisco Correa, Pablo Crespo and Álvaro Pérez, alias ‘the moustache'  were deemed to be ‘purely commercial'.

It seems to me the case eventually floundered on a purely technical point which does not necessarily mean that the two men were regarded as being entirely innocent.

See you there

In case you missed it, the Medieval Market opens today in Orihuela at midday. With 350 stalls on the 3-4km route, there will be plenty to see and spend your money on.

Taking advantage of the number of visitors, Orihuela have prepared 40,000 brochures, in both Spanish and English, outlining the tourist features of the city from the gastronomy to the Moors and Christian celebrations. For more information, the Tourist Office will be open all weekend.

Whilst Pam will no doubt be looking around the stalls finding things to buy for our granddaughter, I will be there with my camera, trying to get that once in a lifetime shot of something interesting.

We will of course meet up for one of those roast pork sandwiches filled with succulent meat that just oozes juice and flavour. Apart from my photographs, it is all that I go to the market for!

Worthy winners

	I was right, Evaristo was one of the people who gained a prize for his story, "Cludy and the Snowman" and here he is in the Library for the presentation of prizes.(He's the one in the rust coloured jacket)
	The Councillor for Culture and Library,  Maria José Sarmiento Juan presented the awards to the winners of the 23rd Christmas Story Contest. PS She is the lady on the right of the photo.

Just send them back!

In October 1804, a Spanish frigate, the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, was sunk by a British squadron off Cape St Mary, Portugal. The cargo was gold and silver coins from Lima Peru which were being sent to Spain to finance Spain’s European wars.

In May 2007, the American treasure hunter, Odyssey Marine Exploration found 594,000 of the coins, shipped them to Gibraltar and then secretly flew them on to Florida.

The company claim that the coins were so scattered that they could have come from any wreck. However, since the coins were all minted before 1804 and matched the cargo of the Mercedes, the courts have now decided that the treasure trove rightly belongs to Spain and in particular to the descendants of the 250 sailors who were on board the ship at that time.

As you might expect, Odyssey are appealing against the decision. They say that, if they comply with the court order to return the coins within 10 days, then they do not stand a chance of seeing the coins returned.

PS Apparently 400,000 coins from the Mercedes still lie somewhere on the sea bed. Finding those would be better than winning on the Euromillions lottery.

Aurelio paints the picture for us

For those, like me, who were not at the Council Meeting to witness the attack on the previous council, Aurelio Murcia has outlined the financial situation the new council faced when they took over. You can read the whole article in today’s Informacion newspaper.

In the article the councillor talks about bills for work that was not budgeted for being left in drawers, about council workers who had not been paid for months, about people who were paid Social Security by the council*, workers who were paid but did not have contracts, even two societies that received money but were not included in the council’s accounts.

According to Aplem Consulting SL, there was no system for accounting in Bigastro, even the leaders of the Socialist party had no idea of the  level of debt the town faced. 

The bills which total 9.45 million Euros range from one due to HV Ingenerios for 1 cent to one of 1.86 million Euros due to D-6 UTE General. Because of the inept way that the previous council settled its bills, 356,000 Euros is now being claimed in interest, in charges for returned cheques and promissory notes that were not paid on time to suppliers.

Sr Murcia goes on to say that the previous council even managed to pay 96,592 Euros for bills that creditors did not claim as debts. However, in the meantime, they owed 924,000 Euros to the Treasury for Social Security and 734,000 Euros in tax. As a result, Bigastro is not receiving its monthly quota from Central Government.

Council workers are owed 354,000 Euros added to which 3.2 million Euros  is being claimed by the courts for unpaid works and services. There are ten judicial proceedings pending against Bigastro.

The largest claim will be for the 35,000 square metres of land sold to Idearco to build an hotel, an apartment complex and golf practice ranges at La Predrera. Since it was deemed ilegal to build on that land,  Aurelio Murcia says that will be an impossible case for the council to win.

The total of debt on paper is around 17.2 million Euros. When you add on the further debt that could ensue from the court cases etc, the figure could be as high as 35 million Euros.

Knowing the level of debt is one thing, what we really need to know is how did this debt come about. The previous council must have known how much income they would receive year on year and so how much they had to in their budget to spend.

Two questions I’d like to ask:

1. Presumably the town was solvent at one point, when and why did things change?
2. Why did the Socialist Council embark upon expenditure plans that far exceeded their income?

* There is a pun on the word that locals are spreading around. Split the word socialista into two and you get social lista referring to the list of people who were paid Social Security by the council.