Live News From Spain As It Happens

SPAIN'S government has apologised to the public for its 'delay' in shutting down all bar 'essential services', increasing the national confinement further – but says it was up again 'technical issues'.

Minister for work Yolanda Díaz says: “I'm conscious that many businesses and industries were worried and wanted to know how far the measures would affect them, and for that, I apologise.

“There's been no improvisation, and the move has not caused debate or conflict within Parliament, but the delay was due to technical, not legal, issues.

“The technical description of many sectors needed a bit of time spent on it,” she says, explaining that defining exactly what could be considered 'essential' and which businesses could feasibly be ordered to close was not a cut-and-dried exercise.

“I'm sorry about that, because I know perfectly well how much very legitimate concern was felt in many industries.

“This measure is necessary, however, so we can all get better and get out of this crisis as soon as possible – in the financial and social sense.

“We have no more tools at our disposal than that of simply staying in lockdown – although we're very conscious that this is extremely hard on us all.”

The announcement about the tightening of quarantine measures has inevitably led to speculation among the public as to what is open.

According to the State Official Bulletin (BOE), businesses and other public services considered 'essential' and which will continue – albeit subject to reduced hours in some cases – are medical, healthcare, care and pharmaceutical activities; transport of food and some goods and passengers; gas, water and electricity supply; establishments selling food, drink and other products of primary necessity; establishments selling pharmaceutical, hygiene, orthopaedic and optical products; newsagencies and other press outlets, including stationers'; tobacconists; laundrettes and dry-cleaners'; establishments selling food and other essentials for animals – and, of course, vets; petrol, oil and diesel refineries, service stations and other fuel distributors; telecommunications operators and physical shops, and establishments selling or repairing technological and telecommunications equipment; ports and airports; communications media – press, websites, radio and television – and State security forces and law enforcement agencies.

Those which will not be permitted to continue working include anything leisure- and entertainment-related – although this does not stop home deliveries from Amazon or retailers selling similar items; fashion and accessories retailers; hairdressers'; all factories and logistics plants which are not involved in any of the services and supplies listed above – although those considered 'non-essential' are permitted to stay open if they adapt their facilities to manufacturing healthcare material, such as masks, gloves and hospital equipment; and all building and construction work, except emergency plumbing, electricity and building repair, meaning any work on building new houses, schools, hospitals or other infrastructure will stop.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

EXAMPLES of public security officers helping out vulnerable members of the public during the Coronavirus lockdown have been pouring in thick and fast – some, like the Armed Forces emergency response unit (UME) in Gijón (Asturias), delivering supermarket shopping to an elderly lady living alone, have gone viral – and law enforcement, disaster management and safety agents have found their job descriptions widening lately to 'personal shopper' (even at their own expense, as this family in Calpe found out), pharmaceutical distributors, and even birthday-cake delivery 'drivers' (which delighted the unsuspecting Toñi in Jaca on her special day).

But members of the public have also been coming into their own: Town halls across the country, although mostly closed now, have been organising recruitment drives for volunteers to fetch shopping, medication and other necessaries for the elderly, disabled, sick, and those who otherwise cannot get out, such as people whose nearest stores are too far to walk and they do not have, or cannot drive, a car.

Also, even though visiting for social reasons – family included – is not allowed until the quarantine is lifted, running essential errands for those who cannot do so themselves is technically permitted; by 'technically', we mean that you'll need to be able to demonstrate that's what you're doing if the police stop you, so town hall schemes are ideal as they will give you a signed document as proof.

Whether you are volunteering with your local authority, or whether you are helping a neighbour, friend or relative, you still need to exercise extreme precaution – and so do they. Strangers posing as 'helpers' but whose intentions are anything but may be more likely to take advantage of the lockdown and, as bullies tend to be cowards, will pick on the elderly and others whom they consider 'easy targets'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SEVERAL supermarkets in Spain have started opening slots exclusively for shoppers aged 65 and over, and most have changed their regular hours – as well as their procedures – during the lockdown.

Hours have been changing in the last week or so as the State of Alarm continues, but the most recent update is believed to still be current at the time of publication, and anecdotal evidence shows this information continues to be correct.

Condis supermarkets is giving priority to the over-65s between 09.00 and 10.00 every morning in all its stores, and Carrefour has made the same time slot 'priority' for this age group, and will also prioritise the over-65s when dealing with online or telephone orders.

The latter is only for the Madrid region at present, but may extend nationwide if the need arises.

El Corte Inglés – the 'Waitrose of Spain', which is normally only present in the major cities – attends firstly to those of State pension age between 10.00 and 11.00 in its Hípercor outlets, and between 09.00 and 10.00 in its Supercor stores, as well as offering 'any other assistance needed' for this age group such as fetching goods for those who cannot do so themselves.

Caprabo also, personally, helps the over-65s with their shopping if they need it once they are inside the building, and they are able to jump the queue between 09.00 and 10.00.

This also applies to anyone who is younger, but disabled or with restricted mobility.

The same applies in Eroski, in its Eroski hypermarkets, Eroski Center, Eroski City and its Eroski Familia self-service establishments, although on a 'priority' rather than an 'exclusive' basis.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MADRID taxi drivers were offered a total of €132,000 to help with fuel costs and the expense of cleaning their cars at a time when their only permitted trade is transporting healthcare workers to and from their workplace, and those with mobility problems to supermarkets or pharmacies, meaning their takings are radically cut.

