Double Whammy on the Cost of a Cylinder of Butano

The price for a 12.5 Kg cylinder of Butane gas (orange cylinder) will suffer two increases from tomorrow, 1st July 2010.

The first increase of 0.55 €, from the current price of 11.68€ to 12.23€, including tax at 16%, an increase of 4.7% is due to the quarterly review of the maximum sale price before tax of liquefied petroleum gas. The price is 84.4041 cents per kilogram which gives a price before tax of 10.55€

This latest increase is in addition to that applied in the first quarter of 5.7 % , and in January , 3.4% , and causes the gas cylinder to be more expensive by 14.4 % so far this year .

The double whammy comes because on the same date the Spanish government is increasing the rate of IVA (value added tax) from 16% to 18%.

The new price including increased IVA should be 12.45€. This means an actual increase of 6.4% from the current 11.70€.

There will be a pro rata increase for the silver cylinders of butane.

The application of this rise will affect between 8 and 10 million users in Spain who still use butane gas. The resolution, published today in the Official Gazette, covers all liquefied gas containers weighing between eight and 20 kilograms.

The higher cost of butane occurs even though the Ministry of Industry has found a 0.79% decrease in the cost of liquefied petroleum gas.

Post Script, 06.07.10: the CoastRider newspaper picks up on this article, 'Gas goes up'

Young photojournalist detained for taking pictures of a parade

A photojournalist, Jules Mattsson was detained under anti-terrorism laws after he took images of an Armed Forces Day parade in Romford's city centre. Included in the article is an interesting video to watch.

What law did the young photographer contravene?

Young photojournalist detained for army cadet pics - British Journal of Photography

Is it safe to take photographs of anything, in any place, in the UK?

This appears to help answer the problem:

Photographers' rights campaign spawns lens cloth launch - Amateur Photographer

Your street photography rights on a lens cloth - British Journal of Photography

Five million expats were the winners of Budget 2010 – let the hate mail begin – Telegraph Blogs

An interesting article worth five minutes to read.

Five million expats were the winners of Budget 2010 – let the hate mail begin – Telegraph Blogs

I like the reference to voting in the UK, no taxation without representation, especially as neither my wife or I received our postal vote ballot papers.

Van Rompuy is modern-day Walter Mitty - Nigel Farage MEP

Whether one agrees entirely with his views, there can't be any doubt that he gets straight to the point.

CLARO keeps quiet now about the Neighbourhood Watch !

The 'Summer Edition 2010' of the CLARO party's newsletter dated the 24th June is on its website and presumably has hit the streets by now.

It's not really a newsletter because there isn't any news in it. It is merely a republication, or regurgitation, of the subjects raised in its press releases since 1st March 2010 - with the exception of one!

Of course there is the continual mention of the saga of the 'Save Cala Mosca' petition, which I have already expressed my opinion on.

What is interesting about the non-newsletter is the fact that no mention, or republication, is made of the CLARO press release dated the 9th June 2010 entitled 'Orihuela Costa needs a Politically Independent Neighbourhood Watch'. Surely there was plenty of time to include such an important press release as this.

Or has it been deliberate left out as a direct result of the strong rebuttal by Chris Poole, coordinator for the NW in Orihuela Costa, of the views expressed by Bob Houliston on behalf of CLARO, and public criticism of Mr Houliston's views, in the local media over this matter.

I wonder if there has been dissension amongst the ranks of CLARO over the press release issued by the Chairman of the CLARO party. Especially as the Vice Chairman, Manfred Schwarting,  is a leading light in the Orihuela Costa Neighbourhood Watch. In fact Manfred is responsible for collection and distribution of the crime statistics from the NW area coordinators!

I wonder if there was there any discussion between the Chairman and Vice Chairman, or Executive Committee members, prior to the issuing of the press release. It will be interesting to see if this affects Manfred Schwarting's position in either of the two organisations.

Perhaps CLARO members may be questioning the continuing role of Bob Houliston as Chairman of the party following the press release. Not really the publicity that the party wants.

Having said the above, in fairness to Bob Houliston, I had previously expressed my concerns about the 'political independence' of the Neighbourhood Watch to Chris Poole in April 2007 when I emailed him with the following question.

