I don´t often feel homesick as I have lived away from Merseyside for more years than I lived there. However, your heart is a funny thing when you see certain things that trigger emotions.

This time I was watching a programme about the work done by the rescue services on the south west coast of britain. I felt the first pang when I saw Perranporth beach and remembered the happy days we spent on holiday before we dicided to move to Cornwall from merseyside. It is a magical place and Culdrose is another place I remember well. The surf lifeguards were featured from Perranporth where we lived and the helicopter rescue missions were launched from Culdrose. I spent quite a few evenings entertaining the troops at Culdrose in my Rock ´n´ Roll show and I attended the special Open days they had at the base. I also got to know several of the servicement who were stationed at the base.

The memories were flooding back as I watched the helicopter flying to rescue a walker who had fallen on the cliff and then it was time to switch back ton Perranporth with its lovely waves rolling in. A holidaymaker had developed a back problem and was lying on the beach in agaony. It was a foul day as far as the weather was concerned and he was in agaony. The paramedics couldn´t get across the sand to where he was lying and suddenly another surf rescue vehicle arrived and out jumped the cavalry in the form of Matt Thomas. Why did I remember his name? It was one of my YTS students who was now in charge of the surf rescue unit at Perranporth on this particular day.

Gone was the crop of curly blonde hair. This young lad of 16,  who was also a champion weightlifter when he came to his YTS classes at Cornwall College, was now bald! I could recognise him and I half expected to see somebody I knew but it still copmes as a nice surprise to see that your students have done well in life. If I´m truthful I had known he was still in the village but I was not expecting to see him.

I can still remember the first day I went to Perranporth. I was working as a Field Sales Manager for Jenks brokerage in the North of England. We´d had the usual 9 hour drive to perranporth and arrived late at night. We had an apartment right on the beachfront and I was out at 8 am the next day to set up the windbreakers.

I´d gone into the sea and totally unprepared for the power of the waves that had picked me up and thrown me about twenty metres along the beach. I can confirm the surf lifeguards do a brilliant job all around the Cornish coastline. They had been helped in their training by lifeguards who had come across from Australia to work the british summers but now they have their own well-trained personnel. I know that the lifegueards in France can give you an on the spot fine if you enter the sea when the red flags are flying and they will confiscate your surf boards if you surf in the wrong areas. Their powers come from the fact they are attached to the police department. I really don´t understand why the British don´t apply the same powers of authority. Day after day we would hear of idiots, some who had been drinking, who had gone into the sea against the advice of the lifeguards. The same lifeguards often had to risk their own lives when going to rescue these idiots.

Let´s stay with the beach and check the weather as we´ve had another glorious day here on the Costa  Blanca. How long will it last?

Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
30° C | 21° C	32° C | 22° C	32° C | 20° C	29° C | 19° C	29° C | 19° C
Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear
Hourly	Hourly	Hourly	Hourly	Hourly

A surprising number of people seem to be under the impression that the weather in Spain is always fabulous which is far from the truth. We now have another six weeks of almost unbearable heat. The north of Spain isn´t so bad and a lot of Spanish people will take their holidays in the Basque Country and Galicia rather than down here on the Mediterranean coast.

Bear in mind that Spain is Western Europe’s second largest country after France and the second most mountainous after Switzerland so you can imagine the enormous range of weather around the peninsula.

As a foreigner in Spain I’ll always dress according to the weather, getting into shorts as early as possible. It is often very funny to spot the British holidaymakers. Although I wear shorts as quickly as I can there are days in the Spring when I am freezing and the brits are in their shorts! In Valencia for example it’s fascinating to see how people dress according to the date rather than the conditions. In fact, there’s a saying in Spanish … “hasta el cuarenta de mayo no te quites el sayo” … which warns you not to stop wearing a coat until 10th June as they believe that not doing so will give you a cold. This will be the Spanish equivalent to ´Ne´er cast a clout´til May be out!

If you like the Beatles and Paul McCartney try this for a different take on the music…..you won´t believe how good this guy is! Now if you liked that and if you have a few minutes to spare I am going to ask you to join the world of cats. They are the most difficult creatures to catch once you need to catch them. Just click on this link if you don´t believe me.

