Vern On Spain

VALENCIA FALLAS - FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE!

2012-02-07T11:07:00.006+01:00

It's that time of the year in Valencia. Fallas time.

I like the city of Valencia, the third biggest in Spain. But i cannot say i enjoyed the whole Fallas experience, and I won't be going back there this February. Or any other February, come to that.

But some people love this noisy, spectacular annual celebration. Read all about my meeting with young, firecracker wielding children.

For people who like that sort of thing, or any passing pyromaniac, here is a link to my article on Fallas time in vibrant Valencia http://bit.ly/Anr8Kp

HOUSE FOR SALE, GRANADA, SPAIN

2012-02-02T14:49:00.003+01:00

For Sale - a superb, large house close to the city of Granada & beaches of the Costa Tropical. A large home, over three floors, that is full of Andalucian charm and Moorish characteristics.

Location - the pretty Lecrín Valley. As authentic as inland Spain gets.

In General: A 5 double bedroom home that is full of character. Located in the historic village of Mondujar, 20 minutes south of Granada. Modernised to the highest standard, yet retaining its Andalucian and Moorish charm.

It has five double bedrooms located over three floors. Three of them en-suite. It is a big house. It's an old house. First registered as a dwelling in the year 1801.

Ground Floor: Wide entrance hall with tiled floor. Large open plan and airy Lounge and Dining Room. Floors are tiled with antique tiles. Large wood burning fire and storage cupboards and shelves. Fully fitted, all electric kitchen with oven and hob. Large en suite bedroom the bathroom of which is exquisitely tiled. Bath with shower over and WC and sink. A charming bedroom that is located on the ground floor, with traditional Spanish/Portuguese bed and bedroom furniture.

Also on the ground floor is the pretty Andalucian patio that leads from the lounge. Full of character you walk across the patio to enter the adjoining 'Bodega' building. On the lower ground floor of this is the bodega lounge. A superb room with built in wine storage. This is a big lounge which is very cool in summer but easily heated in winter. Above the bodega is a further en suite double bedroom. Here is a large, stand under power shower, toilet and basin. From this bedroom stairs lead to an open sun terrace with views towards the main house and the hills of Mondujar. That is just the ground floor of the main house dealt with.

First Floor: Stairs from the entrance lead to a large floor with open plan lounge and dining room. Wood burning stove. All electric and modern kitchen. Tiled bathroom with bath, shower over, toilet and basin. Views to the Andalucian patio. From the dining room there is a 'juliet' balcony looking towards the patio and bodega. The lounge also boasts a recessed seating area. On this floor there are two large double bedrooms. One with fitted wardrobe. Both have "juliet" balconies with views towards the mountains of Mondujar and the other villages of the Lecrín Valley. This floor is very light and airy and stays cool in summer.

Top Floor: From the first floor the staircase continues to the large open roof terrace. This is vast and enjoys the sunshine from dawn until dusk. Leading off the roof terrace is a superb large bedroom with en suite stand under shower room, toilet, bidet and basin. Again this has been tiled very tastefully. Many windows offer plenty of light in this room and excellent views.

The Alhambra Palace is a 20 minute drive. The beaches of Salobreña and Almuñécar are 30 minutes away. Granada Airport is the same distance. Property summary: This house has been lovingly and carefully renovated and modernised but, crucially, it retains its historic Andalucian characteristics. The top two floors have been rented out as a separate entity as it has its own secure front door. Summer holiday letting brings in up to 350 Euros per week.

The Lecrín Valley: Ever beautiful, the Lecrín Valley is ideally situated being equidistant from the glorious City of Granada and from the coastal town of Motril. The Valley remains popular and represents everything that is best about the more authentic side of Spain.

The Price: This large property is for sale at the small price of valued at 249.000 Euros.

Every Picture tells a story: for more photos visit www.forsaleinspain.blogspot.com

Please call 00 34 958 788 252 or 00 34 677 143 489 or e-mailverninspain@gmail.com or contact via www.twitter.com/lecrin

FC BARCELONA - POPULAR THE WORLD OVER

2011-12-08T13:03:00.001+01:00

This weekend sees one very big game of football being played in Spain. Real Madrid are 3 points clear in La Liga and have a game in hand on their greatest rivals. FC Barcelona. On Saturday night the teams meet. If Madrid were to win this game it is unlikely that there will be a way back for Barcelona in the race to win the Spanish title.

Real Madrid are also performing more as a team now in the Champions League and former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, has them playing more as a team than as a collection of gifted individuals.

But Barcelona football club has a fascination about it that travels the world. And football fans from all over the world come to see a game in the Camp Nou. It is one of the most sought after match tickets in world football.

Local resident and sports journalist Graham Hunter has written a book about the making of this great football club and that book is out early in 2012.

In the meantime he has been meeting some of the people who travel thousands of miles to experience the sensation that is FC Barcelona.

A SPORTING CHANCE

2011-11-18T18:22:00.004+01:00

At the end of this month I shall be making my bi-annual appearance at the William Hill Sports Book of the Awards bash. No, not as a nominee. One of these days I will get around to writing a sporting bestseller. But not just yet.

It would not be about bullfighting, however. Indeed the author of one of the books nominated for this prestigious title says himself that bullfighting is not a sport. We agree on that, at least.

Odd then that his book entitled 'Into the Arena: The world of the Spanish bullfight' has made it to the final magnificent 7 for the sports book award.

Alexander Fiske-Harrison is no stranger to being on the end of anti-bullfighting questions and, as you can see from the clip below, the writer and actor is an accomplished speaker.

Providing he is at Waterstones in Central London a week on Monday I shall be putting a few questions of my own.

It could be an interesting few minutes.

You can buy the book online via www.wordofsport.blogspot.com

EN ROUTE TO WATCH FC BARCELONA

2011-11-18T14:20:00.003+01:00

My old contact from Fleet Street days, Graham Hunter, has become an authority on the European Champions, FC Barcelona. Ever since he moved to live in the city Graham has been able to travel Spain and the world reporting on the greatest football team of my lifetime.

In January Graham releases a book called: Barça: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World. You can order that book now via www.wordofsport.blogspot.com and, in 2012, also via this site.

Barcelona were far from great when i first saw them play in Spain. On a night of torrential rain several years ago, i saw them get thrashed 5-1 by Malaga. How times have changed.

The current FC Barcelona are a delight to watch. Iniesta, Messi and - my own footballing hero - Xavi; play football the right way.

They will have a fight on to win La Liga this season as it is clear to me that the success and pressures of recent years have resulted in some Barcelona players appearing jaded.

Real Madrid may pip them to the Spanish title this season, but that will likely come down to the matches between the two gigantic football clubs.

Graham is promoting his new detailed, informative and entertaining book via You Tube.

Here he is en route to a match with Barcelona fans.

An informative few minutes for those who are lucky enough to get a match ticket, or simply for those who plan to use the Barcelona metro.

FRIENDS ALL OVER SPAIN

2011-11-07T19:47:00.006+01:00

In 2005 I went to Haro, La Rioja and met chess grandmaster, Stuart Conquest. Nice move!

In seven years of travelling Spain I've seem some stunning scenery and visited some memorable locations. But it's the people I've met who have fascinated me the most.

Spain is not all about expats who either run bars, or sit outside them all day long. There are some genuinely interesting British people living in the country who are not rich nor retired.

Many, like myself, have never worked harder or for longer hours in their previous, pre-Spain life.

While people in the UK may think every expat spends each day on the beach and every night sipping gin and tonic on their roof terrace; the truth for many of us is very, very different.

Here are three links to features I have written about some of those people I have met and interviewed since living and working in Spain.

People I've met in Spain - Part 1 http://tiny.cc/my893

Part 2 http://tiny.cc/xsa6k

Part 3 http://tiny.cc/cn6mw

SPANISH FOOD - THE NORTH SOUTH DIVIDE

2011-10-21T13:50:00.007+01:00

Here's a link to an article I published on the blog www.spain-holiday.com

I've been all over Spain and I am in no doubt that, in general, the food served is better up't north.

The quality of the ingredients, and the skills employed in the kitchen, are the chief reasons for that.

But there are excellent places to eat in southern Spain. I'm not talking about posh nosh at daft prices or international cooking, both of which are so prevalent along the Costa del Crime.

I'm talking about real cooking in the more authentic areas of Spain.

Here's the link http://tiny.cc/7phxy

THE TAPAS LUNCH COMPANY

2011-10-13T17:14:00.007+01:00

Mushrooms of La Mancha. Photo by Mariano Esbrí Flickr Bu Regreg: http://bit.ly/nK8TiK

I also write for the Spanish Food blog www.spanishfoodworld.co.uk

This is part of the excellent Tapas Lunch Company www.thetapaslunchcompany.co.uk which delivers a wide range of Spanish food ingredients and products to customers all over the world. The speed of their service, and the quality of the items delivered, is appreciated by customers old and new.

On the blog I write about the food on offer in the various regions of the vast country that is Spain. I interview culinary experts, chefs and historians who tell me about Spanish food then and now.

I write about a vast array of Spanish food and the very best of ingredients. We also post regular recipes for Spanish meals. Some you will know. Some will be new to you.

From time to time here, I shall provide links to certain articles, features and recipes.

Here's one all about the home of Don Quixote, Castilla La Mancha. A region famous for its Manchego Cheese, mushrooms, garlic and much more.

Click on this link to learn more http://bit.ly/noTkoA

WHAT DID THE ROMANS EVER DO FOR SPAIN?

2011-10-07T12:37:00.004+01:00

Photo: Almuñecar, the old and new

So often people talk about the influence of the Moors on Spain. Or about the Christian invasion.

What about the Visigoths? Hardly anyone gives them a passing thought.

And what about the Romans - what did they ever do for Spain?

As it turns out, a great deal. Their influence is everywhere to be seen in the country.

MUSEUMS in SPAIN

2011-10-06T12:07:00.003+01:00

Photo: Casa de los Tiros, Granada

I'm going to start providing links to articles I have written elsewhere.

Including those published in the past year for the excellent blog that is associated to the Spanish property rental website www.spain-holiday.com

Here are two features about some of the lesser known museums in Spain. The ones you may not know about or miss while on your travels in the country. Part 1 via http://bit.ly/pm8H5B and part 2 via http://bit.ly/oh0Vju

COME SEE THE GARDENS OF GRANADA

2011-10-02T12:08:00.009+01:00

Now that the temperatures have cooled down a little in the great city of Granada, it is time you took a tour of the gardens of Granada.

Informal, friendly and with the insight of people who live in the area and know the gardens well; why not come on a stroll around some of the less well known public and private gardens in the city.

Of course, you must see the Generalife at the Alhambra Palace and you can do so under your own steam.

But there are other less publicised gardens to see in the city of Granada. Ones with history, colour, charm and character. Places someone visiting the city for a short time would never find.

At Granada Gardens we know where to take you and have great contacts with those who open their gardens to the public.

As we tour Granada we always keep our eye out for other sites that may interest our clients. In Spain one can never be sure which museums and other places of interest will actually be open when they claim to be. So it was that recent visitors Harry and Michael from New York got to see the site of the ancient Roman baths and the Casa de los Tiros museum in Granada.

As part of our garden tours we also stop off for refreshments at a couple of the best tapas bars in the city. These breaks are much appreciated by all. Here you get to experience the more authentic tapas bars of the city, not the tourist orientated haunts.

Harry and Michael enjoyed seeing three of the better gardens that are open at weekends and to compare what grows in this part of Andalucia with what they are used to in their own garden near Albany, upstate New York.

For our part we love meeting keen gardeners from all over the world and having a relaxing and enjoyable day with them in the great city of Granada.

The heavens opened earlier this year on a party of 18 horticulture students from Texas, but they had the right attitude. They broke out into a chorus of "we're singing in the rain" as we walked from one sun drenched location to the next, rather wet garden.

We limit our touring parties to no more than 20 as we find more personalised tours to be that much more informative and pleasurable for one and all. We like to talk with, and not shout at, our guests about plants, gardens and Granada.

So be there 2, 4, 6 or 8 of you... we believe you will appreciate the gardens of Granada and enjoy the laid back manner in which we tour them

To book a tour e-mail greenspain@live.com or visit www.granadagardens.blogspot.com

TIMELESS & TIMELAPSE SPAIN

2011-10-02T12:05:00.000+01:00

PROFESSIONAL ACUPUNCTURE IN THE LECRÍN VALLEY

2011-09-14T13:53:00.015+01:00

Deeva at work treating a client in the Lecrin Valley, south of Granada

There are some talented people living south of Granada. Including people offering their skills in the area of health treatment. A few years ago I went to the wood yard, lifted some logs and, boom!, next thing I knew, I could barely move.

I went for some acupuncture treatment. Something which previously I would have dismissed out of hand. It worked. After a few superb treatments I was better again. Since which time I have been happy to sing the praises of acupuncture and I've learned so much more about it since Deeva Eastwood moved to the Lecrin Valley, south of Granada. I had no idea acupuncture could be beneficial to so many different ailments.

I asked Deeva to explain her background and give you a brief outline of the treatment she offers.

She tells me:- "I’m trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine and a member of the British Acupuncture Council. I’ve worked in a number of clinics, including Women and Health in Camden,North London and had my own practice in South Africa.

"In 2010 my husband began looking for a place with a decent climate to start afresh and discovered the beautiful Lecrin Valley. We have settled well in the historic village of Mondujar, just off the motorway between Granada and Motril.

"It wasn’t until I discovered acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine that I knew I had found something that really captivated me! I find the theory behind it endlessly fascinating (ask my husband, he’ll tell you I can wax lyrical about it for hours – or is that bore him senseless?).

"It speaks to so much more than just my mind. It is almost poetic in the way it sees the human being, viewing illness as a pattern of disharmony.

"I‘ve often been asked if I specialise in any particular area and I usually answer no, as I’m happy to treat any condition, but if pushed, I’d say that I like treating, of all things, sweating disorders! Acupuncture works so well that it always astonishes me when I hear of people having Botox for it.

"I also like the way that no two treatments are exactly the same. Every single person gets an absolutely individual treatment, tailored to their precise needs. Acupuncture is so wonderfully versatile that it can be used for all sorts of conditions and because it’s holistic, it doesn’t treat just the symptoms. Often after treatment, people mention that they sleep better, have more energy or generally feel more upbeat."

Deeva practices in the Lecrin Valley and can be contacted by email via deeva.eastwood@talk21.com or by phone on 603 490 703

BUYING IN SPAIN - COSTA BRAVA IS AFFORDABLE

2011-06-19T14:13:00.023+01:00

What's not to like about the beautiful beaches, towns and villages near Begur on the Costa Brava? Contact Adrian (top). You can trust him - even if he supports Arsenal!

So much claptrap is written about the Spanish property market via the internet. It has been a difficult few years for those operating as estate agents in the country and many have gone out of business. Frankly, like those writing about Spain, there were too many around in the first place!

For many months I have been reading some laughable accounts of how the Spanish property market is buoyant. Some fantasists even claimed that prices of property in Spain were rising. Utter nonsense! It comes as no surprise that all these articles were written by... estate agents!

Until now that is. I am happy to be a journalist and have no wish to be a member of another despised profession. One is enough, thank you. I am not an estate agent. I do have a handful of friends who are. They weren't friends until I had reason to do business with them. Be that buying my own home in Spain, or through meeting them when writing about Spanish homes for magazines and websites the world over.

I can spot a dodgy agent several kilometres away. I only deal with the good guys and gals. Those who work hard to make sure those selling and buying property in Spain get good, thorough, honest, correct and professional advice and service. Many such people exist from the Costa Brava to the Costa de la Luz. From the Costa Tropical to the beaches of northern Spain.

I heard the other day from one such contact. Adrian McGinley rang me with rare good news. He is hopeful of two sales this month in the area around Begur on the Costa Brava. You are not far from the cities of Girona and Barcelona, but this area has a serene feel all of its own.

Adrian has homes in stunning locations such as Tamariu, Sa Riera, Llafranc, Pals, Palafrugell - all delightful and all close to the marvellous sandy beaches of the northern Costa Brava.

When I first went there I fell in love with the area and wanted to buy there. But then, six years ago, prices were beyond me. This is a smart area. Riff raff such as I would have stood out a mile!

But times have changed and, in order to sell their homes, vendors have reduced the price of their houses to a very competitive level.

Adrian informs me of good news. I could now afford to buy there.

He tells me: "It has been bad. I have never hidden that fact from sellers or buyers. The market up here has been very slow for a long time. But things are moving. I don't claim to know why, for sure. But the good news is that people are coming back to Spain with a view to buying.

"We also have the advantage of being near the border with France, so many from that country have been popping over to purchase homes in Spain. I anticipate having a couple of sales this month.

"True, it is far removed from the days when I was selling two or three a week, but it has to be a genuine sign that things are picking up a little, at least when it comes to the Spanish property market."

Despite the fact he is an Arsenal fan, I am prepared to believe Adrian.

After all, what's not to like about the Costa Brava? I thought Begur and the surrounding villages, beaches and bays to be beautiful.

From my own experience of trying to sell my 5 bed, 3 bath home near Granada; I know that I have received more people viewing my property already this year than in all of 2010.

It's been tough for Adrian and a number of other agents I know working in Spain.

Yes, they had it very good when times were good - but they have been paying the price for the general economic slump throughout Spain. I know it's hard to believe if you are only used to dealing with those sharp suited, wet behind the ears, tell you what you want to hear estate agents that are so common in the UK; but I have to report that estate agents are human too. They also have bills to pay. Children to feed, mortgages to cover.

Some of the nicest i have dealt with are those who have kept their heads above water here in Spain. Only just. But they live to fight another day and I for one hope things continue to improve for them.

As I sit hear listening to reports of how the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships are sure to suffer from rain this June; it is touching 40 degrees on my roof terrace and the beaches of Spain are busy with locals and tourists alike enjoying a weekend in sunny Spain.

Sometimes the best reasons for buying property in Spain are the oldest ones. So think on!

If you are interested in property on the Costa Brava do contact Adrian via (00 34) 692 545 852

or visit his website www.immo-am.com

* Meanwhile, should you be looking for property in southern Spain, on the Costa Tropical in locations such as Almuñécar, Salobreña or La Herradura; I warmly recommend the ever helpful Martin Bright at www.spaincostatropical.com

And if you want to live in inland Spain, halfway between the beaches of the Costa Tropical and the great city of Granada, try the pretty and unspoilt Lecrín Valley. For property there contact Danielle Gouwens via www.athomeinandalusia.com

A good portal to see what is available across Andalucia is www.andaluciadirect.co.uk

GRANADA CELEBRATES PREMIER FOOTBALL

2011-06-19T14:07:00.003+01:00

After an absence of 35 years, the city of Granada has a football team in La Liga. Last night Granada CF won a place in the top flight of Spanish football. This is a momentous moment for sport in the city of Granada. Next season Granada will entertain clubs such as Real Madrid and the Champions of Europe, FC Barcelona.

Five years ago I was watching Granada CF with a few hundred other people. You could sit where you liked. Those selling scarves, badges etc would set up a trestle table of souvenirs outside the ground about an hour before kick off. You could easily get served at the excellent bars close to the ground, some of which feature in the Tapas Tour guidebook for sale on this site.

The quality of football was poor and the pitch was dire. Grass was nowhere to be seen.

Now the big time beckons for Granada CF. Last night 25.000 people partied on the streets of the city. It's not just the players, club and fans that are winners.

Football tourism is big business. Many people will travel far and wide to see top flight football played in Spain. Having a football team in La Liga is guaranteed to bring more visitors to the city of Granada.

