October 2010

Hello again.  First off I would like to pay tribute to one of our retiring committee members, Alan Liptrot.  He is leaving the committee due to important commitments elsewhere.  He has been invaluable in recent months on the committee of SOHA.ES and in particular the planning of the Malaga demonstration.  I know that all members will join me in thanking him for their efforts.

This obviously means that above all we urgently need more new committee members to help SOHA.ES take things further. Any enthusiastic team player with computer skills and some spare team PLEASE get in contact with me at Remember, that without committed committee members SOHA.ES will not be able to function effectively.

I am pleased to announce that SOHA.ES committee members will be competing for council seats at the local elections this coming May.  Mario Blanke in Alcaucin and Philip Smalley and myself in Viñuela.  Mario will be standing under the green flag of “Los Verdes” and in Viñuela we will be standing as independent members of the Partido Andalucista list.

It has for a long time now been clear to us that the next step for SOHA.ES is to work from the inside of our local councils.  Indeed, if there are any others out there who would like to try their hand at the local elections in other villages then get in contact with us.

The local councils decide who gets a building licence and who doesn’t.  SOHA.ES wish to ensure that at least in Alcaucin and Viñuela that these decisions are made fairly, transparently and with due consideration for the local environment.

We also want to be inside the town hall to make sure that any problem relating to a member of the ex-patriot community is dealt with on a fair and speedy manner.

In next months column I will talk in more detail about our manifesto.

Your responsibility is to vote!  Until January we will be assisting expats in the registration process.  The fact that this may not be as simple as elsewhere in Europe should not deter you.  If you want help in that process contact me at and we will give you whatever assistance you need.

It is a cliché that if you don’t vote then you can’t complain.  But it is a cliché that is very true indeed.