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News for Birdwatchers

If you love the Andalusian countryside and you’d like to know the names of all those wonderful birds you see out there enjoying the fresh air and sunshine, this is your big chance!

I had the opportunity to meet the organisers of the Bird Watching Days that will be taking place in Casarabonela in the province of Málaga from the 28th of May through the 1st of June.

Ian and Sarah Shreeves call themselves “enthusiasts” when it comes to birdwatching, but I’d be more inclined to call them genuine experts. They definitely know the local bird community well. Thanks to their passion for birdwatching, the Town Hall at Casarabonela has teamed up with them to organise this wonderful chance to see the local area, check out some very interesting birds - including the local eagles, vultures and even bee eaters.

You can get more information in English by ringing 952 456 127 or 664 581 415 and speaking to either Ian or Sarah. As part of the Birdwatching Days, there are trips to El Chorro in Ardales, to the amazing Río Grande (which isn’t such a raging river, but the scenery is worth following the river as far as you can - it’s gorgeous, especially in the area where they plan to take you) and Pizarra.

So, get your binoculars ready. You can join for the whole five days or just pop in for one day.

Good luck!

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May Flowers

In English we say, “April showers bring May flowers.” In Spanish they say,”Marzo ventoso y abril lluvioso hace de mayo florido y hermoso.” (Windy March and rainy April make May flowery and beautiful.”

It’s May. Andalucia is covered in flowers, and we have the festivals the prove it.

Everything is coinciding this month. The May crosses in Córdoba, with their flower covered crosses competing for prizes throughout the city. Many towns, villages and cities throughout our region will also have these colourful, fragrant contests going on. Then we have the Patio Festival in Córdoba, where residents open up their private patios to the public to show off their spring greenery, flowers and decorations. The Córdoba fair also happens this month. And then there is Corpus Christi - a region-wide religious celebration that is fused with the fair in Granada. That usually happens in June, but thanks to such an early Easter this year, everything is happening in May.

And don’t forget the Rocio pilgrimage and the Virgen de la Cabeza celebration in Ronda.

Every one of these events makes for a perfect opportunity to get to know this region better, to mix with locals and to get out and enjoy the fresh spring air.

This year, we have most definitely had all the wind and rain necessary to bring us an ideal, sunny, flowery May.

So what are you waiting for?

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Calling all golfers - again!

Yes, golfers, once again there is news for you.

You have a date with the Mediterranean Golf Fair in Málaga city at the Palacio de Congresos right smack on the edge of the fair grounds.

This is an important trade fair bringing the latest and the best from the world of golf to the Costa del Sol. The fair will continue through the 19th of April and is being held together with another important fair: Jardinova, which brings cutting edge gardening and landscaping products and information to Andalucia.

Therefore, if you’re a golfer and your partner is a gardener - or viceversa, you may find this to be the ideal venue for your next date!

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The price of an error

Yes, we’re all human. We all make mistakes.

But some mistakes are more costly than others. For example, how much does it cost to leave an innocent person in prison for a year? And what could possibly be the compensation for sending a young man home from a hospital emergency room twice, without diagnosing him with acute perionitis? What’s the price of not having an ambulance available when that same patient is dying at home?

These are tragic situations, often involving whole “chains” of human error. And have you ever stopped to think about how the price of committing such errors is different depending on where in the world the mistake is made?

So, how much does it cost to commit such errors in Andalucia?

The judge from Mojácar, a small coastal town in Granada province, who “forgot” to release an innocent man from prison has discovered that it will cost her one year work suspension and 103,000 euros. However, because she says she’s bankrupt, the state will pay…

The many health personnel who are under investigation regarding the “chain of errors” (as they described it on the regional news service this morning) that lead to the untimely death of the young man with perionitis, are still waiting to find out who will pay what?

But will anyone actually pay a price? Or will it just come out of taxpayers’ pockets while doctors and nurses continue with business as usual?

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Blown over by the Fair?

