Postcard From Spain

More great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, brought to you as always direct from my home on the Costa Blanca, including tracks by Whitney Houston, Rose Royce, Tymes, Elvis Costello, Adam & the  Ants, The Real Thing, Archie Bell & the Drells, Harry Chapin and Hazell Dean.

In this week’s news stories, the prime minister defends his government’s cuts after the latest street protests across Spain, news of the F1 GP in Barcelona, why the king and queen will not be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and the Britons who were arrested for a bomb hoax on a flight to Tenerife.

This week’s recipe with a mediterranean flavour is for quail eggs with paprika sesame salt and further details can be found on our recipe page.

Broadcasting to you as always direct from my home on the sunny Costa Blanca this Friday, I’ll be bringing you more great music from the ’70s and ’80s, including tracks by The Drifters, Wings, Chairman of the Board, Chic, Barbra Streisand, The O’Jays, Steely Dan, Alison Moyet and ELO.

I’ll also be bringing you up to date with news and stories, including this weekend’s F1 GP in Barcelona, the threat by the Spanish government to boycott the Euro 2012 final in Kiev and I’ll be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the ending of the ‘bikini war’ in Spain.

This week’s recipe with a Mediterranean flavour, as we are entertaining some friends tomorrow to an evening of tapas, is albondigas – Spanish meatballs. Full details can be found on our recipe page.

More great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, brought to you as always direct from my home on the Costa Blanca, including tracks by Wham, Rose Royce, Nick Lowe, Quarterflash, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Mink DeVille, and Van McCoy.

Stories in the news this week include how King Juan Carlos has hobbled out of hospital again, the latest economic situation in Spain, world champion Casey Stoner wins the Spanish MotoGP in Jerez and the Europa League final in Bucharest next week will be an all-Spanish affair between Athletic Bilbao and and Atletico Madrid.

This week’s recipe with a Mediterranean flavour is for a really Spanish dish of rice with onions and cod. Full details can be found on our recipe page.

Broadcasting to you as always direct from my home on the sunny Costa Blanca, I’ll be bringing you more great music from the ’70s and ’80s, including tracks by the Kinks, Duran Duran, the Four Seasons, Steely Dan, the Police, Foreigner, Odyssey, Kylie Minogue and the Pet Shop Boys.

I’ll be bringing you news of the Spanish women who are being bussed into a village to try and slow the population drain, gossip about the relationship between King Juan Carlos and a German princess, why the Spanish government are upset with Argentina and why the Costa Blanca was getting ‘Bucks fizzical’ this week.

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More great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, brought to you as always direct from my home on the Costa Blanca, including tracks by Elton John, Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Yazoo, Lindisfarne, Pointer Sisters, David Essex, Four Tops and Diana Ross and the Supremes.

In the news this week, I’ll be reporting on UFO claims surrounding a mystery, military jet’s night-time flight, why Spanish King Juan Carlos needed a hip replacement operation last weekend, the prime minister’s waning popularity, the 87-year old nun in court over the newborn baby scandal and the government’s plans to clamp down on protests.

This week’s recipe is for lemon sponge cake, another attempt by my wife to use the glut of lemons on the tree in our garden this year. Details can be found on our recipe page.

I’m back at the normal time this week after my Good Friday special, playing you more great music from the ’70s and ’80, brought to you as always direct from my home on the Costa Blanca, including tracks by The Carpenters, Donna Summer, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Tom Jones, Sherbet, Wham and Simple Minds.

In the news stories this week, I’ll be telling you why the government  considers the Spanish health system is unsustainable, how no less than 3 Spanish football clubs are in the semi-finals of the Europa league and why Spanish land use is so different from the UK and how that affects anyone looking for property here.

This week’s recipe with a mediterranean flavour is a local dish called fricasa de pollo or hunter’s chicken – an easy to make dish to serve with rice. Full details can be found on our recipe page.

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Broadcasting to you direct from my home on the sunny Costa Blanca at the start of Easter weekend, I’ll be bringing you more great music from the ’70s and ’80s, including tracks by Men at Work, Hall and Oates, Del Amitri, Wet Wet Wet, Air Supply, Danny Wilson, the Bee Gees, Steve Winwood and the Doobie Brothers.

This week’s news stories include a report on last week’s general strike and the toughest austerity budget in Spain’s history. I’ll also be explaining how a Spanish mother has been re-united with her daughter after 44 years and how the 20-year old British girl who was born whilst her parents were on holiday in Spain has finally been officially recognised in the UK.

As the weather is turning more springlike and I heard my first cuckoo in the valley here last weekend, this week’s recipe with a Mediterranean flavour is for grilled sardines. Full details can be found here on our recipe page.

More great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, brought to you as always direct from my home on the Costa Blanca, including tracks by Dynamite, ELO, The Drifters, Sister Sledge, Womack and Womack, Cliff Richard, Neil Diamond, Chairman of the Board and The Eagles.

