FRANK “IT’S THE WAY I TELL EM” CARSON HAS DIED AGED 85

Belfast born comedian Frank started out performing in local pubs and concert halls. He got his big break on the TV Show ‘Opportunity Knocks’ in the 1960s and then went on to take part in TV show ‘The Comedians’.
Described as “one of the nicest people in showbiz” Frank also worked tirelessly for charity.
Below are just some of his jokes and as he would say ‘IT’S A CRACKER’.
 Paddy calls a wrong number at 3am. "Is that O'Malley's Bar?" he asks. "No it's not, this is a private residence." "Oh, I must have the wrong number. Sorry to have troubled you," says Paddy. "Ah it's no trouble," says the stranger. "I had to get up to answer the phone anyway."
 My father fought in World War I single-handedly destroyed the Germans' lines of communication. He ate their pigeon.
 A fella said to the doctor: “What’s the good news?” “You’ve got 24 hours to live.” He says: “What’s the bad news?” And the doc says: “We should have told you yesterday.”
 An Irishman's wife gave birth to twins. Her husband demanded to know who the other man was.
 A fella walks into a pet shop and says: “Give me a wasp.” The shopkeeper replies: “We don’t sell wasps.” He says: “There’s one in the window.”
 A fella walked into hospital and the doctor said: “You’ve got three minutes to live.” The man said: “Can you do something for me?” “Yes,” he said. “I’ll boil you an egg.”
 Have you heard about the Irishman who reversed into a car boot sale and sold the engine?
 I don't think my wife likes me very much. When I had a heart attack she wrote for an ambulance.
 I rang British Telecom. I said, “I want to report a nuisance caller.” He said: "Not you again.”
 My wife said to me: “If you won the lottery, would you still love me?” I said: “Of course I would. I’d miss you, but I’d still love you.”

Alhaurin el Grande - Living life to the full in a typically Spanish town

Having spent a third of my life living in Alhaurin el Grande I am obviously qualified to talk about this amazing market town, so strategically positioned that by car anyone can be in Malaga, Marbella, Fuengirola, or Torremolinos in less than half an hour. Check it out on Google if you don’t believe me!

Off course it was not always like this. In 1988 when I bought my first home in Alhaurin el Grande it used to take me one hour fifteen minutes to get to the airport, and yes I did have a good car.

The views of the Guadalahorce valley from almost anywhere in Alhaurin are breathtaking and if one is lucky enough to live on the east side at the foot of the forest the views stretch as far as Malaga bay. On clear winter days one can see the cruise ships sailing in and out of the harbour.

The history of Alhaurin can be traced back to Roman times when the hills (Sierra de Mijas) were populated by huge oak trees, highly valued by the Romans for their boat building industry.

The total population is around 25,000 of which 20% are foreigners, British, Dutch, and Scandinavian. In fact most of Europe is represented, as well as a good proportion of South American states.

There is no shop, bar, restaurant or house for that matter where a foreigner is not made welcome. The Alhaurinos hospitality is legendary and at first it may seem overwhelming until one realises that every visitor is treated the same. The exception to this rule is when a foreign visitor tries to change what the locals see as important aspects of their culture like bullfighting, personal questions about the civil war, questioning the need for their religious processions etc. These things and many others are considered sacrosanct and not worth talking about with someone who does not see it the way they do. Having said that his year the Mayor has banned the traditional ‘cattle race’ through the town’s streets during the Feria (local celebrations). The Mayor made this decision because he deems it to cruel to the animals. This is a real progressive decision which seems to have been accepted without to much protest.

My very first meal in Alhaurin was a dinner at Casa Paco and it’s still there serving good fish six days a week. In 1988 it was one of three restaurants. Today there are more than thirty restaurants including an Indian, Chinese, Italian and even a traditional English fish and chip shop.

My favourite place is Finca la Mota a 12 bedroom hotel with a lovely restaurant. The hotel is only a few kilometres from the town centre and well worth a visit. It is Dutch owned with a German chef who can cook just about any dish in the world better than they would in the country of origin. Yes even Paella! www.fincalamota.com.

There is enough nightlife in Alhaurin to satisfy the most demanding ‘ravers.’ I am told that the fashion this year is Music bars from techno to country and anything else in between. When the night is over you can have breakfast in ‘Bar Dany’ another institution open 24 hours per day for 11 months of the year.

For those seeking sports facilities, Alhaurin is second to none. The Municipal Sports Centre boasts indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, paddle, football 7, basketball and much much more. From 7:30 until 22:30 the centre is a bee hive of activities.

For golf lovers like me there are two great courses only 4km from the town centre and 52 more within half an hours drive in almost any directions. www.alhauringolfresort.com. www.laurogolf.com.

Alhaurin el Grande is not immune to the present economic crisis effecting most of the western world, but its people, friendliness, the great weather and peaceful surroundings make this particular difficult period more bearable.

Of course for anyone wishing to buy a property now is the time. Prices are rock bottom and people (those affected most by the crisis) are willing to negotiate. Others would not sell their property for anything in the world because they could not find another place like Alhaurin el Grande anywhere in the world.

