However the Padrón is now becoming far more important (as foreigners in Vic found out last month, and as you will if you try to purchase an automobile here.)

Many local municipalities are “refreshing” their lists and if you do not re-register on the Padrón Municipal your data will be deleted. Roses is one such community and all you need to re-register is your passport or national ID card, and the new green card showing your NIF/NIE.

Aha, the new green card ! Not heard of it yet ? You need to go to the Registre d’Estrangers, Rajolers 7, Girona, open 0900-1400 and get a green card certifying your NIF/NIE. Note: it is the same NIF/NIE you already have, just the new card certifies it.

The lady at Crackovia Town Hall, sorry Roses Town Hall said “it is very easy to get the green card ( ! ) come back with it and we put you on the Padrón”.

I’m going to try next week………

Submitted by Robin Flood

“Strategies & Insights” is the title of the workshop to be led by Mick Parkin from Glasgow and author of “To Live” a book about events in Barcelona during The
Spanish Civil War. For more information contact Wali Hawes at frameworks@aol.es or call 972 68 73 50.

Submitted by Wali Hawes

Already faced with a rapidly ageing fanbase at home and widespread incomprehension and rejection abroad, Spanish bullfighting has suffered another major setback after the Catalan parliament voted to outlaw it completely across the region.

photo credit: Odysseus_

Read this article in The Independent

http://www.andrewgough.co.uk/girona.html

http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/17359/top-20-hospitals-in-spain-revealed

Submitted by Webmaster

Megalithic Roses – Dolmens and Menhirs. 25^th June  2009

Please note you can click on the pictures for larger versions.

For a first walk I chose somewhere local. It was a trip of four and a quarter kilometres with a long but gradual ascent to the Les Gates plain and then a short descent into a valley before another gradual climb prior to the short descent back to the start. The route is littered with megalithic monuments, both Dolmens and Menhirs.

Four members set off, Keith & Diane Hughes, Brien Martin and yours truly.

The trail began one kilometre from Roses on the road to Montjoi.

The walk started from the car park up the path on the right. It was a long but gradual ascent, flanked on the right by well tended olive groves protected by electric fences. Cattle have grazed on the Pla de Gates since Adam was a boy. Near the top was our first monument, Dolmen de Rec de la Quarentena, a cave type dolmen, easy to miss if there was no signpost.  Once on the plateau all is quiet except for the sound of cow bells, unless, of course, the Tramuntana is blowing and it certainly does blow across here.

We head west towards the Puig Rom along an old cattletrack bordered by dry stone walls. On the left of the track are the remains of a workers hut. Whether vine workers or olive workers I don’t know. From here you can see El Menhir de la Casa Cremada Il (the burnt house).

El Menhir de la Casa Cremada Il

This menhir was found lying on the ground in 1996 and was restored to its correct position on a north/south axis in 1997. It’s present position was dictated by other rocks found in the area. It stands 2.9 metres high. You can see from the photo the streak of quartz running diagonally through the rock.

Cista del Lit de Gernerala

Back on the cattletrack we continue westwards to Cista del Lit de Gernerala, a well preserved dolmen, clearly built for someone of note.

Dolmen de Cap de l’Home

At the end of our westward walk was the Dolmen de Cap de l’Home. By this time we were in the outskirts of Roses on the El Grecs urbanisation. There is just one other thing to see and that is the Catalan (modern) equivalent of the now obsolete triangulation (trig) points that are a feature of summits throughout Britain. Highly accurate GPS (global positioning system) recording has now superceded triangulation using a theodolite. The plate, called a  “senyal geodèsic” can be found on the rocky outcrop near the house at the top of the road. More information can be found at the website of the Institut Cartogràfic de Catalunya: http://www.icc.cat/web/content/ca/index.html Look at the Geodèsia tab and find the plate by its reference number (from the photograph)

Senyal Geodésic with GPS

Dolmen de la Creu d’en Cobertella

As we retraced our route we stopped to take a look at the views and realised why the houses rarely come on the market. We pass another Menhir, this time Casa Cremada I. We also pass the Casa Cremada, possibly a late medieval property, ripe for renovation!

The group were introduced to Geocaching. Keith had the GPS with the coordinates of the buried treasure and quickly found the box containing odd and generally worthless items together with a pen and logbook. Players write their name in the logbook and then also log the find on the internet.

This particular cache can be viewed
here.

Submitted by Howard & Val Staniforth

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/4950142/British-couples-living-in-Spain-illegally-overtaxed-on-properties.html

submitted by Webmaster

We may just make a tiny weeny dent in their billions by passing this on. Just so you are warned….

Ryan (we are raking it in) Air fact. My friend has just booked her newborn onto a flight. My friend and her husband were flying on one of the deals which meant that they were only paying 2.00 pounds each however, they were charged a 20.00 pound standard fee to carry the baby on board and the little mite didn’t even get a baggage allowance! Funny, I always thought that infants under two travelled free!?!

Now read below about this new, latest money making scheme Ryan Air have just come up with……So, if you buy your duty free in the airport, it may just cost you muchas, muchas more…..No such thing as a cheap flight…..D

photo credit: nafra cendrers

Dear All,

Please pass this on to everyone you know.

It seems Ryanair are now sneakily applying a new charge at the boarding gate to anyone who has purchased duty free or food, and where these items DO NOT fit inside your 1 piece of hand luggage. Before now you were obliged to have only 1 piece of luggage as you passed through security, allowing you to make your purchases of wine, cigarettes, mags, presents etc. and therefore take extra shopping bags on the flight with you. This is no longer the case and they are now prepared to delay flights in order to charge people 30€ (at the gate) with more than 1 bag.

Jane

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Suzanne Standland
Date: 2009/2/3

Here’s the detail I received from Ryanair re hand baggage restrictions at the boarding gate. Any extra bags/duty free purchases HAVE to fit into your one piece of permitted baggage, or else they’ll make you pay 30 quid/euro or deny boarding..Pass it on please to anyone you know who may be travelling & not realise !
Best regards, Suzanne

> To: suzannestandland
> Subject: Cabin Baggage Restrictions
> From: info@frsc.net

> •PLEASE NOTE THAT ONLY ONE ITEM OF CABIN BAGGAGE PER PASSENGER (excluding infants) WITH A MAXIMUM WEIGHT OF 10KG AND DIMENSIONS OF 55CM X 40CM X 20CM – http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=bag&quest=cabinbaggageallowance
>
> •IMPORTANT– YOUR HANDBAG, BRIEFCASE, LAPTOP ETC. MUST BE CARRIED WITHIN YOUR 1 PERMITTED PIECE OF CABIN BAGGAGE.
>
> •We reserve the right to cancel your reservation without refund and to deny you boarding, if you arrive at the boarding gate with more than one item of cabin baggage or if the item exceeds the maximum permitted dimensions
>
> •Cabin baggage must contain no prohibited items – http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=bag&quest=prohibiteditems
>
> If you now wish to travel with a checked bag, you can add this to your reservation up to 4 hours prior to flight departure by clicking the following link and retrieving your booking.
>
> https://www.bookryanair.com/SkySales/FRManageBooking.aspx?culture=EN-GB&pos=SBFORM
> **************************************************************************************
> Ryanair Holdings plc (Company No. 249885) / Ryanair Ltd. (Company No. 104547).
> Registered in the Republic of Ireland. With registered address Corporate Head Office, Dublin Airport, Co. Dublin, Ireland.