Spanish Eyes, English Words

This post was prompted by someone who messaged me after reading my blog post about buying on a community. She asked if there was anything she could do to find out what life was really like on a particular community, and how she could avoid potential problems. To some extent, it is the luck of the draw, but there is also a lot of research you can do on your own behalf.

Talk to the President (or Vice President)

Rmember that the President is the person who is legally responsible for all aspects  of administration of the community. He may have a Vice President to assist, and a Committee to bounce ideas off, and some Presidents may involve the Committee in the decision making, but in law, it's all down to the President. So, talk to the President, raise any concerns you may have, ask about the community rules, and how the fees and the budget are calculated.

If the President is not happy to discuss  the community with you, maybe you should look elsewhere. When we were buying on La Finca, the incumbent President was very helpful, and played a big part in our decision to buy on that particular community. The best type of President is a strong character who will strike the right balance between being friendly and approachable, and also firm  and decisive when it comes to making tough decisions and acting in the best interests of the community as a whole. If everyone loves the President, he's not doing his job right.

Check out the minutes of previous AGMs

Okay, minutes can be a bit dry, and not really give you a 'feel' of the community itself, but they will give you an idea of who turns up at the meetings, and how the voting goes on decisions. If there's a good attendance at the AGMs, that means the owners are proactive in their community. If the attendance is low, and there are a lot of proxy votes - especially if the proxy votes rest with just one or two people - it's a bad sign. It indicates two things: that a lot of the community members don't really care what's going on, and that some people may be rounding up proxies to get the outcomes they want. This can happen when a vociferous minority make their preferences felt, and other community members are either intimidated or feel that it's not worth putting their views forward.

AGM minutes can also give you a good idea of how well the community budget is planned and executed, and you can see how many debtors the community has. If owners are not paying their fees, then essential community services may have to be curtailed.

Ask around locally

If there are problems in a community, the word often spreads. Just come straight out with it and say you are thinking of buying on X community, and does whoever you are talking to know if it's a good idea. Check out local expat businesses - lurk around in the English supermarket or mail room and listen to the gossip. And check out local forums for inside information.

Check out the local English language papers

Most local newspapers have an online edition with a search facility. Put the name of the community into the search engine, and see if anything interesting comes up. If there's a long running dispute, or if the community is socially active and integrated with the locals, there'll be something about it in the local English language press. It will help to give you a more rounded picture of the community and your prospective neighbours.

Putting in the research before you decide to buy a property on a community within an urbanisation could mean the difference between living the dream and being landed with the home from hell.Take the time to check it out, listen to the locals and look at the community objectively. You know it makes sense!

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After just a few minutes in Graham Strachan’s company, it’s clear that this is no ordinary expat I’m talking to. Graham is an artist and art tutor, and as well as taking commissions for his own art, he’s bringing the gift of creativity to anyone who is receptive to it in Algorfa and Fortuna. I caught up with Graham on the sun-drenched terrace of Bar Restaurante Algorfa, following one of his art classes. It’s a hard life being a writer, but somebody has to do it!

We chatted over coffee and wine – wine for me because for once I wasn’t driving. Graham told me about his background in art, why he came to Spain, and why he’s so enthusiastic about teaching art to expats. It’s an interesting and inspiring story.

Before coming to Spain, Graham developed his craft at Putney Art College and the College of Art and Design at Crawley. Then he worked creating personal art, commissions and art for general sale. It was a long time before he got into tuition, and it was for a deeply personal reason. He was 41 years old, his children were around 2 and 6, and he wanted to pass on his skills and his love of art. There were no realistic options available to him, so he set out to find a suitable teaching programme.

Graham really wanted a structure to teach with, as well as drawing (pardon the pun) upon his own experience. He was surprised to find that the official standpoint of the education authorities was that it was better not to teach art to young children for fear of stifling their creativity.

This reminded Graham of his own schooling, when art tuition had amounted to a ‘free’ lesson when some unlucky teacher had drawn the short straw and was given the Friday afternoon art session. At best, the realm of art was only really available to those that were considered to be already talented.

