Holidays in Jimena

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La Tasca

Algeciras and La Linea take brunt of rainstorm

(Agencies/Photo: EuropaSur) The first heavy rain of the season took its toll on the Campo de Gibraltar. Algeciras and La Linea were the worst affected by rain that had the fire rescue units very busy: they attended a total of over 80 calls, almost all to do with flooded streets or homes. The fire brigade attended over 30 calls in La Linea in only two hours. One of the worst hit places in La Linea was close to the frontier (photo), as usual. Neighbours of that section have been complaining for years that the sewers are never cleaned out, "which is why there's sh*t in the street as soon as it rains," said one. Most of the damage in both places happened in the early hours of Friday night/Saturday morning, when the rain was at its heaviest.

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Holidays in Jimena

La Fábrica de Bombas

Rain does not stop play...

...if by play you mean going out into the countryside collecting mushrooms as part of this year's thirteenth edition of the Jornadas Micológicas (a title we have difficulty with: variously translated as Mycology Workshops, Mushroom Days, or a new one we were given last night, Mushroom Fair). Anyway, according to a town hall press release, 28 groups of hunters wet out early this morning in as many vehicles, despite the rain. Each group had with them a person who knows the area well, although some routes had to be changed at the last minute because of heavy fog at some of the highest destinations. Before departing, Mayor Pascual Collado (an enthusiastic walker and collector himself) offered words of advice about the weather conditions, which could prove dangerous to those who do not know the local countryside. Shortly after the adults set out, the children, with their own plans, headed out to the Pozos de Majarambú, near Castellar, where the terrain is a lot kinder. As we write, the vehicles are just beginning to return. This afternoon and evening's programme is as follows:>

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Caruana wants Andorran status for Gibraltar

GIBRALTAR (Agencies/Photo: EuropaSur-J.M. Quiñones) In an interview given yesterday in Seville, Chief Minister Peter Caruana backed the idea of Gibraltar obtaining a status similar to that of Andorra through negotiation between the UK and Spain. He added that Gibraltar should be "consulted" via a refendum. For his part, Senator for Cadiz and spokesperson on Gibraltar issues José Carracao said that the proposal "should not fall on deaf ears." Caruana went on to say that the idea does not attract Spain "at the moment and perhaps never will" but if it should, he could see a way to recommend it to the people of Gibraltar, who should never be denied their "modern, democratic rights." A treaty (of Utrecht) of the 18th century, said Caruana, "should not be applied to the 21st century." Regarding Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs' answer in parliament earlier this week, when Trinidad Jiménez said any negotiation could only be held between the UK and Spain, the Chief Minister said that in the period prior to any agreement on sovereignty, "it would be politically unviable and a mistake to exclude Gibraltarians."

Algeciras's largest Islamic cemetery disinterred

ALGECIRAS (Agencies/Photo: EuropaSur) A dig at the site that will eventually become a centre and library for documents in Algeciras has revealed what had been expected by archaeologists: a 700 year old Islamic cemetery containing about one hundred partial or full skeletal remains. These are not only of great archaeological value but, given the ritual simplicity of Islamic burials, Given the ritual simplicity of Islamic burials, they are easily catalogued and archived. Placed in simple earth graves facing Mecca, some of them have stones placed at the feet, though rarely do they have any form of headstone. If so, these are almost exclusively of the mqabriya type. Islamic cemeteries were usually placed outside the towns, often near the gates. This one was at the gate that lead to Gibraltar, at the upper corner near where the Marinid ruins were revealed last year.

