Oh Dear

I thought that blatant use of public funds had gone deep underground after the MP’s housing and expense scandal.
But no.
David Cameron has ordered that the newly installed photographer Andrew Parsons and camerawoman Nicky Woodhouse be removed from the public payroll after intense criticism about the appointment of his so-called "vanity staff" to the civil service. i.e. He has been found out!
Sources in Downing Street said that they stood by the logic of the appointments (they can but I can’t can you?) but that they now acknowledged that the move "sent out the wrong message" when the rest of the public sector was being asked to make savings.
It seems that the Conservative party will now pay their salaries – that is until they can be dropped in a couple of months.

Take That

I must admit I am not a big fan of Take That or any current boy band. my boy ban era was The Beatles, The Stones, The Who etc. However, I came across this review of Take That’s new CD, Progress.
I quote : “”Out go the Coldplay-style ballads. In come sci-fi Europop techno stomps with cut-up lyrics and visions of dystopian social apocalypse.”
Pretentious? Moi?

A true tale? I do hope so!

I have just read more detail of the British team that sent send homemade aircraft to the edge of space before flying it back to Earth.

Pictured here initial launch of the plane before its 17 miles trip into the atmosphere where it captured images of the curvature of the globe using a miniature camera. The plane, which has a 3ft wing span and is made from paper straws covered in paper, was launched using nothing more powerful than a large helium balloon.

Notice it box shaped wings.

Here is a picture of the plane as it was found 100 miles from the launch site. Notice the wings are no longer box shaped,

I hope this is no hoax story!

The Hajj Terminal

The annual Haj haj pilgrimage in Mecca Saudia Arabia started on Sunday.

During the 1980’s I was in Saudi working as the Software Support Manager at the International Airport in Jedda. We looked after the processing of the 1million pilgrims entering the rather closed country of Saudia Arabia.

The most startling building in the airport was the Hajj Terminal. It houses, for a short time, the one million or more pilgrims who make their way to Mecca each year. The capacity of the terminal at any one time is estimated at 50'000 for a period of up to 18 hours during arrival and 80,000 for periods of up to 36 hours during departure. Roofed by a fabric tension structure that covers more area (40.5 hectares) than any roof in the world, the terminal provides toilets, shops, benches and banking facilities for the pilgrims. Twenty-one tent units, each 45 metres square, form a single module. The terminal is comprised of 10 such modules: two identical five-module sections separated by a landscaped mall.

Thus, the two large terminal units each comprise a total of 105 tents. The tents are hooked to steel rings hung from suspension cables which are draped from single pylons in the interior of the module, from ladder-like double pylons at the module edges and from four-pylon towers at the corners. The enclosed and air conditioned arrival buildings are located under the tents along the outside edge of the terminal units parallel to the aircraft aprons.

It is the brilliant structure I have ever seen.

Weather in Spain 8th November–14th November 2010

Monday: Overcast at the start of the day giving way to a sunny afternoon. Cool wind kept the temp down to 18C. Cool overnight with a temp of 14C.
Tuesday: A warmer and sunnier day than yesterday. Temp of 21C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 17C. 
Wednesday: Very warm and sunny. Temp of 21C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 16C.
Thursday: Another glorious warm and sunny day with a temp of 25C. Much colder overnight with a temp of 15C. 
Friday: Warm and sunny with a temp of 26C. Overnight with a temp of 23C.
Saturday: Sunny with a temp to 22C. Overnight temp of 16C.
Sunday: What a week! Another sunny day. Temp of 22C. Overnight temp of 15C.

World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes mellitus world and is held on November 14 of each year. It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization in response to the alarming rise of diabetes around the world. World Diabetes Day is a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the International Diabetes Federation each year to address issues facing the global diabetes community. While the campaigns last the whole year, the day itself marks the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.
As a diabetic with type 1 having to inject insulin each day I thank the discoverers for my health.

Southern England hit hardest by recession

This does not surprise me at all. After all the south has more people and have a more affluent life style. While in the North they have had it harder no matter what state the country is in. Always with the highest unemployment, always with poorer standard of life. So no surprise to me.
So the details.
A total of 2.9 million people in the North had more than £30,000 in liquid assets in 2007, falling to 2.5 million by the end of 2008, and recovering slightly to 2.7 million by the end of 2009, according to figures recently published.
It compares with five million people in the South with more than £30,000 in liquid assets in 2007, which dropped to 4.1 million by the end of 2008, before recovering to 4.5 million by the end of 2009.
So the south is “richer” in terms of the relative size of its affluent population compared with the north, this population has taken more of a beating during the economic downturn, contracting more sharply than the affluent population in the north.
It comes as separate research suggested hairdressers, gardeners and taxi drivers are the professions worst hit by the recession. Workers who provide these services - which people are likely to cut back on during a recession are the hardest hit.

