<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Lucida Sans Unicode" LANG="0">Hello you all,<BR>
The Mayor of Santiago and the City's Chief of Citizen's Safety, Xose Banqueiro, have announced that musicians, actors, street entertainers and vendors, locals or not, will not receive licenses to operate on or around the squares near the Cathedral next year.<BR>
Instead, the Alameda, the Cervantes and San Pedro squares and the space known as Benaval will be refurbished to accommodate such artists and vendors. The monthly licenses necessary to operate in the new places will be available only at the beginning of the applicable month. While no spaces will be reserved, the eight actor/musicians that have habitually worked around the Cathedral (such as the piedpipers and the Uruguayan who plays jazz guitar in black face) will be given preference, but they will also need to apply for monthly permits.<BR>
The areas around the Galician Center of Contemporary Art and the Museum of the Galician People will also be outfitted and made available for this purpose.<BR>
The intent is not only to alleviate the traffic around the Cathedral, but also to attract visitors to noteworthy sites in the City besides the Cathedral environs.<BR>
The celebratory musical and theatrical spectacles that have been scheduled by the Xunta, however, will still be held at the squares around the Cathedral. <BR>
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A British pilgrim, Piers Nicholson, has created a web site in English containing all sorts of practical information about the Camino, from the nature and condition of the walkways and roads to any potentially problematic areas. In addition to the detailed reports the Web site will contain photographs illustrative of such information. Mr. Nicholson has stated that he has 'received so much from the Camino that he has felt compelled to give something back' and wants to do so by providing a source of practical information that may be of material help to English speaking pilgrims walking the French Way.<BR>
Mr. Nicholson is a member of the "Sundial Counsel" in England and an expert in such clocks; in fact, he installed one such at the Reyes Catolicos parador in Santiago.<BR>
The address of the new web site is:<BR>
www.santiago-compostela.net <BR>
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The Saint Jean Pied de Port Accueil is looking for people interested in volunteering. The volunteer will be available, for a week, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (with a two hour break for lunch) and will need to pay for his/her airfare and meals. Some understanding of French is needed and, reportedly, the one week stay in SJPP will do wonders for anyone earning or improving her/his French.<BR>
If you are interested write (in French) to:<BR>
M. JEAN-CLAUDE NOGUES (Canditature Acueillant)<BR>
Accueil de Pelerins de St. Jacques<BR>
39 Rue de la Citadelle<BR>
64221 SAINT JEAN PIED DE PORT<BR>
France<BR>
In your letter give: a) your address; b) your phone number ,including the international (01 for the U.S.) and area codes, c) the languages you speak and at what level, and, d) the Monday to Monday week between March 1st and November 30th, 2004, when you'll be available. <BR>
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Best regards,<BR>
<BR>
Rosina<BR>
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