tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51993716680792433892012-01-30T18:25:56.314Zcasabill.blogspot.comBillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.comBlogger3791100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-64804382130352892342012-01-29T10:18:00.001Z2012-01-29T14:08:13.455Z

The petition for bankruptcy filed by the Mazarrón-based grain-sales company Agroceralfer has been accepted by the Commercial Court in Totana. The company has been in difficulties since 2009 when its turnover fell below the €24 millions achieved the previous year. The owners will retain their management roles in the company, but will be under the supervision of the court-appointed administrator,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-53475323996018053822012-01-26T15:23:00.001Z2012-01-29T11:44:12.231Z

(Please see UPDATES at end) The Minister of Finance and Public Administration, Cristóbal Montoro, has announced that the number of unemployed in Spain is estimated to have reached 5.4 (*) millions by the end of 2011, or about 24 per cent, by far the highest percentage in the EU. This is an increase of 700,000 from the 4.7 millions who were unemployed at the end of 2010. The National Statistics

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-28358020909771143982012-01-26T08:38:00.000Z2012-01-27T08:18:00.490Z

(Please see UPDATE at end) The Guardia Civil have seized a large quantity of hashish aboard a speedboat off the coast near Puerto de Mazarrón, crewed by two young men. 80(*) bales of hashish were found and although the weight has not been fully established yet, it is thought it could far exceed 2,000(*) kilos. The two young men are being held by the Guardia Civil in their Puerto de Mazarrón

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-75796631883916081392011-12-31T10:58:00.000Z2011-12-31T11:33:24.112Z

La Verdad newspaper has published a short video-clip in its online version showing the almost-completed new international airport at Murcia-Corvera: - the article in La Verdad can be found here. According to this and other articles I have read today, Iberdrola have now completed electrical installations at the new facility. According to local sources (Regional Government and the airport

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-31113827911144466852011-12-20T00:23:00.001Z2011-12-20T00:23:42.303Z

My best wishes for a Joyous Christmas and for a Peaceful, Happy and Prosperous New Year 2012

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-83568723103406517542011-12-02T08:10:00.006Z2011-12-02T08:42:03.314Z

The Murcia Region government has announced its draft budget for 2012 and amongst many other planned initiatives (for example relating to Lorca in the wake of last year's earthquake and the commissioning of the new Murcia International Airport at Corvera) it is mentioned that within the planned expenditure of about €73mio on road infrastructure is included the first stage of land expropriations

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-5200900735859510482011-11-20T17:50:00.008Z2011-11-20T20:22:43.794Z

Spaniards have been voting today in their General Election and whilst I rarely make any comment here about Spanish politics I am still interested in what is happening. According to the forecasts, the current PSOE government is likely to be flung out on its ear to be replaced by the PP, broadly-equivalent to Labour and Conservative in the UK, the current two-term PSOE government suffering as a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-49836368091248308802011-11-17T07:44:00.006Z2011-11-28T09:20:14.543Z

(Please see UPDATES at end)The 16-year old Mazarrón youth, now named as Adrián Adame Gallego, who was critically injured with a head-shot wound in the shooting incidents last Sunday night, died yesterday morning.The alleged murderer was arraigned before the court in Totana yesterday and charged with what is now a double-murder and has been remanded in custody and is being sent for psychiatric

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-57177776657234066122011-11-15T08:30:00.006Z2011-11-28T09:21:52.188Z

(Please see UPDATES at end)Further to my article yesterday morning (see here) it seems that the name of the person originally mentioned as having been killed by a shot to the chest was incorrect; articles I have seen this morning (see further down) now identify him as Manuel Aguilar (one new article identifies him more fully as Manuel Vicente Aguilar Dávila), and the article I linked to yesterday

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-2822129059838483092011-11-14T07:54:00.009Z2011-11-17T08:33:21.266Z

(Please see UPDATES at end)Local police were contacted by telephone last night at around 11pm by a number of worried residents who heard what appeared to be gunshots (some described the noise as being like 'firecrackers') in the Avenida de la Constitución near the bus-stops and petrol station.So far, what is known is that one person, named as Gustavo Enrique Romero Leon (please see UPDATE at end)

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-9166108359382945642011-11-07T09:13:00.005Z2011-11-14T23:42:05.925Z

I have prepared a full list of National, Regional and Local public holidays for 2012 applicable in the Mazarrón area of Murcia Region. You can download the list (which is in .pdf format) here. The list also shows local public holidays in a number of towns across the Murcia Region which I consider most useful for those in the Mazarrón area.If you wish to have details of Public Holidays in towns

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-86497912334791885542011-11-01T20:08:00.018Z2011-11-01T23:49:51.703Z

Last year (2010) I drove to Spain, via the Portsmouth-Bilbao ferry crossing, for my 3-month Spring-break in Spain. On the way to Spain, I came pretty directly to my home in Murcia, only spending a night on the outskirts of Madrid as I don't like driving for too many hours in a day (5 driving, plus a couple of hours for coffee- and lunch-breaks is about my limit). However, on the way back to

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-25866853214658269602011-10-26T07:34:00.004+01:002011-10-26T08:10:26.958+01:00

The Plaza del Convento in Mazarrón, the location of the former covered market (which was demolished about nine months ago) is to be refurbished prior to the pre-Christmas festivities which will take place toward the end of November. The works will involve the creation of 190 parking spaces and the installation of new lighting and has a budget of €55,000-, with the work being awarded to local firm