They have also had to slash their fees by 50% in accordance with an emergency Royal Decree, or Bill of Law, as part of their essential service during the national quarantine – meaning they are earning less than ever.

So the €132,000 offered by the General Directorate of Transport would have come in very handy – but they have turned it down.

The cash was ready to be handed over to Madrid's Professional Taxi Federation (FPTM) on Monday, but its members say they want it to be donated to the health service instead for buying masks and other protective gear for staff, and for respirators.

“If there's one thing that's bringing us all closer together these days – even at a distance – it's precisely that feeling of how we can only get through this by joining forces and staying united,” says an FPTM spokesperson.

“Tougher weeks are ahead, but between us, we have over 500 vehicles available for those who most need them at the moment – healthcare workers.”

The FPTM says it also wants its services to reach remote, rural parts of the Greater Madrid region.

Even though the financial aid they have been offered will be ploughed into hospitals to help protect staff and buy necessary equipment for patients admitted with the Covid-19 Coronavirus, Madrid's cabbies are not entirely on their own.

So far, two companies – Midas and Airlife – have given them car-cleaning machines so they can completely valet and sterilise their vehicles at least daily, in addition to the disinfecting they carry out before and after every passenger.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TOURISM authorities in the Valencia region have released a series of recommendations for those who work in, or rely on, the industry for their income.

Due to the national quarantine, restaurants, bars and holiday accommodation are all shut – with the exception of hotels housing 'stranded' tourists or those which have been adapted with medical equipment to use as additional hospital facilities – and Easter is, effectively, cancelled, since the lockdown may continue until that weekend, all the fiesta parades have been called off, and contagion risk outside Spain's borders may mean foreign travel is strongly advised against in other countries as well as nationally.

But the advice from the Comunidad Valenciana's regional tourism board is valid for the rest of the country, and includes ways of making the enforced shutdown pay.

Luckily, it has not happened in high summer, when most of Spain, or at least its coasts, earns the majority of its holidaymaker income, says regional tourism secretary Francesc Colomer.

He assures his department is working on the industry 'returning with greater strength than ever' after quarantine is over – and in fact, the more optimistic traders nationwide are quietly confident that once the country 'regains its freedom', the public will 'go mad' and do everything they have not been able to do for weeks, and more besides.

“Public health is a priority, but the economy in general and tourism authorities, in particular, should be at the heart of services to the people,” Colomer says.

“It's time to stay at home in order to come back stronger than ever – because what's important is protecting ourselves so that, when it's all over, we'll be healthy enough to start travelling again.

“Tourism authorities are still working and are by your side, whether you're a large or small company or an entire destination, via our online channels, offering you information, help and training.

“Our aim is for the tourism industry to make an even bigger comeback once we've survived the pandemic.”

Make use of the down-time

'Empathy' is important, says Colomer – not least because the extreme stress of financial hardship, job loss and fears of another recession could cause the workforce to become physically debilitated; stress weakens the immune system, and would make people more vulnerable to contagion and put them at a greater risk of non-recovery if they catch the virus.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

GUARDIA Civil officers in a northern Alicante-province coastal town bought groceries out of their own pockets for a family with practically no income and who were in dire straits because of the national quarantine.

Marta, from Calpe, got a call from the social services cancelling her appointment due to the lockdown – and she had hoped to get help from them to feed her children.

Her two daughters, aged 10 and six, receive free school meals, but schools are now closed nationwide – and she also has a son aged two-and-a-half.

“I was so desperate, I didn't know what to do – I just left the house, heading for the town hall, to try to get help. You can tell an adult that they have to grin and bear it, but how can I look my three children in the eye and tell them they can't have breakfast because there's literally nothing in the cupboard or the fridge?” Marta said.

The Guardia Civil caught her 200 metres from her home and asked where she was going, and told her the town hall was shut and to go home.

Once there, not knowing what else to do, she rang the 112 emergency helpline as a last resort.

“The girl who took my call took my details and told me not to worry, that she would sort it for me,” Marta explains.

Minutes later, she got a call from the Guardia Civil.

“They told me the Red Cross couldn't bring me food, because they were still trying to work out how to do it and wouldn't have a system set up for a couple of days at least.

“Then they asked me what I needed. I said, just the very basics. I don't want anything fancy, just pasta or something so they can eat, and something basic for breakfast.”

She assumed the Guardia Civil would contact a local charity or food bank.

But when she opened the door less than an hour later, she found herself face to face with the two officers who had stopped her earlier and sent her home.

And they had not just bought the usual pasta, dried lentils and rice.

“There were biscuits, milk cartons, chorizo, pasta, sliced bread, yoghurts, tinned tomato, rice, mandarins, apples – and even sweets for the kids!” Said the astonished mum.

The officers had bought the goods with their own, personal money.

Marta said she was sobbing with relief – but the officers' kindness was only the start of the story.

News of her plight began to spread around town and, a couple of days later, she answered the door to two different Guardia Civil officers weighed down with supermarket bags.

“They said these were from Ana, who works at Grizzly's Bar on the Fustera beach, had heard about us and wanted to help,” Marta revealed.

