No alarm clocks needed
In the campo you have the roosters to wake you up at first light. Here on the coast you have the dogs……
Cinemas opening to see the Worldcup game
if you fancy seeing the football worldcup on Sunday as part of a crowd, the cinemas in La Canada and in Marbella are both open on Sunday for the 8.30pm ( Spanish time) worldcup football final match, Spain against Holland.
Viva Espana….
Charity Gala Dinner on Saturday 17th July at the Gran Hotel Guadalpin
POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO THE HOLIDAY PERIOD AND MANY PEOPLE BEING AWAY. I WILL POST UP THE NEW DATES AND TIMES AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE.
Charity Gala Dinner on Saturday 17th July at the Gran Hotel Guadalpin. Great cause, great night out, great excuse to ditch the bikini and don the party frock.
Below is some info on whom to contact etc as given by the marvellously talented Nicola Erlich. If you need any advice on how to use social networking to promote your business, then she’s the person to talk to.
The 1st Beneficial Gala of “Street-O” – the Charity in aid of Philippines’ street children, is being held on Saturday 17th July at the Gran Hotel Guadalpin, Marbella.
The Gala Dinner is set to be a night to remember jam packed with a line up of entertainment ranging from the legendary Mel Williams, Wow Factor finalist Becky Tate, local talented pianist Paul Maxwell, to name but a few acts.
The charity, Street-0, was founded in Spain by Raymond Allon. This registered charity has ambitious plans to raise a much needed €750k in order to build communities and provide essential goods and supplies to the deprived “slum kids” who live in inhumane conditions on the streets of the Philippines.
“Our purpose is to raise funds and awareness of the conditions that these slum kids live in. Once you have seen the conditions they live in, it takes a hardened heart to not want to do something, anything, to make a difference in their lives” says Ray, President of StreetO,
“We have specifically chosen a Gala as our first fundraising event so that our guests have an unforgettable evening of fine dining and entertainment whilst helping support our charitable cause”
Tickets are still available for tables of 10 people, at €100 per head.
If you would like to attend the Gala please contact Laura on 638677755 or email admin@streeto.org
We will gratefully accept any gifts of raffle prizes or auction items, offers of sponsorship of the event or donations to the charity.
For further information about this worthy cause, please see www.streeto.org
Kerry Katrona on her way to Marbella
According to Now magazine, so it must be true, Kerry Katrona is on her way for a holiday in Marbella, with her new boyfriend this week
Sinatra’s and Lineker’s Bar must be rubbing their hands with glee….
Helpful Ideas for tourists
If you are a tourist about to drive in Spain or just walk about, here are some helpful ideas.
1. Do not cross a zebra crossing without looking. Zebra crossings in the Marbella area are there to make the road look pretty and to match the Mayor’s latest suit. They are not there for pedestrians - silly. Cross a zebra crossing without looking and you will die.
2. In Puerto Banus the road by V.I.Ps is a one way road. Meet me coming the other way and one of us will have to stop and it won’t be me because I usually go to Puerto Banus in the morning and I’ve not very cheerful or nice in the morning.
3. On the A7, otherwise known as the coastal road do not drive at 60km per hour. Do not drive 60km in the fast lane. My choice is to either tailgate you or overtake on the middle lane, neither of which I find particularly pleasant. Both of which could result in your death and possibly mine. Would prefer yours….
4. At roundabouts I’m jolly glad that you take a few hours to decide which way to go. But the decision to turn left at that roundabout was a mistake….
5. At petrol stations do not put leaded petrol into the car if it is diesel. On the other hand, if you drive like any of the above go right ahead as at least you will be off the road for a couple of days.
6. England lost the World Cup so you can take down your tatty English flag now from your car aerial, unless you want your car keyed at La Canada shopping centre.
7. When I let you in and you wave thank you, all of the above are forgiven as that doesn’t happen very often here in Spain!
Happy driving….and I don’t really mean any of the above!!
Adding air conditioning meters to your apartment
I had an interesting email through today discussing the purchase of an air conditioning meter to cut down on electricity by making the tenant/client responsible for paying the air conditioning rather than the owner. Here is the info and contact information if you want to follow this up.
From: info@mobility-scooters-spain.com
Message:
Dear Sir/Madam
Do your customers leave the air conditioning units on all day leaving a high electricity bill? If the answer is yes to these questions then we are here to help.
