Care for the elderly - Japanese style

The Japanese obviously care about their ageing population.

Old people are prone to falling. To save them from injury, the Japanese have produced a 1.1kg pouch that straps around the waist to provide the wearer with cutting edge protection. Sensors detect movement and have been programmed to know when things have gone wrong — a slip on something wet, a stumble on an uneven paving stone or a fall down stairs.

Within a tenth of a second, the airbags inflate to the size of three footballs with the help of 15 litres of compressed gas, offering a soft slab of padding on the most vulnerable parts of the body in a fall: the back of the head and the bottom.

Actually, the Japanese already have plenty of other devices to cater for the ageing market. Foremost among them is the I-Pot, an intelligent kettle that offers round-the-clock monitoring and surveillance of its owner.

The theory is that, when they are at home, elderly Japanese make themselves an average of two cups of tea every hour (NB I hope they have good plumbing). The kettle is programmed to send a text message to a son or daughter as soon as it is not used at normal intervals. If the tea-drinking rate drops to zero, it might be time to call to find out what is going on, or alert a friendly neighbour.

In a country where almost 22 per cent of the population is already over 65 — compared with fewer than 13 per cent in the US this all makes economic sense.

Other gadgets the Japanese have for the elderly

Liquid level indicator Device fitted to cups or jugs that beeps when liquid is an inch from the top of the container

Bed occupancy sensor sends a warning to a monitoring centre if a bed is left unoccupied for a certain period, indicating a possible fall

Dolls that weigh as much as a baby and tell owners they love them, and welcome them back to the house — very popular with elderly women

Brain training game Nintendo gadget successful with elderly Japanese who use the mathematical and spelling puzzles to keep them mentally agile

Light-up slippers Footwear with miniature pressure-activated torches designed to prevent night-time falls.

I like the light up slippers idea . Just one problem though - you might need a light to find the slippers.

Should we move our money?

Germany's go-it-alone decision to prevent a run on its banks by guaranteeing up to €1 trillion of individuals' deposits was followed yesterday by several other EU countries.

Amid bitter recriminations about Berlin's shock move on Sunday, Spain indicated that it could soon join Austria, Denmark, Greece, Ireland and Sweden in offering a full government guarantee for deposits.

Spain was enraged at being left out of Saturday's emergency summit of British, French, German and Italian leaders when its banks have proven safe so far, and demanded talks for its prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, with Sarkozy in Paris this week. Zapatero held an emergency meeting with leading bankers in Madrid last night.

Pedro Solbes, the Spanish finance minister and a former EU commissioner, said: "I would have preferred that no member country took decisions unilaterally which are always negative.

"If each country maintains its position, we'll have to look at the impact it's having on Spain."

So, just where should we put our money; Ireland, Germany, Denmark....?

The very last thing the banks need are for people to start moving their savings from one place to another. Nothing would destabilise the already fragile system more. Anyone with large savings is naturally going to be nervous but all this clamouring to assuage them  isn't necessarily going to help. If anything it will make them even more nervous. God help us if people start hiding their money under the bed to keep it safe.

Another 350,000€ winner.

This time the winners are in San Miguel de Salinas. Francisca Fernández Martínez., who sold the winning ONCE tickets, reckons that there are twenty people to share the prize.

It looks like good fortune is circling round the area. I reckon it's only a matter of time before someone on Bigastro touches lucky. IT COULD BE YOU!

My worries are over

This email informs me that there is a huge sum of money just waiting for me to collect from any ATM machine in the world. All I have to do is send my details to a Rev. Nicholas Smith who will then send me the ATM card.

