You Could Not Make this Up! (1)

A Spanish politician (far right) has said he was shocked to find out the FBI had used his photo for a digitally-altered image showing how Osama Bin Laden might look (middle).
Gaspar Llamazares said he would no longer feel safe travelling to the US after his hair and parts of his face appeared on a most-wanted poster. He said the use of a real person for the mocked-up image was "shameless".
The FBI admitted a forensic artist had obtained certain facial features "from a photograph he found on the internet".
The digitally-altered photos of the al-Qaeda leader, showing how he might look now, aged 52, were published on the state department's Rewards for Justice website on Friday.
Officials said they had adapted a 1998 file image to take account of a decade's worth of ageing, and possible changes to facial hair.

Owning a Spanish Property - 2

 Owning a property in Spain is much different to owning a property in the UK. As well as Council Tax all owners/renters of property in Spain have to pay a community charge or fee. Some owners are loath to pay the Communities Fee, arguing they do not use the dwelling full time, or that they want to sell it or do not see why they should pay. This is not a valid excuse.

Under Spanish Law (The law of Horizontal Property) applies to all dwellings and premises, whether they are used or not, furnished or not, all owners must pay their part of the expenses for the maintenance and administration of the common elements. The Annual General Meeting of the owners decides the budget for the Community and how and when the money must be paid.

The law makes it easy for the ‘officers’ of the Community to take action against owners not paying their share of the common expenses. If the ‘Community officers’ have followed the law when it comes to the General Meeting, and specifically the decision to take legal action against the non-payers, a judge may, without delay, pass a decision to put a restraint (embargo) on the property, which will eventually lead to it be sold at public auction to recover the debts.

The community of property owners have to employ an Administrator. He will normally have a proper office with a secretary. He will look after all the legal aspects of running the community to make sure everything complies with the Law concerning Spanish properties, how they are divided, managed, and run. Commonly owned real estate in Spain is very closely governed by law, and his job is therefore pretty important. He will hold all the legal documents relating to the Constitution of the Community. He will also have the keys to all public and utility access points.

He is also legally responsible for the collection of the Community Charge. His obligation is defined under Spanish law to take bad payers to court to recover any outstanding amounts. This process is rapid and effective, and will leave the debtor with an extra bill for costs. So it is most important that Owners arrange to make these payments automatically on direct debit.

Recession - Unemployment

Jobs and growth top Spain's agenda as the EU struggles to recover from the global economic crisis.

Spain's unemployment rate has doubled in the past two years. The rate hit 20.2% in December - the worst figure in the 16-nation euro zone and the second highest rate in the EU behind Latvia. 

Last Ferry to Bilbao

 A P&O ferry service to Spain operating from Portsmouth is to be withdrawn due to "unsustainable" losses, putting 252 jobs at risk. The Pride of Bilbao's final crossing to Bilbao - which P&O Ferries has operated for 15 years - will take place on 27 September, the firm said.

The 252 employees, including 130 agency workers, all work on the vessel. Twelve others work on shore in Bilbao.

TV in Spain - 1

When we first arrived in Spain we obtained TV channels through a company called Telemicro. They transmitted using microwave and we had a receiver fitted and we got all BBC, all ITV and by paying 125 Euros a year most Sky channels including Sky Sports. Sorted. Well we thought sorted!

Just after our renewal for the second year they were taken off the air. Telemicro ceased trading following raids by the police. New Spanish legislation prevented re-broadcasting of TV channels hence the shut down. The microwave antennas along the coast and re-broadcasting systems have been removed. The system was useless. I must stress here that this was not just a Telemicro problem it applied to ALL companies re-transmitting English programmes. .

On further investigation by the Guardia Civil the company was accused of claiming they only had 17000 clients instead of 60,000 they actually had and not declaring their profits to the tax man. Fourteen people have been arrested. The court case is expected next year.

This scared all the other re-broadcasting companies who soon got their act together and for a time SKY disappeared altogether. Now they charge a lot more but use feeds (in English) from the Middle East.

In the meantime a booming industry in satellite dishes started. The dishes had to be 1.9 meters in size as the signal was weak and legitimately you could only get all the freesat channels as it is illegal for Sky to provide the Sky boxes and cards in Spain. However, just like any other ‘black market’ it is possible to get a sky box and card, just don’t ask too many questions and be prepared to lose the channels at no notice.

