Stepping out for grey power - Carvajal Spain

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22 SUR IN ENGLISH OCTOBER 2ND TO 8TH 2009 Opinion A WAKE UP CALL FOR THE TOURIST INDUSTRY Pilar Martinez The tourism industry has stopped operating on autopilot. The tour operators are not filling the hotels and the travel agents are no longer selling everything in their brochures. What’s more, even the ferias and the publicity campaigns no longer have the impact they used to. To businesses and authorities it is now clear that they must do more. It is the beginning of a new era in the travel market with the need to build new alliances between the operators, the airlines and the hotels. A concerted effort VULGAR LANGUAGE Your normally excellent weekly fell below standard a couple of weeks ago. The article by Mr O’Kelly and his obsession with canine urine and subsequent use of the vulgar noun has irritated me. I suppose I will be written off as a pedantic old fuddyduddy (which I am!) H.R. Elliot EXCHANGE SWINDLE Last week my wife visited an office in Fuengirola to perform a currency exchange knowing that they have always been competitive. The advertised rate of exchange for GBP was between government, organisations and the private sector is essential. It is no longer enough just to be on the web, or to command a prime position on the major search engines. It is the age of super communication, of social networking sites, of blogs and twitter. It is to these that travellers look for information. These are the resources they can, and do, use for themselves. We need to stop focusing on how bad things are and work side by side, in harmony, towards im- Thereisnopointin dwelling on the present, we need to look to the future Letters to the Editor We accept letters by email, post or fax, but they must include identification and a telephone number, and be exclusive to SUR in English. We do not publish anonymous letters. Opinions expressed by contributors to this and other pages of SUR in English do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publishers. 1.108 euros displayed in the shop window. With this she handed over the money but was informed that this rate was only valid if she was changing 15000 GBP or greater. The rate for her transaction would therefore be 1.103 euros. I was amazed that this type of practice is allowed. I would advise anyone changing money not to believe all they see advertised in the window no matter how established the place appears. INEPT COUNCIL Paul Jackson We fully agree with Neville Stock’s letter published in the September 18th edition. But proving the outlook. If we support tourism, it supports the economy. The sector needs to gear itself up to attract and, importantly, retain a new breed of tourist and the Government to give some serious thought to not introducing a whole new raft of tax levies to get in the way of the sector’s progress. The crisis has speeded up the changes that were already happening in the way we travel and they are now an established part of our lives. It is very clear that, as a result of the world recession, very little is going to be the same as it was before. Because of this, there is a need to open our minds to new ways of structuring the industry and the costs of 21st century travel. Technological advances not only allow savings in energy, but in the fundamental management of a businesses. These are the tools we need to use to the full to compete in the new world. The solution does not come cheaply. We need not to spread panic, but steadfast intention. Not just for our future, but for the tourists. we can go further. How is this for the stupidity of Estepona council... We registered on the ‘padrón’ and have been paying IBI tax on our property since 2001 in August of each year. This year we cannot pay our IBI tax as the bill is incorrect - we have qualified for a discount by always paying every year before the due date, but because the Estepona collection department is fraudulently demanding a payment from us for a warehouse which we do not own/rent/lease or know anything about, we no longer qualify for the discount on our property because the warehouse bill is outstanding since 2008! How has the warehouse bill got our name on it? We have visited the Town Hall three times since May and the Catastral Section twice in order to correct their error. We are pensioners, so to us the promised discount is a great help. T. Slade NOT JUST FOOTBALL AND SEX Lola Tortosa A well known shampoo brand has taken the theme of a current film “He’s just not that into you” to carry out a survey