I had married quarters in Dunfermline, it rained from the day we arrived until we left 12m later.

The last things I remember about Glasgow are:
a) the iron bars on most of the shop windows and doors
b) the sound of the locks opening after being scanned on cctv before entering the shop or petrol station
c) the sound of the locks shutting as you left.
And that was about 15years ago.

Apparently the gay population of Brighton is well in excess of 35,000 was there recently and felt like much more and was certainly not the place I remembered.

So what? it is the same in Spain except it includes many homes as well.

Well as you see I wasn't referring to the City.

In fact as far as I'm concerned one City is very much like the next.
They're all dodgy, overcrowded,soulless places and best avoided like the plague wherever possible.

Yes, but the Q is whether they exclude contact with everyone else but other gay people?

It is true that gay pubs and clubs exclude themselves from straight people, but I think this is more because of the reactions of straight people towards them. But in other aspects of life, I cant imagine gay restaurants, gay schools, gay plumbers or gay supermarkets

There is also a question of nationality, gay people are also British so have the right to live and behave how they like (within the laws)

I know we have the EU, but Spain is still Spanish. English is not an official langauge, until it is, I feel businesses in Spain should be accessible to Spanish speakers

English is an official language of the EU, you know that bunch of do gooders who keep dumping money in Spain for vanity projects such as roads, railways etc etc
Spain is in denial about English as well as most other languages except their own (very much like the English). That is a Franco hangover. But it is their right to want to keep their heritage - something being taken from the Brits.
many of the Spanish, especially to the north, have learnt that they must have it in business. But then look at all the TV adverts that are in English, the tee-shirts and sweat-shirts that are logo'd in English (or is it American)

The Brits are the biggest deniers about using the language of the country they decide to squat in. Just waving your hands around, shouting and jumping up and down isnt really the way to get on.

English is an official language of the EU, meaning it is spoken at EU conferences, not that it is official in all EU countries!

Yes marketing is an English langauge. As someone who works in marketing in the UK and Spain it is almost impossible to translate marketing jargon and phrases into Spanish.

Multi-national companies use English in their campaigns as it is cheaper and easier for them to do so, not because it reflects the country they are advertising in. Still, the vast majority of ads are in Spanish, its just the odd phrase they put in English like "I'm lovin it". T-shirt slogans come from China where the biggest market is English speaking.

On the CDS most spaniards preferred it when the ex-pats lived in ghettos. They were in urbanisations and employed spanish workers. Even in Torremolinos the spanish spoke of the "pueblo" and the rest was for foreigners. What they didn't like is when the overload started and the foreigners spilled out to all areas, opened shops and started employing other ex-pats to look after their gardens etc.

I think TBH most people moved mainly for the weather even though they babble on about the "culture". If Scotland had Spanish weather I would probably move to one of those wonderful deserted beaches

Oh and I agree with C/Man all menus should be in Spanish too...I did think it was the law in Fuengirola I would be miffed if I went into an Indian in the UK and the menu was only in Indian

Ever had the misfortune to visit Leicester ?I guess if you were 18 youd join the BNP if you lived locally

No, but I did visit Bradford when I was 18 where 70% of the population is Asian. What I am shocked about is lack of mixing/integration, not foreigners and different cultures living together, that is a good thing.

In Bradford we knocked on the neigbours door to let them know we were having a house party that night, and to say they could join us if they so wanted.

Noone answered the door, then as we walked away a woman in a hijab peered through the window hiding. Maybe they didnt answer the door because they didnt speak English or because of their religion or gender, I dont know, but it was not civilised behaviour. It made us feel bad that these people refused to speak to us.

You see my opinion is the complete opposite of the BNP. People can live where they want but they should make an effort to respect and mix with the local populations. And the local population should do the same back.

As for the Costa Del Sol, except for a few exceptions, there is basically social apartheid here which means it is not a place I want to bring up my children in.

There's little point C'man trying to do a King Canute and stop the inevitable.

English is the ever increasing dominant international language worldwide with regard to business,travel, internet and many other aspects of everyday life.
It is far more beneficial for young Spaniards to learn English than vice versa.

Of course it's respectful to learn a certain amount of the language in any country a person is visiting, but beyond that it's a question of freedom of choice and to what extent it's necessary.

As Domino mentions, English is increasingly finding its way, virtually unintentionally in many cases, into many different aspects of daily Spanish life and no doubt will continue to do so, just as is the case throughout much of Europe and the World as a whole.

Enforcing laws to make various establishments use certain languages is not serving much purpose in the long term and may well be self-defeating at the end of the day.

Maybe a time will eventually come in the distant future when the present trend will have to change or else we'll all be carted off Chinese political prisoner workcamps, but I don't see it for quite a while yet.

Absolute rubbish. British establishments in Spain dont have their menus only in English because it is an increasingly important international language

Learning English is a fashion in Spain at the moment, not much more than that. When this generation sees that their English wont actually increase their salaries like they expected then it will be phased out of the curiculum.

When my wife was 5 years old French was fashionable in Spain, indeed she went to a French private school whos selling point was that they spoke a certain number of hours a week in French. I wouldnt be surprised if the English schools are phased out in the next 10 years.

You should go and work in an average Spanish business in Madrid or Barcelona and see how much English is spoken (the answer = hardly any)

Well if English is phased out of the Spanish curiculum, Spain will be one of the few countries foolish enough to do so and will have started down the road towards being a third world country.

Imagine the Worldwide limitations and disadvantages this will cause for young Spaniards looking well beyond their own shores for a possible future.

It doesn't even bear thinking about.

Utter twaddle. Describe this average business in Madrid.

Met a man who was caring for his dying father at the hospital who told me that he was learning English because he had to as part of his job and not because he wanted to. He was finding it very difficult and saw it as a chore because he was not naturally good at languages.

There does seem to be a bit of a push going on within the Valencian Province for more staff to be able to converse in English. Also even teachers of very young children need to have English to intermediate level.

Rosemary