A city which has always been in the Premier League of Spanish destinations. Now it has a football team worthy of such a great city.

Be afraid Real Madrid! Bring on Barcelona!

TOURING GRANADA GARDENS - COME RAIN OR SHINE

2011-06-08T12:31:00.005+01:00

Harry and Michael from New York were our latest guests on a tour of some of the best gardens in Granada. They were a little under the weather when we met them at their hotel in the morning and the weather itself was dreadful. The rain fell heavily in the morning but we all bravely made our way up to the Albaicin to begin our tour of the gardens in this fine city.

Saturday may not be the best day to do this as some great gardens are closed at the weekend.

Nevertheless, the guys from New York thoroughly enjoyed the 8 hours of walking Granada saying that they found their hosts to be "knowledgeable, fun and very sympathetic to the fact that they were not feeling particularly well. We've had a wonderful day and seen more of the city of Granada and its gardens than we ever could have seen on our own."

As we tour Granada we always keep our eye out for other sites that may interest our clients. Especially when the rain is pouring. In Spain one can never tell which museums and other places of interest will actually be open when they claim to be. So it was that Harry & Michael got to see the site of the ancient Roman baths and the Casa de los Tiros museum.

As part of our garden tours we also stop off for refreshments at a couple of the best tapas bars in the city. These breaks were much appreciated by all. It allowed us to dry off and have a nice beer, a glass of wine and some free tapas.

The boys enjoyed seeing three of the better gardens that are open at weekends and to compare what grows in this part of Andalucia with what they are used to in their own garden near Albany, upstate New York.

For our part we love meeting keen gardeners from all over the world and having a relaxing and enjoyable day with them in the great city of Granada.

Next up are 18 horticulture students from Texas and a mother and daughter who love gardening at home in South Africa.

The good news is that the rain has stopped, sunshine and blue skies have returned and temperatures are now in the late 20's celsius.

To book a tour e-mail greenspain@live.com or visit www.granadagardens.blogspot.com

SPANISH CUCUMBERS ARE INNOCENT!

2011-06-08T12:20:00.004+01:00

Spain has suffered terribly these past few days after rumours, that began in Germany, spread that the cause of an outbreak of the E-Coli disease there, had begun in Spain.

For a country so know for its metioculous attention to detail, experts in Germany got it all wrong. Days later health and agriculture officials in Germany had to admit that cucumbers and tomatoes imported from Spanish growers were NOT the cause of the outbreak of the deadly bacteria.

But, for many farmers in Spain, it was too late. The damage had been done. They could not give away vegetables grown across Spain and the falsely accused, home grown Spanish cucumber was not wanted anywhere in the world.

This week angry scenes in the European parliament saw Spanish officials demand larger compensation payments for those businesses in Spain that had been hit hard by the falsehoods. The livelihoods of farmers and growers, particularly in southern Spain, had been devastated. Some growers were put out of business within days. Others found themselves having to throw away tons of perfectly good vegetables.

The European Commission stated Tuesday that, within 24 hours, they will be improving an initial compensation offer that covered only 30% of the losses incurred by farmers in Spain. It is, however, not expected to cover 100% of losses experienced due to growers having to throw away or sell very cheaply not only their cucumbers, but also lettuces and tomatoes.

Agriculture Commissioner, Dacian Ciolos, said that the demands from Spain for full compensation were unrealistic. He said: “We have to remember this is public money, and we have to account for its use.” He called his original offer of 150 million Euros (134 pounds) “substantial and balanced.”

But those who represent the growers said this was not enough and only amounts to a derisory “handout.” They say in provinces such as Granada alone the loss can be calculated at over 20 million Euros.

The total loss to farmers throughout the EU is estimated at 400 million Euros. Spanish farmers wanted Germany to directly compensate them for their loss but any payment must come from EU central funds.

An improved offer to reimburse Spanish growers is expected to be announced in Brussels on Wednesday.

GARDENS OF CORTIJO OPAZO, LA ALPUJARRA, SPAIN - OPEN TO ALL EVERY FRIDAY

2011-05-04T18:59:00.007+01:00

After many weeks of rain, southern Spain is looking very green. Nowhere more so than the beautiful La Alpujarra countryside. If you haven't been to the diverse villages that make up this vast region, then do so. Soon.

I can heartily recommend a Friday visit to the gardens of Cortijo Opazo (pictured above). Robert and William open their doors each Friday to those who appreciate good gardens.

They have worked hard at creating a truly beautiful garden between Pitres and Portugos. So many plants that you rarely see in Spain. They grow so much of their own food.

Last week they treated me to a wonderful lunch that included a quiche including home grown chives and spinach and dressed with the tops of fennel grown in the garden. That was followed by a wonderful pudding of home made ice cream with rhubarb grown by their own hands.

A delight.

They do not offer to cook lunch for those who wander their garden each Friday. That was my special treat. But you will be offered the chance to purchase plants and sample some lemonade and home made cake. On a recent very wet Friday, nobody came. Now, considering the recent terrible weather, that is understandable. But it means Robert and William have to eat all the cake. And that plays havoc with their trim figures!

It is a wonderful garden in which to sit and enjoy both the stunning views and the perfect planting. Robert and William also sell eggs laid on site - but not by them personally you understand!

Cortijo Opazo has become a popular place to spend a few days and make the most of La Alpujarra. They have very comfortable accommodation there.

The website is www.cortijoopazo.com

FOOTBALL CRAZY IN RACIST SPAIN

2011-05-04T11:38:00.007+01:00

The recent clashes, on and off the pitch, between Barcelona and Real Madrid were not a good advert for Spanish football as a whole.

Barcelona comfortably went through to the final of the Champions League because they are the best club team in the world, let alone Spain.

Real Madrid blamed everyone but themselves for the 3-1 aggregate defeat. Their in disgrace manager, Jose Mourinho, incited trouble with his vile comments before and after the first game, and prior to the second tie in Barcelona. A match he was suspended from attending in an official capacity.

The one time, so called "translator" to then Barcelona manager Bobby Robson is on record as saying his heart will always belong to Barcelona. As with his pledges of loyalty and devotion to any one club, those comments were taken with a liberal pinch of salt. He may though yet pay a heavy price for admitting after the first leg that Real Madrid stood no chance of going through. That did not go down well with his employers.

In the first game of this tense affair bottles rained down on Barcelona players when they scored two goals. Racist chants directed at their players were also prevalent.

That came as no surprise to me. Spain is without question the most racist country I have lived in. Real Madrid fans know no shame when it comes to making insulting noises and comments in the direction of opposing black players. They overlook the fact that they too have coloured players in their team. Indeed I have even witnessed Madrid fans make monkey chants at their own black players.

That players were also insulting each other in a racist fashion will come as no surprise to anyone in touch with the actuality of life in a country that is, in some regions, intolerant of foreigners.

Madrid players and the management team also blamed the referees of the two games. It is true that some decisions were baffling. It is not true that the refs were biased towards Barcelona. That is simply an attempt by Real to hide their own inadequacies. They are not as good a team as Barcelona. In fact, they are not a team. Yet again the club has spent millions on some of the best individual talent in the world. But Mourinho has no more built a team than any of his recent predecessors at the Bernabéu.

Real Madrid players say that referees give free kicks in favour of Barcelona every time that Lionel Messi falls over. Last night I would say that nine times out of ten, the ref got those decisions right. Or should I say 99 out of 100, as the only answer Real Madrid players have to stop the genius of Messi is to kick, trip or push him. They should look to their own failings before taking the easy option and blaming the ref.

The diving and cheating by both teams in the first leg were abhorent. The persistent attempts to get an opposition player sent off leave a sour taste in the mouth. Mourinho's accusation that UEFA favour Barcelona is as absurd as it is petty. Barcelona do not require the help of any outside body. They are a brilliant team. Real Madrid are not.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has achieved what he has on merit. For Mourinho to suggest that his opposite number should be ashamed of his success, and that he has won previous European titles unfairly, are the words of a spoilt 7 year old child who has just lost a game of subbuteo.

The fact is that for reasons best known to him, Mourinho sent his team out to defend in the home leg of the semi-final. They put eleven men behind the ball for the first hour of that game.

Real Madrid allowed Barcelona to play their passing game for all but the first half hour of the second leg.

Those are the reasons why Real Madrid will not be playing in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium later this month. Not referees. Not UEFA.

The comments made today by some Real Madrid players, including the one trick pony that is Cristiano Ronaldo, are plain childish. Boy! Sir Alex Ferguson knew what he was doing when he offloaded Ronaldo for a small fortune. I doubt any person or business has wasted 80 million pounds in such a fashion. Certainly no football club in Europe has thrown away almost 100 million Euros as Real Madrid did when they signed the petulant Ronaldo.

He threw his toys out of the pram when his manager had him defend rather than attack in the first game. Today he has spat his dummy out and said that next year UEFA may just as well hand Barcelona the trophy before the competition begins.

Even the once mild mannered goalkeeper Iker Casillas lost his cool last night. His brilliant shot stopping kept Real Madrid in the game, but his spiteful words today do him no credit.

Despite the fact that players from Real Madrid and Barcelona largely made up the Spanish team that won the World Cup last year, it is clear that there is no love lost between some of those players.

The rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid is very real in Spain. The hatred has its base in politics and history. As the Spanish hold grudges longer than is good for anyone, and can carry a chip on their shoulders with great pride; that situation will not change in my lifetime.

Jose Mourinho, his coaching staff and players did nothing to calm those troubled waters over the past fortnight. Even the normally mild mannered Guardiola lost his cool. Though his players applauded him for so doing.

Why should footballers and football managers try to heal old scars?

Because Spain as a country will never be a force away from the football arena until it is has buried its own historic differences. The often petty enmity that holds the country back from being a success on the European and World stage, both economically and socially.

In all the noise, bluster and abuse of the past days there was only one person who rose above the foul words, the foul racist chants and the fouls themselves.

Lionel Messi is a class apart.

LA ALPUJARRA - PLACES TO STAY

2011-04-11T15:12:00.011+01:00

Top: Los Piedaos. Middle: Cortijo Opazo. Bottom: Hotel Los Bérchules

You've read reviews about places to stay by people who have stayed there.

Well now read about three where I have never stayed.

But, if I were you, I would.

I love La Alpujarra. I doubt I could live up there all year long. Winters are too cold for me down below in the warmer Lecrín Valley, so it is unlikely i could survive a cold one up in the mountain villages that form La Alpujarra.

The first time i went there, in a December, I left the coast in 17 degree sunshine and arrived in Capiliera with the temperature at just 3 celsius and surrounded by sleet.

I spent a few days trying, and failing, to get a log fire going. I was heard to utter the words: "I can do this on a hill in Yorkshire. I didn't come to Spain to spend days starting a fire."

We moved on. Hence how I come to live in the ever so pretty, but milder, Lecrín Valley.

That was some years ago. Since that time I have fallen in love with so very many locations in the La Alpujarra mountains. Too many to mention here. I have still probably only seen 30% of the area as a whole. One day I will get to see more and, perhaps, one day I will get to stay at some of the well run places I know exist in the vicinity.

Here are three to choose from in very different locations.

Each day I see a bus at the end of my road. It has as its final destination Bérchules. I've never been there. I must get on that bus one day and enjoy the long journey. Should I make it I would have to stay overnight. There is only so much time I can spend on a bus, even the very comfortable Spanish kind.

I'm told I should stay here http://bit.ly/hX9FNs

True, Everton fans run the place and Everton beat my football team in the 1966 FA Cup Final. But, like the Murphy's, I'm not bitter. It is time i forgave the club nicknamed 'The Toffees' for ensuring the Owls came unstuck all those years ago.

If you do get there before me, please report back.

Near the ever so pleasant town of Pitres is the wonderful garden, and raved about accommodation, run by Robert and William at Cortijo Opazo http://bit.ly/8NpuNO

The gardens are gorgeous. Hard work has paid dividends there. Likewise with the meticulous way they look after their guests. Don't take my word for it.

You only have to meet those who have stayed there, as I have done. Or read the comments on the website and blog. The blog is written by a resident, Oskar the dog. He's biased of course, and he does what his owners tell him - sometimes. But he is a witty writer and he knows his onions. Indeed he has probably planted some.

In every sense Cortijo Opazo is a breath of fresh air.

I know people living in the province of Granada who have never been to La Alpujarra due to their fear of heights. Boy! - are they missing out.

My third selection doesn't require you to go as high above sea level as the first two. It is located close to the town of Orgiva. Not that you would know it when you stayed in the delightful grounds of Los Piedaos http://bit.ly/6sBdIM

Its location means it is that bit closer to the coast and the great city of Granada. Though, frankly, when you get here there seems no reason to leave.

The place is run by an excellent writer and her hubby, who thinks of himself as a bit of a cook and a rather good photographer. In my experience, he is brilliant at both.

They run cooking courses there. Or you can learn more about photography while staying in the distinctive accommodation, including the Honeymoon cottage. Though I doubt people staying in that room are interested in exposing anything other than themselves!

Take your pick. Or, even better, experience La Alpujarra by doing a road trip and staying at all three.

They are all good places to stay. Take it from one who has never stayed at any of them!

DODGY DEALINGS WITH A CAR DEALER IN SPAIN

2011-03-23T19:04:00.007+01:00

I have a tell to tale. Of car troubles. In Spain, of course. Where to go out the front door seems to cost me money. Or aggro.

I sold a car to a garage in Motril. He got a bargain. I provided all the required documentation. I took the payment in cash.

For reasons i queried at the time, the garage owner asked for a copy of my insurance documents. I provided them. I told him I would be cancelling the policy. He asked me to wait 10 days until the transfer of ownership of the vehicle had gone through at Traffico.

The words of a senior Spanish friend rang in my head: "Watch out in Spain. The country is full of liars, cheats and thieves. The first thought an Andalucian has each morning is 'how can i cheat someone today.'"

Cycnical, yes. But then after 70 odd years on this earth, my friend Luis is entitled to an opinion on his fellow Spanish businessman. And, I am sad to report, Luis has been right so many times in the past six years when warning me about how some of his countrymen behave.

Yes, I should have called the insurance company, Linea Directa, the moment the buyer of the car drove off in it. But I didn't.

Within one hour of him driving the car away, the garage owner saw his mechanic 'accidentally' drive my former car into one of the cars on the forecourt of the garage. He, the garage owner, immediately made a claim using his own insurance company against me and my insurance policy. Which was, of course, still active.

I doubt fraudelent insurance claims come more obvious than this one. And yet Linea Directa are paying out. For a car I had sold to him 60 minutes earlier. For an 'accident' that took place 30 kilometres away from where I was at the time. An event I was not involved in.

I lose 10% no claims when I come to insure again.

Predictably, the buyer has not yet transferred the car to himself via Traffico. It will be three weeks this Friday since I sold the car to him.

So, as I write, I still own the car. If he gets pinched for speeding, or worse, I am responsible for the fine.

As with all transactions in Spain, this one will drag on and on. I dealt with a crook. A spiv. A Real Madrid tracksuit wearing Del Boy. Andalucia is full of them.

I fear what will come next. He's got his insurance payout. What's his next trick to be played against this gullible guiri?

That thought occupies the moments when I should be catching up on my beauty sleep.

As I have said for some time now, it's just as well I don't get out much!

IT'S GREAT in GRANADA

2011-03-14T16:42:00.000+01:00

Holiday information video about Granada

GO ON A GRANADA TAPAS TOUR

2011-03-03T11:27:00.001+01:00

HOTEL CHANCILLERIA, JEREZ, ANDALUCIA

2011-02-22T11:10:00.004+01:00

The Hotel Chancilleria, in the city of Jerez de la Frontera, is a delight.

Located centrally, with street parking close by, it is a haven of peace in an otherwise busy and bustling city.

Jerez is posh - at least by Spanish standards. The locals here look down their noses at people from Seville who, in turn, believe people from Granada are beneath them. A class system is alive and well in Spain!

Run by an English woman, her Spanish husband and their sons, this hotel is deceptively large. Light and airy it is immediately welcome. No imposing check in desks. Just a simple table and chair at which one of the family will greet you in a friendly and laid back manner.

The rooms are splendid. Smart, large, sensibly laid out and able to cope with very hot temperatures in summer.

If you stay in many hotels across Spain you get used to the fact that certain things do not work. Find a TV station with a clear picture and you will be pleasantly surprised.

No such problems at Hotel Chancilleria. The large TV's mounted to the wall of the rooms at Chancilleria work just fine. So does everything else. Breakfast works. The food on offer is vast and varied. You do not need to ask for something to be topped up or replenished. A discreet watching eye ensures the member of the staff anticpates that situation before you do. The views from the outside dining terrace are memorable.

As is the in hotel restaurant. Believe me, restaurants in Spanish hotels are generally to be avoided at all costs. They are often dreadful. "Sabores" (flavours) in the Hotel Chancilleria is great. Tastefully decorated, superb service and quality food. Words I have used very rarely since I began travelling around Spain in 2005.

The management have coupled efficency with a laid back approach. It is a "we are here if you need us, but we are not in your face" attitude that i found most refreshing.

There is free use of a computer on which you can check e-mails etc and a delightful exterior garden - in which you can take a drink or enjoy a full meal on warm, sunny evenings.

If you are visiting Jerez there is much to see in this fine city. If you need a hotel room, there is only one place to stay. The Hotel Chancilleria.

www.hotelchancilleria.com
Address:- C/Chancilleria 21. Jerez de la Frontera
Telephone: +34 956 301 038
E-mail info@hotelchancilleria.com

SIERRA NEVADA SKI RESORT

2011-02-20T10:09:00.008+01:00

As a former Producer at Sky TV it is a mystery to me why they never mention the Sierra Nevada ski resort in their snow reports. This past month they have bemoaning a lack of snow in Italy, France etc. And yet they never refer to Sierra Nevada in Spain - the most southerly ski resort in Europe and one that has snow from November to March or April.

Friends who love to go there skiing or snowboarding are happy that the excellent resort does not get much coverage in the UK and elsewhere. They want it to stay a secret. But I don't!

This month, February, there has been lots of fresh snow at the resort located above the great city of Granada in Spain.

I am not a participant. I go to the ski resort about once a year to sit and drink large glasses of beer or shandy for 2 euros 50 cents a glass. I sunbathe because, when the sun is out up there, the heat is excellent in winter and you get a good tan. I watch the more athletic types show off their skills on the slopes around the peak of Veleta which sits at over 3000 metres (over 11.000 feet).

If you like to ski, snowboard or enjoy other winter sports, here is a link to the resort as seen this month http://is.gd/ZXpEZo And if you need somewhere to stay, here is a link to excellent accommodation that is but a 45 minute drive to the resort http://is.gd/TOXUnR

Much cheaper than staying in the resort itself.

So don't listen to those who tell you there is too little snow in Europe. In London, Sky TV's ski report may be limited but, at Sierra Nevada, the sky really is the limit and the snow is - right now - plentiful.

VOTE FOR ME!

2011-02-15T11:45:00.006+01:00

Guiri's living in Mojacar, Spain have set up a political party and are standing for election in the local government elections that are coming to a Spanish village, town or city near you soon. It seems that the once pretty pueblo of Mojacar is now such a large coastal town that 70% of the people living there are non Spanish.

So, who knows? The foreigners may end up running their town. Now that would be funny. And it set me thinking. Why don't I stand for election as mayor of the Lecrín Valley?

One problem could be that the villages of my Valley are probably made up roughly of around 2% of foreigners. And half of those don't like me!

Never mind. I will follow the televised examples of the character Nicky from "Our Friends in the North" or Nigel Barton in the play "Stand up Nigel Barton."

Please note. If you are too young to have watched those excellent dramas, then go back to your comics or listening to Lady Ga-Ga - whoever she might be.

