Official EOS Blog

We have had several requests from members about creating a facility for members to be able to send a message to ALL of the owners in a community.

Many owners never post on their community forum and some communities have hundreds of members.  At the moment you can only send a private message to one member at a time.  A "community" message facility would enable a communication to be sent to all of the owners on a specific community in one go.

We would like to implement this feature but we have several reservations, especially when it comes to spamming.

Therefore, we would like to hear from you how  you think we should implement this.  Here are some points to consider:

• Should just one person have the facility to send out a group communication, or could it be several?
• Who should that person/s be?  President perhaps?  Or allow other owners to vote for a "Community Admin" on EOS.
• Allow members to opt out of receiving community messages.
• Should these messages also be displayed in a public area, or kept private somehow?  Or not show them at all?
• Member email addresses will be kept private, as they are now, with not even admins being able to see them.  They can just have the ability to contact all owners through the site.

What do you think?  Would you like to see this feature and how should we handle it?  Obviously spam and member privacy is our main concern.

Please leave a comment with your opinion as if we build this facility we'd like it to be what you want it to be.

Message from the ADANA dog's charity in Spain:

"We are holding a Paella Party at 1.30pm in Plaza Manilva, Estepona (outside Longman’s bookshop) on Friday, 13th August. Superstitious ones amongst us please note that Tuesday, 13th is considered the unlucky date here in Spain. Conchi will be making the paella again with salad, wine and ice cream with chocolate sauce included. Tickets are € 10 from the bookshop, for more information please call 952 80 0975."

This charity NEEDS your support so please come along.

Don't miss the feel-good family night of the year! - The Summer Spectacular Concert with Björn Again's ABBA Show, Ruth Lorenzo (X Factor), Becky Tate & guests on 18th August in the Marbella Bullring...

Tickets start at just €20 for kids and €30 for adults - get yours from....

1. The El Corte Ingles stores... or

2. The Fnac store in La Canada shopping centre

3. www.ticketmaster.es -

You can get all the information you need about tickets, venue location, times and outlets by clicking

or by calling 676 289 968

August is fiesta time with a vengeance in Jumilla. Not only do we celebrate the Fiesta of Nuestra Señora Virgen de la Asunción (the patroness of Jumilla) but we also have the National Folklore Festival, Moors and Christians and finally the renowned Fiesta de la Vendimia, which involves a lot of wine! A few of the main events are highlighted below.

Moros y Cristianos

Saturday 7th August

20.30 La Noche de las Antorchas. Torchlight procession up to the Castillo, followed by a concert in the Patio de Armas : Musici Mundi ( Jésus Parra). Entry is free until the patio is full. There is a free bus from the parking area outside the gates up to the castle. A small bar is available inside the castle: 5€ a bottle of wine.

Saturday 14th August

22.00 Entrance of the Christians. Procession from Arco de San Roque along Calle Canovas del Castillo to Jardín del Rollo.

Monday 16th August

22.00 Entrance of the Moors. Procession route as above.

Tuesday 17th August

22.15 Representation of the Moros and Cristianos embassies: a great spectacle ending with fireworks.

29th National Folklore Festival
What makes the National Folklore Festival so special is that various folk groups perform in the different barrios of Jumilla as well as in the Jardín de la Glorieta, where the opening and closing ceremonies take place. This year there will be groups from Asturias, Ciudad Real, Tarragona, Cádiz and Palencia as well as groups closer to home.

The Festival starts at 13.00 on 13th August, with performances taking place in all the barrios, and there will also be folk dancing in the barrios at the same time on Saturday and Sunday.

The opening session in the Jardín de la Glorieta will be at 22.00 on Friday 13thAugust, there will be a Folk Evening there at 24.00 on Saturday night and the closing ceremony will be held at 22.30 on Sunday evening, following the procession of the participating groups from Plaza de la Arriba to the Jardín de la Glorieta. We are looking forward to watching the colourful displays of dancing as well as listening to the lively music.

Fiestas Patronales 2010

Sunday 8th August

20.00 Offering of flowers to the Virgen de la Asunción. Procession from the Jardín del Rollo (by the tourist office) to the Church of Santiago via Calle Canovas del Castillo. Moors and Christians will also be taking part.

Sunday 15th August

20.00 Solemn Procession of the Virgen de la Asunción from the Church of Santiago via Calle Castelar, Calle Canovas del Castillo, Plaza de la Glorieta, Calle Calvario and back to the Church of Santiago, with Moors and Christians also participating.

39th Fiesta de la Vendimia

This year the Fiesta de la Vendimia will be taking place from Thursday 12th August to Saturday 22nd August.

Thursday 12th August

10.30 Guided walk of Jumilla in English. Meeting at the Tourist Office at 10.15. The walk is free, however if you want the optional tour of the bodega and wine-tasting there will be a charge of 5€ and this must be booked by Tuesday 10th August. Please email suemcginlay@googlemail.com to reserve your places.

22.00 Gran Fiesta de Exaltación del Vino. Salones Pio XII.

Friday 13th August

20.30 Inauguration of the Fountain of Wine in Jardín de la Glorieta.
21.30 Inauguration of the Stand of D.O. Jumilla, also at the Jardín.

Saturday 14th August

12.00 Miniferia del Vino Although it is called a Miniferia, last time there were lots of different bodegas there and all we paid for was our glass!

18.00 Concurso de Lanzamiento de Uva Monastrell. Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola. One of the many quirky competitions of the Vendimia: this consists of seeing who can spit their grape the farthest. Last year we witnessed a world record!

Sunday 15th August

18.00 Campeonata de Pisadores de Uva. Grape-treading Championship. Jardín del Rey Don Pedro..

Tuesday 17th August

20.30 Children´s Procession from Plaza del Rollo to the Mercado via Calle Canovas and Avenida Levante.

Wednesday 18th August

21.00 Offering of the grapes and first must to the Niño de las Uvas.

Thursday 19th August

11.00 Exhibition of floats taking part in the Cabalgata. Paseo Poeta Lorenzo Guardiola.
20.30 Cabalgata Tradicional. The traditional procession leaves from Plaza del Rollo, going through the streets of Jumilla: we like this one as they hand out samples of wine!

Friday 20th August

12.00 Parade of horses and carriages.

Saturday 21st August

19.00 Gran Cabalgata del Vino. This is the infamous procession, where you get soaked in red wine if you get too close to the floats (wear old clothes!), and everybody has a good time.

As some of the above events start fairly late, you may want to book a room at one of the two reasonably priced hotels in Jumilla – Hotel Pio XII or Hotel Monreal – but check for availability sooner rather than later!

English language book swap

Sue and John Walker have started a monthly book swap in Jumilla. The next event will be on Tuesday 7th September, between 11 and 12, and will be held in La Casa, which is a bar and restaurant on Avenida Reyes Católicos (next to the Centro de Salud). If the weather is good, they plan to hold the swap in the summer terrace, which is at the back of the restaurant.

The idea is to bring along any books that you have read and swap them for other books, plus of course have a chat over a cup of coffee or perhaps something cooler! Tuesday is also market day in Jumilla, so you can look for some bargains either before or after the book swap.

The book swap is held on the first Tuesday of every month at the same time and in the same venue. If you require any further information, please contact Sue by email: suemcginlay@googlemail.com.

For more information about life in Jumilla, see Sue’s blog at www.spainuncovered.com