On the 31st May this year, nine men from Paddle4Heroes are going to paddle from Gibraltar to Marbella in Spain by kayak to raise funds for Help for Heroes and a new charity called Families of The Fallen.  Both of these charities should touch the heart of anyone British, as they are at the forefront of helping servicemen and women [...]

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun team (including the lovely Jasmine Harman), who were filming in my area.  They have some house hunters who want to move to the Gandia area, which gave the A Place in the Sun team a reason to come here and their first experience, to the [...]

The Spanish Civil War 1936-39 was a conflict notable for its brutality and for the way it savagely divided Spain.  It resulted, of course, in General Franco’s long dictatorship (which only ended in 1975) and was a defining moment for Spain – the results of which can be felt even now. However, the Civil War in Spain was also notorious [...]

I saw an interesting comment in El Pais recently, which stated that the President of Catalonia, Artur Mas, was justifying significant spending cuts as a way of ‘preventing Madrid from meddling with Catalan finances’.  This would, a colleague said: “blow away our financial autonomy” and “violate the rules of the game set down in the Constitution.” Yes, indeed! However, one [...]

One of the joys of living in Spain for me is my ability to rock climb throughout the year – something that was extremely difficult in the UK, where the weather made almost every trip out a feat of endurance!  This is far from the case when you are climbing on the Costa Blanca when, even in the middle of [...]

Spain is blessed with numerous cities and towns that are veritable treasure chests of cultural gems for the discerning heritage hunter, yet few people would automatically think of Malaga. Indeed, Malaga is best known for being the ‘gateway’ to the Costa Del Sol and its legendary beaches, resorts, late night bars and clubs. As a consequence, few people give Malaga [...]

A few weeks ago I wrote about corruption in Spain – and within days the Spanish news had headlines about the King of Spain’s son in law (the Duke of Palma) being summoned to appear before a judge to answer questions relating to allegations of corruption.  These concern the misuse of public funds given to a foundation that the Duke [...]

A couple of days ago, I had a wonderful day out bird watching in Valencia – something that none of my family thought I would do (let alone enjoy the experience). Well, it was a revelation! Probably like most women, I tend to get caught in the house during the Christmas period, barely able to escape from the constant round [...]

So, 2011 gradually ebbs away – a year that many people in Spain will be pleased to see disappear, hoping that 2012 will herald better times ahead.  Unfortunately, I fear that may not be the case and there are compelling arguments to suggest that 2012 may be more difficult and challenging for Spain than 2011. So, how does one round [...]

Well, I think if I was in Spain in charge of marketing Spanish property to the British (if there is such a person!) then I would probably finally have my head in my hands.  Either that or I would be looking frantically for a wobbly, three legged stool and a short rope. Why? Because the UK press has recently been [...]

  Spain’s capital and its largest city, Madrid is a wonderful place for tourists to enjoy an environmentally friendly trip. The foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama act as a scenic backdrop for this young, dynamic city which has seen huge growth since the end of the Franco period. Madrid has more green surfaces and trees per resident than any [...]

Did you see an interesting article in El Pais a while ago about working in Spain?  The article is fascinating because it illustrates an extraordinary problem and one that you may not necessarily appreciate, least of all if you are thinking of coming to Spain to work. In short, Spain has an ‘over qualified’ workforce – with 31% of Spaniards [...]

Throughout Spain around lunch time, you cannot fail to notice the numerous blackboards outside of restaurants boasting various renditions of the ‘Menu Del Dia’ or Daily Menu.  For those not familiar with the concept, this is a set menu in Spain providing anywhere from two to eight or more choices of ‘primero plato’, (first plate), ‘segundo plato’ (second plate) and [...]