Pronouncing Spanish - start at the beginning (Z)

This letter is not the beginning but the end of this series. If you've been following it, you might just remember that we were rudely interrupted by impecunity on Thursday 11th with the letter O, which was the last you will have seen. However, we have now caught up with ourselves and the rest of the letters are now appearing daily where they were supposed to, so go back to O to refresh your memory. As for Z, the dictionary calls it a fricative, interdental, voiceless consonant in Spain, but that's the complicated way of saying that it's pronounced like the English TH, as in 'the'. In some parts of Andalucia and most of South America, it is pronounced like an S. Prospero, who was brought up in South America, finds it easier when in Spain to use the S sound, or he has to 'see' the word in his mind to know how to pronounce it. We are unaware of their being any ZCoches in Spain, and the series was unlikely to have been shown in Franco's time.

Wild mushroom cookery book to be distributed tomorrow

JIMENA To coincide with the opening of the XIII Mycology Workshops (see full programme here), the Council is to distribute a cookery book with some of the municipality's restaurants' favourite mushroom recipes. Titled Setas y Fogones (loosely translated to Mushrooms and Cooking) and only in Spanish, its aim is that it should be used as a tool for tourists. The booklet contains recipes from Restaurante Cuenca, Hostal-Restaurante El Anón, Restaurante La Tasca, Restaurante El Ventorrillero, Restaurante Las Rejas, Hostal-Restaurante Los Arcos, Restaurante La Vía, Restaurante Mesilla de Los Ángeles, Restaurante Cacholla and Restaurante La Estación, both these in San Pablo. Look out for it at any of these establishments and, please mention you saw it here first!

Over 3700 plants for Jimena

JIMENA Some 3775 plants, trees and bushes, all native species, are to be planted throughout the municipality thanks to the Plan de Arbolado Urbano of Diputación de Cádiz, according to Councillor Fernando Gómez, who heads the council's Department of the Environment. With a market value of over €22,000, many have already been planted in public places such as Avenida de los Deportes, plazas and squares, the castle hill, the new García Bravo Park, the park at Cruz Blanca, the Convent in Estacion and the fairground, among others. Anyone passing by the swimming pool will notice more plants stored there until needed.

La Línea pays remaining 27% of September salaries

LA LINEA (EuropaSur) Mayor Alejandro Sánchez announced yesterday that the remaining 27% of municipal employees' salaries for September had been paid. Responding to a question from the new Local Police Union, at an extraordinary Council meeting, he added that as far as October is concerned, "we will do what we can." The announcement was made at a meeting that started with the removal of UGT and USO union protesters who were accused by the mayor of not allowing 'the democratic process' to continue.

New Gibraltar to Liverpool air route launched today - gaffe included

GIBRALTAR An article on today's online edition of The Gibraltar Chronicle says exactly as follows: "easyJet, the UK's largest airline and which also claims to give best value, is today launching a brand new route to Gibraltar from Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The low-fares airline is now offering a three-times-weekly service from Liverpool to the British-owned island with fares starting from just £27.99 (one-way, including taxes). Seats are now on sale and the inaugural flight will leave Liverpool on Tuesday 29 March 2011." We are delighted that Liverpudleans will have a flight to the Rock closer to home but are distressed that the isthmus on which the airport is built may cut Gibraltar off from the rest of the world. (Read the whole article here.)

Solomon Seruya invites La Linea students to write about EU - in English

LA LINEA/GIBRALTAR (Photo: The Jerusalem Post) Former minister and businessman Solomon Seruya has invited Bachillerato level students at the Instituto Virgen de la Esperanza in La Linea  to take part in an essay competition about the European Union - written in English. According to a press notice from the Asociación Sociocultural Mar del Sur, Seruya is offering a First Prize of €1000 and a Second of €300. In addition, he was to be part of a meeting, organized by Mar del Sur, held today between Gibraltar's Department of Education and a representative of the provincial education delegation of the Junta de Andalucía. This is not the first time Seruya takes a similar initiative, as he has been a stalwart promoter of bilibgualism throughout his career.