There´s absolutely no movement on the radio front which is desperately disappointing. Having spent so much time travelling around to try and find a suitable alternative it now appears that almost every station is besotted with trivia and banal conversation (if any). To this end I will stick to my own podcast for the immediate future and will remind you that I combine the latest Spanish news with some great older music. The podcast can be found by clicking this link from about 2.30 onwards. If ever the transmitter arrives from Malagar I will let you know!

It´s all very well for us to have opinions about what we see on the Television but what about the emotions these things cause in us? For example, yesterday morning we heard that the baby of the 19-year-old who had died from Swine Flu here in Spain had been killed in a terrible accident in the same hospital. How on earth can the father get over this as well as the grief of losing his beautiful young wife? Tragedy stares us in the face every day of the week yet sometimes we can feel a little miffed whilst not feeling the outrage of certain incidents.

Monday inght on the BBC there was a very dramatic portrayal of violence in a public house in Britain. It was a Jimmy McGovern play and Bob Hoskins played the part of a  pub landlord who had to ban the 21-years-old son of a local gangster. This gangster spent a lot of money in Bob Hoskins´pub and it would have taken great courage to ban the lad in a real-life situation. The lad had been smoking in the pub loo and he accepted his punishment. However, his hardknock father did not want to lose face in the pub and would not accept the landlord´s decision. This decision based, incidentally, on the fact that a similar ban had been imposed and accepted by another youngster who played in the pub football team.

The gangster had put money into the soccer team and the trainer of the team was in the gathering addressed by the landlord when he asked the football team to support him. The trainer pointed to the fact that the gangster had been the team´s biggest sponsor and when Hoskins told the lads his money was tainted the trainer pointed to the fact that the lads all drank the beer which the pub supplied. As many of the team got drunk in the pub maybe the pub´s money was also tainted?

Anyway, the incident sorted out the real friends of the pub landlord and he eventually had to take a beating for his stand on the ban. I won´t give you the ending as it might be shown again. Suffice it to say it was both hard-hitting and spell-binding in that it addressed many current issues in British society and showed the dilemmas of the landlord in his efforts to run a decent boozer. I enjoyed every minute of this well-written and well-portrayed film. I also add that I find it difficult to enjoy a lot of TV these days as you can clearly see how certain producers are trying to push their ideas into daily life especially through the soaps.

Incidentally, there was an earthquake in the Canary Islands the day before yesterday. I remember somebody filling my head with horrible pictures when s/he told me there would be a great earthquake followed by a giant Tsunami in the Canaries one day. That´s a great thought to enjoy whilst you´re sunbathing on the beaches of Tenerife!

So far this year, 1006 people have been killed on the roads in Spain. The one redeeming factor is that this is less than 120 for the same period last year, representing a decrease of 10,65%. The statistics might appear comforting but the reality that there is carnage on the roads of far too many countries can disappear in statistics.

I juist received a very nice Power Point presentation a sa to why golf is such a good game. The conduct of the players complements the beautiful surroundings of so many of the courses. The game does not attract an entourage of louts and much of the payment structure is in accordance with the performance of the players. The presentation contrasted this with the foul-mouthed audience that often follow such games as football, although I would always argue this is the minority albeit growing larger, the immoral payments and ill-educated answers from many of football´s elite interviewees and the poor public image given by so many of the petulant star performers. Personally, I don´t think you necessarily need to agree with this but reflect on the differences.

Here´s the weather forecast for Alicante and the Costa Blanca…….

Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
30° C | 22° C	33° C | 22° C	31° C | 22° C	34° C | 22° C	29° C | 21° C
Scattered Clouds	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear

Here´s another FREE Spanish Lesson fron SpanishVida and the latest Spanish news from Typically Spanish.

Elegir

(eh-leh-heer’) (transitive verb) – to choose, to select; to elect

• Te toca elegir. – It’s your choice.
• Tiene tres tamaños a elegir. – You can choose between these three sizes.

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

The listeners are at it again and this tale comes from Ian K..……..

An old man, a boy & a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey & the old man walked. As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man
was walking and the boy was riding.

The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, and the old man went on the donkey.
Then, later, they passed some people who remarked, ‘What a shame, he makes that little boy walk.’
So they then decided they’d both walk!

Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and man figured they were probably right, so they decide to carry the donkey.
They lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned.The moral of the story?

If you try to please everyone, you might as well…Kiss your ass goodbye!

As if that wasn´t bad enough here´s another from Jackie C
A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, “Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can’t figure out how to get started.”