Times are hard at my local town hall. They are broke. They are trying to make money wherever they can. Especially since Prime Minister Zapatero gave Ayuntamiento's all over Spain the green light to increase existing taxes, and to invent new ones.

Rightly or wrongly, I've had it in for the local mayor since I received a one month electricity bill that alleged my consumption trebled in August. The bill was 212 euros.

I suspect the town hall stole my electricity supply to fund the many events that made up last year's fiesta. Not the mayor himself, maybe. His 'oppos' were the ones straddling a big black cable across the street and securing it to my balcony. Then the wiring vanished into the usual vast array of cables and connection boxes that resemble spaghetti.

I suspect they needed someone to fund the many music acts who played night time concerts in the grounds of the museum that faces my house. How could the locals consume their weak draft lager were not a local gullible guiri to pay for the pumps to work?

No, I cannot prove it. But, believe me, should I be living here this summer, I will be living by candlelight and cooking on an open range come fiesta time.

By then I could be the mayor myself. What would I do for my public?

I would bring change to Lecrín.

Change.

Now there's a word that may excite the voting public. Glad I came up with that mantra. All by myself.

I have my soapbox. No doubt I will require a licence to stand on it at the local market. After all, you need a licence for everything.

Well, other than shooting domestic animals. Or hanging up a pig in your garage. Or thieving from your clients (aka imposing spurious bank charges which, once queried, are reimbursed to those shrewd enough to spot the theft on their statements).

If I could be bothered to deal with all the red tape that the Spanish authorities would place in my way, this would be my manifesto for change. I believe it's a winner.

1. Limit fiestas to one a year.

2. Ban all use of fireworks, day or night.

3. No stealing of electricity from guri's living locally.

4. Ban staring. Stare for more than 2 minutes at any passing foreigner and you will be fined or, if the stare lasts ten minutes or longer; have your home taken from you.

5. No maltreatment of animals. That is, you don't shoot cats, kick dogs, allow your mule to show more bones than Keira Knightley or your average catwalk model.

6. No shooting. Especially on a Sunday.

7. Spanish banks are charged by all customers a fee of 10 euros each time we walk into their establishment.

8. Fresh, not tinned, vegetables are to be mandatory in restaurants, especially in Andalucia. They must be served with meals.

9. Bars & restaurants must provide toilet seats & toilet paper. Dereliction of this duty will result in the bar owners having to relieve themselves in the street - and be filmed doing so. And that tape being put on You Tube!

10. Customers must be forced to wash their hands after using a Spanish toilet. Failure so to do would result in the offender being put on a 12 month diet of Senokot tablets.

11. Spitting in the street is banned for all ages and sexes.

12. Public holidays are reduced to 5 per year (or to only 15 in Andalucia).

Those are my initial 'dirty dozen' measures for change in Spain. I fancy my chances. Do you?

NOW GET OUT AND VOTE FOR ME!

BARGAIN BUY HOME FOR SALE NEAR GRANADA, ANDALUCIA 249.000 EUROS

2011-02-11T11:23:00.017+01:00

For Sale - a superb, large house close to the city of Granada & beaches of the Costa Tropical. A large home, over three floors, that is full of Andalucian charm and Moorish characteristics.

Location - the pretty Lecrín Valley. As authentic as inland Spain gets.

It has five double bedrooms located over three floors. Three of them en-suite. It is a big house. It's an old house. First registered as a dwelling in the year 1801.

The Price: This large property is for sale at the small price of 249.000 Euros.

The Contact: for more photos and information go to www.forsaleinspain.blogspot.com

Or contact me direct via e-mail verninspain@gmail.com

NEW YEAR. NEW LAWS. OLD HABITS.

2011-01-03T13:06:00.011+01:00

Now you can only smoke outside Spanish bars & restaurants

I went crazy on New Year's Day. I went to the beach! Yes, you heard me right. This guiri from the pueblo drove south for twenty minutes to see how the other half live. And how do they live? Warmer, that's how. My goodness it was, at times, actually hot. I wish I had taken my factor 8 sun cream. A bit different from the deluge of rain and cold temperatures we had inland just before Christmas. It was pleasant to sit down outside that rare beast on the coast. A genuinely welcoming and friendly bar/restaurant serving good food. Yes, that is correct. It is not run by Spaniards!

My mission was to sit down and make a plan with the help of pen, pad and pacharan (it was actually beer but, forgive me, i spent too many years writing alliteration packed and exclamation strewn scripts for the likes of Richard Madeley!)

I wanted to make a plan for personal survival in Spain circa 2011. Not, you must understand, the usual list of 'things to do today.' I still have one of those from 2005. I am pleased to report there are only three things left to do!

In fact the only thing i ever do in Spain, with any modicum of success, is make lists of things to do today. I rarely get any of them done in less than a month.

Spain enters 2011 on its economic knees. The country should, and likely will, go cap in hand to the EU this year. Someone should play the great song "Ain't too proud to beg" to Prime Minister Zapatero. He says the country will raise money by other means.

And, true to his word, he's making sure that both national and local governments are doing just that. Raising taxes and imposing fines for anything they can think of.

Taking encouragement from this, the utility providers are also raising prices. Again. The soaring price of electric in Spain goes up a further 10% this week. I fear this, more than any other factor of life in Spain, will herald the end for me. My bill is already astronomical. My electric bill for the hot month of August, in a house that does not require, nor have, air conditioning... in a house where no heating is driven by electric... in a house in which only two people live... was 212 euros. Yes, that's right. 212 euros. For one month. And that is before the 10% increase.

Spain often boasts of how it has more wind turbines than any other European country. Pity then that nobody has told the powers that be that in order to provide power, those things at the top of the turbines have to turn around. So many turbines. So few of them in working order. Why? Because erecting wind turbines is one thing. Having the money to fit the parts that make them work is another. Also, in a country with the highest unemployment in the EU, it seems nobody is that keen on working in or on them. But then, in my corner of Spain, nobody is that keen on working.

If only fireworks could provide electricity. In which case power would be so cheap in Spain. They love fireworks in Spain. Day or night. It doesn't matter. Bangers or proper light up the sky fireworks. They don't care which. Just so long as you can let them off all day and night. They ended at 5.30am on New Year's Day in my small village. Or was that the thud, thud, thud from a 'fiesta de techno' being held illegally somewhere close by. In a building, no doubt, for which the delinquent, drug dealing son of the local mayor had a key.

You know the noise I am on about. It usually comes booming from a black BMW. There's something else Spain should ban. No, not BMW's. I speak of techno fiestas. I hereby appoint myself chief noise abatement officer for the Lecrín Valley. Any seconders in favour?

The country of Spain is supposedly broke. Bankrupt in all but name. So how come small towns and tiny villages can provide firework displays the likes of which I have only seen at Disney World. And why? Every year there are more fiestas. I know that Andalucians live not to work. I know they are born lazy. I appreciate they like a good time. But they are like lemmings jumping over a cliff. This country may be in a mess, but just so long as they can let off fireworks and consume plates of fatty meat and bad paella; all is well in their world.

Of course it is the smoking ban that has upset many of them. Customers and bar owners alike. "We are no longer free" was the utterance from a local restaurant and bar owner this morning. The smoking ban in Spain has made the national and international news. This country has been dragged kicking and screaming into the world of no smoking in public places.

Having said that, if this year i see regulars stood outside my local bars (in temperatures raging from minus 12 to 42+ celsius) having a fag; i will be surprised. Of course the half dozen bar owners must reach a pact. If you allow smoking, i will. If you ban it, i will. Or else one will be reporting the other to the smoke police. The offender will be fined. Or worse, denounced!

For now the bar owners are busy buying heaters they cannot afford for outdoor patios and terraces. Keep the customer satisfied. And warm. Anything to try and ensure the nicotine addicted regulars keep coming. If i am able to go into a Spanish bar and be able to wear the same clothes the next day (hey, I am an Andalucian slob and I'm proud of it); then my cup of cafe solo will truly have runneth over. But then the barman usually spills most of it into the saucer anyway.

Frankly, of all the very many bad habits displayed by Spaniards, i would support their right to smoke in a bar. Not a restaurant, but a bar. Not because i am a smoker. I have never been a serious smoker. I would, however, ban and imprison anyone found guilty of spitting on the floor. In which case they would have to start building many new prisons in Granada.

I have always liked the fact that Spain has followed EU directives that they like, and stuck two fingers up at those they do not care for. True, the smoking ban is not strictly an EU directive. But, make no mistake, this ban has been passed into law by the Spanish parliament - just - because of pressure put on Zapatero by the few friends he has in Brussels. He needs all the help he can get from the EU and he's forced the smoking ban through in order to curry favour with the European parliament.

In my very limited experience of frequenting smoke free bars in the UK and Ireland, the most off putting aspect is the other smells that one can detect. Far less pleasant aromas than that delivered by nicotine. I am not looking forward to breathing in the bodily odour of those who frequent my local bars. The Spanish, and the dozen or so Brits who seem to spend their lives in the bars. How they can afford to do so is a mystery to me. Perhaps that should be on my list of things to do in 2011. Find out how on earth these permanently pissed expats spend more on booze in a week than i do on electric in a month. Currently, that is!

Who knows just how expensive it will be to live in Spain this time next year? Much more so, i would venture to suggest. And, yes, i know prices are rising in the UK also. Spain will not feel lonely, deep in the mire. But, where other countries such as Ireland have been bold enough to beg for money; the inherent stubbornness of the Spanish male (politician, or otherwise) means that Spain is in great danger of committing economic suicide in 2011.

When things were bad in the UK, supermarkets reduced food prices and made new enticing, value for money offers, such as buy 2 get one free. Spanish supermarkets put up prices and sold out of date food for even longer than usual.

When things got bad in the UK housing market, government took measures to try and help kick start the property market. They worked. Meanwhile, back in Spain, Zapatero gave the green light for local authorities to increase property taxes and even invent new ones. Central government is currently considering raising the equivalent of capital gains tax on property sales. Especially for non residents. This at a time when, if you are fortunate enough to find a cash flashing property buyer, you should take them hostage.

Feed them only stale, rock hard bread until they sign on the dotted line and agree to pay some of the purchase fee in cash. The stale bread will be easy to find. It is delivered daily. The cash in hand may be a problem!

As i have written previously, i do not blame anyone for going back to the UK. In 2010 i waved goodbye to friends who had lived in Spain for up to 10 years. They are happy and settled back in Britain. No, everything is not greener in a land where grass grows. But i understand them when i hear the following...

"If we are to experience extortion by utility providers, or be utterly ripped off with spurious bank charges, then it's a case of better the devil you know."

Will i still be in Spain in 2012? Who knows?

Twelve months ago i predicted my likely exit from this country. I'm still here. Just.

Spain is so splendid to travel through. So amazing to experience. I've seen places that are jaw dropping. Beauty in its natural state. Landscapes that are breathtaking. Seeing Spain is amazing. Living in Spain, for the cash poor majority, is increasingly hard work. The reality is that i work much harder, for many more hours, and for significantly less income, than i ever did when i had a career in the UK. A career. Ah, yes, them were the days! I miss having a career. I miss colleagues. I have more friends in Spain than i had time for in the UK. Some of them are actually real people.

Others are my fellow twitterers (www.twitter.com/lecrin )

The only 'career' I have in Spain is the one that sees me daily trying to keep the bank from the door. Attempting to get the latest bank manager on my side. The banks change managers every two years in an effort to try and prevent them getting too friendly with the clients the bank are stealing from. Sorry, charging.

I think i blew it with my new bank manager. I should have drawn back from the impulse to make idle conversation with the new 'Dick Turpin' in charge at Banco Popular. Instead i asked if he was one of the locals who had won second prize in the draw for the big lottery, El Gordo. Lost in translation, he thought i had mumbled that he was fat.

He stood up, pushed out his chest and declared proudly: "No, I am fit."

In that moment alone, i may have committed hari kari when it comes to persuading the bank that i really can pay the mortgage in 2011. I told him that fib on what was the Spanish equivalent of April Fools Day. Needless to say, the irony went right over his big fat belly!

For six years now I have lived in what is best described as authentic Spain. Warts ´n´all Spain. Some aspects of life in Spain make me despair. Others make me angry. For example, I would rather Spain banned, and imposed serious fines for, animal cruelty. This offends me much more than Paco or Pepe having a fag with his coffee and brandy. Which reminds me, should not drinking half a bottle of brandy at breakfast, and then jumping in your lorry or car, be banned? Is that not more dangerous than the same person having a fag?

As ever, I digress.

Just checked my list of things to do today and this blog posting is not on it.

Must add that to my list of things to do.

Do not digress.

But then, if i didn't digress, I would get things done.

And that wouldn't do - would it?

TAPAS in GRANADA, SPAIN

2010-10-14T12:34:00.006+01:00

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! The only English written book guiding people to 100 of the best tapas bars in the city & province of Granada is selling out. Only 21 copies left now. So if you are visiting Granada, or living in the province, be quick and buy a copy now. The book takes the visitor to the city by the hand and offers 18 routes of 4 bars each. That's 72 of the best tapas bars in the city where tapas comes free. The book leads you from one one authentic bar to the next and points out other places of interest en route.

Granada is a great city and is full of tapas bars. But knowing which ones to go to is the skill. This book avoids the more touristy traps where you might only get a plate of crisps or olives. Instead it directs you to the atmospheric bars that serve tasty tapas with your drink.

The book also includes 28 bars in the wider province of Granada. Bars in areas such as the Costa Tropical, La Alpujarra, the Lecrín Valley and villages close to the Sierra Nevada ski resort.

The book fits in pockets and handbags and costs just 10 Euros or Pounds (plus postage). You can buy it via the PayPal buttons on the right hand side of this page.

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

2010-08-13T10:27:00.009+01:00

On a night when all eyes were skywards for a meteoric display, I found myself in the perfect location for star gazing. Cortijo Opazo is just outside Pitres, up high in the ever glorious La Alpujarra. If only I could take the winter cold I would live in this beautiful part of Spain.

As it was, last night, I went up there to cool down. A lovely evening of music set in the gorgeous gardens created by Robert and William.

Musicians came from near and far to perform and a nice mixture of Spanish locals and British residents sat back and enjoyed the delightful repertoire. How could an evening of music in such a relaxing and friendly setting fail to impress?

I was struck by the nice mix of spectators. All ages and most nationalities. Even a dangerous looking spider turned up to show off. I didn't get too close as I was reliably informed this guest had a bite even more memorable than its appearance.

Now if you haven't been to La Alpujarra in your lifetime; well, you haven't lived. And if you have been up there, but not yet been to an open day at Cortijo Opazo; i suggest you make a note to do so. The garden is open Fridays.

You'll need time to enjoy not just this garden but all the delights that are on offer locally. So stay here. Cortijo Opazo has splendid rooms for you to stay in.

The website is www.cortijoopazo.com where you can follow the progress of the garden. Keep up to date with forthcoming attractions, by following the boys via www.twitter.com/cortijoopazo

VIVA ESPANA!

2010-07-11T17:02:00.008+01:00

Spain is united. Well, as united as the country will ever be. Just hours after thousands of people marched on Barcelona demanding autonomy for Catalunya; Spain is flying the flag and cheering following the national team winning the World Cup final in South Africa. They beat a cynical Holland team 1-0. It was a victory for football and for the country of Spain.

It's true that there were fewer big screens in Barcelona than Madrid. It's true again that it wasn't difficult to find some Catalan people cheering on Holland. It's impossible for outsiders to understand, I know, but there is a very serious and vitriolic north south divide in Spain.

But those people are in the minority.

The example has been set by the players. They were born in different parts of Spain. They play for rival clubs in the domestic league. And yet this is a team in the true sense of the word.

Tonight, on this hot night when the sky is full of stars, footballers such as Iniesta, Xavi, Villa and Casillas are the real stars in Spain.

Unity won the World Cup. Players who like each other. Players who are friends. Players who are proud to wear the Spanish shirt regardless of whether they were born in Basque, Catalunya or Castille.

There are lessons to be learned from this victory for the football teams of England, France, Italy and the diabolical Dutch players, whose tactics tonight were to kick the far more gifted Spanish players.

The celebrations have begun in my home city of Granada. The celebrations are underway in my local village. The celebrations will go on all over Spain for many days to come. I dare say there will be a public holiday to mark the first victory by Spain in a World Cup final.

I hope the legacy from this sporting achievement is that it helps unite Spain and its people. Wherever they live.

If that happens then the result on the pitch tonight will not only have been a victory for constructive football over the negative thuggery displayed by Holland; it will prove yet again that football can do so much to bring people together and help settle their historic differences.

Viva Espana! Campeones!

LIVING IN SPAIN - 5 YEARS ON

2010-07-04T18:00:00.018+01:00

In the space of a few days five years ago things happened that made an impact on my life. A trusted friend and former colleague, Richard Whiteley, died. Just days before i was due to leave England and sail for Spain. A few of us former Yorkshire TV colleagues, friends and loved ones gathered to remember. I didn't cancel my P & O sailing from Portsmouth to Bilbao in order to attend his funeral. I know Richard would have told me to sail to Spain as planned.

No sooner had i arrived in my new home in Granada than some total, ignorant bastards blew up my London and killed so many innocent people in the July bombings. I had no TV in Spain and no internet connection. The reports and messages i was receiving from the UK came via friends in London and Leeds. I could not believe that 'my London' was under attack.

At once it seemed like my decision to leave the UK for Spain was a wise move. Well, i hear you ask, was it? Yes and No.

If i could turn back time i would stay in England and take the highly paid staff job offered to me by my last UK employer, Sky Sports. I will never know if i could have tolerated for long working for the bully who wanted me to take the job, but i should have given it a try. I do know that had i taken the Murdoch money, I would have found it very difficult to then leave the comfort zone.

I also wish i had kept my flat in London, just a 15 minute walk from my beloved Richmond upon Thames. How i miss Richmond and Richmond Park. Only those born and bred in West London will understand what I am on about.

So I have lived in Spain a full five years. For the three years before that i was travelling the country both writing about it and taking photographs. I was also searching for the right place to live in Spain. I have no doubt that i found the latter. There are probably three other locations within Spain that I could see myself moving to. But then i come back to Granada and the sight of the Sierra Nevada mountains tell me that I am home. I'm pleased to say i do not take the scenery around me for granted.

Seeing so much of Spain has been the biggest joy of my time here. I've been lucky to visit the majority of the country and it is stupendous. Scenery that is breathtaking. Frankly, even for a wordsmith, i don't have the words to tell those who haven't seen inland Spain how truly amazing the country is.

The best result from living in Spain? I guess it has to be the friends made. People Nola and I would never have met had we stayed in England. As was the case in the UK, you find out who your real friends are when the proverbial hits the fan. And we have been taken aback by the kindness and generosity shown by those we have known less than five years. A select bunch all of whom we are delighted to have as trusted friends. Of course, there is a downside. We miss our friends in the UK, some of whom have now moved on themselves to places as far away as Australia. I do miss daily chat and banter with friends and colleagues.

In Spain we have also had to wave goodbye to some good friends. They are among the thousands of other expats all over Spain who have gone home. For a wide variety of reasons which i don't need to go into here. I don't blame them. Indeed there are many days when i envy them.

Why? How long have you got? Look, I'm not going to repeat past complaints or revisit old arguments about Spain. You know by now that i tell it as i see it. The good and the bad of Spain.

Of course things have changed a great deal in Spain since 2005. It was then still a cheap country to live in. It is far from that now. Those who wish to deny this are living in their own bubble. They seem intent on ignoring the facts of life in Spain circa 2010. As if by so doing the harsh realities of life in Spain today will not touch them. Good luck to them.