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The Translation People

Pronouncing Spanish - start at the beginning (Y)

Why, indeed. (That's por qué in Spanish.) The letter Y, though, has just recently, a couple of weeks ago, undergone some changes: it used to be called I griega (Greek I, as opposed to the Latin I, or I latina) but it's new official name is now ye (pronounced as in ye-s). This will not be apparent when you click the image, so just bear it in mind. On its own, as a conjunction, y means 'and', so tu y yo  is 'you and I'. ¿Pero por qué? Porque sí. But why? Because. (Note: please do not ask for frentes I griega, when shopping for underclothes, men. You're not going to look like the picture anyway and we can't remember what the right words for y-fronts are but are glad of self-service at Primark.)

Non-Resident Property Tax is due by December 31

Many foreign residents do not know that their 2009 Spanish Non-Resident Property Tax (picture of Form 210) is due by December 31 next. The change from what was previously called a wealth tax to this new one caused considerable confusion last year, the first in year it was required. This is not your local rates, or IBI or contribuciones, which are calculated by the local tax office (Oficina de Recaudación). The Non-Resident Property Tax is due from all non-resident property owners, non-resident being defined as anyone of any nationality who owns a property in Spain but does not file a personal tax return to the Spanish government. The relevant form (Modelo 210, image) must be completed separately by each person named on the Escritura (Title Deeds), i.e. three people, three separate declarations (see below). Despite the legalese involved in the Spanish instructions from the Agencia Tributaria (national tax authority), calculating the amount due is in fact fairly simple.>

Gibraltar finance companies must come up with £800,000 to cover Marrache costs

GIBRALTAR (GibChronicle/Brian Reyes) Over 100 local financial services companies will each have to pay up to £36,000 to cover hefty costs stemming from the collapse of local law firm Marrache & Co and its group businesses. The Financial Services Commission has invoked special legal powers to raise £800,000, in a move approved by the Gibraltar Government. The money will pay for the cost of the administration of a number of FSC-licensed companies linked to the law firm, which is at the centre of a multi-million pound fraud investigation. The so-called Special Levy will affect 101 FSC-licensed companies active in investment services, insurance intermediation, money services and fiduciary services.>

North access road to reopen this weekend, weather permitting

ALGECIRAS The northern access to the town, which was under repair since a part of it sank into a drainage course last winter, is scheduled to be reopened this weekend, according to sources. The only impediment would be the weather, which is forecast as raining heavily. Work has been carried out almost continually since the incident, and is now in  its last stages, when a giant PVC tube was inserted in the space previously carved out for it.

Spain will not negotiate sovereignty with Gibraltar

SPAIN/UK/GIBRALTAR (Agencies) The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trinidad Jiménez, said at a Senate control session today that Spain will not negotiate with Gibraltar over sovereignty because "the only two fundamental parties are Spain and Britain." Responding to a question from the PSOE spokesman on the subject, Senator José Carracao, she added that this had always been Spain's position on the subject, and would continue to be so. She nevertheless defended the continuation of the Tripartite Forum, which "has created numerous advances in terms of cooperation." Chief Minister Peter Caruana said recently that the Forum was 'useless', according to media reports.(The photo is of a street in Torrijos, Toledo, one of many similarly named streets in the country.)

It's getting colder

If you check our Weather Widget on the sidebar, you will see that we are due for a hefty drop in temperature, as well as rain, from about next weekend. Temperatures are expected to drop throughout the country, although this far South we probably won't have to wrap our pets up like this, but it's probably a good idea to get out those heavy jerseys and coats we haven't seen since last winter...

Take a pill against someone else's pain

SPAIN Médicos Sin Fronteras, the international aid organization, has had a brilliant fund raising idea. They have sent every farmacia in the country packets of pills (only chewing gum, really) to be sold at only €1. The website says, among other things, "In the First World, if something hurts, we take a pill. But ... what happens to the other world's pain, to the pain of those who don't have a pill? Isn't it great that we, who have pills for almost everything, can take one to alleviate someone else's pain?" These marvels of science (and marketing) are available exclusively at a farmacia near you.