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-55151217851168639682011-10-19T07:23:00.004+01:002011-10-23T18:26:31.019+01:00

The Town Hall(Casas Consistoriales) in Mazarrón is going to host a photographic exhibition with the title "We are all with Lorca" and will include work by 20 Murcian photographers, 11 of whom have connections with Mazarrón, and who will each exhibit a series of their photographic work on various themes. The work will spread across the various exhibition spaces (upper and lower) of the Town

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-29383935226159851942011-10-02T09:16:00.000+01:002011-10-02T09:17:15.345+01:00

There are plans to close access to beach coves along about five kilometers of coastline, leading to nudist beaches near Mazarrón and Bolnuevo, to vehicular traffic from next summer. The changes are designed to prevent damage to the coastal track, in particular the damage caused by quad bikes and some types of cars and generally to protect the environment. The road closure will affect beaches

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-17709408102542588892011-10-01T09:55:00.008+01:002011-10-01T11:19:05.161+01:00

Today 'casabill - the blog' celebrates its fourth birthday. Currently I'm in Spain for about 6 weeks, enjoying my usual Autumn break here, this year back to its normal time after the disruption of last year at this time because of a distressing event in my personal life – anyway, that is all over now, if not forgotten of course. As usual I spent about 3 months here in Spain from March to June and

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-44284498398039652062011-09-27T09:43:00.006+01:002011-11-02T07:36:41.876Z

I've written before about the decline in traffic at Murcia-San Javier airport (MJV) in the past few years, but it seems the drop is not only continuing, but accelerating according to a report in today's La Verdad newspaper:- in the first eight months of 2011, passenger traffic at 905,480 was 7.3% less than for the same period of 2010 (for comparison, El Altet at Alicante (ALC) saw an increase of

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-67839431737996351012011-09-24T21:22:00.008+01:002011-09-24T23:11:43.473+01:00

One of the mundane little matters that will have to be decided in due course is the 3-letter IATA code for the projected new airport at Corvera, not too far from the city of Murcia. The current airport in Murcia Region, at San Javier, uses the code MJV.Most of the available 3-letter combinations (and all of those one immediately might think of as the most suitable) have already been used - doing

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-57147469172209079982011-09-20T08:31:00.007+01:002011-09-20T09:27:03.048+01:00

The latest twist in the protracted haggling over how to manage the start-up of the projected new Corvera International Airport is that AENA, the national air transport utility which currently manages the civilian operations at the nearby Murcia-San Javier airport (MJV), will take over operational management of the new facility and transfer its roughly 80 staff from MJV to it. The concessionnaire

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-22794931978524267202011-09-15T13:32:00.005+01:002011-09-15T13:54:56.855+01:00

Although not absolutely certain yet, a proposal to reintroduce a 'Wealth Tax' for the 2011-2012 tax years is reported to be going to the weekly cabinet meeting on Friday; the tax was abolished in 2008. The measure is being considered as a way of showing the markets that Spain is capable of meeting its ambitious deficit-reduction targets. Likely to affect 160,000 people it is projected to generate

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-2937418359601916922011-09-13T09:10:00.006+01:002011-09-20T09:15:47.242+01:00

(Please see UPDATES at end)It appears, perhaps, that the end-game may be approaching in how to reconcile the projected imminent opening of the new Corvera International Airport as the regional airport of Murcia Region, with the future of Murcia-San Javier airport (MJV).It seems the operators of the civilian part of Murcia-San Javier airport (MJV), AENA (a public company) are in talks with both

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-71772353907435951432011-09-09T08:04:00.007+01:002011-09-09T08:51:32.921+01:00

An art exhibition will open today in the Town Hall in Mazarrón (Casas Consistoriales de Mazarrón) with exhibits by two foreign artists, one British and the other Dutch. See details of opening dates and times below.Tina Watts, who is British and has been living in Mazarrón for 13 years, studied "Arts and Technology" at the University of Yeovil and Somerset College, later working for the Fleet Air

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-7975453071482828332011-08-29T16:15:00.006+01:002011-08-29T17:06:30.122+01:00

Effective 1st October 2011 mobile phone operators will be able to commence supplying mobile telephone numbers beginning with "7" rather than with "6", which all mobile telephone numbers in Spain have used until now. From that date, numbers in the new range will be allocated to mobile telephone operators in blocks of 100,000. The decision was announced in April last year, after lengthy study, to

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-51744641514010880742011-08-11T12:31:00.005+01:002011-08-11T12:43:30.067+01:00

The EU Commission has just granted Spain a derogation from rules governing the free movement of labour (AFP report) within the European Union, permitting it to place restrictions on Romanian migrants in the country. The derogation will run until the end of 2012 and has been granted because of the high levels of unemployment in Spain resulting from the economic crisis. Since July, Spain has been

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-59868778869776748082011-07-30T08:44:00.004+01:002011-07-30T08:58:41.675+01:00

The new Corvera International Airport has gained approval as an official entry point for the Schengen Area, allowing it to receive flights from outside the Schengen Area borders. This was achieved after an inspection during June by the Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea (AESA - "State Agency for Air Security"), relating to control of traffic and immigration security controls, etc. This is

