If you have time free and fancy listening to a rollercoaster tale worthy of an international best seller then you really should drop down to Malaga. This week, a trial started there that is bound to fascinate Spain for the year it is estimated to last. The trial has an incredible 95 defendants – and revolves around Marbella and a [...]
It is, of course, far too early to tell what the consequences of the general strike in Spain will be, as it is happening now… Not least, the truth is difficult to discern from the ‘spin’ of the unions and the Spanish government – and the hype of the media! However, for what it is worth, the majority of people [...]
So, we are only two days away from the general strike in Spain and there are no signs of it being called-off. This means that if you do have travel plans for the day of the general strike in Spain on the 29th September 2010 – then you should be wary of delays and cancellations. As I have stated before, [...]
Of course, everyone has a list of ‘must-see’ cities in Europe – Paris, London, Venice, Budapest, Prague and Krakow being some obvious choices of mine. However, high on my list, is Toledo in Spain. Toledo is, quite simply, sublime! There really is no other word for it. I could try gorgeous or beautiful – but both seem inadequate words to [...]
Oddly enough, Valencia was, for a long time, the ‘forgotten’ city of Spain. Few Europeans knew that it existed and even fewer visited it. This is despite Valencia being the third largest city in Spain, an important port, the capital of the (very large) autonomous region of Valencia and an intrinsic part of the overall culture of Spain. Of course, [...]
I have been looking carefully over the past few days for more information about the general strike in Spain and the more I have looked – the more I have felt that the general strike in Spain is pointless. Not least, it seems to be concealing the problems of Spain – rather than highlighting the real changes that are needed [...]
So, the news today is that the Spanish unions have agreed a minimum services deal with the Spanish government for the general strike in Spain on the 29th September 2010. Evidently (subject to confirmation), the Spanish unions will allow: - 20% of all EU flights and 40% of international flights - 10% of all internal flights. - 50% of all [...]
A couple of weeks ago ETA, one of the last active terrorist groups in Western Europe, announced that it was giving up ‘armed actions’. This, on the face of it, was excellent news. However, to my surprise, it was met with almost universal scepticism in Spain itself. ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) is, of course, a para military organisation based in the [...]
It would seem that I am not the only person perplexed by why a general strike in Spain has been called for Wednesday the 29th September. A recent poll in El Pais (one of Spain’s national newspapers) reckons that only 9% of Spaniards support the strike. This dismal figure, if correct on the day, indicates the curious nature of the [...]
Well, this has been a busy few days! Not only have I been keeping an eye on the terrible fires in Spain (that have caused so much trauma around Valencia Province), but also I have been busy launching my new (and fifth) book. This is called ‘The Secrets to Working and Making a Living in Spain’. I am actually very [...]
I thought that I should give a quick update following my last Post about fires in Spain, in which I described a wild fire that was occurring just the other side of my village. Thankfully the fire is now out but it crossed over the mountainside it had set ablaze and then dropped down into the Barcheta valley causing terrible [...]
Well, there has been great ‘excitement’ (if that is the right word) over the past few hours! At the other side of our pueblo, a wild fire has been blazing away. For hours now there has been the constant drone of planes full of water crossing overhead. These, once they reach the fire, launch themselves at it and water bomb the [...]
I have to say that I have been utterly seduced by Gandia, which is the town in Spain closest to where I live. It is somewhere that has slowly but surely captured my heart – to the extent that I could not envisage living in Spain elsewhere. The odd thing is that Gandia is rather strange! Firstly, the town of [...]