I called into the Town Hall today and fortunately Candido was in, although he was not supposed to be, as he is on leave.
Just another thank you for all the messages of condolence which are gratefully acknowledged.
We are holding the funeral service for Sue's mum tomorrow at the crematorium at Lincoln at 2.30pm,
We have managed to get a flight back home on Thursday morning (8th May) so hope we can get back to normal by next week and find out all the latest news.
Thanks to all for your messages of sympathy they are appreciated - thanks.
We have spent a very emotionally tiring week and a half so far in the UK>
My wife's mother (Olive) was rushed into hospital on Saturday 19th April following a stroke. We were informed about it on Saturday night and managed to get a flight on Sunday 20th. Went straight to Lincoln hospital where mum was and she was unconscious. The nursing staff told us she had had a massive stroke and was unlikely to recover.
On Monday morning they told us her condition was deteriorating so we dashed back to the hospital only to discover that, all that had happened was, she had been disconnected from the drips etc. It was explained to us that as there was no likelihood of recovery they would put her on the Liverpoo Care Plan. This basically means making her as comfortable as possible but not giving her any water, food, drips or oxygen. But to make her as comfortable as possible until she died. As you can imagine not a nice experience for the family. We all stayed with her as much as possible but her body refused to die. By the morning of Sunday 27th I approached the ward sister to ask if this situation was going to last much longer. She toldus to prepare for a marathon. I would have thought that 7 days without any sustenance was a marathon.
However not long after asking the question Olive started to secrete blood from her mouth and we were then told it would not be long. After about 3 hours she eventually breathed her last and the family were able to move on.
I don't think we treat animals as badly as that. Whilst I realise all the implications I feel sure there must be a better way to deal with such scenarios.
The funeral is to be held next Tuesday so I won't be able to do anything with the Town Hall until after that date when I can get a flight back.
One bit of great news though, to offset our loss, was that my daughter Claire announced that she was pregnant. Quite poignant but of course more emotions. Ready for a rest!
We heard yesterday that my wife's mother had been admitted to hospital and the prognosis is not good so we are flying back today and don't know when we will get back. There will therefore be no updates for at least one week but as soon as I get back will try and move things on.
The Press Conference was held today at the Municipal Theatre in Zurgena.
Candido Trabalon, our Mayor, has called a Press Conference for 11.0am this Friday at the Municipal Theatre to inform the press about some of the speculation going on in the Spanish media.
Just to keep you informed I called into the Town Hall, as I had heard nothing since last Wednesday, and tried to find out what the situation is.
I was told that the prosecution, in the cases against Candido and Manolo, are struggling to build enough evidence to be able to mount a successful prosecution. I am told that the Judge responsible for the case retains an overview of it and it is that persons decision as to whether to try the case or throw it out. But that decision could take some time.
I was told that Candido and Manolo are both spending almost all their time with their solicitors examining the evidence and trying to decide what course of action to take. Apparently they did a television interview last night in which they gave their version of events and highlighted the inequality of the application of the law. Insisting that they do not want to make other councils suffer their plight but that in order to defend themselves it may be necessary.
I was given information, which I cannot divulge at this stage, but which certainly confirms the unlawful means by which certain politicians are seeking to increase the pressure on our Town Hall and turning a blind eye to much more serious infractions of the law by PSOE councillors.
In relation to the main charge, that of allowing building to take place on rustic land, I was told that this was granted permission in a Pleno meeting in 2002 when PSOE were in control of the Town Hall so how they can be looking to charge Candido for something he had no involvement in I do not understand.
I suggested that it would be a good idea for them to keep their councillors up to date with developements and was told that there is to be a Press conference at 10.0am this coming Friday. I may have a further opportunity after that to get more.
Below is a copy of an email invitation I have received and thought it worth posting for anyone who is interested in attending
Property Rights and Wrongs
Are you worried about the recent troubles in the Spanish property scene as
they apply to northern Europeans? Are you concerned about those 'illegal'
homes, demolitions, expropriations, 'land grabs', scams, frauds, illegal
commissions, third-party mortgages and other property questions that have
recently brought notoriety to Spain’s reputation? Does the apparent lack of
justice, the total inertia in the judicial system and the evident disinterest
of the government make you feel impotent?
In short, do we have any champions?