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-33004525891760001272011-07-29T16:50:00.009+01:002011-07-29T17:23:25.586+01:00

Spanish President (aka 'Prime Minister') Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has called an early General Election for 20th November 2011, 4 months ahead of schedule, possibly in response to growing fears of a [further] debt downgrade, perhaps in response to a slight improvement in his Party's popularity after an equally slight improvement in unemployment statistics.As one of the major Eurozone economies

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-45638736793071120472011-07-16T08:42:00.004+01:002011-07-16T13:16:54.432+01:00

Five out of the eight banks (out of ninety across Europe) which have failed the European banking "stress tests" are in Spain; the other three are in Greece and Austria.The five Spanish banks which have failed to meet the "stress test" criteria are:- CAM Bank;- Banco Pastor;- Caja3;- Unnim;- CatalunyaCaixa;with CAM Bank being classified the most-seriously affected of the five. However, as I wrote

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-45952539307409420392011-07-15T08:10:00.006+01:002011-07-15T08:29:09.796+01:00

The Bank of Spain (Banco de España) is to assume control of Caja Mediterráneo (CAM Bank) with the injection of €2.8bn of public funds so that the state will hold an estimated 70 per cent of the capital of the bank. The current management team of CAM, led by Roberto López, will be displaced as a result and the Bank of Spain will choose between two options for the future of the bank - to hand the

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-9036159867849183982011-07-11T18:43:00.004+01:002011-07-11T18:52:49.097+01:00

AFP is reporting: "Spanish 10-year bond yields rose above 6.0 percent in late trading on Monday, the highest level since 1997, on concern that contagion from the eurozone debt crisis could spread to Spain." - full story here. Bond yields on shorter 2 year bonds are also rising.Altogether very worrying - the Spanish economy is a lot bigger than those of Greece, Portugal and Ireland. The seemingly

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-67152190143145940492011-07-09T08:44:00.005+01:002011-07-09T09:22:40.728+01:00

The recently-elected coalition Council in Mazarrón has announced a series of policy initiatives and changes.The most important is that the project to construct a crematorium in the 'urbanización El Alcolar' has been shelved, with the new Mayor Ginés Campillo announcing: "entendíamos que no era el lugar más idóneo para este tipo de negocio. Además era una demanda de los ciudadanos y hemos cumplido

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-77544743437852934542011-07-08T07:53:00.003+01:002011-07-08T08:19:46.567+01:00

After almost two years of struggling with its commercial payments and difficulties in paying its workforce, the Agrícola Méndez company in Cañada de Gallego has finally filed for bankruptcy.The company had been struggling since 2009 following the withdrawal of credit facilities by Cajamar and the loss of its exclusive contract with Spanish retail group el Corte Inglés for the supply of Kumato

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-3056859513627210442011-07-02T09:37:00.004+01:002011-07-02T09:56:56.261+01:00

Following a decision taken by the Council of Ministers on 24 June 2011, the maximum speed on the roads in Spain is to revert to 120 km/h, after being lowered to 110 km/h in March this year in a bid to save energy and reduce the cost of fuel imports.The Ministry of Public Building and Works commenced the work of changing all the speed signs on motorways on Friday 1 July 2011. In the case of Murcia

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-66511321295348076402011-07-01T14:07:00.003+01:002011-07-01T14:41:06.275+01:00

House prices (for new properties) in Spain are estimated to have fallen 2.3 per cent over the six months from January to June 2011, with the fall over a full year amounting to 4.7 per cent. New-build property now costs on average €2,419/sq m, so that a 90 sq m proprty would cost €217,710.Apart from the Basque Country, where property prices rose 4.9 per cent, all other regions showed declining

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-86125136984080352562011-06-30T13:45:00.004+01:002011-06-30T14:10:36.798+01:00

Inflation in Spain has dropped for the last two months from its high-point of 3.8 per cent pa in April, so that is now calculated to be 3.2 per cent pa in June. The April figure was the highest it had been since its previous high-point of 4.5 per cent pa in September 2008, according to figures published today by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE - the National Statistics Institute).Main

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-6388693787158339182011-06-03T21:28:00.013+01:002011-09-17T13:59:51.523+01:00

(Please see UPDATE at end)The short explanation for the title above is "Who Knows?" - not particularly useful, I think you will agree.Over the past few months I have been reading various brief newspaper articles about the progress being made in the developing of the projected "Corvera International Airport", but much of what I have been reading might best be classified as public relations "puff",

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-41504000026339293012011-05-30T08:06:00.005+01:002011-05-30T10:25:11.326+01:00

Here's a very amusing, but sadly very sapient, video-clip on how the Spanish economy got to where it is today; and the pain is certainly not over yet, it has probably hardly begun:- a dash of cold water on a rather sultry, thundery-looking Monday morning. It's in Spanish of course, but even if you don't understand Spanish very well, the graphics should lead you through the theme of the video

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-80035968452267014452011-05-10T21:08:00.003+01:002011-05-10T21:21:33.035+01:00

... is death (I'm not generally a Bible-quoting type, but this is from Romans 6,23 as a matter of interest and I cite it here because it seemed appropriate).Or at least this is what happened to a young man in Valencia who had a heart attack whilst raping his ex-girlfriend in his car; despite her ordeal, she drove him to a hospital, even though she did not have a driving licence, instead of