Your tenant will be responsible for their own use of the air conditioning units or even the electricity as the unit has a 100amp capacity. The unit can be credited with either ?1 coins or ?2 coins. Credit is displayed on the unit so that the user can see at all times the remaining credit.
The cost of these meters are 175.00 euros or installed from 240.00 euros.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Kind Regards
Dawn Burton
Fat Boy bean bag chairs
I’m trying to find a fat boy bean bag chair. Has anyone seen a shop in Marbella or Nueva Andalucia that sells them?
ADDITION - I have heard that a shop called Tra and Stein opposite Terra Sana in Nueva Andalucia where the DVD shop and RED hairdressers are located sells them. Will find out and let you know.
LATER ADDITION - the shop had a grey outside one and a dog fat boy, but no longer can get fat boys in Spain so they will not be getting anymore stock. Casa in La Canada by the entrance on the left hand side, sells adult and children’s bean bags in a variety of colours. But they don’t have enough give in them so you just stay perched on top and not worth the money. It might be worth trying a few to see if some have been filled less/better, but decided no good for my needs. Price was I think 19.95 euros.
Stopping distances, what are they again?
Stopping distances. We have them to stop you smashing into the car in front should there be a sudden issue on the road when all the cars need to break. Pretty common on the A7. Rubber marks, singed hedges, flowers tied to the roadside and a big sign saying how many people have died in 2010 are all there to remind us that the A7 is the nearest thing you are going to get to Russian roulette unless you have mafia links. If you are reading this, then there is a good chance you do and may I say how lovely you look today and I wish your family well…..Вы прекрасны
Cars here though seem to see the stopping distance that I leave as an excuse to nip in. When I say nip in, I mean veer dangerously at high speed without indicating leaving me with cm before I collide with their rear end. Much as I’m sure their rear end is delightful I would rather choose life. Dying with an Audi black bumber impaled around my neck is not the way I would choose to go. I don’t collect trophies unless it is in the form of shrunken heads of these crazy drivers. Most of which look pretty shrunken in the first place and in most cases I’ve noticed the heads of Audi and BMW drivers rarely touch the bottom of the steering wheel. I have no idea how their legs reach the pedals and suspect they have cut a hole in the bottom of the car and have got an underpaid African to run very fast indeed. Or perhaps they have the North Korean football team in there with them.
Meanwhile I’ve observed more police here in Marbella than any other town that I have lived. Most of them are on the road and whilst I’m not sure exactly what they are doing, their sirens add a lovely touch of sea blue to the monotony of silver cars that we all seem to buy. I just wish they would turn them on more than they do. I love a little touch of disco whilst driving.
In Puerto Banus if you want a policeman just wave a carrot. The horse will come first followed by his rider. Again, I’m not sure what these mounted policemen really do. Perhaps they gaze at the sky high up on horseback and predict the weather for us mere mortals. They say “sunshine”, I say ” rain.”
Anyway, if you ever really need a policeman here in Marbella. Just get into a car, drive and then make a phone call on your mobile.
You will have the whole of the Marbella constabulary at your disposal within seconds.
Van Removals Marbella
If you are looking for a van to help you with removals in the Marbella area then I can recommend Paul. He can help with all types of removals, just something small like a sofa to be collected from a shop ( cheaper to hire Paul to collect a sofa from Habitat than for Habitat to do it themselves) or he can do larger removals as he has another man and a van that he can use.
His wife is a teacher here on the coast so totally decent family…..
Paul charges from 20 euros per hour. You can contact him at Vanmoves on 622793989.
Sewage in the sea
Last year we stopped going in the summer for a swim by the Puente Romano in Marbella as the bays there whilst giving you often lovely calm waters also brought with it serious amounts of scum. My first thoughts were this is sewage but I tried to convince myself that it was actually a delightful new species of algae manifesting itself near my body as I waded into the water.
My children were not convinced by my marine biology and refused to go there again. So we headed to the beaches of Elvira, just 10 minutes away and we have a scum free summer. Well apart from the odd brush with with some loud, brash English tourists.
I read recently in the Sur in English that this scum is caused by sewage from areas around Mijas that float over towards us here in Marbella. There is now an Integral Sanitation Forum that is lobbying to get the sewage stopped. The scum has built up earlier this year as the rivers have flooded with the huge amount of rain we had earlier in the year and they haven’t been treated.
So I guess it is back to Elviria again this summer. No great hardship as the beaches there are beautiful, shallow sand banks for the children and good parking so long as you don’t go on a Sunday…