So, the law of sod being what it is, i find myself living in Spain at a time when the country is in dire straits; at least in all areas other than on the football pitch. Spanish banks owe 450 billion euros to the banks of Germany and France alone. Spain has the highest unemployment in the EU. It also has the highest rate of deaths via domestic violence.

But the vastly rising cost of living in Spain, along with plunging house prices, a stagnant housing market and the dire Euro v Pound exchange rate of the past two years; all have materially altered my life in Spain.

And yet it's not those things that would see me get out of Spain and move on. Wherever that might be. It's many other things.

I live in a friendly village. The majority of the people here do not resent the presence of a 'guiri' and I'm certainly not taking the work of a Spaniard. There are Spaniards who do not like the British living in their country. That is undeniable. But, as with living anywhere in the world, you cannot judge the majority because of the attitude or actions of the few.

I don't belong in Spain. But then I never felt i belonged in Yorkshire - and heaven knows i lived there long enough. But i don't belong here. There's no getting around it. I am a foreigner in the land of another man and you can learn all the Spanish you want; you'll never be accepted. You can try to integrate all day long, every day; but you'll never be accepted. Don't believe me? Then listen to my senior Spanish friend Luis. He knows his fellow countrymen as well as anyone.

He says: "You'll never be accepted in Spain. You can smile, talk fluent Spanish, do as they do all you like. The fact is you are not Spanish and, therfore, they will never take you iN as one of their own. Hell, there are such divisions within Spain that many people will have nothing to do with those from another part of the same country. People in some parts of northern Spain, such as Bilbao, don't even invite trusted friends back home after a night out together.

"Of course, those from Madrid despise Catalans and vice versa. I'm from northern Spain but have lived in Andalucia many years. If i go to an all Spanish function here, such as a party or wedding, I'm treated as a foreigner. And I'm a Spaniard! So there's no hope for any guiri being accepted. Not truly."

Luis is right. I've seen it with my own eyes.

I have worked with and met some smashing Spanish people. Sorry if that sounds condescending, like some racist calling a UK phone in show who says 'some of my best friends are black.'

Whoops! I mentioned racism. Without doubt the most eye opening, jaw dropping, sickening feature of life in Spain. The one i didn't see coming. The Spanish are the most racist people I have ever come across. Friends who have lived in Italy say Italians are worse. But, as my mum would have said, "only speak as you find." And i find the racism that is endemic in Spanish society to be very ugly. Much of that is steeped in history, of course.

The only aspect of this that amuses me is that so many British people left the UK because they felt immigration into the UK had got out of hand. That immigrants were taking over the UK and getting special privileges. They moaned that their utility bills came in a hundred other languages. Well now those same xenophobic Brits are the immigrants. They know the negative aspects of being the outsider (unless they live in a non Spanish, expat only enclave in Spain). And, what's more, their utility bills only come in the Spanish language they cannot read - and these expats now moan about that!

When it comes to being unwanted in Spain, there are others ahead of us in the queue; at least as far as the Spanish are concerned. They hate any black immigrant. Whether they are legally in Spain, or have just landed on a beach somewhere. They hate gypsies with a vengeance. To the Spanish all gypsies are thieves. In much of central and southern Spain, the people loathe Basques and Catalans.

So we Brits are not top of the unwelcome list among Spaniards but, in my opinion, make no mistake about it; our prescence is not welcome here. Not truly, and not by the majority. Our money is welcome. The spending power many Spanish perceive the British to have.

The sad thing is that the young are not learning from the past mistakes of their elders. The young are possibly more racist than their ancestors who fought in the civil war. It may not happen in my lifetime, but i would not rule out Spain being at war with itself again one day.

Although i have travelled Spain, and have good contacts and friends all over the country, I do spend most of my time in Andalucia. Therefore, inevitably, much of what i write about on this blog and others is based on what i see, hear and learn locally each and every day.

Historically Andalucia is the poorest part of Spain. An area whose people are mainly kind and simple (in the nicest sense of the word). They are looked upon as peasants, cheats and lazy by Spaniards in more northern, wealthy and sophisticated parts of the country.

My five years full time in Spain has been anything but dull. Without questions the days, weeks and months go faster here than in the UK. I still cannot put my finger on why that is.

For a variety of reasons, there never has been a dull moment for me in Spain. And, in itself, that's a pretty good plus point to living here.

Another advantage to living where I now live is without question the safety factor. Living in rural Spain I am far less likely to get mugged, knifed or murdered than I was in London or Leeds. That's a fact. It is one positive aspect of living in Spain that you simply cannot put a price on.

If my life in Spain can be summed up in one word it would be... eventful.

What one lesson have I learned in the past five years?

In short I have learned what it is like to live in the country of another man.

To be the outsider. The foreigner. And, yes, the immigrant.

And that can sometimes be an unpleasant experience.

Living abroad has been a tough learning curve. But it's one that has broadened my mind, educated me and shown me a side of life I would never have experienced had I stayed in the UK.

I've never been as cash poor in my life than since I have moved to Spain (the exact opposite of the life most folk in the UK think us expats are living). But I have never been so light rich. It's too hot in summer (44 celsius as i write) and way too cold in winter; but on the majority of the 365 days of the year i awake to light, usually blue skies. And as for the clear, night time skies and shooting star spotting... well, i love those nights.

Financial reality will, sadly, probably lead to me not being here one year from now, never mind the year 2015. I hope I am wrong. For if I am still in Spain five years from now, it will mean that either I have paid off my mortgage - so getting one of the many vulture like Spanish banks off my back - or that all my many years of experience as a sports & travel writer and television producer are once again valued by a paying employer somewhere in the world. I don't care where I work, just so long as I can keep one or both feet in Spain. A country which, despite all its faults and regardless of the mess politicians continue to make of it; is one of the most beautiful countries anywhere in the world.

And, unlike those from another country i could mention, our national football players wear their shirts with pride!

CORTIJO OPAZO, PITRES, LA ALPUJARRA

2010-06-20T18:45:00.007+01:00

Recently i turned the computer off, put the latest manuscript on hold (again!) and got out for the day to one of my favourite places in all of Spain. La Alpujarra.

Part one of the day out was to visit Robert and William at www.cortijoopazo.com They are just outside unspoilt Pitres.

Over the past six years the boys have created a garden that is delightful on the eye. Now you can visit the garden any Friday morning. William and Robert have opened up the garden for visits from 10am each Friday. No entrance fee. Visits on other days are possible by private, advance arrangement (see below for contact details).
Located at 1250 metres above sea level, this is no easy place to garden. And yet the guys have created a superb cottage like garden.

Cortijo Opazo has two well equipped apartments to rent. The garden is a tribute to the hard work put in by Robert and William and their determination to create a corner of sustainable tourism is to be commended.
Allow the full morning to enjoy the garden and to chat with Robert and William. Don't leave without buying some home produced eggs. Then go for a walk in the beautiful countryside. Breath in the fresh air and visit Pitres for shopping or lunch. A lovely day out in authentic Spain.

For more details regarding gardening opening hours, or availability of the apartments, either e-mail info@cortijoopazo.com or telephone (00 34) 958 064 018.

If you need a hands on gardener to crete a new garden, or manage an existing one, then contact Nola Lyttle via her blog www.granadagardens.blogspot.com or by e-mail nolainspain@gmail.com

*Details of part two of my refreshing day out will follow soon.

CORPUS CHRISTI WEEK IN GRANADA

2010-06-01T14:42:00.009+01:00

It's one of my favourite weeks in Granada. Corpus 2010 is underway. 8 days of food, flamenco and fine Andalucian horses. Get along to the Feria site just outside Granada, off the motorway exit for 'Estacion de Autobuses' (the bus station). Daytime is more peaceful, if much warmer as temperatures exceed 35 celsius. Nightime is very atmospheric and lively.

Saturday 5th June is always a good day to attend by day and witness the horses parading around the ground. If dancing is your thing, then the evenings are for you. Some of the casetas are private affairs and invitation only. But the majority are open to all. Go in. Take advantage of some of the free drink offers. Eat drink and be merry. Admire the splendour of all that is good about one of the finest fiestas in Andalucia.

TAKE ME TO THE BEACH - BUT PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME THERE!

2010-05-26T10:33:00.008+01:00

Warning! I don't have anything new or outstanding to offer to the perennial debate about whether it's preferable to live on the coast of Spain or, as I do, inland. Each to their own and all that. Just my view after five years of living surrounded by horses, habas & some scary looking women wearing black. If they say it's Tuesday, it's Tuesday. Even if it's Sunday!

I've been to the coast twice in the last week. Which is once more than i have been in the previous year. At least when it actually comes to that, for me, utterly boring pastime of sitting on a beach. I sit down on a beach and, if a restaurant is not involved, my next words are: "What do i do now?"

Frankly, I've had more fun watching paint dry. And, as anyone who lives in an old Andalucian home knows; one is never far away from a paint job.

Why do i get edgy sat on the beach? Why can't i relax? Because, unlike those i am sat with, I am not a) retired and mortgage free or b) on holiday. I could not tell you when i last had anything that might be called a holiday. Although, of course, all contacts in the UK think I am on one long holiday. I wish.

As all of those who are plagued (yes, that's the word i mean to use) by visiting family or friends knows; the only things that happen differently when one has visitors are 1) you find yourself taking money out of the cash till more than once a month which is for me, and my fragile relationship with Banco Popular, fatal. 2) You find yourself going to places holidaymakers go. Like, for instance, the blasted beach.

At least in May it is quiet down on the Costa Tropical, 20 minutes from my front door. I avoid the coast in summer like Gordon Brown will now avoid pensioners in Rochdale.

Years ago I did toy with the idea of buying on the coast. My fear was that in winter i would be bored rigid living in a coastal town much of which was closed. And that in summer i would hate being in a place that was a heaving mass of flesh from South London, South Yorkshire or South Wales (I love the South really!) I didn't want to smell Ambre Solaire for two months of the year. Or sit in a cafe, as i once did on the coast, with a volcanic father screaming into the face of his disobedient children the immortal words - SHUT UP!!!!!!!!

Nothing i have experienced on the coast since has made me wish i had bought there. If i find myself travelling west of Malaga towards lovely places such as Cádiz, Jerez, Puerto de Santa María or Sanlúcar de Barrameda; I drive blindfolded, and as fast as i can, past places such as Benalmádena & Fuengirola. Good luck to those who enjoy living there, but it's not snobbish to say that such locations are about as Spanish as Jamie Oliver. I had to stay overnight in Benalmádena once. Pukka it was not. Nothing i have seen on the Costa del Crime represents to me the Spain I have been fortunate enough to see and experience. Nor the Spain I live in.

Inland is best for me. For all its undeniable faults. Despite the handful of inconveniences. I can say i live in authentic Spain. There are other places where i could see myself living. Some are even close to coastlines. Namely the Costa Brava north (Begur), Costa de la Luz (the aformentioned Sanlúcar) and along the gorgeous, green but wet coast of Galicia.

But when I come home from my travels, pondering over a possible move to pastures new; it's the drama of the Sierra Nevada mountains that confirm to me that this part of inland Spain is where i belong.

South of Granada. You see. I told you i liked the South!

LUXURY HOTELS IN SPAIN

2010-05-24T12:36:00.004+01:00

There are some truly splendid hotels throughout Spain. But finding the right ones is the challenge. Many travellers have told me that they feel they have been ripped off by certain hotel chains in the country. I'm not surprised.

Finding quality hotels is all about the research that goes into the task. Travel Intelligence is a great website. They do the ground work for you by staying at the hotels and compiling strict and honest appraisals of what is on offer. Hotel reviews that are frank, detailed and guaranteed to ensure you get to stay in one of the better hotels in the country. Hotels at all prices and for all kinds of travellers. Go to their website via the following link

http://www.travelintelligence.com/luxury-hotels/europe/spain

GRANADA IS NUMBER 1 DESTINATION IN SPAIN

2010-05-05T10:25:00.005+01:00

The Travellers Choice Destination Awards have been announced and Granada is number one in Spain. It tops the desired destination chart of 25 locations throughout Spain. It was also voted number 6 destination in Europe and 14th in the entire world. The poll of travellers was organised by the popular travel review website TravelAdvisor.
Granada came number one, Seville was second, Santiago de Compostela 3rd and Barcelona only in 4th position.
It confirms what we have been saying for years. Granada is the most authentic city to discover throughout Spain. Despite being home of the most visited tourist attraction in Spain, the Alhambra Palace, the worst side effects of mass tourism have not made their mark in Granada. The city is so varied and there is so much to experience and savour.
Including, of course, free tapas. Don't forget the guidebook to 100 of the best tapas bars in Granada can be bought via this website for only 10 euros or pounds.

PAMPANEIRA, LA ALPUJARRA - A NEW STAR HOTEL IS BORN

2010-05-04T09:44:00.012+01:00

To open a new hotel in these difficult economic times could be seen as an act of madness. At a time when the Spanish government is steering the country towards bankruptcy, while at the same time imposing austerity measures on its good people; why would you open a new business?

Well i recently met Marie Cruz in the charming town of Pampaneira. For many visitors to Spain this is the first stop off point when they visit the delightful La Alpujarra mountains. As I've stated previously, the people of La Alpujarra are the most genuine in Spain. Friendly and fortunate to live in such a beautiful area of Spain.

Marie Cruz is the daughter of Juilo Estevez. Together with her parents, sisters and brother she already helps to run the superb family bar and restaurant Casa Julio. Find it. It's up some steps and the last bar past some shops selling traditional local textiles and gifts. The home made Croquetas stuffed with ham and cheese are possibly the best I have tasted anywhere on my travels around Spain. Yes, you heard me right, home made. No get it out of the freezer, slam it in the microwave and ding food here. That bad habit that is the curse of many a Spanish eatery has no place at Casa Julio.

Now Casa Julio has a couple of rooms above where weary travellers can rest their heads and legs. Not content with that, the family are going one better. Or, to be precise, 19 better. Rooms that is.

You pass the new hotel on your left as you leave the village in the direction of Bubion. There is some open ground opposite where you can park and the family will be happy to show you around. The hotel is elevated above the centre of Pampaneira. It's called Estrella de las Nieves (Star of the Snows). Marie Cruz took me on a guided tour of the spanking new facilities at the 21 bedroom hotel. Air conditioned for those few summer days when it is hot enough up in La Alpujarra to require more than the cool, fresh mountain air. Heating and lighting are computer operated. Many of the bedrooms have balconies on which you can sit and sample the splendour of La Alpujarra. Why anyone would watch one of the big screen TV's provided when they have a view such as that on offer here, i do not know.

The hotel has an underground car park in which each room has a designated parking space. It boasts a large restaurant and state of the art kitchen. The bathrooms are big and tiled to a high standard. The rooms are spacious and furnished in a style so favoured by the Spanish. But the family look forward to welcoming all nationalties. Indeed Marie Cruz and her sisters are each having English languages lessons in nearby Orgiva.

No expense has been spared. The total cost of renovating the building and constructing the hotel is over 1.2 million euros.

It's a bold move, but if anyone can make a success of a new business venture in these difficult times, i suspect it's Marie Cruz and her delightful family. I wish them well.

FOR SALE - 3 DOUBLE BEDROOM, 2 BATHROOM APARTMENT NEAR GRANADA. 140.000 EUROS

2010-04-02T16:04:00.008+01:00

For Sale - A large 3 double bedroom. 2 bathroom apartment with vast sunny roof terrace close to Granada City centre and the beaches of the Costa Tropical.

Location - Equidistant between Motril and Granada, located in the pretty Lecrín Valley just off the A92 motorway that links the Costa Tropical to Granada.

Accommodation - This is not a typical, modern ugly apartment. This accommodation is part of a large, traditional Andalucian home that was first occupied in 1801. The house is so big that it is being divided to make two separate, very distinctive properties of which this one (known as 3a), will provide very spacious accommodation over two floors.

Entrance - Entrance off the street leads you to a classic Andalucian entrance hall full of character. Stairs then lead up to the first floor.

The rooms - On the first floor there are two large, double bedrooms each with pretty 'juliet' balconies and views to the mountains and Sierra de Mondujar. One bedroom has a large fitted wardrobe. The other has a pine wardrobe and chest of drawers. Each room has prettily designed and useful recesses.

Lounge - The lounge is open plan. It has a two seater fixed seating area. Wood burning stove with chimney. The floor is decorated with original and ancient tiles. Architect designed arches give this room an airy feel. A cool living space in the hot summer temperatures. This is a very cosy living area and it leads directily to...

Dining Room - which again is open plan with no full wall between it and the lounge or the kitchen. A big open space for dining with views via windows and another 'juliet' balcony.

Kitchen - is expensively tiled has been modernised to a high standard and is all electric. Including oven and hob. The kitchen work surfaces are made of the highest quality marble and under storage units, cupboards and drawers. A ver well equipped kitchen.

Utility area - leading from the kitchen to the bathroom is a utility area that currently stores a large upright fridge/freezer and washing machine. It also stores the hot water tank for the property.

Bathroom - Tiled to a high standard the bathroom comprises toilet, bath, sink and shower over. A window has pretty coloured glass.

Second floor - A stunning staircase leads to the second floor of the property and a vast roof terrace that attracts all day sunshine. The tiled roof terrace has views to the mountains, village and locally historic Mondujar church. Not overlooked, this private terrace is a great area to dine or relax in the sunshine. One area is shaded for those hotter summer days. Leading off the terrace is...

Bedroom Three - Again a large bedroom easily capable of taking a double bed with room to spare. This bedroom is en suite.

The Bathroom - has a bidet, toilet and stand under power shower. It has been expensively tiled. This bedroom has wide and expansive views of the mountains which are, in winter months, often snowcapped.

In General - This property will be ideal to live in full time or as a holiday home. Located as it is within a traditional and historic Andalucian village that has shops, banks, bars, museums and much more on the doorstep. This is as authentic as Spain gets.

The property is decorated to the highest standard and has been maintained on a regular basis. It has charm, character and has been cared for by the existing owners. It is, despite dating back to 1801, as good as new!

The Sale - The current owners of the property will pay all legal costs for the division of the existing three floored, five bedroom house into two properties. And for the connection of separate utility devices such as electricity meter. The property advertised here would then have a separate Escritura (legal ownership document) from the ground floor property that would still be owned and lived in by the current owners. This legal process would be undertaken by trusted legal representatives. Again, the seller would pay the costs of this legal process from any deposit paid by the purchasers (estimated 10.000 Euros). This entire process would be managed by respected third party estate agents and lawyers. It is anticipated that it would take up to 6 months to legally divide the properties but, depending on seasonal holidays, it could take less time.

The Price - This 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, very distinctive property is being sold partially furnished at a bargain price of 140.000 Euros. Kitchen goods such as cooker and white goods would be sold within that price.
Should a purchaser wish to buy this house with existing furniture and fittings such as dining table, beds etc - in the event of them using it as a part time holiday home - then a further 10.000 Euros should be added to the aforementioned price.

So you would be buying a furnished, three double bedroom, two bathroom property 20 minutes south of Granada and 20 minutes from the beaches of Motril, for just 150.000 Euros.

Potential for rental - The advertised accommodation has a proven track record of being rented out to high season holidaymakers for 275 euros per week or 6 month long term tenants for 575 euros per month.

For more photographs and information go to www.forsaleinspain.blogspot.com or contact the seller by e-mail via verninspain@gmail.com or call the respected agent Martin Bright of www.tropicanaproperties.com on (00 34) 958 630 320.