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-90132267249209321732011-04-25T20:39:00.004+01:002011-04-25T22:01:35.348+01:00

When I arrived here for my 3-month stay in mid-March the new airport terminal at Alicante hadn't yet become operational, but it opened for business a couple of weeks later and as I am going to be departing from there for a few days next week I thought I should take a run up to Alicante to see the new facilities so I won't waste any time next week when travelling.In the event it was all very

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-27934109454433848942011-04-12T07:29:00.003+01:002011-04-12T07:49:10.509+01:00

There are 17,462 registered foreign voters in Murcia and this could be an important factor in some municipalities in the region in the upcoming local and regional elections to be held on Sunday 22nd May.Whilst the majority of those registered voters come from other EU member states (61.83 percent) as against 38.16 percent from elsewhere, within those figures the two countries with the largest

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-31452492303894199342011-04-06T11:58:00.012+01:002011-04-06T13:33:11.795+01:00

During the time I am in Spain I like to take advantage of the abundant, high quality and still relatively inexpensive locally-grown vegetables on offer here and apart from using these as accompaniments to various meals I like to turn some of them into delicious, rich soups. One of my favourite soups is Broccoli and Blue Cheese which I make both in Scotland and when I am here. Here's my recipe for

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-44138867577318165652011-04-05T08:31:00.005+01:002011-04-05T08:55:34.582+01:00

On Wednesday (i.e. tomorrow) the police in Mazarrón will try out an alternative to simply fining people who park their cars badly or inconsiderately - they will be affixing stickers to the driver's side of the car to reprimand them. The stickers will say: "Está usted mal estacionado. Por favor, la próxima vez hágalo bien. ¡Gracias por su colaboración!" ("Are you badly parked. Please next time do

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-55844774174478059352011-04-01T07:49:00.004+01:002011-04-01T13:00:36.717+01:00

I was contacted yesterday by someone called Brad Sullivan who told me about a new service shortly to open in Spain, serving various popular airports - basically a company where British tourists may hire a car with the steering-wheel on the right, which according to the website would have the following benefits for those unfamiliar with driving on the 'wrong' side of the road:10 Exclusive Brit Car

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-87699369568951205762011-03-31T07:52:00.003+01:002011-03-31T08:07:24.096+01:00

The plan hatched last year to merge CAM (Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo), an Alicante-based savings bank, with three other savings banks (Cajastur, Caja Cantabria and Cajas Extremadura) came unstuck yesterday when the last three decided against a merger with CAM. CAM is now seeking a rescue package from the Bank Restructuring Fund (FROB - Fondo de Reestructuración Ordenada Bancaria), in other

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-35854742747219309842011-03-23T13:00:00.007Z2011-03-23T14:14:27.166Z

That is certainly the ambition of Murcia Region President Valcarel, who announced yesterday afternoon, during a visit to the under-construction Corvera facility that it is [almost], as reported by La Verdad newspaper, a 'done deal' for the new Corvera International Airport not to have to compete with the existing Murcia-San Javier facility; I use the qualifier 'almost' because Sr. Valcarel stated

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-6055328368545005842011-03-16T11:23:00.003Z2011-03-16T11:34:44.868Z

A lesson a young man on a bus from Málaga to Madrid obviously had never heard of or had forgotten. Police have detained 19-year-old Oscar Eliseo on his arrival in Madrid because he was overheard speaking on his mobile telephone by an off-duty policeman and saying that he had stabbed a man to death.The off-duty policeman alerted the authorities to what he had heard and Eliseo was arrested upon his

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-32502430122824179492011-03-05T10:04:00.003Z2011-03-05T10:12:02.398Z

The Spanish government yesterday approved an enery-saving measure, hoped to reduce oil imports by 5 per cent, saving the country €2.3bn a year. The measure involves reducing the national speed limit from 120 km/h to 110 km/h. The new national speed limit will come into force on Monday 7th March 2011 and will remain in force at least until 30th June 2011, when it will be reviewed and extended if

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-49178205103360384602011-02-24T15:01:00.003Z2011-02-24T15:26:36.912Z

This is a slow-moving project, which has been delayed by the parlous state of the Spanish and world economies - quite apart from this, sufficient traffic volumes have to be there to support the new infrastructure as a viable project.However, back to the subject at issue, the Murcia Region counselor for Education, Training and Employment has announced that his department signed 'within days' of

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-34933153244179442292011-02-22T18:27:00.006Z2011-02-22T21:44:31.559Z

Tomorrow is the start of the two-week countdown for my departure for Spain for my annual three months there to escape the tail-end of a northern Scottish Winter and see Spring well underway before I return back to the UK in June. I am beginning to get quite excited by the prospect.There has been 'radio silence' in this blog for quite a few weeks. My apologies. I have had many personal matters to

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-8193989845057696142011-01-20T13:05:00.003Z2011-01-20T13:34:54.707Z

The Murcia Region government is to select upto 1,100 staff for training to work at the future Corvera Airport; the press release from the regional government on 14th January states that it is thought that vocational training may commence in April. Categories of employment include:- airport security guard, administrative, airport services, cleaning services, sales assistants for airport facilities

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-16404583634425303182011-01-20T12:10:00.003Z2011-01-20T12:18:38.974Z