“There was another full box of milk cartons, several pre-packed ready meals, ham, sliced bread, sponge cakes, two packets of cereal, two jars of pâté, beans, chickpeas, potatoes – and money.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

IT'S GOING TO be a long month now that the Covid-19 prevention confinement has been extended to Saturday, April 11 – but perhaps now is the right time for it, if ever there was one. Outside, it's raining across most of the country, especially on the coasts, so you probably wouldn't have been inclined to go outside anyway.

And what better way to lighten up a wet, miserable day – quarantine or no quarantine – than curling up on the sofa with a great film?

This could be your chance to watch all the Spanish films you've heard are so good, so you don't feel out of the loop. Even though mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, and massive international productions, including UK favourites, are shown in cinemas in Spain as they break, the line-up for your local flicks will nearly always include at least one latest home-grown release. Unlike in France where the law states that a minimum of 40% of films shown at cinemas must be French or from a French-speaking country, there's no such requirement in Spain – only a conscious effort to give national films a good airing so the Spanish arts industry does not disappear amongst the glittery mist of Tinseltown productions.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CHINESE expats in Spain have been donating surgical masks to police, hospitals and care homes – over 3,000 were given to the Guardia Civil in the Valencia-province coastal town of Oliva by the local community from the giant Asian country.

All over Spain, residents originally from China have been handing over huge consignments of masks, and earlier today (Friday), King Felipe VI spoke to the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation to express his thanks for a 'Coronavirus pack' which arrived safely in the country.

It includes testing kits and over half a million masks, which were flown into Zaragoza (Aragón) and will be distributed to where they are most needed over the next few days.

Health authorities are advising people to avoid buying disposable masks unless they are actually infected or in contact with anyone who is, but recommends that anyone who has a non-disposable one at home – such as cyclists' anti-air pollution masks – to use it when they go out to buy essentials.

People are also advised to tie their hair back or cover it up if they wear it long.

DIY masks, scarves, and home-made versions with kitchen roll are often seen worn by those who need to leave their houses.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HOLLYWOOD'S best-known Spanish actress Penélope Cruz has spoken out in defence of Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp, who is embroiled in bitter divorce proceedings from Amber Heard.

The media has spared no detail in the ugly split, reporting on accusations of domestic violence, lawyers presenting medical reports in court, audio footage in which Amber appears to admit she hit Depp and others in which she describes how he 'dragged her by the hair', 'spat on her' and 'nearly strangled her', and even high-profile witnesses called in, including James Franco.

Penélope, who is now 46 and first met Depp when she was 19, around the time of his central rôle in Edward Scissorhands, insists he is 'very friendly and kind indeed', with a 'great sense of humour', 'treats his friends really well' and is an 'exceptional person'.

“We love him very much, and I feel grateful to have someone so special in our lives,” Penélope says.

Her 'royal we' refers to herself and 'Bond villain' husband Javier Bardem, who worked with Depp on the fifth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Penélope herself worked with Depp on the fourth film, and also in Blow, and the recent adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HAVING to go back to Media Markt, Millar or Tien21 yet again whenever something small goes wrong with your mobile phone or tablet could soon become a thing of the past: The European Union is working on what it calls 'the right to repair' in a bid to halt what is known as 'programmed obsolescence'.

One of the biggest complaints about home technology that few of us can manage without is that when something goes wrong with it, it is often impossible to repair or costs more than the device itself.

USB ports are a common cause of having to buy a new phone, laptop or tablet, because they are very sensitive, never covered by guarantee, and are often too difficult or even impossible to fix.

Other cases of 'programmed obsolescence' – for which giants such as Apple and Samsung have already faced multi-million fines – are because of an upgrade in the operating system which means previous versions no longer work, or that certain programmes can no longer be used on them.

WhatsApp is one of these, having once worked on all smartphones and yet, in the last three years, has been announcing every few months which types of mobile will 'no longer be compatible' with it.

Failure in the photo camera, or the battery wearing out completely, are other reasons why phones often have to be discarded and replaced.

On average, according to MarketWatch, people in Spain replace their mobile phones every 15 months, and their 'useful' life generally only lasts between 18 and 24 months.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TRADERS, the self-employed and small businesses forced to shut down due to Spain's being in a State of Alarm over the Covid-19 transmission risk will not have to pay their monthly Social Security, or National Insurance quota, the national government has announced.

With around 75% of Spain's companies being small or medium-sized businesses, many family-run, and over three million of its workforce being self-employed, the lockdown means no income whatsoever – so a petition on Change.org calling for their monthly Social Security standing order to be waived until normality returns very swiftly attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures.

President Pedro Sánchez, during the first-ever Parliamentary meeting via video-conference in Spain's history, has announced measures to help soften the effects including an immediate waiver of Social Security payments for traders who have to shut up shop or whose income is dramatically reduced due to their business being affected, as well as allowing firms to lay staff off straight away and without the usual paperwork and procedures.

These lay-offs are being permitted so firms do not have to make staff redundant as a result of diminishing income.

Some have opted to give their employees annual leave during the crisis, although not all of them can afford for this to be in addition to their usual four weeks a year.

Anyone who is laid off can sign on the dole straight away and continue to claim until their firm reopens and they can go back to work.