Her boyfriend asks, “What is it supposed to be when it’s finished?”

The blonde says, “According to the picture on the box, it’s a rooster.”

Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle.

She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.

He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says,

“First of all, no matter what we do, we’re not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster.”

He takes her hand and says, “Second, I want you to relax. Let’s have a nice cup of tea, and then,” he said with a deep sigh. .. . … . …

“Let’s put all the Corn Flakes back in the box!”

I use Skype for my computer to computer recordings and it is really good. Last night I chatted with Johnn Davis. We haven’t met since we studied our ‘A’levels together at Carlett Park, Wirral. We studied British and European Social History and I reminded him that we had studied the Spanish Civil War. Little did I realise I would come to live in Spain.

The second chat on Skype was a long chat with Emile Ford who had that fabulous song ‘What do you want to make those eyes at me for?’ Emile told me some amazing things including the fact that he has been producing sound for Michael Jackson then also for the different countries from the Eurovision Song Contest. Emile is a sound scientist and he will amaze you in some of the things he told me.

When I am researching for my Blog or just generally reading around the Internet I like to read items which endorse my own thoughts. Personally, I think we have completely lost our sense of values and I, therefore, was very interested in the following……..

When asked about the financial crisis during a recent airing of Bill Moyers Journal on PBS, the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary said, “It’s a crisis of value. We have misplaced, in deep ways, the ruler that we use to measure what matters most in life. And it has become completely exhausted by monetary value.”

I believe all this started in the 1980s in the UK and that´s why I don´t believe the Tories are the answer to the current mess in Britain. Please use your eyes. It is in a mess and it´s the late 70s and early 80s which kicked it off for me.I think we’ve all seen the evidence that many of the elected politicians are only in it for their own gain.

I´d also add in that if you retire your best brains when they are maturing through years of hard work and replace these mature workers with college kids, many of whom are following new and untried ideas, don´t be surprised if the results are bad. Another ingredient is the fact that many bosses don’t deserve to be bosses. They didn’t deserve their original promotions and are part of the mess. I think a few bank managers might prove my point. I don’t mean your friendly branch manager. I mean whoever agreed to lend money when people were clearly not in a position to repay their loan obviously did not understand credit.

I remember having to go and grovel for a mortgage and prove the loan was within range of repayment. Who decided to change these policies? I believe it was never rocket science. If you cannot repay a loan you should never borrow the money.So who changed the rules?

Let’s get back to wealth and the article I was reading……..When asked how he measures wealth, Warren Buffet said, “By how much love a person has in his life.” He said that he knows many people with a lot of money who he doesn’t consider wealthy because of the lack of love in their lives.”

Suppose for a moment that money is only a side-effect of the flow of energy through your life. When energy flows freely through your body, mind, and spirit, whatever you need to fully express yourself creatively will be there.

In his book Soul Currency, former Wall Street banker Ernest Chu talks about love and spiritual assets such as gratitude, forgiveness, and empathy as the basis for wealth. Focus on these and other inner resources is his advice for those who wish to flourish.

I think this guy is right. You come into this world without any money and you’re going to leave the same way. It’s got to be about the people you meet and the interaction with those people. Not many are millionaires and there are some very wealthy people who are so nice with their money. There’s also the reverse of the coin!

So as this was a bit on the heavy side we’ll join in the rush for the dosh and tell you about Sally.
A contestant Sally, on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ had reached the final plateau.If she answered the next question correctly, she would win $1,000,000.If she answered incorrectly, she would pocket only the $25,000 milestone money….and as she suspected the Million Dollar Question was no pushover.

It was, ‘Which of the following not build its own nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds? Is it: A) the condor B) the buzzard C) the cuckoo D) the vulture

The woman was on the spot. She did not know the answer. She had used up her 50/50 Lifeline and her Ask the Audience Lifeline.

All that remained was her Phone-a-Friend Lifeline. She hoped she would not have to use it because…….. Her friend was, well, a blonde.  But she had no alternative. She called her friend and gave her the question and the four choices. The blonde responded unhesitatingly:

‘That’s easy. The answer is C: the cuckoo.’

The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast. She considered employing a reverse strategy and giving any answer except the one that her friend had given her.

And considering her friend was a blonde that would seem to be the logical thing to do.. But her friend had responded with such confidence, such certainty that the contestant could not help but be convinced…

Crossing her fingers, the contestant said, ‘C: The cuckoo..’

