Blog #SUR en inglés

El domingo 8 de marzo se celebra el Día Internacional de la Mujer de las Naciones Unidas, aunque en muchos países, incluida España, las conmemoraciones continúan mucho después de la fecha oficial. El Día de la Mujer se inauguró oficialmente en 1911, con la participación de más de un millón de personas. La ONU no se involucró hasta 1977. El lema de este año, 2026, es "Derechos. Justicia. Acción. Para TODAS las mujeres y niñas".

¿Qué está pasando? ¡Todos se jubilan! Puede que no se vayan en el avión de Peter, Paul y Mary*, ¡pero se van! Desde principios de año sabemos que Peter Jones, el fotógrafo de aves, cuelga sus binoculares; Karl Smallman, decano del fotoperiodismo y la creación de sitios web, se retira; y Paul Whitelock, el "todoterreno", baja el ritmo. Los tres se retiran.

Desde el inicio del año, el 1 de enero de 2026, se han producido cambios significativos en el código de circulación español. Los dos ajustes más importantes son: todos los ocupantes de un vehículo deben usar el cinturón de seguridad; en caso de emergencia, se eliminan los triángulos de emergencia y se incorporan las balizas V16. Sin embargo, la normativa sobre balizas se modificó a última hora.

August is the month when Spain lets its hair down, celebrating fiesta after feria after dia santo (saint's day). Where do I begin? There has been so much going on in Ronda and the Serrania this month, and there's yet more to come!

The town where I chose to live 17 years ago is hitting the news a lot lately. Hardly surprising. After four decades spent discovering Spain, it's the place Paul Whitelock decided to emigrate to. On arrival in 2008 he lived in Montejaque for three years, before he and his new second wife decided they needed more space, a garden and a pool. They moved to the outskirts of Ronda. So, why is Ronda in the news? Take a look:

Deep shock permeated the village of Montejaque, near Ronda (Malaga) (pop: 970), on Tuesday of last week when a young man from the village fell to his death on the winding road out of the village. Cayetano Postigo Hidalgo (30) was enjoying a bike ride in the vicinity of La Presa de los Caballeros on the road to Sevilla, when disappeared from sight. What had happened?

​The heavy rain and thunderstorms of the last couple of weeks, combined with a lousy infrastructure has left whole areas of the Serrania de Ronda flooded, with roads blocked by rockfalls and houses soaked, gardens waterlogged and frequent power cuts. ​Worse still, a major rockfall has blocked the main route from the Costa del Sol and the towns of San Pedro, Marbella and Estepona to the capital and main town of the Serrania, namely Ronda.

Local council mayors can earn good money these days. Previously, being mayor was a voluntary role and an honour. Whether they were effective is another matter. Surely, it’s right that the “chief executive” of a council with a budget to manage is regarded as a professional who should be paid.