"Can you please explain to me, following our discussion about Vecinos Colaborando being non-political, why an announcement about a meeting by an organisation which has obvious links with a specific political party, is being sent out under the guise of a Vecinos Colaborando matter?
The email address of the "Presidents of Orihuela Costa" leads to the following website www.orihuela-costa.eu/ and who do we see Monica Lorente, with a further link to this website www.orihuelacostapresidents.com
Who are these "Presidents of Orihuela Costa" who Vecinos Colaborando is helping to publicise a meeting?
Is the Vecinos Colaborando organisation non-political or not? If not are you going to circulate details of all political party meetings?"

European Residents save by paying Eurotunnel in Sterling

Today I decide to check with Eurotunnel for the prices to travel to the UK in my car and discovered that if I tell the company that I live in Europe it will cost me 17% more than if I say that I live in the UK.

I was looking for the price to travel from Calais to Folkestone in a standard non LPG car and not towing a trailer.

As I currently live in Spain when asked the question ‘Which country do you live in’ on not finding Spain in the drop down list I selected ‘Other country’. I was given a price in Euros.

I wanted to pay for the trip on my UK credit card and therefore wanted a price in sterling (GBP) so I decided to amend the country in which I live to the United Kingdom and obtained a price in £s.

What I found to my surprise was that if I paid in GBP, as a UK resident, and not in Euros as a European resident,  I made a saving of approximately 14.5%, based on the current exchange rate of £ = 1.20€. If the exchange rate was at £ = 1.15€ ,closer to the average over the last 3 months, the saving would have been 18%.

European residents paying in Euros are being made to pay more, between 17% and 22%! Why is this? Because Eurotunnel are using an exchange rate of closer to £ = 1.40€. How long ago since the exchange rate was that high!

Over a sample of various dates in June and July based on the same vehicle and at a travel time between 12 noon and 14:00 hrs the exchange rate used was £ = 1.404€.

The result of this exercise is that I strongly recommend to any UK Expats living in Europe who have a UK debit or credit card to tell Eurotunnel that they live in the United Kingdom when booking tickets to use the channel tunnel and pay by those.

It will save them a lot of money, anywhere between 18% and 14.5%!

Post Script, 06.07.10: the CoastRider newspaper picks up on this article, 'Eurotunnel makes costly conversion'

Lord Mayor of Leicester decides to segregate religion from local politics.

Yesterday we read that the Mayor of Enfield had decided to stop the reading of prayers before the council meetings but instead to have a reading of poetry.

Today the Mail Online carries an article entitled 'What's God got to do with it?' Atheist Mayor bans traditional Christian prayers before council meetings about the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Colin Hall, after he banned Christian prayers from council meetings.

The Mayor is quoted as saying 'I consider that religion, in whatever shape or form, has no role to play at all in the conduct of council business. This particularly applies in Leicester, where the majority of council members, myself included, do not attend any particular faith service.'

He added  "I am delighted to confirm that I will be exercising my discretion as Lord Mayor to abolish the outdated, unnecessary and intrusive practice".

Leicester is regarded as Britain's most multi-faith city outside of London. Secularist groups in the city have welcomed the move.

I congratulate the Mayor on his decision to segregate religion from local politics.


Mail Online
Telegraph

BHA gives support for Mayor who has dropped council prayers

The British Humanist Association (BHA, the national charity representing and supporting the non-religious, campaigning for an end to religious privilege and to discrimination based on religion or belief, has quite rightly written to the Mayor of Enfield to express their support for her plan to replace compulsory prayer sessions before council meetings with poetry readings.

The move, criticised as “anti-religious” by one local councillor, has been made to “support and encourage the arts.”

The Mayor has made a move in the right direction. However forget the poetry. It's not an Arts Council it's a Town Council. They should get straight on with the task they were elected for.