Yes, this is the 'novel' marketing concept behind a new hotel opened recently in Madrid. German artist Ha Schult, who is behind the project timed to coincide with Madrid's hosting of the annual international tourism trade fair is quoted as saying: "I created the Beach Garbage Hotel because the oceans of our planet are the biggest garbage dump". If you are keen to experience this bizarre excuse

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-15414189466728717692011-01-20T11:58:00.003Z2011-01-20T12:03:48.033Z

ThinkSpain reports that: Patients with chronic conditions will no longer have to make an appointment to see their doctor to get repeat prescriptions thanks to a new type of standard prescription being launched in Spain tomorrow.- click on the link to read the full story.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-11244132489781670282011-01-17T10:50:00.005Z2011-01-17T11:26:27.589Z

The Emergency department at the new Puerto de Mazarrón health centre is to close with immediate effect and those requiring emergency treatment will now have to go to the recently-enlarged and re-opened Mazarrón health centre, about 6 Km away, as it has an emergency department, too. The decision has been taken by the regional authorities in Murcia, who deny it is for reasons of budgetary cuts, but

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-76457221738743087422011-01-11T10:23:00.004Z2011-01-11T11:08:44.296Z

It has been believed for many years that the diet and lifestyle of many people living around the Mediterranean tended to protect them from the common diseases of 'affluence' (cardio-vascular, diabetes, high blood-pressure, etc), specially prevalent in countries such as the US and the UK. These comfortable assumptions have been shown to be doubtful, based on a new study in Málaga, perhaps based on

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-67082992634696739672011-01-07T15:33:00.004Z2011-01-07T15:58:16.962Z

Ten-year Spanish bond yields have risen today to '5.536 percent from 5.460 percent at the close of trading on Thursday'. The rates for Portugal are higher still (up to 7.161 percent from 6.957 percent). According to bond strategist at BNP Paribas bank Patrick Jacq: "We are in the same framework as at the end of 2010: the problem for these countries remains their sovereign debt. These countries

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-60575861392389497682010-12-20T17:48:00.001Z2010-12-20T17:48:00.285Z

My best wishes for a Joyous Christmas and for a Peaceful, Happy and Prosperous New Year 2011

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-43447702671180799332010-12-08T18:35:00.002Z2010-12-08T18:38:01.530Z

He perdido las ganas de escribir mi blog ...J'ai perdu l'envie d'écrire mon blog ...لقد فقدت الرغبة في كتابة بلوق بلديTôi đã mất đi các yêu cầu để viết blog của tôi ...If this situation changes I will resuscitate this blog ...Si esta situación cambia voy a resucitar este blog ...Si cette situation change je vais ressusciter ce blog ...وسوف يبعث هذا بلوق اذا تغير الوضعNếu tình hình này thay đổi

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-32952996756690667822010-11-27T14:48:00.005Z2010-11-27T15:10:57.422Z

That's how it appears, at any rate. The Spanish political agenda Friday was dominated by debate on legislation about chewing gum, all this whilst the Euro is going through what might be politely termed a 'crisis', Spain's own stockmarket is 'bombing' and in the wider world there has been a dramatic heightening of tensions in the Korean peninsula.It's all a question of priorities, I suppose - or

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-29821791230424818102010-11-22T19:50:00.006Z2010-11-22T20:14:25.412Z

Today I attended a memorial service for a friend and neighbour here in Spain. I have known Sam and his wife Sandra for about 4 years, since soon after I arranged to purchase a home here, as both our homes were being built at the same time. Sam was a kind, gregarious and very humorous man, a native of Manchester and he and Sandra came to live permanently in Spain in preparation for the completion

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-56324175720498852242010-11-19T09:29:00.001Z2010-11-19T09:30:46.301Z

There has been very little activity in this blog over the past month because I have been observing a period of mourning for my late mother, who died one month ago today. I hope to return to slightly more regular blogging from now on.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-47665909002069714762010-10-30T08:52:00.006+01:002010-10-30T13:21:15.898+01:00

Clocks go back in Spain tonight to winter time-keeping, from CET+1 (RST+1) to CET (RST) so everyone will, as the popular theory has it, get an extra hour in bed. The change is uniform throughout the EU, so the same change will be occurring in the UK tonight as well.Next year the clocks go forward again on the night of Saturday 26/Sunday 27 March 2011.You can get more information here for the UK (

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-8734642056198336362010-10-02T07:11:00.005+01:002010-10-02T07:34:48.250+01:00

Last Wednesday the Contencioso-Administrativo número 7 de Murcia ('Court of Administrative Litigation Murcia number 7') ruled not to uphold the demand of many of the stall-holders to halt the closure of the existing covered market and the Town Council of Mazarrón has accordingly announced (see here and here) that it will close definitively today; the new market 'Mercado Cresta del Gallo de la

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-4844888360990067902010-10-01T20:04:00.005+01:002010-10-01T20:55:26.242+01:00

Today is the third anniversary of 'casabill - the blog'. The major event with which I have been involved over the past year (well, almost one year) is that I am a part of the 'team' which has been helping to manage the urbanisation (Mazarron Country Club - MCC), where I have my holiday home in Spain, since December last year when the 'team' was finally able to take over, having been elected a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-52908630055882021692010-09-26T13:29:00.010+01:002010-09-26T14:31:06.409+01:00