‘Is that your final answer?’

‘Yes, that is my final answer.’

‘That answer is Absolutely correct!

You are now a millionaire!’

Three days later, the contestant hosted a party for her family and friends, including the blonde who had helped her win the million dollars.

‘Barbie, I just do not know how to thank you, ‘ said the contestant.
‘How did you happen to know the right answer?’
‘Oh, come on,’ said the blonde ‘Everybody knows that cuckoosdon’t build nests. They live in clocks.’
Sally fainted .

The pound is still bobbling around the 1.16 mark against the euro and those talking of the green shoots of economic recovery might still need to eat their words. The current rate is 1.15……..Let´s get the weather forecast for Alicante…..

Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
27° C | 19° C	27° C | 20° C	28° C | 19° C	31° C | 22° C	31° C | 21° C
Chance of T-storms 30% chance of precipitation	Chance of Rain 20% chance of precipitation	Clear	Clear	Clear

You might have found Sally too tame and need something a little more political. Rockin Dave sent me the following ….

Barak Obama and Gordon Brown are shown a time machine which can see 100 years into the future. The both decide to test it by asking a question each. Barak goes first

“What will the USA be like in 100 years time”

The machine whirrs and beeps and goes into action and gives him a printout, he reads it out “The country is in good hands under the new president, crime is non-existant, there is no conflict, the economy is healthy. There are no worries”

Gordon Brown thinks “Its not bad this time machine, I’ll have a bit of that” so he asks “What will Britain be like in 100 years time?”

The machine whirrs and beeps and goes into action, and he gets a printout. But he just stares at it.

“Come on Gordon” says Barak, “Share what it says”

“I can’t! Its all in Arabic!”

Here’s a word for today…..

Vivir

(vee-veer’) (intransitive verb) – to live; to be a live

• Vivo sola. – I live alone.
• No es suficiente para vivir. – It’s not enough to live on.

• Vive y deja vivir. – To live and let live
• Vivir la vida – To enjoy life

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

Yesterday’s news saw the supporters of the Valencian leader scuffling with the opposition,  Queen Sofia getting her hands dirty, Greenpeace reading the riot act and one of the passengers on an aeroplane getting off the plane to mend it.  Let’s catch up with all the latest in Spanish news.
Feed Shark

I despair at the rubbish on a lot of the TV but I have to admit I have enjoyed Wimbledon 2009 immensely. Even if you don’t enjoy tennis you must have realised we were watching something really special over the weekend. Two black ladies at Wimbledon in the Ladies final would have been unthinkable in the past and now we almost take these two wonderful female tennis stars for granted. What an amazing feat for it to happen. What a more amazing feat that it was not for the first time. It was a great final and Serena deserved to win this year.

As if this was not enough excitement, we were treated to the most amazing Mens Final with the outcome being witnessed by an amazing collection of former champions includinmg the great Pete Sampras. It was worth the viewing time to see the wonderfully warm reception given to the appearance of Pistol Pete and he was to be enthralled, along with the rest of us, by the power and guile of two fantastic exponents of the game.

The British Press have begun to compare Andy Murray with Tim Henman already but Murray´s conqueror showed everyone that he is a tennis player par excellence, as is Murray, who took Federer to his very limits. Murray had a brilliant tournament and he will be back to win one day. Meanwhile, Roger federer stands tall as one of the all-time greats. The warmth of Sampras´ welcome by Rod Laver and Ily Nastase showed us the esteem in which Pete Sampras is held by his peers. Federer has just beaten Sampras´record.

Without labouring the point, he is also one of sport´s true gentlemen. He graces the court with his presence and i cannot remember a time when nhis behaviour has been anyuthing but exemplary. If sport needs an ambassador and role model Federer and Sampras have provided for those needs.

It also needs saying that Andy Roddick has improved tremendously to become an awesome all-round player with the world´s most powerful serve.

Now I deliberately used the word awesome as it is relevant and a worthy adjective. I compare this with the drivel served up by the panel on America´s Got Talent. Despite the adjectives spewed forth by Jerry Springer, David Hasselhof and Sharon Osbourne nothing I saw was awesome. The same applied when Messrs. Morgan and Cowell embraced the British efforts. Sure, some of the acts are pretty good. Maybe, just maybe, the dance troupes were awesome!

