Month: June 2017

Nobody wants to carry out the Catalan referendum

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In three months time Catalunya will run a referendum upon independence- that Madrid has ruled illegal. Tough, says the generalitat it’s going ahead anyway. Trouble is, El País newspaper today reports that no private company wants to help organise the referendum. Conspiracy theorists are muttering about how los madrileños have been leaning on the private sector….. Only two companies bid for the public tender to supply the urns and voting booths – and both bids Continue reading Nobody wants to carry out the Catalan referendum→

IKEA comes to Almería

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IKEA has confirmed it will build a super store in Almería city. The company signed a contract yesterday purchasing a massive plot of land on the outskirts of the city, and contracted a company to build a 27,000 square metre building on it. Construction company Carrida will start work in February 2018 with the grand opening expected to be in February 2019, according to the published timeline, which assumes planning consent within six months. Carrida Continue reading IKEA comes to Almería→

Mónsul & Genoveses beach access closed for summer

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The usual traffic restrictions are now in place preventing you from driving down to some of the Cabo de Gata’s most popular beaches until Sept 17. The roads are closed because otherwise thousands of cars turn up and do irreparable damage to the fragile local environment. They also cause huge congestion and prevent emergency services from getting to the beach in case they are needed. So the usual park and ride system is in place. Continue reading Mónsul & Genoveses beach access closed for summer→

End of EU roaming is bad news for us this summer

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The EU has abolished roaming mobile phone charges between countries. So you can use your phone in another EU country as if you were at home. Hurrah! Bad news for us down here in Spain. Why? A worse and more expensive service, basically. Because with an estimated 23 million EU tourists coming here in July alone, there are very real fears that the infrastructure will collapse. The number of phones connected to the network is Continue reading End of EU roaming is bad news for us this summer→

Guardia Civil gives trainee officers bullfighting classes

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There is uproar today after it was revealed that 250 Guardia Civil trainee officers were given a course on bullfighting as part of their training in Jaén this week. One of their teachers swapped the police tricorn hat for a bullfighters cap and cape, to show students how to properly torture a cow to death. The students were not impressed, with a number of videos making their way onto the internet and a complaint being Continue reading Guardia Civil gives trainee officers bullfighting classes→