Henrietta's

Cañada Real/El Corchado problem in San Pablo is finally resolved

SAN PABLO (Press release) The problem regarding construction and building licences at El Corchado appears to have been solved. The Dirección General de Espacios Naturales y Participación Ciudadana, an arm of the Junta de Andalucía's Department of the Environment, has told Jimena Council that it has approved a partial segregation of the Gaucín Cañada Real, of which the El Corchado road in San Pablo is part. The decision has been a long time coming. El Corchado and the area in question is now>

Pronouncing Spanish - start at the beginning (W)

In English this is a double-U. In Spanish this is a double-VV (see?). If a V is an uve, then an uve doble, is a double-u. Right? Kind of. Just click on the image and see what we mean (but you'll have to look up the illustrative word in tyour dictionary: we haven't a clue). This letter is not 'native' to Spanish and was adopted relatively recently because of foreign influences. Therefore, in words that are of Germanic origin (e.g. Wagner, wagneriano) it is pronounced as a V. In words of English origin such as vagón (wagon), vals (waltz) and vatio (watt), it has also become a V. One exception is the word for whiskey (of decidedly Scottish origin), which is officially spelt güisqui, but you needn't worry about it as the original will be understood perfectly. We'll leave the two dots over the U, called a diéresis in Spanish, until later (phew!).

Jimena's Mycology Workshops coming up this weekend

Although the weather looks none too sunny, this year's edition of Jimena's annual Mycology Workshops (Mushroom Days to friends) are scheduled for this weekend, as we first announced here earlier this month. There is a full programme of activities for adults as well as children, all related to wild mushrooms and centered mostly at the Reina Sofia Cultural Centre in Los Angeles. These include field trips to collect and identification sessions, as well as cooking tips, and more. You can see the whole programme here but we have also set up a sidebar feature for daily checking.

Pronouncing Spanish - start at the beginning (X)

The X factor in Spanish is similar to the English. It sounds the same in both languages, although in Spanish it was the original for J. So Xeres became Jerez (and then 'sherry' in English, which does not denote a place as well as a drink as in Spanish) and Don Quixote (or Don Quixot in English) became Don Quijote. Back then it sounded like the English sh or the French ch, but this no longer common. The X factor is not very common in Spanish either.

Tobacco smugglers under pressure

GIBRALTAR (Agencies/Photo: GibChronicle) Authorities on both sides of the border have been clamping down on tobacco smuggling. In Gibraltar, the number of people arrested for tobacco-related offences has risen sharply year-on-year as the RGP police and HM Customs target organised groups engaged in the clandestine trade, while the Guardia Civil have tightened border checks and are conducting random searches in the Campo de Gibraltar. However, the evidence is that the sale of cigarrettes is as brisk as ever. It is an organised business, says the Gibraltar Chronicle, with one person buying the cigarrettes and distributing to others on the other side. Photos (left) taken earlier this month show groups of people gathering to hand out cigarettes and exchange cash on the Gibraltar side of the border.>

Internet chatrooms and social networks induce bad spelling

INTERNET (We have included seven typos in this article, one of which was contained in the original article - can you spot them?) It isn't as though we didn't know it, but a paper released by the English Spelling Society confirms that the internet has revolutionised the English language, and made misspelling the norm. As people type at speed online, there is now a "general attitude" that there is no need to correct mistakes or conform to regular spelling rules, it says. Children who have been bought up with the internet do not question wrongly spelled words. "The increasing use of variant spellings on the internet has been brought about by people typing at speed in chat rooms and on social networking sites where the general attitude is that there isn't a need to correct typo's or conform to spelling rules," says the study authored by Lucy Jones.>

