Newstime
Its been a funny kind of year so far what with the wettest winter for at least a decade and not just for us, many other countries including the UK have been subject to just as many weather oddities. And just when you think spring is actually on its way another cold snap appears along with howling winds. We can only hope it gets better and with Easter just around the corner lets hope its soon!
Hasta proxima .......
Stanleigh Winstone
Winstone's World
Whether we like it or not its also that time of year again when, yes, you've got it the cyclists are back! And for all us unfortunate other road users its only the start of the season so over the next few months we can look forward to dodging these road hogs who seem to think they are invincible to any sort of vehicle, their road sense or lack of it leaves a lot to be desired and their rudeness is second to none. Now I and I am sure the majority of us have nothing against cycling or cyclists for that matter but for goodness sake give us a break and start to treat other road users with a bit of respect instead of behaving like a pack of wild animals treating everything and everyone in their path with contempt.
Food Glorious Food!
Restaurant Review
Now I know this might seem a bit odd, but here's one for those of you who either live in or near Ashford in Kent or are visiting. If so then the Italian restaurant La Dolce Vita is worth a visit. It has a lovely ambiance with perfect background music, is nicely decorated throughout and there are views over the garden.....but what about the food? Whilst the menu is not overly large there is a good range of starters and main courses. Unfortunately I never quite made it to dessert but I imagine the same quality and standard would apply. Over two nights I had cause to try their soup of the day which although surprise, surprise was minestrone, I have to say it was the nicest I had tasted in a long time. On my second night I partook of the flat capped mushroom with mozzarella and finished off in the oven baked with breadcrumbs.
Before the starter black and green olives were served with balsamic in oil and freshly baked bread. The main courses did not disappoint either. On my first night I chose chicken breast stuffed with sun dried tomatoes served with spinach and "daupinoise" type potatoes finished with a sage infused creamy sauce. The second night I opted to try their spaghetti carbonara which again did not disappoint. The wine list was good although the rosé I opted for was not available however the waiter's recommendation went down extremely well. Service was reasonable and the presentation of the food was very good.
La Dolce Vita is part of the The Croft Hotel on the Canterbury Road going out of Ashford, you will find its entrance to the rear of the hotel. The hotel also caters for banquets, weddings and occasions and has a wedding licence.
Business Watch
Well here it is 2010, a year that has been awaited for the last couple by many gestorias with trepidation. This year has seen many of the promised changes being implemented and if you are unclear about anything that has happened or is different you should get clarification immediately from your advisors. For example if you are one of the brigade that gives everything to your gestor once a quarter then beware if you also have intercomunitario status as this is now documented for Hacienda monthly. And talking of IVA there have been some massive changes to this in terms of how often it is now submitted making cross checking between businesses for IVA billing much easier to track and therefore to spot any discrepancies.
The authorities are tightening their grip on the amount of taxable income which has been slipping through the net and they are not treating this lightly and in fact have invested heavily in new programs throughout the tax agency this in turn has had a mammoth effect on the additional paperwork that is now required to be submitted. In some cases where a form would have say twenty questions regarding a business or Company this could now be more than forty five. So don't underestimate the knock on effect that these changes may well have on you or your business. If in doubt.....its simple....check it out.
Soapbox
Dear Sandra, We would like to thank you for your help and advice regarding the deposit which we paid to another agent for a business we decided to buy. We are so pleased that we came to you for our NIE numbers because it was down to your sound advice that we asked the other agent to obtain certain paperwork. He then told us that there were no official bills for a supply to the business and that if we didn't go ahead with the purchase we would loose our deposit. We immediately got in touch with our lawyer and gave him all the relevant information as per your suggestion. We understand from our lawyer that the agent was not so quick to tell him we would be loosing our deposit and in fact it was returned almost immediately. I know it sounds stupid but the other agent made everything sound so simple including that it was not necessary for anyone else to be involved in the transaction; Whereas when we were queuing for the numbers you told a completely different and knowledgeable story. So thank you so much and we shall be recommending you to everyone we meet.
Sue & Mike Batley
Sun Sea & Sangria
At long last many of the resorts are starting to come to life after this long, long winter. Even buzzy Palma Nova seemed a bit weary with it all this year. Shop fronts are starting to open up again with all sorts of parafanalia coming out onto the terraces and every time the sun shines the sea seems bluer. Temperatures are starting to pick up at long last and now all we need is for the chilly wind to abate a bit. Spring flowers are sticking their heads out of the ground in the hope that the warmer weather will soon be with us and before long even though it is only March, I'm sure we're going to see someone in the sea.....whats the betting its not going to be a local.......not until at least May anyway!
Tut tut tut you naughty supermarkets! With so many web sites springing up all over the place, I don't know about you but I get fed up with what sounds like yet "another" one whose offering to tell you how much you can save...blahdy blahdy blah. However, this one might be worth while scanning from time to time lovemoney.com. According to the site "Believe it or not, recent figures suggest that over the past few years, the wholesale price of basic food essentials, such as bread and butter, has plummeted almost 50%" What's that you say "nah impossible" well take a look at this.
Apparently, supermarkets simply haven't been lowering their prices in line with declines. And in fact, prices have still been going up. And of course there's the usual ways to make you "think" you are getting good deals.....think before you drop them into your trolley. For example "size matters" You might think you'll save yourself some pennies if you buy larger packs of goods. After all, generally speaking, buying in bulk is supposed to be cheaper. But according to research from mySupermarket.co.uk, shoppers could be paying up to 46% more by opting for bigger packs. For example, an 800g jar of Hellmann's mayonnaise was found to be 33% (99p) more expensive than buying two jars of 400g mayonnaise.
Then of course there's those "special" offers.....you know the ones "buy one get one free" now I'm not denying that in many cases this does in fact slash a shopping bill; however just be sure you are capable of eating 10 kilos of peaches in the next four days before they go on the turn and you suddenly find you need Jaime Oliver to give you some ideas about what to do with them! The list of sucking the poor old customer in is a reasonably long one and don't forget the supermarkets objective is to keep you looking up and down the aisles and failing miserable to resisting temptation....it works. So if in doubt stick to your list, resist all temptations of a nice relaxing coffee before you finish shopping and be really sure you can get through three bags of prawns in one go!