In this week’s news stories, I’ll be telling you about the launch of a new low-cost airline, Iberia Express, the same week as Ryanair announces a €6 surcharge on all tickets purchased in Spain. I’ll also be reporting on Fernando Alonso’s win at last Sunday’s Malaysian F1 GP and on Boris Becker’s debts on his Spanish holiday home.

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Broadcasting to you direct from my home on the sunny Costa Blanca, I’ll be bringing you more great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, including tracks by Kenny Loggins, Paul McCartney and Wings, Buggles, Shalamar, Michael Jackson, Jon Bon Jovi, Maxi Priest, Johnny Nash and the J Geils Band.

This week’s news stories include the tale of a mayor in Cádiz who borrowed €1.5 m from a lottery winner to pay the council wages and how Spain’s Catholic Church has launched a recruitment drive to attract young men into the priesthood as the nation struggles with soaring unemployment.
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More great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, brought to you as always direct from my home on the Costa Blanca, including tracks by Whitney Houston, Maria Vidal, Human League, Barry White, Bee Gees, Billy Joel, Trammps, Gloria Gaynor and Shakin’ Stevens.

In this week’s news stories, I’ll be telling you how a regional government is taking action against a railway company because high speed trains are hitting rabbits on the tracks, how you can rent a balcony on the internet to see the Holy Week processions in Malaga (should you be so inclined), Spanish unions call a General Strike in protest at the government’s latest overhaul of the country’s rigid labour laws and from 2013, the two Spanish F1 GP tracks will alternate.

This week’s recipe is for a delicious but delicate Mediterraneasn fish curry, full details of which can be found on our recipe page.

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Broadcasting to you direct from my home on the sunny Costa Blanca, I’ll be bringing you more great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, including tracks by the New Seekers, Lynard Skynard, White Plains, Jaki Graham, Boz Scaggs, Elvis Presley, Level 42 and The Proclaimers.

This week’s news stories include the tale of a Spanish village which has elected to grow marijuana as a source of revenue in the current financial crisis, why the government has ordered 50,000 cans of tear gas, I’ll be telling you about the bank customers who demonstrated against mortgage interest rates and the parents who have been arrested for grounding their daughter.

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More great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, brought to you as always direct from my home on the Costa Blanca, including tracks by Barry Manilow, Daniel O’Donnell, a great duet from Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr, Elton John, Helen Reddy, Bread, La Belle Epoque, Sade and Eddy Grant.

The news stories this week tell of the treasure that has returned to Spain after 200 years, the success of ‘The Artist’ at Spain’s Goya film awards and how financial woes are killing peoples’ sex drives.

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Broadcasting to you direct from my home on the sunny Costa Blanca, I’ll be bringing you more great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, including no less than 4 no. 1s and tracks by Johnny Nash, Rick Springfield, Odyssey, David Essex, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Genesis, The Specials, Diana Ross and Steely Dan.

In the news this week, I’ll be telling you how hundreds of thousands take to the streets in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia to demonstrate against the government’s new labour reforms, why a sculpture of former dictator Francisco Franco set inside a fridge has divided opinion in Spain and why a ‘ghost’ airport that has yet to see a single passenger through its terminal is now to have its runway dug up because it doesn’t meet safety regulations. I’ll also be exploding the myth created by the UK media that Brits are queueing up to return to the UK.

This week’s recipe with has a Moroccan flavour and is for chicken with almonds and apricots – full details of this easy-to-make dish are on our recipe page.

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More great music from the ’70s and ’80s this week, brought to you as always direct from my home on the Costa Blanca, including tracks by The Proclaimers, The Temptations, Taja Seville, Supertramp, Baccara, The Bee Gees, Labi Siffre, Cindy Lauper and Alexander O’Neal.

The news stories this week include details of the sweeping labour reforms introduced by the Spanish government to try and fight unemployment and the unions’ reactions, the judge who the establishment wants to gag has been found guilty of abuse of power and is barred for 11 years and a report shows that more Spaniards are smoking now than before the tightening of the law against smoking in public.

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Broadcasting to you as always direct from my home on the sunny Costa Blanca, I’ll be bringing you more of the greatest music of the ’70s and ’80s this week, including tracks by Soft Cell, Billy Ocean, Wet Wet Wet, Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King, Chi-Lites, Tina Turner, Barry White The Proclaimers and Phil Collins.

In this week’s news stories, at least two British pensioners have been killed and a further eight admitted to hospital after an outbreak of Legionnaires disease at a hotel in Calpe, the relatives of victims of the Franco era relive their horror and hoteliers and bar owners in Benidorm want ‘Las Vegas rules’ for smokers.

This week’s recipe with a Mediterranean flavour is for paprika-glazed sausages and full details can be found on our recipe page.