Two problems for me here. One the Lady of the Villa would not have such a large dish in her garden. And two our main TV, an original 8 year old plasma TV packed in. Although I had another TV I could use it was the lack of space for a dish that was my major issue.

So for the last 18 months we have been without a TV. To be honest I have not missed it much. Any sport I wanted to watch could be found in the bars in the area. My buying of books increased and we watched DVD series (West Wing, The Soprano’s, Benidorm, and Mad Men) instead.

Just before Christmas our plasma TV packed in. We had had it for about 8 years, so we had to use our back up. An old (12 years) tube one, it was situated in the lower part of the house and much to heavy to move to the middle lounge.

How Spain Copes with Snow

Ice, snow and high winds continue to sweep across the whole of Spain, and traffic remains disturbed in the north and in mountainous areas.

Thousands of children were unable to go to school in Catalunya, the Comunidad Valenciana and other parts of the country as winds reached 100 kilometres per hour in Mallorca, and in the region of Aragón.

Temperatures on the Mediterranean coast fell to 2ºC over the last few days, and dropped into minus figures during the night – at a time of year when this area usually sees temperatures of between 12ºC and 17ºC in the daytime.

Spain remains braced for snow with temperatures falling to below zero in many parts of the country. Roads, trains and airports are all expected to be affected, and the Ministry for Development has 405 snow ploughs at the ready and a workforce of 1,600 and 3,272 tons of salt. The Ministry has a budget of 55.2million dedicated to snow clearing this winter.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency has put the provinces of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, Tarragona, A Coruña, Lugo, Asturias and Cantabria on orange alert for low temperatures and heavy snow, while 13 more in the regions of Aragón, Comunidad Valenciana, Castilla-La Mancha, País Vasco, Madrid and Navarra are on yellow alert for the same reason.

AENA the Spanish airports authority, say they have 80 snow and ice removing vehicles in operation across the country, and have extended their de-icing services for planes which need technical assistance on the ground.

Not This year

Never been. Not going this year.
Liverpool 1 Reading 2 (AET)

Survivor Of Two Blasts Dies

The death occurred just over a week ago of a quite remarkable man. Not so much remarkable for what he achieved but because of what he lived through. The man was Tsutomu Yamaguchi who died on the 4th of January this year at the age of 93. What was remarkable about this man was that he was one of the few people who experienced and lived through both of the atomic bombs that were dropped and exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

An employee of giant Japanese firm Mitsubishi, he had been working in the city of Hiroshima and was about to leave when the Americans dropped the first bomb on August 6th 1945. He was three kilometres away from the centre of the blast but despite losing his hearing with ruptured eardrums, being temporarily blinded and badly burnt he managed to make his way to Nagasaki which was his home town.

He was based there and went into work on the morning of August 9th 1945. As he was travelling he was conscious of an intense flash which was the explosion of the second atomic bomb dropped over Nagasaki. Once again Tsutomu was only three kilometres from the epicenter of the blast but survived.

Initially he was only officially recognised as a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing and went on to become a teacher. He applied to the Japanese government for recognition as a survivor of the Hiroshima blast as well, as recently as January last year. This he was granted in March 2009 making him the only person officially recognised as being a victim of both bombs.

Tsutomu died of stomach cancer but it was unclear whether it was directly linked to his exposures to the two nuclear blasts.

No Body Scanners in Spain

‘NO’ TO BODY SCANNERS AT SPANISH AIRPORTS

The Spanish government has dismissed the idea of using whole body scanners at Spanish airports, at least until there is an EU-wide agreement on the matter.

Spain’s Development Minister, José Blanco, said that the Spanish Government would not be taking additional measures in airport security until the EU was in agreement, but it would follow the request made by the United States to tighten controls on flights heading there.

He went on to say that the cabinet was debating how to make the freedom and privacy of passengers compatible with security, calling for a period of reflection on the use of such body scanners.

Bomb hoax thats no Joke

You may have seen in the News recently about the three guys who were arrested on a flight to Dubai. It must have been a shock to the system to them (good) but also to the other passengers who were delayed (bad). The lady of the Villa and I had something similar happen on a flight to Spain.

We had an afternoon flight from Liverpool and we were just about to sit on the plane when we had to get off. Some idiot on our incoming flight decided to leave a note to the effect there was a bomb on the plane and an oncoming passenger (i.e. one of us) was going to detonate it.