The Quid

I came across an article about the pound note recently.

The pound note, The familiar green £1 note was replaced on the 12th November 1984 (how time flies 26 years ago!) and replaced by the coins we see today.

I can remember the old £1 note as can my children but none could remember the 10 shilling (Ten bob note) a rusty red colour.

Smoking Ban in the home

The chief medical officer said children should be protected from second-hand smoke in cars and that the smoking ban should be extended to the home to protect children from second-hand smoke.
Oh I can just see the Wayne’s and Waynette’s of the UK sink estates standing outside their homes smoking.
I’d laugh out loud.
And who is to enforce this?

Urbanisation Debt

Our Urbanisation, like all those in Spain have to have by law a Committee. One of their tasks is to set a local tax to pay for urbanisation services, electricity, maintenance, community pool etc.
Our urbanisation has set a levy of 300 Eros a year, this has not changed for the 5 years the urbanisation has been in existence. However, villa owners are failing to pay, for whatever reason and their debt to the community is now 16,500 euros.
Time for the Bailiffs me thinks!

Adios Spain

A friend of mine who I first met on my first day in Spain is leaving and going back to the UK after 5 years in Spain. He has worked hard but has, eventually, had to succumb to the economic realities of Spanish life.
It is hard enough trying to make a living being Spanish at the moment never mind an ex-pat. You need deep pockets and patience to succeed, or to duck and dive and avoid taxes.
KL was legit, but, could not survive. He is off to start a new job in the UK and taking his family with him.
Adios KM, I will miss you.

Weather in Spain 1st November–7th November 2010

Monday: Overcast day with sunny spells. Strong wind kept the temp down to 20C. Cool overnight with a temp of 15C.
Tuesday: A warm and sunny day . Temp of 21C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 17C. 
Wednesday: Very warm and sunny. Temp of 26C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 18C.
Thursday: A warm and sunny day with a temp of 21C. Colder overnight with a temp of 14C.
Friday: Overcast day with sunny intervals. Temp of 19C. Overnight temp of 15C.
Saturday: Sunny and warm with a temp to 23C. Overnight temp of 18C.
Sunday: Overcast start with a sunny day later. Temp of 20C. Overnight temp of 16C.

Gold in them there seas!

Spain has decided to send an armada into the waters around its coasts to seek out hundreds of shipwrecks in an attempt to head off a US marine exploration firm accused of plundering Spanish property from the seabed.
More than 100 suspected shipwrecks have been located by the Spanish navy in the Gulf of Cádiz, considered one of the world's richest hunting grounds for underwater treasure. Most are Spanish galleons returning from the colonies in South America believed to have sunk in waters around Cádiz.
Three Spanish navy vessels are devoting two months to the project, which will end in mid-November. Spain's navy said it had recovered evidence from potential wreck sites which was being analysed by archaeologists.
Spain wants to avoid a repeat of the saga that began in 2007 when the US firm salvaged an estimated $500m (£314m) in silver coins and artefacts from what Spain claims was a Spanish galleon. The treasure was landed at Gibraltar and then flown out to the USA. A US court ruled last year that the find belongs to Spain, but the firm appealed and still has the treasure.

LFC BOY

How did the Lady of the Villa miss this as a Christmas present for me!
This football-themed licence plate sold at a recent auction for £2,606. It's a great plate. Having it would have been a real bit of fun. For any Liverpool FC supporter.
But then I could only use it, legally, for a maximum of 6 months in Spain.

Scally done Good

Ricky Tomlinson donated £1m to a Liverpool charity 2 years ago and its just come out.

Ricky Tomlinson has said he will not be commenting publicly about the donation

The children's charity provides overnight accommodation for families of patients staying at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. The donation has helped fund a new £1.5m unit for 15 families who need to stay for more than six months.The charity currently provides accommodation for 69 parents and families.

A true Socialist, a true Scouser and a funny guy. Defo a scally done good!

