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Meet Jennifer and John Massey of
www.algorfa.co.uk. They met with David SMdS
at the suggestion of Louise Clarke of Round Town News on Friday 9th November 2007
in SMdS.
'Different pueblos?' we hear you say... but the
same sort of people with many things in common. |
After a second leg match in Algorfa we
agreed we would form an alliance, 'Una Colabora Junta - Websites & Communities of LA VEGA BAJA' so that we could work
together for the benefit of the wider picture - the
villages of the VEGA BAJA DEL SEGURA.
Louise Clarke published her Round Town News Article
on 30 November 2007 and so we are taking it from there.
click here to find out more |
photo - Louise Clarke, Round Town News
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Urbanization Sol Golf want to be a
part of the wider community |
Hello and welcome to the website of Sol Golf 1 phases 1 and 2. part of Urbanization Villamartin, Orihuela Costa, 03189
Denise Brown, La Presidenta of The Comunidad de Propietarios Urb. Sol Golf I y II, emailed this month to say that she had been browsing the San Miguel website and had found details of The WebRing and thought it was a great idea to join forces with other Communities in the area.
“We are a small community of 99 apartments and two villas near the Villamartin Plaza, just across the canal, and I have run a website for the past two years providing all the information for owners. Many are not resident in Spain but come from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Belgium and Iceland,” said Denise.
“It’s really a blog type website as this was all I could find without incurring charges for the Urbanization. But it is easy to update with all our community information and owners say they are finding the site very informative.”
Included on her website is all the information that residents need to know about Sol Golf I y II, its current officials, its aims, its goals, the official notices, together with all the news of ‘the comings and goings’, as and when they happen, all designed to encourage community awareness. Details of all those important social events for the community also encourage owners to get involved in what after all, Denise says, “IS YOUR URBANIZATION”. |
| Denise says there is only
so much that she can write about and she believes that
joining with other groups would be of benefit. Well we
reckon, blog or not, The Sol Golf website is a pretty
good model; Denise has just set up a forum too, which is
already getting some positive response. As we have said
to Denise, we all provide information in a different
way… but the main thing is that we actually provide it
and without the efforts of people like Denise
communities would not really function. If you are
interested in taking a look at Denise’s Sol Golf website
it can be found at
http://solgolf.blogspot.com | the new
forum
http://solgolf.myfunforum.org | or you can email
Denise Brown at
janddservices@msn.com |
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www.algorfa.co.uk |
| In the first of our
articles we feature John & Jennifer Massey,
residents of ALGORFA, who started a website
because there was a need for information... I
think I've heard that somewhere else! it's
an interesting read, if only because it describes
noble intentions and the same problems that extranjeros have in every community - it could
be San Miguel de Salinas. |
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John and Jennifer Massey purchased their home in Montemar, Algorfa, during 2000, and have permanently lived in Algorfa since November 2002. They have seen many changes to Algorfa from the time they first viewed the ‘several pegs’ stuck in the ground, which were to become their home.
John and Jennifer have worked for several years in Saudi Arabia, living the very extreme form of expat life. The Saudi expat life is a world of difference from the gentler and much more comfortable Spanish expat lifestyle.
Through the experience of living in such a ‘non democratic’ country as Saudi Arabia, both John and Jennifer are left with a strong sense of abhorrence for injustice that is meted out in the world. |
| Democracy is a wonderful principle to live by. Although presently in Spain, and mainly through a language barrier that exists on the Costas, John and Jennifer feel that democracy is not what expat residents are getting! Expats don’t understand the decrees or the procedures that local government can impinge on our lives. Expats always assume the same protections are in place that are commonplace in their own country. In the same vein and looking from a Spanish perspective, expats need to know how some of their actions can insult their Spanish neighbours, i.e. walking down the middle of the road during a religious procession. Expats need vital information to help the integration process.
For this reason, and being frustrated with having no information or even worse having false information relating to Algorfa, John and Jennifer constructed
www.algorfa.co.uk to help integrate and inform the non-Spanish speakers of Algorfa. The website has grow from what was a green and insular site into a more dynamic and lively website. We must state here that the site is non-commercial, non-political, non-egotistical and is completely funded by John and Jennifer.
