The Almeria Focus – December 2019

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Introduction & Contents

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elcome to the Almería Focus Magazine and really useful A-Z Directory for the Levante area, with more than 2000 entries and contact numbers! View it online at www.almeriafocus.com. The Focus is free every month and distributed from Mojácar to San Juan de los Terroros on the coast and inland as far as Albox and Huércal Overa.

Contents Another Christmas .............................................................…...10 In the News ........…................…………................................…….12 Reducing the Cost of Electricity ........................................46 Latest Spanish General Elections .............................................48 So Now You Know ............................................................................52 Wild Boars in Spain ........................................................................54 The Extradition of Carles Puidgemont ........................56 Leaving the Nest .........................................................................60 “ITV” Vehicle Tests .......................................................................62 Useful Numbers ..................................................................63 A-Z Directory ……………….......……................................................66 Community News ............................................................................109 What’s On ..................................................................................112 Activities, Clubs and Associations ........................................119 Your Stars …..........…………......……........................................…123 Jokes of the Month ………………............................................124 Coffee Break …………………….............................................…126 For general enquiries, call Clare on 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com For advertising enquiries, call Lee on 634 32 22 76

The copy deadline for the February issue is January 18th

www.almeriafocus.com The Almería Focus is an independent publication produced and printed in Almería. We cannot be responsible for claims made by advertisers, nor errors in advertisements caused by poor quality submissions. Neither are we responsible for any loss or damage resulting from any error, inaccuracy or non-appearance of an advert. The purchase of advertising space does not give the advertiser ownership of any advert, unless supplied to us as finished artwork or via a design agency. Adverts designed by the Almeria Focus Layout Department, including its photos, logos and specialised fonts remain the property of the Almería Focus magazine and cannot be scanned, partially or fully reproduced, or proofs supplied to other publications. Action will be taken against persons, companies, publishers, printers or distributors who infringe this copyright. Deposito Legal: AL-956-2008 Nº 115

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Another Christmas

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edro Sánchez from the PSOE Socialist party has been the Spanish Prime Minister “in function” since General Elections last April as he was unable to form a government. In mid-December he hopes that he will be able to do this following the last General Elections in November, but there is still some horse trading to be done. We explain the difficulties in an article.

working anyway so there is a natural four day break.

‘El Gordo’ (The fat one) is the extremely popular Christmas lottery in Spain that first started in 1812 and takes place on December 22nd. There are enormous amounts of money to be won and a host of other medium and smaller ones. Tickets known as ‘Decimos’ cost 20 euros from a lottery office or 23 euros if you buy from an association that buys A very major scandal concerning two previous large numbers of tickets and sells them on. The Presidents of the Junta de Andalucía (the governing associations retain the three euros. body for Almería province) has recently progressed to judges in Seville handing down prison sentences.

We have more information in our “In the News” section.

We list events that may be of interest in our “What’s on” section and as normal at this time of year some of these are aimed at families and children.

As regards major fiesta dates in Spain in December, Friday the 6th is “Día de la Constitución” (Constitution Day) that commemorates the signing of the Spanish written constitution in 1978. In 2017 and 2018 at a major event in Madrid where King Felipe VI and Queen Leticia review a large ceremonial parade of the Spanish military and police forces, there was a large turn-out of Spanish politicians. This was to show solidarity for the constitution and the monarchy, to try and diminish the problems and unrest in Catalonia. These problems are far from being resolved and it is expected that politicians will show their support this year as well. Other events take place in large cities including Almería.

On Sunday, December 8th there is a religious fiesta celebrating the Roman Catholic belief that Jesus was born to Mary following an immaculate conception. A fiesta date on a Sunday means that the official fiesta holiday slides to the Monday and both these dates are national fiestas where all official offices will be shut along with banks and other offices. People often take advantage of these two fiestas by having a holiday in between known as a “puente” (bridge). This year it is a Saturday and Sunday when the majority of people will not be

Christmas Eve, December 24th known in Spain as “Noche Buena”, is an important day when family members try to come together and have a special evening meal. Consequently, the vast majority of Spanish restaurants will be shut in the evening, but will re-open on Christmas Day, “Natividad del Señor”, that is another national fiesta. December 31st, New Year’s Eve, “Noche Vieja”, is traditionally celebrated by a person eating twelve grapes as a famous clock in Madrid strikes midnight, and January 1st is a national fiesta. January 6th is when the Three Kings supposedly came to Bethlehem and is another national fiesta day and Spanish children receive presents. There are major processions on the evening of January 5th when the kings appear on floats and sweets rain down.

As in other years there will be no January edition of the Focus magazine but we return in February.

We wish all our readers and advertisers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2020.

