Watching British Television Programs from Spain

As I'm sure most folk know, you need a giant 2.4 metre satellite dish to pick up BBC and ITV on the satellite digital channels. We are so far south here, the footprint barely reaches.

Then you have a choice of having a Sky Box where you have to use a UK address (for a fee a lot of companies will deal with that side of things for you) or a FreeSat box.

With FreeSat and a 2.4 metre dish, you can pick up all the free channels in Europe as well as Africa, but most people won't want that because of all the different languages involved.

Image courtesy of http://www.satandpcguy.com

Anyway, when I get my 2.4 metre dish finally set up (it's lain in my garden for nearly 2 years), I'll let you know what channels I can get.

The whole satellite thing gets complicated because there are several actual satellites you can point the dish to - Astra 1, Astra 2, Hispanisat etc and you either need a hand-held machine that can set it exactly or pay an engineer to do it for you.

Each satellite carries a limited number of TV programs and you would need a motorised dish if you wanted to be able to change satellites to watch a different TV station not carried on the satellite you are pointing at.

You can see the footprint in this photo and that square thing bottom left of picture is Spain. Relleu is in the Costa Blanca in SE Spain.

Dorothy and Peter Holidays

If all my ranting about Relleu makes you interested in coming to visit us (what are you...MAD???) , click on the link here and book a holiday with my friends Dorothy and Peter.
No really for a holiday this place is perfecto! Far from the madding crowd, almost completely without public transport (there is a daily bus to Villajoyosa), this is the ideal 'getawayfromitall' place to go.
If you enjoy Spanish food there is a wide range of excellent choices, but if you are scared to ask and/or don't understand the language, then there is the English run Lemon Tree , Cazador or Sonrisa (Dutch/English owned) to choose from.
I personally recommend the Lemon Tree, my local. Chris and Mandy are lovely. Hey Mandy if you read this, I will expect recompense later!
Only kidding.
The Lemon Tree do a karaoke Friday nights and sometimes a quiz Thursdays, and always the top sporting events, through Sky, if you are into that.
I suspect that if you are 'into that' as I said, you would choose Benidorm instead of here.
However it is nice to know that you can get away from it all, and just have a quiet drink in the evening to wind down after a long tiring day on the golf course or whatever.
Dorothy's village flat is lovely by the way. I have seen it.
Don't worry about the things I have written on my site. OK the tap water is foul, but safe. It's full of chemicals as well as natural minerals.
The electricity works most of the time.
You no longer have to put toilet paper in a receptacle instead of down the loo in the village bars, or most of the houses I suspect.
If you are coming fr0m the UK, fill your suitcase with things like T bags, coffee, Bisto, ready made sauces, Oxo, loaves of bread etc. If anyone cares to comment here I can compile a full list of the foodstuffs that are either not available here, or available at a vastly inflated price.
Spanish Bimbo bread is awful!
Barra de pan, on the other hand, what we would call a French loaf, is what the Spanish eat. It's cheap, really nice, but doesn't fit on a toaster!