Lo echo de menos

Despite all my grumblings over life in Spain I really miss Casares right now. I want to go back and stay there forever.

I really HATE the UK with its stupid rules and rapidly decreasing freedoms. The place deserves a proper revolution, and the sooner the better.

La corrupción y blanqueo de dinero

Many of my expat frinds have commented on the apparently endemic corruption on Spain. I always regarded it as an unavoidable feature of life here and never made any moral judgement on it.

At a low level, it appears as a way of topping up meagre salaries.

I am now aware of a whole new dimension of corruption which I find morally offensive. I have discovered that council employees are paid bonuses according to how much benefit they can avoid paying out to claimants that are entitled. The level of these bonuses is such that said council officials can go out and buy a new car or put down a mortgage on a house. So, those who have no advocates who can fill in the forms and write letters the way that ticks the right boxes are denied money that they need. We are not talking about benefit fraud here; this is denying hard-working families money to food in their children's mouths. So, instead of helping those that need it, the council employees are lining their own pockets.

So, you ask where is this corruption to be found? Well it's NOT Spain. It's in the UK! The so-called bastion of fair play has stooped to the lowest form of moral corruption whereby money is withheld from the most vulnerable and defenceless.

If you want to get benefit in the UK you need an advocate to fight for you. This is why certain groups are so successful at getting it. They have the systems in place to get it for them; and good luck to them. I shall be putting this to my MP with a view to having the "civil servant" who invented this scheme forced to apologise to every failed genuine claimant for the rest of their lives!

Rant over.

Vacaciones

I finally get a break from work so I can get to inspect the ravages wrought by winter on the house. I expect mould and lots of it.

Con titilación y experiencia.

Poor Maria Rosa. I hope she didn´t get too many calls for her services; or maybe her maid services were what she described.

Un regalo para Lucy

Meet Winston. He should be good enough to get her through the streets of Setubal. Unfortunately too wide for Casares.

I've ridden in this very behemoth some years ago. Vision is a bit poor, but frankly it's an advantage not to see the car you've just run over and crushed.

Fuel economy is poorer, at about 8 mpg max on four-star only.

Comfort is basic, but then you're so padded out with helmet, gloves etc. that the extra layers absorb the bumps.