Apart from the amateur look of the mail, I'm a bit concerned that they are using a live.com email address. Wouldn't you think that the third largest bank in Nigeria  would have their own Internet domain? Actually they do and it is www.gtbplc.com.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

Office of

Mrs. Aderinokun Tayo

Corporate Services (Managing Director)

Attention: Beneficiary,

This is to officially inform you that we have verified your Payment, which has been approved for immediate release in your favor. The Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has been assigned to make necessary arrangements for the release of your Payment proceed of $1,573,000.00 (One Million, Five Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand United States Dollars) through our Automated Teller Machine (ATM) ATM Cash Plus fully powered by Global Cash Plus.

The reason why the current president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umar Musa Yar'Dua mandated this Bank to make necessary arrangements for the release of your Payment through our Automated Teller Machine (ATM) ATM Cash Plus was that the Financial Fraud Intelligence Monitoring Network have discovered that some group of unscrupulous elements have fraudulently using the Federal Government of Nigeria letter headed paper to miss-inform creditors like you causing a lot of problems and irregularities towards the release of your overdue payment because of all this fraudulent act the Financial Fraud Intelligence Monitoring Network office has been dully intervened on the release of your funds.

The Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Cash Plus Payment Center will release your Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Card, which you can use to withdraw your money in any Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in any part of the world. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc hereby advise you to contact the ATM Cash Plus Payment Center on the contact information below:

Rev. Nicholas Smith

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

ATM Cash Plus Payment Department

Telephone: +234 1 473 0842

Mobile: +234 803 359 4284

Email: atmprocessingdepartment@live.com

And also remember to send the following information for your payment verification:

1. Full Name

2. Full Home Address (For Delivery of your ATM Card).

3. Your Direct Working Phone and fax number.

Note that the above requested information's are very important for proper verification with what they have in the list of approved beneficiary for payment for the last quarter of this year of 2008.

Thank you for your anticipated co-operation to help us serve you better.

Congratulation!

Mrs. Aderinokun Tayo

Corporate Services (Managing Director)

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

Yet another solution

You may have read about Slingbox and wondered what it is and more important will it allow you to watch UK TV here in Spain.

Slingbox is a device that costs from about £70 upwards. What it does is transmit a media signal over the Internet. You set up the Slingbox in the UK and connect it to a router. At this end you install the SlingPlayer software on your computer and configure it to the box in the UK. You can then watch the media that is being transmitted on your computer or connect your computer to a TV and watch it on that.

The software at your end controls the Slingbox in the UK allowing you to change channels etc. With the more expensive pro model you can connect to several devices e.g. a DVD as well as a free to air and Sky box. So, not only can you watch TV, you can watch your DVD and you can record programmes as well.

There can a bit of setting up to do to get the router connected to the Slingbox in the UK and of course you need a broadband connection at both ends. The quality of the picture will then be largely determined by the upstream speed of the router in the UK. It will therefore work best if the person in the UK has a high speed cable connection. You'd also need to consider the placement of the components as you would with the Telefónica set up.

With broadband via a phone line, most users say it is a bit like watching a DVD on a computer i.e. not exactly high definition. It can take a little while for the channels to settle down and you do get the occasional freeze but you'll get what you pay for.

The other downside is that the person in the UK will be using the upstream bandwidth on their broadband connection to supply your TV picture. It's good for those who have a holiday home here in Spain and don't mind paying for a broadband connection at both ends.

The only way is up

See, I told you the rate of exchange was improving. Friday morning it was 1.279. By the evening it was 1.287. This morning it is 1.297 - not quite the 1.300 I was hoping for but pretty damn close.

Normally my pension would be transferred to our Spanish account on the 6th but, for whatever reason, it was paid in on Saturday, the 4th.

Still never mind, if this trend continues (fingers and toes are all crossed), we'll be back to eating fillet steak once a month in November! If it ever gets back to 1.5ish, we'll have a bottle of rioja as well.

Calculating your tax

Those of you who have examined your SUMA tax bill will have worked out how the council tax is calculated. SUMA multiply the Base Liquidable by the Tipo Impositivo.

The Base Liquidable is a proportion of the Base Imponible - the Cadastral value of your property.

