Pizzeria Sam’z, Los Gallardos

PIZZA? In Los Gallardos? Are we mad? Has the world lost all coherence? Los Gallardos is a rich village. A smart village. A clean village, and an orderly one. But it is not the cuisine centre of the world,  it is a village where peanut butter is viewed as suspicious foreign muck. Pizza is something that -like sushi- is fine when one is abroad -say, Turre- but not to be considered when decent, local food Continue reading Pizzeria Sam’z, Los Gallardos

Bar Juventud, Los Gallardos

In my youth, Bar Juventud was the “other bar”. As people who lived on the “Crespo” side of the street, going into Juventud was akin to a Madrid supporter sneaking into a Barça pub. Only to be attempted wearing a large hat when noone was around. Which was a pity as it always had better tapas. Then we grew up and rarely visited Los Gallardos, as we lived out in the sticks and once we Continue reading Bar Juventud, Los Gallardos

Photoshop and euro notes

While trying to open an image of a €500 note for photoshopping… “This application does not permit the modification of currency images unless authorised” screamed a large flashing message in the middle of the screen. “Please contact the appropriate authorities for permission to continue” Yeah, right. I’m going to click on the button that links me to the US secret service for permission to photoshop a crummy image. Nothing happened when we copied and pasted, Continue reading Photoshop and euro notes

Google wave

I opened up my email box this am to find an invitation to trial the new beta version of a product from Google called “Wave”. Google wave is, according to the blurb: Google Wave is an online communication and collaboration tool that makes real-time interactions more seamless — in one place, you can communicate and collaborate using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. A wave is a conversation with multiple participants — participants Continue reading Google wave

SuperTurre fight

Rumours reach me of a disturbance Friday evening in Super Turre. It appears three men (Rumanians were mentioned, although no-one seems 100% sure) were spotted helping themselves to goods. Quite blatently. Two of the lads (Luis the butcher and Enrique) went over to remonstrate. Ended up with Luis’s head pushed through some shelving as the crooks made their getaway. Nothing serious (black eye and a story) but does go to show that you need to Continue reading SuperTurre fight

The AVE in Almería

430 people have lost land in Almeria so far to the AVE line. Fomento has been issuing expropriation orders since December last year, and construction has started. God bless that 1954 law that means that construction can start before having to wait for an independent review of the expropriation of that poor peasent’s land. And so far the only bit that is fixed is Sorbas, Los Gallardos, Bedar and Vera. Great. What we don’t know Continue reading The AVE in Almería

A family affair in El Ejido

The twenty people arrested yesterday in El Ejido’s corruption sting by a Madrid judge -investigation ongoing since 2007, it seems- all spent a cosy night together in jail. They were arrested in El Ejido, Seville and Madrid – and all seem to be family. Basically, it’s the: -Mayor (Juan Enciso, the man who bankrupted El Ejido), his wife and daughter; -José Aléman, the Interventor Municipal, (city auditor), and his wife (they got married in the Continue reading A family affair in El Ejido

Ryanair force Granada’s hand (and pocket)

After a very public threat to pull out of Granada airport if the Ryanair Revolutionary Tax wasn’t paid by the local town and businesses (the press release mentions changing to the much cheaper “Granada West”, which is actually Jaén airport – about three hours by coach) the Diputacíon de Granada has quietly admitted that an “arrangement” will be found. Basically, Ryanair wants someone else to pay the landing fees at Granada airport. If not, they’ll Continue reading Ryanair force Granada’s hand (and pocket)

El Ejido townhall closed by police, mayor arrested

So they finally caught up to Enciso. El Ejido townhall has been closed on the orders of an investigating judge and 20 staff members -including the mayor, Juan Enciso, and the councillor for urban planning- lead away in chains. No doubt they’ll be back by Thursday, but here’s the latest: http://www.thereader.es/en/almeria-news-stories/949-police-swoop-on-el-ejido-council.html