Thank you, Andalucía, for being as you are

Originally published on YouTube on February 27, 2009, this 'small piece of gratitude' was edited by JimenaPulse on the occasion of that year's Día de Andalucía. It's description: A tribute to Andalucía, the place and its people, from a grateful foreign immigrant. Set to a classic piece of flamenco guitar music by Paco de Lucía: 'Entre Dos Aguas', it contains photographs of a little mountain village in the Ronda mountains: Jimena de la Frontera. We're still grateful. (As we are to any phtographers we may well have stolen from...)

Who was Blas Infante and why do we mention him?

Blas Infante Pérez de Vargas is known as 'the father of Andalucía' and today is Andalucía Day. Born in Casares on 5 July 1885, he was summarily executed by Franco's forces in Seville on 11 August 1936. Blas Infante was an andalusist politician, writer, historian and musicologist. He was an idealist who initiated an assembly at Ronda in 1918, which adopted a charter based on the autonomist Constitución Federal de Antequera written in 1883 during the First Spanish Republic and embraced the current flag and coat of arms as 'national symbols', (see them below) designed by Infante himself based on various historic Andalusian standards. During the Second Spanish Republic, Andalucismo was represented by the Junta Liberalista, a federalist political party led by Infante. He was among numerous political figures who were executed by the insurgent forces that invaded Seville at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939). As both a regional autonomist and a kind of libertarian socialist, he twice 'merited' inclusion on their liquidation list. He was shot without trial or sentence, at Km 4 on the road between Seville and Carmona, leaving a wife and four children. His last residence at Coria del Río now hosts the Museum of Andalusian Autonomy.>

It's Sunday: remember to laugh!

If you haven't had enough laughing at the Carnival fun yet, feel free to click on this above. It's hilarious (at least we think so, and so does Sheila, who sent it in - thanks again, Sheila!).

Processionary caterpillars sighted at Asomadillas

(By e-mail) "My name's Sarah Spencer and I've been in Jimena for 2 years now. This morning while walking my dogs at the Asomadillas pine forest we spotted A LOT of processionary caterpillars. Please could you post a warning on Jimena Pulse to alert dog walkers and families not to go to any ares where there are pine trees? If you could also pass the information on to Tio Jimeno too, that would be great." More about this dangerous (we mean the bugs, not our Spanish colleagues) pest>

Condoms on a palm tree? It's Carnival, we know, but ...

If you don't already know, find out what this is on CampoPulse, our partner site that covers the Campo de Gibraltar in English. There are a lot more articles there, including some that are not on our sidebar feature 'Did you miss anything on CampoPulse?' If you click on the word 'magazine' there you will go directly to the site; each new item posted on the sidebar, in heavier print, has its own redirection facility. Enjoy! (And here's another hint, this one on JimenaPulse, about a phallic symbol, appropriately enough...)

Jimena Carnival got under way last night (weather permitted)

As we said repeatedly in another Carnival item below, just about everything that goes on is 'weather permitting', unless it takes place under the marquee, in which case an umbrella might be useful if cumbersome. Well, weather permitted last night. First on was Pepe Mena, as pregonero ('official announcer' or maybe even 'heralder'), who was followed by all the local groups (See photos on TioJimeno's Picasa Web Album). Judging by a lot of pale faces this morning, things went on until well into the early hours - supposing you consider 'early hours' as around 6 or 7am!). You can follow it all on TioJimeno, who was presumably up there all night, too. (Can anyone tell who the guy in the photo is? Some of us know him well...)

Reader's Choice: Ross Sisters - Solid Potato Salad

 

Warning: this video could be painful to watch. Just get past the singing and watch what they do with their bodies! Imagine this on Got Talent? Thanks for sending it in, Sheila.

'Weather bomb' coming in from South West

The Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET) has issued a warning of something called an 'explosive cyclogenesis' (a.k.a. 'weather bomb') coming in from the Canary Isles and due on the Iberian Peninsula tomorrow, headed to the North via Portugal but bashing the Canaries first. Indeed, the North of Spain is on a red alert ('extreme weather') , most of the middle of the country on an orange alert, and a good part of Andalucía on a yellow. A weather bomb, for all its alarming name, occurs when there is a sudden further drop in pressure at the centre of a low pressure area.