Seville is teaming with life today as everyone - residents and visitors alike -are ready to enjoy a week of fun and festivity in a traditional event that rocks the city every year around this time.

Weather reports, however, are not co-operating this year, with winds of up to 90 kilometres an hour predicted to blow the event over if tents aren’t tightly tied down! And look out for those paper lanterns!

Must admit I was personally blown over by the fair back in my student days, living in Triana with a lovely Spanish woman and her daughter. Such was the warmth of our relationship that Concha actually borrowed a flamenco dress and tailored it for me in order to send me off to the fair in style.

A good friend, Leticia, insisted I spend the entire week in her father’s caseta - which gave me plenty of practice dancing Sevillanas, the regional dance. And in between the twirling dances we girls were treated to one round of sherry and tapas after another in a blur of experience that went on all night, every night.

The early light of morning brough rounds of “churros and chocolate”. Then it was off to bed only to be woken at 1:00 p.m. to get ready for lunch back at the fairgrounds or at a nearby restaurant.

The highlight for me was a ride on horseback in full flamenco garb (me, not the horse) and feeling more concerned about the unruly ruffles of my dress than the amazing scenery I probably missed completely.

It was a once in a lifetime event for me and - weather co-operating - I recommend it to everyone.

Read more about the Seville April Fair.

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Integration

This is a big issue among expatriates here in Andalucia. Just how integrated into the local culture are we? Just how integrated should we be?

It’s clear that many are attracted to the south of Spain by a radiant sun, clear blue skies and stretches of heavenly beach. Those who settle in coastal areas have more opportunity to band together in colonies with only minimal contact with the “natives”. Their inland counterparts have little choice but to learn the language, get the know their neighbours and adhere to the old adage, “when in Spain…”.

I speak the language. My Spanish husband’s family has welcomed me with open arms. I work for a Spanish company, have my (Spanish) kids in Spanish school and have plenty of Spanish friends. “How can you get more integrated than that?”, you might ask.

However, when it comes down to it, I’m a very stubborn person who clings to her ways with a vengeance. I resist doing things the Spanish way until wild horses have dragged me several kilometres. I will “do it My Way” if at all possible… It’s just the way I am.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when I - the super-organised, ultra-Anglo woman with the practical Scandinavian roots - arrived at the supermarket on Saturday night just before closing along with about 99.99 percent of the local population.

I wasn’t even ruffled to find myself there in the midst of the Spanish masses - all of us together, doing the last minute shopping. For once I hadn’t spent the whole day worrying about how to organise every last detail of my life in order to do my shopping while my Andalusian neighbours were taking their siestas.

No, I was living in “The Now”, as they say - moving from one moment to the next with careless abandon. And now, here I was, rubbing shoulders with a trillion other last minute shoppers - doing things the “Spanish way”.

The thrill was lost, however, as I made my way out of the parking area, weaving my vehicle in and out among the crowds, and suddenly realised that I had missed one all important detail: I had left the husband, kids, grandparents, aunts and uncles at home!

In essence, I was the one and only lone shopper on the premises.

Very un-Spanish!

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Skirts or Trousers?

Big, big news item this week. Would you believe that the owners of a hospital in Cádiz have taken 30 euros in bonus pay away from nurses who refuse to wear the traditional uniform - the one specified in the company regulations?

That uniform was chosen 30 years ago and includes a skirt, fitted white apron, classic nurses cap - the works! (Really takes you back in time, I must say.)

It so happens that nurses at the hospital have decided it’s time to retire the old skirt in favour of a loose trouser with a comfortable elastic waist. In statements to the press, one said she shouldn’t have to show her body to do her work (and that statement was accompanied by a demonstration - on public television - of how the skirt responds to bending over or reaching high…).

Given the climate in terms of gender equality in Spain right now, it’s not surprising that society is up in arms. The media is indignant, the public flabbergasted, outrages, even amused. It’s the hot topic for radio “tertulias”; it’s the hot topic everywhere. I’ll admit, I’m learning new adjectives by the day just listening in!

