Category Archives: Travel

Spain wants them back but the Brits say ‘adios’ in droves

Posted by Wendy on May 8, 2011 No comments

Ten years ago it seemed as though every British person was selling up and moving to start a new life in either France, Greece or Spain, or if they weren’t they wanted to do so. The TV channels were full of those ‘living the dream’ shows where ordinary people packed up, moved to their dream house in the sun and despite the odd hiccup here and there everything went swimmingly in the end. We all wanted a bite of the peach and many of us put everything on the line to have a go at changing our lives for the better. For some the change was one for the better – for many, many others though it was the greatest mistake of their lives and one for which they are still paying a huge price a decade on. It all looked so easy when Nigel and Nippy battled through their trials and tribulations to build a house in the French Ardeche village of  Vals-les-Bains only to win through in the end…but as we know even Nigel gave up eventually after some misadventures and came back somewhat wiser but also in debt…

For those people, many of them retirees, who bought properties in Spain the dream turned into a nightmare. Corrupt council officials, dodgy estate agents, greedy Spanish banks and unscrupulous developers have combined to create a living hell for these people. Many have had their homes repossessed and demolished years after moving in. Homes that they thought had been built and paid for completely above board suddenly became ‘illegal builds’, one by one bulldozers arrived at front doors accompanied by the local police with orders for the home-owners to vacate their homes within a matter of hours. Corrupt councils were ordering peoples homes be torn down with no compensation offered at all and the Spanish Government stood by and did absolutely nothing for these people. Only the homes of foreigners were demolished though…

As a result Britons have been deserting Spain in droves and the Spanish are now panicking due to the effects this mass exodus is having not only on local commerce but on the tourism front. The Spanish Housing Minister, Jose Blanco, is asking the Brits to return and buy property there once again promising new planning laws are in place but the British are saying ‘NO’ in resounding numbers. And why should they trust such a corrupt administration ever again…? thousands of British people lost their homes and life savings, they got no help whatsoever from the authorities, they had to return to the UK broke and broken. It is known that up to 300,000 properties owned by foreigners are up for demolition still. The Spanish are desperate because their housing market – previously so dependent on British buyers – has completely dried up in the past three years. It’s a case of ‘once bitten…’. Buying property in Spain is full of hidden horrors and one that British people are not going to be tempted into so easily again.

Sorry Senor Blanco – but it’s an ‘adios’ you will have to wear.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.

Four in a Bed: honestly, who would pay to stay in the homes of such awful people?

Posted by Wendy on December 7, 2010 No comments

Being former hoteliers ourselves I have been finding the Channel Four series ‘Four in a Bed’ morbidly fascinating viewing, even more so than the old chestnut ‘The Hotel Inspector’ which became pretty mundane after Ruth Watson stopped hosting the series. Basically Four in a Bed features a group of B&B owners who go around staying in each other’s properties and rating them to see who is the winner – best B&B – at the end of the week. Not a lot happens in the way of effusive praise or constructive criticism of course, each couple wants to outdo the others and this leaves the road open for a lot of bitching and sniping as the week and visits progress.

The establishments range from some rather nice properties to the bottom end of the scale with some places featured that you wouldn’t board your dog at. That’s par for the course though as there’s a grey area of the B&B business which does not demand you attain a star rating and pretty much allows anyone who fancies their chances to turn their home into a B&B – avoid at all costs those who boast that they ‘don’t go in for ratings or accreditations’ by the way. As far as this series goes it is not so much the properties which leave a bad taste in the mouth, but rather their odious owners who quite fancy themselves as seriously welcoming and entertaining people. They are not, they are dreadful.

One female host on the show recently sported a pair of false upper teeth which made her look as though she had partially swallowed a piano keyboard, she found fault with everything and everyone else and looked down her nose at her fellow humans in general from a lofty height with the face of a slapped arse. Another couple, the female half being the human equivalent of the Michelin Man, owned a farm B&B and she was decidedly affronted when her guests stated they did not appreciate their bed linen being liberally decorated with dog hairs…I agree, YUK. The one thing consistent in this series is the ‘unlikeability’ factor of the participants – I have not seen one couple yet who strike me as being people who like having strangers staying in their homes, a vital requirement for people running a B&B. Nasty, bitchy, fussy, pedantic and just plain irritating – I met many people just like them during our six years of running our own hotel and that those people were also English is no coincidence.

Four in a Bed…? not even one I’m afraid – I’d give all of these people a very wide berth and stay at a Travel Lodge instead.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.

Qantas second flight out of Singapore fails – time to consider sabotage…?

Posted by Wendy on November 6, 2010 No comments

After the major incident involving a Qantas Airbus 380 this week after take off from Singapore many people claimed that they would never fly on another A380 ever again – Boeing was the way to go they said. Lightning has struck twice; a second Qantas plane has had to make an emergency landing just seconds after take off from Singapore’s Changi Airport. It was a Boeing-747 so there goes that theory. Both flights had around 400 people on board so the consequences of anything other than a safe landing would have have been unimaginable.

So what’s going on with Qantas flights out of Singapore just now…?

Qantas Chief Alan Joyce claims the second incident was due to mechanical engine failure, as was the first two days ago when part of one engine exploded in mid-air. Two incidents in two days – come on mate, time to stop fooling yourself and consider the fact that these incidents could very well be down to sabotage by some maintenance personnel at Changi airport. Australians are in no way immune from terror attacks and we know this.  We have been on alert for years now and yet Qantas, with it’s excellent safety record, insists on allowing foreigners in these muslim-populated asian countries to service planes carrying a majority of Australian passengers – Australian passengers who have to turn out their pockets and have their irises photographed at airport security as if it is a criminal act to be a tourist. Alan Joyce claims that 92 per cent of maintenance on Qantas aircraft is carried out in Australia – time to consider making that 100 per cent if possible. Will there be a third incident some time soon…?

If there is I wonder what Mr Joyce will say to that, particularly if it is a plane leaving Singapore. Mr Joyce claims Qantas will have it’s grounded fleet up and running within days – but whether there will be any travellers willing to board them is another thing altogether.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.