15 Dec, 2009 @ 12:53
1 min read

Spain grinds to a halt

ROADS and railways have been brought to a standstill across Spain with the sudden onslaught of Arctic weather.

Plummeting temperatures – in some cases dropping to ten degrees below zero – in Castilla-la Mancha and Aragon caused nation-wide chaos.

Although commuters were asked to leave their cars at home, traffic jams still stretched back for kilometres on some of the country’s principal motorways.

However, trains were also seriously affected, with the Madrid-Levante service being hit with a four-hour delay.

Some 23,000 children were told to stay at home as 63 schools were closed down in the Valencia area with Alicante province being particularly affected.

The weather even stretched south to Andalucia causing widespread disruption with many waking up to a thick covering of frost.

Several seasonal events have been cancelled, including the Coin Master Auction – due to be held in Marbella on December 16 – 19 – forced to be cancelled and rearranged for December 28.

Organiser John White was left bemoaning the bad timing of the unexpected cold snap.

White explained: “It’s caused mayhem, it was originally scheduled for December 16 but now the event has been put back to December 28.

“I just don’t think people would have been prepared to negotiate the treacherous conditions to come down here.”

Meanwhile, further snowfall has been forecast for the Balearic Islands.

Click here to read more News from The Olive Press.

Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)

Jon Clarke is a Londoner who worked at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday as an investigative journalist before moving to Spain in 2003 where he helped set up the Olive Press.

After studying Geography at Manchester University he fell in love with Spain during a two-year stint teaching English in Madrid.

On returning to London, he studied journalism and landed his first job at the weekly Informer newspaper in Teddington, covering hundreds of stories in areas including Hounslow, Richmond and Harrow.

This led on to work at the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Mirror, Standard and even the Sun, before he landed his first full time job at the Daily Mail.

After a year on the Newsdesk he worked as a Showbiz correspondent covering mostly music, including the rise of the Spice Girls, the rivalry between Oasis and Blur and interviewed many famous musicians such as Joe Strummer and Ray Manzarak, as well as Peter Gabriel and Bjorn from Abba on his own private island.

After a year as the News Editor at the UK’s largest-selling magazine Now, he returned to work as an investigative journalist in Features at the Mail on Sunday.

As well as tracking down Jimi Hendrix’ sole living heir in Sweden, while there he also helped lead the initial investigation into Prince Andrew’s seedy links to Jeffrey Epstein during three trips to America.

He had dozens of exclusive stories, while his travel writing took him to Jamaica, Brazil and Belarus.

He is the author of three books; Costa Killer, Dining Secrets of Andalucia and My Search for Madeleine.

Contact jon@theolivepress.es

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