08 Friday Aug 2025
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07 Thursday Aug 2025
It’s been three weeks since I had my bonus cardiology visit and the doctor agreed to cut Apocard (flecainide) from my prescriptions, even though she said she didn’t believe it was the cause of the symptoms I described to her (inside of head feeling bruised, pressure behind eyes, occasional dizziness and blurred vision). But hey, almost immediately those symptoms disappeared and I’ve only noticed one or two slight tachycardia episodes since then. My pulse has gone back up a bit but is still below 70 and BP is stable. I meant to ask if, without the flecainide, I should be taking a full beta-blocker pill instead of half (which original cardiologist switched it to when I started taking it with the flecainide) but I guess she would have noticed and said so. Maybe?
Anyhow, feeling better about this. And not just because I’m actually feeling better. It’s easier now to take all three meds together in the morning and I don’t have that feeling of dread that accompanied taking the flecainide. Apparently it is a very widely used treatment for atrial fibrillation in Spain, but seems to be less popular elsewhere. And since here they still prescribe Nolotil (metamizol) with reckless abandon despite it being banned in more than 20 countries, well, I think I can be forgiven for not automatically thinking that Doctor Knows Best.
Meanwhile, I already have my cardiology revision appointment set for next February (!). This doctor may have seemed a bit brusque but at least she also seems to get things done. So fingers crossed this latest drug cocktail (bp med, blood thinner, beta blocker) works and it’s all I need.
04 Monday Aug 2025
last time I saw Steve (left) in London 2019 with my friend Michael
My friend Steve Pay has died. He has had various health issues over the years and then was diagnosed with spinal melanocytoma. The other day he moved into a nursing home but, as his wife Sara told us on his Facebook page, it was still unexpected. Everyone thought he had a bit more time.
I first “met” Steve on an online forum called H2g2, originally started by Douglass Adams and, after his death, taken over by the BBC. That’s when I came in… maybe around 2002? Anyhow, the site was meant to be an online “Hitchhikers Guide” with people contributing articles about subjects they were knowledgeable on., kind of like a pre-Wikipedia. The forum was there for members to discuss… well, whatever. I had a look around before venturing in but then popped into one of the forums “GOD – FACT OR FICTION?” without realising my life was about to change.
It was there that I not only met Steve (aka Blues Shark), but also Peter and a host of other colourful characters, some colourful in a good way, others not so much. Anyhow, lots of discussion ensued on these forums, or as much as dial-up would allow, which ended up with Steve coming down to Sevilla for a week or two in the summer of (I think) 2003 and renting out one of the spare rooms in the apartment next door. I think that short holiday sealed the deal for Steve… he totally fell in love with Sevilla.
The next summer Peter also came down for a holiday and, well, never left. Several other h2g2 pals also made their way down to “Casa Az” to visit over the years. Then one day Steve met Sara, and they started coming down together. Some pics below of them on various visits. But the last time I saw them was on a trip to London a few years ago and then in 2019 I met up with Steve and my friend Michael for lunch at Darjeeling Express, and that was the last time I saw him in person. We kept up a bit on Facebook (really the worst social media platform for me, I lose touch with so many people who only use FB) so I wasn’t really aware of how serious his condition had become. And now he’s gone.
We shared a love of cats, music (esp blues), good food and wine… and chat. That guy loved to talk. Much love to Sara, perhaps one day she will make it back to Sevilla and we can go have a glass of his favourite sangría together. Hasta siempre, amigo mio. 💙 🦈
01 Friday Aug 2025
31 Thursday Jul 2025
Tags
bus routes, city planning, mass tourism, sevilla, spain, tourism
the usual long queues for the 27 and 32
Four lifeline bus routes to the centre of Sevilla from outlying barrios are about to be cut off so that tourists in the 5 star hotels in this central area can be “serviced” better. It’s all for them. I have been hearing rumours for a while about plans to pedestrianise the street between Plazas del Duque and Encarnación (Las Setas) and my first thought was wtf were people who rely on the 27 & 32 bus routes (myself included) supposed to do? But it gets worse. The other day I saw an article about the latest plans for the “reurbanisation” of the three squares next to the main Corte Inglés department store: Plazas Duque, Concordia and Gavidia. And this is the first evil step, because it means those bus routes are never coming back to us. Work is to commence in 2026 and finish sometime in 2027.
The announcement came on this cringe video on the Instagram account of the Diario de Sevilla, not even mentioning the removal of these important city bus routes, instead a perky woman is saying “oh wow and we will have the new “Transibus” to take people to the Santa Justa train station. This only takes into consideration a relatively short trip (6 stops) of one of the four routes (the 34). The others will have their central stops eliminated.
Here is the affected area for the 27 and 32 routes (green line outgoing, blue line incoming). Both routes share the first/last two stops, shown arrow to arrow below. It’s about a 15 minute walk if you have no mobility issues, aren’t carrying shopping or feeling tired, can’t afford a taxi…
And here is where both routes go out to… the 27 to Sevilla Este and the 32 to the end of Nervión. I know these maps won’t mean anything to most of you but you can see that these are VERY LONG routes servicing outlying neighbourhoods and these buses are jam-packed day and night.
The other two bus routes affected, the 13 and 14, will soon have to turn around at the end of the Alameda, cutting out one very long stop to/from the centre. This is about a ten minute walk, if you are young and able bodied. And again, not carrying shopping, or in a wheelchair, etc.
These routes go north. the 13 to Pino Montano and the 14 to Poligono Norte (the 13 is the longer route but both are essential). I personally use this service less often but it’s sure come in handy since I’ve been on crutches, especially to get to my health centre. I take it two stops from Duque and it really makes a difference.
My feeling is that because there are so many elderly people taking these buses, and they can travel for free after age 65 (hey, like me!), the city doesn’t consider them of any value. I see them in the queues, with their shopping trolleys, their canes and walkers, even wheelchairs. How the hell are they supposed to get to the centre from the Alameda or Ponce de León, walk those extra 10-15 minutes, which will be either much longer or impossible for them? You know, to do their shopping, to come into town to have lunch with a friend, to basically ENJOY THEIR CITY.
Day or night, these four bus routes are always in demand, there are always queues of locals coming and going from the centre to their barrios. They are crammed full. Often they run as “only drop off” during the routes because they can’t take on any more passengers. “Replacing” them with one minibus, for just one of the four routes, that only takes tourists from their 5 star hotel to the train station, I mean what the fuck.
They did something similar with the Plaza Magdalena a few years ago, removing the “offending” bus stops so patrons of the new 5 star hotels there wouldn’t have to see us, you know, living our lives. Now the 40, 41 and 43 routes to Triana and Los Remedios stop a little further down San Pablo, but only maybe a five minute walk away (if you can walk). Still sucks. One thing I’ve noticed since this change is that the queues have diminished, not so many locals are using the service because, frankly, it no longer serves them. I think that’s really sad.
Anyhow, not sure what is going to happen with this latest “reurbanisation” plan but none of it sounds good for us. It never is. Meanwhile, saw another article reporting that oversupply is reducing demand re: bookings for tourist accommodations in Sevilla. I mean, ya think? Also it’s fucking 42º here this week. Nobody in their right minds should be visiting Sevilla June-August. Just stop coming here please…
PS. If you’re a total bus route nerd (like Peter) you can find them online here: TUSSAM LÍNEAS
click to enlarge photo
casa azahar 