Month: July 2013

Ridley Scott to film major motion picture in province

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Sir Ridley Scott, the British film producer, has announced he is to film “Exodus”, a film based on the story of Moses, here in Almeria. He is looking for about 2,000 extras and will be holding a series of castings across the province to find them: Jueves 8 de agosto en Almería (Rambla Alfareros 25, instalaciones de la Diputación, de 10 a 14 horas y de 16 a 20 horas). Martes 13 de agosto en Continue reading Ridley Scott to film major motion picture in province→

Yup, Turre is fining motorists via the CCTV

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Spoke to Arturo the mayor this morning, and he confirmed that the Policia Local are using the CCTV in the village as a tool in their armoury against evil doers, nasty people, child molesters, war criminals and motorists. Actually, he first denied any knowledge of what was going on, but under pressure conceded that yes, it was possible. Sorry, but there is NO WAY that this is legal under Spanish law – Arturo said he Continue reading Yup, Turre is fining motorists via the CCTV→

Turre issuing fines via CCTV system

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Turre townhall appears to be issuing fines to motorists via the CCTV system installed in the town. I have spoken to a couple of people who have received traffic fines from the Policia Local, due to infringements spotted on the CCTV. So take care when parking your car, or going up one way streets, and the like… they aren’t on the prowl, they’re in their air conditioned room under the Ayuntamiento, spying on you! More Continue reading Turre issuing fines via CCTV system→

Homeowners to be taxed for producing their own electricity

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The new Energy Bill proposed by the Spanish Government will levy a series of taxes and amazingly expensive tariffs on home-owners who want to install their own solar panels or windmills, in an apparent attempt to stop citizens generating their own free electricity. The government is being accused of trying to tax citizens out of the market, forcing them to buy electricity from the National Grid instead. It’s as if we had to pay for Continue reading Homeowners to be taxed for producing their own electricity→

Andalucian democracy was another pipedream – Griñán to quit by September but no elections!

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President Griñán of Andalucia is expected to announced his resignation as leader of the PSOE party in Andalucia, and a timetable in which he will retire as President of Andalucia, as he becomes ever more mired in scandal over the Andalucian ERE slush fund allegations. He’ll “probably step down in September” says El Mundo, although we’ll know more later today. It’s generally accepted that since he’s about to be called to court to testify, and Continue reading Andalucian democracy was another pipedream – Griñán to quit by September but no elections!→

Free colon cancer tests for all 50 – 69 years old

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The government has negotiated with all federal health services across Spain to include free colon cancer tests for all 50 – 69 year olds. From next month, anyone in that age group will be able to have a free screening test done on the health service every two year, via a simple stool sample. The same agreement between health services also continues with cervix cancer tests for all women between 25 and 69, every three Continue reading Free colon cancer tests for all 50 – 69 years old→

Almeria airport now offers first 15 mins of WiFi for free

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Almeria airport has changed its WiFi policy to give users the first 15 minutes of internet access for free. The airport explains that the idea is for users to quickly send emails confirming flight times, or download reading material for the flight. Anyone who needs more than 15 mins will have to pay for it at the same rates as before. Nice idea. Welcome to Almeria, the friendly airport.

Vera gets the Guinness for skinnydipping

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729 people turned up, stripped off and ran into the sea down at Vera naturist beach today, causing Vera to become the world Guinness record holder for the biggest skinny dip. It beats the previous New Zealand record of 506. The event was organised by Vera townhall together with the Spanish naturist federation. People had to group up into bunches of 50 people each, who were then counted and stamped by a local notary, who Continue reading Vera gets the Guinness for skinnydipping→

Nº2 at “Marca España” fired for Catalan abuse on twitter

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The nº 2 at Marca España, the government agency setup to promote the “Spanish brand” abroad, was fired today after tweeting rude abuse about the Catalans. Juan Carlos later “rectified” his position after the abuse started to pour in, claiming he was annoyed that some Catalans at a football match had been shouting down the national anthem, and had just overreacted. That was at 20:44. By 22:13, in a move of amazing speed, José Manuel García-Margallo, Continue reading Nº2 at “Marca España” fired for Catalan abuse on twitter→

Andalucian Democracy, PSOE style

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So, for the first time ever the PSOE in Andaucia (the buggers who win every single election here) decided to hold elections to decide who would be the next leader to take them into the elections, after President Grinan announced he would step down then. Grinan was appointed by his predecessor, Chaves; who in turn was appointed by his predecessor, etc etc etc. For some reason, Grinan announced he would allow his party to hold Continue reading Andalucian Democracy, PSOE style→