Jimena Carnival: full programme

Below you will find the full programme for Jimena's Carnival as garnered from a Town Hall press release. We accept no responsibility for the accuracy of the schedule (things usually start later than announced) and we certainly want none regarding the weather. Activities for children are marked in red. While we will try to bring you as much as possible about the proceedings throughout, our Chief Monkey, Prospero, is not up until dawn as he has a life that mainly happens during daylight. However, we highly recommend you check out our colleagues TioJimeno, who are notorious carnavaleros and will undoubtedly be reporting, filming, interviewing and photographing everything in sight. Indeed, they've been on and on about Carnaval for some time already.>

Jimena Carnival gets under way tonight

Preparations are well under way for Jimena’s Carnival, which opens tonight, starting at 10pm. As seems to happen every year, our Carnival coincides with the worst weather no matter when our turn is. JimenaPulse has tried before to give an idea what it is all about – no resemblance to Notting Hill or Rio – but failed miserably, so we will not attempt it again. However, there are plenty of colourful pointers you might be interested in:

It is a very advanced course in Andaluz Spanish and even our intrepid and fully bilingual Prospero has to buy the various little booklets to find out what the words are to the songs, very often taking the p**s out of politicians of all kinds.>

Flamenco dancers and singers for Haiti

Flamenco dancer David Morales (photo), of La Línea, is bringing together a host of top line singers and dancers in aid of Haiti, to raise funds for a children's refuge there. The charity show is scheduled for March 18 and 19 at a venue to be specified (probably the Palacio de Congresos and probably at 9pm - watch this space!). Among the flamenco stars are María Toledo, Chiquetete, Eva la Yerbabuena, Arcángel, Tomatito, la Tobala, Diego Carrasco, Moraito Chico and Cecilia Gómez. Morales was in Port-au-Prince in November last year with his show Indiano; he says, "When I saw the disaster I felt morally obliged to something about it."

Gibraltar company plans macro leisure project near La Línea frontier

(Agencies) New Town Corporate Ltd., a Gibraltar company with investors from the Rock and the UK, has been in negotiations with the Junta de Andalucía regarding plans to build a macro leisure complex along the bare land close to the frontier at La Línea, including part of Parque Princesa Sofía and the Ciudad Deportiva. The project includes hotels, shops, offices and a channel that would come out at Poniente beach, among other infrastructure and leisure facilities. The company has presented drawings and plans that include the elimination of some of the Ciudad Deportiva sports centre facilities, including the training grounds and swimming pool, where a line of hotels would go, plus part of the park for shops, offices, parking, etc. (See full story on CampoPulse.)

Search is still on for €60million lottery winner: British?

According to several Spanish media, the search is still on for the winner of €60,000,000 in the EuroMillions stakes played on Friday, February 12. A spokesperson for the Loterías y Apuestas del Estado, the Spanish state lottery giant, said recently  that there was a good chance the winner is in or around Mojácar in Almería, where there a large contingent of British expats live. The winning ticket, totalling €120m, was shared with another in the UK.

Council officially requests repairs to four rural roads

(Press release/Photo: D. Williams) The Council has officially requested urgent repair of four rural roads severely damaged by recent storms. These are the one that joins Barranca Bermeja with La Barca (photo), the Marchenilla road that also leads to La Barca,  the one that links Sambana with Malas Pasadas (these in the Guadiaro river basin) and a section of Vereda Real (in the Hozgarganta basin). The cost is close to €300,000 and their repair is essential to local agriculture. The money is to come from a special Junta fund for these emergencies. (See related item here)

Little ones celebrate Día de Andalucía

(Photo: www.jimenadelafrontera.es) Among several related activities, the children at the Reina de los Ángeles primary school yesterday celebrated Andalucía Day with a fashion show featuring flamenco costumes. The school gym was filled with drooling parents and grandparents armed with cameras and smiles. The kids, however, did their thing in magnificent form. Remember, there is no school on Friday or Monday.