FOR SALE. BIG HOUSE AT SMALL PRICE 249.000 EUROS

2010-03-24T16:48:00.006+01:00

For Sale - a superb, large house near Granada. Located in the pretty Lecrín Valley. A home, village and area that is as authentic Spain as it gets.

In General: A 5 double bedroom home that is full of character. Located in the historic village of Mondujar, 20 minutes south of Granada. Modernised to the highest standard, yet retaining its Andalucian and Moorish charm. It has five double bedrooms located over three floors. Three of them en-suite. It is a big house. It's an old house. First registered as a dwelling in the year 1801.

Ground Floor: Wide entrance hall with tiled floor. Large open plan and airy Lounge and Dining Room. Floors are tiled with antique tiles. Large wood burning fire and storage cupboards and shelves. Fully fitted, all electric kitchen with oven and hob. Large en suite bedroom the bathroom of which is exquisitely tiled. Bath with shower over and WC and sink. A charming bedroom that is located on the ground floor, with traditional Spanish/Portuguese bed and bedroom furniture. Also on the ground floor is the pretty Andalucian patio that leads from the lounge. This was designed and created by Nola Lyttle of http://www.granadagardens.blogspot.com/ Full of character you walk across the patio to enter the adjoining 'Bodega' building. On the lower ground floor of this is the bodega lounge. A superb room with built in wine storage. This is a big lounge which is very cool in summer but easily heated in winter. Above the bodega is a further en suite double bedroom. Here is a large, stand under power shower, toilet and basin. From this bedroom stairs lead to an open sun terrace with views towards the main house and the hills of Mondujar. That is just the ground floor of the main house dealt with.

First Floor: Stairs from the entrance lead to a large floor with open plan lounge and dining room. Wood burning stove. All electric and modern kitchen. Tiled bathroom with bath, shower over, toilet and basin. Views to the Andalucian patio. From the dining room there is a 'juliet' balcony looking towards the patio and bodega. The lounge also boasts a recessed seating area. On this floor there are two large double bedrooms. One with fitted wardrobe. Both have "juliet" balconies with views towards the mountains of Mondujar and the other villages of the Lecrín Valley. This floor is very light and airy and stays cool in summer.

Top Floor: From the first floor the staircase continues to the large open roof terrace. This is vast and enjoys the sunshine from dawn until dusk. Leading off the roof terrace is a superb large bedroom with en suite stand under shower room, toilet, bidet and basin. Again this has been tiled very tastefully. Many windows offer plenty of light in this room and excellent views.

The Location: The property is located in Mondujar, close to the motorway that runs between Granada and Motril - each of which are 20 minutes from your front door. This is the most historic village in the Lecrín Valley. The last Moorish Queen of Spain is buried under the church of Mondujar, just a two minute walk from this house. Opposite the house is a distinctive ceramic museum that is open at weekends and holidays. It is a splendid building. Therefore, the house benefits from having no house opposite, offering clear views of the mountains opposite and is in a tranquil setting. The Alhambra Palace is a 20 minute drive. The beaches of Salobreña and Almuñécar are 30 minutes away. Granada Airport is the same distance. Property summary: This house has been lovingly and carefully renovated and modernised but, crucially, it retains its historic Andalucian characteristics. The top two floors have been rented out as a separate entity as it has its own secure front door. Summer holiday letting brings in up to 350 Euros per week.

The Lecrín Valley: Ever beautiful, the Lecrín Valley is ideally situated being equidistant from the glorious City of Granada and from the coastal town of Motril. The Valley remains popular and represents everything that is best about the more authentic side of Spain.

The Price: This property is valued at 249.000 Euros and includes some furniture and many fittings. Be quick. Bargains on classic Andalucian properties like this come along rarely.

The Contact: for more photos and information http://bit.ly/3jjgln Please call 00 34 958 788 252 or 00 34 677 143 489 or e-mail verninspain@gmail.com or martin@tropicanproperties.com

MALAGA MAYHEM PART 2

2010-03-24T12:48:00.006+01:00

The story continues...

I was advised to leave my car with one one the many car park companies that adorn the road close to Malaga airport. It would be cheaper than paying to park in the airport car park for four days. Logical for those of us whose lives are touched by the financial realities of life in Spain today.

So it was that i left my car with www.carparkmalaga.com As the company is not Spanish run i expected logic to be in their manual of customer care. How wrong i was.

After i finally got out of Malaga airport (see part one) I called said company and asked where i should stand to await the minibus that would take me back to the car. "Outside terminal 3, the new terminal" said a girl whose name sounded like Sal. That call was made at 8.29. Several others followed. During all of which i was told the minibus would be with me in "5 minutes" or even "2 seconds."

Half an hour later. Nada. Nothing. I had witnessed four rival companies each pick up clients three times in the intervening minutes. From outside Terminal 3 arrivals. After all, that is where you would pick up someone who had arrived, wouldn't you think?

No, not this shower. The final call consisted of Sal telling me that i should be waiting outside departures. Yes, that's right. That company pick up people who are arriving, outside departures. Not arrivals.

Clearly logic is also absent from the Danish psyche as well as the Spanish.

So having landed courtesy of Ryanair, at 7.50pm I was actually reunited with my car at 9.15pm.

My message is simple. Don't use this company. Leave your car with any of their rivals, but not them. Or park in the airport car park. It's more expensive, true, but much less stressful.

And finally, remember that the supposedly newly improved Malaga airport doesn't function properly in March. So there's no hope of it doing so come July.

MALAGA MAYHEM PART 1

2010-03-24T11:28:00.006+01:00

As is so often the case the much maligned Irish airline Ryanair delivered me to Malaga airport ahead of schedule last Sunday. (Yes, i know they factor in margin for error into their arrival times but, really, have you tried flying BA latley?). The process of coming back to Spain went very smoothly thanks to Ryanair. Then i landed back in Spain and the problems began.

For those of you yet to experience the new look Malaga airport, be warned. As with so much else in Spain what is at first pleasing on the eye, doesn't work properly.

Let's overlook the fact that passengers checking in at what is now the old terminal have to walk miles to go through security etc, only to walk miles back again should there flights go from - for example - area C. All airports get bigger and this is, of course, a plot to ensure all passengers have to walk past the glitzy, overpriced shops. Such is modern day aviation.

No. I wish to tell you about what happened to all passengers after landing on that return flight. We were ushered through one set of automatic doors into a corridor. And left there. For 30 minutes. While the Brits stood there, sweating but mild mannered, the Spanish passengers rightly went berserk. They tried to prise open the doors with their fingers. They banged on the doors violently and shouted. Amazingly some airport workers the other side of the doors just walked past. Oblivious to the fact that a plane full of passengers, including young children, were trapped inside a narrow corridor. Getting increasingly stressed.

Spanish passengers used their mobiles to actually call the airport itself and say "get us out of here." It was crazy. I took photos. They took photos. They agreed with me that this summed up the state of the Spanish nation. A country that either can't work, won't work or doesn't work. They were embarrassed at how such an incident says all one needs to know about the state of Spain in 2010. They were so apologetic for the state of their country.

But not to the passport control officer who eventually came to our rescue. I thought they were going to lynch the fella. His answer was, predictably, to pick on the one obvious 'guiri' in the crowd and try to rip the camera from my hand. Why not the dozen other cameras on show? Because he knew the Spanish would fight back. As it happens, they did. They came to my rescue and protected my camera from the under fire uniformed, unhappy chappy.

He admitted defeat when, forty minutes after landing, we got to walk through passport control. He simply waved everyone by without checking their documentation. Another example of how Spain doesn't function properly.

So, i thought, that was a pain. A mildly entertaining nuisance but, never mind, only a little late getting out of the airport. And then what happened? Read on...

SUNSHINE & SNOW SPANISH STYLE

2010-03-09T19:29:00.008+01:00

It has been the wettest winter since records began in Spain. Anyone living in the country will tell you about how, from early December until early March, it did little but rain. Floods galore, motorways collapsing under the pressure of water, many rockfalls and land slippage. And, sadly, some loss of life due to the torrential rain. It's been unusual, to say the least. The weather has amazed those who have been born and bred in the country. Senior citizens have seen nothing like it.

On March 9th, 20 inches of snow fell across Catalunya. Girona, Barcelona and the Costa Brava north were white over. Barcelona football players trained in a blizzard. See those pictures via these links http://bit.ly/aoHO1c and http://bit.ly/bvbEzs

On the very same day, down south in Andalucia, sunshine and blue skies returned. Many farmers have had their livelihood threatened by the adverse weather conditions. So many villagers across inland Andalucia depend on being able to sell what they have grown. Oranges, lemons, olives and almonds.

They will have been delighted as anyone to see the sunshine return. The bad news is that further snowfall is forecast before March is over with.

Bad news for all but the sporty types who like to ski and snowboard in the most southerly ski resort in Europe - the Sierra Nevada resort above Granada. It's been a patchy season for the ski resort. The snow came in November but was then washed away by warm rain. Then strong winds closed the resort for many days. Now fresh snow has fallen and the resort can expect a late rush of business in the run up to the big Easter holiday - Semana Santa.

There is though no truth in the rumour that the ailing Spanish government have played a hand in the recent bad weather. So far at least they have not banned good weather or invented a tax you have to pay in order to enjoy sunshine and blue skies. So far that is!

RYANAIR LEAVE GRANADA AIRPORT

2010-03-03T22:44:00.004+01:00

The airline Ryanair announced today, Wednesday March 3rd, it will close four of its six routes to Granada from May 4, citing "excessive costs of the airport." The local authorities and regional institutions announced Tuesday that they will not renew the agreement signed with the company due to lack of funds. This will mean the loss of 28 flights per week in Granada, up to 400,000 passengers a year and almost 400 local jobs.

The Irish airline said in a statement that they had offered to Granada the possibility of increasing its operations and so generate 50,000 new international passengers. Ryanair said this would create 50 new jobs at the airport, hotels, bars and restaurants. In exchange they sought a reduction in airport charges. However, Granada authorities rejected Ryanair's terms and conditions. Therefore routes between Granada and Barcelona (Girona), London (Stansted), Liverpool and Madrid will cease to operate from May 4. Passengers affected by closures of routes will be notified by e-mail directly by Ryanair and may obtain a full refund, or the possibility of changing their flights to or from an alternate airport.

SPANISH JOURNALIST REMEMBERED

2010-03-02T21:28:00.004+01:00

Antonio Fontán, the Spanish newspaper editor who was persecuted by the Franco regime, has died aged 86. Franco had the paper he edited, 'Madrid', shut down and the offices blown up.

Fontán edited the newspaper from 1967 and published articles defending democracy and civil liberties. The paper was shut down for four months in 1968, suffering heavy financial losses in the process as Fontán kept staff on the payroll.
He was prosecuted on 19 occasions and fined 10 times before the paper was shut down altogether in 1971. The International Press Institute named him a "hero of press freedom."
After democracy was restored in after Franco's death, and the monarchy was re-established in 1975, the supreme court revoked the order to close down the newspaper. The state was ordered to pay damages to the paper.

Fontán was elected to the senate in 1977, and was one of the authors of the country's constitution, which recognised freedom of expression and freedom of information as fundamental rights. He also served as a minister of the government from 1979 to 1982.
He also founded the University of Navarre school of journalism and became a mentor to many promising young Spanish journalists.

AILING ANDALUCIA

2010-02-10T20:23:00.005+01:00

As reported elsewhere, the country of Spain is facing its biggest economic and financial crisis for decades. And no region is suffering greater than Andalucia.

The sun may shine here more often than many other parts of Spain, but Andalucia is lacking protection from the ailing economy.

26.3% of the over 4 million people unemployed in Spain live in Andalucia. It therefore has the highest unemployment in Western Europe.

A financial consultant based in Granada, Julio Alvarez, says this: "Andalucia depended on service industries and construction, but the building industry here is facing total meltdown. Since 2008, over 50% of my work comes from the courts and concerns businesses going into administration. 90% of those are construction companies."

Requests for new planning permissions in Granada have dropped to the levels seen back in the 1960's. Unemployment in Andalucia has tripled since 2007.

Construction work has suffered greatly in Granada. Last year alone the number of those working in the building industry collapsed from 42.800 down to just 26.100 employees. A drive around the ring road of Granada alone will provide you with views of many unfinished shopping centres and residential estates.

Getting a job in Granada can be hard work. Architectural technician Miguel Reyes Aguado says: "It's all men on the school run these days. Since being made redundant i have made over 80 job applications, but have not had one answer. I am not alone."

Ironically, Miguel and his wife Louise want to emigrate to the UK. The very country so many Brits left in order to live in the promised land of Spain. That was then. This is now. Expat Brits are going back to the UK in vast numbers. They cannot afford to live in Spain. A country where the cost of living has rocketed since 2007. A country where the banks have tightened their grip on money and are refusing new mortgages. A country where they have taken for granted what they thought would be a neverending demand for new homes, offices and shops. And they thought, despite how badly the tourist offices have served tourists for years, that visitors would keep coming to Spain come what may. The fact is that three million fewer tourists visited Andalucia alone in 2009. In Spain as a whole over 50.000 tourism jobs were lost and 1000 travel agencies closed. The number of estate agents to cease trading was far greater. The IMF predicted recently that Spain would be the only G20 nation to remain in recession in 2010. The politicians, including Prime Minister Zapatero, are clueless as to how to get Spain out of this mess. Make no mistake about it. This is one hell of a crisis.

Zapatero has announced austerity measures to tackle the vast public defecit (11.4% of the GDP). Retirement age will increase to 67 and there will be a reduction in government spending by 50.000 million euros over the next four years. VAT has been increased to 18%. And a 400 euro tax rebate he promised the Spanish public when he was re-elected in 2008; well he has broken that promise.

The traditionally poor folk of Andalucia do have one advantage over their wealthier Spanish cousins when it comes to making do and mending. They know how best to use their land. There has, it seems, been a rise in the use of allotments. Just like in Roman times. Which, if those who run Spain don't pull their fingers out soon, is exactly the place in time where Spain is heading.

SOLD A HOUSE IN SPAIN? CLAIM BACK THE TAX

2010-02-10T18:50:00.003+01:00

The Spanish government are being force to pay back many billions of Euros in wrongly charged tax to those who sold property in Spain between 1996 and 2007.

Needless to say with this Spanish government, it is reliant on you to make th claim. A bit like the overcharging of by electricity providers one year ago (for which millions of customers are still awaiting a refund); this government will not be knocking on your door to pay back what is rightly yours. Tax they charged you that has now been judged to have been unlawful.

So if you sold a house during that period, or you know someone who may have, join the campaign on Facebook to claim back the tax. http://www.facebook.com/TaxReclaimSpain

It's a no-win, no-fee so there's no risk either. Thousands of people are unaware that they qualify. What's more, if you act as an affiliate on behalf of qualifying people, you get 3% of the reclaimed amount. Its a win-win situation for everyone. Apart from the Spanish government. And that can't be bad!

SPANISH POLITICANS GO BACK TO WORK... FROM THEIR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

2010-02-09T14:55:00.007+01:00

As the Spanish economy crashes and burns. As the wider world wakes up to the fact that Spain is second only to Greece for being in economic freefall. As the alarm bells rings in the EU that Spain is in a right mess...

The Spanish MP's have returned to work. From their Christmas break you understand. Talking about idling while your country collapses. Amazing? Surprising? Not really.

The Spanish MP's only reflect a country where work is considered to be something that gets in the way of life. An inconvenience. Something that has to be undertaken to keep the wife in cakes and sticky buns that will make her fatter than ever. A necessary evil that will ensure the head of the household has enough money to buy himself a brandy or two at breakfast time.

The Spanish public is up in arms at how lazy their politicians are. Rightly so. But it takes one to know one. And here, in Andalucia, laziness is a profession.

Mewanhile,in Madrid, 350 Spanish MP's went back to work this week. They had 48 days without having to undergo any parliamentary duties. And they have only got to sit for 45 days more before their next holiday. And people actually wonder why Spain is in a mess! Prime Minister Zapatero (pictured above) is clueless. The Spanish government have no idea how to solve the problems facing the country.

Last week the bottom fell out of the Spanish stock market. Did the wider world notice or care? Certainly not in the UK where, as far as Sky News is concerned, the most important story in the world is that an overpaid footballer has been playing away from home. Shock!

BBC2 Newsnight did cover the dilemma faced by Spain and Greece. The Guardian newspaper in the UK covered the story accurately. But how many expats living in Spain know what a mess the country is in? Come to that, how many of them even know that they live in Spain? I digress.

The Spanish are only too aware that their beloved country is in the worst state its been in for a very long time. Unemployment reached over 4 million last week. Almost 20% of the workforce is without work. That is a national disgrace.

At least the MP's have got a job. Albeit for the next 45 days!

ADIOS AMIGOS

2010-02-09T14:24:00.005+01:00

It's always hard to say goodbye. Never more so than when you live in a country other than that of your birthplace. When friends you make there leave to go back to the UK it is especially hard to take. My good friends Tim and Lyn lived in Spain for eight years. Therefore they were not 'fly by nights.' They were very much part of a local village. Their Spanish neighbours wept when they packed up and left last Sunday. I shall miss them. In fact, before they have even arrived back in the UK, I am missing them. And their cat Chico and top dog, and my part time walking partner, Eddie (photographed here).

No matter where you live, true and trusted friends are a godsend. And that applies just as much in Spain as anywhere else. Possibly more so.

I am always amazed at how folk who would never have anything to do with each other were they to live in the same UK street, seem to be bosom buddies in Spain. Much of it is a pretence of course. After all, we Brits do that better than most. People who class themselves as wealthy or posh go to quiz nights and fiestas with people they would not look at in the UK. More than likely they would be offering those people below the going rate to be their cleaner. And as for mixing with people who were brought up on a council estate (like me). Well, the very thought of it!

I have met and interviewed expats all over Spain. Many things amaze me. Why some people have chosen the place they have in which to live. Why people move to Spain only to reside in a place that is about as Spanish as the jellied eels and fish and chips those people demand daily. Why people drop that long established British characteristic of class distinction when they move to Spain. Oh and those people who still, in 2010, believe it is cheap to live in Spain.

The rise in the cost of living in Spain, allied to the increasingly precarious state of the Spanish economy, is just one of the reasons the expats are leaving Spain in their droves. I met the bosses of a furniture delivery company down on the coast the other day. Business is booming. In moving people back to the UK. I am not surprised. I don't knock anyone for so doing. Indeed i understand why they are doing so.

As for my friends Tim and Lyn, we would have been friends no matter what country we had all lived in. I am happy for them. And, selfishly, very sad for myself. Life will be a whole lot duller without them around.

*If you want to purchase some of the best pictures of Spain, taken by Tim during his eight years here (they are featuring in two Holloywood movies this year) go to www.stylemed.blogspot.com

5 BED HOME FOR SALE in LECRÍN VALLEY, GRANADA, ANDALUCIA - 285.000 EUROS

2010-01-14T16:22:00.011+01:00

For Sale - a superb, large house near Granada. Located in the pretty Lecrín Valley. A home, village and area that is as authentic Spain as it gets.

In General: A 5 double bedroom home that is full of character. Located in the historic village of Mondujar, 20 minutes south of Granada. Modernised to the highest standard, yet retaining its Andalucian and Moorish charm. It has five double bedrooms located over three floors. Three of them en-suite. It is a big house. It's an old house. First registered as a dwelling in the year 1801.