It being a Ryanair flight obviously there was no record of who sat on that seat and by the time the staff came across the letter all incoming flight passengers were well on their way out of the airport. The effect on us was a cancelled flight (obviously) but also we all had to be held in a secure area in the airport for 5 hours whilst they did background checks on all passengers to see if there was anyone on their lists!

This all wouldn’t have been so bad but the airport decided not to tell us the truth about the situation and kept spinning us the “story” that the weather was bad. This was not true as all other flights were happily landing and taking off around us!!

Anyway, we finally got on our way the following morning – luckily our apartment in the UK isn’t far from the airport so it was a taxi ride back after they finally let us go. Others less fortunate spent a cold night at the airport. The people in Spain waiting for our flight were also affected. All because of a stupid prank.

Next day the plane was still late by an hour as they would not let us use the original plane and we had to wait for another to come in.

Owning a Property 1 (its a bit long)

Owning a Property in Spain is much different than owning one in the UK. Among the many differences is the Neighbours Committee and the Community Fees

Any property in Spain which is covered by the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal is obliged by Spanish law to have a Neighbour’s Committee. This idea usually starts the alarm bells ringing for many expats, so this blog is to clarify some legal and practical aspects. This same Law, the Horizontal Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal), very closely controls how the committee is to carry out its duties.

Any property that forms part of a communal Spanish real estate ‘whole’ and that is divided between various owners or an urbanisation with external limits and some common areas such as a swimming pool, like most Spanish properties, then the law applies to those properties.

What does the Committee do?

One of the most important functions of the Committee is to fix the budget of community costs for the coming year for the common property, and from there organise, yearly or half yearly quotas for which each household will have to pay maintenance of the property and services.

Another function is to set the rules of the community and enforce them. This is where many people feel they are being dictated to. But the idea is to avoid friction between neighbours before it starts by setting some agreed guidelines and limits. The scope of action here is wide, here are a few aspects of the property requiring coordination:

swimming pool rules,
parking,
cleaning,
External appearance of the property. (Town Halls like properties in Spain to ‘co-ordinate’ as much as possible. Very appearance-conscious people, the Spanish)
Structural work,
noise,
pets,
security

Who makes up the committee?

A committee is usually composed of a Community President, Vice president, Secretary and a number of ordinary members. All of these are elected by the property owners from among the property owners themselves. All the property owners have the right to a vote, providing they are fully paid up. One household: one vote, Elections normally occur once per year.

Electing The Community President

Elected at the AGM, either by vote as per the rest of the committee; or s/he can also be determined by literal ‘luck-of-the-draw’ (the Spanish love their lotteries), or by rotation. This means that you could be obliged to be the Community president for a year whether you want it or not! And it is not easy to get out of this either.

This post can be a time consuming and unappreciated, thankless job. This person is also, at the end of the day, the legal representative of the community of property owners. He will also normally be the official key holder.

The Committee:-What are the committee’s obligations and rights?

Basically, they are there to ensure the smooth running of the community of property owners by:
Implementing decisions taken at meetings.

Agreeing budgetary expenditures. The annual budget.
Ensuring that the Administrator is doing his duty.
Making decisions on day to day issues that come to their attention.
Organising extraordinary general meetings when needed.
Informing other property owners of important decisions or changes that have to be made.
If necessary, using legal channels to enforce commonly agreed rules.

This means they have to organise committee meetings on a regular basis, and make decisions that can sometimes be difficult. They are governed by two sets of rules. The obligatory statutes and the Internal Community Rules, which basically means the general consensus decisions of the community.

Who is the Administrator, and what are his duties and obligations?

This person is a professional who should belong to the College of Administrators (Colegio de Administradores de Fincas Rústicas y Urbanas). He will therefore be able to give you his College (colegiado) number. This means he is trained and qualified to administrate property in Spain, or Spanish real estate of any kind. But his main source of income is usually from acting as the official Administrator for a number of neighbourhood committees.

He will normally have his own office and secretary, etc. He is elected on a yearly basis at the same time as the committee of the Community. His role is to help the committee realise its functions correctly and legally. He does this by:
Attending all the meetings (as far as possible) and advising on legal aspects of decisions.
Managing the bank accounts.
Balancing the community accounts; receipts and outgoings.
Issuing the end of year financial statement.
Other financial functions such as getting quotes from suppliers.
Issuing invoices.
Charging the quotas from the property owners.
Chasing bad debts. etc.
Other administrative duties such as making sure information, such as the Internal Rules (Régimen Intern) are available for all households.
Making sure general and extraordinary meetings are notified correctly and legally to all householders, including those who are not resident, because their Spanish property is just for summer use or rent.

