Its not who you know its where you live!

Recently we have seen lots of arguments on English language forums re the heating allowance given to British pensions in UK. In case you are unaware once you become a state pensioner, provided you live in UK, you get a winter payment to help with heating. To qualify you MUST be resident in UK when you reach pensionable age. Not quite sure how this rule was reached but that's how it is. As a pensioner myself  I do not qualify under these rules. Well you cannot win them all. I am just pleased to have a pension and to have lived long enough to collect it! Mind you it is a bit nippy at the moment and I am sure the many many forums used by British pensioners living here will have not a few threads running on this issue as heating bills start arriving.  Right now it is a bit nippy but lets face it we know we will get some right hot weather unlike the poor devils in UK. We lived in Scotland for quite a number of years and it was not so unusual to have the heating on at any time of the year. All in all keeping warm in UK is a far more expensive business. So despite the fact we saw market traders in Cieza today lighting fires in makeshift braziers, and a bunch of workman who had stoped for a break and lit a fire on the roadside to keep themselves warm, we will be counting our blessings not our goosebumps.  So chill out
man it will soon be summer.

Behind Locked Doors

Regular readers will know our blog is an eclectic mix of fun, fact and family doings. The subject of today’s blog gave me much food for thought and soul searching so serious is the subject matter. Domestic abuse in Spain, not an easy thing to think or write about.
Last year I met with a most interesting and informative Spanish guy who's partner is a psychiatrist working within the Spanish prison system. Her specialist area of work is domestic violence. We talked , amongst other things, about the subject of domestic violence in Spain. I had thought that the high incident of this awful crime could be due to the historic position of women in Spanish society. Although women have made huge leaps since the Franco days when their place was very much in the home with little or no rights. After discussing the issue I was better informed. There is without doubt an issue of equality for women in Spain but the horrific figures on injured and murdered women cannot be taken at face value. It appears that a high number of these crimes are perpetrated by non spanish nationals.
Tragically we have had this point driven home to us this weekend with a murder suicide in San Fulgencio. It appears a British national has shot his wife as she slept then turned the gun on himself. Two other women where killed in there homes in other parts of Spain this weekend. This is only the tip of the iceberg and I hope and pray that those persons in a position to make a difference to all sufferers of domestic violence, be they men, women or children will take heed and really move heaven and earth to offer protection through prosecution and appropriate sentences as well as counselling and places of safety. Lastly I would like to say behind every headline is a story of personal tragedy, there are family members trying to cope with the horror and grief of what has happened. Our thoughts are with them all. We hope upon hope things will change for the better in the not to distant future.

Alicante airport runs

With the police taking action against illegal taxiing to the airport, they have started to take it too far, people who are just taking or collecting relatives or friends for flights are being stopped and fined up to 3000 euros. The police say it is up to the driver, not the police to prove passengers were not paying fares, and anyone recieving a fine has up to 15 days to appeal. One woman has had to take a written statement from a relative stating that she was not running a taxi service.
As a matter of interest we have contacted the British embassy for some clarification on the situation, but recieved no reply and it appears the British consulate are not interested in the matter.
Its an infringement of human rights when you are scared to go and meet your friends at the airport, and you have to tell them that they will have to pay for a taxi.

Car graveyard

If you need any second hand car parts there is a new car breakers yard that has opened in the yard next to the British Indoor market, this used to be the Gruas,(heavy plant hire yard)They have a large amount and variety of scrap cars in the yard, i got a replacement rear light unit for my Citreon Saxo at a very reasonable price, helpfull and friendly staff as well.

Telemicro update

The Guardia Civil have issued a statement concerning Telemicro Levante, saying that they illegally pirated British TV programmes to re broadcast in Spain, Fourteen people have been arrested. The company has also been accused of claiming they only had 17000 clients instead of 60000 and not declaring their profits to the treasury. The court case is expected next year.

37 million pound tax rebate!

Thousands of British who have sold Spanish property between 2004 and 2006 could get a share of a 37 million pound tax rebate from the Spanish government.
Those who qualify could get 11,000 pounds each, including interest, as a result of the Spanish government claiming too much capital gains tax.
Britons with homes in Spain who sold their properties between March 2004 and December 2006 paid a non-residents’ tax rate of 35% on any capital gains, compared with 15% paid by Spanish nationals. This is against European rules about discrimination.

Weather diary

I have started a new blog "A Brit in Spain weather diary" at http://a-brit-in-spainsweatherdiary.blogspot.com/ or from The Links on this website, i have always found it usefull to be able to look back on what the weather was like for one reason or another and think it may be useful to others. quite often i hear people say things like "its colder than last year" or we dont normally get this much rain in May - well we will be able to refer to the diary in future.

Torrevieja International

As of the beginning of the year Torrevieja´s population stands at 103,154 people registered at the padron. This is the 5th largest population in the Valencian community.
British residents make up 12,675, German 3,750, Moroccan 3,116, Russian 2,985, Swedish 2,720, Columbians 2,563 making a combined total 55,284(53.6%) and Spanish 47,870 (46.7%).
14 of this registered population is over the age of 100, 2 males and 12 females - a reflection of the relaxed lifestyle and healthy mediterannean lifestyle.
Most Spanish will be registered on the padron whereas a lot of international members of the community will not. This means that the actual amount of residents in Torrevieja are far higher than the figures show and that the Spanish population of Torrevieja is far less than the combined international population.