‘I had hoped we had moved on from this attitude to teaching art – after all, it’s a long time since I left school. Apparently we haven’t, albeit the ‘logic’ might have changed.’

Even where art tuition is offered, Graham’s observation is that many teachers don’t seem to understand how it should be taught in order to reach more people.

So he looked around for a suitable programme, and found Monart – the drawing programme for children devised by Mona Brookes in America. Graham trained with Mona for 6 weeks, learning how to use the Monart techniques, including the basic elements of shape system that allows everyone to draw.

Not only did Graham learn the skills he needed to teach his own children, he built up a successful business teaching children and adults in Sussex. By the time he relocated to Hoya Hermosa, near Fortuna in Murcia, 120 child artists and around 40 of their parents had discovered that Art For Art’s Sake was more than just the title of a 70s hit song by 10cc.

So why did Graham relocate to Spain? Basically, he felt that England was no longer a place he wanted to be. It was becoming a small minded country tied up with red tape and political correctness. So he and his wife devised a 2 year relocation plan – and found themselves in Jacarilla within 4 months.

That was back in February, 2007, and Graham hasn’t looked back since. He started out by teaching art to the children of British expats, but whereas in the UK, art is an extra-curricular activity, in Spain, the parents viewed the art classes as a crèche with benefits where they could leave their kids for a few hours. These days, most of Graham’s pupils come from the other end of the scale of life – retired and early retired expats, mostly. So, I asked him how he managed to teach new tricks to these old dogs.

Graham’s mantra is, ‘Anyone can paint or draw, you just need to know how,’ and this is the philosophy that underpins his unique version of art tuition. Literally anyone can walk into his classes and bring out the artist that’s lurking under the surface.

Okay, I’m a creative, but I’m a writer – I couldn’t draw to save my life, and I told Graham as much. His response was that I was labouring under the common misapprehension that artists are naturally talented people. While a minority of them are, it’s not a requirement. As Graham puts it:

‘It doesn’t matter if you can’t even draw a stick man or a straight line, I can show you how to do that, and we can move on from there.’

So, we could have something going here then. Graham is going to teach me to draw, right? Wrong, apparently. Just when I think I know where the guy is going, he changes direction – or so it seems, because what he says is perfectly logical.

‘I’m not here to teach you to draw and paint. First and foremost I’m here to teach you to see the world, and help you to take the blinkers off. There are no rules in art, but you do need to be able to observe and understand what you really see. My other motto is “Draw what you see, not what you think you know.”’

Graham’s system works – I’ve seen the proof. When my friend and neighbour Charan is over from England, she heads straight to Graham’s class and she’s producing some great art, and is improving all the time. And Charan is just one of Graham’s success stories.

Graham runs 5 classes each week in the Algorfa area, and one at Fortuna. He also manages to find time to create personal art and fill commissions for clients. Most commissions are for pet portraits from photographs which Graham takes himself. As he explains:

‘I know what will work on a portrait – it’s not necessarily the cutest photo that produces the best painting or drawing.’
So now I know what I want for Christmas, and since people are always stopping me and asking to take Paddy’s photo, I know he’ll make a beautiful subject for a painting. Graham – get your camera out!

If you want to join one of Graham’s Artantics classes, (or would just like to know a bit more) please contact him to arrange a convenient first meeting. Below are his class schedules. Ask about the free introductory offer.

Mon @ "Picoyes Art Shop", Benijofar.
Two classes: 10 & 12 O'clock

Wed @ "Vistabella Bar" on the CV95
One class beginning 3.30 / 4.00

Fri @ "Algeria Bar" Entre Naranjos
One class beginning 10.30

Sat @ Vistabella Bar" on the CV95
Two classes: 10.30 & 12.30

Contact details:

Email: artantics@hotmail.com

Phone: 966 187 742

Mobile: 620 670 514

Facebook: The ArtAnticsGroup

Graham also takes commissions for any type of painting or drawing. And he’ll come and talk to your group for free, presenting one of what he calls his ‘Arty Political Broadcasts.’ What’s the idea behind that then? Let Graham have the last word here.

