Ebola in Spain: How Soraya took command

MADRID – We're very pleased to hear that senior nurse Teresa Romero, Europe’s first Ebola victim, has survived the first fortnight of having the virus diagnosed – there is a much better survival rate among those who do. While still in the special unit at the Carlos III hospital’s special Ebola unit, she has spoken over the phone to her husband and is as active as she can be. We wish her well and can but thank her for volunteering for a risky job. But this item is not about her; it is about how the Government has handled the emergency. Accused of mishandling procedures after the deaths of two missionaries, and Teresa being practically insulted by Health Councillor of the Community of Madrid Javier Rodriguez, for doing so (he has since apologised but has not resigned), the matter was handled by the Minister for Health, Ana Mato, who did not appear to do a particularly good job – then Soraya Sáenz de Santa María Antón took over.

Castle, anyone? No? A fortress, then!

Drastically reduced
from €2.3mm to €1.9mm

SPAIN – You can buy your own castle, or even a fortress, if you have a spare €600,000 to €10million. No doubt as one of the results of the crisis but also because it costs a great deal of money to maintain one, castles are – while not exactly two-a-penny – for sale all over Spain. This country does not have the equivalent of a National Trust, as in the UK, so owners and heirs find it difficult if not impossible to keep them up. Interest has arisen in the last couple of years, mainly from international investors. While most have been in private ownership, several are held by companies and some, a small minority, by the State.

Spain, among EU countries who most lowered teachers' salaries

SPAIN – A recent report from the European Commission reveals that teachers’ salaries came down between 13% and 17% in Spain between 2009 and 2014, which places her in the lower pay group with Ireland, Romania, Slovenia and Iceland. “It is not surprising that the most significant reductions happened in those countries that were most impacted by the financial crisis,” the document points out, adding that the most severe reductions were registered in Greece, where teachers’ wages dropped by 40%. Spain was in a group where teachers reach their maximum level in the medium-to-long-term period of time that ranges from age 27 in Turkey to 39 in this country. Other reports state that Spain ‘lost’ over 24,000 teachers in two years, and that the Ministry of Education is planning to make changes to the law that will allow it to make further reductions. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that Spain is pretty much at the bottom of the annual PISA report that comes from the OECD (about which more when the next one comes up).

Q. Why do John Lennon and Paul McCartney sing different lyrics on I’ve got a feeling?

A. Because, while working on their Let It Be album, they arrived with similar ideas on the accompaniment but different melodies and lyrics. They agreed to disagree and sang one over the other. See the video here.

(Keep those questions coming in and we'll probably give you an answer, even.) (No, we don't and can't possibly turn into Ask Jeeves...)

‘Regularization’ of 300,000 homes in Andalucía is a ‘scandal of incalculable consequences’

Marbella

SEVILLE – A new decree on the legalisation of otherwise illegal homes in Andalucía has been called a ‘guarantee of savage urbanism’ by the environmental pressure group Ecologistas en Acción (Environmentalists in Action). These homes were built on what was officially classified as ‘non-buildable land’ (SNU, Suelo No Urbanizable), and the new decree is ‘a fiasco that will have serious legal, territorial, environmental, social and economic consequences [that attempt against] the general interest of the citizenry’, according to the NGO. When the Junta de Andalucía asked SNU for it opinion on the proposed decree, Ecologistas en Acción sent in their own proposals which would eliminate the principal attraction to building on agricultural land, which would be extremely profitable to developers. The Junta never replied nor consulted them again. Below we have summarised the main arguments presented by the SNU.

Former head of Spanish business confederation declared guilty of forcing bankruptcy

MADRID – The former president of the Spanish equivalent of the CBI, the CEOE (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales), Gerardo Díaz Ferrán was last week found guilty of forcing the bankruptcy of Viajes Crisol, a subsidiary of Viajes Marsans, travel agencies which he owned among many other businesses and properties. The sentence includes his preclusion from administering the assets of any person or company, as well as representing another person in any capacity. He, and the estate of his former business partner Gonzalo Pascual, must cover the deficit that created the bankruptcy as well as all court costs. He is at present serving a jail term on other business deals at the Soto del Real prison in Madrid. (Editor’s note: an article on the downfall of Gerardo Díaz Ferrán is in preparation. An extraordinary tale about greed.) (Original Source: 20 minutos)

Do I have to indemnify the tenants if they leave before the contract ends?

