Around and about

LILYDALE LAKE
We have been getting around locally the last few days, have been to a couple of the local shopping centres, the shops are amazing and most things apart from food are cheaper than Spain or the UK, you see very few shops unoccupied and they all seem to be thriving, the savings interest rate here is around 5.75%. so although the global crisis has affected here it appears to be minimal, We have had a stroll round Warrendyte and visited the op shops(charity shops)they have loads of books so we are not short of reading material,not that there is much time....
We went to Lillydale lake and park on Thursday where they have put sandy beaches around the lake and we had a very pleasant swim and a picnic, Its not like Guardamar though.
Last night Mary and myself went to an evening of entertainment in Warrandyte, we were treated to some poetry, Bellydancing, Russian songs accompanied by guitar,Irish drumming, poetry, The Pianola and storytelling, and met some nice people, quite an evening.

Red for Danger

For first time Alicante police imposed the a fine on a swimmer
The new by-law approved by Alicante City Hall last summer makes it an offence to swim on the city’s beaches while the red warning flag is flying, On Tuesday a man swimming on the Playa de San Juan was the first bather to be fined for doing just that.

It happened when Local police were called out to the beach after the man reportedly ignored instructions from Red Cross lifeguards to leave the sea because of the dangers of swimming. A council spokesperson said the objective in such situations is to give a warning rather than issue a fine,however it was the man’s attitude which finally pushed officers to impose a fine. He is reported to have told police that he would swim whenever he liked, as he had been doing for the past 20 years, and that no-one was going to tell him when he could or couldn’t bathe in the sea.

The by-law allows for fines of between 750 to 1,500 €.

Better safe...........

As the school holidays begin in UK we expect to see a few more families coming out for a break, though I have to say its mighty quite to date. It seems a good time to remind people of the dangers of swimming in the sea. There was yet another fatality along the costa, at La Marina beach, a family group went in and one of them lost there life. I do not know what warning flag was flying at the time but I do know how often we see people ignoring warnings. A few days ago the the yellow caution flag was flying and we saw so truly foolish behavior. One mother took her two primary school age children in to the surf on lilos, other even younger children where left to play in the water alone, it takes a second for anyone to fall so what chance would a young child have? In the first week of august last year at least 7 people drown while using the beaches in Spain. It would be a good idea to fine those who enter the sea when the red flag is flying. Why should we have young people working as life guards risking there lives to save those who will not heed the warnings. Last year we witnessed what could have been an appalling tragedy at Guardamamr. A couple walked into the sea with their young children in there arms, it was evening and the life guards where off duty. How luck for this family that all the guards had stayed to play volley ball because the parents could not get out of the water and were in danger of being sweep away. Thank goodness the life guards realized the danger and got them all out of the water. believe me they would have had no chance if help had not been so close at hand.
While we are on the subject its alarming to see how many parents think one life guard at the local pool makes it safe for them to forego any parental responsibility. You get good quality lifeguards and you get bad, would you make a judgment on which is which when a childs life may depend upon it? Please please be careful on the beach and in the pool. Have a good holiday too.
Footnote: Shortly after writing this blog I read in the paper that a 3 year old child had been drown in the municipal pool at Catral. A life guard was on duty and there where many people in the pool but sadly no one noticed until it was to late.

Guardamar sand sculptures

We went for a walk and a beer down to Guardamar last night, the summer market has started to fill up, there are quite a few stalls. The beach was very quietand the sea calm, but i had a bit of a paddle and the sea is warming up, im sure by this time last year i had been in for a swim! The Sand sculptures are in place for the season, the heavy rain yesterday lunch seemed to have missed Guardamar otherwise it would have been a lot of hard work undone.

Guardamar San Juan Bonfires

This San Juan bonfires celebrate the start of the summer, from the 14th June to 24th of June there is a programme of fire jumping, dancing, singing, parades and fireworks with events building up throughout the week, with the finale of the lighting of the giant bonfire. Some events are held on the beach where there is also a midnight swim. A detailed programme is available from the tourist information centre.

Whats happening to the pool?

Workmen have descended upon the la Zenia swimming pool, several tons of sand, gravel and cement have been delivered and a digger and truck arrived this morning, the workmen then proceeded to dig up all the palm trees and took them away. Will update when i get the latest news.

Hurrah it's Summer

The bar next to the swimming pool at the end of the road is open again for the summer, they open at 10:00 in the morning and stay open till about 3:00 the following morning. The drinks are cheap and the beer is cold in ice frosted glasses. It not just a bar but a real social point, its great to see all the nationalities getting together in this open air venue in the square, dominoes, backgammon, cards and Spanish ludo are all available if you fancy a game, sometimes people play petange, which we fancy having a go at, we´ve got the balls.

Palacios Fiesta Weekend

Palacios is the area of Formentera where we live, it is Fiesta Weekend, last year the celebrations consisted of three nights of all night disco music with the usual fireworks.
This year in the square we have a bouncy castle, trampoline and various other entertainment for the kids, this evening there is live music, so it is a lot more appealing for all who live here.
Today is the last day the swimming pool is open this year, i hope they let the water out soon because it is going to be frustrating seeing it there, while it is still so hot.

The Swimming Pool

I´ve mentioned the pool ...It is actually a Municipal pool, the great advantage it is looked after by the Town hall, If it was a community pool the property owners in the community would have to pay for the upkeep, which could be quite expensive over the year, (more than half the owners do not even want to pay their normal community charges) The Community would also have the responsibility of running it, This would mean having a management committee and everything that goes with that!
The disadvantage is that is is only open times the town hall allow that is --- 11.00 A.M to 2.00P.M. and 5.00P.M to 8.00P.M between the months of June and September.
We hardy brits do like to swim earlier and later in the year, but we can always go to the sea.