Normally, job loss – permanent or temporary – means the employee is able to claim a month's dole money for every four months worked, up to a maximum of two years, after which they need to start 'building it up' again.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SUPERMARKETS in Spain have shown themselves to be exemplary in terms of organisation whilst the country remains in a 'State of Alert' over the Covid-19 Coronavirus – and some have set aside early-morning slots limited to the over-65s.

In Carrefour, only adults of pension age are allowed in between 07.00 and 08.00 – in fact, the store has started opening two hours early precisely for that purpose.

Most supermarkets, including Mercadona and Mas y Mas, have now reduced their hours and close at 20.00 instead of 21.30 (in the case of the former) and 21.00 (for the latter).

Staff have been diligently following the health authority's recommended procedures and disinfecting every surface, plus shopping trolleys and baskets, and even the card machine each time a customer pays, contactless operations included.

Employees wear masks and gloves, and customers are required to put on gloves normally dispensed in the fruit and vegetable section, as soon as they enter.

Limited numbers are allowed in at once, and those waiting to go in are called one at a time as the last person leaves, as well as being required to stand at least two metres apart whilst in the queue.

Shelves continue to be understocked, however – although supplies are guaranteed and the limited number of customers on the premises at any time are discouraged from stockpiling, most are still bulk-buying to a certain extent on the basis that this will mean fewer occasions when they need to leave their houses.

It is likely, therefore, that the limited availability of goods will soon ease once everyone has filled up with what they require for the short-term future and has limited further need for the contents of the replenished shelves.

Although the discipline is exemplary in Spanish supermarkets at present, some of it has actually proven unnecessary: The general public themselves are taking the temporary changes seriously and automatically keeping themselves separate from other customers and staff, and collecting gloves at the entrance without having to be told.

Not everyone wears masks, because pharmacies have mostly run out, although many people improvise with DIY masks or by wrapping a scarf around their faces.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AHEAD of the national shutdown to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, a nationwide movement to express heartfelt thanks to the medical staff working round the clock and risking contagion has taken to the streets: Even in back lanes in small towns, at a specific time in the evening, the country goes out onto the balcony to give healthcare workers a round of applause.

The first was on Saturday night at 22.00, but was moved forward to 20.00 on Sunday 'so children could join in'.

In practice, with all schools in Spain now shut for at least the next fortnight, most kids are going to bed at the same time as their parents, as they usually do at weekends and in the holidays.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Having to stay at home – except for supermarket and pharmacy trips and anything else that's of extreme necessity – need not be so bad; if you have a terrace or balcony you can still enjoy the sunshine, and if the weather cools down, you could catch up on your reading and find out more about Spanish culture and history.

If your Spanish is already at the right level (just below A-level standard is enough), then the world's your oyster as far as reading is concerned. As well as Spanish-language novels in the original, you can have fun re-reading all your favourites that you first thumbed through in English – yes, it's the same story, same characters, and literary translators are as faithful as they can be to the author's style and voice, but something always feels a little different about it; perhaps you automatically find yourself setting the scene in your head in a country which speaks the language you're reading in. And you can look out for word-plays and jokes that have not translated because they probably can't be – Las suelas son el alma de los pies ('The souls of your feet'), from Olivia Goldsmith's Bad Boy (Chico Malo Busca Chica, in Spanish), or tarta de pastor and crujidos (shepherd's pie and crackers) in Rosamunde Pilcher's The Shell-Seekers (Los Buscadores de Conchas, in Spanish).

Those who have never attempted to read in another language besides their own are recommended to start with something they would whizz through in a day in their mother tongue, ideally translated from their native language, something they find easy, light and hard to put down, and even something they have read before, albeit long enough ago to have forgotten the finer details. You need to learn to enjoy reading in another language before you try to 'educate' yourself with what you think you 'should be' reading; don't put yourself off when you've hardly started! Don Quijote de la Mancha can wait! (And we promise it's worth it).

If you're not confident enough with the language to tackle a novel – or even a play, which can be a good introduction to reading in Spanish – plenty of bestsellers from Spain, from airport books to serious literature, Mediaeval to 21^st century, are available in the English translation, and Amazon Spain is still delivering – national deliveries can cost as little as €1 for carriage and reach you within a day or two. So, use the 'lockdown' wisely, to hone your mind and relax. It'll be over soon enough and we can all get on with our lives.

Matilde Asensi

Pre-dating the Da Vinci Code and, in fact, Dan Brown's even earlier novels, this wizard wordsmith from Alicante is just as meaty, well-researched, and readable. Her covers and dust-jacket info may frighten the lazy reader (that's most of us, at least some of the time) into believing these are highbrow historical novels; well, they certainly appeal to those who like that sort of thing, but if all you're looking for is mental relaxation on the sofa these next few weeks, Asensi's works are guaranteed page-turners. The Amber Room ('El Salón de Ámbar', in the original) is short and fast-moving: Focusing on a bunch of antique dealers peddling stolen works of art – a criminal gang whose members represent the pieces on a chess board – the central character, Ana Galdeano, is tasked with finding a unique artefact stolen by the Nazis in summer 1945. It's an entire room, made from Baltic amber, which has been dismantled, and in seeking it, Ana has to unravel a dangerous conspiracy dating back over 50 years (it's set in the 1990s). There's romance in it, too.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

IF YOU LIVE and work in Spain right now and your job is of the type you can do from home, it's very likely your firm will be telling you tomorrow – if it hasn't already – that you should keep calm, stay indoors and open your laptop. Although the government has decided not to oblige companies by law to have their staff work from home, if your rôle permits it, you have a very good case to request it and are strongly advised to do so.

