We know that Spring has arrived in the Canary Islands when we see the first flush of flowers on the many magnificent almond trees that embrace the islands. These beautiful flowers, which begin to open after Christmas, create a magnificent and rich landscape of colour. At the end of January and the beginning of February, almond trees demonstrate their full glory, encouraging celebrations in many towns and villages. Canarians never need much of an excuse to have a party, so this spectacle of natural beauty to celebrate the beginning of a New Year, doesn’t need much encouragement.

© Barrie Mahoney 2024

To find out more about Barrie, his blogs, podcasts and books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

The usual August madness has swept across Spain with a vengeance. First of all, it was ‘refreshing’ to see that the reliable Swedish emporium of all things good and wholesome, namely Ikea, haven’t lost their sense of humour in marketing a lavatory brush given the appealing name of ‘Farage’. Sadly, Ikea has since disassociated itself from the toilet brush story and claims it is ‘fake news’, but all is not lost since they are selling a doormat under the name of ‘Borris’, which is the name of a small town in Denmark. It is a great pity about the loo brush though, since I rather like the idea of turning the name ‘Farage’ into a verb and would quite enjoy “faraging” the loo. Forgive me, but I am having an August moment, and I promise that I won’t mention the table (strong and stable) sold under the name of Theresa…

© Barrie Mahoney 2024

To find out more about Barrie, his blogs, podcasts and books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

It is of course, the poorest in society that are most affected by high electricity bills. Terms such as ‘Fuel Poverty’ or ‘Energy Poverty’ are some of the current meaningless phrases designed to make this serious issue somehow socially more acceptable. For many people, this can mean an impossible choice between keeping warm or eating. In the Canary Islands, those regarded as ‘vulnerable’, as well as large families can apply for a ‘social bonus’, which is designed to ease the cost of such bills by providing a discount. Unfortunately, as is the case with many such schemes in Spain, the system is unnecessarily complicated and bureaucratic, which many families simply do not understand, and such schemes often end up causing more harm than good.

© Barrie Mahoney 2024

To find out more about Barrie, his blogs, podcasts and books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/