Jennifer, John & David meeting in Algorfa |
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From the outset of creating their website, John and Jennifer have been open with Ayuntamiento in Algorfa about what their website is trying to achieve, and in the past their website has been freely offered to the Ayuntamiento as a communications medium. John and Jennifer approached the Ayuntamiento through all the correct channels, asking if they could distribute any pertinent information from the Ayuntamiento, to the non-Spanish speakers of Algorfa. Many of you reading this will not be surprised to know this offer was rejected.
The situation was worse than just being ‘rejected’, John and Jennifer feel there has been a vendetta from a certain PP counsellor from the Ayuntamiento against www.algorfa.co.uk. The question must be asked, “What is the Ayuntamiento worried about?” We can only answer saying that maybe, it is the fact that expats could be getting ‘Organised’! |
| During the run up to the local elections, www.algorfa.co.uk was asked to publish ‘political’ information from a ‘then PP perspective candidate’, for distribute on the website! It really beggars belief that after the election, the Ayuntamiento felt the website was no longer suitable as a distribution medium for the newly elected PP Council of Algorfa Ayuntamiento!
This has not deterred John and Jennifer with their mission. They feel very strongly that expats should be reliably and factually informed. For matters that affect all Algorfa property owners, John and Jennifer feel the Ayuntamiento should consult everyone, whether they are English or Spanish speaking and that all Ayuntamientos should adopt an ‘open book’ policy. |
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Perhaps some might consider that John and Jennifer are ‘Whinging Brits,’ that they should go back to where they came from or just sit around the pool enjoying the good life! John and Jennifer credits Algorfa Ayuntamiento with much more professionalism than that. Expats must trust and allow the Ayuntamiento to exercise their responsibilities and commitments to all European Union Citizens.
John and Jennifer love Algorfa and consider they are very lucky to have found a home in such a beautiful part of Spain and with such wonderful Spanish people. But like most other expats, they feel and suffer the frustration of dealing with the bureaucratic nuances of living in Spain. They are not alone in this respect, but they are determined to bring about changes for the better in the way non- Spanish Citizens of Algorfa regard their
Ayuntamiento. |
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Life is one adventure after another… the story of www.san-miguel-de-salinas.com
by David Hardy
…that is how I treat life and when my wife Celia and I bought a villa in San Miguel de Salinas in 2001, it was ‘off plan’ and on a whim. Nevertheless, a nice little place and having made the move ‘lock stock and barrel’ we soon discovered that the glossy brochures missed out almost everything. It occurred to me that the best way to get the most out of life in Spain was to find out more about it. With an ancient degree in hotel keeping & catering followed by a career in investigative public service, then the proprietor of a small hotel, then a director of The Newquay Tourist Information Centre, it all seemed to fall into place – do a website. |
| Most people have an insatiable appetite for information – not so the Spanish; it comes with their modern history of repression and silence. There were 2892 Spaniards living in SMdS at the last count – that hasn’t changed for many years. Information comes by way of word of mouth whilst buying bread or playing dominoes. And in SMdS, they also have Madri, the pueblo’s trusted groundsman, who travels around the ‘casco’ on his official moped sellotaping bits of paper to walls in strategic places, paper collected from his masters at The Town Hall. And, at the given moment, he pops into his hut and gets out half a dozen rockets to launch and herald the next event. The Spanish never leave home until they hear the bangs. As with almost all the foreigners, or Chanes at they call us locally, the whole thing was, and remains, a bit of a mystery – and it wasn’t enough for me!
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| It started as a hobby, building www.san-miguel-de-salinas.com. Find out about the pueblo, its streets, its businesses, its events, its culture – well everything really. A friend, John at www.cornwall.net, designed a simple template that was specifically easy to update, all I had to do was to fill it; I have never seen the need to change the format. After 5 years its ‘hobby status’ has been lost in a website, which I keep filling. It now has about 500+ pages, 3000 images, a database of every business, daily updates and publication of official documents from the Town Hall and anything you can think of – if it’s not there, but asked for, it goes on! The number of visitors and hits is quite irrelevant unless it is a marketing platform, but, by virtue of its content, it always appears first on the search engines and my million+ hit rate per annum continues to amaze me. What it really means is simply that many people seek information about SMdS on the internet. |
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I actually have ‘un apodo’ – I am Hardy. There’s loads of Davids but only one Hardy, and this is quite an honour for a Chane. I stride around the pueblo gathering information and, as I always wear a hat, it has been quite easy to make a mark. Plus, as a fairly outgoing person with a need to communicate, is has been very easy to immerse myself in pueblo life. But, how do you explain to a Spaniard that we have a need for information and how do you explain to someone who has never heard of the internet what you do with it? In any event, I am now thought of as a highly intelligent foreigner and, latterly, a person of power – information is power. A questionable attribute and whether true or not, I am still an outsider.