How nice to relax and see worthwhile television on Sunday when Sir Trevor MacDonald took us to see some of the islands in the West Indies. The show was rivoting and ranged from insights into how difficult it is to grow quality coffee in Barbados through an the drug trafficking on the island to the opulance of privately owned islands nearby. Sir Trevor was able to show far more of his personality than when reading the news for us and I was impressed with his genuine interest in his programme about the West Indies.

The weather was roasting over the weekend and we´ll peep at what lies ahead.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
30° C | 20° C	29° C | 20° C	27° C | 20° C	Tie-Break Tennis. Posted on July 4, 2009 by Administrator 1 I am drained and I’ve only been watching! Andy Murray gave of his best but in this semi-final there would only ever be one winner if it got to a tie-break. Andy Roddick is the king of tie-break tennis and Andy had just gone a match too far. Personally, I think the Monday game did the damage but Andy did British tennis proud and can hold his head high. I will not be surprised to see him return to a Wimbledon final in 2010. The weather has been brilliant although a little too hot to be working. Let’s get the forecast. Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday 31° C | 21° C 31° C | 22° C 31° C | 20° C 30° C | 20° C 29° C | 19° C Clear Clear Clear Scattered Clouds Clear more of the same…..hot, hot, hot! nacer (nah-ser’) (intransitive verb) – to be born; to sprout, to begin to grow; to hatch Examples: ¿Dónde nació su hijo? – Where was your son born? Nací para tocar el piano. – I was born to play the piano. Idioms: Nacer de pie – To be born under a lucky star For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for nacer. The following is taken from the website spanishvida. Whilst crime seems to be on the increase in the whole of Europe, Spain saw an overall decrease in reports of burglary in the first half of the year. However, the National Police have issued a notice of advice on possible ways of decreasing your risk of becoming a victim of crime during the summer months, traditionally a period where crime at coastal areas increases. Some techniques used by offenders include ’scaling’ buildings, using ropes, cables, wires and pipes to access homes through open windows and the ’slip’, buy using a plastic insert into the slot of the access door. Therefore, the National Police Force advise you to check that ALL doors and windows of the home are closed and locked securely and that window blinds are totally down. Do not leave money or anything value lying around. Make a detailed list of equipment such as cameras, DVD players, computers, videos and other devices, with their serial numbers for easy identification and to use automated timers to schedule a radio or a lamp to start up at random times, thus giving the impression that someone is in the house. They have also said that you should call 091 if you notice strangers loitering near property, or on the street or if you hear noises in vacant homes. They also recommend that the doors of the house must meet certain minimum conditions of security and recommended the installation of at least two sets of locks at different levels, do not open the door to unknown persons, and change the locks if you lose the keys or if they are stolen. They also recommend telling a close and discreet friend if you are going on holiday and leaving the keys to your house with a trusted person, asking them to collect your mail from the mailbox, as this is another clue that the property might be empty. Never tell strangers of when your property might be left vacant. This includes being cautious of posting future plans on the internet on so called social networking sites such as Face book or My Space, as modern thieves have been known to use this information for their own practices. During a journey, the police advised you not to carry baggage of persons unknown to them, never label your luggage with the your home address, avoid travelling with large amounts of money and, in the case of travel by train or bus, keep track of your luggage, especially at intermediate stops. Advice also considered appropriate is that if you are in a hotel or apartment, take the same security measures that you would normally use at home. Keep your valuables in a safe place and perhaps leave the radio on, or an interior light if it is at night. Exterior lights are often turned on to allow the returning residents to see their way into the property, but can also serve as a beacon to thieves that the property is vacant. In public places, the National Police advise that you take precautions to prevent handbags, jewelry or similar items being seized, perhaps by a “drive by grab”. Do not leave your bag on a table and unsecure and always wear it so that it is between two people and away from the roadside. Finally, never show off your money of valuables in public as they can serve as temptation for would be thieves. Be vigilant, be careful and report your suspicions, that way you reduce the risk of being a victim of crime. Stop Press.  