Mac's Poll - Let's Vote

With warm weather, great cuisine, and a welcoming community of both locals and expats, it should come as little surprise that Spain is a top destination for retirees from Europe, the United States, and beyond. There are several reasons why people choose to retire to Spain.

Some of the most common reasons include:

1. Climate: Spain is known for its warm and sunny weather, which can be especially attractive for retirees looking to escape colder climates.

2. Lifestyle: Spain offers a relaxed lifestyle with a strong emphasis on family, community, and socializing. Retirees can enjoy a slower pace of life, delicious cuisine, and a vibrant culture.

3. Cost of living: Compared to many other European countries, the cost of living in Spain is relatively affordable. This can make it an attractive option for retirees who are looking to stretch their retirement savings.

4. Healthcare: Spain has a public healthcare system that is highly regarded for its quality of care. Many retirees appreciate the ease of access and affordability of healthcare in Spain.

5. Proximity to other countries: Spain is well-connected to other European countries, making it easy for retirees to travel and explore other parts of Europe.

6. Real estate: Spain's real estate market offers a variety of options for retirees, from apartments in bustling cities to villas in picturesque coastal towns. The relatively low cost of real estate can be attractive to retirees looking to purchase a second home or downsize.

Overall, Spain offers a high quality of life for retirees, with a warm and welcoming culture, affordable cost of living, and a range of lifestyle options to suit different preferences.

Which would be your number 1 reason for retiring to Spain?

...and if it's not there please comment

It does not matter if you are in a park, on a beach, in a swimming pool or on a boat. Masks are now officially compulsory everywhere. It is officially law.

Take note, as this is important: the rule that regulates the use of masks in Spain has now changed officially and now it will be mandatory to put them on in any public space, no matter how far you are from other people. It is also specified that they must be worn correctly. Until now, on the street or in outdoor spaces, it was mandatory to wear a mask but only when there was a distance of less than one and a half meters.

The Official State Gazette (BOE) published yesterday the new law, a measure that seeks to further curb the coronavirus. Law 2/2021 March 29 is a compendium of de-escalation measures that were already agreed on in June 2020, once the first state of emergency had expired.

The norm was originally approved as a decree-law - which raised a lot of controversy - and began to be applied, but then it was processed as law and now has come into force. The autonomous communities have been applying it more or less harshly, according to the number of cases of contagion.
It now states that "People six years of age and older are obliged to use masks (...) on public roads, in outdoor spaces and in any closed space for public use or that is open to the public,". That implies parks, beaches or swimming pools. It also states "all means of air, maritime, bus, or rail transport", as well as in "complementary public and private transport of passengers in vehicles with up to nine seats, including the driver, if the occupants of the tourism vehicles do not live at the same address”. In the case of passengers on ships and boats, it will not be necessary to use masks when they are inside their private cabin.

This new law is valid indefinitely because it will last until the health crisis is over. It states "Until the Government declares in a motivated manner and in accordance with scientific evidence the end of the health crisis situation caused by covid-19...".

Since last summer, when the state of alarm that had begun in March subsided, the autonomous communities adopted the use of masks based on the royal decree-law. The vast majority did it quickly but were able to adapt it depending on each communities unique situation thus considering some exceptions of different types, such as sunbathing on beaches or swimming pools.

Now, with the new law, the requirement to use a mask in outdoor spaces is applicable to all communities, which can no longer regulate their exceptions or adjust their application. There are now no exceptions anywhere, it is national law.

What is your opinion? Do you think the measure should be adopted across Europe by everyone?

Around Spain there has been little controversy over the voluntary nature of the vaccine against covid.  Initially, before the European Union approved the first vaccine, the then Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, assured that the 'obligation to be vaccinated' could be studied if it were necessary to reach the wider population. But this option was soon scrapped. And the growing acceptance seemed to rule out this option: eight out of ten Spaniards are willing to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

But this Tuesday, Galicia has decided to carve its own path. Its Parliament, with the absolute majority of Alberto Núñez Feijóo's PP, has approved a reform of the Autonomous Health Law that allows sanctioning with fines of between 1,000 and 600,000 euros to be issued to people who unjustifiably refuse to be vaccinated against covid and against possible future viruses.