The imminent transfer of the existing covered market in Mazarrón to new and larger premises in the avenida de la Constitución ('Constitution Avenue') took a dramatic turn with the issuance of an injunction on Friday 24th September in the Contencioso-Administrativo número 7 de Murcia ('Court of Administrative Litigation Murcia number 7') halting the closure of the existing market; the news came at

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-76178848259897725952010-09-26T13:00:00.005+01:002010-09-26T13:25:19.309+01:00

The renovated and expanded medical centre in Mazarrón will be inaugurated next Thursday, 30th September 2010 at 12.30, according to this report. The facility has been expanded from about 1,500 to 2,700 sq m by the addition of another floor (health services are now spread over three floors). In addition to regular medical facilities (physiotherapy, accident and emergency, nursing and pediatrics,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-39716536977514235302010-09-21T12:16:00.003+01:002010-09-21T12:21:48.609+01:00

Because of problems with the code used to embed my blogrolls (resulting apparently from problems experienced on some browsers with using links to the blogroll host company) I am having to migrate all my blogrolls to a new host. There is quite a lot of work involved so it will take me some time to complete it. I hope to get my blogrolls up and functioning again within the next couple of weeks -

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-84978369348906985402010-09-10T07:25:00.006+01:002010-09-10T07:40:11.834+01:00

The Guardia Civil have arrested seven people and accused four others of alleged 'crime against public health' in connection with the cultivation of marijuana plants in three locations in Murcia - El Raal, Mazarrón and Cieza. The locations where the plants were being grown have been dismantled and 72 plants seized. Amongst those involved were three minors.I wonder just how many more illicit

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-69953952750393683682010-09-03T18:06:00.003+01:002010-09-03T18:14:13.555+01:00

I read at the time of the exceptional waves that had occurred in Puerto de Mazarrón on 19th February 2010, but as I wasn't in Spain at the time didn't see them myself. However, I've just found this video-clip on YouTube of the phenomenon; it looks as if it would have been very impressive to see it on the day. I expect there were a few boat-owners who were a bit worried, too!

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-3025044518724028182010-08-23T10:34:00.005+01:002010-08-23T11:45:04.110+01:00

Traffic volumes on the Cartagena-Vera extension of the AP7 motorway seem to have recovered a little from the trough experienced last year, even although it is difficult to compare the figures directly because the figures given then and now relate to differrent, but overlapping, time-periods in the two years.In the first 5 months of 2010 the average traffic volume is given as having risen 9 per

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-24230818261683796202010-08-19T11:58:00.013+01:002010-08-19T15:07:40.811+01:00

I was going to entitle this article "The Wages of Sin is Death", but as no-one was actually killed in this incident (similar report in Spanish media) in Tafalla, near Pamplona (except for the bull of course!), that did not seem entirely appropriate, but it does express my disgust at the taunting of a trapped animal for sport.Much as I love Spain and the Spanish people I have to say this is one

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-72825675301526593062010-07-29T10:53:00.003+01:002010-07-29T11:17:04.471+01:00

Tomorrow, Friday 30th July, an exhibition of artworks by two foreign residents of Mazarrón will open in two rooms of the exhibition space of Mazarrón Town Hall and will continue until Saturday 21st August.The two artists are:- Patrick Durrant, whose artworks for this exhibition have the theme of "The Essence", designed to illustrate how people interact with each other as well as some watercolours

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-59231978772117613282010-07-17T08:01:00.011+01:002010-07-17T09:13:30.428+01:00

The municipality of Mazarrón has organised a series of summer music and entertainment for residents and visitors alike this summer, mainly taking place at the Plaza de las Comunidades Autónomas en pleno Paseo del Puerto ('Plaza of the Autonomous Communities on the Paseo del Puerto').Supplementing this will be a Mercado Artesanal ('Craft Market') located in the business area of the playa de Bahía

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-89651966394385039372010-07-06T08:58:00.004+01:002010-07-06T09:09:02.862+01:00

Swimmers who disobey 'red flags' on beaches in Murcia (e.g. Cartagena, Mazarrón, Águilas, Lorca and San Javier) by going for a swim risk having a fine of upto €1,500- imposed on them by local police. The crack-down on inconsiderate swimmers, known as "Plan Copla", is designed to bring home to such individuals that they risk not only their own lives by swimming under dangerous sea conditions, but

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-84521759486649787792010-07-01T13:26:00.004+01:002010-07-01T13:38:29.994+01:00

The rate of IVA (VAT) has risen today from 16 to 18 percent for most goods sold in Spain.There are lower rates for specific categories of goods and services:Reduced IVA (rises from 7 to 8 per cent)Health and social care, non-essential foodstuffs, hotel and catering establishments, and cultural centres such as theatres and cinemas.Super Reduced IVA (remains at 4 per cent)Basic food such as milk,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-53912372853210501852010-06-23T14:15:00.005+01:002010-06-23T14:33:20.882+01:00

I am not often shocked when I read a news report, and there may well be other aspects to the story not included in the news report, but this report of a British man abandoning his 61-year old mother in an hospital in Torrevieja has succeeded. On two occasions when the lady was returned too the son's home by ambulance the son refused to 'take delivery' (i.e. he refused to have his mother back into

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-72412528591354671462010-06-18T09:05:00.003+01:002010-06-18T09:40:12.935+01:00

The new Medical Centre in Puerto de Mazarrón is to open before the end of this month, according to an announcement from a spokesman for the Health Service of Murcia (Servicio Murciano de Salud); the very lengthy delay in its opening since its completion in the Spring of 2009 resulted from problems with water, sewage and electricity services which have apparently been resolved. I wrote about the

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-76475879433074535152010-05-24T18:40:00.005+01:002010-05-24T19:37:26.954+01:00

Tomorrow I shall be leaving Mazarrón and the Murcia Region after three very enjoyable months, to make my way back to Scotland by road and ferry:- you can see more details of my journey here, with a different 'take' on departures.Most probably I shall be back here again in the Autumn for around a month, precise dates still to be decided. Meantime have a great summer!