He is often a key holder for all general doors and gates and for access to such areas as electric, gas, water, telephone meters, community water supply areas, television cable distribution points. etc.
He will oversee any work being carried out for the community property.
He is also a useful focal point when a property owner needs some help or advice, particularly if the president is not available.

Meetings, Annual General Meetings (AGMs) - Extraordinary and Ordinary

AGMs must be held at least once a year. Notice of the meeting is sent to property owners in Spain or overseas and must arrive a minimum of 6 days in advance
Extraordinary meetings require the same rules as the AGMs (except, of course, the bit about ‘once a year’)

There must be an agenda sent with the notice. This agenda must include voting-in of the committee members and, if applicable, nomination of the president. The agenda must include election of the Administrator. Remember, this post is in effect a contract for one year between the Administrator and the Community.

Voting at the AGM and other general meetings

Each item is voted by raised hands when the president or Administrator decides that enough time for discussion has been allowed. Straight majority wins. If you cannot be present, you should send your proxy vote to another resident of the community or the Administrator before the date of the meeting.
The Community president presides this meeting, but in practice it is usually the Administrator who runs it, because he has the experience and know-how. However he must back down if the Community president insists on presiding the meeting.
You cannot vote after the meeting. The law does not allow for a meditation period. All votes must be counted at the meeting itself. The meeting sometimes decides to postpone a vote to the next meeting if consensus is not reached.

A reasonably short time after the meeting, a summary of the meeting and decisions taken will be sent to all the property owners so they know what the majority want them to do, or not do, with their little piece of Spanish real estate.

What are the Community Fees?

The Community Fees, (el pago de la comunidad) are twice yearly, according to the Community Statutes. They are the payments made by each household to comply with the Budget.
An important point for buyers of second hand Spanish real estate is to check that the property they are about to sign for has la comunidad fully paid to date. This is one of those transferable debts. It comes with the property itself, and will fall to the new owner, to pay any outstanding amounts!

The Budget (Presupuesto) is the estimated costs for the coming year for the whole community. The money goes to pay a number of things. But generally we can say that the budget covers

the commonly owned real estate has to be lighted, maintained, and cleaned
Pools have to be looked after.
Electric and water bills etc have to be paid.
The Administrator costs

Resident’s debts on costs

Owners should arrange the correct and prompt payment of the Community Fees. Spanish Law has fixed that this must be paid within a reasonably short period. Non-payment is taken to court very quickly and is treated as a priority case. If non payment continues, then the court can issue an embargo on your property against payment, and will add all sorts of costs on top!

This means that you must make arrangements with your bank about payment of the Community Charge if you plan to be absent from your Spanish property for any length of time. It also means that you would be ill-advised to withhold payment because you have an unresolved dispute with the community.

How can I become a member of the committee?

Make some friends before the general meeting.
Be bold. Put yourself forward. Nobody is going to suggest you.
Remember that you cannot stand for any post if you are not physically present at the meeting.

Re-election is fine, unless the internal rules do not permit it. This is often the case with the Community president, who is usually replaced each year. Administrators are almost always re-elected, unless they have done a really bad job.

Weather Week 1 2010

Weather in Spain Week 1 2010

Monday 4/1 Overcast day with slight rain overnight. Did not rain during day but always looked like it would. Temp was 14C. Overnight was cold with no cloud. Temp was 4C.

Tuesday 5/1 Foggy and Misty start, with the sun trying to beak through and succeeding before noon. Showered for an hour or so but the rest of day was sunny. Temp was 14C. Overnight was cold and clear 2C.

Wednesday 6/1 A Bright and Sunny Day. Temp 17C. Overnight it rained steadily 5C.

Thursday 7/1 Rained all morning and afternoon. Temp was 9C. Overnight was cold and overcast 2C.

Friday 8/1 Overcast both morning and afternoon with a cold stiff wind from the north. Temp 8C. Overnight was cold and windy 2C.

Saturday 9/1 Bright and Sunny but with a bitterly cold north wind. Temp was 5C.but with that wind it felt 0C. Coldest day I have had in Spain. Overnight was cold and clear 1C.

