I hate making these sort of recommendations

My new son-in-law wants to take his first step into serious photography and so has asked for my advice.

The first questions I needed to ask were:

How much do you want to spend and equally important, what do you want to photograph?

There is no one camera that is suited to everyone and the choices out there can be bewildering.

My recommendation to Dave has been to buy an entry level DSLR because they represent good value for money, offer a range of features that you don’t get on compact cameras and generally produce better image quality because of their larger sensors. Which one though because most manufacturers produce decent entry level DSLRs.

The two big players are Nikon and Canon and so I pointed Dave in their direction. The likes of Pentax, Sony, Panasonic and Olympus also make good DSLR cameras but they generally do not have the same range of accessories e.g. lenses available to them.

The temptation with both Canon and Nikon is to start with looking at the entry level model and then see what you can get for just a little more money. For example, the Nikon D3100 has now been replaced with the D3200 which costs that bit more. In the Canon range though there is a big jump up from the 1100D to even the 550D (the current model in that range is the 650D) so the temptation is less.

What about features?

The Canon model was introduced February 2011 and the Nikon D3100 August 2010 so the Canon is the newer of the two. However, there are some features of the  Nikon that might be considered more up to date and others that are definitely lacking. To compare the two models, along with the Pentax K-r that Dave has considered go to here.

In the end, as I have told Dave, he needs to handle both cameras and see which suits him best. Whichever he chooses, I am certain he will get some great photos. 

PS My recommendation, based on reviews, was for the Nikon D3100 even though I am personally committed to Canon.

My prediction was wrong

Well, well it seems the mercurial Mario Balotelli was in blazing form last night putting Germany out of the final. His second goal, in particular, was a moment of individual brilliance and a reminder of why Prandelli, in keeping with Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, believes Balotelli is worth the hassles and controversies and unpredictability that form part of the package.

We will have to wait until Sunday to see what he can do against Spain. 

Fiesta time

Looks like there will be something for everyone again this year.

FRIDAY,  10TH AUGUST .
From 18.00 Till  21.00: CHILDREN’S FAIR on  Avda. de La Libertad.
21.00 : Great Parade: infant, youth and 3rd age Queen’s courts.
23.00: Coronation of the Queens in “Huerto del Cura”, park.
Late night: disco for all ages in “Huerto del Cura” park.

SATURDAY, 11TH AUGUST .

From 12.00 till 16.00: Tapas on Antonio Gálvez street.
19.00: Fun Cars exhibition on Luis Gálvez Street
23.00: Opening of “Comparsas in Huerto del Cura” park.
Late night: disco for all ages in “Huerto del Cura” park.

SUNDAY,  12TH AUGUST

From 12.00 till 16.00: Tapas on Antonio Gálvez street.
14.00: GREAT CONTEST of paellas and other local food in Huerto del Cura park.
16.00:  Big fiesta “Ibiza Style”.
20.00: Magnificent children’s parade.
22.00: Talent Contest : participants from the whole of the Alicante province with big prizes.
Late night: disco for all ages in  “Huerto del Cura” park.

MONDAY,  13TH AUGUST

From 12.00 till 16.00: Tapas on Antonio Gálvez street.
14.00: International Gastronomic journey. 
16.00: Special performance by Mano Sánchez: Singer and musician.
20.30: First parade of all “comparsas”.
22.00: General dinner: You bring the food and we will provide the wine and beer.
Late night: disco for all ages at “Huerto del Cura” park.

TUESDAY, 14TH AUGUST

14.00: Special lunch: Bring whatever you´ve  got at home and we will provide the 
           “Pelotas”. Dance with The Metro Dance Music.
20.00 : Big Parade to offer flowers to San Joaquin and Mass at “La Plaza”.
23.00:Splendid concert by the “Bigastro Musical Union” in  Huerto del Cura park. 
Late night: disco for all ages in “Huerto del Cura” park.

