The Orihuela Costa Independence Party have been questioning why our ex-pats’ totally justifiable complaints about the condition of the local environment are constantly ignored by Orihuela Council, based in the city.
Their answer is that while the excellent English-speaking local newspapers, like the one you are now reading, are very good at highlighting our local problems, they are not read by Spanish councillors who are in charge in the council.
The likelihood is that the majority, if not all, because they are Spanish, only bother to read their own Spanish newspapers, or listen to Spanish TV or radio.
And it has become simply a case of out of sight, out of mind.
We all know that councillors will respond to a local problem if either they can see they can gain votes by raising it, or losing votes if they ignore it. We know that of old when we have tried to deal with a problem in the UK.
But here in Spain we are dealing with two other problems. The first is a growing one with nationalism – the Spanish, deep down, are saddened by what tourism and ex-pat migration into their country has done. And, frankly, I sympathise with them in that.
Secondly, Spanish councillors know that ex-pats living here are mostly all for an easy life, sunning themselves, drinking in bars and enjoying the local food (and in the process getting too fat!), and the last thing they are bothered about is voting in a local election.
Trying to get ex-pats to get off their bums, bars, their pools or the beach to go and vote is hopeless. Political parties have tried in the past to achieve it and failed miserably.
The result? No councillors representing the coast are elected and it’s business as usual for the Spanish councillors in the city.
The Independence Party say we should continue complaining, and yes we should, but we must ensure that councillors know that finally ex-pats are a force to be reckoned with, that we will not be ignored and that we will do what it takes to make Orihuela Costa a better place to live in. So, in short, stop being so bl***y lazy!
* Now, believe it or not, I am going to congratulate the council! Perhaps someone actually read a past rant of mine and took action – who knows miracles just might happen! I wrote about the danger of local roads not having white lines repainted and potholes filled in. Hey presto, I’m seeing workmen dealing with just that.
Now council, if you are reading this, how about tacking the thousands of weeds growing along road edges and between kerbs and pavements? And let’s have a look at those open spaces which should have been well maintained community areas. I’m sure that if residents were properly approached and financed, they would be willing to form community groups to turn them into areas to enjoy, stroll through or even grow plants in. It happens in the UK, why not here?
BREAKING POINT
We have heard for years how cash strapped the NHS is, with services stretched to breaking point and lives being put at risk.
Now we hear that the NHS is having to pay up to £2,000 a shift to provide last-minute freelance nurses. This is what an agency is charging.
The NHS is being caught between the devil and a hard place. Workload pressures in the NHS and a desire for more flexibility over shifts are thought to be driving more nurses to work for agencies, which tend to pay the people on their books more, while also taking a payment for themselves.
A BBC News investigation discovered one agency charges almost £2,000 for a 12-hour bank holiday shift by a specialist paediatric nurse – an area of expertise where there are known staff shortages.
Of that £2,000, the nurse receives about £1,050 – meaning nearly £800 goes to the agency.
This is another example of creeping privatisation of the NHS, loved by the Tory government.
While Glen Burley, chief executive of an NHS Trust, says the agency is targeting areas in England where nurses are in short supply and profiteering from an overstretched NHS, while the government is saying that “new measures” they are introducing will end the use of expensive agencies.
Well, I think we will believe it when we see it.
BACK TO BASICS
Do you remember Making Your Mind Up by Bucks Fizz, Save Your Kisses For Me by Brotherhood of Man, Waterloo, by Abba, All Kinds of Everything, by Dana, Puppet on a String, by Sandy Shaw and Poupee de Cirre, Poupee de Son, by France Gall.
Bet all of you of a certain age are now singing along with those! And no wonder – they were all numero uno in Eurovision.
Anyway – what did all those songs, and many others like them do for you?
I want to highlight the change which has happened with Eurovision over the years, and which, in my view has become totally ruined.
Firstly, protest groups are using the contest to score all manner of political points and, in the process, have ruined it, resulting in the whole event, which was originally aimed at bringing European countries together, into a battle ground.
Secondly, I think the music itself is total rubbish. It used to be a song contest. It is anything but now. It’s either got to be simulated sex on stage, or the most outrageous costume parade or a contest of who can produce the most amazing lighting effects.
Eurovision needs to go back to basics. Let’s have song writers and artists singing songs which are melodic, catchy so we remember them and get into our heads and have meaningful lyrics. Perhaps the youngsters of today should take some time listening to the songs of the past and realise what they are missing.
I used to look forward to Eurovision many years ago. It was fun. Now it is political and not worth watching – and as for the UK entry, well, the least said the better. To quote a TV commentator: “Watching Olly Alexander with five half naked blokes simulating sex acts in a grotty neon lit toilet, the song is called dizzy it should’ve been called grotty.”
BOOZED UP TOURISTS
Yes, I might be a killjoy, but I applaud the decision of the government of the Balearic Islands, banning the sale of alcohol between 9.30pm and 8am in “areas of excessive tourism”
I can imagine islanders being totally fed up with booze-fuelled holidays in tourist areas year after year, and I would be if I lived there. One of my first holidays was to San Antonio in Ibiza – and way, way back then the only noise at 4am was when night after night our 18-month old daughter decided to wake up and cry her heart out, making so much noise we had to walk around the bay and hope she would fall asleep in her pushchair. The village then was lovely. But tourism has turned it into just another horrible tourist trap.
In another move the authorities have banned party boats from within a nautical mile of picking up or disembarking passengers in the hot spots.
I can imagine this being echoed in many other cities around the world which are being wrecked by countless cruise liners which swamp those places with tourists.
It’s all very well for the money makers making a mint from these tourist hot spots, but they couldn’t care less about the noise and nuisance caused. It’s the same argument over the night time “industry” which results in hundreds of boozed up youngsters pouring out of nightclubs. Who wants to live near that?
JUST A FEW SQUIRTS
Finally here is a tip. After the recent rain, mosquitoes are in full breeding mode and we are feeling the full effects of their need to suck as much blood from us as possible to make their breeding happen.
Mosquitoes need water to lay their eggs and water tubs or watering cans in gardens are ideal. If you have some stagnant water in your garden have a look and see if there are any wigglers in it. They are the larvae of the mosquito. A few squirts of washing up liquid in the water will kill the wigglers and you could save yourselves a few days of horrible painful itching!
I have done this for three years now, with no ill effects on our plants, flowers or vegetables.