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In the News November 10th General Elections The second General Elections in Spain in six months, and the fourth in four years, took place on November 10th. There was still a deadlock, but with some surprises, and we explain the outcome in an article. The major upset was that the ultra-right wing Vox party obtained 3.6 million votes and 52 MPs with large victories in Murcia and 60% of the votes in Almería province. They were outright winners in 11 municipalities including El Ejido, Roquetas de Mar and Vera. They want illegal immigrants to be deported, their right to health care stopped, an end to gender-change operations in public health hospitals and abortions on demand, and more money paid for prescriptions by legal residents with less than 10 years in Spain. They also want radical fundamentalist Muslim temples to be shut down and their Inmans deported. They think that large numbers of municipalities should be fused together and that Education, Health, Security and Justice Departments in autonomous communities should revert back to being run by central government.

Chaves served from 1990-2009, with the PSOE party that they belonged to ruling in Andalucía for 36 years from 1982 to 2018. The two Presidents were in office for a total of 23 years.

The very complicated investigation and prosecution was so complex that it had to be split into 150 separate chunks with 7 investigating judges and finished up with over 2 million pages of information. The consequent trials lasted nearly a whole year with 152 court sessions and a written judgement of 1,800 pages. At the end of November a court in Seville sentenced José Griñán to 6 years in prison, and Manuel Chaves was given a 9 year ban on holding public office, along with two former ministers. Four other ministers were given prison terms from 6 to 8 years and it was stated in court that only 85% of the money was used legitimately. There will be appeals to the Spanish High Court in Madrid so none of the convicted persons will be sent to prison at present.

The PSOE party led by Pedro Sánchez are trying to form a government following the November 10th General Elections and there have been allegations that the court judgements were deliberately delayed to be made afterwards and embarrass the PSOE party. This was strenuously A Major Corruption Scandal in Andalucía Almería province is one of the eight provinces denied by the court! that make up the autonomous community of Ryanair Baggage Charges Ruled Abusive Andalucía that is the largest of the total of 17.

Autonomous communities have a large degree of A judge in Madrid has ruled that the policy from self-government and are responsible for education, last November of Ryanair charging for hand the health service, and courts of justice, and they luggage in the cabin is abusive and illegal. have their own elected parliament with a President. Passengers have to pay a fee to take a wheelieThey can set their own inheritance tax, and 50% type case into the cabin. She claimed that it was of income tax in Spain goes to the autonomous illegal under Spanish air transport regulations and communities. In Andalucía there is a fund that also EU regulations. Regulations in Spain state that pays out when companies go bust or cease to an extra hand luggage charge cannot be made. A trade that helps companies who are struggling woman complained that at check-in in Madrid on to make severance payments. From 2000 to 2011 a flight to Brussels she was charged 20 euros for the total paid out was 680 million euros. A major a 10kg hand luggage case. The judge ruled that scandal came to light with accusations that money the size and weight was no obstacle for the hand had been siphoned off for a number of years and luggage being carried in the cabin free of charge. was hidden from the internal audit office. The Ryanair were ordered to pay the 20 euros plus president of Andalucía from 2009-2013 was José interest to the passenger, remove the charge Antonio Griñán, and the previous President Manual from their booking information and cease any

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In the News further charges. Ryanair responded by saying that the judge had erred in law and their policy of charging would remain in place. They cited an appeals court in Italy that overturned a lower court decision that the charges made by Ryanair and Wizz Air were illegal under Italian transportation regulations. The lower court had fined Ryanair 13 million euros and Wizz Air 1 million.

In theory Ryanair has to make an appeal to have the Madrid judgement confirmed or thrown out but a spokesperson declined to comment when asked if an appeal would be made.

Insurance Pay-Out The Spanish Consortium of Insurance companies that pay out when there are disasters such as the DANA high winds and exceptional rain during September, has announced that the 65,000 claims that they settled totalled 445 million euros. The largest amounts by far were for damage in Murcia and Alicante. This is the second highest amount of money after that paid out in the País Vasco storms in 1983. When insurance is taken out in Spain there is a small charge that goes to the consortium to cover claims such as the recent ones for ‘Acts of God’.

Rafa Nadal Rafa Nadal was not on good form at the Nitto Grand Slam ATP tennis match at the O2 in London on November 11th and was beaten in two straight sets by the German player Alexander Zverev. This was his first defeat since Wimbledon. The match was watched by King Juan Carlos, the father of the present King of Spain Felipe VI. Juan Carlos had a sticking plaster over part of his head that a spokesperson for the Royal Family stated was due to a slight accident in the palace. He likes attending tennis matches where Rafa is playing and went to the Roland Garros final and Wimbledon.