Two Rock-related items, one good, one bad

GIBRALTAR (Source: GibChronicle) Gibraltar airport is fourth on a list of '10 most stunning approaches' by PrivateFly.com, a company for private flights and plane bookings, where it is described thus: "Gibraltar airport is owned by the Ministry of Defence as RAF Gibraltar. Private jet operators also use the airport to arrange private jet charter to and from Gibraltar - and civilian airlines for flights to the UK and Spain. The airport has the distinction of being the closest to the city that it serves, being only 500 metres from Gibraltar’s city centre. The runway is actually intersected by a main road which has to be closed every time a plane lands or departs. The rock of Gibraltar looms large on the stunning approach, causing unusual wind patterns and turbulence." Remaining on the subject of transport, the Cunard Line website states "Famous for the Rock of Gibraltar, this Spanish port is a Cunard Cruise Line stop for World Cruise and Mediterranean cruise itineraries." In line with our policy of tongue-in-cheekiness, we refuse to comment on either of these statements but urge our readers to do so. It is for you, Dear Reader, to decide which item is good and which bad...

Defence and Junta in argument over road, Guadalmesí residents' access getting worse

TARIFA (Agencies/Photo: EuropaSur) Almost one third of permanent residents of the Guadalmesí area, on the Western coastal section of the municipality of Tarifa, are the innocent victims of a dispute over land. The Ministry of Defence and the Junta´s Environment Council are arguing aboyut who owns what. In the meantime, the access road gets worse by the day (and is expected to be unpassable after this winter, if it is a wet one). The ministry has not used the numerous coastal battery installations for many years yet continues to claim the roads that allow access to them. The matter has been denounced for a number of years, meetings between the parties have been held. The Junta began to repair the road (Pista 6 in its official military denomination, which runs from El Bujeo down to the beach) but the work was stopped by order of the ministry, which has set up several signs forbidding access though the Junta defends 'free transit'. The president of the residents association, Antonio Parada Rodríguez, says that an accident has to happen before anything is done.

Feetham is up and about already

GIBRALTAR (Text & Photo: GibChronicle) Less than three weeks after his near fatal stabbing Justice Minister Daniel Feetham walked into his office at No6 Convent Place yesterday morning for a couple of hours to start catching up on paperwork. Despite the traumatic event which resulted in major surgery, Mr Feetham is gradually re-entering his daily routine. The wound also affected his vocal chords so he is not holding meetings at present and continues with a programme of convalescence.

Municipal workers call off strike, hold demos in the afternoons instead

LOS BARRIOS (Agencies) The municipal employees returned to work this morning after their union officially called off the 'indefinite' strike that began on November 8. Although the cause of the strike is not yet resolved (non-payment of salaries for October, two months' worth for the staff at Radiotelevisión Los Barrios), an accumulated stoppage of two weeks has begun to seriously affect their pockets, as two weeks on strike adds up to almost a months' wages when including social security payments, etc.. Instead of the work stoppage, the employees will hold daily demonstrations from five to six in the afternoon, today being the first. Union delegates, however, will continue to hold their own daily demos at 10am. Some 50 such delegates had locked themselves into the Council chamber for some 50 days, which began on September 28.

Spanish golf federation gives La Cañada its top award

SAN ROQUE/GUADIARO (Agencies) The Real Federación Española de Golf has awarded the club in Guadiaro, La Cañada, with its Medal of Merit in Sport, according to a press release dated yesterday. The note said, "(The club) is an example of developing the sport since it was opened in 1983. With over 1600 licenced players, the club has always given Spanish golf great pleasure." Many of the country's top players started out at the club, whose recently re-electd president, Ángel Gutiérrez, says the award, the top such for Spanish golf clubs, is a "reinforcement of our policy", adding, "there are 250 children enrolled at the club's academy, we cooperate to bring the handicapped to play here, we offer more outings than anyone ... and now, what we consider routine is being recognized."