In the event you have to go into work, wear a mask – even if it's one you bought from the DIY shop for last time you did some tile-cutting or drilling – they're not perfect, but if you cannot get your hands on a proper surgical mask, it'll help. Also, stay at least one to two metres from all your colleagues, and take your own hand sanitiser (you can get it at the supermarket or chemist) if your firm does not have its own on the premises, or if it's been plundered by everyone else. Surgical gloves – nylon if you're allergic to latex – are also ideal.

If you're running a bar or restaurant, you won't be allowed to open, but can still do home deliveries – the same applies about masks and keeping a distance from customers you deliver to, but it can be a way of helping you continue to earn money until the shutdown is over.

For those of you who are already planning to get your workstations in place at home from tomorrow morning, this may be something you're used to already, or it may be complete new territory – so here's what the experts in Spain say about how to get your job done effectively without going into the office.

In fact, it could be good news for Spanish workers, since if it functions well nationwide, companies may be more willing to allow it long-term or permanently, or at least for part of the week – which could be ideal if you have family commitments, such as small children or elderly relatives, and may give you freedom to choose your 'office' in future (a café, the park, a hotel room with Wi-Fi on any continent, or a relative's home if you're visiting your country of origin).

Employees can legally work from home, but cannot be forced to

The ministry of work and social economy has issued a guide to working from home for novices, which recalls that, in accordance with Article 13 of the Workers' Statute, a written contract should be drawn up allowing 'distance working'. This does in fact mean that if you have a job with a contract rather than being self-employed, it does not impede you from home-working – your firm is quite at liberty to give you licence to do so if it would suit you and the company.

But no company can force you to work from home if that's not already part of your usual job description, and they cannot change your employment conditions unilaterally. Working away from the office, without supervision (nobody to give you guidelines in person, or ask advice of, and also taking on a great deal more responsibility) constitutes a major change in the terms of your employment agreement, which can only be made with your full, willing consent. Even collective bargaining through unions cannot impose home-working on the whole team.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN is one of the world's safest countries – it's official, according to the latest report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The number of murders per inhabitant is four times lower than the average of all developed countries on earth, and its life expectancy is the third-highest.

In the last decade, the number of murder cases has dropped by a third, as has the number of traffic deaths.

Subjectively, the organisation says, people in Spain are 'feeling much safer' and 'more satisfied with their lives' than they were 10 years ago.

The OECD is made up of first-world and emerging economies, covering all of Europe, much of east Asia, the Anglo-Saxon countries, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and MINT (México, Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand) and some of the other largest economies in Latin America, such as Colombia and Chile.

In Spain, the homicide rate was 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, lower than almost every other OECD nation except Japan and the UK.

However, in Spain, murder and manslaughter is statistically more likely to occur within relationships, or between ex-partners – random attacks on total strangers are extremely rare, and the levels of inner-city knife crime seen in the UK are practically unheard of in Spain.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S first-ever on-street pizza vending machines have gone live – in Málaga city, Girona and in the Basque province of Guipúzcoa - with up to 12 varieties on offer and very reasonable prices.

Pizzorro, owned and run by Jean-Daniel Hagolle, is already popular in France with around 750 vending points.

The machines operate 24 hours a day and are stocked up with around 70 pre-cooked pizzas in a refrigeration compartment which, once you put your money or debit card in and make your choice, are heated up and ready to dispense within three minutes.

Prices range from €5.90 to €8.

Hagolle says they are 'just as good as any you would buy in a restaurant' and are made with 'fresh ingredients'.

A computer programme inside the vending machine monitors use-by dates and cooking instructions, and keeps track of how many of each type are still left, so they can be topped up regularly.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

VALENCIA'S huge March Fallas festival may take place over the same dates – but in July, according to initial proposals by the regional government.

As yet, nothing has been confirmed, but the massive fiesta which takes over the city for a week until March 19 is such a deeply-rooted part of the region's culture and is such an enormous source of income that those involved are unlikely to let the matter drop until they know they will be able to celebrate it at some point in 2020.

Gigantic papier mâché statues the height of a four- or five-storey block of flats, featuring caricatures of politicians and celebrities and satirising current affairs, each with its own marquée or casal where the falleras and falleros, or fiesta club members, eat, drink and party around the clock dressed in traditional regional costume for the best part of a week, and daily gunpowder banger displays or mascletaes giving off clouds of coloured smoke, all bring in tourists from across the country and even from around the world.

Not as well-known globally as Sevilla's Feria de Abril, or 'April Fair', or the Semana Santa (Easter week) parades, nor even as famous as the Tomatina in Buñol just inland from Valencia, the Fallas nevertheless act as a major worldwide visitor magnet for those who know about them due to their lively, noisy and colourful nature.

Every year sees about €500-700 million pouring into Valencia city alone in the week leading up to the cremà (burning) of the fallas, or monuments, on the night of March 19.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ARAGÓN'S ski resorts are the first in Europe to allow its lift passes to be purchased via Amazon, beating the queues – and in fact, it is one of the few on the continent to sell them online altogether.

