I am struck now by how many times I came for my summer holidays in Spain and yet never really took advantage of what was available to me. Like most holidaymakers in Spain I tended to stay around the beach and the restaurants and bars close to where I was staying. Of course, once or twice during our beach holidays [...]
Did you know that there is a really interesting connection between the name España and rabbits – and that the devastating decline of the Iberian Lynx is intimately bound up in both? Well, there are good reasons to believe that the name of Spain (España) derives from the Phoenician word ‘ispanihad’ which evidently means ‘land of rabbits’. This word was [...]
I am faintly amused by the fuss that is being made about the ‘Spanish Revolution’. I say ‘faintly’ because something of importance may actually happen – in which case I may find myself somewhat embarrassed. The thing is that the ‘Spanish Revolution’ (if it can really be called that) is, to my mind, somewhat odd. Politicians in Spain have always [...]
It would appear that the local and regional elections in Spain have resulted in a massive reduction in support for the PSOE (socialist) party – who, it seems, are now not the most voted for party in any region in Spain. This is a huge blow to PSOE Prime Minister Zapatero and a devastating inditement of his policies over the [...]
Yesterday, I met a remarkable man who was an oasis of calm. This was very welcome amidst yesterday’s possible ‘Spanish Revolution’, the ferocious work-up to the local and regional elections in Spain and the seemingly endless accusations from half the Spanish population about corrupt politicians! The ‘oasis of calm’ was Andy Cameron, better known as Andy de Ronda – who [...]
A few days ago I wrote an article here about the general disenchantment of Spaniards with politics in Spain. This had become increasingly apparent to me over the past month or so as the Spanish prepared themselves for the forthcoming local and regional elections in Spain (due to be held on the 22nd May). However, political matters have accelerated considerably [...]
Reading Nick’s article about Spanish olive oil production in Valencia inspired me to describe our own experiences in Andalucia – they could not be more different! My husband and I are two English people making extra-virgin Spanish olive oil in Andalucia. We live on a 22 acre olive farm in the mountains next to the Sierra de las Nieves national [...]
Well, really – what can any of us say? Do you remember last year when the results of the ‘stress’ test of European banks was announced by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS)? To the astonishment of most commentators, only five out of the 27 banks in Spain tested were found to have failed the tests. These were, predictably, Cajas [...]
The local elections in Spain and the elections for the government of many of the autonomous regions of Spain are due to be held on the 22nd May 2011. They are important and, as I have written before, the results of the elections in Spain will have an impact upon everyone’s daily life. This is starkly true of local elections [...]
I had an interesting conversation today about living in Spain – with a removals professional who lives here but who works for one of the biggest removal companies in the UK. What this man had to say was enlightening and (rather gratifyingly!) confirmed what I have written in my book about buying Spanish property and moving to Spain. Worryingly, my [...]
I was interested to read recently a prophetic report by Luis Suaréz (President of the Colegio Oficial de Geólogos (ICOG)) that came out in March of this year – in which he warned that a major earthquake in Spain was overdue. Well, Luis Suaréz’s timing was nothing if not prescient given the earthquake in Spain that occurred on Wednesday May [...]
Have you ever wondered what happens to the olives that you see being shaken off the olive trees of Spain in late autumn? After all, one moment you see them being collected from the ground in nets and then, the next thing that you know – you see Spanish olive oil in the shops ready for you to buy. Well, [...]
One of the problems for anyone thinking of higher education in Spain, whether for themselves or their children is: where to go? After all, it is never easy to find somewhere that combines a user-friendly campus with degree courses that are going to be genuinely useful. Interestingly, the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (Polytechnic University of Valencia) has a campus at [...]
Whoops! I completely missed advising you about a terrific event that was due to occur at the Valencia City of Arts and Sciences during the weekend. This was all the more regrettable – because I had bookedup long before, went myself – and had a fantastic time! During the weekend the Global Champions Tour was run beside the Valencia science [...]
So, the Spanish government is finally on a major push to get foreigners to buy Spanish property! I keep reading about the ‘road show’ that is currently in the UK before it goes off to tour the rest of Europe to publicise the benefits of buying property in Spain. Clearly the Spanish government’s PR machine is working hard to publicise [...]