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-47115883835815116822010-05-01T09:06:00.004+01:002010-05-01T09:32:06.551+01:00

The new Camposol Medical Centre is currently being fitted out and furnished with funding of the Murcia Regional Government. The medical centre occupies two floors each of 540 sqM and will have three consulting room plus nursing stations, toilets, storage areas, parking and a garden and is located in calle Jerez de la Frontera. The basement area may be fitted out at a later date to cater for any

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-46166633800746129002010-04-30T07:38:00.005+01:002010-04-30T08:04:26.239+01:00

Around a dozen Portuguese "man o' war" jellyfish have been spotted off the coastline of Murcia, including off of La Isla near Mazarrón. The species Physalia physalis has an extremely painful sting.They usually migrate into the shallower waters of the Meditteranean during the cooler winter months, before returning to deeper waters and to the Atlantic when the temperature rises as summer approaches

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-68547876880982963732010-04-29T22:56:00.003+01:002010-04-29T23:10:42.332+01:00

S&P, one of the three major ratings agencies, have down-graded Spain's debt by a notch to AA status (it was AA+ previously), with the additional mention of 'negative outlook'. Financing costs for Spain's debt have not so far been impacted negatively to any great degree.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-57757141262856151492010-04-28T08:04:00.004+01:002011-09-10T15:25:08.935+01:00

Unemployment in Spain has slightly surpassed 20 per cent, with 4,612,700 out of work at end-March, an increase of 286,200 over the quarter. President Zapatero is predicting that the rate of unemployment will drop slightly in coming months, but providing absolutely no justification for this sentiment except his 'conviction'.It is interesting that these statistics were published early (they should

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-4657616641711552112010-04-15T07:38:00.006+01:002010-04-15T08:03:30.591+01:00

The Minister of Public Works and Planning, José Ballesta, admitted yesterday before the full Regional Assembly that the Murcia Autonomous Community is not in possession of European Union approval for it to guarantee a loan for the 75% of the funding needed to complete the new international airport Corvera; the guarantee required is for €200 millions.There is a lot more in the linked report about

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-87909660764404630762010-03-27T22:48:00.000Z2010-03-27T22:52:46.256Z

During tonight clocks will go forward by one hour throughout the EU and we shall all 'lose' one hour of sleep.In the UK this will mean a shift from GMT [Greenwich Mean Time] to GMT+1, otherwise known as BST [British Summer Time].In Spain, where I am now and for the next few months, clocks are already on GMT+1, otherwise known as RST [Romance Standard Time] or CET [Central European Time] and will

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-11804835168311602052010-03-17T07:31:00.004Z2010-03-17T07:42:55.265Z

The Andalucian Parliament has just voted to adopt a law on "dignified death"; it is the first region of Spain to pass such a law. The 'Law of Guarantees of the Rights and Dignity of Persons in the Process of Death' ('Ley de Derechos y Garantías de la Dignidad de las Personas en el Proceso de la Muerte') regulates the limitation of therapeutic efforts, prohibits aggressive therapy and allows

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-22714676421245797242010-03-02T21:32:00.002Z2010-03-02T21:36:06.030Z

The long winter in the Highlands of Scotland may not be quite over yet, but for me it will be so on Thursday, when I start the journey south to my home in Spain for a few months. The first part of the trip will take me beyond the 'snow fields' of the Grampians (with a bit of luck) and on down to the southern Lake District, where I will be spending a night on my way to Portsmouth to catch the

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-53845307670608984572010-02-26T09:14:00.020Z2010-02-26T10:07:35.495Z

I have hardly been blogging here recently, largely because I simply have not had the time. Personal family matters have been preoccupying me as have preparations for my imminent departure for Spain, not to mention occasional bursts of high activity related to maintaining a community's website in Spain. The fact I am not actually in Spain is irrelevant as one of the wonders of the internet age is

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-57623538421491052592010-02-04T01:49:00.007Z2010-02-04T02:09:07.829Z

With the guitar played by the late Narciso Yepes, born into humble circumstances in Lorca (Murcia). You can read more about the late Joaquín Rodrigo here. Fabulous music, fabulously performed.Part 1Part 2Part 3I am posting this in celebration of my return to Spain in the not too distant future for a few months. Am I smiling? Silly question ...

