A little ripple in the tranquil pond

It is alarming to here that two doormen at an Almoradi night club suffered gunshot wounds this week. It appears police have arrested a local Bolivian man in connection with the incident. With so many nightclubs on our doorstep we can only hope it was an isolated incident. Certainly all seem calm at the market today, in fact there was a wonderful atmosphere in and around the market. Sitting in the square watching the world go by was a pleasent way to spent half an hour. We called at the Brit market on the way good to see so many people there and the auction in full swing. Hats off to the women who run this enterprise they are pulling out all the stops to market it work for them and the stall holders. If you want to send a request for the stall holders, just get on to TKO any week day morning between 9 and 12.
We are starting to see a few more holidaymakers around the area now and the weather is really really hoting up. Lots of BBQs on the roof for us now we have the area shaded its perfect helps keep the apartment cooler too, a good tip we learn'nt from our Spanish neighbours.
As for the little local trouble as I said fingers crossed it was just that!

British councillor of San Fulgencio dies

The Town of San Fulgencio , which includes the urbanisition of la Marina, has held two days of official mourning for the late Michael Peter Blake who held a seat on the towns council. Mr. Blake who was 61 died on Tuesday from a brain haemorrhage. He has been praised for his work by the Mayor of San Fulgencio, the Socialist, Senora Trinidad Martínez.
His death leaves the governing group in the town in a minority, and his place on the council will probably be taken by another member of the AIM list – the Mediterranean Independent Association.
The Mayor spoke warmly of Mr.Blake calling him a ‘todo un señor’. (all Gentleman)
It is never easy to stand up and ask the public to give you their confidence and their vote, anyone one who has stood in any kind of election will tell you that. Mr. Blake did this in as an immigrant in this country so was brave indeed. Politics and allegiances are put aside at times like this and i think we would all say RIP Peter whilst also sending our condolences to his family and friends.

Market in the streets,and Guardamar.

Rojales market was always in the Rojales streets untill the new market area/car park by the river was created, but at this time of year for the period of the Moors and Christians it has moved back into the streets again for the next few weeks, many people prefer it and think there is a better atmosphere. It makes it interesting as you have to find your favourite stalls all over again.
Meanwhile at Guardamar Del Segura renovation of the town hall and the streets around it are causing havoc as roads are closed that are normally major routes to the tourist areas and beaches, and it is quite easy to end up on a one way system going the opposite direction to where you want to be. How long this will go on, who knows but what are the town hall officials thinking of, arranging this work at time of year, that there is a major influx of visitors.

Sound travels

photo:typicallyspanish.com
We were sitting on our Solarium last night and heard two muffled explosions, definitely sounded different to fireworks, we wondered what it was and we see on the news this morning that two acetylene bottles exploded in the Ciudad de Asís area of Alicante, the resulting fire closed the railway line and three long distance trains were affected by the stoppage, but the quick action of the firefighters has meant that train services have now returned to normal.

The best Chinese meal

We do love a Chinese meal every so often and there is plenty of choice in the area there are two wok buffets and several other restaurants with Menus. We prefer the Nan King Garden in Benimar, opposite the Dutch butchers, they have air conditioning but we prefer to sit outside and watch the world go by, we nearly always go for the Menu del Dia the price ranging from €4.50 to €7:50 per person, This includes Sangria, prawn crackers, starter, main course(good choice), Coffee or Icecream, included is Half bottle of red or white wine and Shnapps while you are paying the bill.

Centro Commercial

WHERES THE CARREFOUR?
When work first started clearing the area the news was that the commercial centre at Benimar would be finished by the end of 2008. since then the developer has changed and although the infrastructure is in place work has totally stopped. whether the companies who were rumoured to be taking retail space have pulled out,who knows,One thing, at least the street lights are not on at night, whereas at the barren development on the Quesada to Torrevieja road (just outside Quesada)hundreds of street lights are on for no reason whatsoever. What a waste of power.
However work is proceeding on putting the infrastructure in for the residential development between Benimar and Benijofar(near Studz,The pub) so maybe some of the properties have been sold off plan.

