Life in Culebrón

I usually start most phrases in Spanish with a mistake. It comes from my insecurity about speaking. This, as often as not, is the cue for any Spanish person who can manage a few broken words of English to take over the conversation. Yesterday we went to the tourist office in Yecla to pick up a map that we knew existed showing the delights of Murcia province. I vaguely remembered that there were cave paintings close to Yecla which means within easy striking distance of Culebrón. I fluffed my lines but the Information person picked up what we were after and produced said map. Then she started to explain about the place we wanted to see, we asked a question, she expanded the detail, she produced another map - and so it went until we had a fistful of leaflets and maps and all the information we needed. She never once doubted that we understood what she was saying or talked to us as though we were imbeciles Maggie commented, as we walked away, on the quality of the tourist people in M...

I've said before that I rather suspect that our planet will shrug off humankind has it has so many other "supreme" species in it's history. That doesn't mean I'm not willing to try to recycle carrier bags, walk when I don't need the car and make all those other little cynical gestures that I'm told will "save the planet" for "future generations." You can still buy ordinary incandescent bulbs in Spain but generally we use low consumption stuff wherever the situation allows. The other day the bulb in one of the ceiling fittings started to flicker and the spares we had on hand were the wrong wattage. So, when I was back in Cartagena  I walked up to one the big supermarkets and got a replacement and a couple of spares. Three bulbs, 24€. I notice on the (excessive) packing that it says the bulb will last eight years. Hang on though, the ceiling this bulb was attached to wasn't there till Easter 2009 because we'd only just got a...

We haven't ventured out at all today but the next time we do it will all be different. From 2nd Jnauary the new anti tobacco law will be in place in Spain. About five years ago a no smoking law was passed in Spain which made it illegal to smoke at work but gave public spaces, like bars, the option of being either smoking or non smoking within certain limits to do with the size of the space. It was all a bit of a mish mash and, basically, it meant that the vast majority of bars and restaurants remained smoky. Lots that tried to go no smoking saw their trade collapse and quickly went back to ashtrays on the bar and fag ends on the floor. The new law is much more straightforward and says that nearly all enclosed public spaces will have to be smoke free. The terraces of bars continue to be smoker's havens but even there the definition of when a space is enclosed is quite strict and some of the more weatherproof terraces will be non smoking. I know it's happened all over t...