WEDNESDAY, 15TH AUGUST

20.30: THE COMPARSAS IN THE GREATEST PARADE YOU’VE EVER SEEN
01.00: “La Alborada” will parade through main streets followed by fireworks.  
02.00: Performance of “LOGAN MUSIC GROUP”
Late night: disco for all ages in “Huerto del Cura” park.
04.00: Special night for “carretillas” (little fireworks)
THURSDAY, 16TH AUGUST

12.00 : Mass in the honour of San Joaquin in the church.
20.30 : Procession of San Joaquin through the main streets.
            At the end -  a grand firework display.
Late night: disco for all ages in “Huerto del Cura” park.
FRIDAY, 17TH AUGUST                   
Special appearance by “LA MURGA”.

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE EVENTS THIS YEAR.  THAT IS ALL UNTIL NEXT YEAR!

A novel idea

Bigastro City Library invites you to travel this summer with a wide range of travel books.

NB Although a lot of the authors are English speaking, the titles will be translated into  Spanish.

Alain de Botton        El arte de viajar
Ali Bey            Viajes por Marruecos
Geral Durrell        Seis meses en Nueva Zelanda, Australia y Malasia
Rudyard Kipling        Viaje al Japón
Paul Morand            Nueva York
Umberto Eco        La isla del dia de antes
Paul Bowles            Dias y viajes
Nadine Gordimer        La hija de Burger
Joseph Conrad        El corazón de las tinieblas
Graham Greene        Nuestro Hombre en la Habana
Ryszard kapuscinski    Ebano
Marco Polo            Libro de las cosas maravillosas
Doris Lessing        Relatos africanos
Luis Pancorbo        Rio de America
Alfred Russel        Viaje al archipielago Malayo
Gerald Durrell        Misión  de rescate en Madagascar
E.V. Gonzenbach        Viaje por el Nilo
Jack London            La llamada de lo salvaje y otros relatos
Vladimir Arseniev        Dersu Uzala    
Iñaki Preciado        En el pais de las nieves.
Alberto Vazquez-Figuer..    Los ojos del Tuareg
Kenzaburo Oé        Arrancad las semillas, fusilad a los niños.
Mnuel Mujica Láinez    Misteriosa Buenos Aires
William Faulkner        Luz de Agosto
Alejo Carpentier        Los pasos perdidos
Mario Vargas Llosa        Los jefes. Los Cachorros
Alejo Carpentier        El recurso del método
Jack London            El crucero del Snark
Georges Simenon        La mirada inocente
Marcel Schwob        Viaje a Samoa
Richard F. Burton        Mi peregrinación a la Meca

A new shopping experience

La Zenia boulevard is due to open on September 26th. The project, which has an area of 161,000 square metres encompasses 150 shops of which one third will be local traders.

The new complex is said to be built in the form of a Mediterranean village with streets and squares. At the centre is the Plaza Mayor but then there are other plazas such as the Plaza de las Flores and the Plaza London Square where shoppers can take a break and enjoy a drink or a snack.

Our two girls and Molly are coming to visit us on the 4th of September, returning to Manchester on the 11th so they will miss out this trip. However, I am sure Pam and I will take the opportunity to check the new shopping centre many times before their next visit when it will be high on their list of places to go.

That was frustrating

Watching Spain v Portugal last night you could see that Portugal were proving to be more than a match to the European Champions. At times they looked as though they were going to win the game but they didn’t but then neither did Spain during the game itself. In fact the Spaniards played badly for 90 minutes and only came alive during extra time.

Not only was it frustrating to watch, it was also very scrappy during the second half with yellow cad after yellow card being given. What we were looking for were goals but they didn’t come because neither team looked capable of scoring. Sure there were a few misses but neither goalkeeper was seriously challenged during more than 120 minutes of play.

So, it came down to a penalty shoot out and Ronaldo made the mistake of electing to go fifth and we all know the price he paid for that. The hero was Fabregas who scored the winning penalty for Spain. Tonight we will find out who they will play in the final. Let's hope they play a better game. 