As an aside, I am only too aware that websites and the
internet are only one source of information, so I
broadened my media empire with The New Angel, a monthly
free magazine – the locals collect them, especially if
their photo is included. |
| At the
invitation of The Town Hall, I also have programmes in
English on municipal Radio San Miguel 107.4 fm Global;
we are global because our 6 hours of programmes carry
news from the pueblo to far-flung places all over the
world via my website. |
| It is a fortunate thing for the Spanish people of SMdS that I am not a carpetbagger. I have been very gratuitous in the promotion of all things Spanish. When I embarked on the project I gave equal prominence to my English and Spanish pages but I have become lazy with the Spanish because stats tell me they are rarely viewed and it is a time issue. Besides being gratuitous, I have treasured being independence. I am not funded by anyone and this gives me freedom. Good conduct and impartial reporting has enabled me to have a special relationship with the administration of SMdS. Whilst I have always been non-political, I like to consider myself as socially aware and a great believer in ‘multi-cultural coexistence’.
When it comes to being non-political, the longer you live in
Spain the increasingly frustrated you become at
remaining so. Many issues arise that expose Spain’s
immature democracy and apparent administrative
ineptitude. In fact, I would argue that in the pueblos
democracy is just a word – they are ruled by
Politician’s and hidden faces bent on self interest,
they have smiling faces, open doors and listening ears
but do not comprehend the effects of the new invader.
Neither do they know how to deal with the foreigners. |
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| I hope you’ll find it an interesting observation in that the greatest influx of residents in all these pueblos have now been here about the same length of time that I have and they are beginning to see through the shallowness of local government. |
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For myself, I have always promulgated the philosophy of working together. I would never vote for a foreigners’ party but I want to know why, with so many foreigners living in our municipalities, there are none working in Town Halls bring their skills to the table. I will continue working impartially with whichever administration is in power in the hope that we can improve life in Spain for everyone. Working together is the only way this community, or any other, can achieve harmony. And, as for www.san-miguel-de-salinas.com if it can go somewhere towards providing information to the community it has succeeded. But be warned budding community website builders – they become monsters and consume more and more time to provide the information people need.
My images include The Old Town Hall in 1960, newly
opened as The Tourist Information Cenre & Foreigners
Office; La Plaza de la Libertad - The Church Square; Bar
Borrascas - my office; and the in last, which
illustrates what a community is actually about, I am pictured with Corrina - Joaquín Martínez Albaladejo and Lito - Angel Lloris
- both true Sanmigueleros + Carol Matthews - The Barber from
Quesada (they all have 'apodos' too!). We all live in
SMdS, we all make a contribution - we all care about the
community. |
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About Colabora Junta - Websites & Communities of LA VEGA BAJA
DEL SEGURA...
The Colabora Junta of Websites and Communities of La Vega Baja de Segura was born after a 'meeting of minds' between
David Hardy of www.san-miguel-de-salinas.com and
Jennifer Massey of
www.algorfa.co.uk.
They are people that share the same philosophy. Both their websites
were
primarily constructed and designed to provide
information and help English speaking residents and
their website visitors integrate into the Spanish way of life
by providing information about the culture, its
citizens, customs and laws in their particular pueblos.
Jennifer and David are both dedicated to encouraging
individual
contribution to the way of life here in the villages of
the Vega Baja.
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| They both endeavour to inform expats who live in their respective towns of forthcoming events as well as guiding them through any traumas that they may be experiencing. They promote and introduce Spanish businesses to English speakers and vice versa, as well as broadcast local news.
The Colabora Junta of Websites and Communities hope to attract other website authors from all over the Vega Baja
del Segura to join them and form a coalition of websites that can help, support
and acknowledge each other, gain information and hints from each other and therefore help their readers even more than they do already.
It is also a fact that every area, every pueblo, has the
same issues and by working together we may all benefit
to create a better future. A Web Ring is also a way of
promoting good sources of local information.
If you have or know of a website that would benefit and could contribute to The Colabora Junta, please
email either websites giving your name and website details
Strength is achieved by working together -
Strength is in numbers - If you share these ideals why
not join the team! |
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