Charles Svoboda, ex diplomat, board member of Ciudadanos Europeos and
spokesman, founder (together with his wife Lisa) and Vice-President for the
influential Abusos Urbanisticos – No, is to give a talk at the Hotel Oasis
Tropical (Marina de la Torre, Mojácar Playa) on Saturday 3rd May at 12 noon.
The introduction to Mr Svoboda will be made by Angel Medina, Vice mayor of
Mojácar and President of the Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar, followed by Bob
Preston, Secretary of AUAN, the Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora – No.
All are welcome to attend.
I had agreed to meet with representatives of the A.U.A.N. organisation this morning at 11.0am and duly did so. We had a productive meeting during which they offerred to address the expat community within the municipality to explain the importance of the various apects of building and planning laws. This is on the basis of the massive amount of time and effort that they have put in to understand the way these laws work and our ability to influence certain decision making processes.
I agreed to feed back to them our Councils response regarding the issue of the PGOU and the Sub Regional Plan which they infomed me was being discussed by the Junta in a new office in Oria and that this would impact all of the Almanzora valley.
I left this meeting and went up to the Town Hall and on my way saw Candido in conversation with some of his supporters. They were all enthusiastically welcoming him back and he also gave me a very warm greeting. As we started to discuss his recent incarceration he gently led Andreas and I down to the local bar where, it seems, most business is discussed. I was informed that Politicians using the Town Hall need to be careful in case any form of monitoring had been installed. I am happy to conduct business in the bar!
As we walked to the bar it was amazing to see how many of the villagers would rush across and throw their arms around Candido in obviously emotional support. This continued whilst we were in the bar with many people, one of the people who warmly greeted Candido was a politician from the Almeria Party and who has a influential position within the Diputacion de Almeria.
One of the first comments Candido made was in relation to the demonstration and he said he was surprised and very pleased that so many expats had been in the crowd. He had watched it on TV (a recording) and was quite emotional about it.
He explained that on his arrest he had been told the reason for his arrest was corruption, by pocketing money from the Town Hall, allowing building on rural land and taking money for granting building licences. All of which he maintains is totally untrue. He also suggested that given the way his recent arrest was handled it was proved even more to be politically motivated. He was taken to Almeria at first where he decided that he would not declare to the Guardia Civil, whom he did not trust to accurately record such a declaration, but agreed to declare to the judge. He was therefore transported back to Huercal Overa and when he was describing the events which occurred there he almost broke into tears. The moment which made him most tearful was when he was explaining that the judge in H.O. would not hear his declaration until he had been allowed to wash, shave and have a visit from his family. This took place Friday morning and subsequently he was interviewed by the judge. He answered her questions and shortly thereafter he was released without bail or money being paid.
He said that the first thing he did was stand outside the Police Station and smoke 3 cigarettes one after the other. He does smoke far too much and I think he is a prime candidate for a heart attack. I should know!
We then discussed what we should do next and he said that he was quite determined to go on the offensive against the other councils where PSOE are the controlling party and actions, much more contrary to Spanish law, have occurred and no legal action has been taken. He did say he was reluctant to do that, as he felt that all councils have the interests of their communities at heart, but given the time he spent in custody felt that we, as a council should discuss this and decide how to proceed.
I asked if we could have a meeting of all the councillors to agree a way forward and he said that that was his intention. I hope it is either tomorrow (Wednesday) or next Monday as I am away Thursday Friday.
We had had another success today in that 'the order of secrecy' (apparently in Spanish law the forces of law and order can have an order of secrecy in a case which precludes anyone investigating or examining the grounds for the investigation and in this case they had one) which could have lasted until the 16th April but this had been lifted this morning. As a result the councils solicitors were today examining all the evidence upon which the Guardia had mounted the arrests and, once we knew what that amounted to, we would be able to respond to the media. Apparently only one radio station based in Vera had been non committal on the arrests and therefore he would allow them the first interview.
I also again raised the case of Cuesta de los Pinos case and he said that as far as he was concerned nothing had happened. I showed him the copy of the court order given to me by one of our residents and he asked to keep it and liaise with his solicitor.They now have this document.
Finally I asked if he thought this event would assist or hinder the agreement of our plan and he said that he was unsure whether they(the Junta) would take a conciliatory attitude and progress things or go after them even harder. He did say though that he feels more confident that all the properties built in our municipality would be included in any urbanisation plan because of a) our numbers (the total population) and b) the processes they followed.
I will wait to see when we can get together to agree the best way forward for the Town Hall.