The hospital is privately run, but subsidized by the regional health services. Therefore, when news of this labour dispute reached the media, regional politicians were quick to react.

The latest? Three arms of the regional government have pledged to work hand in hand to investigate the health centre. At the forefront is the “Consejería para la Igualdad” (The Equal (read “women’s”) Rights Council), followed by the Labour Department and then SAS (the Servicio Andaluz de Salud).

Looks like a legal battle is on the way, and if I were the director of that hospital, I’d be looking to buy stocks in a manufacturer of white trousers with elastic waists!

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Andalucia Post Semana Santa

And this really is something to consider: imagine holding a weeklong party in your home. Would you be ready to dive into “life as usual” on Monday morning?

It only makes sense that this week our entire region is suffering a sort of “post Semana Santa hangover” or “post-vacation stress disorder” - you choose.

I’ve always found the post-Holy Week local news to be rather amusing. Of course the week starts off slowly with whatever reporters can come up with after such a week of processions, eating, drinking and the like. Then, about mid-week we can expect news regarding all the efforts that went into cleaning the wax from procession candles off the streets and especially out of those cobblestone cracks! Imagine that!

Of course all kinds of special equipment is required, with hot pressure washers and maybe even special chemicals here and there. We’re looking at a serious mess.

If we’re especially lucky, our local town hall will have made some kind of special investment in some new fangled invention that is guaranteed to provide us with the best and brightest post Semana Santa street conditions ever. Otherwise, we’ll just get to find out how much the whole operation cost - with overtime hours etc. But don’t worry, in most cases this data should be posted conveniently along side larger than life headlines announcing how much money this lucrative religious holiday brought into local coffers - both private and public.

But what is really happening behind the scenes in towns, villages and cities across Andalucia this week? You can just bet that the members of the Catholic brotherhoods who organise all the events and schedules for Semana Santa are already working on next year. There are images of Christ and Mary in need of touching up and even serious restoration. New veils to design, candles to order, municipal permits to apply for…

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Modern Day Semana Santa

Penitence just isn’t what it used to be. Who would have imagined back in 1890, for example, that those bearing the heavy floats through the streets would one day have the support of… physiotherapists?

That’s right. I saw it myself this weekend on the local news. Right there on the screen was an emminent physiotherapist advising throne (float) bearers across Andalucia that many of the traditional - even permanent - injuries incurred by carrying floats are entirely avoidable if only they would do a series of exercises and stretches before and after carrying so much weight over cobble stone streets for up to five hours.

In Córdoba, in fact, there is an actual “Centre for Attention for Floatbearers” with educational posters on the walls showing “costaleros” (as they are known in Spanish) proper postures to use when lifting and setting down the thrones as well as how to do the exercises designed to save them much pain during the days and months (years?) after Semana Santa. The place is even equipped with massage tables!

So there you have it: the all new, improved version of Holy Week. The same spectacular processions, music, saetas, magic, but without the risk of lifelong injury for those who make this amazing event happen.

Don’t forget, the average float weighs well over a ton!

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World Consumer Day in Andalucia

What a great place to celebrate World Consumer Day! Where better than southern Spain? With such great weather, you can put together the perfect picnic and choose an ideal location to… consume, of course!

You can be sure that all of our local consumer organisations have been working hard this week, preparing information and alerts to raise consciousness on this important day, dedicated to one of the most practiced activities on the planet… consumption, of course.

Fuel prices are at the top of the lists of consumer concerns at the moment. However, one of my favourite alerts has been issued by FACUA, the Andalucian Federation of Consumer and User Associations: nine out of ten breakfast cereals are too high in sugar for our good health. Now who would have guessed? Must say I’m grateful though to have the backing of a heavyweight like FACUA next time I turn down requests to start the day “right” with a bowl of sugar coated sugar flakes. “Sorry kids, but FACUA says…”.

Here’s to another year of new, improved… consumption, what else?

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