BHA notice: Support for Mayor who has dropped council prayers

Glossary of Treasury terms - HM Treasury

To help understand the Budget more fully the HM Treasury department has issued glossary of the terms that are used at Budget time

Glossary of Treasury terms - HM Treasury

George Osborne and Danny Alexander pay Britain s daily cheque to the EU

Help Member States break free from this economic prison of nations - Nigel Farage MEP

Whilst I'm not a supporter of the UKIP party, Nigel Farage does make some good speeches in the EU Parliament which contain some valid points. This is one he has given in the parliament today.

Some of the comments made are interesting to read.

It's good to see him fit and well after his plane crash. He refers to it briefly in the video.

Spanish unions call general strike over labour reforms

Spanish unions have called a general strike in response to labour market reforms due to be unveiled by the government on Wednesday.

The unions announced the strike would take place on 29 September, to coincide with a European "day of action".

Is this really going to help Spain at this time. The IMF report said that Spain needed a more flexible and competitive labour market.

Spanish unions call general strike over labour reforms

Barcelona to ban the burka and niqab from Public Buildings

The mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, has annouced that any person wearing a 'burka' or 'niqab', both veils that totally cover the face of the wearer, will be denied access to municipal buildings and facilities. An order is to be signed shortly  that will necessitate the amendment of  the rules of each site to prevent anyone from entering that cannot  be clearly identified.This will also affect those who seek access in balaclavas and motorcycle helmets.

Announcing the changes at a press conference the mayor noted that the municipality may not prohibit the 'burqa' in the street but can in public facilities such as civic centers, libraries, markets and nurseries.

Snr Hereu has championed the measure, quite rightly in my opinion, for security and safety reasons, and for being an act of  common sense. He made the point that it is not acceptable to enter a facility wearing a garment that does not allow the wearer to be identified and has argued that the order is "in no way an attack on any religious beliefs".

Lérida was the first Spanish city to ban the burka and niqab in public facilities with many more Town Halls discussing the possibility of bringing in similar bans.

Post script 21:55 hrs 14.06.2010

The council of Tarragona has today, joined Lérida and Barcelona, approved an expansion of the restriction of the wearing of full facial veils in Public Buildings.

Using Acronyms or Letter Substitution doesn't make it Polite

Having said that I believe there is too much swearing on television and in day to day life, the same applies to the internet social media facilities such as Twitter, Facebook, and Chat Forums.

However in a lot of cases on the social media the authors of 'postings' believe that by using either an acronym for a phrase, or the substitution of 'x' for a letter within a word, or deliberate mis-spelling by letter reversal, that the vulgarity of a phrase or word is turned into one of politeness. Well for me that doesn't work.

The polite way would be not to use vulgar or crude language in communicating with others in the first place. To me the use of such language shows an inadequacy or inferiority on the part of the user, and does not impress anyone.

120 Local Residents Ignore Dumped Mattress

Following on from my article Neighbour moves mattress to in front of our home! I decided not to move the mattress at that time; but to wait as see whether any of the local residents who pass by the spot where it had been dumped by the bin scavenger , would move it or ignore it.

Whilst it was difficult to see it from the road, any person walking along the dirt road in the photograph above to the tarmac road would see the Mattress.

The area is a popular access route for local residents to walk their dogs. In the four day period that the mattress has been lying there, I estimate that it has been seen and passed by a minimum of 120 times by different people at different times. Not one of these sightings have resulted in the mattress being moved onto the road so it could be collected instead of being left to rot.

In truth, I didn't expect any different but I thought I would wait in hope of some act of community spirit !

So this evening I moved it, onto the road side where the neighbour moved it to on Wednesday, in her aim to move it away from the logical place next to the council bin area.

I could have put it back next to the bin to upset the neighbour but that would be petty and bloody minded! Let her think she's had her victory.

There is too much swearing on Television - And Day to Day Life.

In an article in the Daily Mail today What you REALLY think about swearing on TV: It's offensive and sets a bad example ... are you listening Ofcom? the paper reports on the results of a survey carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Mail.

In the article reference is made to the views of the 'over 55's' and falling within this age range, I find myself in agreement with views expressed under this catagory of the population.

There is too much swearing on television, but unfortunately this is just symptomatic of modern society and it's use of foul language. The article mentions Gordon Ramsey, Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton as 'celebrities' who have caused a lot of offence with their unnecessary use of swear words. It shows an inadequacy on their part. I choose not to watch programmes in which they appear, or the use of swear words is a predominant factor.

The same applies to day to day conversations, or the written communications, in that I will not converse with socially inept people who cannot talk, or write, to me without the incessant use of crude language. I don't utter it, or write it, to them and I'm not going to listen to, or read it. I'm not a highly educated person but at least I know, I hope, how to communicate with people in a polite manner.

Shapps promise to landlords: no more red tape.

As a Landlord with just 4 properties I'm pleased that the Housing Minister Grant Shapps has today announced that he will be scrapping plans to introduce new regulations on private landlords.


Of the three million private tenants in this country, the vast majority report they are satisfied with the service they receive from their landlords. I have no reason to believe that my tenants are not amongst them.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Shapps confirmed that with the private rented sector already governed by a well established legal framework, the Government has no plans to introduce any further regulations.

Instead, he urged councils to use the wide range of powers they already have at their disposal to tackle the minority of rogue landlords that blight some communities, provide a poor service to tenants and damage the reputation of the private rented sector. The sooner the councils use their powers the better for all decent landlords.

Council powers include:

• Powers to require landlords to take action to rectify hazards in their property;
• Where landlords resist, the ability to make and charge for improvements and to prohibit use of the affected parts of the property; and
• Discretionary licensing powers to tackle areas blighted by poorly managed privately rented stock.

New regulations were proposed by the previous administration in response to the Rugg Review of the Private Rented Sector, but have been judged by the new coalition to introduce too much additional red tape. These included a National Register of Landlords, regulation of letting and managing agents, and compulsory written tenancy agreements.

Grant Shapps said:

"With the vast majority of England's three million private tenants happy with the service they receive, I am satisfied that the current system strikes the right balance between the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
"So today I make a promise to good landlords across the country: the Government has no plans to create any burdensome red tape and bureaucracy, so you are able to continue providing a service to your tenants.
"But for the bad landlords, I am putting councils on alert to use the range of powers already at their disposal to make sure tenants are properly protected."

Desire for an assisted death should be respected.

A well written article worth a few minutes to read. Desire for an assisted death should be respected | Ann McPherson | guardian.co.uk

I agree with Ann McPherson's statement:

I wish to live as long as possible, but not at the expense of enduring an undignified death. In the final days or weeks of my life, if I consider my suffering to be unbearable, I would like the choice to die at home at a time of my choosing surrounded by my loved ones.

Neighbour moves mattress to in front of our home!

Having already written about our neighbour moving rubbish , in this video we can see Mrs Perret, again moving rubbish away from the council bin to in front of my home.

This time it is a mattress that was left beside the bin yesterday afternoon for collection by the council.

A couple of hours latter I noticed that the mattress had seemed to have gone.

However appearances can be deceptive.

It was pointed out to me that a bin scavenger had looked at the mattress, didn't want it, and had for some reason thrown it further into the grass.

This now means that it has in effect become a fly tip.

It cannot now been seen from the road by the council collection vehicle, when it comes around the streets, and so will remain where it is.

Had Mrs Perret left it beside the bin, but no she couldn't because it is near her property, it would have been visible and collected.

Now the mattress will lay where it is to eventually rot away. Unless I or someone else move it so it can be seen and collected.

Back to square one!

Surely if I move it this won't be being petty or bloody minded will it?

Spanish sunset through the rain

Cockroaches share 'recommendations' of best food sources, research finds

Ever wondered how cockroaches seem to know the best place to grab a meal? New research at Queen Mary, University of London suggests that, just like humans, they share their local knowledge of the best food sources and follow 'recommendations' from others.

Until now, it was assumed that cockroaches forage on their own to find food and water. However, this work shows how groups of the insects seem to make a collective choice about the best food source, explaining why we so commonly find them feeding en masse in the kitchen late at night.

A study, published in the Springer journal Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, is the first demonstration that groups of cockroaches can forage for food collectively, rather than independently, relying on their individual experience.

Read further details from Science Daily.

Why bullfighting is making Spain see red | World news | The Observer

It's not a National Art or Fiesta it's plain and simple torture. An interesting article by Paul Richardson.

