A piece of news to cheer the nacionalistas: - 'While the Catalan separatists want to leave Spain, the village in the French eastern Pyrenees called Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via has unanimously approved to disassociate itself from France and move to Spanish territory. The recent vote in the plenary session of the City Council of this French town has no legal effect and is only intended to protest against what they consider to be the abandonment of the area and the mountain villages in general by the French State'... (From this week's 'Business over Tapas')

The Government's plan to reduce the number of town halls, councillors and so on has suffered what might best be called a 'rethink'. The 8,116 town halls in Spain will continue, with their councillors, but there will be some economic changes, with more responsibilities passing to the diputaciones (county councils). There, that didn't hurt now, did it?

The Supreme Court has confirmed two-years prison time for the ex-mayor of Cantoria, (he of the 'Paradise Lost' video) and, like the twelve homes in Zurgena, here the Supreme Court has ordered the demolition of four homes that, says La Voz de Almería, were sold to ingleses.
Seems the mayor not only allowed the homes to be built, he then - gasp - allowed the families to have water and electric!

A front-line blog from Jim Simpson, a councillor from Zurgena, has real news on the local housing problems and other issues.

Later: Despite the acute pressure from Seville, people are apparently still buying homes in Almería. Our favourite local daily, La Voz de Almería, says so. Mind, according to the paper, 'second homes' (they mean residential homes) in the Levante and the Almanzora Valley are being picked up by Belgians and French people. Ooh, and Scandinavians and Russians as well (they obviously don't show the same news about 'viviendas ilegales' on their telly as the do in the UK). The source for this information comes from a local realtor, run, as it happens, by a Frenchwoman...

According to the ABC newspaper, there's 'a struggle between the British and the Russians for the conquest of Mojácar'. Seems our wonnerful Almeria Tourist Department (the one that had the jolly day in Potter's Field in London recently) 'continues with its commitment to attract visitors from other countries and, preferably, with high purchasing power. The agreement recently signed with the tour operator Natalie Tours will lead to the arrival during the month of June of 600 Russian citizens to the province'.
Ah, high purchasing power.
Звучит здорово!

Luis Bárcenas, the ex-treasurer of the PP who no one really wants to either arrest or hear anything more about, continues to embarrass the Party. You may remember him as the man who paid out 'black money' to senior party politicians for around a decade. Today we find that Mr Bárcenas had stashed some 47 million euros in Switzerland. We have also learned today that Bárcenas slipped 1.5m into Switzerland in 2002/3 and not only forgot to tell the taxman, but actually claimed 21,000€ return on his IRPF. but as Education, Culture and Sport Minister Wert said only yesterday, commenting on a footballer called Messi who neglected to report four million euros to Hacienda, 'the law is the same for everyone in Spain'.

From the Web: IMPORTANT NOTICE: The water out of the taps in MOJACAR IS NOT SUITABLE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION, DO NOT DRINK OR COOK WITH THIS WATER. Please pass on this valuable information. This apparently true for Antas, Arboleas
Bédar, Carboneras, Cuevas del Almanzora, Garrucha, Huércal-Overa, Los Gallardos, Mojácar, Pulpí and Zurgena.
I had read somewhere that it has high levels of Trihalomethanes in it and that Carboneras desalinated water is being added to the mix. Still and all, it looks like a political potato between the Heath Department of the Junta de Andalucía (don't drink) and the Almería Diputación (do, drink!).

The Tourist Department of the Almería Diputación appears to have created a number of false bills, according to a report in the Voz de Almería. The people responsible, all now no longer connected to the Diputación, produced at least 110 different 'false facturas' which are now being investigated by the Courts, usually as tickets for non-existent passengers. Around 400,000€ is thought to have been taken illegally in this way.

Most 'fiestas' - certainly the ones we enjoy around here, tend to be held in the 'old town', the Casco Viejo. An exception to this is the bonfires of San Juan, which are enjoyed either on the beach or, increasingly rarely, in a 'safe' bit of the mountains. Not every town has a beach, of course. Now comes news from the Valencian Government that a planned fiesta/bonfire/concert on the City's beaches has been cancelled since it would just make a terrible mess.

*The Town Hall confirms that the fiesta in Mojácar will be on Sunday night 23rd June at the Playa de Descargador (opposite the campsite).

Well, there's lot's of excitement in western Almería at the moment as around thirty companies announce that they will be heading to Madrid in October for the annual 'Fruit Attraction'. Once again, no English-speaking person was hurt in the making of this august fruit and vegetable fair in our Nation's Capital.

Living in the foot-print of Mojácar Pueblo, I hadn't expected much sleep last night, Saturday, following the Moors and Christians first session on Friday which rattled the windows until dawn. Oddly, however, the Mayoress and her Noise Abatement Act must have kicked in and the village was as quiet (at 1.00am) as the grave. Moors and Missionaries.

Later, by about 3.00am, the noise had got going (perhaps the police had gone to bed), with - for us here in the surrounding campo - the boom-boom-boom of modern electric music beating through the air.

On Sunday afternoon, from 7.00pm, comes the best part of the fiesta - the magnificent and colourful parade winding down the village from the Plaza Nueva to the Fuente. Very worth while, bring cameras, hats and agua.