Ground Floor: Wide entrance hall with tiled floor. Large open plan and airy Lounge and Dining Room. Floors are tiled with antique tiles. Large wood burning fire and storage cupboards and shelves. Fully fitted, all electric kitchen with oven and hob. Large en suite bedroom the bathroom of which is exquisitely tiled. Bath with shower over and WC and sink. A charming bedroom that is located on the ground floor, with traditional Spanish/Portuguese bed and bedroom furniture. Also on the ground floor is the pretty Andalucian patio that leads from the lounge. Full of character you walk across the patio to enter the adjoining "Bodega" building. On the lower ground floor of this is the bodega lounge. A superb room with built in wine storage. This is a big lounge which is very cool in summer but easily heated in winter. Above the bodega is a further en suite double bedroom. Here is a large, stand under power shower, toilet and basin. From this bedroom stairs lead to an open sun terrace with views towards the main house and the hills of Mondujar. That is just the ground floor of the main house dealt with.

First Floor: Stairs from the entrance lead to a large floor with open plan lounge and dining room. Wood burning stove. All electric and modern kitchen. Tiled bathroom with bath, shower over, toilet and basin. Views to the Andalucian patio. From the dining room there is a "juliet" balcony looking towards the patio and bodega. The lounge also boasts a recessed seating area. On this floor there are two large double bedrooms. One with fitted wardrobe. Both have "juliet" balconies with views towards the mountains of Mondujar and the other villages of the Lecrín Valley. This floor is very light and airy and stays cool in summer.

Top Floor: From the first floor the staircase continues to the large open roof terrace. This is vast and enjoys the sunshine from dawn until dusk. Leading off the roof terrace is a superb large bedroom with en suite stand under shower room, toilet, bidet and basin. Again this has been tiled very tastefully. Many windows offer plenty of light in this room and excellent views.

The Location: The property is located in Mondujar, close to the motorway that runs between Granada and Motril - each of which are 20 minutes from your front door. This is the most historic village in the Lecrin Valley. The last Moorish Queen of Spain is buried under the church of Mondujar, just a two minute walk from this house. Opposite the house is a distinctive ceramic museum that is open at weekends and holidays. It is a splendid building. Therefore, the house benefits from having no house opposite, offering clear views of the mountains opposite and is in a tranquil setting. The Alhambra Palace is a 20 minute drive. The beaches of Salobreña and Almuñécar are 30 minutes away. Granada Airport is the same distance.

Property summary: This house has been lovingly and carefully renovated and modernised but, crucially, it retains its historic Andalucian characteristics. The top two floors have been rented out as a separate entity as it has its own secure front door. Summer holiday letting brings in up to 500 Euros per week.

The Lecrín Valley: Ever beautiful, the Lecrín Valley is ideally situated being equidistant from the glorious City of Granada and from the coastal town of Motril. The Valley remains popular and represents everything that is best about the more authentic side of Spain.

The Price: This property is valued at 285.000 Euros and includes some furniture and many fittings. Be quick. Bargains on classic Andalucian properties like this come along rarely.

The Contact: for more photos and information Please call 00 34 958 788 252 or 00 34 677 143 489 or e-mail verninspain@gmail.com or martin@tropicanproperties.com

NO SMOKE WITHOUT IRE!

2010-01-07T18:19:00.007+01:00

If the Spanish government have their way, you'll only be able to smoke outside bars in future

I am not a smoker. I don't like my clothes smelling of cigarettes the day after i go to a Spanish bar. But i defend the right of the Spanish to smoke in public places. It's not for Yanks, Brits or the folk of any other country to tell the Spanish that they cannot smoke in bars. The Spanish have the right attitude to the EU. Take the positive and ignore the sanctions they don't like. The Spanish government is led by a fool. A clown with the looks of Mr. Bean and the imagination of whoever it is that compiles the list of postres available in Spanish restaurants.

Prime Minister Zapatero is taking this country downhill fast. It's more expensive to live in Spain than ever, it will be the last EU country out of recession, the country is bankrupt and has the highest unemployment in the EU.

Let the Spanish smoke if they want. Banning smoking here will just be another nail in the coffin of the Spanish economy. Spain revolves around tourism, construction and the fact that so many bars & restaurants survive purely because they are family run. Ban smoking and many of those establishments will go out of business. The fact is fags are cheaper in Spain than they are in, for example, the UK. Meanwhile chewing gum is three times more expensive. The Spanish government should treble the cost of fags and halve the cost of chewing gum!

Stop the Spanish from being barbaric towards animals. Stop the Spanish from driving like nutters and while having consumed brandy for breakfast. Stop the Spanish tourism offices from closing the moment a tourist approaches their front door. But don't stop the Spanish smoking. Can you imagine how grumpy they will be without their daily intake of nicotine? That thought alone is a greater danger to my health and well being than breathing in their smoke.

THE RAIN IN SPAIN

2010-01-07T18:11:00.002+01:00

Record levels of rainfall have made it a very wet Christmas and New Year for those living in Spain. I can only describe the severity of rainfall as astonishing. The likes of which i have never seen previously. Rain so heavy, loud and persistent that it poured day and night for many days running and kept one awake night after night.

Of course the good news is that with the heaviest rainfall since 1940 areas such as Andalucia have seen the reservoirs fill fast. Data from the Spanish Ministry of Environment shows that the rainfall of 50.7 mm recorded was more than three times the average for the week ending December 27. Meanwhile, the capacity of reservoirs kept exclusively for consumption increased from 37.7 percent last week to 45.5 percent.

The heavy rain has continued into the new year and has turned to snow as far south as the Costa Blanca and Granada.

ALMOST 4 MILLION IN SPAIN SAY 'GIZZA JOB'

2010-01-07T18:00:00.003+01:00

Prime Minister Zapatero - a clown in charge of a country in economic freefall

It's official. Those who choose to deny the facts of life in Spain and bury their heads in the sand had better wake up and smell the café solo.

Data released by the Spanish Ministry of Employment revealed that unemployment in Spain increased by 25.4 percent last year and the jobless count is now just under 4 million. Yes, that's 4 million.
The figures show the number of unemployed people at 3,923, 602, of which 794,640 were added last year. This number is the highest since the introduction of comparable counting systems in 1996.
Unemployment was seen to rise over all economic sectors and only 14,021,837 new contracts were given last year, which is 15.5 percent less than 2008.
This report from the Ministry of Employment has come at a time when the Spanish economy has been showing signs of a ‘double-dip recession’ as it has not managed to climb out of the clutches of the downturn as other economies from the European Union.

My prediction is that Spain will be the last EU country to come out of recession - and that they may discover Glenn Miller & Lord Lucan before that day arrives.

WAKEY! WAKEY! IT'S HOLIDAY TIME IN SPAIN

2009-12-06T13:19:00.008+01:00

Another long Spanish holiday equals another few nights of sleep disturbance. Were there a noise abatement society in Spain it would be able to employ enough people to immediately half the Spanish unemployment rate. That is the highest in the EU. Spain also ranks very high when it comes to national holidays in the EU. So those who cannot find work are not working; while those do work, do so rarely. And people wonder why Spain is "economically challenged."

Last night the party started at 1am. Yes, that's right, it began at 1am. Not music you understand. Noise. Bang, bang, thud, thud stuff. The type usually played loudly by BMW drivers parading the streets with their car windows open and a fluffy dice hanging from their rear view mirror.

The celebrations ended (for the night you understand, not for the weekend) at dawn when a whole load of bangers were let off. Just in case anyone was silly enough to want to be asleep at 6am. What was i thinking off? Wanting a good night of sleep on a Saturday night/Sunday morning.

There used to be a lovely girl working in my local bank. Her name was Ana. Of course, the bank moved her on. They didn't want to set a precedent for any employee of theirs having good relations with the guiris. That would not do. It might lead to anarchy.

I digress.

Ana was pert. In the days when a man in his 50's could use the word pert without it having sexual connotations. Although, having said that, she had great tits and a bum to die for!

I digress.

I once asked Ana about the decibel level at times of holiday and fiesta.

"But Vernon", she said, "we are Spanish, we love noise. We live for noise. I am noisy."

I can well believe that Ana.

I guess that when it came to moving to Spain in 2004, this is where i went wrong. If i wanted to live somewhere peaceful, where eight hours sleep per night was possible all year long, i should have moved to a remote village in North Yorkshire, Norway or perhaps to the north pole.

Who, i wonder, is the person that is up and about in darkness, letting off bangers and non visual fireworks at 5 and 6am. Do they set the alarm clock to be up in time to make sure others are awoken without the need for aforementioned alarm clock? Do they stay up all day and night to perform this nonsensical act? Nobody sees the fireworks so what is the point of letting them off?

Spain has produced so much good music. It still does. So why don't they play that in the wee hours rather than so called 'fiesta de techno' trash?

Is the quality of a holiday or fiesta only judged by its decibel level and its ability to disturb those who are not interested in their non religious way of honouring yet another virgin or saint? December 8th is the time of the Imaculada Concepción. So why, if they insist on being awake all night, don't they go conceive? After all, the birth rate in Spain is at an all time low so maybe their time would be more productively spent fornicating rather than 'fireworking.'

If they are so religous (and fewer and fewer Spaniards are), then i suggest they go strutt their stuff at church. Perhaps the priest will allow them to play techno noise in the church? Perhaps not.

I don't walk into their churches in the middle of the service and play Rod Stewart singing 'Maggie May' or The Who blasting out 'My Generation.' So is it fair that they disturb my sleep during yet another prolonged holiday?

I live in the pretty Lecrín Valley. Therefore, i am considering setting up ANAL. Association (of) Noise Abatement (in) Lecrin. It will be part of ANAS. Association (of) Noise Abatement (in) Spain.

The new body is named after Ana. Im my mind her physical attributes lend themselves perfectly to the acronym. A young lady who, wherever she now lives, is not in need of a new body. And who probably, unlike me, enjoys bedtime.

I digress.

*Any guiri taking this article seriously and wishing to set up their own branch of ANAS need only change one letter to know where to locate their brain!

UNEMPLOYMENT ADDS TO SPANISH WOES

2009-12-02T19:42:00.006+01:00

While the UK gets ever nearer to coming out of recession, Spain sinks even deeper into the economic mire. The country has the dubious honour of having almost as many unemployed citizens as countries such as Latvia and many more people out of work than the likes of Lithuania, Estonia, Ireland and the UK.

The latest unemployment numbers reflect the fourth consecutive month of increases with 60,593 joining the dole queues in November. There are now 3,868,946 people registered as unemployed in Spain. Yes, that's right, almost 4 million Spaniards walking around saying "Gizza job!"

And to think, there are still Brits thinking of moving to Spain and getting work here. I suggest they book themselves into a home for the mentally challenged or, alternatively, just stay at home. The skies may be darker, your fellow citizens may be rude but it's now cheaper to shop in supermarkets in the UK than those in Spain (and you get far greater choice). Petrol is effectively the same price, once allowing for the woeful exchange rate, and you have far more chance of getting a job there than you do here in Spain.

Spain put all its eggs in two baskets. Construction and tourism. Now both industries are on their knees. The situation in Spain is not helped by the pathetic leadership of Prime Minister Zapatero. Not only does he look like Mr. Bean; he's about as funny as him!

Zapatero said of the unemployment figures: "We cannot continue with a breach of unemployment which is so high".

That's sums up the cut of his jib. When he is not pandering to the separatists and ETA, he is making statements of the bleeding obvious.

Increases were seen in all sectors with most in the services sector, followed by construction, industry and agriculture. It rose in all areas of the country with the exception of Extremadura where a fall of 1,100 was recorded. Largest increases of 11,802 and 8,332 were seen in Cataluña and Valencia respectively.

Andalucia has the highest level of unemployment overall, and within Andalucia, the province of Granada the highest numbers out of work in all of Spain.

On Friday December 4th the Spanish government announced its plan to kick start the Spanish economy. I did chuckle at the plan to reduce bureaucracy. Anyone living in Spain knows just how this facet of Spanish life keeps this country in the dark ages. Read the government plan here http://bit.ly/8y0OJC

It took them a long time to get in this mess and, in my opinion, it will be a long time before Spain comes out of recession.

SPAIN PREFERS TRAIN TO PLANE

2009-11-02T19:44:00.004+01:00

The new AVE train route between Barcelona and Madrid has been a roaring success. More passengers have made the journey by train than by plane for the first time.

Between July and September of 2009, 651,498 passengers made the 314-mile journey between the two largest cities in the country. That's a rise of 21 per cent compared with the same period in 2008.
In comparison, 643,512 travellers undertook the same journey by plane, a fall of 7.5 per cent compared with the third quarter of last year.
Madrid to Barcelona is the fifth busiest air route in the world, with four airlines offering 116 flights a day. Since the rail link opened last year, Renfe, the Spanish state rail operator, have challenged the airlines for supremacy. The high-speed train, which takes 2hr 40min to travel between Madrid and Barcelona, at 236.3 kilometres per hour (146.8mph), has won over commuters with competitive fares, greater comfort and the absence of time consuming airport security.

Renfe plans to extend the high speed train service throughout Spain. Vast improvements are planned that would see 'bullett' like high speed trains serve previously old fashioned services to major Spanish cities such as Granada.

HIGHER TAXES, HOLIDAYS & HORRIFIC HABITS (sorry, the traditional slaughter of pigs!)

2009-10-30T10:31:00.006+01:00

Martin Bright of http://www.spaincostatropical.com/ offers an excellent update on all that is happening in Spain. He is not only an estate agent you can trust with your life savings; he is also a very good blogger. Today he reminds me that November brings with it one of the more barbaric rituals (of the many) that the Spanish undertake year on year. He spells out the planned various rises in taxes planned for 2010 by the lame socialist government of Spain. He also reminds all of us that most shops & businesses will be closed Monday for something else the Spanish lead the world in - holidays! The following words are his.

With Sunday November 1st being All Saints day – then the holiday passes over to Monday the 2nd. Consequently many businesses and offices will be closed that day. In fact this is our second bank holiday weekend this autumn, and next month we have an even longer break pre-Christmas.

Last month the Spanish government proposed raising vat (iva) taxes from July 2010 to help raise income and recompense depleting coffers. In part due to increased unemployment, the ruling Socialist's are suggesting to raise taxes from 7% for property transmission to 8% (this tax band also includes foodstuffs, contact lenses & glasses, agricultural products, hairdressing, funeral services, motorway tolls, hotel & restaurant services, rubbish collection to name a few); and for the general rate of 16% to lift to 18%. The 4% rate will remain unchanged and applies to items such as basic foods (bread, eggs, milk, beans, etc), books, school materials and medicines. At the time of writing, the PP (the right) were voting against this action as well as the various that the socialists proposed for 2010 – claiming that this would force greater unemployment and extend the present recession.

Autumn has arrived, and even on the coast the more experienced residents and expats are in shorts. It is rumoured too that the Sierra Nevada ski resort could be open as early as mid-November, thanks in part to heavy rains in late October. Traditionally this month is the time when many mountain villagers and surrounding rural communities begin slaughtering their "home-grown" pigs. Getting ready for the winter, preparing dried hams and sausages, at a fiesta that is popularly known as la matanza (literally, the killing). Usually the events take place around the second weekend in November, and just after the feast day of San Martín de Tours. It is customary that once the animal has been killed in the early morning, then the men do the butchery while the women prepare stews and arrange various cuts for the barbecue, at the same time stuffing spiced sausages and making rich black puddings to last through the winter. If you are invited either this weekend or the next, then expect to be received with a large amount of food and copious amounts to drink.

Earlier this year Spanish unemployment was predicted to reach 25% by the end of the year, by the second quarter it had already gone to 20%. However third quarter figures just out showed a fall to 17% as the average – although regions such as Valencia and the Canaries were still affected by much higher unemployment. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues since usually in the final quarter there is a sharp rise in the figures as many summer seasonal and temporary workers along the Costas see their contracts terminated as the businesses close down during the winter.

GRANADA - AND ALL THAT JAZZ

2009-10-28T12:53:00.002+01:00

It's the 30th annual Granada Jazz Festival. It begins on November 7th. Two weeks of some of the finest jazz performances, from some of the best musicians in the world, playing in many of the finest locations in all of Spain. Here in the great city of Granada. For all details (in Spanish) go to http://bit.ly/2y3WVd

LET IT SNOW - AGAIN!

2009-10-23T10:14:00.002+01:00

For the second time in a month, snow has falling in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The first fall came on September 13th. Now, on October 21st, the white stuff is back. A promising sign for those who both run and visit the ski resort, which should open for business in November.

GRANADA TAPAS BOOK - GOING, GOING...

2009-10-22T14:38:00.007+01:00

The only English written book guiding people to 100 of the best tapas bars in the city & province of Granada is selling out. Only 80 copies left now. So if you are visiting Granada, or living in the province, be quick and buy a copy now. The book takes the visitor to the city by the hand and offers 18 routes of 4 bars each. That's 72 of the best tapas bars in the city where tapas comes free. The book leads you from one one authentic bar to the next and points out other places of interest en route.

The book also includes 28 bars in the wider province of Granada. Bars in areas such as the Costa Tropical, La Alpujarra, the Lecrín Valley and villages close to the Sierra Nevada ski resort.

The book fits in pockets and handbags and costs just 10 Euros or Pounds (plus postage). You can buy it via the PayPal buttons on the right hand side of this page.

GARCIA LORCA EXHUMATION

2009-10-06T15:10:00.005+01:00

The body of Granadino poet Federico Garcia Lorca is to be dug up. Against the wishes of his family, the authorities have confirmed that the exhumation will take place in the next two to three weeks. Lorca was executed during the civil war and his body is believed to be buried in the village of Víznar, close to the city of Granada.

The mass grave is thought to contain the bodies of at least three other men whose own families wish to give their deceased loved ones a proper burial. But descendants of Garcia Lorca believe the government are gaining great publicity from digging up the body of the homosexual poet and writer.

In a statement released they said that the government should not “adopt a partial, individualized solution, which, by praising the memory of some condemns others to oblivion.”

The exhumation splits opinion across the country where some class Lorca as a hero whose life and work should be celebrated; and others who consider him to be best forgotten.

*On Tuesday October 20th the BBC Radio 4 programme 'Today' covered this story. Hear it and read all about it via http://bit.ly/k0epK

THE PAYMENT ARRIVING AT RYANAIR IS LATE!

2009-09-28T20:13:00.006+01:00

The powers that be in the city of Granada hope they have come to an agreement with the Irish airline Ryanair that will result in their aircraft continuing to land at the Federico Garcia Lorca airport in the city.

City authorities have to make three payments per year to the airline, each of 400.000 Euros. It seems they have been late paying. This led to Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary threatening to withdraw all flights to Granada.

The airline is owed 120.000 Euros of the payment that was due in full last March. They have not yet received any of the 400.000 Euros due in July and the next payment is scheduled to be paid in November.

The provincial President of Granada, Antonio Martínez Caler, called upon Ryanair to show "goodwill" and urged the institutions who contribute money to the 'Ryanair fund' to be united in order to retain the continuity of the flights to Granada. He said the Provincial Federation of Hospitality would be paying the outstanding 120.000 Euro payment this week. He said that all those who had a vested interest in Ryanair landing at Granada airport must arrive at a more formal agreement "once and for all."

As things stand, Ryanair have already announced that the route between Granada and Liverpool will cease between the end of October and the end of March 2010. Business leaders in Granada are particularly keen to see the flights to London Stansted continue throughout the year.

MR. BEAN TO RAISE SPANISH TAXES - JUST WHAT THE COUNTRY NEEDED. NOT!

2009-09-27T15:17:00.010+01:00

LIDL - where more & more Spaniards seek to savour a Euro or two on their weekly shop

The spiralling cost of living in Spain is about to reach ever new heights. The Socialist government leads a country that is in a financial mess. Unemployment the highest in the EU. The construction & tourism industries on their knees. House reposessions at a record high. What's the solution? Well Prime Minister Zapatero thinks it is to raise taxes. http://bit.ly/1v0qph
As with his lookalike, Mr. Bean, he must be having a laugh!