Do you think the vaccination against covid or any other virus should be compulsory? Please cast your vote...

Barcelona city council will ban smoking on four of its beaches in a pilot test this summer. 

Between the end of May and mid-September, people will be barred from smoking on the beaches of Sant Miquel, Somorrostro, Nova Icària and Nova Mar Bella, four of the ten beaches in the Catalan capital. 

The aim of this project is twofold: minimizing the number of cigarette butts that are left in the sand that eventually ends up in the sea, thus protecting the environment, as well as acting as a measure to protect the health of bathers on the beach. 

The initiative led by the city council also aims to raise awareness about the impact of smoking. 

The local councillor in charge of climate matters, Eloi Badia, explained that cigarette butts are some of the most damaging elements to beaches in terms of pollution, as they contain up to 4,000 chemicals, around 400 of which are toxic. In addition, they take between 10-12 years to disintegrate. 

"The measure will allow us to somewhat curb environmental pollution and allow us to take a step forward in the protection of beaches," he said, citing Galicia’s smoke-free beaches as an example.

Authorities also explained that the ban’s aim is not focussed on punishing those who smoke on the beach - the ban won’t directly result in fines - but more about raising awareness.

Instances of non-compliance could be transferred to the Guardia Urbana local police who will be able to instruct people that smoking is banned in the area. However, if the beachgoer then still does not comply, the local police would then be able to hand out a fine, but the reason would be disrespecting authorities rather than breaking the smoking ban.

What do you think? Should smoking be banned on all beaches in Spain?

House prices have risen considerably in recent years and the first signs of overvaluation are starting to appear in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, as well as some tourist spots. But the situation is very different in less urban areas, where the recovery in the real estate sector began later and is much slower. As a result, regional divergences in the price and affordability of housing are widening.

The gap between the price that homeowners are requesting and what buyers are willing to pay has grown in the last 12 months. According to the latest supply and demand report from piso.com. In 2020 sellers offered a standard apartment for an average price of 137,520 euros, while buyers had a budget of 97,500 euros. The difference was 40,020 euros, 640 euros more than the previous year.

According to the real estate portal, the distance between both parties has grown mainly due to the fact that what the 'future owner' is willing to pay has not changed from one year to the next, while on the other hand, the offering has become slightly more expensive. So, if the gap between the seller's price and that of the buyer was 40% in 2019, in 2020 it has climbed to 41%. This is the third-highest percentage difference since piso.com began this comparison (2009 - 55% and 2010 - 47%).

According to Ferran Font, director of research for piso.com, "the new 'normal' has allowed the real estate market to resume its dynamics, but the destruction of employment and 'cautious demand' have prevented it from returning to pre-crisis figures." He points out that “the cuts in house prices are being absorbed little by little, above all, because there is an important cushion of government aid that will be expanded thanks to European funds. This support will mitigate greater evils, which is why the distance that exists at this time between the market prices and what one is willing to pay has hardly changed ”. In any case, Font warns that "the confidence of the demand, greatly damaged by the pandemic, will be the one that sets the pace."

Two autonomous communities reduced their 'starting budget' when looking for a house to purchase (Madrid and Navarra) and another two raised theirs (the Balearic Islands and La Rioja). The highest starting price was in the Basque Country with an average of 247,500 euros. On the reverse side, buyers in Aragon, Asturias, Castilla-La Mancha, Valencian Community, Extremadura and Murcia searched for flats for 67,500 euros on average. The autonomous regions where supply and demand were closer were Navarra (-4%), Basque Country (0%) and Castilla-La Mancha (5%). The greatest imbalances occurred in the Canary Islands (63%), Asturias (54%), Madrid (51%) and the Valencian Community (51%).