Sunday 10/1 Bright and Sunny but cold again. Temp was 5C.but no wind today. Overnight was cold and clear 2C.

For an advanced forecast in the are I live in see http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/europe_forecast_7days.asp?locationID=3222 which is Mercia Airport, our nearest point on this site

Give us our Bread

Once a week I make bread. Here is this weeks offering. Why four loaves? Because I only have 4 tins and under normal circumstances only myself and the Lady of the Villa are in residence and 4 loaves lasts the whole week. When friends and relatives arrive baking days increase to two or even three a week. The whole process takes about 3 hours including baking and waiting for the bread to rise.

Here is the recipe for 1 of the loaves in the picture.

Ingredients

200g/7oz whole milk, at room temperature
150ml/5½ fl oz water, at room temperature
2 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled
200g/7oz plain white flour
300g/10½oz strong white flour
1½ tsp fine sea salt
olive oil, for greasing
flour, for dusting

Method

1. Place the milk and water into a bowl. Add the yeast and whisk gently until dissolved.
2. Place the flours and salt into a clean bowl and mix together well.
3. Add the milk, water and yeast solution and mix together until it starts to come together as a sticky, cohesive dough, then cover and leave for 10 minutes.
4. Turn on to a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
5. Put in a clean bowl and cover. Stand in a warm place for 1 hour to rise.
6. Shape each into a ball and leave, covered, on a flat, floured surface for five minutes.
7. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly grease a 1kg/2¼lb bread tin.
8. Turn each ball on to work surface and knead for 5-10 minutes.
9. Shape the dough into a long French sticks and place it onto a flour-dusted baking sheet OR shape the dough into loaf shape to fit the tin.
10. Cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rise back up again, about 15 minutes.
11. Bake in the oven until golden and risen, about 30-40 minutes.
12. The base of the loaf should sound hollow when you tap it. Turn on to a wire rack to cool.

Spain Win and England Lose

Andy Murray and Laura Robson beaten in Hopman Cup final

British duo Andy Murray and Laura Robson were beaten 2-1 by Spain in the final of the Hopman Cup in Perth. Robson, 15, stunned world number 26 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1 7-6 (8-6) to win the ladies singles. But world number four Murray was beaten 6-1 4-6 3-6 by Tommy Robredo as Spain leveled the tie at 1-1.

Murray and Robson then let slip three set points in the opening set of the decisive mixed doubles as the Spanish pair won 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.

Afterwards, Murray took the blame for the defeat, saying: "I'd like to thank my partner for playing with me. I kind of let her down a bit, so I feel bad about that."

Profile of Spain

I have already posted an entry or two about Spain and I was about to do another when I realized that I really should start from the beginning. Before we decided on Spain we did some research into the country, more detailed than below. But it should give some idea of the country.

Profile of Spain

Located at the crossroads of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Europe and Africa, Spain's history and culture are made up of a mixture of diverse elements. Through exploration and conquest, Spain became a world power in the 16th century, and it maintained a vast overseas empire until the early 19th century.

Spain's modern history is marked by the bitterly fought Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, and the ensuing 36-year dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. After Franco's death in 1975, Spain made the transition to a democratic state and built a successful economy, with King Juan Carlos as head of state.

The constitution of 1978 enshrines respect for linguistic and cultural diversity within a united Spain. The country is divided into 17 regions which all have their own directly elected authorities.

The level of autonomy afforded to each region is far from uniform. For example, Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia have special status with their own language and other rights. Andalucía, Navarre, Valencia and the Canaries in turn have more extensive powers than some other regions. Asturias and Aragon have taken steps to consolidate language rights.

In 2006 a Catalan referendum backed by the central government gave the region greater autonomy. The Catalans won nation status within Spain and the region's parliament gained extra powers in taxation and judicial matters. The country's regional picture is a complex and evolving one.

One of Spain's most serious domestic issues has been tension in the northern Basque region. A violent campaign by the Basque separatist group ETA has led to nearly 850 deaths over the past four decades. Eta declared a ceasefire in March 2006 saying it wished to see the start of a democratic process for the Basque region. The move divided opinion in Spain.

Tentative moves to negotiate a lasting peace were dealt a blow when Eta carried out a deadly bomb attack at Madrid's international airport at the end of the year. On 6 June 2007 Eta announced the end of its ceasefire, saying that "minimum conditions for continuing negotiations do not exist."