Mayor and Junta review adaptation to town planning regulations

(Press release) Jimena Mayor Pascual Collado met on Tuesday with the Junta de Andalucía's delegate for Cádiz, Gabriel Almagro, to look over the final stages of the municipality's adaptation to the Ley de Ordenación Urbanística de Andalucía (LOUA). Jimena has for several months been in the process of adapting its Town Planning Subsidiary Regulations, which date back to 1984, to the new LOUA. Adaptation will allow for precise modifications to the statutes and thus for the planning of industrial land and public housing.

No schools on Friday and Monday, banks, offices closed on Monday

Schools are closed on Friday, tomorrow, and Monday; banks, public and private offices will be closed throughout the region on Monday, March 1st, in celebration of Día de Andalucía, which is on Sunday. It is likely that supermarkets and groceries will be closed in the afternoon on Monday, too. Check with your local stores, or make sure your fridge is full. Have a nice holiday, and please don't forget to check this site on Sunday to find out who Blas Infante was.

'A-4100 will not be repaired until weather improves'

(Press release) The Mayor of Castellar, Francisco Vaca (photo) this morning visited the A-2100 Arenillas road that runs from Castellar to Sotogrande and has been closed since a large part of it collapsed on February 8. After apologising for the absence of the Provincial Delegate for Public Works, Pablo Lorenzo, who was called away, Vaca announced that the road would not be repaired until the weather improves. The mayor also pointed out that although the road is mainly within the municipality of San Roque, it is used principally by the people of Castellar and Jimena to get to work on the coast.

Geoff Hurst caught up in Spanish property deal scam

Football legend Sir Geoff Hurst is apparently caught up in a Spanish property scandal. The British press quotes him as being "full of remorse" and having been allegedly "used and abused" by the Royal Marbella Group, for whom he became a spokesperson and project ambassador. Hurst told the High Court on Monday that he had been deceived by a "cynical scheme" to con investors. Sir Geoff and his wife Lady Judith were apparently cheated out of an investment of almost €700,000 by the British business people behind the company, which he was also hired to promote. In the promotion for the project, Hurst, who appeared or allowed his name to be used in brochures and a DVD, was quoted as saying that he had found partners "who won't let me down." In five hours of testimony in the High Court, he admitted he had been "foolish." (See whole story on CampoPulse.)

Four Castellar businesses to be honoured

It is a tradition for each town and village in Andalucía to honour their residents, businesses or associations as a way to celebrate Día de Andalucía (February 28). Castellar this year has chosen three tourism and hostelry establishments, Venta La Cantina, Venta Santa Clara,  over 80 years serving local fare between them, and TUGASA, the public organization that runs the Hotel Alcázar in Old Castellar (photo), as well as mushroom dealer Antonio Ocaña, a young entrepreneur who has become a 'reference point' throughout Andalucía, Spain and Europe, run from his small family business.

La Novena TV doomed to disappear

La Novena TV, Jimena's local television station (photo), is doomed to disappear from our screens shortly. The station transmits on an analog system while the rest of Spain has gone or is shortly to go digital (TDT). Only four licences have been issued to the whole of the Campo de Gibraltar. The first to begin broadcasting was Onda Cero Algeciras, and Televisión Campo de Gibraltar is in trial transmissions. They both transmit on a shared channel by Axion, who manages the frequency. Channel 28 on the regular TDT box, will come up with the stations.

Campo rain is over twice the average

(Photo: CP file) Average rainfall over the first 18 weeks of the current hydrological year (that begins in October) in the CdeG is 600 litres per square metre. At present it is just over 1,500, two and a half times the norm, according to Agencia Estatal de Meteorología. The Campo is where it has rained over average the most in the province of Cádiz, followed by Grazalema (from 1,100 to 2,200 l/m2) and Jerez (390 to 600). But records on daily downpours have not been broken yet, says the agency, although these are between 150 and 250% over that average. The Bay of Algeciras is registering 700 l/m2 when the average is 400. Last week's rain in the CdeG twice (Monday and Thursday) went over the mark of 40 l/m2 used by insurance companies to accept coverage for rain damage. (This item also appears on CampoPulse.)

It's Sunday - and Sunday is Dinner, right? Go on, have a laugh!

This came in, as quite a lot does, from an old friend whose nick is Notalot. Prospero's known her for a lot of time and can assure you, Dear Reader, that she is a lot. Thanks, Notalot, for a lot.