From your bill you will see that the Cadastral Value comprises two parts; the value of the land and buildings upon it.

To determine the value of the land, the administration considers the location, the circumstances affecting it and its appropriateness for building on.

To value of the building, takes into account the following :

1.- Building costs, profit from the contract, professional fees and taxes levied.

2.- The use, quality, historical and artistic value and the age of the building.

3.- Market conditions and values.

4.- And any other relevant factors which may be regulated.

The Tipo Impositivo, on the other hand, is set by the local council and can vary between 0.4% and 1.3%. In Bigastro this has been set at 0.68% for this year.

It is interesting to note that, in nearby Jacarilla, the rate is 0.45%. So for a property, with the same Cadastral Value you would pay about 34% less IBI in Jacarilla. You will also have seen, from the local press, that the Council in Torrevieja has just voted to set their rate at 0.5% for next year.

It's the price we pay for living in Bigastro.

British Consulate

The British Consulate staff from Alicante will be in Torrevieja on Wednesday at the Virgen del Carmen Theatre to talk about issues which affect ex-pats. If you have concerns about your pension rights or your health care entitlement you can book a place online at www.ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/pensions-benefits/open-day

A fishy tale

The fishing fleet at Torrevieja hauled in three times as many fish this September as they did in the same month last year. The Brotherhood of Fishermen in Torrevieja recorded catches of 963,650 kilos with a value of 619,474 Euros.

It is the blue fish, the melva (a species of tuna) which are filling the fishermen's nets. Surface feeding fish like the sardine and the boquerón ( the small species that are delicious either fried or in vinegar) are much less plentiful.

It isn't all good news though. As the catches get larger, the price at market drops so the fishermen have to work that much harder for the same money.

Que sera, sera.

More holidays

Spain has a record number of bank holidays - an average of one per month. The next one here is on Thursday, 9th October which is a fiesta day just for the Valencian Community.

The 9th of Ocotber is known as el nou d’octubre and celebrates the liberation of Valencia by King Jaime I in 1238. We can expect fireworks and other celebrations on that day.

October 12th is also a bank holiday. So some businesses will "bridge" the holidays and take all four days off. As you will have realised, the 12th is a Sunday. In the UK workers would expect to get the Monday off in lieu but not here in Spain. Monday, the 13th will be business as usual.

Dos cornadas

This was set to be Miguel Ángel Perera's big night at the Feria de Otoño in Madrid. His task was to fight all six of the bulls.

In the end, Perera managed to deal with five of the bulls in spite of suffering two cornadas.

The first bull was dispatched without any problems. The second was going well until he got caught by the bull whilst executing the volapié*. During the fight with the third bull he had to leave to visit the infirmary. The second bulls horn had pierced his scrotum, grazed his testicle leaving the wound at the root of his penis. After minutes he returned to continue the fight with the third.

Caught by the fifth bull.

The fourth bull went well but his problems were not over. At the start of the third part of the fight with the fifth bull - the work with the muleta - he was caught again by the horn of the bull. This resulted in a 15cm cut to the superficial femoral artery. No matter, he got the doctor to apply a tourniquet so that he could continue the fight and dispatch the bull.

Even for a very brave Spaniard, enough is enough. So, at the end of that fight, Perera was taken to the infirmary to be operated on. David Saleri substituted for him to deal with the sixth bull.

Miguel Ángel Perera was awarded ears for the third, fourth and fifth bulls. The crowd petitioned for two ears for the fifth but the President awarded only one. The crowd were not acting out of sympathy but in appreciation of the skill and grace he had shown in his veronicas, quites and naturals**. So a mixed night for the young Spaniard - much glory but at a great cost.

* A way of killing the bull where the torero distracts the bull with the muleta in his left hand and goes in on the left of the bull with the estoca in his right hand.

** Passes made by the torero in the three different stages of the fight.

Lo sentimos

The entertainments people and José have done their very best to provide us with good entertainment week after week. This Saturday it's karaoke and a disco. The lottery, which was won last week now stands at 200€.

