News from Andalucia:

Andalucia Life Editorial, August 2008

Nobody needs to be told that this summer trade is proving even harder to attract in all sectors of the service and retail industries. However, if you wander around the shops, bars and restaurants you will notice that some places are doing as well as ever. Why is that? The answer is simple. People are voting with their feet and the places they spend their carefully accumulated money are those places that provide good value and a quality product or service. This applies to everything from meals in restaurants to Jacuzzis, from vehicle maintenance to accountants. Does your business make the grade?

On the same subject. Did you know that small businesses, run by people of any nationality, can avail themselves of assistance from La Unidad Territorial de Empleo, Desarrollo Local y Tecnológico (UTEDLT). The assistance can be advice, help with employing people or financial. We contacted UTEDLT with a request: “Times are becoming hard for small businesses, can you provide us with the information those businesses need to approach you for help”? They provided us with that information, Chris Olsen at the Foreign Residents Department kindly translated it for us; just one of the services he provides, and we have reproduced it in this magazine. Our intention is to become more specific each month so that you can find the right help for your business.

Many businesses actively work to present this area in the best light to attract visitors and residents but none until now have managed to bring Manilva to the attention of the International media, well not in a way that portrays the best the area has to offer. Manilva Leisure has upped the stakes and, for a weekend at least, Manilva will be International News. It is up to every other business in the area to make sure the stakes are not lowered. The International Beach Football Festival will bring people to Manilva and Sabinillas long after the final whistle.

My politics were once described as somewhere to the left of those of Genghis Khan. I have to admit I do not agree with the parole system, I believe prisoners should serve their full sentence and more if they misbehave. I do not agree with the nanny state, of course you can fail as opposed to not achieve and some of our current politicians would certainly have benefited from a clip round the ear now and again during their formative years. I do however draw the line at handing a Brit over to a state leader who is then likely to eat his brains and testicles, no matter what he has done. Although, if it ever happened, it would make great copy. Sir Mark Thatcher has been advised not to visit Equatorial Guinea for a holiday from his home in Benahavis.