Who'll Stop The Rain

Just thought this audio piece by Creedence Clearwater Revival was sort of up to date and anyway we haven't a lot to do in this weather. Or maybe you'd prefer their Have you ever seen the rain? Ho hum...

Weather alert for Jimena

The Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (State Meteorological Agency) has issued a yellow weather alert for the whole of the Campo de Gibraltar and, naturally, for Jimena. The alert is for tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday. According to Spanish TV stations, lightning is also expected. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Readers' Choice: Duane Eddy - Ghost Riders In The Sky

Sponsored by:

Now here's one we haven't heard for a while, sent in by one Hank (it wouldn't be Hank Marvin of The Shadows would it? No, they had another version. It's a joke, right, Hank?). Just for the sake of it, we checked another version by The Outlaws, and, of course, The Shadows' (Turn up the volume, Wrinklies)

Just a laugh for today

A reader sent it in this afternoon with the note: 'Wish I could find one in Spanish!' There's a business opportunity for someone here... (This item is obviously sponsored by The Translation People)

Water pics flooding in - Part 3 (today)

Yes, we needed a break, so Sheila H thoughtfully sent in these photos with the title: 'Taken today on a lovely walk by the river'. Nice, very nice - thanks, Sheila, and we hope you find the time to scrape the mud off your wellies... (More photos below - see the last one!)>

Water pics flooding in - Part 2

More pics of the floods in and near Jimena, these by DaveWilliams, to whom thanks. Please keep them coming in, Dear Readers: we're keeping a file for future reference, or to leave to our grandchildren. (How-to note: Place your cursor on a photo and see a description.)

Water pics flooding in - Part 1

(Sorry, couldn't help the headline pun) JP readers are responding to our pleas for photos of flooding or rain in ther area. These came in from Emma, to whom many thanks. More to come. (How-to note: Place your cursor on a photo and see a description.)

Have you missed anything on CampoPulse?

Our partner site, CampoPulse, carries local, national and international items that don't appear on JimenaPulse. We have an item on the sidebar with a similar title to that above, directing you, Dear Reader, to individual items, but not everything that is published on CampoPulse appears on the sidebar, either. So if you want to find out more about the Campo de Gibraltar and beyond, that's where you need to go.

'Cuando llueve en San Canuto, tres meses justos'

That's an old Spanish saying (refrán) that loosely translated means 'If it rains on Saint Canute, three exact months' - in other words, it rains for another three months. The Day of Saint Canute (image of Knut the Holy being murdered - find out why below) was on January 19th. Was it raining then? You bet it was. So, Dear Reader, according to the refrán and a good friend we met this morning who told us about old Canute, it will rain until April 19 - off and on in Southern Spain. Another saying adds that if it rains on Ash Wednesday (yesterday) it will rain until Easter, which this year starts on April 1. Double whammy! But who was Saint Canute?>

Could be a while before this is finished

(Press release) The A-4100 road that links Castellar with San Roque via Sotogrande (i.e. via the International School) and known locally as the Arenillas road, has been closed since February 8 because of  subsidence (photo). This secondary road, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Junta's Public Works and Transport Department, is used daily by hundreds of Jimena and Castellar travellers going to work on the coast. However, as the photo shows, it will be a while until it is repaired. The alternative road through Tesorillo can be cut off when the Guadiaro River floods, so a more reliable if dog-leg road is the new by-pass to Miraflores. (Note: If any of you daily drivers didn't know this, please get beamed down from your alternative planet now.)

€29 million to control Guadarranque River

(Agencies / Image: GoogleMaps) The Junta's Government Council yesterday finally authorized the Environment Council to invest €29.1m for work aimed at preventing flooding of the Guadarranque River, principally at Estación de San Roque. The work, says a communiqué, will generate 50 direct  and 150 indirect jobs, will last 24 months and benefit 50,000 residents not only of Estación de San Roque but also of Jimena and Castellar. The project, which has been in demand for many years and part of the Junta's budget, will prevent the river from flooding avenues and streets that run alongside. It includes the construction of river bed along 2.5 kms and 130 metres wide, between the railway line and the CA-5121, a containment wall on the left bank, a pump station, as well as a 16,000 m3 water collector for use during storms such as those of recent notoriety. In addition, concrete waterways built parallel to the containment wall will allow for controlled drainage into the Guadarranque, as will several automatic back valves. The job will be completed by elevating several places on the road and the railway tracks.

