Preparing for bad weather

Although I am not a gambling man, I would put good money on the fact that we are going to have persistent rain for most of the day. On high ground, the rain will fall as snow. The wind will start from the northwest and veer to southwest with some strong gusts on the coast.

DEALING WITH SNOW

Those who have to travel to snow affected parts of the province are advised to take it slowly, fit chains to the tyres, to carry a shovel, a flashlight and warm clothes. Make sure you have plenty of fuel for both your car and yourself (nuts and chocolate provide plenty of calories to keep you warm) and if possible delay your journey until midday when early morning ice on the road has had a chance to melt.

Those who live in areas affected by snow are advised to stock up on food to see them through a few days at least. They are also advised to ensure they have torches and fresh batteries to hand. Since many burn wood to heat their houses, they should open the windows when the sun is out to ventilate them and replenish the oxygen. If they venture outside, the best protection is several layers of clothing rather than one thick layer. It is essential to protect the head and hands and to wear waterproof shoes.

You would be right in assuming that Spaniards in this area are not accustomed to this type of bad weather which is why they need advice about how to deal with it.

As I said

	The forecast for Bigastro tomorrow is a bit grim. Rain and wind is a thoroughly unpleasant combination. Our teacher Antonio, aware of the forecast, said yesterday that if conditions were bad on Thursday we would not have a class.
	It is a low pressure system between Alicante and Argelia that is to blame. The warm humid air will be turned to heavy rain by the cold ground temperatures. Rain could be intense on the coast with up to 60l per sq metre dropping in just 12 hours. Similarly, the wind will be stronger on the coast with gusts “muy fuerte”.

Helped by the Italians

Who would have thought that the Italians would have come to our rescue. It seems that the uncertainty caused by the elections in Italy have destabilised the euro again. Any wobble in the value of the euro is good news for expats like Pam and I.

I notice that this morning the exchange rate has moved back to 1.16 euros to the pound – just keep on going PLEASE, 1.25 would be good again!

Not done yet

The mild weather at the moment might lull us into thinking that the worst of winter is over for us now. That is not necessarily true though. There is a strong possibility of rain for Thursday but what that will amount to is anybody’s guess. Rain in this area can be either a deluge that lasts most of the day creating a river of yellow mud down the road or it can be nothing more that a short, sharp shower. To accompany the rain, the wind will pick up again although not to the gale force speeds that we experienced in January.

Our hope is that Easter will be fine. We have visitors from England staying nearby and they would dearly like to watch the processions. To have the full parade on Good Friday called off yet another time would not be good.

Cross that of the list

Pam doesn’t fancy the idea of cruising partly because she has an innate fear of being on or in water above her head. The possibility of being dumped in the sea to drown does not appeal to her one bit. I must admit that, the thought of being consigned to a watery grave does not appeal to me either but it would not put me off a boat trip.

On the other hand, Pam has a hankering to take a trip in a hot air balloon. Although I do not suffer as much as some from vertigo, the thought of looking down from a wicker basket suspended by just hot air makes me feel queasy.

Perhaps Pam will be put off the idea by the latest report of a hot air balloon trip in Egypt that ended in tragedy. The balloon was flying over Luxor close to the Valley of the Kings when it apparently it caught fire and exploded - crashing to the ground, killing all but one of its 20 passengers.

You don’t often hear of accidents with hot air balloons, in fact I can’t recall reading of many. Still, it looks unsafe to me and that is enough to put me off. 

Benidorm

Pam and I have now watched both series 1 and 2 of the BBC comedy series, Benidorm on our version of iPlayer. I understand that the programme is now on series 6 so there is plenty more to come for us.

For those who haven’t seen the programme, it is set in an all inclusive hotel and plots the frantic holidays of several groups including a family where the teenage daughter has a mixed race child, a gay couple, Johnny Vegas with his mother who he describes as his PA and a couple of “swingers” who are constantly looking out for threesomes. Into the mix, there is a Spanish waiter who thinks that all British women go on holiday looking for sex with a local and a rather more reserved couple who look out of place in the setting and yet at the same time seem to enjoy “roughing it”.

You might imagine that the programme paints a picture of the town which the locals may not want to be portrayed but apparently not. Benidorm is grateful to the programme for its contribution to tourism and has now unveiled a commemorative plaque between Morgan’s Tavern and the Sol Pelicannos hotel.