‘If I could teach art for free, I would, but I have bills to pay, so I have to charge. However, I do these presentations to get people involved in art, with my help or without it. After all, any involvement in art is going to improve your own art.’

Photo credits: Art class photos courtesy of Graham Strachan.

If you enjoyed reading this, check out my website Sandra In Spain for more on real life in Spain

How to begin to describe Debs Jenkins? The title of the post only scratches the surface, because Debs has done so much in her 44 years, I should probably be doing a biography here.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Debs always knew she wanted to be a writer, but her Career Advisor at school said she needed to train for a proper job. The teenage Debs was only interested in writing and boys, so she decided to become an electronics engineer after studying for a degree at Birmingham University. As Debs freely admits, she only did it to meet men – and it worked!

‘I met my two husbands through electronics, so it served a purpose. I got made redundant after a few years, which was probably just as well, as I’m not in the market for Husband Number Three!’

After being made redundant, Debs took any work she could find, but didn’t really enjoy it, so she set up a marketing company at the grand old age of 24. It was a home based start-up, but within a year or so, it was a big concern with several staff. And this was when Debs really got her teeth into the writing, and along with her brother she co- wrote ‘The best-ever book on marketing in the world.’

It might well have been the best in its niche, but nobody wanted to publish it. Not to be deterred, Debs and her brother set up their own publishing company, and published it themselves. At the time, it wasn’t easy to self publish, but Debs is a ‘Can Do’ person, and she did it. Again, the business went from strength to strength, and when Debs moved to Spain in 2005, her brother came with her and they ran the publishing business from La Murta in Murcia. However, after a year, her brother decided Spain wasn’t for him, so he returned to England and took over the running of the publishing company.

When we looked at properties in Spain, the apartment that’s now our home was the first place we saw, but Debs’ finca at La Murta in the Sierra del Carrascoy was the last place she viewed. Debs and her husband Marcus had almost given up hope of finding their dream home in Spain, but when she arrived in La Murta, she knew she was home. La Murta is a small village with a population of just over 100, and the Jenkins family are the only Brits there.

So, did the villagers take them to their hearts? Absolutely! Even though the children who have learned English from Debs are now talking with a broad Brummie accent!

In fact, living in La Murta is directly responsible for Debs’ two Spanish cookery books. The first one, Spanish Cooking Uncovered: Farmhouse Favourites has a fascinating back story. A Spanish friend showed Debs 2,600 hand written recipes he’d discovered in his finca, and asked if anything could be done with them. The recipes belonged to his grandmother Maria Luisa, and they dated back to the time of the Spanish Civil War. The book features more than 80 recipes, accompanied by stunning photos.

Debs is justly proud of this book, but her favourite is a book that came to life as a village fundraising initiative. La Murta may be small, but like all Spanish villages and towns, the fiesta is its life blood. Debs and her husband are honoured to have been chosen to serve on the fiesta committee on more than one occasion, and in 2013, they had the idea of producing a cookery book to raise funds for fiestas.

Debs asked in the local panaderia (bakery – of which there are three in La Murta) if anyone would be interested in contributing recipes to the book. The answer was a resounding ‘Si,’ and within two weeks, 40 local chefs had cooked over 150 recipes. Debs had the arduous task of photographing – and tasting – every single one. She remembers the experience well:

‘I love my food, and I loved the research for the book, but I put on a pile of weight. The Mediterranean Diet is a healthy one – but not when you’re eating on the scale I was. I mean, I had to try all the recipes, didn’t I?’

The book – Spanish Village Cooking - Recetas Del Campo – raised €2,000 for the 2014 fiesta, and has already raised around the same amount towards the 2015 celebrations. It’s written in both Spanish and English, and it’s clearly very close to Debs’ heart. Although she has written a number of books, including the best-selling Going Native In Murcia, she’s loving her role as a cookery ambassador for La Murta, and there are more cookery and travel books in the pipeline.

I was born within about 10 miles of Debs, in Walsall, West Midlands, and I discovered a real affinity with this warm hearted, generous Midlander who has slotted so seamlessly into life in a Spanish pueblo. She truly is one of the great Writers On Spain.

