Drought to Floods

Longest drought    since    1857  turns  into storms, flash floods  and cars washed away.  10cm of rain descended in 3 hours  like being in a car  wash,  no suds  progranm.

Since the BIG storm further storms  and not using a hose to water the garden for 2 weeks !!!!

The rain in Spain goes  mainly down the road,  not the drain as they dont have them. The Spanish hate gardens and tile them over.  The rain therefore runs off tiles and concrete  and they hope ends up in the sea, eventually.  Of course there are things inbetween that get flooded out  , but the  Spanish  hope it all evaporates when the sun comes out again !!!

So cars are washed away,  pubs and garages, even Ikea Car park and store flooded out,  but never mind eh,  Viva the sun.

Day after Fiesta

Supermarket shopping is never fun, especially in Mercadonna  the day after a Fiesta,  Spain's  equivalent to a Bank Holiday.  They have one a month  for religious festivals  or  just  so they can close down and no one work.

The Mercadonna  day after  a holiday  and in mid August  is bedlam.  Short , slow  Spanish shoppers  talking  gossiping  blocking aisles.  Fortunately they are Hobbit stature  so  I can lean over them  and ignore their ignornace  about being in the way.

Food and drink  is cheap in Spain.   I don't need hot food or drink, the climate is hot enough.  So I barge my way round the store  , taking no Spanish prisoners, who would want them anyway, they are of zero use,  Peasants  most of them.

July and August in Torrevieja

Mahem

Madrid Beach  they call it.  Madrid is 4 hours  drive away.  It must rattle at the moment, seems they are all down here. On the beach  like sardines in a tin, till 8pm.  Noisy, short, most of them cannot drive, cannot negotiate  a roundabout, cannot indicate either. Did I mention they cannot park either,  they sling the car near a kerb, or on a zebra crossing  or across an  entrance. They cannot ease of the accelerator at junctions either, the car  nose dives as they hit the break.  Dangerous in charge of a donkey,  why on earth did they give them keys to a car.

Handy being short like a  Hobbit, it means they can get more on the beach  and more in a room,  use smaller settees and beds. All the shelves in supermarkets are low to, to help the pigmy race.  

Torrevieja means Old Tower.  No houses here till 1802, and as soon as they built them an earthquake knocked the lot down in 1829.  Then Franco bombed the place in 1937   killing 80 odd.  Today the biggest single population of Brits  outside Britain is here 15%  of the population,  out of 100,000.  Spain has 50%  of its own seaside resort. They rest are mainly Scandinavians, and Northern Europeans, some Russians,  and scum from Morocco.

But the Real Madrid people are low life. No respect, call them gutter snipes They even sit on the side of the road kerbstones, They Know Their Place. They throw away anything and everything. Spain must be getting higher Because of landfill. They have no concept of recycling. They are litter louts , trashing the place. Must be awful living in Madrid, With these lazy good for nothings. Noisy till 2am, like Lemmings they will all go back to where they come from end of August and normality will return

Spain a Backward Country

The Brazilian and Barcelona right back Alvez had a banana  thrown at him in a football match. The racist supporter was arrested.  Alvez  was quoted as saying Spain is a backward country  . He was correct.

Though racism is in every  country  and a easily visible excuse to hate intruders through the colour off different skin to that of the indigenous population, it is rich coming from a nation of Gypsies  who have no pedigree at all, but are a mis mash of Latin and Arab blood.

Of course education is the key , and even 40 yrs after General Franco's dictatorship, Spain is not renowned for its education standards.  Lets face it the Spanish are lazy, don't care about anyone else except themselves, everything is mi mi mi si si si.

A clear indicator of Spanish ignorance is litter, the environment and smoking. It is well known that smoking is directly proportional to poor education. In fact the poor as a whole would rather smoke than eat, such is their addiction to  nicotine.  All smokers are litter louts, they all throw away empty packets and cigarette ends.  One only has to see what they throw away as rubbish   to clearly see they have no concept of recycling whatsoever. Again uneducated.   Such supposedly religious people as well and a nation that destroyed civilisations in the New World  in the name of God.

So hence full circle  to racism again.  It is in their blood not to tolerate, but to only think of themselves.

A Truly backward nation 

April 1st

No, I don't think they have April Fool's Day here. Maybe because most of the Spanish are fools 365 days of the year.

True I only come here for the sun, blue skies and palm trees, and true it is a culture shock change, but the Spanish in general are poorly educated and lazy.

It is no surprise to me that they riot in the streets of Madrid against austerity measures and 27%  unemployment. Most of the males  look unemployable to me. The country has been bailed out by Brussels because the banks got greedy and gave away mortgages like the sun would always shine. House building outstripped demand, the housing market collapsed in 2008 with the global banking crisis. Many Northern Europeans packed their suitcases and went home, leaving the debts behind. I have seen auctioned houses after repossession gutted by the former owners, they even put the bath on the roof of the van tied it down and drove away.

Lazy, noisy, unproductive. All jobs here take ages,. Fast food does not exist. Builders take days to complete simple jobs. Unsurprising because all year round they start work at 9am finish at 2pm.  Siesta time ALL year round. Now March has been like a good spring in England, pleasant. No rain. Climate Change, and we are in a rain shadow to the east of mountains that surround us. So BBC weather is useless at predictions and forecasting. It rained all day Christmas Day, since then one thunder storm. So outside workers could get on and complete the job, but they make the job last, hence their extravagant costs.

The builders for Pueblo Marina Complex want 30,000 euros to build a wall. This will be debated at a general meeting on Good Friday, when I hope to crucify the President and the Builders.  30,000 euros, is this the Great Wall of China they want to build out of gold bricks ??!!