Cost of living could rise steeply

The rate of IBA or VAT in Spain was 16% until 2010 when it was raised to 18%, the lowest in Europe.
Now the country is under pressure to raise the tax but the Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy  is resisting the pressure because he says it will further damage consumer spending and inhibit growth.

Instead, the finance minister is considering plans to abolish the discounted tax rates on certain goods and services. At present, we pay 8pc on the majority of food and sanitary products, ground transport, cultural activities such as cinema and theatre tickets, and hotel stays. We pay a super reduced rate of 4pc on basic foodstuffs such as milk, bread, fruit and vegetables and on books and newspapers

Raising the VAT to 18pc on all products and services would bring a significant increase to our weekly shopping bills. Let’s face it, the impact of an extra 12% on basic items of food would be catastrophic for many who are already struggling to make ends meet.

My reply

In relation to my item about the looky looky men, Bill from Mazarron says:

I have no particular brief for these, generally 'black', vendors of various items, but I do have to say I detect a little whiff of racism in your article.
We have the same 'problem' with these people in Mazarron and indeed I have noticed it in many other parts of Spain, but at least these folks are not 'stealing', mugging or breaking into people's homes. They are trying to make some kind of a living, more than can be said for some others.
If they are in Spain illegally, then they need to be rounded up and eventually deported, if present legally then their feeble efforts at paying their way should not be denigrated. Of course I know that many of them will be selling mostly fake goods, but probably not any less effective or durable than the piles of cheap rubbish that most of the recent influx of 'Chinese bazaars' stock.
I do get irritated with these folks sometimes, too, but compared to their difficult lives my own life is pretty comfortable and, to be honest, when one tells them to go away I have always found that they do without any undue unpleasantness.
Life is difficult in Spain just now, of course, for many people. I'm sure if the Spanish authorities really wished to 'get rid of' this 'problem' they could do so without too much trouble, but I suppose it boils down to the fact that the authorities have not forgotten that basic humanity is important, too, and for that I think they deserve some recognition, a not unremarkable thing in my view during the financial crisis the country is going through.

If my item came over as racist, I do apologise because that was not my intention. It doesn’t matter what county these people come from or what colour their skin is, what they are doing is illegal.  If they were British, Spanish or any other nationality, it would be equally wrong.

To make matters worse, they are now using force to try and intimidate the police and authorities into turning a blind eye to their activities. Blocking one of the main roads in Torrevieja for the whole afternoon has not helped their case.  It’s really nothing to do with whether their presence in bars and restaurants is annoying, the law against sale of counterfeit goods has to be upheld by the police.

We all feel sorry for these people. As far as i am aware, they are dragged over from their native land on the pretence that they will find honest employment in Spain only to end up scratching a living selling counterfeit goods, no doubt living in appalling conditions as well. Unfortunately, feeling sorry for them does not excuse what they do. The Chinese todos may sell similar quality goods but at least they are legal.

An unfortunate case

The former councillor for fiestas, José Espinosa says that he is owed about 6,000 Euros which he paid out of his own pocket for presents from the three kings in 2010. In the municipal accounts the bill was shown as due to the supplier who of course was paid. The present mayor says that this should have been sorted out four years ago with the mayor at that time, not now.

A unique opportunity

Over 16,000 aerial pictures of Britain taken between 1919-1953 have now been digitised and are available to see, download etc at  http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk./. Fascinating stuff, I have already found the location of the school I taught at before it was built along with images of places I grew up in.

Royal protocol in England

This is part of an article I read this morning in the Daily Telegraph.

The Duchess of Cambridge may be the future queen, but she has discovered that there are several women in the Royal family to whom she must show reverence.