Q: I’m ending a rental before the contract runs out. Is it legal for the landlord to demand indemnization of a month’s rental for each year left on the contract?

SPAIN – (Original source: idealista.com, and consultation with specialist attorneys) First, read the contract carefully (which you should have done before you signed it). Most of them contain a period of notice, which if it is met, you need pay nothing. However,

Historic Anthony Quinn’s boat sold as scrap

As she once was

LA LÍNEA (Cádiz) – This boat used to belong to Anthony Quinn. Before that it belonged to the Nazi secret service in World War 2. Now the rusted hull has been sold for scrap, after it sunk in La Línea. The hull can’t say a word, but if it could it would tell us about espionage at wartime, of Anthony Quinn’s escapades in or near these waters, where the film star spent many a holiday. Then there are the adventures of all the people, stars, and crooks and otherwise, who rented Sir Anthony over the years. Such a boat deserved a better end: she sank at the Alcaidesa Marina after a long, tiring life; then the ignominy of being sold for scrap. Sir Anthony’s last owner chartered her out as a recreational item in the area, and was featured in several websites for that business – some still have her picture and description online. When she was last up for sale, the price was €48,000, not long after her half sinking. Her scrap value was a great deal less.

Over half of the European Members of Parliament have outside jobs

Where'd they all go? Now we know...

BRUSSELS – According To Transparency International, 53% of all Eurodeputies (eurodiputados in Spanish; the UK media call them EMPs, I believe) have jobs other than that for which they were elected. The fact was extracted from the statement of interests they are obliged to present to the European Parliament. The NGO calculates that these external jobs mean some €18,000,000 per year, all told, though Transparency International admits it is a difficult figure to validate, given that there are likely to be multiple errors in the EMPs statements.

This will be Jimena's favourite cookbook - with your support

JIMENA (Cádiz) -- A project is afoot in the village which aims to get about thirty or forty people to let us have their favourite recipe. This would include all the bars and restaurants (maybe even in San Pablo) who are willing to share. It would be published on paper (we've had an offer that needs 'development') in Spanish and English, with illustrations (any local artists volunteering?) and profits from sales would go to charity (which ones remain to be seen, though the obvious choice would be to share between La Estrella and J.A.W.S.). Please let me have some feedback as soon as possible, as this is a good time to get started. BTW, another idea is to have a separate book, or a section, of recipes using oranges in as many ways as possible (not just to make marmalade, which is what I do). There are groves all over the area … and too many oranges on the ground! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!

Are you tired of being taken for a fool?

BEFORE: nice packaging

SPAIN (and anywhere else in the ‘civilised world’) OPINION – It may be a function of age, or of being a Grumpy Old Man (which I have been called by good friends), but, honestly … I bought a packet of sliced chorizo and salchichón at the Día supermarket in Jimena the other day. It spent a couple of days in my fridge before I opened the packet to make a bollo (roll) for my merienda (tea-ish) (though I had written an article condemning processed food, which this certainly is). This is what I found under the cellophane:

Q. Do woodpeckers damage their brain when woodpecking?

SILLY QUESTIONS DEPARTMENT SPECIAL -- A: It doesn't look like it. Evolution has provided them with air bags inside their cranium, which act like cushions, protecting their brain when the bird hammers on a tree trunk looking for insects to eat. Also, their craniums are very light – only 1% of their body weight – with a structure made up of lots of tiny bones, thus distributing the impact more efficiently. My head, however, is unprotected from the Silly Questions Department: it is sometimes difficult to classify the questions you send in, but keep them coming! Please (they're fun!) (Answer from Quo Magazine)