I could build a house for 30,000  euros.

The kids go on strike from school too, no wonder they are thick in general. They go on strike because of new Education standard laws.  Maybe they have a point to prove, maybe it's an excuse not to go to school.  Most Spanish cannot speak another language. A lot of the older ones cannot read or write. Under General Franco from 1939 to 1975, girls were not sent to school. Most of the Spanish  are litter louts, most of them have no idea of recycling and put everything in the rubbish bin when the recycling bins are positioned adjacent. Most of them smoke (more litter) most of them cannot drive properly. Most of them are discourteous, noisy, lazy, carefree. Most of them cannot look after pets, plants, houses, their environment. Most of the parents and the kids have no respect. Most of the kids walk the streets day and night without a parent in sight and this is meant to be a god fearing Roman Catholic society.

Yesterday I met a nice Spanish man. He was manager of a restaurant along the Promenade. His place is not cheap, but you pay for the very pleasant view of the sea and the palms. His food is excellent and the service. He spoke perfect English and was very polite and smiling. Of course he wanted custom.

So they do exist, but I am shocked when I see the polite ones, the intelligent ones.  Most of the Spanish hate the foreign invaders, it would be the same in any country. But without the foreign money this country and it's citizens would be back to Galleons, a sinking Spanish Armada, muskets and wiping out whole New World civilizations, because they did not believe in God, back to the Spanish Inquisition, back to donkeys. At least the roads would be safer.

There is corruption in the Spanish Monarchy and the Government. Bribery and expenses fiddles are being investigated. For a country that has so much sun they are blinded by the light as far as providing new homes with natural energy.  It is very backward in that regard. In addition, when do you ever hear of Spain in world affairs?. Britain staged the best Olympics, has the best New Year fireworks, is prominent in Europe, Crimean Crisis, Malaysian Air disaster. Spain never hear about them apart from football. Spanish hate the sun, most spend the day indoors like caves, most hate gardens, plants and gardening, they prefer concrete and tiles.

In Spain enjoy your own surroundings, enjoy the pretty parts. If you want anything done DIY  or get an English person to do it. Enjoy the sun.

Some pretty pics of the garden and town centre to end on a more pleasant not.

March 31st hot sunny Along the Prom Prom Prom

Tiddly on pom pom pom

18 euros for steak and chips (nice) and a tanque  of beer. Sit in the sun watch the waves and the world go by, very relaxing.

Flower Power March 2nd

Some of these plants   have been in flower for all the time since they were planted  10 months ago. Some of the English plants dug up and  brought over in a van, survive.  There is no, no growing season, it is flower all year round, planting all year round. A sun pleasure all year round. No heating bills, just 17 euros for a bottle of gas for the calor gas heater, December January nights.

February 2014

The flag of St George is a give away. An Englishman abroad goes home, for a week.

Did I miss England. Well I miss Spitfire beer on draught and when I see it in Weatherspoons at Stansted Airport my eyes light up.  But being in Spain, I do not miss the cars, the traffic, the prices, the cost.

There are too many people in England, too many cars, even in small towns like Dereham and Tunbridge Wells. It is a small Island overloaded.  The cost of transport is horrendous. I wanted to hire a car not buy it I said to a not very enterprising Enterprise Car Hire employee. Train Norwich to London £48 off peak. Underground Train Liverpool St to London Bridge via Monument, 3 stops £4.70. My son spends £4,000 pa  to get to work. Eating out, £4.60 for a bowl of soup, I would rather go without, keep the soup. Airports want silly money for internet access and why do I have to walk upstairs then downstairs to get from A to B  with suitcases????? The Cheapest and quickest is a flight itself, the rest takes ages and  hanging around.

The weather was mild, one day rain. The flood bringing storms had passed. How I need some rain in Spain. It is difficult to maintain flowering plants  without rain. I did buy some solar lights in the Pound Shop. Anything electrical is Spain, is expensive and shoddy, though it is all "Made in China"!! Chocolate is not the same in Spain either, nor medicine,

But England in February is bare and bleak. No flowers, only a hint of spring, snow drops. Spain is evergreen and ever flowering.

So on the plus side I saw family, but no time for friends. I had steak and chips, another missing ingredient of Spanish life..

But there is no place like home, I am a home person, do not like it away. I have done a lot of travelling business and pleasure in my life, seen a lot the world has to offer.
Maybe I am past all that now, a lot of effort and a lot of money.

I have come to the conclusion that this part of Spain does not really experience a winter.


On December 6th the small number of deciduous trees  started to lose their leaves rapidly. The Sun was low in the sky. Jumpers, jackets, scarves, long trousers  had to be worn , especially at night. It rained once a week.

But, the flowers remained flowering, temperatures never got to single figures centigrade, and washing dried after 2 days.  Christmas Day was a wash out, constant rain, but no snow or frost only on the high surrounding mountain tops.

Now its the end of January  and the sun is out, blue skies and it is warm enough for shorts middle part of the day, warm enough to sunbathe for 3 hours.

The prevailing winds from the Atlantic hit northern Spain and Portugal. Here is a rain shadow. Madrid is higher in the centre of the Iberian  Plateau  and consequently colder. The Mediterranean gives the Costa Blanca  sunnier , warmer weather. low 20s centigrade here mid day for last 3 days. In England you would call it summer.

So, up until November 6th it was hot, then suddenly , overnight, the temperatures plummeted, now  we have spring, away from the floods in England, where a fifth of the county of Somerset has been under water since Christmas.

The council even clean the streets with disinfectant water from a hose and road tanker.

Conclusion, long summer, early spring, short autumn, not really a winter.