As I type this blog I am at my brothers house in Spain. Sadly I am not here on holiday but that’s another story.

I used to live in Spain, it is a very sentimental place for me. For starters all my brothers live here as do my mum and dad. I met Claire here and we  got married in Gibraltar. We had our wedding reception in my brothers garden and had the most amazing honeymoon in Toledo, my favourite place in the whole world. I have countless friends here too.

All countries do things differently, and if the UK could pick and choose some of the things other countries do well we would be in much better shape. Don’t get me wrong, the Spanish really do do some things arse about face but then don’t all counties? The UK no exception.

Here are just some observations I have made over the last couple of weeks:

I have noticed their free municipal leisure facilities are far superior to ours. The other day my brother and I took my nephew to a skate park in Fuengirola that knocks the socks off anything I have seen in our leafy borough or any other borough for that matter. That said it must have cost an absolute fortune.

Also while here I have had close exposure to the Spanish Health Care System. As a health care professional for the NHS I guess it is only natural that I make some observations. In the UK we will treat anyone in our hospitals, no questions asked. In Spain only people who make social security contributions will be treated. So if you have just arrived in Spain and take ill, have no insurance and have never paid income tax/social security contributions, you are in a whole lot of trouble because they will not treat you even if your illness is life threatening. While I don’t agree with this policy, I can see how it would save the Spanish government fortunes.

A couple of days ago, my brother received a letter from the local Munciple authority to inform him that €300 had been embargoed from his bank account. No explanation as to why just that it related to a matter from several years ago. When he looked into this further it transpired he had been caught speeding just at a time when he was moving house and somehow the original notification letter had either got lost or was overlooked. So the local authority have the power to simply take the fine plus non payment penalties directly from your bank account without your permission. I wonder how much per year in the  UK could be accounted for non payment of fines and that could be collected this way.

A friend of mine the other day was pulled over by the police for using his mobile phone while driving. He was using a bluetooth hands free device at the time but in Spain it is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving even with a hands free device. He had to pay an on the spot fine of €300 or pay €600 if he could not pay there and then. Either way he also got 3 penalty points on his licence. He payed on the spot.

I am told in Spain they also have a zero tolerance policy on drink driving. If even the slightest amount of alcohol is detected from a breath test you loose your licence and receive a huge fine. If you are caught driving after a ban, you go straight to jail. The Spanish jails make the UK ones look like hotels.

When it comes to many things in the UK I think we are probably viewed as a soft touch and seeing how things are done in Spain the last couple of weeks I can see why.

Despite this, Surrey Heath is home and cant wait to get back to the community I love.