The region's network of ski stations, run by Aramón – a word-play combining 'Aragón' with 'montaña', or 'mountain' – already has a website where customers can top up an existing lift-pass card or buy one for a set number of days, and can combine this in one purchase with hiring equipment, hotels, emergency medical attention on site, and even book themselves a baguette for lunch.

Very few other ski stations in Europe or north America allow online or App-based lift-pass purchases, meaning customers have to factor in queueing time to buy theirs in person before they can hit the slopes.

And Aramón has gone one step further – you can now buy your pass, or forfait, from Amazon.es.

It may seem unnecessary to sell them on Amazon when they can already be bought from Aramon.com, but the Amazon channel has an added advantage: here, forfaits do not have to be for consecutive days.

Passes for three, four and five days are available on Amazon, valid for all the Aragonese resorts in Cerler and Formigal-Panticosa (Huesca province) and Javalambre and Valdelinares (Teruel province), and can be used at any time over this and next ski season.

They are already activated upon receipt – delivery is free of charge and normally within one day – meaning customers can go straight to the lifts without having to pass by the ticket booth.

Emergency healthcare cover on site is included in the price.

A three-day pass currently comes in at €146.90 for adults and children aged 12 and over, or €119.50 for children aged 11 and under.

For four days, the prices are €195.80 and €159.40, and for five days, €234.20 and €189.80.

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ALICANTE-ELCHE airport has been named the best in Europe in its category – terminals with between five and 15 million annual passengers – according to the Airport Council International (ACI).

Every year, Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards are given out to the top European terminals and, in the case of the one serving the Costa Blanca, it was competing against some of the best-known on the continent.

Alicante-Elche beat Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Rome Ciampino, Milan Bergamo, Gothenburg, and Budapest.

It won the award once before, in 2018 – five years after signing up to the ACI's service quality programme.

The ASQ is stringent and demanding, and to meet its standards, an exceptionally-high level of service offered is required in order to achieve or exceed 34 specific criteria.

Those who achieve it can legitimately claim to being on a par with the world's best airports of a similar size in terms of passenger traffic.

To help it in its bid to meet ASQ criteria, Alicante-Elche worked hard over 2019 to add extra benefits for travellers.

Increasing and restructuring security gates, so passengers could get to their boarding gates quicker without having to queue, a complete new range of restaurants, a free personal shopper service, improved rest areas – more comfortable seating, a relaxation and reading zone, and an increased number of seats – are some of the steps taken last year to remove the hassle from flying.

Airport manager Laura Navarro says ASQ surveys are carried out regularly at the terminal throughout the year to find out what passengers want in an 'increasingly demanding climate', and to help the airport adapt to suit the needs of different traveller profiles.

Distinctions were granted to other airports in Spain which, although they did not win ASQ awards, received special mentions.

Those in the category for fewer than two million annual passengers were the airports in San Sebastián (Basque Country), El Hierro (Canary Islands), and the coastal enclave of Melilla attached to northern Morocco.

Menorca airport received a distinction in the category for terminals with between two and five million annual passengers.

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A LEADING nutritionist is set to give a talk on diet myths and how to eat healthily without putting on weight at the forthcoming Natura Málaga trade fair.

Aitor Sánchez, a doctoral student who has been on research projects at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, the UK's Bristol University, and the University of Granada, is co-founder of the Aleris Nutrition Centre and has written a long list of scientific articles, along with the books Mi Dieta Cojea, Mi Dieta Ya No Cojea, and ¿Qué Le Doy de Comer? ('My diet makes me lame', 'My diet doesn't make me lame any more', and 'What shall I feed you?'), the latter of these three written in conjunction with fellow nutritionist Lucía Martínez.

Aitor gives regular conferences and TEDx talks and has two master's degrees in his field – nutritional and dietary education.

Some popular old wives' tales about food include having to drink orange juice quickly so it does not lose its vitamin content, avoiding saccharine or other artificial sweeteners because they are 'harmful' or even 'poisonous', drinking water with meals or fruit immediately after meals makes you put on weight and drinking a glass of red wine during a meal helps you lose weight, eggs are bad for cholesterol levels, sugar-free, 'light' or 'zero' fizzy drinks are better for weight loss than the original versions (in practice, although you avoid the calories from the sugar, your brain believes you have, in fact, consumed sugar and will cause you a craving for it when the 'high' has passed), sunflower oil is bad for health and more fattening than olive oil, avocados make you fat, and white or transparent spirits have fewer calories than coloured ones.

Other myths include believing that as long as you carry out enough exercise to burn it off, you can eat whatever you like (not necessarily, because the whole point of eating is the nutritional quality in food, and exercise does not have to equate to X minutes per calories consumed as its purpose is to boost metabolism long-term by increasing muscle mass and circulation), a glass of wine is good for the heart (although the main ingredients contain anti-oxidant properties, the alcohol content cancels these out – you're better off eating vegetables, blueberries or pomegranate, eating 25 grams of dark chocolate a day with between 70% and 92% cocoa content, or drinking green or black tea), frozen or tinned food is less nutritionally-beneficial than fresh (not always the case, as the freezing process happens within minutes of harvesting or catching, preserving the goodness in them, whereas 'fresh' produce can be on the shelf for several days, losing its vitamin content), vegetarian diets are unhealthy because they are 'always lacking in something', dairy produce is bad for you and increases the risk of breast cancer, and plenty of others.