Just goes to show that it takes all sorts to make the world go round!

A rocky road ahead

During his eight year as Pope, Benedict XVI has had to face numerous claims about sexual abuse in the clergy. Now that he has announced his retirement, the Italian press claim that there is a secret dossier about a “gay network” within the church. Of course, the Vatican denies the existence of this and says that the media is trying to influence the decision of the cardinals when the conclave meets to elect a new pope.

That may or may not be true but what will cause problems for the church are the reports by three priests and one former priest claiming inappropriate behaviour by Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain. The statements which detail “concerns” going back over 30 years have been sent to Antonio Mennini, the papal nuncio.

The four say they have acted now because they are troubled by the idea that the conclave will not be “clean” if Cardinal O’Brien takes part. However, according to canon law, no cardinal who is eligible to vote can be prevented from doing so.

I assume that Cardinal O’Brien took part in the conclave that elected the Cardinal Ratzinger so, I wonder,  why  were these concerns not raised then? The four say that they do not expect the church to take steps to prevent O’Brien from assuming his rights, so what are they going to gain from making these disclosures now?

Lean times

Those expats who live in Spain well remember the dark days when the exchange rate dropped to 1 euro to the pound. For years the rate had been stable at about 1.5 euros to the pound. Then, within just a few months, we lost one third of our income. People asked if we were affected. Of course were were!

Since then the rate has improved and steadily climbed back to 1.25 euros to the pound. That was not as good as before but at least we were starting to feel better with more money in our pockets. The economic crisis in Europe had forced the value of the euro down for a while. However, that has now changed; the euro has strengthened in the market as the eurozone has stabilised and the pound has weakened.

In the last six weeks or so, the rate has slipped back down. I have a widget that sits permanently on my desktop computer reminding me of the current exchange rate. This morning it says 1.147 which means we will have 10% fewer euros to spend each month. If you want to know how that feels, just try living on 90% of your income, better than 66% but still not good.

That weakening of the pound will not be helped by Moody’s down rating of the UK from AAA to AA1. It may be good for Britain’s exports to have a weak pound but it will increase energy and food bills and could increase inflation which will harm growth in the UK. Like Mariano Rajoy has had to do in Spain, the British  government will have to ramp up its austerity packages and reduce public spending to stop the spiralling debt of the country. I hope they do it sooner rather than later and that the pound quickly regains its strength against the euro. 

That’s a bit harsh

Here is the warning notice from the State Weather Agency which explains why we have this cold front moving in. “Muy fria” means very cold.

As you can read, the areas most affected are to the north and in the centre of Spain where temperatures could be as low as –10 C on high ground. To add to the misery for those in the Ebro Valley and the Balearic Islands, winds with gusts up to 80 km per hour will make the air feel even colder.

By Wednesday though, normality will return as the winds drop and warmer weather moves back in.

Women have their say

The Department of Women and the Progressive Women's Association in Bigastro, invite you to the 9th Gala commemorating the international day of women. “There is something I want to say”.  From my experience, there is a lot that Spanish women want to say!

Make the best of it

It should be nice and warm today in the sun with a high of 21. But that will not last because there is a cold front moving in making the weekend cold again. By Sunday, we could be down to night time temperatures of 2 degrees or less. To make matters worse, the wind will pick up as well adding a chill factor to the low temperatures.

Into next week, the wind will continue to drive temperatures down so there will be no respite for us. At least we should see plenty of sunshine so not all bad.

Red Rum steaks – yes please!

The horsemeat scandal carries on in Britain with more raids on meat producers. It has even spread to Spain where two companies in Alicante have been found to include horsemeat in their burgers. Here though, it is regarded as a problem of labelling rather than an issue with the quality of meat.

There is nothing wrong with horsemeat. The French have eaten the stuff since the 1700s. It is a lot cheaper than beef and contain less fat and less cholesterol. Of course, consumption of horsemeat doesn’t stop in France, the Italians consume twice as much as the French and there are more restaurants selling horsemeat in Belgium than in Paris.

Horse butchers were on the decline in France until the scandal over ready made foods it the press. Now the French are visiting the horse butcher again because at least they know what they are getting from him and they are not paying beef prices for it. The range of products includes steaks, dried sausages, horse pâté and fresh mince which is eaten raw.