Photo Credit: Debs Jenkins

If you enjoyed reading this, why not check out my blog Sandra In Spain?

Simon Harris hails from Nottingham in the Midlands region of England, and like many people, he pitched up in Spain by accident and ended up staying. Back in 1988, Simon was hanging around in London, feeling as if his life had closed down when his grant to study music in America at Berklee College of Music, Boston was withdrawn on the grounds that music ‘wasn’t important.’ His brother suggested Simon joined him in Barcelona to shake down and decide what he wanted to do next.

Simon took his guitar to Barcelona for a couple of weeks and never came back or looked back. The original plan was to give up music and teach English, but like most plans, it changed, and Simon joined a band until he met his Catalan wife and said goodbye to the rock and roll lifestyle. He settled down to teach English and have the occasional jam session with the jazz crowd in Barcelona.

However, 26 years on, Simon is still very much a performer, and I would love to have been in his English class, with him ‘Giving it shit in an arrogant way, giving it everything I’ve got.’ Simon is passionate about everything he does, and supporting Catalonia’s dual quest for more political autonomy and independence from Spain has become something of a crusade for him.

How does a lad from Nottingham with music in his soul become so enthusiastically pro-Catalan? Initially by deciding to support Barcelona rather than Real Madrid, which got him involved with Catalan society pretty quickly. He also learned the language, and if you can speak Catalan and absorb and understand the culture, you will be accepted as a Catalan, wherever you originate from. In fact, around 40% of Barcelona’s Catalan population come from other areas of Spain, and in addition, there are a number of what Simon terms ‘foreign-born Catalans.’ That’s people like him who have become absorbed into the culture and welcomed by the native Catalans as one of their own.

Simon’s introduction to Catalan culture and history was as personal as you can get. His Catalan wife’s Aunt Magdalena told stories of life during the Spanish Civil War, and talked about her school teacher, who used to teach the children to read and right in Catalan, taking a big risk in defying orders from Madrid.

The Barcelona dream became a nightmare in 2008, when Simon became seriously ill and his marriage broke up. It made him rethink his life, and change direction once more. Not being what he calls a ‘Bread Head,’ he realised there was more to life than just living to work. From now on, he intended to work to live, and do what he really wanted with the rest of his time. So the historian, musician and English teacher became a blogger and writer of books – oh, and a property finder too. His acclaimed book Going Native In Catalonia was published in 2011, after being blogged into existence, and he set up Barcelonas.com to find property for people wanting to move to Catalonia.

Simon has just published his latest book, Catalonia Is Not Spain: A Historical Perspective. It’s a book Simon’s been wanting to write for many years, and like the previous book, it’s been blogged into existence. In July 2014, Simon wrote the blog post On Becoming A Catalanist to explain how and why the musician from Nottingham arrived at the conclusion that the only way forward for Catalonia was independence from Spain. He wrote every day, until he finished the first draft of the book on September 11.

That’s a symbolic day, for Simon and the Catalan people, because it’s La Diada Nacional De Catalunya, or the Catalan National Day. 2014 marks the 300th anniversary of the end of the Siege Of Barcelona. The book details the history of Spain and Catalonia, relating a story that has been airbrushed out of Spanish history since 1714, before making a sound case for Catalan independence.

Simon raised €2,500 for professional proofreading and editing of the book, as well as other pre-publishing expenses, via a crowd funding project . These are very exciting times for Simon. There’s a lot of interest both nationally and internationally in his book, and the early indications are it could well become a best seller.

To round off this piece, I asked Simon for a quote that sums him up.

‘People often assume that because I’m a Catalanist I’m anti Spain, but that’s not true. What really gets to me are the Francoists and people like Esperanza Aguirre of the Partido Popular, who stir up anti-Catalan feeling by demonising the people and their ideals.  I’m actually pro Catalan and pro Spain, but I firmly believe Catalonia’s future lies in independence from Spain. ‘

Photo Credit: Simon Harris, selfie taken at Diada, 11 September 2014

If you enjoyed reading this, check out my Sandra In Spain blog soon!