Obviously José would like us to go up to the Albergue seven days a week. There is some form of entertainment most  Wednesdays and Saturdays. Then there are darts, pool and petanca competitions on other days. Plenty for people to do and get involved in.

I have to confess that going out at night was something Pam and I did only occasionally back in England. Of course we were working then and late nights followed by noisy children the next day didn't mix. You could argue that, now we are retired, we don't have to worry about getting up for work so late nights should be less of a problem.

However we are in the twilight of our years (I can sense your sighs) and so have less energy and drive than we had. Late nights seem to take their toll for a lot longer these days. Added to which, we are pensioners with a limited income.  We have to prioritise what we can and cannot do. In other words we might have the time but we have neither the energy nor the money to party like José would like us to. 

What I am getting to is that we can't see ourselves making a habit of going up to  the Albergue every week. That is no reflection on the hard work and effort of José and the entertainments people; it's just the way it is. As I said, "lo sentimos."

I suspect there may be others who find themselves in the same boat.

The cost of shopping

The Coast Rider - a free English paper here on the Costa Blanca - conducts an annual survey of the cost of food shopping. The survey compares prices in the UK with those here in Spain.

As the article in the paper points out, this can be difficult because certain items that you buy in Britain are simply not available in Spanish supermarkets. They also point out that , although the cost of their shopping basket is considerably cheaper here in Spain, the poor exchange rate brings it more or less on par.

It is interesting to note that the survey found Mercadona to be the most competitive of the three Spanish supermarkets. Our own experience vindicates that result. In our opinion, Carrefour is just too big and busy - it takes too long to get round the place and Eroski is not much better. We prefer to shop at the Mercadona near San Luis where you can park easily and get round in about an hour. We shop to live not the other way round!

You can see the table of results by clicking on this link.

Citizenship in English

Teachers in the Valencian Community are prepared to strike if the authorities continue to insist upon them teaching EpC (Education for Citizenship) in English.

The difficulty for schools is that they don't have the staff qualified to deliver the course in English. In any case there is a problem with the supply of books on the subject. Publishers were reluctant to produce books in English when it was unclear whether the subject was to be taught in Castilian, Valencian or English.

Having struggled to teach Citizenship in Liverpool to a Year 11 class before retiring, I can sympathise with these teachers. It was bad enough delivering the subject in the native tongue let alone trying to teach it in some other language. In my experience, subjects like PSE (Personal Social Education) and Citizenship were unpopular with both teachers and students. None of the carefully crafted courses with beautifully illustrated text books could entice either group to take an interest in these non-examinable subjects.

Another way

I've written about Spanish terrestrial TV, Digital + and English TV via a large dish with a free to view box.

There is another way to get TV which you might want to consider.

Those of you who have a Telefónica phone line can opt for the Trio package which includes all your national calls, a 6Mb Internet connection and television.

What you get is a set top box which plugs into an Internet router. So with this system you would receive TV via your Internet connection - sharing the bandwidth between the TV and your computer.

Before you opt for this system, you need to plan how you might site the various components. For example; if your television and your computer are in different rooms then you will either need a wireless bridge to your computer or better still a network cable between the rooms. You will also need a phone connection near to the TV for the router.

There are two packages available: Imagenio / Canales Imagenio TV Conexión and Imagenio / Canales Imagenio TV Familiar. There is also the possibility to add further programmes to either package. Looking at the lists will tell you what programmes are available for you to watch. To be fair there is not much on offer in the cheaper package. There are a few English/American channels in the more expensive package though. However, most of the channels in either package are inevitably Spanish. Some will give you the option to choose the language.

What you won't get are any of the Sky programmes. Nor will you get ITV 1, 2 etc and BBC 1, 2 etc since neither are licensed for rebroadcast here in Spain.

