A very good morning to one and all and I hope you had a very nice weekend. Here we go again with the Blog followed by a Tweet and a Podcast! Let´s get the exchange rates first then the weather.

The GB pound changes at 1 euro 13 today and the euro is worth 88 pence. The sun is shining but I thought I spied a depression in the Atlantic ….let´s get the forecast…..

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
24° C | 15° C	25° C | 13° C	25° C | 16° C	25° C | 16° C	27° C | 15° C
Clear	Clear	Scattered Clouds	Scattered Clouds	Scattered Clouds

Here´s an idea going the rounds that would help the UK economy. I have to asdd that I aired the idea on my Hits FM show when MP Neil Colbourne first raised the matter. (MP stands for My Programme)

Please find below my suggestion for fixing Britain’s economy.  Instead of giving billions of pounds to banks that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan:

There are about 20 million people over 50 in the work force.  - Pay them £1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire.  Twenty million job openings – Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new British CAR.  Twenty million cars ordered – Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage – Housing Crisis fixed.

4) They must send their kids to school / college /university – Crime rate fixed

5) Buy £50 of alcohol / tobacco / petrol a week there’s your money back in duty / tax etc

It can’t get any easier than that! As a new windfall have all members of parliament pay back their claimed expenses and second home allowances.

Here’s a name you might not know…..Terry Fator. However, once you’ve seen him you might see him as the world’s greatest ventriloquist.

Another friend of my show is out in the Philippines. Checkout Rockin Dave on location!

Here´s a little known fact….1953 – The first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound, Jacqueline Cochran, piloted an F-86 Sabrejet over California at an average speed of 652.337 miles-per-hour.

Here´s our Spanish word for today….

Lanzar

(lan-sar’) (transitive verb) – to throw; to fling, to hurl, to launch; to pitch (a baseball)

• Le lanzó una mirada de rencor. – She shot her a resentful look.
• Lanzé la botella al mar. – I threw the bottle into the sea.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Lanzar.

Let´s get today´s news in Spain. Please visit the links to the original stories…I only add my comments.

Spain Press Review – Monday May 18 2009
Campaigning ahead of the European elections is beginning to show on the Spanish front pages…..Público dedicates its front page to the growth of the black or hidden economy. The paper says that between 12 and 15 million people in Spain are obtaining income working in the black economy and that this now amounts to 19.5% of the country’s GDP. The paper says experts say that it is now worth more than 200 billion Euro. It compares the percentage of the black economy across different countries – Italy 22%, Spain 19.5%, Germany 14.6%, France 11.6% and the United States 7.6%. The numbers come from Linz university……….

Costa del Sol
Málaga trains head underground
There is no money to make good the land above the new train tunnels taking passengers to the city centre

Costa Blanca
Zapatero celebrates Norway Day in l’Alfas del Pi
The Norwegian Prime Minister was on hand to add to the celebrations………………..The Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, was on hand. Speaking to the local ex-pat crowd of about 3,000, Zapatero invited the Norwegians to stay in Spain forever, and also congratulated them for their triumph in the Eurovision Song Contest………………………This reeks of a lucky man who has planned to visit the largest number of Norwegians living outside Norway…..and on the weekend they stormed the European Song Contest!

Costa del Sol
Junta moves ahead with Costa del Sol strategic plan
Over 2 billion Euro is to be spent on improvements to the Western Costa del Sol

Spanish Oddities
Supermarket salesman selling strawberries on his bike
Andy Jackson is cycling from Huelva to Scotland to promote Spanish strawberries……………..He plans to travel the distance from Almonte to Arbroath in Scotland in 20 days and left Huelva on Saturday. A doctor a physiotherapist will follow him in a caravan behind and he hopes to raise a million pounds as part of the ASDA Pedal Power project which is supporting 270 local cycle clubs in the U.K. Andy says he hopes to be in Scotland in time for the start of the strawberry eating season there – he has some in his saddlebag sponsored by Onubafruit from Huelva, the largest strawberry company in Europe……………….I like strawberries and this guy has my support!

National
Spanish Prime Minister wants agreement with businessmen and unions
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been on the European election campaign trail………Zapatero wants to introduce a new economic model for the country, less dependent on the construction industry, and he made the claim on Sunday in Albacete at a rally ahead of the European elections. He said it meant a more productive and less speculative economy.  As well as businessmen and unions, the Prime Minister has invited Spain’s autonomous regions to take part in the talks. He said growth must come based on education and social protection. Zapatero accused the opposition Partido Popular of being cowards by not saying what they were planning in reality – labour and pension reforms………………………………It must be said that he is saying all the right things. Just as in England it really is time to put party allegiance to one side and look at the substance. I haven´t heard Rajoy saying these things in the same way. It really is the only way to get out of this worldwide mess.

National
Man stabs his mother in law to death while she sleeps
The 27 year old Moroccan has been arrested…………….A 27 year old Moroccan man killed his mother in law while she slept in her home in Les Coves de Vinromà in Castellón in the early hours of Saturday. He stabbed her in her bed while she slept next to her husband. NO COMMENT

Spain Sports News
Spain weekend football round up – Monday May 18
Barcelona win the league………………..Architect of the success is the young and previously untried manager of the club, Pep Guardiola, who has brought in a bright and attacking style of football popular with the fans and based on the possession of the ball. He relies greatly on the three midfield stars of the side, Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. Some 15,000 fans poured on to the streets of Barcelona to celebrate on Saturday, filling the Plaza Catalunya and the Canaletas fountain. Unfortunately there were several police charges and 65 arrests and 51 injuries………………………Let´s hope they can win the Champions League. I think it will be a great match that can go either way.

Costa Blanca
Man dies in Alicante daytime shooting
Police think the shooting, in which another man was injured, was drug related……..On their arrival at the scene SAMU medics could do no more than to declare a man in his 40’s, named with the initials L.I.P. as dead, while another aged 44 and identified as J.G.A.R. was taken to the General Hospital in the city after being shot it the throat and arm.  Police say they are searching for a third person who could possibly have been the shooter and is a member of the ‘Lops Capito’ gang. The search has been opened up to other provinces across the country.

Costa del Sol
Mafia Chief arrested in Marbella
Raffaele Amato was arrested in a Marbella restaurant

Spain Culture News
Last but one for Spain in Eurovision
High hopes for the Spanish singer Soraya were dashed as soon as voting began……………Spanish singer Soraya could do no better than penultimate in the 25 contenders at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest final held in Moscow on Saturday. Despite the introduction of jury voting for half of the scores, the concept of ‘friendly borders’ continued with 12 of Spain’s 23 point total coming from Andorra and 7 from Portugal and amounting to less than half that achieved last year by Chickilicuatre………………Soraya was fine. If you have an average song you usually will do no better than average. This was a poor song.

Spain Sports News
Roger Federer ends Nadal’s run on clay to take the Madrid Masters
Nadal saved two match points in his semi-final against Novac Djokovic…..Rafa Nadal was beaten in the final of the Madrid Masters 1000 tournament on Sunday by Roger Federer in straight sets, a double 6-4. Nadal entered the match tired from a semi-final epic against Novac Djokovic on Saturday in which he saved two match points, but will be disappointed to have lost his first match in 33 in clay in front of a Spanish crowd………Nadal needs Federer at the top. He will bounce back probably being inspired by Federer´s comportment and determination to bounce back. Great players need a rest every now and again. Rafa will be back……

Costa del Sol
Junta says No to Torrox growth
The new PGOU for the town has been rejected