So, do you feel property in Spain is generally overvalued still or not? Please cast your vote:

A doctor has urged people to get one of the two coronavirus vaccines as soon as they possibly can. In response to a tweet by a colleague and former Labour MP Dr Paul Williams saying "Some local patients have turned down an offer this weekend of getting a Covid vaccine when they found out it was the Pfizer one. 'I'll wait for the English one'." It stated.

Dr Simon Stockley, from Stockton, said he did not think there was a difference between the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Oxford-AstraZeneca version. "The best vaccine as far as I can work out is the one that can be put into your arm soonest," he said.

The US/German Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was made available at the start of December, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca version was authorised on 30 December. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said both vaccines were safe. 

The vast majority of people are still vulnerable to coronavirus. It's only the current restrictions that are preventing more people from dying. Vaccines teach our bodies to fight the infection by stopping us from catching coronavirus or at least making Covid less deadly. Having a vaccine, alongside better treatments, is "the" exit strategy. 

The two vaccines being rolled out at the moment are the Pfizer- BioNtech and the Oxford-AstraZeneca. However, the Spanish government has signed agreements with six different vaccine manufacturers which will de deployed as and when they are ready and authorised.

Are you worried which one you will get? Please cast your vote:

Info about both vaccines:

Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine - USA/Germany
The big breakthrough came when Pfizer-BioNTech published its first results in November. They showed the vaccine is up to 95% effective.
The UK is due to get 40 million doses. It is given in two doses, three weeks apart.
The vaccine must be stored at a temperature of around -70C. It will be transported in a special box, packed in dry ice and installed with GPS trackers.
On 2 December, the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use.

Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine - UK
The roll-out of the Oxford vaccine began on 5 January. It was approved late in 2020 after trials showed that it stopped 70% of people developing Covid symptoms.
The data also showed a strong immune response in older people.
There is also intriguing data that suggests perfecting the dose could increase protection up to 90%
The UK has ordered 100 million doses. It is given in two doses
This may be one of the easiest vaccines to distribute because it does not need to be stored at very cold temperatures.
It is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus from chimpanzees, that has been modified to not grow in humans.

Hi All,

For some reason, the website I was using previously to carry out all the polls has unexplainably disappeared without trace or notification. Extremely strange but Addpoll.com doesn't seem to be active anymore and thus all previous polls have become unavailable. I will be using a new service until I can recover the Addpoll service if it does actually return that is...

Regards to all.

The president of Andalusia's Regional Government, Juanma Moreno, has confirmed that he and his colleagues are looking into the possibility of issuing some kind of "certificate" of vaccination or "vaccine card" against covid-19 which will allow the holder to travel, go to football matches and other big event venues. However, he also stressed that vaccination will never be compulsory. Moreno made the comments to journalists during a press conference held in the Sierra Nevada ski resort in Granada, explaining that whilst vaccination will not be obligatory, a certificate of vaccination might well become compulsory in order to be able to travel or to take part in certain activities.

The regional president reiterated that the authorities could not make anyone have the vaccination against their will, but that it was a "moral obligation that we owe to ourselves and to others" and that it in no way infringed anyone's personal liberties.

He did, however, emphasise that in the near future, participation in some activities would require a vaccination certificate, the format of which is still being studied. It could be in the form of an identity card or a QR code, but it would prove "categorically" that the holder had been vaccinated.

As an example of restricted activities, Moreno mentioned football matches, concerts and other events where large crowds of people get together - none of which will be accessible without either this certificate or a negative PCR test carried out in the previous 72 hours.

"In short, it is a guarantee", he summarised, confirming that proof of vaccination would indeed become compulsory to attend this type of large-scale event. Something that will probably be introduced across Europe.

This begs the question if you create a vaccination card are you not effectively making vaccinations compulsory?