The new rules of Court make it clear that the former Kate Middleton, when she is not accompanied by Prince William, must curtsy to the “blood princesses”, the Princess Royal, Princess Alexandra, and the daughters of the Duke of York, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

When William is with her, Kate does not need to bend the knee to either of them, but she must curtsy to the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Despite being married to the Queen’s son, the Countess of Wessex will, however, have to curtsy to Kate, even when William is not present.

A document is said to have been circulated privately in the Royal Household, clarifying Kate’s status. When the Order was last updated, after Prince Charles’s second marriage, in 2005, the Countess of Wessex was reported to be upset that she now had to curtsy to Camilla.

The Earl of Wessex’s wife had previously been the second-highest ranking woman in the Royal family because neither of the Queen’s other sons, Charles and Prince Andrew, were married.

However, after Charles remarried, the Queen changed the Order of Precedence “on blood principles” so that neither Princess Anne nor Princess Alexandra, the granddaughter of George V, would have to curtsy to Camilla when her husband was not present.

Although the etiquette may seem arcane, it is taken very seriously by the Royal family, whose members bow and curtsy to each other both in public and in private.

The Order of Precedence affects other aspects of royal protocol, such as who arrives first at an event. For example, Camilla was forced to wait in the drizzle outside the Guards Chapel, Windsor, for the arrival of Princess Anne at a memorial service in 2006, because Charles had not accompanied her.

My children curtsy to their mother whether I am present or not and she of course curtsies to me.

Force of numbers

Sit down at any of the cafes and bars along the seafront at Torrevieja and you can guarantee that at some point you will be pestered by the looky looky salesmen. For many, their presence is annoying, after all you don’t go out for a meal with the intention of buying fake sunglasses or a cheap watch. 

The police have a duty to stamp out the sale of counterfeit good so they regularly round the sellers up and confiscate the goods to be later destroyed.

Last Monday, the police arrested five Senegalese vendors and took them to the Guardia Civil station. This was the last straw for the looky looky men who gathered outside the station to demand the release of their countrymen.

The protest continued with the vendors setting up barricades across roads to stop the traffic. They managed to cut off Avenida de las Habaneras for most of the afternoon. 

The situation with regards to these people has now become intolerable. Their presence along the seafront is not the attractive picture the town wants to present. The fact is that sterner measures should have been taken years ago to stop the influx of Senegalese coming into the town and setting up their stalls in this way. The problem is that there are obviously many who buy from them and thus encourage their presence.

Getting into the swing

Last night, the Bigastro Golf Society held its end of year presentation. You might expect that golf would be an all year round sport in Spain but in fact nobody who lives here would dream of play during the hot summer months.

The venue last night was the VaiVen in Bigastro where tables had been laid out for the members, their wives/partners and other friends to enjoy tapas and a few drinks.

Once everyone had found themselves a seat, the tapas were brought out and we enjoyed generous servings of typical Spanish snacks. You have to remember that Spaniards normally eat their main meal at lunch time and then just snacks at night so it would not be normal to have a full plated meal in the evening.

Fed and watered, we then moved on to the formal part of the occasion. First there was a raffle for prizes which had been donated by the members themselves. So each member took home something as a memento of the occasion. Then there was a raffle for prizes donated by the societies sponsors, everything from tapas at the VaiVen to a plant in a pot with a fair number of free rounds of golf at the various clubs that the society play at along with meal out at the clubs as well.

Then we came to the prizes for the last game the members had played including; nearest the pin, best first 9, longest drive etc etc including a tractor for the player who spent most time in the bunker and Mr Blobby who is the society’s booby prize!

It was a good evening spent in some great company. We have to thank Les Rowlands and his wife Sheila for all the work they put into organising the event and say to them, “put our names down for next year”.

They doth protest

First we heard the loudspeaker on the van, then the whistles blowing as a group of Bigastrense marched along Calle Purisima to rally outside the Ayuntamiento.

Their protest was against the closure of the 24 hour emergency service and was organised by the local Socialist party. 