Spanish Property Update

After 30 years of indiscriminative building in the countryside and hundreds of thousands of properties being sold mainly to foreign buyers who contracted lawyers to ensure that their investments were guaranteed by the correct paperwork, only to discover that a law that came into effect retrospectively in 2002 made their homes illegal and therefore unsellable.
Owners of these “illegal” properties in Axarquia and Guadalahorce Valley were promised a quick and fair solution by the Regional Government of Andalucia in 2005 when it proceeded to carry out an inventory of the affected properties town by town, village by village in alphabetical order. As it was to be expected the inventory was never finished and it only served to prosecute dozens of Mayors and officials for corruption and negligence, thus creating an even bigger problem of credibility as far as would-be investors in this region are concerned.
Six weeks ago the news that the Regional Government was going to legalise 60,000 country properties was leaked to the media only to be rectified by the Government this week who said that the new decree will legalise 10% of these rural homes. This will leave 80% in limbo although they would be subject to IBI (rates) which the majority of them already pay. The remaining 10% to be demolished.
This decision is an insult to the citizens of the Costa del Sol and Andalucia in general. I am personally outraged at the way these inept politicians have dealt with this problem of their own making and totally echo the statement of the president of SOHA, Philip Smalley when he said to the press “we do not know what to do next except wait for a change of Government (which hopefully will be on the 25th of March 2012) because the present one has demonstrated after six years of talking we now realise that they have not listened to anything we said.”
To summarise we live in Paradise, fantastic beaches, great countryside, beautiful and hospitable people, good infrastructure and of course the best climate in Europe. All we need is a few good laws which we can all abide by and a new Government made up of politicians who work for the people and not what we have now which is a band of corrupt, inept and proponent imbeciles. If on the 25th of March we get rid of this lot it will be the beginning of a new and more prosperous and happy Andalucia.

Good Deals to be had for Spanish Property

Do you want a holiday home, or a permanent home in Spain? If you do then now is the time to start your search as there are a great number of properties for sale, approximately 1 million and the expectation is that prices will continue to drop this year.

Good news for those looking to buy, not so good news for those selling private homes or developers.


The Spanish National Institute of Statistics show that house prices are dropping. In the third quarter of 2010 residential properties fell 2.2 percent compared to figures from 2009. Also new property prices and re-sales are also on the decline with a 2.6 and 1.8 percent decrease year on year.


In view of the economic crisis it would appear that sellers now know that they have to be more realistic when putting a value on their properties. Many more owners are willing to enter into negotiations as the want a quick sale.


The prediction is that house prices in Spain may continue to fall for another two years, so investors locally and abroad are watching what is happening in Spain and some have already made some key investments already.

http://www.propertysearchspain.com/en_benalmadena-costa-spain-apartment-2-bedrooms-1-bathrooms-131000_prop_524.html

GOOD DEALS ON EUROPEAN PROPERTY ATTRACTS BUYERS LOOKING FOR HOLIDAY HOMES

Europe’s largest property markets are attracting large numbers of British buyers looking for bargain properties. Searches in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece have increased by 134% this year up until the end of August. It would appear that this is probably due to holiday home buyers trying to take advantage of the economic climate to secure themselves a bargain.
Spanish property searches increased the most by 145.7%, which would seem to indicate that Spain is still a popular country to invest in. Property searches in Portugal (123.9%) were second highest followed by Italy (98.9%), Greece (55.3%) and Ireland (44.1%)
The economic difficulties that these countries have undergone have probably contributed to an increase in searches by British buyers in pursuit of properties in these markets.
At the beginning of the crisis property prices dropped sharply but recently they appear to be holding firm. Maybe it is because of the belief of buyers that the markets are bottoming out that we are seeing an increase of activity from them.
It would look like foreign buyers are supporting prices in the popular markets and will continue doing so.

INCREASE IN SPANISH PROPERTY SALES

According to the latest statistics it would appear that house prices in Spain have fallen more rapidly in recent months. They are down 4.6% over the last 12 months. There has been an increase from -4% in June, to 4.6% in August in price falls. Costal property prices have fallen by 22% since August 2007.
When the rise in VAT on new home sales was introduced in July it was feared that property sales in Spain would plummet. However, the National Institute of Statistics show there were 38,838 home sales in July, which is an increase of 15% on the same time last year and 16% on the previous month.
Year to date cumulative sales up to the end of July are 10.3% up from last year but still down 47% compared to 2007. Sales have increased every month this year on an annualized basis.
Will this trend continue, we will have to wait and see!

RURAL SPANISH PROPERTY

It is a well known fact that the coastal areas in Spain have always been popular with those looking to purchase property and the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca are still magnets for the majority of interest. However it is worth noting that many people are deciding to buy property in inland Spain, opting for rural homes instead of coastal homes.

There are various reasons why people opt to buy inland – getting more land and property for their money, cheaper cost of living compared to the coast, quieter rural lifestyle, getting involved in the local community.

There are lots of property options available in inland Spain, some people choose to live in the heart of the countryside in a finca or villa and others prefer to live close to or in the centre of a village, in a townhouse or an apartment.

Also for those looking for an investment, buying a rural property which needs renovation can result in a significant return on investment when it comes to re-selling the property.


If you have any comments or questions regarding living in rural Spain please get in touch.