(Un)-employment on Lanzarote

February 26, 2008 By 1 Comment

I have a dream – a dream that one day I will be able to run my business from just one laptop, and that with that laptop I will be able to move to Lanzarote.

From there, I would sit on a balcony over looking the old harbour in Puerto del Carmen and provide remote IT support or web-design services using that very laptop.

All that before taking a dip on the pool.

OK, so that dream is still some way away, and perhaps even more so after I read that the Canary Islands have almost 150,000 unemployed.

It’s not the sort of thing that you see or even think about as a tourist.  In the bustle of the local shops and restaurants, you get the impression that everyone on the island has a job to do, sometimes even two.

On the other hand, I guess that the number of jobs on the island is limited and so moving for your dream job can mean moving away from the island and thus from your home.   Can you imagine leaving such a beautiful part of the World in search for work?

I for one, could not.  Perhaps I should remain a tourist and do my bit to reduce that unemployment figure!

Filed Under: General, Lanzarote Tagged With: , , ,

London to introduce variable Congestion Charge

February 26, 2008 By 2 Comments

After writing about the new “low-emission” zone in London, I was fascinated to read about a scheme for normal cars to make the Congestion Charge variable according to the car’s emissions.

The idea is, that the current charge of 8GBP could rise up to as much as 25GBP for vehicles that have high emission rates, but on the other hand the charge could be reduced down to nothing for low-emission cars.

I’m note sure that everyone will approve, but I’ll be keeping an eye on the new tariffs to see whether bio-ethanol cars belong to the “free” category!

Filed Under: Bio-Ethanol Tagged With: ,

A puppet on a string?

February 26, 2008 By 1 Comment

Well, maybe not quite on a string, but still a puppet nonetheless.
Yes, it’s Dustin the Turkey – Ireland’s entry to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
As a big fan of the contest, I was almost shocked to read that the puppet had won the Irish pre-selection to the contest.   After all, was it not Ireland that brought us some of the best Eurovision ballads?
When I think of Ireland in the Eurovision, two songs immediately come to mind: “Rock’n’roll Kids” (winner in 1994) and “In Your Eyes” (winner in 1993).  This was part of “my” golden age for the contest – opening up to new countries in Eastern Europe, before they became smaller and more numerous, requiring the contest in two stages.
They were also the songs that accompanied me through my student year in Germany – the first winning before I left the UK and the second winning whilst I was there.
Last year, however, I became somewhat disillusioned by what seemed to be tactical voting.  I am please to see that the EBU has tackled this problem by splitting the contest into two semi-finals and making countries that often vote for each other take place in different ones from each other.
But still, I think the charm of the evening’s entertainment has been lost by spreading it out over three instead!
I guess the contest will just keep getting bigger and bigger…

Filed Under: Cymeradwyo, Television, Western Europe Tagged With: ,

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