There is an ongoing myth perpetuated by those with a vested interest (estate agents, tourism authorities etc), or by expats who are in denial; that it is still much, much cheaper to live in Spain than it is the UK. Tosh!

That may have been the case even as recently as four years ago, but it isn't the case now. On my July trip to the UK i did a like for like comparison for the same goods at supermarkets there and in Spain. The matching shopping basket was between 10 and 15% cheaper in the UK. More when allowing for the fact that UK supermarkets do what so few Spanish ones do. They offer amazing BOGOF (buy one get one free) or TFT (three for two) offers.

Petrol is for most of the year, still cheaper in Spain - but the margin of difference is nothing like as big as it once was. The big savings in Spain are on car tax and, in particular, Council Tax. That is very cheap in Spain and you do get much more for your money than in the UK.

However, i suspect that will change. Spain is bankrupt. It is in a worse economic state than the UK. Zapatero will raise funds by whatever means he can. Other taxes will be increased in 2010. The cost of further essentials will go up. It's every bit as certain as snow falling on the Sierra Nevada mountains this winter. The price of utilities such as electricity (already every bit as expensive as in the UK) will rocket yet again.

Spain is NOT a cheap country in which to live. That particular horse was evicted from its stable long ago (probably because it could no longer meet its mortgage payments).

Zapatero and his useless Socialist party will face an election soon. The opposition party, who were only voted out last time because of their reaction to the fatal Madrid bombings, are waiting in the wings. It's likely change is coming to Spanish politics just as it has in the USA and will do in the UK.

Sadly those living in Spain will have to get used to lots more change and a consistent rise in the cost of living for years to come.

Spain put all its eggs into so few baskets. The construction of houses that nobody wants to buy, or can afford to pay for. Tourism, in a country where the tourism officials couldn't direct you to the other side of the road, never mind a tourist attraction. And in persuading 'Guiri's' to leave their own country and come and live in their so called cheap, healthy, friendly (blah blah blah, etc etc etc) country. Now even the foreigners are deserting Spain in their tens of thousands. The penny has dropped. Their penny buys them more choice and greater quality in the UK than the Euro does in Spain.

Message to Mr. Bean. Sorry, Prime Minister Zapatero. Higher taxes will only drive more people out of their homes, into unemployment and - in the case of Guiri's - back home. Where they can lay their hat and not be charged for it!

ZARA HOME SHOP IN GRANADA

2009-09-20T12:22:00.007+01:00

At last! Zara Home has made it to the splendid Spanish city of Granada. On my travels around Spain i have envied people living in those cities that boast a Zara Home store. In the days before living in Spain took any money i once had, i drove back from the likes of Alicante with various goodies from these superb shops. Ironic, therefore, that they open a branch on Reyes Católicos in Granada at the very time when i have been living off the same 4 Euros 42 cents for the past fortnight or more!

For those of you living in Spain and who still have money under the mattress (if you put it in the bank it will have vanished under a sea of charges); then get along to Zara Home. Lovely items for all ages. Bedding, clothing, colourful tablecoths, comfy slippers for winter, items for babies and grown ups. Lovely smelling soaps and candles. There is much to attract customers and, based on my first visit to the Granada branch, the Spanish customers are loving it. The cost of living in Spain has grown exponentially at an alarming rate in the past couple of years, so it was reassuring to see that some people living in Spain still have disposable income.

HEARD THE ONE ABOUT IT SNOWING IN SPAIN IN SEPTEMBER?

2009-09-14T15:16:00.003+01:00

Sunday September 13th. The snow fell above Granada & continued to fall the next day, when temperatures plummeted.

Astonished Granadinos stood amazed and bemused on the streets of Granada on Sunday evening. Their eyes were drawn to a shocking revelation. The low and heavy clouds that had brought so many hours of rain to the city streets lifted to reveal an early arrival. Snow. Yes, snow!
Lots of it covered the Sierra Nevada mountains including Mulhacén, at 3477 meteres (11407 feet) the highest peak in Spain. People were pinching themselves. Wiping their glasses. Shaking their heads in disbelief. Temperatures plummeted from the mid 30's celsius on Friday to as low as 16 celsius on Monday morning - when more snow fell at the highest levels.
Winter has arrived it seems. Summer is over. Autumn is AWOL. The warm sunshine will return and the Granada area looks at its best when the snow is on the mountains and the sky is blue.

THE EXODUS FROM ESPANA - GUIRI'S GO 'HOME' IN LARGE NUMBERS

2009-08-31T12:45:00.010+01:00

There are expats living in Spain who don't like it when someone like me writes anything negative about life in this country. They don't want to hear it. Either because it potentially endangers their own business or because it crushes their own dream of life in Spain. They don't want to remove their rose tinted sunglasses. To admit that all is not well in planet Spain would in some way be an admission of defeat. They want to continue boasting to UK based friends that life in Spain is great.

For my own reasons I am not interested in talking down Spain for the sake of it. For more than 30 years as a working journalist i am only interested in dealing in facts. I know that to cast all of Spain, or Spaniards, in one light is misguided. Every bit as much as it would be to compare different areas of the UK and its people.

One fact that leads many to bury their heads in the sand is the undeniable evidence that more and more Brits are going back to the UK. They are leaving Spain in their droves. Removal companies based in the UK are now every bit as busy taking people back to the UK as they were moving them out here 5-10 years ago.

So plenty of expats are going back. Almost every Spanish based person i communicate with via twitter (www.twitter.com/lecrin) knows people who have had enough of life in Spain and are trading blue skies for grey ones. It is often a case of 'better the devil they know than the devil they don't.'

Now i am not particularly interested in the cases so often featured by low cost, low quality ITV programmes about low life. The people who don't like Spain because "the shops open at the wrong times." I think they should have known that in advance of moving.

I am interested, and genuinely intrigued, in the varied reasons for people moving back to the UK. It is not enough to blame one thing. Yes, many go back because of the pull of family. I get why so many women miss children and grandchildren. But that is far from the sole reason for the Espana exodus.

It is also cheap and inadequate to say those going back are the ones who have made no attempt to learn the Spanish language. I know several people who have lived in Spain for up to a dozen years and are fluent in Spanish. They too are going back 'home.'

So why are so many people giving up on their "dream" of living in Spain?

As i say the reasons vary. The most common are, in no particular order of priority:- 1) Family 2) Work, or lack thereof 3) No money left 4) Missing one's own culture 5) Health 6) the exchange rate 7) the rising cost of living in Spain 8) House reposession

I want to offer a more substantial underlying reason. One i can understand fully and one that i empathise with.

Overall i think it is more about being a foreigner in the country of another man. It matters not if you live among very friendly people who say "Hola" every day and bring gifts to your doorstep. Sure, it's great to live among mainly friendly, folk. People who look you in the eye. People who want you to enjoy the best bits of living in their village, town or city.

But i am on about something more fundamental. I have seen people argue online as to whether expats can be classed as "immigrants" in Spain. Well, i think i am an immigrant here and, for the first time in my life, i know what it feels like to be an immigrant. To live in the country of another man. I now get it when i hear immigrants from other countries speak of how they feel about living in the UK. Of how they are in the UK but do not feel part of it. Of how they are not, in general, welcome or wanted.

I know of one expat who lives in a town in northern Spain and is the only Brit there. He is fluent in Spanish and has many, many true friends. Part of this is down to his personality, part is down to the fact he speaks the language and part is because he has novelty value. He has lived there for years and is now accepted as part of the local furniture. He is as much "one of us/them" as it is possible to be. In my own area i know of one couple who are more part of the local village community than some of the local Spanish. They have worked hard at reaching a status whereby everyone knows their names and welcomes to them in to their homes, to christenings, weddings and much more.

Those two cases prove that is is possible to be truly integrated. But, make no mistake, that is very rare and requires not only time but much effort on the part of the expat. Someone who works at home all day, as i do, will never have the time to spend sitting on street corners comparing the price of vegetables, or stand at the bar discussing the merits of Real Madrid spending so much money on footballers. It is possible to be reclusive in my part of Spain. Once you have told the Jehovah's Witnesses to go away, it's unlikely that anyone will knock on your door. At least not until fiesta time and the collection for fireworks - at which point i never seem to hear the knock at the door!

If i went back to the UK it would be because i will never truly feel that i belong here in Spain. That i am an intruder in the life and country of another man. That i miss communicating at length with, for example, colleagues in a workplace or friends in the pub. Communicating in a deeper, more intelligent sense than i can here. For those of you reading this from your home in Madrid, i may already be talking a foreign language. But you must understand i live not in a metropolitan or cosmopolitan city. I live in rural and impoverished Andalucia. Football, figs or Franco are more likely to be the topic of conversation among men of my age in this area. Many neither know nor care about what is happening elsewhere in the world. In that regard the Spanish have more in common with Brits than they realise. If the Spanish 'did' irony, they would be amused at that.

The work i do could be carried out from anywhere in the world. When i left the UK i wanted to move as far away from the place as possible. I ended up in Spain so that my partner could be a shorter plane journey from her family. Considering how much i wanted out of the UK, it's strange even to me that I would go back tomorrow. But only for the right job. I see little point being broke in the UK. I can do that in Spain just as well, thank you!
But am i wrong there. If one is to be destitute through lack of employment, or bad health, is it better to be in one's own country? Among friends, family and loved ones?

The latest cliche doing the rounds among those expats who are staying goes like this:- "If things are going to be bad I'd rather be in the sun than in dreary, cold UK." But i think this is both bravado and bullshit. It's shallow to say that if we are suffering financially, the sun will somehow ease those worries. The banks in Spain have just cut the period of time they will allow you to default on your mortgage from 6 months to 3. How on earth do blue skies alleivate your money worries when i you can no longer afford pay the mortgage?

Yes things will get better - eventually. But in the meantime many of us will have fallen by the wayside and be back in Beverley, Birmingham or Bristol.

I think those who refuse to accept that things have changed dramtacially for the worse in Spain, even during the past three years alone, are deluding themselves. It's almost as they don't want to hear the truth. That by doing so it would somehow spoil their own life in Spain. There is plenty of sand in Spain for people to bury their heads in.
For many the 'penny' has dropped and they are off back to the UK. Clearly many Brits don't want to be stuck here any longer and i do not blame them for going back. The dream has died and refusing to acknowledge that fact is a form of denial that can only prove to be corrosive. I think it is every bit as brave to admit the game is over and go back, as it was for them to make the move abroad in the first place. I suspect the day will come when I also go back to the UK. If i do it will not be for fish and chips, grey skies, angst ridden people, road rage or football. It will be because i want to live somewhere i feel i belong. In truth i never felt that in 22 years of living in Yorkshire (so proving that this is not an anti-Spain thing). Only true Londoners will understand me when i say that i have only felt that i belonged in London. For all its faults and miseries, i miss the place. The culture, the choice, the buzz and having Richmond Park on my doorstep.

Don't get me wrong. I love where i live in Spain. Again, for all its faults, it is a brillaint place to live and i am second to nobody in my admiration for the city of Granada that is so close to me. I love Spain for the variety of the country. The sheer size of it and the fact that it is so unpopulated in comparison to the British Isles. I have been so lucky to travel the country and experience so much of what Spain has to offer.

But i will never feel as though i belong here. Despite all the handshakes, friendly greetings, smiles and waves; i don't believe for a moment that my presence here is truly welcomed. I think that in the majority of Spain, Guiri's are about as welcome as an immigrant is in many parts of the UK.

What lesson have i learned from living in Spain? Simply as i stated earlier. What it is like to be a foreigner in the land of another man. It is a priceless lesson and not one i could have understood had i never moved to Spain. All part of life's rich tapestry i guess.

BEING A FOODY IN SOUTHERN SPAIN

2009-08-27T10:05:00.006+01:00

Now having travelled most of Spain there is no doubt in my mind that the best quality food and restaurants are in the north of the country. Galicia, La Rioja & Basque country to name but three areas where the food is fab. However, the sun doesn't shine there as often as where i live in the south of Spain. Historically the rest of Spain has looked down its nose at the culinary fayre on offer in the provinces that make up Andalucia. Often with good reason.

But it is possible to find good food down here among the peasants (as Madrilenos call their fellow countrymen living my way). Whether it is dining in, or dining out, there is quality to be tasted. It just requires more patience and research to find it. Of course i know all about the best tapas bars in the city and province of Granada. I should do. After all, the research for my book guiding people to 100 of the most authentic tapas bars took almost two years. You can buy the book via the buy now buttons on this site. Pay via PayPal or a variety of cards.

There are also plenty of good tapas bars to enjoy in Seville. Visit the website http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/ Shawn will tell you where to go and all about the joyous dishes on offer in this magnificent Spanish city.

If you want to "take away" some classic Spanish food - or order it from overseas - then go to http://www.orceserranohams.com/ Based in the province of Granada, this outlet offers you not just serrano ham but also Spanish oils & vinegar, recipes and cooking accessories. Gayle and Iain are there to help you complete your order.

You see there are people working hard to promote the good food side of life in the south of Spain.

MISS THE BOOKIES? YOU CAN BET ON IT

2009-08-25T10:52:00.003+01:00

The days when walking into a UK bookies shop was considered to be a sin have long since gone. Bookmakers have upgraded their shops and today many such outlets provide everything bar a three course lunch. But what if you live in Spain and want to bet? Prime Minister Zapatero says he will be relaxing the rules on gambling in Spain. He wants to make it easier for people to bet in the country (he also needs to raise money wherever he can as Spain is bankrupt).

In the meantime online gambling continues to grow fast the world over. Whether it is playing poker, in an online casino or betting on UK sports events such as horse racing and football.

Since 2001 I have made an annual profit from online gambling on sports events. It has been a nice little earner year on year. I don't gamble with big money but i have made a tidy annual income from gambling with stakes no greater than 25 pounds.

This past year i began offering my value for money tips to others. My strategy is simple. Give the bookies back as little of your hard earned winnings as possible.

The service has been a great success, not least for others who now live across Spain and cannot nip down to a local bookies. In most of Spain, no such establishments exist. Only yesterday one of my subscribers contacted me to thank me for making them 4000 pounds over last weekend. Winning bets at the races and a 12-1 and 10-1 winning accumulator on the football.

If you miss betting on sport, and if you want value for money tips, then visit www.bettingtipsdirect.com and sign up to become a winner.

GWYNETH PALTROW ACROSS SPAIN

2009-08-04T08:09:00.004+01:00

You may recall that many months ago i reported on how actress Gwyneth Paltrow was in my region filming for a news TV series about Spain. Well here is a taster of what is to come. The series "Spain - On the road again" airs on the PBS channel across the USA from September 20th. I understand a deal to air the series on UK television has been done.

The programmes were recorded in the English language, despite the fact that Gwyneth claims to speak perfect Spanish. She lived in the country for a short while. Her travelling companions also speak Spanish. So, i wonder, what are the plans for transmission on Spanish TV? Wall to wall subtitles? As a former TV producer of many years, my only presumption can be that it was decided that the Spanish could cope with watching programmes about their country, filmed in their country, almost entirely in subtitles. While, as we know, the majority of Americans and British folk cannot handle subtitles. Hence why so few people in those countries have ever seen some of the best movies i have enjoyed. Some of the best movies ever made have not been in the English language.

Various clips and episodes of Gwyneth driving around Spain, pretending that she is a great cook (this from a woman who eats pumpkin seeds and drinks coconut water for three weeks at a time), can be seen on you tube including this taster of the series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKsyRL-vd_o

The website for the series is at http://www.spainontheroadagain.com/index.shtml

ONE HAND, THE OTHER HAND, LOTS OF PAINT, A MAYOR & A SPANISH TOWN HALL

2009-08-03T16:52:00.013+01:00

Before and after: Painted one month and trashed the next. That's Spain!

I live in a small village and opposite my house is a wonderful free museum displaying ceramics and items dating back centuries. Archaelogists love the place. It is a former working Olive mill and, although it took them many years to complete, the local authorities made a very nice job of renovating the building.
In summer months local festivities are held there. Flamenco and music performances. Outdoor cinema. That kind of thing. Indeed there are events scheduled for the remaining Saturdays in August.

So it was that over a period of 6 weeks between June and July, the local Mayor employed many, many people to paint the outside walls of the building and the wall as it meets my road. A grotty salmon orange colour but at least it was a neat job and made the museum stand out. The painters finished their prolonged work four weeks ago.

Today, another army of employees of the local town hall arrived to dig up all the local roads. It seems new water pipes are to be laid. So it was that the man in the machine (see picture) and his mates set about removing the new paint from the walls of the aforementioned tourist attraction. He smashed the arm of his digging machine into the wall of the museum several times. On the other side of that wall, inside the museum, there are several unique artefacts dating back to the Civil War and beyond. I don't know if they, like the outside wall, were also damaged in the process.

I ask this.

What was the point in employing an army of painters if the same town hall had another army scheduled to cause havoc in the same street only weeks later?

Why did the authorities not schedule the painting until after the roadworks had been completed?

Why did someone from one department not talk to someone from the other department so as to make sure this huge cock up did not happen? Remember, i do not live in Madrid, Barcelona or some other big city. The local town hall is a moderately sized building employing not many people.

Why schedule these roadworks at the very time that the town hall organised various outdoor events for the Olive Mill museum? As it is now nobody can get into the building and there is something planned there for Saturday. Why not leave the roadworks until September or, even better, have undertaken that work last Spring and then move in the painters?

That would be logical, that's why. The Spanish don't do logic and don't anyone out there strain to tell me they do. Fact is, they don´t. This is just one small example of how nutty the local authorities are in Spain. As Forrest Gump would have said often, had he lived in Andalucia, "stupid is as stupid does."

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...

2009-07-30T13:49:00.007+01:00

Food for thought: Fresh fruit & veg and a good postal service in Spain

So here goes. Despite the breaking bad news coming out of Mallorca today, here are my positive thoughts on Spain this Thursday.

1. Congratulations to the Spanish post office (Correos). Their delivery of copies of my book (www.guiribooks.blogspot.com ) to buyers in the UK is always fast and effective. True, posting from Spain is not cheap. But buyers of the Granada Tapas Book are full of praise about how the normal post out of Spain is so quick. It is notable that posting to Spain is slower than posting from Spain. My local post office only opens one hour per day, five days a week but the service is friendly, helpful and efficent.

2. Yesterday i made my weekly or bi-weekly visit to the best local market in the town of Durcal, near Granada. Fernando always provides us with a vast array of quality organic vegetables. Many of them could be taken home and planted again, so fresh out of the ground are they. Bags and bags of veg all for 5 euros. Much cheaper than Tesco's etc. What's more, since i lived in Spain i enjoy beetroot, cauliflower and other veggies that once i would never have touched. Why? Simple. They taste of something, that's why. The local inland market is one of the few aspects of life in Spain that is still as cheap as chips (and, yes, the potatoes are great!). I do miss the larger choice of produce on sale at my former haunt in London, Borough Market, and i miss the atmosphere there on a Saturday morning. I do not miss the prices. Providing you do not want to fashion your wardrobe based on the clothes sold at Spanish markets; they are a must visit and i will always support the local suppliers there over multi national supermarkets (many of which are not even Spanish owned).

3. It's not easy being upbeat about death but i must say that the Spanish do death well. I should know. At 50, I must be one of the youngest people living in my village and the "death bells" go off at my local church with a depressing regularity these days. But the village turns out in full for each funeral. The men wear smart clothes that are reserved for fiestas and funerals. They wait silently outside the church while the women pay their respects inside. The removal of the body from the church is always met with utmost respect for the deceased. The subsequent slow, silent march behind the coffin to the cemetary is unlike anything i have seen outside of the Republic of Ireland. There can be no doubt that the Spanish have more respect for their elderly, in life and in death, than British society does today.

