Normansands,

The reason there are not a lot more good news stories here is because as soon as someone does send one they get jumped on by you and others for being "sillies".

I agree that you and many others have been hard done by but I don't need it to be constantly rammed down my throat.

I support your and others stance in getting things changed for the better and have emailed all the MEPs but, your constant carping is not helpful to your cause.

This is my opinion, I await the flack!!!

 Good news in Spain is..............................Norman lives in England and you can choose to turn him off with a flick of the standby button!!

The cryptic ramblings lead me to believe that Kent has seen a recent rise in Poppy farming!!

Real good news is......the sun is shining,the pools are warming, the beer is cooling and fiesta season is on the way...........

Dear All,

endlessly again, reams of nonsense and precious little good news, except perhaps the weather.

I most sincerely hope that the reason is that far too many people are busy enjoying the obvious and see no need to state it, or even subscribe.

which rather leaves the "sillies" on a bit of a limb.

Regards

Norman

I find it quite insulting that people are called 'sillies' all the time! Whats this all about? Its likely that such comments make people think twice before adding a post to some threads such as this one.

I find cryptic comments with little in the way of clarity or relevance to the topic matter rather time consuming to decipher. With all due respect to everyone, please use plain English so that readers can easily understand what has been written!!!

Im sure there are a number of 'good news stories' from people living in or visiting Spain .... and I for one am looking forward to reading them all.

I just can't get the picture of Norman sat on a park bench shouting at the buses, out of my head!

hahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

esteban19120  Ático Is  Yago, from Spain or Argentina.

In reply to your question, Yago is Spanish, why do you ask?

Just interested as had someone named Yago as my boss, once but he was from Argentina, but a nice man.

My son is at our apartment now, Yago just told him where in the village to get keys cut, 2 keys now cut €2 for both. Key and shoe kiosk in shopping mall, €2-3 each cut. That's good news in Spain when you are 18.....it's more money to spend on having fun

I thought what good news Spain was when I 1st went shopping in a supermarket, lovely prawns at 6 or 7 euros a kilo, bought loads each time I shopped.

Then the bad news, those prawns all came from Scotland which really annoys the Scots and you can't buy them for anywhere near that price in the UK.

Just one example of crazy Eurozone beaurocracy benefitting one country and penalising another.

Dear All,

I am often accused of complaining by the "you know who" but that is a complaint I have had for a long time. It is not just Spain, it is the same in France every supermarket is selling large delicious prawns, mountains of them, often "on special" that we cannot get here.

I thought they came from South America, but if they are from Scotland it is time to riot, or at least invent a Spanish address for ordering with Canterbury as the onward forwarding centre.

As for scambusting, I think that should be a new political party.

Regards

Norman

PS keep up the good work redsam but why are you almost a lone voice?

yes all the prawns & langostines come from Scotland , if you get the chance to watch 'Trawlermen ' you'll see it all explained on their.

Yes Norman I can post reams of good news if I want about nearly everything but I lose the will to live when I see that you've popped into the thread @ the very begining with a post ,that even by your standards, was barely intelligible. I agree also that you were ' turned over ' & the situation does need to be sorted out but what concerns me is that from a post a while back it appears that you are also having problems with the local planners / building dept. in  Kent. This always leads me to wonder who is at fault when you are involved in disputes in 2 different countries. The old saying comes to mind ;   You know that old saying? He that deceives me once, shame fall him; if I am deceived twice, shame fall me.’

Dear Gus,

thanks I will look elsewhere for the explanation.

as for your other nonsense............

what sort of crazy world is it where you can only praise the good and never condemn the bad????????????

is that reasonable and sensible????????????

mind you I have been given advice of sorts here similar to that in Spain

in Spain it is.............give up you stand no chance of justice

here it is...................get real, live with it you'll never change it, you are too small, too insignificant, take what you can, be grateful for small mercies

corruption is everywhere learn to live with it like Gus

well from one insignificant to another even lesser one .......................cheers

Regards

Norman

Norman said''PS keep up the good work redsam but why are you almost a lone voice?''

Could ask the same question of you Norman, and perhaps even more so, but then I suspect I would get another answer that I would need help with deciphering.

Enigma Machine

The German military cipher machine.

No, the problem is, Norman, you have invaded and hijacked threads all over the place bringing your sense of doom and gloom (well, at least that is what I think it is as some of your posts are as surreal as a Dali painting) into the procedings.  In your case, you seem totally put out when someone tries to inject a little bit of good and optimism onto the threads.  So much so that you have to try and drag everything downwards. You said

what sort of crazy world is it where you can only praise the good and never condemn the bad????????????

is that reasonable and sensible????????????

In your world it is exactly the opposite where you seem to detest anything that is good and wish everyone would condemn the good!

We have all read your (and others) posts regarding your problems.  At the beginning, you had everyones' sympathy and lots of advice on what to do but you continue to try and make everyone else feel guilty as if it is their fault, which it patently isn't.  Someone starts a thread about good things and you, the annoyance, immediately jump in and try to spoil it as if everyone is making it up!  It is now getting more than an annoyance and I feel you have now lost the goodwill of the majority of posters on this site.  Indeed, many have now stopped posting because of your replies which can, frankly, be quite nasty at times.  Please stop it and allow others to enjoy what has been an invaluable tool for help and advice up to now.  If your posts put off the helpful requests and responses then we will all be the losers in this. 

To those on EOS who have stopped posting, please come back and enjoy what has been a great sources of chat and assistance.

And, finally Norman, you still haven't owned up to your origins.  I very much doubt that you are British as a lot of your posts have become rambling and appear to have been put through the Babelfish translator a couple of times. 

