La Vida Alcalaína

Two days ago everyone was predicting that the PP would take control of Andalucía. Well, it didn't happen. They needed 55 seats for an absolute majority in the Junta de Andalucía Parliament and only managed 50. The Socialists (PSOE), who had been in power since the Junta first came into being 30 years ago, got 47, and the IU-V (United Left + Green Party) doubled their vote from 6 to 12 seats and now hold the balance of power. The Andalusian independence party (PA) and the peculiarly apolitical UPyD didn't get any.  Twice as many disenchanted PSOE voters defected to the left than to the right. The percentage vote for PP and PSOE were 40.66% and 39.52% respectively.  The IU got 11.34%. José Griñan and the PSOE team celebrate the avoidance of a crushing defeat WIll the PSOE and IU form a coalition and keep the red flag flying down here in the south?  Watch this space ... To check results for individual locations in Andalucía go to  http://resultados.elpa...

There are some days when you can't bring yourself to turn on the TV or read the papers because you know the news is going to be bad.  Tomorrow is going to be one of those days.  Andalucía's regional elections take place today, and the right-wing Partido Popular (PP) are predicted to win with an absolute majority.  For the first time in its 30-year history, the Junta de Andalucía will not be run by the Partido Socialista de Obreros Españoles (PSOE) and our flagship health and education systems will be hacked to pieces in a wave of savage spending cuts. Party leaders vote in the Andalusian Parliamentary elections Here in Alcalá de los Gazules, where last year the PP  formed an uncomfortable pact with the Izquierda Unida (United Left) in order to oust the PSOE, the situation would be comic if it weren't so tragic.  The eerily invisible Mayor, Julio Toscano, decided to use the money in the town's coffers to pay off a bank loan rather than pay seventy c...

Carnaval is my favourite of all the festivals and fairs here.  The whole town is involved, families come out together to enjoy themselves, everyone has a good time (except perhaps the targets of the chirigotas' ruthless satire), and there is no religious subtext. The fancy dress parade is great example of how creative the alcalain@s can be without spending a lot of money - a flamenco dress made of crisp packets?  Ingenious! Thanks to Chemary Gómez Reyes for some of the photos.  You can subscribe to his YouTube channel CHEMARYALCALA  for lots more videos of Carnaval and other events in Alcalá de los Gazules.

Today, 28 February, is Andalucía Day and a public holiday in Spain's second-largest region. Schools are closed today, but last Friday many schoolchildren will have eaten the traditional Andalucian breakfast (toast spread with olive oil and a glass of orange juice) before putting on plays and singing the Himno de Andalucía . The festival commemorates the date of a referendum of 1980 in which the electorate voted for the Statute of Autonomy , as set out in the 1978 Constitution, making Andalucía an Autonomous Community of Spain.  This means it can raise its own taxes and set its own policies on health and social care, education and cultural development. It is run by a body called the Junta de Andalucía, whose headquarters are in Seville. Its parliament is elected by Andalusian voters every four years on a system of proportional representation. The next election is on 25 March, and the present PSOE (Socialist) majority is expected to be overturned by the right-wing Pa...

In Alcalá de los Gazules and other pueblos blancos of Andalucia, where houses tend to be built one on top of another, it is unusual to have a garden attached to your house. Many of the locals grow fruit and vegetables in nearby plots of land called huertos , and adorn their whitewashed walls and windowsills with pots of geraniums. But the traditional English-style garden, with flowerbeds and lawns, is rarely seen. Undaunted, when we moved here in 2008 I decided to create a garden on our large flat roof. I had a vision of a leafy haven for insects, birds and butterflies, with jasmine and potted citruses to scent the warm evenings, bougainvillea and geraniums for a riot of colour, and of course home-grown, sun-ripened tomatoes, peppers and herbs. The cats would have somewhere fun to frolic and snooze. Everything would be grown in pots, so we would be able to sit out and read all day, confident in the knowledge that we would would never again have to trim a privet hedge or mow a ...

It´s carnival time again, or carnaval as it is spelt in Spanish.   While this ancient tradition is celebrated all over Spain and indeed all over the world, the Carnaval de Cádiz is unique because of its musical  agrupaciones  with their combination of bawdy and satirical lyrics, irreverent parody and flamboyant, sometimes outrageous, costumes. Gran Teatro Falla in Old Cádiz The competition for the best singing groups is entering its final week at the Gran Teatro Falla.  It is known as COAC - Concurso Oficial de Agrupaciones Carnavalescas .   The heats are broadcast live on Canal Sur TV for those not lucky enough to get a seat in this magnificent theatre; people queue all night to by tickets when the box office opens just after Christmas. The groups also perform outside in the street and in other public venues, and on the weekend after the grand final there are giant parades and free performances all round the city. The dates for Car...

An open letter to Ms Emma Boon, Campaign Director of the   Taxpayers' Alliance , who want to abolish payment of the Winter Fuel Allowance to British pensioners living in the EU.   Nearly 73,000 people living on mainland Europe claimed £15.6 million-worth of payments last winter ....  a 52% increase since 2006-7 ...  33,495 recipients live in Spain.   "This is a shocking increase and is yet more evidence that we need to reform the welfare system, so that money goes to those who really need it, not to well off ex pats living on the Costa Del Sol", says Ms Boon.  "The Government should scrap schemes like this because it doesn't make sense to take people's money in tax, then give it back in be nefits that they might not want or need.  It was always intended to help the elderly through the winter but many of those claiming it are living abroad where it's warmer anyway."   read the full article   Dear Ms Boon, Emma Boon As a...