entitled, “What’s in men’s heads and what isn’t”? Those who think it is only sex and football must immediately wash those prejudices right out of their hair, because it seems, according to the survey, this view does not correspond to the reality. The men interviewed saw themselves in a different way: Not very attractive, fairly ordinary, but well cared for, preoccupied with their weight and the prospect of going bald; convinced they pull their weight around the Letter of the week A LOVELY SPANISH TRADITION Although almost 10 years in Spain it was my first time with thousands of others to experience a ‘Romería’ winding through the streets of Torremolinos. What a spectacle! It was fantastic. The joy, the hilarity, the gaiety was contagious. Outside Vista Sol Apartments one of those monstrous meanlooking bulls was plodding along controlled only by a frail looking teenager with a bamboo stick. A middle-aged woman visitor with a camera bent down only inches away from the bull to get a close-up photo of the bull’s impressive testicles. However, the indignant bull gave her a side kick that would have done credit to Ronaldo, and landed her on her bottom. I, along with others, ran to her assistance, but she was only shocked and embarrassed and not wounded - well, only her pride. As a foreigner, may I have the temerity to suggest one change? There is no doubt that pride of place must go to the animals and their handlers - the horses, cows, mules and the bulls. They could be the grad finale finishing the parade. Consequently the lovely ‘señoritas’ and ‘señoras’ and children with their dazzling flamenco dresses and matching shoes would not have to walk and dance through the cow, mule, bull and horse manure. What a wonderful carnival atmosphere! Long may your great Spanish traditions last and bring such joy, ecstasy and happiness to these credit crunch times. R. Logan house, but happy to admit they don’t do the ironing. Things are improving equality-wise as just 25% saythey wouldn’t like their partner to earn more than them. But the most surprising: The majority of those questioned believed that they compensated for not being amazing in bed with an “overdose” of romance. So said 83%. That said, at the recent Festival of Erotica in Seville, the star attraction was the Seville-Real Madrid game broadcast on two giant screens. And, to cap it all, at the end they organised a match between some female porn stars and volunteers from the audience! So now, I find myself asking, “What does go on in men’s heads and what doesn’t?” This, of course, will not be the slogan of Andalucía 10, a project set up by the Junta de Andalucía to change the image of Andalusian men. Some may say they face an uphill battle, not least the women of Andalucía. But I suspect those women have a pretty clear idea what goes on in their men’s heads.
OCTOBER 2ND TO 8TH 2009 Editor in Chief: JOSÉ ANTONIO FRÍAS RUIZ Editor: Liz Parry Advertising Manager: Eve Browne Newsroom: Rachel Haynes, Grace Taylor Commercial Director: Joaquín Cestino Malaga Edition: Avda. Dr. Marañón, 48, 29009, Málaga. Telephone: 95 264 97 41. Advertising Fax: 95 261 12 56. Editorial Fax: 95 202 02 93. Code from U.K.: 0034 U.K. Representative: S.S.M. Global Media. First floor, Premier House, 1 Cobden Court, Wimpole Close, Bromley, Kent BR29JF. Telephone: 0208 464 55 77. Fax: 0208 464 55 88 Gibraltar Representative: Belle O’Hanlon. 2nd Floor, 29/8 Ellesmere House, City Mill Lane, Gibraltar. Telephone: 00350 200 76 636. Fax: 00350 200 42 642 Published by: PRENSA MALAGUEÑA S. A. Director General: JESÚS ALLOZA MOYA Internet address: www.surinenglish.com E-Mail: surinenglish.su@diariosur.es TROLLEY LOVE Vivion O’Kelly The format worked itself out years ago, and it has never changed. “I’m off to the supermarket this morning. Would you like to come?” she says. I wouldn’t. I have better things to do with my time on a Saturday morning. One of them is staying in bed, but that ceased to be an option the morning after we got married. “Yes, I think I’d like to go,” I say, as if having given the matter serious thought. Anything more enthusiastic might arouse the suspicion of sarcasm. We go to the supermarket. She drives, because she knows, deep down, who is bringing whom. There is hardly a vacant space in the vast car-park. I wonder what it’s like on Monday mornings, but say nothing. Pointing out the obvious was never an option. Inside, we separate. My function is to help pack the grocery bags at the checkout and unload them into the car, but I have to be careful. “I’ll catch up on you later on,” I say. “I want to look at the