If Normansands is determined to ignore the requests from other posters to stop hijacking posts and calling people "sillies" (it actually sounds like something an old fashioned schoolmistress would say) don't fall for the bait, ignore him and just respond to other posts that take your interest, there is nothing worse than being ignored. And Norman you cannot control this site and you are getting yourself in a right tizzy by trying to do so, lighten up and go with the flow. We are not all intellectuals just ordinary people who want to communicate with other like minded posters.

The good news in Spain for ex pats and those interested in buying is that the exchange rate is moving upwards and is now circa 1.20

Some projections are that it will go to 1.50 by the end oif the year but I think that is a touch optimistic 

But the UK Coalition is taking action over the UK debts which is popular with the money market whilst EU countries are not , so the upward movement on the rate may well continue

Anyone who says buying now in Spain is a risk , [provided you  take normal and sensible precautions as you would in UK ]j just does not know that regulations have changed  

And the deals , both price and finance, from the Spanish Banks and developers still trading are great at 1.20 and even more so if it moves towards 1.50

UK summer is predicted to be hot , so if you are interested in buying in Spain , enjoy our summer and takle  a  trip in September if the rate does improve and you are able to take advantage of the current situation in Spain

A combination of low prices , great low interest finance deals , and a good exchange rate may be an opportunity too good to miss!!

The doom and gloom of the past still has to be sorted for those involved and we all hope for a good outcome but the future medium to long term in Spain may just be very bright for those able to take advantage of the situation in 2010

My good news in Spain today.  Hubby and I spent 1st half of the day looking around the car boot market in Feungirola always interesting and free to browse of course. We both needed haircuts and as  we had previously seen a unisex hairdressers in los boliches walked down and got our hair cut for wait for it  -   19 euros for two of us and that included 2euros we gave as a tip so actual cost 17 euros.  Next stop Dunnes Stores near Miramar, needed pillows so bought 4 for 20euros (Orthopaedic with built in foam core, non allergenic and fully washable. 4 lovely plain white cotton pillow cases 6euros to use as pillow protectors and strappy nightie can use as sun dress 3 euros, total cost 29euros. next stop Lidl to top up on salad greens and fruit, total cost 11 euros for lots.  Next stop local tennis club for a well earned aperitif before dinner sat outside lovely cool breeze and smart terrace,beer for hubby tonic for me. Back home hubby made lovely salad, plus fresh fruit salad for dessert. The thing I like about Spain you do not have to rush everything we achieved today was at a leisurely pace. Simple pleasures but enjoyable.

have a nice weekend, Kathy

Not quite so optimistic on the exchange rate, after all, 1.21 is only up 4 cents in the last 3 or 4 weeks although it does seem a little like heaven.  I imagine 1.23 by the end of the week could be on the cards and maybe even up to 1.25 (oh, bliss) depending on the emergency budget in a couple of weeks.  Still, I do think that house prices in Spain are now at the best they have been for a long time if you are buying.  For those for whom it is a little late and have to return home and made losses on their property, not so good unfortunately with prices in pounds (not euros) what they were some 6 or 7 years ago when a pound got you 1.50 plus.

On our community, the builders stopped working on the last couple of blocks due to the downturn in sales.  I notice, however, they are starting to build again and not just on our area.  It is good news if you are thinking of opening a Chinese "Bazar" as these appear to be the only growth industry on the Costas.  Not only does our quite modest sized town now boast 8 of these, a Spanish DIY shop has just been half taken over by one of these. 

For those of you thinking of going back to Spain for a holiday, the Telegraph reports that prices have dropped by some 40% on the mainland due to a combination of restaurants and hotels reducing prices plus the upturn in the pound.  Shame it doesn't appear to have dribbled down to the hire car firms!  (I am definitely buying a runaround on my next trip like so many others now do).  It is only against the euro, though, that the pound is doing well as it has fallen some 20% against the US dollar, 30%  against the Canadian dollar and even some 15% agains the Turkish lira and the Egyptian pound.  Good news for Spain as it means it is now cheaper to have a Costa holiday than other places.  This, however, fuels my pessimism a little as the pound is not gaining against most other countries, just the basket case which is the euro at the moment.  If it were stronger, it would probably be closer to 1.30 already.  

Regardless of some doom and gloom, however, I do still feel it is cheaper in Spain than UK for day to day living, not by as much as a third as it used to be but definitely a lot of the good things. And, yes, the summer in UK is forecast to be hot, but remember last years "barbeque" summer?  Lovely here at the moment but thunderstorms are forecast for tomorrow.  Even spotted a few smiling faces around today and got quite a few "good mornings" on my stroll up the village.  Amazing how the blue skies change our outlook. 

Hi Kathy

Your day is so typical of what Sue and I do, just great.

Babol

Never hire a car again get youself a 'Betsy' 2002 Ford Focus 165km ITV til 2011 Suma paid, had Jags & Mercs when in buisness back in the Uk, get far more enjoyment from Betsy and she cost me 1750e, runs like a dream. I did use a Gestor to make sure all was in order though, cost 250e would recomend.

1962 said:  "don't fall for the bait, ignore him and just respond to other posts that take your interest"

100% Correct!! People like you know who(won't name him that what he wants!) spend their sad little lives infesting sites like these, I know I've seen his like on many other sites. He gets his kicks from people reacting to him, so just don't! Ignore him and he might go away! If he doesn't don't worry just don't involve yourself with him.

I know one site which lets you add such members to an ignore list which actually hides all post from those on your ignore list! Seems to me we could use something like that on this site!

Tony.