It has just been announced that unemployment in Spain has reached 5.4 million people, amounting to an unemployment rate in Spain of 22.9% – some 400,000 people more than during the third quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, 48.6% of Spain’s 16-24 year olds have no work, creating a living tragedy and a ‘lost’ generation. Can anyone be surprised by this horrendous [...]
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 [...]
Is the euro bouncing back – or set to meltdown? In the past fortnight the pound and US dollar hit 12 month highs against the euro, reaching 1.21 and 0.79 respectively. Since then the euro has clawed back ground. But is this the start of euro resurgence, or a last gasp – preceding terminal decline? Watching the crisis in Europe play [...]
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 [...]
A fascinating article was published by El Pais a few days ago, which should be required reading for anyone living in the Valencian Region (as I do). It confirms, of course, what most commentators have suspected for years and is a powerful and stinging attack upon politicians within the Valencia Region, albeit from a left of centre newspaper. However, the [...]
Are you trying to sell your property in La Safor? Do you have a flat in Gandia or a townhouse near Gandia or a villa on an estate close to Gandia that you want to sell? If you do – then why not list your property in La Safor with Casalasafor, who specialise in selling property around the Gandia area? [...]
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 [...]
Yesterday further problems with Iberia flights were announced which will continue the aggravation caused by the recent Iberia pilot’s strike. Now it is the turn of the ground staff of Iberia, who have voted for an indefinite period of industrial action. From February 3rd stoppages are likely every Monday and Friday – which is, no doubt, convenient for the staff [...]
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 [...]
The British Embassy in Madrid is located within one of the highest skyscrapers in Spain and can be found/contacted as below: Torre Espacio, Paseo de la Castellana 259, 28046 Madrid, Spain Tel no. 917 146 300 Fax 917 146 301 Website: http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/ Opening hours: Monday to Friday 08:30 – 17:00 The Ambassador is currently Giles Paxman – a European affairs specialist. [...]
Legal practice in Spain varies considerably. Some lawyers in Spain are excellent and provide a very professional level of service. However, other lawyers in Spain are poor and act for clients despite an outrageous conflict of interest. This can be exacerbated by a lack of specialist expertise resulting in many lawyers in Spain undertaking just about any type of legal [...]
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 [...]
As an Anglo-Spaniard with a long history of living and working in Spain on and off over the last 40 years, I was keen to read this recently re-published book of Pritchett’s views and opinions about Spain and its people based on the 4 years he spent in Spain in the 1920s and subsequent visits in the 1940s and 50s. [...]
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 [...]
Mijas is one of the most famous traditional “white” villages in Spain and one of the largest municipalities in the Malaga province of Andalucia. The municipality is generally divided into two areas – Mijas pueblo, the capital set high up in the hills and the coastal area of Mijas Costa, which consists of the residential areas of Las Lagunas, Riviera del [...]