Why bullfighting is making Spain see red | World news | The Observer

Neighbour moves rubbish from next to Council refuse bin to in front of my house - Why?

Having recently made reference to the rubbish bin scavengers I find myself writing about the subject of rubbish disposal and collection again with a question.

Why did my Mrs Perret, the owner of the property in the picture below, move the garden rubbish from where it was, next to the council's household rubbish collection container, shown in the picture above, to in front of my house?

As can be seen the bin is situated along way from her house, on a public road, in fact it cannot be seen from her property as it is hidden by the boundary wall and fence, which is fully covered by a honeysuckle plant.

Where did she move the rubbish to? Directly in front of my house!

Why did she feel it necessary to move it there? Had she left it where it was it would have been collected by the council in the next few days!

I can't begin to fully understand the logic of her actions. Is there an element of animosity towards myself and Natalie following our resignation from Los Verdes de Orihuela and the references made about Mr and Mrs Perret and this is a retribution action on her part. Surely not after a period of one year!

What ever the reason I belief that her action was petty and bloody-minded. This is not the first time she has moved rubbish away from outside the boundary of her property, to in front of ours, even though she can't see it from inside and it doesn't affect her quality of life, and it won't, I believe, be the last time given the same set of circumstances. Luckily the council's rubbish bin is too heavy for her to move!


Am I going to be petty and bloody-minded and move the rubbish back? No I'm not, I'll let the council cleaning services collect it from where she has put it!

A short video of her at work:

New passports in only 6 working days.

I can't believe it!

Last Wednesday (26th May) Natalie and I sent off our applications for renewal of our passports to the British Consulate in Madrid, because we are currently resident in Spain, expecting to wait several weeks (the Consulate website says to allow 4 weeks) for the new ones.

On checking our credit card account this morning (2nd June)  it showed that the renewal fee had been charged on the 28th May. We thought, that at least confirms that the Consulate had received the applications and old passports and would be getting on with things.

¡Qué Sorpresa! This afternoon we received a telephone call from DHL Courier Service, confirming that they wish to deliver our new passports tomorrow (Thursday 3rd June) afternoon.

Thats only 6 working days from posting to receipt - unbelievable!

If it happens - 'Well done British Consulate in Madrid'

8 out 10 People favour Proportional Voting

A survey carried out between the 28th & the 31st May by ConRes, on behalf of the Independent newspaper, reveals that nearly 8 out of 10 (78%) of those surveyed believe that 'The first-past-the-post system for elections to the House of Commons should be replaced by a system that reflects more accurately the proportion of votes cast for each party'.

When asked if 'The political horsetrading which followed the inconclusive General Election result showed that an outright win is much more desirable than a hung parliament' 7 out of 10 people agreed with the statement.

However there wasn't a decisive answer to the question of whether 'Britain is better off with a coalition government that it would have been if either the Conservatives or Labour had won the election outright' with an almost equal split of opinion, 45% agreed whilst 43% disagreed.

Euro area unemployment rate at 10.1%

Today Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, has issued the unemployment figures for April for the European Union and the Euro Area.

The estimates are that 23.311 million men and women in the EU27 countries, were unemployed in April 2010 of these 15.860 million were in the Euro Area (16 countries). The number of unemployed increased by 25 000 in both the EU27 and the Euro Area compared from March 2010. The year on year comparison for the month shows an increase in unemployment of 2.400 million in the EU27 and by 1.275 million in the euro area.

Spain continues to show the second highest rate at 19.7%, second only to Latvia at 22.5%. In the April 2009 Spain had a figure of 17.7%, 2% lower than current. Since December 2009 the unemployment increase has been 0.7%, increasing by approximately 0.2% each month. The figures for the United Kingdom are not given for March or April so a direct comparison is not possible, but based on the trends from previous months the UK unemployment would seem to be a little less than 12% below that of Spain.

Youth (under 25) unemployment in the EU27 countries has remained static at 20.6% but for the Euro Area has increased by 0.1%, to 20.0%. Spain has seen a further increase of 0.2% to 40.3%, putting Spain as the highest in the EU27 countries.