Now I feel Christmassy at last! On the TV behind me the children from the Colegio de San Ildefonso Naomí Sánchez y Bryan Lafebreare are singing the winning numbers and prize amounts for this year’s Christmas ‘El Gordo’ lottery. Forget all the other celebrations in Spain this Christmas, this is the big one. There are hundreds of prizes to be picked throughout the morning, but the biggest prize of all, the ‘Gordo’ (3,000,000 Euros), has already been picked, at 9.50 a.m. - see my youtube video below:

(Direct youtube video link)

Each ticket is divided into participations which may be sold in different parts of Spain, and it seems that this year there are ‘Gordo’ ticket winners in Vitoria, Alicante, Benidorm, Onil (Alicante), Fuenlabrada (Madrid), Santiponce (Sevilla), Almazán (Soria) and Valencia - with the lion’s share going to Soria.

Discuss the lottery in this forum post
Our Notes in Spanish podcast on the lottery can be found here.

 
The sound in this video is coming from the bizarre dustbin lid/UFO-shaped instrument in the guy’s lap. Have you ever seen something like this before? Does anyone know what this mesmerising instrument is called?

(Direct video link)

Marina and I went down to Madrid’s Rastro Market this morning to record a podcast. While I get round to editing that, here is a random video taster to whet the appetite!
 

The experiments in celluloid continue (aka Ben goes for a wander with his Canon Ixus!) Flamenco on a sunny afternoon in Madrid’s Retiro park… Forgive the wind at the beginning and dig those passer’s by! Direct video link
 

You might want to turn the sound down before hitting play…

Well all great directors have to start somewhere… here’s a bit of video to go with the podcast of Ourense Market. Interesting, or a crime against bandwidth? Let me know! (Direct Youtube Link)

This lady was recently sacked from new TV channel La Sexta, for being blatantly drunk on the job…

(Direct youtube link)
See also: Spanish article in El Correo Gallego

Princess Leti does a Marilyn, somthing you just can’t get away with on Spanish TV! (Direct link)

Franco bilingual, who’d have thought it? Prizes for anyone who can actually work out what he’s talking about…

The latest tactic to avoid deaths on the roads this Easter is direct, to say the least. A TV ad. shows an operator in a cubicle phoning random numbers and asking the person on the other end if they are planning to use the car this Easter. ‘And do you think you are going to die on the road?’ she goes on to ask…

105 people did die in 88 accidents over the same period last year, and with over 15 million journeys expected over the next 10 days, the government isn’t optimistic.

So is it safe to drive on the roads in Spain? The answer is yes, but if you are of a nervous disposition, try to avoid night driving, bank holidays and weekends… better still, take the train.

OK, So this is almost ‘off-topic’, but the commentary is in Spanish:

Watch this absolutely quality video clip here.

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