Serena Williams is the Ladies Champion at Wimbledon Both played well but Serena deserved the win after her attitude in the semi-final. Will Federer do it tomorrow? Sibling Rivalry! Posted on July 2, 2009 by Administrator Reply We’ve had another beautiful day and the Costa Blanca is now earning its name. Britain would also seem to be enjoying good temperatures and it was hard going for the players at Wimbledon. The game against Dementiava was a wonderful advert for ladies tennis and Serena almost lost the match before turning it round and winning the match. All that was needed was for Venus to secure her victory and a wonderful afternoon was complete for the Williams family. This got me thinking about the families where siblings do well especially representing their country at national level.In football there was Bobby and Jack Charlton who played in the England 1966 World Cup team. In Rugby Union we had the Underwood brothers, Rory and Tony,  with their mum yelling them on from the stands. In boxing the Russians have the Klischko twins. The Netherlands can boast the likes of Frank and Ronald de Boer, plus Ronald and Erwin Koeman. Denmark were a sparkling side when Michael and Brian Laudrup were in their prime. Portugal’s Pinto brothers also made a massive contribution to their national team. One of the oldest examples of this sibling feat were the Irish Gordon brothers, who played international football in the final years of the 19th century. Tommy, the eldest, had his swansong with the national team in a game against England in 1895, while brother Hugh made his international debut in the same game. Willie, the youngest brother, also received a call-up to the national team shortly afterwards. Where have Ireland’s siblings been hiding since those days. More recently in the German Bundesliga, three Tauber brothers all played with the top clubs such as Schalke 04 and Nuremberg during the 1980s. Jurgen, an industrious defender, and the oldest of the three, was first on the scene, followed by striker Klaus and creative midfielder Stephen. In Argentina, a trio of Maradonas led a substantial batch of famous family threesomes. While Diego’s status as the one of the all-time greats needs no introduction, younger brothers Hugo and Raul also achieved success with varying degrees. The former won gold at the 1985 South America U-16 Championship with Argentina, while the latter played for Boca Juniors in 1986 before plying his trade with a number of American clubs.Strangely enough, I was not aware of this until researching for this article. There are many more examples written onto the internet and in a variety of sports so we can see it is not a rare event to have family members doing well in the same sport. What is the secret? Is it genetic or is it that they are individually good and they share their contacts…. or is there more to it? Whichever way we look at it the sisters will be battling to beat each other to win the ladies title. There is also the lesser question of how well the younger Murray brother will fare in the same tournament. Let’s get the weather forecast. As you can see…the word glorious springs to mind. Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday 31° C | 21° C 32° C | 22° C 33° C | 22° C 31° C | 21° C 29° C | 21° C Clear Clear Clear Clear Clear It is roasting hot and it is best to stay out of the sun between 10 am and 3 pm although it has to be said that it is reasonably hot at 9 am and it has been still hot at 6 pm. The swine flu is still on the rise and the UK has begun to change its policy on what we should do. I am sticking with the UK advice for the moment as I understand English far better than Spanish. They are suggesting that it has become easier to catch but it is not becoming more virulent. If you can afford to keep a supply of Tamiflu in the house my neighbour, who has had his stock in the medicine cupboard for the last two months, tells me the dose is about 30 euros. This sounds like money well spent if you can afford it. Another type of virus is found on our computers and it is becoming increasingly clear to me that there is a lot of activity in the field of malware and spyware and it would appear a good policy is to not click on any link unless you are 100% sure of where it has come from. I have been advised that the scan issued by Malwarebytes is a good point for initial protection. There is a free download which, once put in place, can offer good defence if run at least once per week. I have also been advised never to put two anti virus programmes on the same computer. Apparently, they do not double the protection they nullify each other. An injured turtle was in the news yesterday, there was a violent hailstorm in Vitoria and more news regarding that horrific traffic incident in Alfaz. It is difficult to get too ecstatic about the employment figures as most of the reduction in the official unemployment will be low paid seasonal work. It was ever the same in Cornwall. Incidentally, the exchange rate was still around 1 euro 16 yesterday. Let’s get the latest news from Spain. Thursday is Question Time and I usually settle down to see whether my views are extreme or whether others see life as I do. Ian Duncan Smith is speaking for the Tories and his dulcet tones always remind me of his glorious years as Tory leader. There’s Jarvis Cocker on the panel tonight and he seems to have very little to say for himself. Harriet Harmon never really convinces me and I’ve never heard of the almost anonymous Libdem speaker. Every now and then a member of the audience gives the game away and shows everyone that s/he is just finishing their degree and wants to show a skill in questioning the panel on TV. However, Peter Hitchen is usually good value for money and I’ll stick with the rest of the programme to see what he has to say. The computers are now looking better. I cannot give you a radio update for various reasons!