Rumours and gossip

There are some who thrive on gossip and others who like to start rumours. Most men that I know take very little heed of rumours, it does seem to me to be a woman thing. Still, from time to time, some of these tales do pass my ears.

Certainly, I would be very wary of passing rumours on because you never know a) whether they are true and b) whether they will get back to the person the rumour is about.

Most of the tales you hear are harmless but now and again there pops up a story that could cause problems – mostly about relationships by which I mean partners splitting up or people having affairs. If you believed all the rumours about affairs at Villas Andrea, you would think we were living in Peyton Place. As far as I am concerned, none of them are true and all of them are potentially damaging.

Usually, the person starting the rumour begins with, “I shouldn’t be telling this but….” and then continues with, “I can’t tell you who told me.” The reason they can’t say who told them is because they are the ones that made it up.

Pam and I know who the chief culprits are and do our best to avoid these sort of conversations with them. However, whenever we meet up, they still insist on telling us something we don’t really want to know.

Two choirs – one voice

When we first heard the Bigastro choir they were a little raw. Many hours of practice and a good choice of material has made huge improvements. They now sound balanced, sharp and in one voice.

Actually both choirs were damn good and even better when they sang together at the end of the concert.

PS I couldn't help but notice that the Hallelujah choir had a larger contingent of young ladies than the Bigastro one. 

My predictions

I might not be any good at predicting the outcome of football games but the weather is a different matter.

I can tell you with absolute certainty that it will be hot and sunny in Bigastro for the whole of next week. Temperatures could well rise to maximums of 36 degrees dropping to a comfortable 20 – 22 at night. There is bugger all chance of any rain and the winds will be at most fresh. Now see if I am wrong!

On the Wirral, where we used to live, it should stay dry until Thursday but even in the sunshine it will struggle to reach the night time temperatures of Bigastro. 

Meantime, the Isle of Wight festival has been a mud bath. However, that won’t have upset the ardent fans who were treated to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on Friday, Peal Jam yesterday  and will be keen to see Bruce Springsteen and the East Street Band today. As much as I would have loved to have seen all three bands, I would not want to stand past my ankles in mud for it.

A lot of jubilation

I think you could say that Spaniards were pleased to get through to the semi finals of Euro 2012. By all accounts it was a comfortable win with only one well placed free kick that could have caused La Selección trouble. So they go on to meet Portugal on Wednesday thanks to Xavi Alonso's two goals.

In the meantime England get to play Italy who are apparently not at their best but then neither are England who I understand are defending well but not scoring goals. If England do get through, then they will go on to face their arch rivals, Germany. That is the match that all England supporters fear. 

I’ve said it so many times on this blog that I am no fan of football and so know very little about it. However, I will predict now that Spain will face Germany in the final and that could be anybody’s game. Looking at the statistics Spain have conceded the least number of goals but Germany have scored more goals. Spain have had more shots on target and have managed to keep the ball more often so who knows. There is still Portugal to beat before we can even think about that.

Divided loyalties

By way of a diversion from the football this weekend it is Grand Prix time in Valencia or, as it is now known, F1.
Lewis Hamilton is leading the board at the moment with Fernando Alonso trailing by two points so depending on your loyalties you could be cheering for one or the other. 

Today’s practice starts at 1pm. Jensen Button and Lewis Hamilton currently stand at 12th and 14th fastest in practice with Sebastian Vettel in first place so far.

Likewise we have Spain v France in the quarter finals of Euro 2012 followed by England v Italy.

What will we do if both Spain and England get through to the final? Before we consider that, England have to beat both Italy and Germany whilst Spain have to overcome France and then Portugal.

Diamonds of the opera

That is an enticing poster but what is it about?
On Saturday, June 30 in the Municipal Auditorium Francisco Grau, Bigastro, at 9pm there will be  a pot pourri of operatic performances  including Arias, Duets, Trios, etc. performed by ladies.

I presume they will will be wearing a little more clothing than the lady in the poster - shame!