Reservoirs at capacity levels release water

(Agencies) The Provincial Delegation for the Environment announced yesterday that all the area's reservoirs continue to release water through controlled sluice gates that have remained open since before the end of last year. The One at Guadarranque (Castellar - photo) does so at a rate of 30m2/second, Charco Redondo (Los Barrios) at 18m2/sec and that at Almodóvar (Tarifa), at 86% capacity, at 7m2/sec.

Rain, rain, go away, and don't come back another day for at least a couple of years!

It's not as though we haven't seen enough rain lately ... but our good friend Phil Heinzl took some pretty good pictures of it near where he lives and around Marchenilla and La Adelfilla, one of which is no doubt the inspiration for somethng else he sent us recently (can you guess which picture?). If you have any pics, comments or anything else on the subject of recent weather, please feel free to vent your spleen by clicking on the word comments below. (Excuse us while we rub off the rust from our toes...)

The story of the black market in the Campo de Gibraltar

The word 'estraperlo' is familiar to every Spanish-speaker over 40 in the Campo de Gibraltar. The dictionary defines it as 'black market' but the University of Life would define it as subsistence. Prospero's good friend, documentary film director Juanma Díaz Lima, has come up with another whammy entitled '...De Estraperlo' (his last venture into the area, 'Entre tientos y habaneras'  documented Jimena's International Music Festival). As he puts it in a press release announcing the trailer on YouTube (above) and the film's premiere in Madrid on February 25 (See more on CampoPulse)

Rain causes Plughole Galaxy

E-mail: "What rain we´ve had...I´m sure you have many a good photo for your blog. I found a mini maelstrom vortex in the flood waters and it inspired my new creation of the "Plughole Galaxy" otherwise known as A405KM28, which can be found in the wetter regions of flooded space. It was a bit of fun to create and it may bring a ray of sunshine to the somewhat dismal climatic conditions. Phil." Well, no, we haven't any photos of yesterday's or today's rains (galoshes and wellies flooded is why), so ...er... thanks, Phil. (Click image to enlarge)

Congratulations!

Our heartiest congratulations to David and Carol Williams, who became grandparents this morning to Holly, weighing in at 8lbs13oz, in the UK.  A sister to Bailey and a new arrival for Neil and Kerry (to whom congrats, too!) It also happens to be Carol's birthday, so we wish her many happy returns (and didn't ask her how many 'cos we're gentlemen here). That's them just before waving regally from their balcony last summer.

Andalucía health service costs €3,000 million per year; 'phantom bill' campaign in the planning

(El País) A quick visit to the doctor in Andalucía can cost under €140. If he sends you to the hospital for, say, an abdominal scan, add €35. But the scan indicates appendicitis - if all goes well, add €2,500. If not, add €6,000. That means four or five days in hospital - add €2,400, or €600 per day. If things don't get any worse, your bill would be anywhere between €5,000 and €15,000. However, if you are one of the 7.9 million people in Andalucía entitled to free medical care, you will leave the hospital without paying anything.
The total budget for the Servicio Andaluz de Salud for 2010 is €8,989.2 million, of which about a third (€2,996.4 million) is reserved for what they call 'attention'. According to the Junta's Health Department, the service costs €1,240 per beneficiary per year. Or €103 per month. The fact is that most people have no idea what the services they get actually cost. We get ill, we go to the doctor, we have an operation. We have an accident, we get taken to the hospital. That's it. But the health service carries out thousands of 'attentions' every day, ranging from treatment for a simple cold to a face transplant, >

Weather closes roads

Following this morning's heavy rainstorm, we are informed that the road between Jimena and Tesorillo is closed again, and access to Tesorillo from the coast is also. The fact caused the Instituto in Jimena to 'suspend' classes at about noon today, so that the kids from Tesorillo could get home before it happened. We are also told that the only way to get to Algeciras, La Línea or Gibraltar from Jimena is via Castellar Nuevo.  According to TioJimeno, the bend opposite the petrol station in Estación was closed for a while this morning but is open now. Also, the A-405 road was flooded at Marchenilla and closed - reported at 11.47am. (Please let us know if you have any further information on the local road network.)

