Brilliant!
Something we can all aspire to as we age and make the move from the grain to the grape.
Full-bodied, yet slate-dry humour, from Casa de Lester.
The tourism chief of Andalucia's Jerez de la Frontera has decided he's had enough of riotous Brits who invade the town and "do nothing but drink", the Sun reports. Juan Manuel García Bermúdez declared: "We don't want the English who come over on cheap flights and do nothing apart from drink all day long. We only want tourism …
Juan Manuel García Bermúdez declared: "We don't want the English who come over on cheap flights and do nothing apart from drink all day long. We only want tourism that will enrich the area."
And he gets slapped down by some local tourist establishments. Nice. He sounds like a smart guy to me. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that cheap flights = crummy tourists who cheapen and wreck a destination over time. And the hoteliers who have their panties in a bunch over Mr. Bermudez' comments should consider: they could start charging more for fewer tourists (in time of course) if they would work together to enrich the local offering.
Or they can keep churning out the mass-tourist drunken fool brit-touron fare that they apparently currently deliver.
Shannonn, the irony is hardly any larger louts come to Jerez. There isn't even a problem. This is not Lanzagrotty or Shagaluf. My totally unscientific research (done while enjoying a coffee in the main square) is that most Brits who come to Jerez are either 50-something couples or young families. The place is virtually dead by 11pm. The only drink problem we have is with the local kids who gather in their thousands at macrobotellones on the outskirts of town and get completely plastered and trash the place. Double irony is Mr Bermudez has, through the "Ruta del Vino y Brandy", spent a lot of effort (and my taxes) promoting the very bars these low-class "english" apparently hang out in all weekend...
Sounds similar to a situation across the pond.
Cheap low-fi summer college kid/Canadian destination town Myrtle Beach hosts a Harley biker week that lasts 10 days (a week is longer on a Harley it seems) each Spring. Smoke-outs, drunken accidents, deaths, puking/pissing/sleeping in front yards, traffic, total disdain for the civilized -- you get the picture.
So the town enacted a helmet law. Most of the Harley riders did not show up after that. I for the death of me would not want to go to Myrtle Beach, but the locals were very happy to not have the Harley rabble ruin their beach-side town for 2 weeks.
Of course, some business owners didn't like the helmet law keeping the Harley riders' money out of town.
Retched place tho IMHO.
Just got up Saturday morning with a cup of tea and read of the reg and now im depressed..
Im 45
5 years away from SAGA
remember agadoo
and the birdy song - all versions
went on 18-30 once - benidorm
still married to the girl i met from the above holiday
need to but a valentines card + flowers
I think im going back to bed
I agree with the man. Someone once said that no-one is a worse representative of their country than a tourist. That applies to Brits more than most, I'm afraid - all too often we're an embarrassment abroad.
On holiday abroad these days, I either book places with little Brit presence, or at the very least stay away from large populations of Brits while I'm on holiday. Including the wrinkly brigade, who seem to do little else but complain, shout (rather than simply learn 'please' and 'thank you' in the host language) and relentlessly pursue duty-free alcohol. Not all, of course - but enough to make Sr Bermúdez's generalisation a fair one.
I go abroad to experience different people, customs and food, NOT for booze, chips-with-everything and an automatic assumption that Johnny Foreigner should learn English if he wants my cash.
The whole world isn't Disneyland, and foreign residents - unless they're actually employed in that role - aren't put on this earth purely for our entertainment. Politeness and a willingness to learn cost nothing but a little effort and reap huge rewards.
Sr Bermúdez - you've just put Jerez de la Frontera back on my list of possible destinations...
The Spanish discovered long ago that our politicians are a bunch of retarded monkeys on crack. Unfortunately, the country seem unable to produce a better crop. These guys seem embarked in an enthusiastic and very successful Search For Total Stupidity. Everybody knows it and everybody hates them.
For me, the only bright side of these creepy guys is the benefic influence they have on my cosmopolitan nature. I feel really out of scene when I turn on the TV.. [sight!) But Berlusconi doesn't look much better. Mr. Brown is just a little bit less striking. And what do you think of Napoleon Sarkozy?
Yes, Spain is a depressed country right now. But the whole Europe looks like a crazy and decrepit lady fantasizing about her beauty in front of a mirror, The future belongs elsewhere.
> Unfortunately for Spain the Spaniards have not discovered yet that 99% of the Spanish politicians are a bunch of illierate rednecks, and they keep voting them.
Mmmm, I'am afraid we discovered that long ago. A lot of us usually kept voting the less harmful options, but unfortunately this has not been enough to prevent Mr. Bean from enlightening our lives.