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-71835703249190335922010-01-29T23:29:00.007Z2010-01-30T00:20:00.677Z

The garden centre 'Alcayna' close by Mazarron Country Club is now permanently recorded in Google Streetview's mapping of the Mazarrón area. The Google Streetview vehicle also seems to have travelled on the back-road E19 from Mazarrón to La Pinilla. I've no idea when these images were taken - presumably sometime last summer or Autumn, or perhaps even a year or two ago. You can make the images

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-91290595419138606062010-01-29T12:44:00.008Z2010-04-19T10:07:21.238+01:00

(Please see UPDATE at end)Further to my article yesterday about recent developments with the infrastructure necessary for the new airport, the main link on which that article was based no longer functions. I have been unable to find other press articles in the Spanish press about this. Decidedly curious.This morning, however, I have come across an article in a Spanish-language blog I follow which

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-35620603596491464882010-01-28T09:59:00.011Z2011-01-24T13:46:41.066Z

(Please see UPDATES at end)The President of the Murcia Region Autonomous Community, Ramon Luis Valcarcel, has 'laid the foundation stone for the access highway to the new airport' (* - The link has been disabled by me because it no longer links to the original article and results in a disabling feedback-loop, perhaps deliberately put in place - see also at end), which will result in the

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-9703718619252656032010-01-26T10:59:00.004Z2010-01-26T11:09:41.775Z

Some recent Google searches in this blog for 'Airport directions' have not provided a suitable link and result, because these details are included in my website, although of course the website itself is linked permanently from here (see right column).The direct link to such airport directions is available in the website by clicking on 'Location' or by clicking here.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-42122004622180014012010-01-20T17:07:00.008Z2010-01-21T10:50:27.426Z

Aquagest Murcia has advised that water will be cut for about 6 hours tomorrow from about 08.00 hours (8am), Thursday 21 January 2010, to the Isla Plana and La Azohía areas for maintenance work. Another press announcement is here.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-80370374997724225952010-01-17T15:14:00.016Z2010-08-29T21:37:02.126+01:00

Last October a neighbour and I began some landscaping work on the area of rough ground opposite our homes at Mazarron Country Club, basically by having it cleared of weeds, levelled-off and overlaid with a woven weed barrier membrane and then finished off with some gravel for later spot-planting with suitable drought-tolerant plants. However as neither of us lives there permanently, some very

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-22801320923347210132010-01-16T20:50:00.007Z2010-01-16T21:18:39.608Z

If this wasn't so outrageous it would be funny. Parts of a genuine photograph of a Spanish MP have been used in making a photo-fit 'terrorist alert' poster of Osama bin Laden to show how the terrorist might look now. The US FBI used the most recent photograph of bin Laden that they possess (which dates from 1998) and tried to 'age' it to show what he might look like today. Apparently some FBI

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-20272736755494959522010-01-05T21:34:00.010Z2010-08-29T21:40:57.351+01:00

Earlier today in Mazarrón saw the the symbolic disemabarkation of the 'Magi' at the fishing port followed by a parade through the town - more information here. Although I am currently far away in the quasi-Arctic wastes of northern Scotland, one of my friends in Mazarrón, Mike Conway, kindly sent me these photographs this evening which he was able to take this afternoon - yes, truly one may say

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-14455441258408959722010-01-05T15:57:00.004Z2010-01-05T22:16:31.360Z

The view from my apartment around lunch-time today. The soundtrack in the background by the way is the BBC Scotland lunch-time news on BBC1.Looking out to sea through the blizzard - it looks bleak and wildPanning across from the harbour and the cricket pitch with the A96 and Marine Road just visible in the gloomPanning back from Marine Road to the harbour and sea- definitely a day when it is

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-53716155102122859632010-01-04T19:24:00.005Z2010-01-04T19:49:15.888Z

Well, not quite! Lidl supermarkets in the Madrid area and throughout north-central Spain have inadvertantly been offering for sale bananas laced with sachets of cocaine. The supermarket group apparently bought the Ecuadorian bananas at open auction at Madrid's wholesale fruit market ('Mercamadrid') and were alerted to the problem after a supermarket shelf-stacker found some of the drugs in boxes

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-8765481639732954492010-01-03T16:25:00.004Z2010-01-03T16:45:20.621Z

Barcelona-based Catalan-British economist Edward Hugh reproduces in his Bonobo Land blog the English text of his La Vanguardia interview (in Spanish) with Paul Krugman, Nobel Economics prize-winner and holder of Professorial posts at both Princeton and the LSE. The interview is wider-ranging than Spain, but does give a pretty clear exposition of where the country now finds itself. It's well-worth

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-36211930824034739582010-01-01T10:57:00.004Z2010-01-01T11:40:45.618Z

A very Happy Near Year 2010 to all, but:The labour dispute at the Agrícola Méndez company in Cañada de Gallego continues. The basic cause of the dispute is the non-payment of wages for several months (five months is the number being mentioned). Picketing at the company's premises has escalated over recent weeks with company managers alleging that threats against their employees (i.e. those who

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-88124769042198837232009-12-31T18:50:00.003Z2009-12-31T18:54:38.675Z

My good wishes go to everyone who reads this for a Peaceful, Happy and Prosperous New Year in 2010 and beyond.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5199371668079243389.post-13919210329926024932009-12-28T18:37:00.005Z2009-12-28T21:43:21.001Z

Residents of Puerto de Mazarrón who live close to the site of the proposed new crematorium designed to serve the needs of those in the Mazarrón area are objecting to its proximity to their homes and the diminishment to their amentities which it may cause, possibly smoke and obstructed views. Residents of the El Alcolar residential district contend the proposals contravene the terms of the zoning

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10393265755614039206noreply@blogger.com0