How to keep cool

The hot weather continues and keeping cool can be difficult without useing the air conditioning system,
Here are a few methods you can use,
Hold a cold drink can or bottle on the back of your neck it cools the blood to the brain very quickly.
Wet your wrists and other pulse points with cold water. Use a piece of ice wrapped in a face cloth, to continue after the coolness wears off. Constantly cooling off the wrists will also cool off the body. Never use just ice; make sure it is wrapped in a towel or something similar.
Put on a tee shirt that is has been wet with cold water and wrung out.
If you're in a situation where you can go without clothes, this can be the most comfortable, natural way to stay cool.
Do not use a fan to wave air past your face and neck. Contrary to popular belief, the activity created by waving actually burns calories and raises your core temperature.
Smaller meals with less protein will reduce metabolic heat. Whatever you do eat should be cool and not require heat (or much heat) to be prepared (e.g. salads, sandwiches, etc.) But be sure to eat something, even though the heat might spoil your appetite.
It's no coincidence that many people in hot countries of the world eat spicy food. Spicy (hot to the taste) food increases perspiration which cools the body as it evaporates.

To me its a lot easier to keep cool, than it is to get warm.

Lethal weapon

The ancient replica firearms that are fired at the Moors and Christians festivals all over the Costa Blanca are pretty dangerous, a man had to had three fingers amputated and suffered head injuries when one went off by accident at Elche last Sunday, it was reported other people also recieved injuries, a fractured leg, a sprained ankle, and woman on the fifth floor of an apartment got shrapnel wounds.
Obviously you need more than earplugs at the festivities now, You would be safer with body armour.

Lets Dance

Saturday night a great time was had by all. Fiesta time here in Formentera Del Segura and once again our local ayuntamiento has done us proud. Lots going on for two weeks. On Saturday the excellent band playing in the church square had everyone on their feet. How lovely it was to see young and old alike enjoying the fun well into the early hours of the morning. No police required to keep order, no one drunk, or not noticeably so. Lots of laughter and fun, everyone keeping an eye out for the youngster. Could there be a better place on a barmy evening, I would say not.

New BP garage

The BP garage at the New centro commercial is nearly finished, with a completely different outlay to the original one, incorporated is a "Wild Bean Cafe",Opening date is not yet known. The centro commercial itself is gradually taking shape with the infrastructure in place, on the Rojales side of the roundabout as part of the new complex, a new Police and ambulance station are scheduled to be built.

Telemicro Shutdown

Many people found yesterday that their Telemicro TV service was not working, information so far is that they have been closed down, this may be because of retransmitting Sky, but the word is dont move to another company just yet, because it could happen to them all. See blog 4th June 2008

Feel The Chill

Have you got a Bank account in Spain? I can hear a resounding yes from residents and non residents alike. Well be warned, you must have attached to that account either your residencia number or if you do not live here a non residents certificate (un certificado de no residencia).
Due to an EU ruling on tax evasion measures the Spanish Tax authorities are now taking action to freeze bank accounts without the appropriate paper work. They will place an EMBARGO on such accounts. What this means is no money can be removed from the account. It is likely that the first you would know about this is when your utilities are turned off because standing orders are not paid. It seems that there are so many of these “illegal” accounts that the Tax people feel it is not possible to inform the account holders when action is taken.
British citizens affected by the new regulations seem be to those who live in Spain for less than 180 days and who have not declared their ‘non residence’ with the National Police.
It also seems that the Government is using the legislation as a way to clamp down on illegal immigrants.
It has also been reported that hundreds of Moroccans have been hit by the embargoes and thousands of non-resident workers from North Africa have been drawing money out of banks because they fear their accounts will be blocked.
Embargos are lifted when the paperwork is in place.
Advice given in the English language press is to go to your Town Hall and ask where you can get a non resident certificate if you need one.
More money info: The Suma bills for you local council services are out now for this year. Paying on due dates can save you money.

Bumper to Bumper

As ever last Sunday night saw a big influx of clubbers, most of which arrive by car. It has been quiet for a few weeks as the place to be was wherever a fiesta was happening, but this Sunday it was back to Formentera and its assorted disco bars.
Sitting out enjoying another barmy evening is always entertaining on a busy night. Why is that you might ask, quite simply it is the parking methods these drivers employ.
Now we have a 21 year old car, went through its last ITV (Spanish MOT) no problem, cost 400 euros three years ago, and worth every penny. Some of our neighbours are more up market in the car stakes but we are by no means green eyed with envy. We see some of them nervously hanging over their balustrades come evening, even going out into the street at times. They are playing the mind my car game, which is less interesting to our mind than the find a car with out a dent game.
It seems to us that the norm on parking is find a space, and if its to small nudge the cars at front and rear till you fit in. No honestly, we see it happen all the time. In the space of 5 minutes last Sunday two people got their car dented. Which is why we have, as I said, a 21 year old 400 euro car that’s always parked with the hand brake off. Moral of the story is if you’re coming over and hiring a car pay the extra insurance, you could park a few streets away but I have a strong feeling this particular style of parking is not confined to the disco drivers of this world. Or you could if you have the time and inclination stand guard when the threat is greatest. Didn’t do the guy over the road any good on Sunday, his car got the bump, bump treatment and when challenged the offender just shrugged his shoulders and left.

Earthquake

Early this morning (02:00) we had earth tremors that were reported as 4.2 on the Richter scale, sounding like distant thunder, people at the bar in the square, said they could see the buildings shaking and the seats they were sitting on felt like they were on air, we were asleep and the airbed cushioned the vibrations although it was a wierd feeling. Mary slept through it. There was reported to be 4 separate tremors, with the epicentre near Formentera del Segura, but felt throughout a large area.
Some holidaymakers decided to sleep outside following the event.

Lifes a beach

We had things to take to the SAT charity shop yesterday so we decided to take a stroll along the beach to. A very hot day and the beach was packed. Lots of Madrilènas like to spend a few weeks by the sea and what better place then Guardamar. Its good for the charity shop too and they spend money there. Any way the beach seemed even fuller today as the tide was quite a way in, there is not a lot of tidal difference in the Meditteranean so it’s always a surprise to find it so high up the beach. It’s a strange thing but I have always had a vision of elephants walking through the sea on this beach, Seems I am not as mad as my family think, it appears that this might just be one of my psychic moments as Hannibal was known to have been in the area on route to the alps. Spooky eh?

Back to reality folks. The sea was quite rough so we opted for a dip in the municipal pool. The Guardamar pool is getting on a bit but still a nice place to spend time. Good changing rooms with showers. Lots of grass and shade, three pools and the main one is deep. The café is now open, serving meals too, Menu del Dia perhaps a little expensive at 12 euros but I dare say the new proprietors have had to lay out a mucho dinaro to get it up and running again. I noticed some people had taken picnics for the family. It is great to see such free facilities for locals to use; it certainly keeps the young people occupied and getting some exercise.
All in all with the wonderful beach the reserve, the parks the pool and the sports courts it’s a great place to live or visit.

Big haul for the Guardia

The Guardia Civil made a big haul last week when they boarded a hired yacht 10 miles off the coast of Javea, They found the hold was packed with drugs. They arrested the Spanish skipper and members of crew, and escorted the yacht back to its home port of Alicante. A thorough search revealed 147 bales of Hashish weighing between 4 and 4.5 tonnes. It is thought the yacht called Malta Blue had made a rendevous with another vessel as it had not had time to make a return voyage to North Africa.