It's not that I am against vaccinations, anything but, however, if someone does decide not to be vaccinated does that mean they will effectively be sidelined as citizens not being able to access or uses public and even private services? Will you need a vaccination card to go on a bus, a plane or a train? Go into a cinema, restaurant or nightclub? Where will the line be drawn? If your freedom can be limited by a vaccination card is it the right thing to introduce or is general public safety more important than one's personal freedom? 

Please leave your comments and cast your vote?

## ADDPOLL  website is not working - POLLS not available at present ##

George Orwell wrote in 1938: "The only way I could get along was to carry everywhere a small dictionary which I whipped out of my pocket at moments of crisis. But I would sooner be a foreigner in Spain than in most countries. How easy it is to make friends in Spain!"

 More than 70 years after the publication of Homage to Catalonia, hundreds of thousands of Orwell's fellow countrymen have followed his lead.

The global Spanish language standards entity, based in Madrid, revealed this week that as at the beginning of 2020, the national tongue of Spain and much of Latin America had a total of 585 million speakers.

They include those who have had to learn it, or whose main native language is not Spanish, as well as mother-tongue speakers – and, as has been the case for a very long time, the country with the most native Spanish speakers is the USA, a nation where it is not even the official language.

Of the 7.5% of the world's population who speak Spanish, a total of 489 million were born in a country where it is the official language, and the remaining 74 million are either learning it or are already fluent in it. So, as you can see Spanish is spreading quickly but there are more benefits to speaking Spanish than just communicating.

Research has shown,  using Spanish in everyday situations and sticking to regular classes can help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease, say, doctors.

Learning a foreign language could put back the first signs of dementia by at least five years, 

Expatriates in Spain are at a particular advantage since those who regularly use the language they have learnt are even more likely to fight off Alzheimer's than those who have merely studied one and let it lay dormant. Whilst crosswords, sudokus and other 'thinking' puzzles have long been lauded as a tool for fighting off memory loss and confusion in old age, experts believe that those who speak two or more languages have even more chance of retaining their mental faculties.

They say learning a language is a more powerful type of mental exercise, and builds up a bank of 'spare' brainpower which helps the mind to keep working for longer and more effectively, slowing down the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's.

Medics behind the research, which took place at York University in Toronto, Canada, say this is rather like keeping a spare battery for your mobile phone or an emergency tank of petrol in your car.

"It means your brain can keep going for longer because there is more in the safety tank," they say.

The part of the brain that controls memory, decision-making, reasoning and expressing oneself in words is made stronger, more flexible and more resistant to damage by learning and using a foreign language.

Doctors claim the sooner a person starts to learn a language, the more beneficial it is for slowing down the process of dementia and age-related confusion.

Researchers found that the average Alzheimer's sufferer began to see the early symptoms of their condition in their mid-70s, or younger, where they only spoke one language.

But those who spoke two or more languages - or were actively learning one - tended to be in their 80s before they were diagnosed with dementia.

Additionally, the process of the mind breaking down - including loss of short-term memory - took hold much more rapidly in monolingual patients.

However, they warn that learning a language will not actually prevent Alzheimer's - it will simply slow down the associated mental deterioration and stop the condition from manifesting itself for much longer.

To help clarify some of the options :

• "Fluent", I would describe as having no difficulty discussing any topic that you could discuss in your mother tongue. The odd grammatical mistake may happen, even as it does when using your mother tongue. We all make grammatical errors every day without realising it most of the time, but they normally go unnoticed. You would also have very good control of the phonological features of the language.

• "Having a decent conversation" is basically being able to talk about most topics that you would in your mother tongue but you may be occasionally limited by vocabulary or grammar but most certainly able to communicate with a good degree of fluency although with some degree of hesitation. You would also have good control of the phonological features of the language.

• "Enough to get by and be understood" would fall short of being able to produce well constructed and extended discourse, but you would be able to communicate and be understood. But your vocabulary is limited as would be your phonological control of the language.

So please cast your vote: