What an afternoon! Jenson Button won the Monaco Grand Prix. Rangers won the Scottish Premiership. Then it was time to bite those nails in the north-east of England as four clubs battled to not join West Brom in the Championship. First Man United scored at Hull. Oh Dear…….then Middlesborough went behind……eventually, Newcastle joined Middlesborough and Sunderland and Hull were over the proverbial moon! The Hull manager then decided on an impromptu attempt to prove Hull didn´t have too much singing talent.

Best wishes to Eileen in Bendorm for a speedy recovery. Let´s hope Sheila in Campello gets her Skype sorted out and I believe Mia in Villajoyosa has got her Skype sorted out. I think our social secretqwry, Dave, won the forecasts. He´ll ring to tell me no doubt.

If you remember Gaz who used to check the La Liga football on my show then I´m pleased to say he is alive and kicking and looking well in Polop. It was just like old times meeting up with Vinny and Gaz outside Churchills where I played my guitar for one of my first gigs in Benidorm. Vinny was telling me that several Liverpool legends (eg Jimmy Case) had visited the bar in recent weeks. What a pity that the Wheeltappers has shunted off down the other end of town and in its place……..a pole dancing emporium. I had to have a peep inside to see whether Vinny was pulling my leg. No! Several scantily dressed trainee firewomen were parading their wares up and down various silver poles. Well I presume they wanted to join the fire brigade but they didn´t descend the pole in traditional style!

We also had a very nice Intercambio on Saturday morning and we always have a few newcomers to welcome. Please drop in if you wish to improve your Spanish. It´s Saturdays at 10 until 12 midday at Pinar de Garaitas, near the Health centre in La Nucia. Not in the old town but near roundabout number 5.

The papers in Britain are now scraping the bottom of the barrel with the MPs expenses. This morning´s revelation is that cabinet ministers claimed the accountant´s fee against their tax returns. I´d be more worried if they had not used an accountant and this is hardly a revelation. Sorry, I´m not with the Telegraph on this one.

We have a muggy day here in La Nucia. It´s a blue sky but clouds are about and rain is to the north of us. let´s get the forecast. I like the look of the weather so let´s check the exchange rates for today.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
25° C | 13° C	25° C | 14° C	26° C | 14° C	23° C | 13° C	24° C | 14° C
Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear

The pound sterling is worth 1 euro 13 and the euro changing today at 87 pence. Let´s get the Spanish news and please visit the links to the originators of the stories.

Spain Press Review – Monday May 25 2009
The first weekend of campaigning in the European elections dominates the front pages today.…….The loyalty showed by the PP leader to the regional President in Valencia, Franciso Camps, despite the Gúrtel corruption case, dominates many papers. El Mundo has a large front page photo of Mariano Rajoy greeting Francisco Camps across a stage in Alicante yesterday and quotes the two – Rajoy – ‘Paco we are with you’ – Camps- ‘You are our grand captain’. El Mundo says that the PP leader is supporting the President of the Valencia Generalitat against ‘the Torquemadas’ of the 21st century……come on señor Camps, don´t let us down……

Spain Sports News
Good start for the Spaniards at Roland Garros
Rafa Nadal wants to win the title for the six consecutive year………There were wins for Verdasco, Almagro and Ferrer on the first day of Roland Garros yesterday……..Rafa was busy polishing his headgear…..

Spain Sports News
Two points for Fernando Alonso in Monaco
An Italian newspaper says the Spanish driver will race with Ferrari next season……………………Fernando Alonso admitted after the Monaco Grand Prix that two points was the most he could have hoped for from the race. It was another 1,2 for Brawn with another win for Jenson Button who is now odds-on favourite to take the World Champion Title, despite just six races of the season so far…………………...come on Fernando…you got two points it´s something to build on!

Spain Sports News
Weekend Spain Football Round Up – Monday May 25 2009
Real Madrid’s last game at home and relegation for Recreativo and Numancia…….Real Madrid have let in 15 goals in four games and suffered once again on Sunday at the Camp Nou where they were beaten 1-3 by Mallorca.
The visitors were led by the Brazilian Cléber Santana who scored a goal destined to go down in history, but the Real Madrid supporters still had applause for Cannavaro in his adios to the fans. He said after the match it was a pity they had not won, but once again he had to say ‘Grazie Mille’ to the fans.
It was also a disappointing game for Juande Ramos – as the manager’s last home match. He’ll be gone next season as the new club chairman takes over. Leading candidate Florentino Pérez, said over the weekend however that he had made no offer of manager to José Mourinho. A statement from Pérez denied the press reports………………………Barcelona and Valencia also lost….Barcelona gave a few substitutes a game…they get paid so they should have a game every now and then shouldn´t they?

Madrid , Spanish Oddities
Anti-bullfighting protest at Las Ventas
The protest, outside the Madrid bullring, comes during the San Isidro fiestas………Speaking to Europa Press TV, the spokesperson for Equanimal who organised the protest, Rafael Boro, said they had chosen Las Ventas as thousands of bulls are killed there each year. The protest comes during the San Isidro bullfights, one of the few profitable bullfighting fiestas currently held in the country. Equanimal claim that the other fights only survive thanks to public grants and aid………….I  love the pageantry but hate the kill. Nothing would ever change without activists……

National
Campaigning continues in the European Elections
Mariano Rajoy shared a platform in Alicante with both Francisco Camps and Federico Trillo

National
Two ETA activists give an interview to Basque newspaper Gara
The two terrorists appear with their heads covered in a front page photo of the newspaper today……..The two ETA activists say that an internal process inside the gang, reflecting on the situation will end before the summer with ‘an efficient political-armed strategy’. They also express their concern for the loss of power of the PNV, Basque Nationalist Party in the region ‘at the hands of the Spanish fascist alliance’, – a reference to the Socialist administration of Patxi López, supported by the Partido Popular. They repeat that López remains under threat and also criticise the collaboration against terrorism currently being seen between France and Spain.   NO COMMENT