As for price:-

For the basic package: There is an installation price of 72€ which you pay in three instalments. The first three months are charged at 12.90€ and then 43.90€ per month. NB this is in addition to your basic line rental and ADSL maintenance charge.

For the familiar package the installation cost is the same but the first three months are charged at 19.90€ and then 52.90€. NB With this package there is an additional rental charge of 6.50€ per month for the decoder. As with the basic package, you also have to pay the line rental and ADSL maintenance charges on top of this. As a little plus, you get a free MP4 player as a gift with this deal.

Joy of joys

Have you noticed that the exchange rate i.e. the number of euros you get to the pound is slowly creeping back up. When I checked this morning, the commercial rate was 1.279 -a worthwhile improvement on last month. Some sceptics say it will never return to the 1.5ish mark of several years ago but you never know. We can but hope.

Update:- It is now 5pm and the rate is 1.287. Will it hit the 1.30 mark by Monday when my pension is paid in I ask myself?

Did you know?

Those of you living here can access your SUMA account to check what bills you have paid and those that are outstanding.

In Internet Explorer (this doesn't work with Firefox. ¡Chungo!) go to the SUMA web site and if necessary change the language to English by clicking on the icon at the top of the page.

To access your account click on the box where it says Virtual Office and Telematic Registry.

Previously you had to use a digital certificate to enter this area but if you bank with CAM, BBVA or La Caixa and have your Internet banking set up then you can enter your private area via that.

Clicking on the appropriate symbol will take you to your Internet banking page. There you will need to enter your username and password as you normally would to access your account. Clicking on continue will take you back to your SUMA account. NB you may need to enable pop ups temporarily for this to work.

From there you can look at outstanding bills and those that you have paid. If you haven't paid your IBI yet, you have just one day of the voluntary period left. After that you will get a reminder which will include a surcharge!

The other thing you might want to do is to go to the Catastro Virtual Office and check out the details they have on your house.

If you don't have your Catastro reference number to hand no matter. Select Localización select the Provincia (in our case Alicante), type in the name of your town as the Municipio or select it from the list, select the appropriate title of your road as the Via and then type in its name or select it from the list. Finally enter the number of your property (or again select it) and click on Datos y Consulta Descriptiva etc. for the details and a plan or click on Cartografía to get just a map.

There are various map forms you can choose; from simple outline diagrams to aerial views overlaid with line diagrams.

All fascinating stuff which will help you understand the minefield of Spanish taxes on your property.

Teaching English

Whilst we are keen to learn Spanish, there are many Spaniards who want to learn English.

I received this email from Mark who runs a restaurant in Alicante. You may remember he was looking for people to play chess with and was offering them a free meal if they won.

Now he is looking for people to teach English.

Tengo un restaurante en Alicante centro y me interesa ofrecer
la posibilidad de dar clases de inglés para los interesados. Se
haría dos veces por semana, por la tarde/noche.
Caso de interesarles dar clases, ruego se ponga en contacto
conmigo en el email a100plus@mac.com
da la posibilidad de enrar también en contacto con españoles,
lo que puede ser una forma de tener contactos etc.

un abrazo
Mark
www.alicantetimes.com

Mark has a restaurant in Alicante centre and is interested in offering English classes (presumably to his customers). Classes would be twice per week, in the evening/night.
Anyone interested should contact him by email at a100plus@mac.com

Free TV

After 8 weeks without TV those of you who were with Telmicro might want to  consider the alternatives. If you definitively want UK TV then the options are limited.

The following is information about one  company who supply and fit  dishes and boxes to enable you to watch the free to air programmes here in Spain. There are probably others who can offer a similar service.

FREE TV and Magnet TV make this claim about the legality of their offer:-

With FREE TV we are taking advantage of the satellite signal that is broadcast from the Astra2D and Eurobird satellites. Although these signals are primarily focussed on the UK they also fall on most of Western Europe and Scandinavia. With suitable equipment we can capture these signals on the Costa Blanca.