Weather alert throughout Spain

While most of Spain is under a weather alert of one sort or another (snow, rain, wind, etc.) the Campo de Gibraltar, the Strait and well inland and most of the province of Málaga has been on a YELLOW ALERT since 7am this morning. The same applies to tomorrow. Indeed, bad weather is expected until at least Friday the 26th, with very few breaks. (If it's any comfort to you, we had an e-mail from a friend in Denmark, who says he'd heard  that it has been pouring (in Jimena) like crazy and that it's not particularly warm either. My sympathies are somewhat muted by the fact that up here it is absolutely F*****G AMAZINGLY BLOODY FREEZING!!!! Snow, ice, dark, cold AND full of Danish people, Arghhhhh!!!! Anyway back in Spain soon, yeah!!!)

Sunday again!? Better have a laugh, then

This came in from Prospero's 'old' friend Veronica with the advice: 'For over 55s'. But everyone's entitled to have a good musical laugh with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin and ... who's the other guy*? (Thanks, Veronica, wach this space for either a new section or even a whole new site that might just be called 'Wrecked Wrinklies Wrap' - WWW, get it? - to which you will get a free subscription.) (*Answer below!)>

It's Valentine's Day!

Bet you didn't do this for your partner! CraftyPip did... (Tell us how your day went...)

Readers' Choice: The first time I ever saw your face - Roberta Flack

Sponsored by:

(click here for Six Nations Live on TV schedule)

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, so we thought this might be appropriate. Thank you for sending it in, Britta, who we're sure will join us in wishing good things to lovers everywhere.

Día del Árbol CANCELLED again

An urgent e-mail from Agaden to say that the annual event is cancelled  due to bad weather again. "Even if it doesn't rain, the ground will be too wet to plant, walk, dance ... Many apologies. We will tell you when the next one's planned. Sorry," they say, or words to that effect. Pity. Originally scheduled for January 24, re-scheduled for tomorrow and cancelled again, it's still something to look forward to, isn't it?

Special Valentine's menu at La Tasca

This is the place to enjoy a nice romantic lunch or dinner with your partner. Special choice menus at a very reasonable price (not that the occasion doesn't warrant a splurge, surely!). Good wine, good food, a relaxed atmosphere - what more can you ask for? Call La Tasca for reservations on 956 641 123; Victoria and Pepe will be happy to make space for you and yours. It's not too late, but call to make sure!

Let your hair down, let it all hang out, tonight

Just in time for St. Valentine's, you can make a fool of yourself or come out on top, as it were. (No, we're talking about karaoke here, madam, please sit down.) What else is there to do on a rainy Saturday night? (Madam, please.) You can get together with a few friends, old and new. (Madam, please! Please!) Have a couple of drinks, let your hair down (Sir, will you put her down now, please?) and sing your heart out. (Sir! Madam!) Where? Well, at the Oba, of course. Tonight, from 8pm. (Over there, officer, those two in the corner...)

Spain is under attack, says Bewick

'Spain is under attack' is the title of Alexander Bewick's latest article on his Soap Box. He says that the country is under attack from inside and out, that even his e-mails are plagued by anti-government stuff, that Zapatero's number two is trying to kiss everything better "not unlike a distracted mother on a grazed knee that will later be discovered to need painful surgery." His and Prospero's friend Sancho, over at Tilting at Windmills, having also written about Zapatero recently, goes one better in a piece with the enigmatic if romantic title, "Qaparha!". Don't ask, just read it. (Memo to staff monkeys from Prospero: 'Just get Sancho and Bewick's links up on the sidebar, will you? And stop licking their a***s in my name!')