It really is down to the sensibilities of the people as to what they will eat. My wife is not fussy about eating rabbit which she considers to be a pet and yet rabbit paella is very popular in this area. I doubt that she would eat horsemeat if she knew what it was and she is not fussed about eating venison which she calls Bambi. My eldest daughter, on the other hand, has sampled ostrich and kangaroo which she said was delicious and I tried venison liver which was far superior to many other forms of animal liver.

Once you have got your head around the fact that the animals you eat have been reared for the table rather than as pets or items in a zoo, then your choice widens. Let’s face it, if people kept cows as pets, we’d be baulking about eating beef.

Only if you speak Spanish

If you own a Kindle Fire and you live in Spain then it will connect to Amazon’s Spanish web site for your purchases. It is the same if you have an Apple iPod, iPad or iPhone; your Apple account on iTunes will be in Spanish. The issue arises because you need to register a credit or debit card to make purchases and because your cards are tied to your address in Spain, the site you are taken to is in Spanish.

With the iTunes store, you can search for titles that you are familiar with but all the recommendations made on the site will be for Spanish ones. I imagine the same applies to the Kindle store. With hundreds of thousands of expat Brits living in Spain, you would think that Apple and Amazon would work out some way that you could have an account in Spain that was in your native language and offered you titles in that language.  

A long battle ahead

The prime minister, Mariano Rajoy is intent on using his first “state of the nation” speech to spell out, amongst other things, a series of legal reforms to tackle corruption in politics. In English we would say that is like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Apart from the issue of payments made to his own party as outlined by the Barcenas papers, he also has the embarrassment of the case against the Duke of Palma to consider.

Inaki Urdangarin is to make a second appearance in court to answer further questions regarding the millions of euros of public funds that he is suspected of embezzling. The Duke claims that his partner, Diego Torres is the guilty one and that both himself and the Infanta Cristina are innocent parties. However, a series of emails have come to light that show not only was Urdangarin involved in the decision making of the Noos Institute but that his wife and even the King himself had knowledge of what was going on.

The tapas and cana route

Many towns in the area organise a tapas and cana (snack and small beer) route. The deal is that the local bars offer you a snack and a small beer for just 2 euros.

Bigastro has organised its own version of this popular event to take place on Saturday 9th, Sunday 10th, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th March.

You can see from the poster that 25 bars in the town will be taking part including Darren and Hazel’s bar – La Terrazza.

A warning

By law, all gas installations have to be inspected every five years. Unfortunately, there are people out there who take advantage of the fact and claim to be inspectors when in fact they are not.

The last time our installation was inspected, we all received notice in writing from the gas supplier and the cost of the work came on our next bill. The bogus workmen will just appear at your gate and demand payment for the work they are about to do.

Several people on our estate already report that this has happened to them this week. They first of all received a phone call followed by a visit from the bogus workmen. One of my neighbours tells me that eight of the rogue operators turned up outside his house in a white van and claimed to be from Saunier Duval who of course are not responsible for this work. He politely turned them away!

The Town Hall advises us to contact either the Guardia Civil in Jacarilla on 965 350 414 or the Local Police in Bigastro on 607 154 447 if we suspect that conmen are trying to pull this scam or indeed any other scam.

Welcome rain

If you live around these parts and you have any washing to be done, do it today because it will almost certainly rain tomorrow.

In Britain, another period of rain would be most unwelcome because the country has already suffered from many deluges over the winter. Here though, the winter has been very dry. We had a few weeks of strong winds recently but no rain to speak of for what seems like months now.

The farmers need rain for the crops and we need rain to see us through the long hot summer to come. So, although this may sound strange to those who are reading this blog in Blighty, we look forward to the day or so of rain that is to come as long as it isn’t that mucky stuff that arrives from North Africa!

Make sure your visitors are covered

Friends of ours are having difficulty in finding health insurance for their trips to Spain at a reasonable price. The lady in question has had breast cancer and underwent an operation recently to remove the tumour; she is now on Tamoxifen.The husband has raised blood pressure and takes tablets each day to control it along with tablets to reduce his cholesterol. In this way, they have similar issues to Pam and I and I imagine many others of our age.

Insurance companies offering travel policies are not in the business to make payouts so have clauses that will get them out of handing over cash wherever possible. If you want cover for every contingency and you have a pre existing condition then the premiums are going to be sky high and that is just what this couple have discovered. In fact some companies have refused to cover them.