We substantiate our claim that Magnet TV's customers are receiving a legal service because:

- we are providing and installing readily available consumer products and equipment designed to receive satellite transmissions

- to the best of our knowledge the customer is not infringing any copyright laws or licenses by viewing channels received via satellite transmissions that are readily available in Spain. 

- the channels that the customer views are those that are being broadcast unencrypted and Free To Air (FTA). In other words, available to all who can receive them.

As you can see from the map above, the Vega Baja is in a black hole for the Astra 2D satellite. Although, as the map shows,  you really need a 2.4m dish to ensure clear reception, FREE TV say a 1.9m dish will give an adequate level of service.

and the cost:-

STANDARD DEFINITION TV

Economy                                                                                           €949
1.9m Quality Dish with extra sensitive receiver
Standard Definition Set Top Box
Installation, Cabling and Tuning to your local UK TV stations.
- Share cost with a neighbour for €599 each
- Share cost with four neighbours for €399 each

DeLux                                                                                               €1,525
Big 2.4m Quality Dish with extra sensitive receiver
Standard Definition Set Top Box
Installation, Cabling and Tuning to your local UK TV stations.
- Share cost with a neighbour for €875 each
- Share cost with four neighbours for €549 each

HIGH DEFINITION TV

Economy                                                                                          €1,149
1.9m Quality Dish with extra sensitive receiver
High Definition Set Top Box
Installation, Cabling and Tuning to your local UK TV stations.
- Share cost with a neighbour for €749 each
- Share cost with four neighbours for €575 each

DeLux                                                                                               €1,699
Big 2.4m Quality Dish with extra sensitive receiver
High Definition Set Top Box
Installation, Cabling and Tuning to your local UK TV stations.
- Share cost with a neighbour for €999 each  
- Share cost with four neighbours for €699 each

So realistically you are looking to spend between 949€ and 1,699€ for the setup. What you will get for that are 120 channels of TV and radio.

For more information and to ask any questions, call FREE TV on: 646 645 579
email to: info@freetvspain.com
or call in at: Magnet TV, La Fuente Commercial Centre, Campoamor Golf, Villamartin, Orihuela Costa.

NB FREE TV point out that the sharing with a neighbour option will only work if the cable run to each house is less than 20m. In fact they say that signal degradation occurs on runs over 10 metres.  Adding junctions and splitters will further degrade the signal. You will find a lot of good information and tips about his and other satellite issues at this site.

Some resources to help you

Peter, at Streetwise Spanish, recommends the following resources to help you with your understanding of the Spanish language.

Peter says that you should be able to get them from your local bookstore. If not, just go to Amazon and buy them online. Please note that Peter is not receiving any fees for these recommendations and neither am I.

Spanish Verb Tenses, by Dorothy Devney Richmond.

This book really helps to get the various verb tenses nailed. Each tense is fully explained in an easy-to-understand style and the exercises are a challenge but enjoyable.

Complete Spanish Grammar, by Gilda Nissenberg.

This is from the same Practice Makes Perfect series. It is good for those of you who struggle to make sense of Spanish grammar - pronouns, reflexives and the impersonal for example. All the topics are clearly explained and the exercises will help you get to grips with Spanish grammar.

Correct Your Spanish Blunders by Jean Yates

Peter's third recommendation is a book that will help you avoid the common errors that mark you out as a typical guiri! Peter thinks this is a really useful book, he likes the way the errors are highlighted in a red box explaining fully how the mistake is made with examples of corrections that are nice and easy to follow. A very practical little guide which he says you'll use frequently.

The other books which we have found useful are the Collins Easy Learning series which you will find in many local bookshops. I think we have most of them now. The one we mostly dip into though is Spanish Grammar which explains a lot of the things we struggle with on our Spanish course. The other one which we find useful is Spanish Verbs which helps us make sense of the irregular ones.

As for online resources, I find the dictionary at WordReference.com invaluable.