I Love a curry

I love a good curry, as does the Lady of the villa, and I am always trying out variations of my recipes. That is until recently.
I stumbled across, what I feel, is the best curry recipe sit on the Internet. A boast, I know, but, I have been using this site for a year now and I have yet to have a failure.
It cost a small, it is small, registration fee for all the recipes, but has a few taster recipes to try for free.
Can’t fault it. Cant recommend it more.
The site is www.curryhouse.co.uk

What are Banks for?

I think that the Banks have learnt a valuable lesson in the last Banking crisis; that imprudent lending does not pay.
The banks lent to Companies and individuals almost on demand. Granting loans for property development as if property always goes up. They gave mortgages to a multiple of several times applicants' income, and to a value greater than that of the home they sought to buy.
The credit crunch is some two years behind us and the danger is that the banks are too cautious. Banks need to be less exploitative with would-be borrowers. Of cause lending must be to creditworthy individuals and businesses, it must be prudent and it must not expose borrowers to unsustainable levels of debt. At one time, this would have been self-evident.
There is a different kind of pressure on the banks now to offer loans to more small businesses and individuals including first-time home buyers, otherwise what are banks for?

Foreclosures in Spain

As a member of our Urbanisation committee, we have just been informed that two more owners of properties on the Urbanisation are having the properties siezed by the banks for non payment of mortgages.This takes the total to 5. It made me look into this a little bit more.
An estimated 1.4 million people in Spain are facing potential foreclosure proceedings, according to Spain’s consumer protection association, known as the Adicae.
Recent figures from the courts show that the numbers are rising fast. In 2007, there were just 26,000 foreclosures. Last year, there were more than 93,000. Early indications suggest that they will be higher again in 2010.
A recent Standard & Poor’s report found that 8 per cent of Spain’s housing is now worth less than the value of the mortgage, and with prices continuing to fall, experts believe, that figure could rise to 20 per cent.

Books Read in October 2010

Dark Fire. C J Sansom. Having a passing interest in historical fiction and I enjoy a gripping mystery replete with twists and turns so I really enjoyed this book. C.J. Sansom's Shardlake is my sort of character, a little on the obvious side, with his pure heart and indefatigability overcoming the constraints of his flawed physical being (he's a hunchback lawyer). Still, it's impossible not to become enthralled by this tale of political intrigue and murder with its adroit descriptions of the machinations of the nobility, corrupt lawyers and officials, and vivid portrayal of the sights and sounds of Tudor London. I can’t wait for the next one. 4 Stars.

Dead Souls. Ian Rankin. Another in the Rebus series, not as good as previous ones, but still thrilling. Multiple stories all coming together around Inspector Rebus a Paedophile ring, a murderer deported from the USA, a policeman’s suicide, and a missing person. All take up Rebus’s skills as a detective to solve, with more glimpses of Rebus’s past life. The hard drinking detective moves through Edinburgh slowly pulling all the threads together and getting knifed for his troubles. 3.5 Stars.

The Associate. John Grisham. I do like the way John Grisham tells a story. This one has Kyle McAvoy, top law student at Harvard being blackmailed to join a top New York Law firm and steal papers on a case between two American firms building the next B Bomber for the US government. Espionage, Law, murder, and a rape case all intermingle in this finely told story. 4 Stars.
Set in Darkness. Ian Rankin. Next book in the Rebus series. Rankin loves these multiple crimes intermingling and sometimes confusing the story. This has rape, murder, old and a new crimes, corruption in the Edinburgh council and a peeping tom. This together with gangster rivalry and the sudden release of Big Ger gave the novel a racy pace. Loved it and could not put it down. 4.5 Stars.

Weather in Spain 25th October - 31st October 2010

Monday: Cloudy day with sunny spells. Strong wind kept the temp down to 20C. Cool overnight with a temp of 17C.
Tuesday: A warm and sunny day . Temp of 23C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 19C. 
Wednesday: Very warm and sunny. Temp of 26C. Overnight temp of 20C.
Thursday: Overcast day with sunny spells. Temp of 21C. Cool overnight with a temp of 17C.
Friday: Warm and sunny with a temp of 22C. cold overnight with a temp of 15C.
Saturday: Overcast with a temp to 19C. Overnight rain brought temp down to 12C.
Sunday: Early rain gave way to an overcast start with a sunny day later. Temp of 20C. Overnight temp of 15C.