Spain's Attenborough: Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente

You may never have heard of him, but Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente was the Spanish-speaking world's equivalent of David Attenborough - or would be if he hadn't died in a plane crash while shooting one of his many animal documentaries in Alaska on his birthday thirty years ago on Sunday. Born in 1928, Rodríguez de la Fuente, was a pioneer naturalist at a time when the environmental movement had not yet caught on in Spain. A physician by trade and a biologist by nature, his influence soon spread throughout the world and in many aspects is still present today. He was perhaps best known for his highly successful series El Hombre y la Tierra (1974-1980). His many documentaries were translated into languages that ranged from Japanese to Polish, reaching some 700 million viewers (See sample below).>

Renovation of El Calvario to cost Jimena 'nothing'

(Press release) The Junta's Empresa Pública de Suelo de Andalucía (EPSA) is to renovate the El Calvario (photo) district of public housing located in the lower part of Jimena village (behind the health centre), at a cost of €250,000. Improvements are to include roofing, drainpipes, frontages, gardens and common areas. The Mayor, Pascual Collado, visited the area yesterday, together with Councillor Mercedes Segovia and the Town Architect, Juan Luis Callejo, to prepare the early planning stages for the work, which, said the Mayor, "will cost the municipal treasury absolutely nothing." He added that the Council has been looking for solutions for El Calvario for a long time, and "work should begin later this year."

Junta's Environment Councillor visits Jimena

(Press release) The Junta de Andalucía's Councillor for the Environment, Cinta Castillo, and Jimena's Mayor, Pascual Collado, held a meeting on Wednesday, together with the provincial sub-delegate for the environment and that for the Junta, Gema Araujo and Rafael España, respectively. On the agenda were a number of matters regarding the municipality's infrastructure and environmental management, including the supply of drinking water for Jimena from the Guadarranque reservoir, operations at the Mushroom Wholesale Market and exploitation of natural resources such as wild heather from Los Alcornocales Nature Park.>

Celebrate Valentine's Day with Midnite at El Anón

On Sunday 14th Feb (Valentine’s Day!) the duet ‘Midnite’ from Cadiz will be playing in Jimena at the Hostal El Anon, from around 5.00pm onwards – with Juan-Carlos on guitar and Theresa on vocals, these two have developed a unique sound covering songs, in both English and Spanish, ranging from the works of composers such as Cole Porter and George Gershwin to more modern interpretations of pop songs by the likes of Van Morrison – their music  hovers in that no man’s land which exists between pop and popular jazz, but the greater part of their repertoire will be familiar to all but the very youngest – Theresa’s bluesy voice combined with her sultry delivery make for an occasion not to be missed.

Self-patting on the back

The counter on the sidebar at our partner site CampoPulse has registered over 15,000 visits  since December 12th. That works out at an average of 255 visits per day. Not bad for a site that has had no publicity ('official' launch coming soon!) - and a very good reason to advertise there! (And look at the numbers here on JimenaPulse...)

Casa Felina campaigns for cat sterilization

Having seen the number of cats roaming the towns and villages of the area, the regional animal protection association, Casa Felina ('Feline Home') of Los Barrios, has started a campaign aimed at their sterilization. "While they are not sterilized, we find rampant pregnancies and the subsequent abandonment of litters. This causes a number of problems, including the often dramatic deaths of kittens and grown cats, as well as the impossibility of organizations such as ours being overwhelmed by owners being unable to deal with the litters," said a spokesperson, who also warned that cats, too must by law be registered and carry a microchip. (Note: If you know exactly where Casa Felina is, have an address or a website for them, please let us know.)

Tesorillo main street to get €64,000 facelift

(Press release) Tenders for the renovation of San Martín del Tesorillo's Calle Real have come in and the job has gone to a local company, Gavisan. Financed by the Junta's Plan Proteja, it has a budget of €64,640.80 and consists of improvements similar to those being carried out on Calle San Pedro. It will include renovation of the street surface and pavements to match those on San Pedro. According to Councillor Fernando Gómez, the palm trees will be respected as much as possible, though those affected by the red palm weevil will be replaced by healthy specimens.

Over 18% of Jimena population is non-Spanish

Recent statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE, National Statistics Institute) show that 18.80%  of the population registered in Jimena is of foreign origin. That is 1,960 of the total 10,431. Previous records show that the majority of non-Spanish residents of the municipality were from Romania, followed by the British and Irish. (We will try to find out exact figures. Watch this space!). However, the numberof foreign residents in the Campo de Gibraltar amounts to over 10% - see CampoPulse.