Spain shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal and its territory includes the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and two North African enclaves. From Velazquez in the seventeenth century, through Goya straddling the eighteenth and nineteenth, to Picasso in the twentieth, Spain has the proudest of traditions in art. Flamenco music and dance are widely admired around the world while Cervantes' novel Don Quixote is one of the most popular ever written.

Facts

Full name: Kingdom of Spain

Population: 45 million (UN 2009)

Capital: Madrid

Area: 505,988 sq km (195,363 sq miles)

Major languages: Spanish (Castilian), Catalan and its variant Valencian, Gallego (Galician), Euskera (Basque)

Major religion: Christianity

Life expectancy: 78 years (men), 84 years (women) (UN)

Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents

Leaders

Head of state: King Juan Carlos I .Spaniards honour King Juan Carlos for ensuring the country's transition to democracy after the death of the former dictator, General Franco, and for saving Spain from a coup attempt in 1981.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has been in office since 2004, led his governing Socialist Workers' Party to another victory in elections in March 2008.

Spains Unemployment

Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the eurozone at 19.4%

Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro hit 10% in November for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999.The unemployment rate in the eurozone is now at its highest level since August 1998.

Some 15.7 million people are out of work in the eurozone. Across all 27 countries that make up the EU, there are 22.9 million people unemployed. The jobless rate rose to 9.5% in November from 9.4% in October. Compared with a year ago, all EU member states recorded an increase in their unemployment rate.

Spain continues to have the highest rate in the eurozone - rising to 19.4% in November from 19.3% the previous month.

Only three eurozone countries are still in recession - Spain, Greece and Cyprus.

Monarch or Ryanair

Both Ryanair and Monarch have been in the news recently. Ryanair criticised By the Office of Fair Trading for being "puerile" and "childish" over parts of its charging policy.

The OFT attacks the company for fees that can be added when customers pay by card online. They also questions the automatic addition of insurance to flights, unless customers opt out, calling it a legal "grey area". Ryanair advertises taxes and other fees upfront but only mentions charges for paying by plastic at the end of booking, on the grounds that customers could escape the fee by using an obscure prepaid card

Meanwhile Monarch and Paddy Power in betting row. Monarch Airlines has hit back at bookmaker Paddy Power for running a book suggesting it could be the next carrier to collapse. The bookmaker has slashed its odds on Monarch being the next airline to go bust from 50-1 to 4-1 after taking more than 100 bets over Christmas.

I have used both, Monarch from Manchester when will lived in Greater Manchester area and Ryanair now that we have a UK base in Liverpool. I much prefer Monarch for the flying experience although Ryanair is cheaper. Both flew from Manchester to Spain but I always went with Monarch. Now Liverpool is the closest I have to go Ryanair. Providing you uncheck the insurance box, travel with no hold luggage, don’t buy anything on board and ignore the staff it is an OK ride.

I only wish Monarch flew from Liverpool

Pool Leak Rectified

The leaking pool has been rectified.

Although I had called out a specialist pool firm, they never responded and I am still waiting. However, the Lady of the Villa (who for the duration of this blog will be called Stupid Pool Girl) and I investigated.

We found that the pool leaked but we could not find anywhere around the house were water had collected or left a trail. We opened up the pool equipment box (see photo) and discovered that the Stupid Pool Girl when she cleaned the pool last (which was just before we left for the UK in December) had left the Fondo (or Drain) tap partially open. The tap is the second on the left.

We closed it and waited another 24 hours. The leak had stopped. We now await our next water bill hoping it is less than the 200 Euros the Stupid Pool Girl has estimated it has cost!

Carling Cup Games Off

I see that both Carling Cup games are postponed due to the bad weather. Not because the pitches are unplayable but the roads around the grounds is a danger to spectators.

Years ago you would get to a game only to find the pitch is unplayable. The football administrators spent a fortune on grounds to install underground heating so that games could go on and the money roll in.

Now they find and the fans find that the councils don’t keep the roads clear anymore due to lack of salt or is that lack of funds or lack of foresight?

6th January

Today, in Spain, it is The Day of the Kings or All Kings Day and it’s a Bank Holiday. Unlike the UK in Spain everywhere is closed. The Banks, the Supermarkets, Small and large stores, Petrol Stations, you name it is closed, by law.

The only places open are bars and restaurants, after all why be off for the day and you can’t have a drink or a meal with your friends or family.

Not stupid the Spanish.

In the UK it is time to take down your Christmas decorations.