Dredging the Segura

Over the past few weeks work has been going on to remove the silt from the River running through the town, they are now working down at the basin near Rojales bridge. to do the job efficiently the river is dammed and trucks bring in dry soil which is mixed with the silt by an excavator and then put back in the trucks to be taken away, It used to get very smelly along this stretch of river so hopefully when it is finished there will not be this problem. The ducks and geese dont look very happy about it and it can only be hoped the fish have all moved upstream.

Auction at the Indoor British market

There is an auction at the Indoor British market every Saturday at 11:00, there is generally around 350 lots which seem to get good prices for the sellers and plenty of bargains for the Buyers. i have put the Fiat Cinquecento in to auction this Saturday. This is the car we bought in Leicester in April and then drove home in. Its a reliable little car, which had many new parts just before i bought it, it also has all UK papers, Tax and MOT untill next April, so it will be fun to see if it reaches its reserve.

A social weekend

CYCLISTS ALONG THE RIO SEGURA
THE ANIMAL AID AND RESCUE VEHICLE


Yesterday lunchtime saw the Supervalue supermarket paella party near the Campo de Golf in Quesada, It was a a very tasty paella complete with snails (not to some peoples taste) beer and soft drinks provided. In the evening San Fulgencio town hall threw a party at Calle Del Bosque recreation area, to launch their provision of the animal aid and protection vehicle for the area this is a converted ambulance which will be manned by volunteers to rescue distressed and stray animals,(volunteers required) there was a buffet supper and beer, wine and soft drinks flowed, at the same time young trees were planted by children.
Today was The day of the Bicycle for Rojales, around 160 cyclists of all ages took an escorted bike ride along the Rio Segura to Guardamar and back through Quesada, at the finish in Rojales there were refreshments and prizes to lucky ticket holders. Although it was very hot, the ride of around 15 kilometres was taken at a very leisurely pace, so there were no casualties.

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.

Aurora Borealis opens

Its a big day for our daughter today as she opens her stall in the British market in Formentera del Segura. Its really buzzing in the market these days so Bec is looking forward to adding to the lively atmosphere in this hive of activity.
Bec has called her business AURORA BOREALIS and is selling lots of interesting things. I love the soap and shampoo bars the sort you slice which have amazing perfumes, you know the kind you get in Lush in UK, one lady who has tried them already said she thought she was in heaven when she used some in the shower. Bec also has a nice collection of books on various interesting and alternative subjects. Its smells wonderful around her pitch from the incences, oils and candles. Bec is also making use of her talent for reading the Tarot cards. Bec is also quite an expert on crystals and their properties so will be selling these, they can be used in healing and have powerful properties. New stock will be added all the time as she sources the kind of goods she wants to have on her stall.

Holiday let clampdown

There is a new clampdown on property owners in Spain who let to tourists and are not registered with their local tourism authority, and they will face fines of up to €30,000, A community that has a holiday let within it can also be subject to large fines, this creates a situation where a whole community will be pay the penalty for one property owner breaking the law.
The Spanish authorities are researching websites and checking paperwork in an attempt to stamp out unregistered letting. Neighbours are even reporting people to the authorities.
The reason many people do not register their holiday lets is to avoid taxes, and the charges made by the tourist authority to register and let through them are high.
Properties that are let on a lease for periods of longer than 6 weeks are not regarded as holiday lets and do not need to be registered with the tourist board.
I, as president of our community will be meeting with the administrators of our community to take measures to ensure all owners are registered.

J´s bar opens

J´s bar in La Marina has opened for refreshments, including breakfasts and Fish and chips, located next to the charity shop in the Carrer de Monaco commercial centre, we had a nice well cooked breakfast there last week. They are closed during siesta.

Lil has a haircut

Yesterday Lil, had all her hair cut off as a sponsored event for Animal Aid, with a lot of sponsors she raised well over €400 for a great cause, A hat is order of the day now, not because she does not like the style, but because she doesnt want sunstroke.