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READY meals' have never really been a 'thing' in Spain, with supermarket produce historically focusing largely on raw ingredients and very geared up to home cooking – but now, with the two newest generations of adults who, unless they are in the catering industry, admit they can just about cope with microwaving a tortilla without their mum's supervision, pre-packed dinners are taking off.

Unlike their UK counterparts, they are typically freshly made daily and sold in tupperwares in the refrigeration compartments, but the fare is international enough that they appeal to a wide audience – lasagne, quiche, and vegetarian, fish and vegan options.

Home-grown chains Mercadona and El Corte Inglés, and French hypermarket firm Carrefour, were the first, although prices vary considerably across the board – from €2 to €4.50 on average at Mercadona through to prices by the kilo of over €25, meaning typical portions of between €5 and €10 per person, at the latter two.

Pre-packed mixed salads, wraps, packs of croquettes, pasta dishes, chicken nuggets, paella, falafel and tahini, chips, ravioli, spaghetti, lentil or bean stew, and risotto are among the staples at Mercadona, whilst at El Corte Inglés, many of the options include fresh seafood, roast chicken, chicken curry, stuffed peppers, stuffed aubergine, paella, and goat's cheese lasagna with fresh vegetables, justifying their higher prices.

Carrefour offers a commendable value-for-money price-versus-quality ratio, with paella, fresh fish in sauce, chickpea casserole, stews, pastas, truffle and potato soup, battered squid rings, cannelloni, and cuts of meat, typically at around €10 to €13 a kilo.

Catering to busy lives

Sales of ready meals in supermarkets have risen by over 10% in the past year, with Mercadona having captured the lion's share of the market – about two-thirds.

Although many modern workplaces are switching to earlier finishing times with shorter lunch breaks, and the need to commute some distance from home means it is not feasible to return, cook lunch and go back to work, old habits die hard and nearly all Spaniards continue to eat their main meal in the middle of the day rather than at night after clocking off.

And the shorter lunch breaks and faster, busier pace of modern life, especially with far fewer parents able to be stay-at-home childcarers, means cooking is something that tends to happen at weekends – if at all, in some homes, given that families traditionally all meet for long lunches together at weekends and it will tend to be the older generations present who do the cooking.

This new trend has started to see more and more supermarkets jumping on the ready-meal bandwagon and trying to outdo each other on either price or quality, or both.

Junk food, 'proper grub' and veggie meals on the cheap

The latest to sign up are German chains Lidl and Aldi – whilst not, in general, radically cheaper in Spain than most other supermarkets, and being similar in overall price to the majority of mainstream stores, their pre-packed meal selection substantially undercuts most of the others.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee (COI) decision that each country should have two flag-bearers with at least one being female – to boost gender equality worldwide – has sparked speculations in Spain as to who might be picked to join highly-decorated canoeist Saúl Craviotto.

Alejandro Blanco, head of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) reiterated in October that the flag-carrier is always the competitor with the most medals from the Games to their name, meaning that a heated social media debate at around that time was merely academic.

Craviotto has so far won a silver, a bronze and two golds, meaning he automatically qualifies, but in the run-up to the Rio 2016 Games, Spanish sports fans started to clamour for gender equality.

They wanted to see star swimmer Mireia Belmonte carry the flag instead of tennis ace Rafael Nadal, but many others thought should be allowed to go ahead since he was bitterly disappointed to have to pass up on the honour when a knee injury that led to his crashing out of Wimbledon in the first round forced him to scratch from the London 2012 Olympics.

Nadal did, in fact, lead up the opening procession in Rio de Janeiro, and his disappointment four years earlier was cured.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE Eurozone interest rate has now marked its fourth anniversary in negative figures, meaning mortgages in Spain and other common-currency nations will continue to be low – in fact, the closing figure for February was the second-lowest in 14 months.

Spanish variable-rate mortgages are set according to the euro interest figure, or Euríbor, and unlike in the UK, are re-valued annually, not constantly; this means if the interest rate shows signs of possibly rising, homeowners have up to 12 months to plan and work out whether a fixed-rate loan would save them money.

It also means no fluctuation in monthly repayments, so a sudden, one-off spike in the Euríbor will not mean an unexpectedly expensive month.

For this reason, and especially as a fee applies to set up fixed-rate loans, the vast majority of mortgages in Spain are variable rate.

Luckily, in the past, the Euríbor has not changed dramatically and suddenly from year to year and any rises have been very gradual, meaning rearranging an existing mortgage has not had to be an emergency.

The Euríbor first dropped below zero in February 2016, something never seen before and which led some homeowners to question whether they would actually get a rebate on their repayments, or pay less than the capital due – but the answer was, of course not.

Banks tend to set their mortgage interest rates at the Euríbor plus a given percentage, which means their cost has nearly halved since 2007 and 2008 when they were at their peak.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

 SPAIN has gone a step further in protecting its women out in public: hassling or harassing women in the street, in bars, at private parties or anywhere else – although these are the most frequent locations where it happens – will now be considered a 'minor' criminal offence of 'gender violence' and attract fines, house arrest or community service.

One-off incidents of unwanted sexual comments, groping, or persistently and insistently hassling a woman and refusing to take 'no' for an answer – or 'sexual or sexist expressions, behaviours or propositions' where this makes women feel 'intimidated, humiliated, unsafe or generally unsettled', or where it is reasonably considered that it could even if it does not, whether or not the perpetrator knows her, could lead to fines of several hundred euros, a month's house arrest and being electronically tagged, a month's community service, and an injunction preventing the accused from approaching the female in question.