National
Spain now has ten million electronic identity cards ………The new cards allow Spaniards to do their tax returns, see their employment history, get an electronic doctors prescription, and check their driving licence points, and all from home without any queuing. A simple USB adaptor connects the card to their home computer. The system has cost 341 million €. It makes the country world leader in the field, and citizens can now access a range of services directly from home……………………so come on you Brits…get real, get up to date and face the facts. The authorities already have the information and it can work to your advantage not to be robbed and have your identity taken from you……

Spain Culture News
Spanish Royal Family gather in Barcelona for First Communion
The ceremony was for Juan and Pablo Nicolás Urdangarín y Borbón…………………he proud parents, the Duke and Duchess of Palma, Cristina de Borbón and Iñaki Urdangarín, were joined by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía, The Prince and Princess of Asturias, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, and their children Leonor and Sofía, the Infanta…………I´m not a great Royalist but I like the Spanish Royal Family more than I like the British Royal Family…they don´t seem to be dysfunctional!

Andalucía
Marta del Castillo’s DNA found in the Sevilla flat in C/León XIII video
The victim’s DNA, together with that of her alleged killer, Miguel Carcaño, was found on a blood pressure test kit

National
Campaigning continues in the European Elections
The Spanish Prime Minister held a joint rally with his Portuguese counterpart, José Sócrates, in Portugal

Canarias , Spain Sports News
Bert Jammaer and Bella Bayliss triumph again in Lanzarote Ironman Triathlon
Bert Jammaer from Belgium and Bella Bayliss from Scotland made it two wins each in two years

National
Ministry of Defence opens investigation into school barracks visit
Two primary school visits were authorised despite the Madrid barracks suffering an outbreak of the Swine Flu virus……The Spanish Minister for Defence, Carme Chacón, has ordered an investigation as to why two primary school trips were authorised to visit the military college in Hoyo de Manzanares, Madrid where now more than 500 soldiers are in quarantine because of an outbreak of the A(H1N1) virus…….This was like authorising a child to put its hand in the fire….are these people barmy or what!

National
12 of 13 men arrested in Bilbao now released
The leader of the group arrested on Tuesday remains in custody on remand

National
Prosecutor calls for jail for Carlos Fabra
The PP leader in Castellón is alleged to have allowed document falsification on at least six occasions……The prosecutor s’ office says they want to see a hearing in the case where Fabra is accused of allowing documents to be changed to give a larger number of permissions for the production of fertilisers and pesticides. One of the companies to benefit as a result was Aremis 2000, owned by his wife at the time, María Amparo Fernández. Now it is up to judge in Nules, Castellón, to decide if the charges are heard in court……..did I read that right?  A politician fiddling so his wife´s company might prosper? Never! Let´s have our Spanish word for the day…….

Malo

(mah’-lo) (adjective) – bad, poor, nasty, mean; sick; rotten

• Soy muy mala para las matemáticas. – I am very bad at math.
• Ha tenido un día muy malo. – She has had a very bad day.

• Lo malo es que… – The trouble is…
• Por las malas – By force

The form “mal” is used before singular masculine nouns.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Malo.

Today´s Birthdays include the following, mainly musical, people……Hal David 1921, Miles Davis 1926
Norman Petty 1927, Tom T. Hall 1936, Donnie Elbert 1936, Sugar Minott 1956 ,
Paul Weller (Jam, Style Council) 1958

and on this day in History…..

1085 – Alfonso VI took Toledo, Spain from the Moslems.

1810 – Argentina declared independence from Napoleonic Spain.

1844 – The gasoline engine was patented by Stuart Perry.

1895 – Oscar Wilde, a playwright, poet and novelist, was convicted of a morals charge and sentenced to prison in London.

1925 – John Scopes was indicted for teaching the Darwinian theory in school.

1935 – Jesse Owens tied the world record for the 100-yard dash. He ran it in 9.4 seconds. He also broke three other world track records.

1946 – Jordan gained independence from Britain.

1953 – In Nevada, the first atomic cannon was fired.

1961 – America was asked by U.S. President Kennedy to work toward putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade.

1979 – An American Airlines DC-10 crashed during takeoff at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. 275 people were killed.

1981 – Daredevil Daniel Goodwin scaled Chicago’s Sears Tower, while wearing a “Spiderman” costume, in 7 1/2 hours.

1983 – “The Return of the Jedi” opened nationwide. It set a new record in opening day box office sales. The gross was $6,219,629.

1985 – Bangladesh was hit with a hurricane and tidal wave that killed more than 11,000 people.

1996 – In Nimes, France, Christina Sanchez became the first woman to achieve the rank of matadore in Europe.

1997 – Poland adopted a constitution that removed all traces of communism.

2001 – Erik Weihenmeyer, 32, of Golder, CO, became the first blind climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

2001 – Sherman Bull, 64, of New Canaan, CT, became the oldest climber to reach the summit of Mount

Here´s just a little bit of Music trivia…….
1965, Blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep. Van Morrison, Aerosmith, The Who, The Animals, Yardbirds and Moody Blues all covered his songs. According to the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods, touring the UK in the 60′s, Sonny Boy set his hotel room on fire while trying to cook a rabbit in a coffee percolator.

1961, The Temperance Seven were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘You’re Driving Me Crazy’, their only UK No.1 single.

Finally, an announcement is imminent regarding the radio situation…………..

Podcast on the way—–

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