Chamber of Commerce wants stricter controls at Green Lane customs post

GIBRALTAR (Agencies) In a press relase dated yesterday, the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce has complained about the “startingly low” number of checks carried out by HM Customs on local vehicles crossing from Spain into Gibraltar. It said a survey carried out over a three-day period found that officers inspected just 2% of Gibraltar-registered cars using the green channel. Chamber members are concerned that many locals are shopping in Spain but not paying import duty when returning home. The survey was conducted at specific times over three days in early November and was aimed at recording how many cars entering the green channel were challenged by Customs on whether they had goods to declare. The communiqué continues,>

El Anón

Jimena man returns 'in good health'

Daniel Martin Mateo, 62, was reported missing at about 9pm on Saturday night after his family told authorities he had failed to return home since he had set out to search for wild mushrooms in the forest early that morning. Daniel knows the area well, so his family thought it particularly strange that he had not returned and feared something had happened to him and he was unable to contact them. He had taken his car, which was found in the Las Cainillas area on the road to Puerto Galiz. A full search took place all day Sunday and  was planned for this morning - Monday- involving>

La Tasca

It's Monday morning, I feel lonely

Phil Heinzl, our photographer extraordinaire has done it again. He sent in this picture that illustrates the Monday Morning Feeling he has illustrated in the past (here and here, for instance). To us, this one has the added poignancy of loneliness. Like "Where's everyone gone?" or "Is it just me that feels like this?" Heck, you know the feeling...

You can check out some more of Philip's work on his page on JimenArte, a JimenaPulse partner site, and a FREE exhibition space for artists lof all kinds.

Pronouncing Spanish - start at the beginning

To V or not to V, that is the question. There is a problem here, let's face it. A very large proportion of the enormous Spanish-speaking population has trouble spelling words containing this letter or a B. That's because they are pronounced very similarly. In the (g)olden days of education, when Prospero was at infants' school, he was taught that there is a clear distinction between the two. However, the guardians of the language at the Real Academia have been debating the subject for decades and we wouldn't want to get in their way, so just listen and learn and get over it. (We admit to being tempted to write about the V-sign and what it means in both languages but - oh, what the heck, see below)>

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Refinery wall given over to graphitti

SAN ROQUE (Photo: illustration only) The wall behind the Cepsa refinery in San Roque, over a kilometer long, has been 'donated' by the company to local graphiti artists. Cepsa is sponsoring a permanent exhibition of this subspecies of art, according to Europa Sur. We will try to get a proper photo of the wall itself as soon as possible. What's your opinion on graphitti? Let us know on 'comments' below.

Government delegate says sovereignty should only be debated among states

GIBRALTAR (Agencies) Julio Montesino (photo), the Spanish government's Special Delegate to the Campo de Gibraltar, said yesterday at a seminar that, as far as Spaini s concerned, the matter of the sovereignty of Gibraltar can only be debated among states, in other words between Spain and the UK. His comments, which represent the viewpoint of his bosses at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, came only a day after the Rock's Chief Minister, Peter Caruana said exactly the opposite, that 'the time for bilateral talks is over', and that the Treaty of Utrecht is 'no longer any use' at the same venue, the Autumn Courses of the University of Cadiz, held in Algeciras. Montesino said that Spain's old claim on sovereignty is 'still current and irrenouncable' but that the Tripartite Forum, while it has induced many advances, will not include any debate on the subject.

Campo buses on half hour strike, threaten indefinite strike from December 7

ALGECIRAS (Agencies/Photo: EuropaSur) Some fifty workers at the CTM-Grupo Ruiz bus company, concessionaires of the Campo's public system, came out on a wildcat half-hour wildcat stoppage yesterday in protest about the 'uncertainty' of their wages. Traffic came to a halt along the Avenida Virgen del Carmen for at least that long (photo). They announced that if they have no confirmation that they are to receive their next salaries by December 7, they will call an indefinite strike as from that day. The union leader, Ángel Santiago, said that the Council had not been keeping its promise of returning moniesfr om a 2009 subsidy from the government to the company, and that is why it was having trouble paying the wages.