The temptation to travel without insurance, especially if you are over 55, should be avoided. The Foreign Office warn Brits that one in ten visitors to Spain do not have cover and risk bills that could add up to thousands of pounds.

At the very least, visitors to Spain should have a European Health Insurance Card, known as an EHIC. These are free to obtain and give you access to the Spanish state health service at either no cost or low cost. However, the card does not cover everything so it is important to still have insurance.

Our situation is the reverse. Pam and I travel to the UK frequently and so we need insurance and EHIC cards as well. It took some research on our part to find a British company that would insure us for our trips. The company we use is Globelink who offer both one trip and multi trip policies. The cost of their policies is very reasonable until you reach 66 when it starts to rise considerably – still it is worth paying for the peace of mind.

Cone heads

Capuchones, caperuchos, capuruchos and capirotes – all names for the cone shaped headgear that Nazarenes wear during the Easter parades. Ideally, this headgear should be light, cool and comfortable.

In Orihuela, there is an 86 year old man who works all year to make these things using plastic, mesh tape with an anti sweat band. The result is a cap that weighs just 70 grams and comes in eleven different sizes to fit anything from a young child to an adult. The cost is a very reasonable 20 euros so no wonder he is is kept busy.

Information for expat tax residents in Spain

Are you resident in Spain? Do you own any assets outside Spain worth over €50,000? If so you will need to declare them in 2013 under a new reporting requirement. Failure to do so would have very costly consequences.

The most important measure for most expatriates is the new obligation for Spanish taxpayers to report assets located outside Spain. More details were included in the Royal Decree on 15th November 2012.

This is a new, additional requirement for Spanish taxpayers. You remain obliged, as always, to also fully declare your annual worldwide income for income tax purposes, and your taxable worldwide assets for wealth tax purposes.

Reporting procedure

From now on, anyone who is tax resident in Spain must declare all the assets they own outside Spain.

You need to make the declaration on a new official form.

Reporting must be done by the end of the first trimester each year, although the deadline has been extended for reporting assets held as at 31st December 2012, so that your first deadline is 30th April 2013. For future years, the deadline will be 31st March for the previous 31st December.

Assets to be declared

If you own any of the following assets outside Spain, valued at €50,000 or more, you need to declare them.

• Accounts held with financial institutions
• All types of immovable property (real estate) and rights over such property
• Shares and securities
• Life insurance policies
• Temporary or lifetime income generated from the lending of money, rights or other assets (including immovables) to foreign entities.

You need to declare these assets if you are the owner, the beneficiary, or an authorised signatory. This includes assets held by a trust or fiduciary.

If the value of your total assets in each class is less than €50,000, you are not obliged to report.

Once you have reported the assets the first time, you do not need to report them again each year if the value of all your reportable assets increased by less than €20,000. Where their value has risen by €20,000 or more, you will need to report them again by the next annual deadline.

Information to be reported

The value to be reported for accounts with financial institutions, shares, securities, life insurance policies and other assets is that at 31st December.

In the case of accounts with financial institutions, you also need to report the average balance over the last three months of the year. This category includes all types of bank accounts and deposits, including credit accounts, in all currencies, regardless of whether you have the right to withdraw the funds or not.

For immovable property, the value is the cost of acquisition. You also need to provide information on the type of property, its location, and date of acquisition.

Consequences of not reporting

If you fail to report any assets as required by the new law, the costs will be very high once discovered.

The undeclared income arising from the asset will be deemed to arise in the last tax year which is not statute barred – four years in most cases. This effectively abolishes the statute of limitations.

You would have to pay all of the following:

• Income tax at the income tax scale rates where the top rate is over 50% (even if the income would normally be taxed under the savings income regime).
• Late payment interest for the last four years.
• Penalties, which can be as high as 150% of the total tax due on the asset.
• A fine of €5,000 per each piece of unreported data, with a minimum of €10,000.

If the tax defrauded exceeds €120,000, it would be considered a criminal offence.

When you submit your declaration form by 30th April, you need to be sure you have filled it in correctly and included all the overseas assets that you should have, with the right values. Any mistakes or omissions, even accidental, could prove very costly.

For peace of mind, you need to speak to Spanish tax experts.

If like Pam and I, you pay your taxes in the UK (as ex teachers we have no option on this), then my understanding is that you are not affected.