Brought in by Unidas Podemos, whose Irene Montero leads the ministry for equality, the offence originally carried much stiffer punishments – between three and nine months of community service.

Although it was already, technically, an offence to do this, there was no real legal framework for it and few cases would have ended in punishment.

The problem still exists of how to identify the men responsible where it is in the street and they are complete strangers, however.

But it is hoped that the threat of a fine or house arrest could act as a much-needed deterrent.

Sexual harassment of this nature is already a criminal offence in several EU countries, including France and The Netherlands, attracting fines of between €90 and €750.

After both countries made it an offence in 2018, European Parliament recommended all other member States followed suit after finding out that at least 55% of women in Europe had been on the receiving end of this treatment and that it was rarely, if ever, reported.

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FISHY stuff is going on around Spain tonight. Black-clad processions and gigantic papier mâché sea creatures on wheels, huge bonfires, public feasts, live music, fireworks and, in some cases, partying until dawn. We know about eating fish on Good Friday, but the pre-Lent carnivals and, in the Anglo-Saxon world, the Shrove Tuesday pancake feast, was only last week. And in any case, why aren't they edible fish, or fish left to their own devices in the river or sea, and why are they going up in flames?

Towns and cities which hold a week-long carnival celebrate the Entierro de la Sardina ('Burial of the Sardine') on the last day, and those whose carnivals are a one-night-only affair usually hold this apparently-bizarre ritual a week later.

Except they're not buried, they're cremated.

Why would half of Spain hold a late-night funeral for a fish? Does this mean next week will bring a memorial mass for chips, or a wake for fried eggs? Also, why does everyone seem to be enjoying themselves so much in a mourning march?

You've probably figured, if you've spent any time in Spain, that many of its fiestas are based loosely on a saint or biblical theme – so loose is the base, in fact, that it's practically fallen off in 99% of cases. Every town and even neighbourhoods within towns have their patron and, when this patron's name comes up on the calendar, fiestas in their honour hit the streets. We hope the Virgin Mary, Saints Peter, Paul, John and Joseph, and Christ himself, appreciate the open-air pop-up bars and outdoor discos and public paellas and, if they were still alive today, would give a speech or two and join in the fun.

So it stands to reason that there's an excuse for a fiesta somewhere that involves a fish. The feeding of the 5,000, maybe? Or maybe not, because the bread bit is missing, and the fish was dished up for supper, not thrown on a bonfire.

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EUROPE'S largest and the world's second-biggest overhanging swimming pool has opened in Murcia at a height of 30 metres (98' 5”) above ground.

Designed by Manuel Clavel, the artist himself was the first to take a plunge when it officially opened just before the weekend in order to prove it was safe – but it is still not necessarily recommended for those with no head for heights.

At 42 metres in length – half of which is suspended in mid-air, jutting out from the front of the building – the only larger one of its type on earth is the Marina Bay Sands infinity pool in Singapore, on the roof of the hotel in question.

The one in Murcia is at the Odiseo leisure centre, a casino with a restaurant and bar on the city's main Avenida Juan de Borbón, and which is run by the Orenes Group.

Although it looks much taller, the Odiseo building is five storeys high, not including the two lower-ground floors used as a car park.

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AS MORE and more European countries dispense with notes and coins, and debit and credit card payments become more widely accepted, one wonders if physical currency could become extinct within a generation. After all, Denmark has floated the idea of stopping minting cash; in the UK, bank transfers are usually free of charge and instant, meaning if you owe someone a tenner you can just dump it in their account – or use PayPal, which is extremely safe and comfortable and only needs both parties to have an email address. It's perfectly possible to go for a full-length holiday in Iceland and never see the currency: you can pay for a chocolate bar with your card. Add to this the increasing number of banks offering mobile phone payment Apps, where you just place your handset above the card machine, or even your SmartWatch, and it does seem the need for money you can hold in your hand is lessening by the year. It could, in fact, go the same way cheque books have in the last 20 years: becoming, if not obsolete, certainly very rare and a lot of hassle.

Or will it?

Why cash costs

In Spain, the main barrier to shops and bars accepting card payments has been the fact that their banks charged so much in commission for these that it was not worth their while unless the transaction was fairly hefty – retailers and restaurateurs were going to lose some of the money they charged for their goods or services. But increasingly, banks are making it easier and cheaper for their commercial clients to take card payments.

And even getting paid in cash still costs. You have to pay security companies to transport the money; employees or owners carrying it in person to the bank put their safety at risk, and could easily lose a whole day's takings in a mugging or if they lose their handbags. Hold-ups at petrol stations and shops can mean having to hand over all you earn that day for the sake of your safety. Staff members run the risk of being accused of theft if the till contents do not add up, or if they are robbed on the way to the bank, and the terror and guilt felt if an employee loses the company money bag whilst transporting the cash is extremely stressful; indeed, less-understanding bosses may even make them pay it back out of their wages.

But some prefer cash – here's why

But cash can still have uses that debit cards and the like do not provide. If you're slipping a note into someone's birthday card, it looks more 'present-like' than scrawling on it that you've put the same amount into their current account.

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