The holiday that blew me away...literally

I recently returned from a short break in Spain, where we were subjected to hurricane-force winds whilst out taking a walk. Winds of up to 112mph carried us along the roads, which we had to walk in to avoid the falling roof tiles from buildings to the pavements.


Authorities in Spain reported at least 12 deaths linked to Saturday's storm, including four children crushed as a sports facility buckled in high winds in Barcelona.


We witnessed sand storms, walls collapsing, structures swaying - I tried to take pictures of electrical wires literally hanging at shoulder level on a residential street - although my photographic skills leave a lot to be desired. It was still sunny though.

New Year

We recently ran a poll on HSP on the MEPs' vote to scrap the working time opt-out and the results were interesting. A record number of you voted, with the majority siding with Gordon Brown in that you don't want to see it abolished in the UK.

In the current economic climate, many of us are worried about our jobs. We are currently running a poll on job security, asking how many health and safety professionals believe their jobs are safe this year. Tell us if you think yours is by voting in this week's poll.

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