LIVING IN SPAIN CIRCA 2009

2009-07-30T13:01:00.006+01:00

This is a no bullshit blog about life as it is in Spain

An anonymous person has criticised me for being negative about Spain. I think leaving comments without being prepared to put your name to them lacks class. This site is warts 'n' all. It is only personal opinion. It doesn't mean i am right. Having travelled extensively and stayed throughout the country for many years, and living here full time, I am entitled to comment on the changing face of Spain. The positive and negative aspects of life in Spain today. There are many blogs dealing only with the 'rose coloured spectacle' side of living in a country other than that of your birth. You will also not struggle to find sites that talk up Spain (usually for business reasons). I think the greatest disservice that we can do to anyone thinking of moving to Spain, is too tell them half truths and give the impression that everything in the Spanish garden is rosy. This is even more important at a time when expats are moving back to the UK in their tens of thousands.

Equally, i am against the easy to produce UK television programmes which do not give a balanced view of life in Spain. As a long term TV producer i know how easy it is to cobble together enough whining Brits and fill 30 minutes of airtime with complaints along the lines of: "Don't get me wrong, but the shops in Spain open at the wrong times."

I try to be balanced. It is a fault of modern day human nature that we often spend more time thinking about the disappointing aspects of life, than the good. Unless you are a member of the happy clappy brigade (of which i am not). It's true that I am a glass half empty man. Always have been. Long before i moved to Spain. At 50 it's too late for me to change now. Frankly i do not trust people who smile all the time. Nor do i believe those over 30 who say they have no regrets.

There are still many positive aspects to living in Spain and I shall be uploading details of some of those shortly. I will also continue to list my collection of Spanish myths, as i see them. I make no apology for that. Of course, you always have to look for the touch of irony and sarcasm in my blog entries. Just because the Spanish have no sense of irony and don't get sarcasm; it doesn't mean we have to be join them and be content laughing at Benny Hill and Mr.Bean!

GOOD REASONS TO GO TO GRANADA

2009-07-29T20:04:00.001+01:00

At weekends in the summer the good people of Granada rush to the beach. Every Friday the newly improved motorway is full of cars racing to see who can get to the beaches of the Costa Tropical first. That leaves the city of Granada much quieter and ideal for strolling around. Providing you go in the morning or, the best time, later in the evening. Temperatures are now too high to walk around Granada in the middle of the afternoon.
The city is a joy to discover. So varied and has so much more to it than the main streets full of the usual suspects of the high street. Get off the beaten track. Take a good map. Circle a district or barrio you want to explore and stick to that. Next time, try another barrio. Make the walk even more enjoyable by buying the guidebook to 100 of the best tapas bars in Granada.
No, do not try them all at once! This book has 18 tours to choose from. 4 bars on each tour. Something to suit all tastes and walking ability. The book has sold well and has helped visitors to Granada avoid the more tourist driven bars where, at best, you receive a plate of crisps with your drink.
By using this book you will sample some of the best tapas on offer in Granada and see the city and its sights at the same time. Buy the book via the buttons on this site or go to www.guiribooks.blogspot.com
For more on Granada take a look at the following sites:- www.granadaisgreat.blogspot.com www.granadatapas.blogspot.com or www.todogranada.blogspot.com

CAR HIRE AT MALAGA AIRPORT

2009-07-29T13:59:00.006+01:00

Buyer beware! If you are flying to Malaga airport and think you have a hire car pre-booked, the chances are you do not. The newspapers have been full of incidents of visitors not getting the car they have ordererd is due to a shortage of hire cars... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/5826247/British-tourists-warned-of-car-rental-shortage-in-Costa-del-Sol.html

This may play a part in it but is not the full story. The fact is that hire car companies are cashing in. If you booked a car for July in February you will have paid much less for it than if you land at Malaga airport and go to the hire car desks to pick up a car on the day. And YES you can do that. I know because a party of seven friends fell victim to this rip off only yesterday.

They pre-booked a hire car through EasyCar (the car hire arm of airline EasyJet) as long ago as February. They called the day before departure to check all was well only to be told there would be no hire car for them after all. Begs the question: Why no early warning from EasyCar?

Anyway, they landed at Malaga airport on a wing and a prayer and, guess what? They could hire cars. No problem. But at three times the price they booked for last February.

This is a rip off and a disgrace and should be exposed as such. The press both in Spain and the UK have been too ready to believe the "car shortage" excuse. It's tosh. Like so many other scams in operation at Malaga airport right now, it is yet another way of exploiting tourists to Spain. Beware! This is one more reason to avoid the aviation hell hole that is Malaga airport.

HOME RESPOSSESSIONS IN SPAIN

2009-07-29T13:09:00.006+01:00

A couple of years ago a Spanish friend said to me: "If homes are ever repossessed by the banks in Spain then all the managers will do is sell the houses on cheaply to members of their family.

Judging by this excellent article from Martin Bright at www.tropicanaproperties.com there was more than an element of truth in that statement. Read in full via http://www.spaincostatropical.com/buyer-s-guide/repossessions.html

There is no doubt that the banks are getting tougher, with Spanish homeowners and foreigners alike. The banks have sussed that many of the once affluent foreign buyers are now broke and struggling each month to pay their mortgage. The same bank or bank manager who four years ago offered you that mortgage based on minimal knowledge of your ability to pay, are now getting very heavy with British homeowners all over Spain.

Simply giving up and handing over the keys to your bank manager does not mean that you no longer have to pay your regular mortgage payments. Running away from Spain is not the easy option it may once have been. You may have to change your name and have plastic surgery!

The fact is that Spain as a country is every bit as bankrupt as the UK. Here, like there, the banks are not interested in hearing your hard luck story. They will say to you "don't worry" but, believe me, if you cannot pay the mortgage you need to worry. The bank manager may offer you a sympathetic smile but when you have left the building, he will be instigating proceedings through his head office to repossess the house from you. Few questions asked.

If there is anyone out there crazy enough to be thinking of buying a property in Spain at this time, I have a message for you. Unless you can buy it outright, with no mortgage commitment whatsoever, don't do it.

SPANISH MYTH NO.2 - MUST HAVES?

2009-07-27T11:45:00.008+01:00

Top: A pool in Spain. Use it or lose it? Bottom: Up on the roof, but not a Drifter in sight!

Another myth about life in Spain is one usually fired at us by friends back in the UK. Namely that we spend all our time on our roof terrace drinking Pimms or sat in our pool with a gin and tonic. Now there may still be a few folk living in Spain with money left in their bank account. I don't know any personally but i am reliably informed that such expats exist. People who can still a) have savings and b) can count them in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. Clearly if such creatures exist they must be in their pool or on their roof terrace all day. They cannot go out in Spain for if they did they would be down to their last few grand by now.

The Spanish banks would have robbed them with charges which, oddly, can be refunded straight away if you query them (begs the question, why were those charges imposed in the first place?) Unless they are vegetarians only buying food from the local market, then the rising cost of living in Spain will have emptied their pockets at an increasing rate. Especially the supermarkets. The utility companies (aka thieves), such as Endesa, will have taken the bulk of any remaining money they had when they arrived in Spain. So who are these people who are fortunate enough to be in a position whereby they can use their pools and terraces daily? Bank robbers? Retired bankers? Criminals moving inland from the Costa del Sol in the hope that they will not encounter the law? Who are these jammy bastards? Are you one of them? Contact me and let me know how you do/did it? And to pay me back that 100K you owe me! (www.twitter.com/lecrin )

What about those who thought they could retire or semi-retire in Spain with their redundancy pay off, on their pension or through their respectable, but minor, lottery win? Well, depending on when they landed in Spain, they are the ones you see cleaning the aforementioned pools and roof terraces. Or they are offering their services as a plumber, builder or electrician. Ignoring the fact that when they did work in the UK it was as a share dealer in the city!

So i ask you. Roof terraces. Swimming pools. What are they good for? Are they must haves if you are living in Spain? I have the former but not, by choice, the latter. It's not just the fact that I cannot swim but i have no interest in sitting in a pool. I get bored. I do have a twitter connection living in equally hot Loja who seems to be in her pool 6 times a day. Good for her. If you are going to have a swimming pool then for pete's sake use it. I do not understand the thousands of expats living here who spend a fortune filling and maintaining their pools but use it only once a year when relations visit. Why do those people have one? Is it a statement? Is it the kind of exhibitionist behaviour more suited to the home counties of the UK? Swimming pools seem to be a whole lot of trouble for little reward to me but for those who love swimming at home, i can see the merit of them. After all, the sea is full of shit, stingrays and, according to latest reports, sharks!

Another must have we are always keen on when buying property in Spain is a roof terrace. Why? The number of times i sit on my roof terrace per year can be counted on two hands. What's more ridiculous is that i have two of them. Sure it is nice to sit up there on summer evenings and watch the amazing display of stars but frankly i am usually too exhausted to be bothered and am asleep in bed before the satellites and shooting stars put on their aerial display.

As for daytime, well anyone sat on a roof terrace after 11am and before 8pm on days like this is either mad or wearing factor 500 sun cream. I cannot stand on the roof tiles on days like this. To do so always reminds me of that great scene from the film "10" when Dudley Moore cannot walk on the Mexican beach without burning his feet!

My good lady Nola (http://www.granadagardens.blogspot.com/ ) has, predictably, done a great job planting on the roof terraces and in summer she has to water first thing and last thing; but i do wonder why us expats insist on having roof terraces when we use them so infrequently for leisure or pleasure.

I admit that i do envy those who have so much time on their hands (and money) that they can be on their roof or in their pool daily. I expect i would still get bored, but the option to do so would be nice.

My friends in the UK have heard this once several times before (and they don't listen), but here goes again. The FACT is that since i moved to Spain i have spent more time looking at a computer than i ever did in the UK. More time either working (including in spheres i never imagined) or, crucially, working at trying to get work. So, for the hard of hearing or believing, i am NOT on my roof terrace sipping beer. I do NOT have a pool, let alone swim in one. I live AND work in Spain and the main beneficiary of my two roof terraces are plants and cats! Oh, and those who rent the top two floors via http://www.lecrinlet.blogspot.com/ or visitors from the UK. Now there is another possible myth to dispel. The one that says: "it's lovely when friends or family visit." I feel another rant approching in the distance!

SPANISH TOURISM

2009-07-26T10:57:00.005+01:00

Where have all the tourists gone? Somewhere they feel wanted, that's where!

So the latest forecast from those who run Spanish tourism is that 10% fewer tourists will arrive in the next year. I think that is a conservative estimate.

http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090725/33/27lvu.html

I did laugh when i read the quote about them wanting to attract more tourists through gastronomy. Is this the same tourist authority who a) was not interested in paying peanuts to sponsor my guidebook to 100 of the best tapas bars in Granada? or b) the same tourist authority who will not stock the book in the Granada tourism offices - even though they could make a good profit on it? But my argument is not related to one personal incident.

Since 2003 I have travelled all over Spain writing positive copy on Spain for magazines and newspapers in the UK and Spain. 8 out of 10 tourist offices i visited were either a) closed b) or staffed by a person who was less than interested in their job c) rude d) lacking in common courtesy e) i knew more about the area than they did!
As one Spanish friend said to me: "Your mistake is in thinking the country wants tourists to go into tourism offices and ask questions. That is the last thing they want. That is why tourist offices are either closed or useless. My daughter worked in a tourist office and if they saw tourists approaching they would close the office faster than you could say rapido! rapido!"
He is right. I know the pay is poor in the tourism industry but this country really is woeful at attracting tourists and then informing them where to go and what to do. This also applies to Spanish tourists. They are equally dismayed at how hopeless tourist offices are. My friend Marina from Cadíz said to me: "I am ashamed at how bad the tourist service is in this country. They know nothing and offer you less."
I confess that i have been amazed during my vast travels through Spain at how many tourist attractions are not even signposted from the nearest motorway exit. Hotel beds are less than 50% occupied. Tourist attractions are laying off staff. Someone in charge of this country had better give those who run tourism a large kick up the rear. There are plenty of emerging countries who are pro-active and very keen to attract tourists. If Spain is not careful the very thing the new economy of the country was built on, will be gone for good.

UNEMPLOYMENT IN SPAIN

2009-07-24T17:34:00.009+01:00

Watching construction cranes in action is no longer an option for the unemployed

It goes from bad to worse when it comes to employment in Spain. The official rate of unemployment in the country is a whopping 17.9%. That means 30% of all those out of work throughout the EU, live in Spain. Twice than more the EU average. 1.76 million Spaniards have lost their jobs in the past 12 months.

This is due in no small part to the country putting all its eggs in three baskets. Construction, Property and tourism.

The first has effectively stopped. Spain is awash with part finished housing developments, shopping centres and office buildings. The property market has collapsed, in part because the rising prices were unsustainable and partly because north Europeans have turned their back on Spain. The Germans began selling up three years ago when their home government imposed a huge tax on second properties owned abroad. The British stopped buying houses in Spain even before the EU-Pound exchange rate collapsed.

Thirdly, tourist numbers are way down. In part this is due to the poor exchange rate. In part it is due to low cost airlines reducing flights throughout Spain. And in part it is due to the simple fact that Spain is hopeless at tourism. Read the next entry for more on that thorny topic.

The unemployment rate in Spain is dreadful and will drag the economy in the country down even further. The upside is that as many Spanish consider work as something that gets in the way of life; those people will be content to have some spare time!

AT LAST! LA HERRADURA TO TARAMAY MOTORWAY OPENS

2009-07-23T15:26:00.005+01:00

Almuñécar - soon to be reached via a new stretch of motorway/autovia

Stand by your beds those of you who live along the Costa Tropical. The long awaited stretch of new motorway between Taramay outside of Almuñécar and La Herradura will open next Tuesday, July 28th. I kid ye not!

Queen Victoria was likely on the throne when this road was first planned.

There have been so many setbacks for this road but perhaps now those who drive between the Costa Tropical and Granada/Almeria can look forward to fewer tailbacks as traffic approaches Taramay on the coastal road.

This follows the recent opening of the new motorway between Motril and Granada. All that remains is the link between the two, the so called Molvizar flyover. Sadly work only began on that stretch of new road recently. Begs the question: why was that not planned and passed at the same time so that the entire road could open in the same year? Or even decade!

SPANISH MYTH - NUMBER 1

2009-07-21T10:36:00.005+01:00

Top: Happy families? Who knows? Centre: Spanish children learn young how to be cruel to animals. Bottom: Dressing your child up is mandatory in Spain.

Photos courtesy of www.editorialguiri.blogspot.com

One of the many myths that expats are quick to believe is that the Spanish look after their children better than the Brits. This myth is perpetuated by the Spanish themselves. Tell them that they are cruel to animals or pets and they will be keen to tell you how us guiri's look after our pets better than we look after our children. While they, the Spanish, look after their children better.

I think this latest story puts pay to that assertion. Don't you? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/5850507/Child-dies-in-car-after-being-forgotten-by-mother.html

The fact is that alot of what foreigners see on show with Spanish families is just that. Show! It is nonsense to believe that somehow they are better parents than those from any other country. When you see them showing off their children (always dressed too old for their age) in cafes etc, it is merely a case of showing off. When they get behind closed doors the Spanish argue as much as any other nationality. Hit their children more than some other nationalities. And, of course, officially have the worst spousal abuse record in Europe. More cases of men killing their wives (and vice versa) than anywhere in Europe. Fact! So do we really think they don't hit their kids in private? Why do outsiders think the Spanish should be any less vulnerable to child rage or abuse than parents from any other country? Do expats think the sunshine somehow makes them better parents?

In many areas of Spain the locals shoot other people's pets. In many areas of Spain they still throw 'past their best' mules over cliffs. In many areas of Spain they push their children around in pushchairs when the young ones are old enough to have sex, never mind walk! In many areas of Spain they dress the children in knickerbockers - regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl!

Of course, the majority of Spanish parents love and cherish their children. As do the majority of British parents, German parents, Irish parents etc etc.

Let us please knock on the head the myth that they are any better at the job than the rest of us. It is one of many often repeated mantras about Spain that i shall be revealing to be a myth in the coming weeks.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

2009-07-20T17:31:00.007+01:00

The official figures on how many, or rather how few, Spaniards read newspapers is alarming. Despite the amount of newsprint there is across Spain, the country has one of the lowest levels of readership in the EU. If so few Spaniards read newspapers or books, why there are so very many newspaper kiosks in the towns and cities of Spain?

I am often asked by expats what they should read in order to keep up with the Spanish news and life in Spain, if they themselves do not read Spanish. Well i buy the International Herald Tribune for two reasons.

1) It is the only newspaper left in the world that reports serious world news, not gossip and tittle tattle. It is also unbiased in its reporting of the news. Not least because it is not owned by one influential person such as Rupert Murdoch.

2) If you buy the International Herald Tribune in Spain you get a daily supplement, written in the English language, of the Spanish newspaper El Pais. Only 8 pages but it gives you the main stories in Spain that day, some good independent, frank opinion articles and some entertaining features.

You can buy International Herald Tribune at most kiosks and shops or you can take up a special subscription rate on offer at the moment by typing this website address into your browser - subs.iht.com/save

OLDEST MUM IN WORLD DIES IN SPAIN

2009-07-16T08:07:00.005+01:00

There is much debate across Spain about the death of the oldest mother in the world. Her name was Carmen Bousada and she was from Barcelona. She has died from cancer aged 69 - just two and a half years after giving birth to twins thanks to hormone therapy treatment.
The controversy came when it was revealed that she lied about her age in order to receive the donor eggs and sperm. She told doctors at the clinic in Los Angeles that she was 55 when she was actually then 66.
The airwaves of radio and TV in Spain are full of debate and argument about the actions she took to get pregnant. She did not tell her family what she was going for the fertility treatment. Now members of her extended family will raise the twin boys Cristian and Pau.

ALICANTE - LOCATION GUIDE

2009-07-15T17:04:00.005+01:00

Two views of Alicante. Quiet shopping & busy beaches in summer

Vernon Grant writes:-
There are some Spanish destinations that seem destined only to be known for their airports. Holidaymakers land at concrete jungles such as Malaga and jump on the bus or into their hire car and see nothing of the vibrant cities in which they land.
Alicante has for many years been seen purely as a gateway to coastal destinations along the Costa Blanca. Tourist authorities in the city are doing all they can to promote Alicante as the ideal location for a long weekend break or even a short holiday. There really is much more to Alicante than runways and duty free goods. How many British visitors take time to experience all the City has to offer? In my opinion, too few...

*Those wishing to purchase this 2000 word article in full, should go to www.editorialguiri.blogspot.com or e-mail verninspain@gmail.com

BLOGS ABOUT SPAIN

2009-07-11T10:03:00.006+01:00

Professional photos of Spain from www.editorialguiri.blogspot.com

There are many good blogs about different aspects of life in Spain or across the Med. From time to time I will alert you to them on this site.

My own include three blogs about either Granada or Tapas. They are www.greatingranada.blogspot.com www.granadatapas.blogspot.com www.tododgranada.blogspot.com

In the same province of Granada there is a very readable blog from Nola Lyttle. A very experienced creative gardener living and working in the Granada region. That is at www.granadagardens.blogspot.com

Features about people and places from all over Spain can be found via www.editorialguiri.blogspot.com and my own book publishing site is at www.guiribooks.blogspot.com

An excellent site about life in Spain and other Med countries is www.stylemed.blogspot.com

A website guiding you to the culinary delights of Seville is http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/