Had to visit the Alicante area today.

Met withsomeone we know there.Hes trying so hard to pay his mortgage.Hasnt had work for over ages and is now getting desperate.

Theres nothing in the UK for him and he says he will ride it here.He looks cold and very unhappy.

Stopped into fish and chip shop in Benidorm on the way back.Lovely it was too.
The owner was saying that he knows at least 6 businesses that have just handed their keys in within the last week and have just walked away.

He is1500+ down per week.He has been in spain for 24 years and dosent really look on the UK as a solution as he dosent feel part of it anymore.

We notice a real sadness amongst people who have been here longer than us.

They take on any job they can for a little extra money.

I hope this crisis takes a turn for the better.

Sadly it seems more and more common even as you say in old established, and up to now profitable businesses, Tough times still to come though...

We were in the small supermarket in the pueblo today and a British middle aged guy got caught trying to steal food.

The cashire said its the 3rd time they've caught him and next time they'll go to the police

Dont know if it's hard times or kleptomania

All very sad. So many little people like us getting screwed because of the actions of the rich and greedy.

Not for nothing is the term 'Merchant Banker' used in rhyming slang.

It is a sad time for many. We saw it coming for a long time when we lived in the Benidorm area but sooo many people where in denial about it and kept repeating about how it will get busyer next month, unfortunatly it never did get busyer and it seems we left the area at the right time. Even when we left the Benidorm area we bumped into tourists who siad they had decided to stay and not go back home in the belief that they could just walk into a job. This may have been true a few years ago but the last couple of years has seen Benidorm take a slow painful death.

Benidorm was very very quiet.

The cafe owner said brits are just not visiting at the mo and when they do they opt for the all inclusive option which obviously stops them spending outside of the hotel.

He also said that the spanish and germans are still visiting but they arent spending either.

So where does that leave the owners of all the brit establishments?

He said the closures of businesses there is incredible.......but new ones still keep trying but to no avail and end up closing again after a very short length of time.

He also mentioned a once very successful established spanish eating place in a very prominent position.Again not even that spanish owner could survive and closed up.

Noticed lots of closed up shops.

Yesterday Benidorm looked a bit like a ghost town.
When a recovery does take place will Benidorm ever be the same again?

I think it's highly unlikely that Benidorm will ever be the same again. There were far too many outdated bars for far too long, the crowds that used to go for that kind of thing just don't excist in those kind of numbers any more. The all inclusive holidays have been slowly destroying Benidorm for a long time and I saw many places close, change hands and close again in the time I was there.

Very sad situation.

It is normal for Benidorm to appear half dead in January, as that is when most bar owners take a break, partly because it is the quietest month of the year for business.
It normally takes a couple more month for things to begin to get going again.
However having said that there is no doubt that the situation is desperate at present.
It would be nice to think things could get back to what they were some day,but seems highly unlikely in the near future.

Every week when we do our main shopping in one of the big supermarkets, usually Mercadona, I see shoplifters in action. It’s ridiculous, they don’t care who sees them, and they are Spanish and foreigners of all ages, sexes and sizes.

A couple of weeks ago they had run out of chicken and I thought it was because of the snow, but it’s often at the chicken counters that the shoplifters operate. Last week I watched an elderly man stuff a chicken leg down his underpants, he’d taken the wrapping off. My wife was standing right next to him, but didn’t see it.

She put some chicken in our trolley, but when she wasn’t looking, I put it back.

Were you afraid it had been down the mans underpants?

Sorry on his computer again-paintermujer

oy ya cheeky monkey, off my account!

You're not to big to go over my knee young lady............

Our local supermarket tosses out the sell-by food each evening into the skip outside. There is a number of people waiting.
One rumour of (another) supermarket is that they put lejía on the perished food.

Well, they must catch some of these shoplifters, they’re so obvious, and they always buy just one item, a bottle of water.

So they’ve got the guy, what are they going to do with the chicken leg? They’ll probably let him go and keep the leg. Then what? I imagine that it will be re=wrapped and put back on the shelf.

We’re having lamb today, and the piece is too big to go in anyone’s underpants.

I read last week that Spain had 5 million less tourists in 2008 which must dent the economy in coastal areas