hardware section.” Timing now becomes crucial. The drinks section is at the end, and I know the format never changes. But the supermarket management could be up to its tricks again. The drinks section could have changed. I take the risk. The alternative is to traipse behind her with the trolley up and down endless rows of food, none of which I have any interest in, stopping occasionally while she examines numerous labels on numerous packets, tins and jars of tomatoes that all contain nothing more than tomatoes. Then she moves on to peppers. I head for the hardware. When the time is right (I know from long experience) I head back to find her. This is one of the reasons I’ve come. “The gin is on special offer this week. Will we get two?” “We’ll do no such thing,” she says. “Baileys is quite cheap this week too. It’s been a while…” “No Baileys,” she says. “You drink it like milk.” “That’s not true,” I say. “I mix it with whiskey, which reminds me...” “It’s whiskey or gin. Your choice,” she says. “Have you ever tried tequila?” I ask. “Forget it,” she says, “or I’ll put the gin back.” Timing becomes crucial. The drinks section is at the end Idígoras Isn’t it great! They’re going to put our taxes up! Hooray! At about this time I re-consider the benefits of accompanying her to the supermarket, butrealiseitcouldbeworseif I were not there in person. She might forget the chocolate biscuits as well. The check-out queues are long. We pick the wrong one, as always. The woman in front has bought two dozen pairs of socks and panties which need to be folded and wrapped one by one, or a piece of gardening equipment with a part missing, or a tin of something or other with no barcode. I suggest moving to the fast checkout and taking our shopping through ten items at a time. She thinks I’m joking. Finally out and on the road again. I sit and think of all the things I could have done this Saturday morning. But I would have done them alone. That’s the other reason I’ve come. Love is many things, and one of them is pushing a supermarket trolley on Saturday mornings. What on earth’s got into you? For those who may have missed my last article (do pay attention at the back), I recently walked The Camino de Santiago (www.caminosantiago.com) and thought it might be interesting to write about the journey on a couple of different levels, beginning with the physical nature of the experience. Wishing to avoid unnecessary pain and being a prudent cove, I thought it might be a good idea, before leaving, to research the most common mistakes made by first-time pilgrims. So I typed ‘most common mistakes made by first time pilgrims’ into a search engine and took note. Apparently, the typical errors of the novice are: packing too much, poor SUR IN ENGLISH 23 HERE COMES THE PAIN AGAIN Peter Edgerton Shhh..Just pretend, they’re capable of inventing a tax on complaints quality footwear, not drinking enough fluids and setting off too quickly. So, obediently, I packed next to nothing, bought some decent trainers, resolved to drink a lot (beer mainly) and sauntered out at a leisurely pace into the gentle mist of the first morning while all around me hurtled forth excitedly. Never again will I doubt the wisdom of a search engine. All advice received, proved to be spot on, although I should point out that, with regard to the drinking of fluids, water intake should be monitored; more than one person suffered severe dehydration having drunk so much water as to eliminate most of the essential minerals from their system. Undoubtedly the physical problem that caused most grief was the appearance of blisters. I was very lucky and didn’t get any - well, OK, the beginnings of one on the sole of my foot but I stamped on it really hard a few times in the middle of a field of sunflowers (I must have looked like like Yosemite Sam in an incandescent rage) and it disappeared never to return. At first glance, there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the physical suffering business; one ex-professional footballer had to give up and go home because he had so much trouble, and yet a seventeen year old Slovakian girl who’d never walked further than the corner shop before, completed 600 miles without any physical problems at all. On reflection, however, it seemed that those who listened to Mother Nature i.e. drank when they were thirsty, ate when they were hungry and rested when they were tired, had the fewest problems while those who were hell-bent on achieving goals suffered the most. I imagine there’s a lesson in that somewhere.
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