He also attended the wedding of Rafa and his childhood sweetheart Mere Pelerró on October 20th at a very private ceremony at the very luxurious La Fortaleza fort in Majorca where the BBC Thriller ‘The Night Manager” was filmed. After

losing this match, Rafa was very short with a journalist who asked him if getting married had affected his tennis performance! He asked the reporter, “Honestly, are you asking me this? Is a serious question or is a joke? Is it serious? Okay.

We move to Spanish, because that's bulls***”.

Despite beating Tsitsipas, Rafa was knocked out of the semi-final when Medvedev beat Zverev.

Federer was knocked out by Tsitsipas and neither Rafa, Federer or Djokovic made it through to the finals that were won by Tsitsipas. Rafa retains the title of number one in the ATP rankings at the end of 2019.

Medication to Stop Smoking From January 1st, doctors in Spain will able to prescribe two types of tablets available from farmacias designed to help people stop smoking.

It is stated that 51,900 people die prematurely in Spain every year from illnesses related to smoking. The two types of tablets are ‘Vareniclina’ and ‘Bupropión’ but there can be serious side effects and a doctor has to closely monitor the effects. The medication will be prescribed when there is a clear indication of a desire to stop smoking with at least one attempt in the last 12 months, the smoker smokes more than 10 cigarettes a day, and they have a high level of nicotine dependency. Either of the medications will be a supply for one month after which a

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In the News doctor’s visit is absolutely necessary to chart the progress or side effects. If there is considered to be no problem, another month’s supply will be prescribed, with the same thing happening again, before the last third month of medication is approved. Vareniclina (trade name Chantix or Champix) works on the brain to reduce the desire for nicotine and release dopamine but it cannot be taken at the same time as patches, sprays, other anti-smoking tablets or gum are being used. Side effects can include headaches, sleeping disorders and unusual vivid dreams, nausea, abnormal flatulence, a lack of animation, suicidal thought or suicide attempts or self-harming.

There is also a rare possibility of a higher risk of heart or cerebral vascular attacks. Bupropión (trade name Zyban) is also used for the treatment of depression and exactly how it works as an anti-smoking drug is not completely clear. In the UK it is prescribed as an alternative to Champix if this cannot be tolerated by users. It cannot be taken by pregnant women, people who have convulsions, insufficient kidney function, excessive use of alcohol, eating disorders, and mental health problems such as being bi-polar, having manic depressive episodes and serious brain problems.

If a person is diabetic they have to tell their doctor. Side effects can be a dry mouth and sleeping problems. The medication should be stopped immediately if there are signs of behaviour changes such as hostility, agitation, reduced animation, mental or physical hypertension, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts and self-harming. A urine sample tested for drug screening may give a false positive. It is hoped that these medications should help 84,000 people at a cost of 8 million euros in the first year. In tests, 21% of people who took Vareniclina stopped smoking and 19% of those who took Bupropion. 50% of these people had not re-started smoking after 12 months so this means that over this period it was only successful in 10% of cases but to be successful it is recommended that there has to be motivated support from professionals. In the UK switching

to electronic cigarettes is recommended as an anti-smoking aid and is considered to be 95% less harmful than normal cigarettes. They have been available to purchase from chemists for a number of years. A survey of 19,000 users of electronic cigarettes found that any side effects, that only affected a small amount of people, were a sore throat or a cough that soon cleared up and the overall success in stopping smoking was extremely good. The UK ‘Action on Smoking and Health’ organization reports that 99% of users of electronic cigarettes are former or current smokers of tobacco, and current smokers reported that they stopped smoking normal cigarettes after a short period of time. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which regulates vaping products in the UK, has recorded 74 reports of health problems over the past five years. The agency said this did not prove a link to vaping; only that those reporting their conditions suspected it as a cause. Public Health England states “UK deaths from regulated ecigarette products in the UK are nil but smoking still kills 220 people every day.”

Iberia to Merge with Air Europe As we mentioned in an article last month, low cost or small airlines have to have the financial muscle to survive in a very competitive market.

In the second quarter of 2020 Air Europe will operate alongside Iberia and will be another airline owned by the parent company IAG that includes British Airways. The IAG group already includes Aer Lingus and the low cost airline Level, and Iberia is made up of the main company, Iberia Express, Vueling and Air Nostrum. The IAG group is buying all the shares in Air Europe for 1 billion euros and Iberia and Air Europe will operate as separate companies at least in the next few years.

The Madrid Barajas airport will be the combined hub and this means that the Spanish airport will be as important as Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, the largest ones in Europe. Apart from there being little room at Heathrow for major expansion Air Europe

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In the News fly to destinations including airports in Latin America, the US, North Africa and the Caribbean that are of particular interest to IAG, and Madrid is well situated to service this market. This will mean that total passenger numbers in Spain from the combined group will be 55 million compared to Ryanair with 47 million, and the related companies will handle 73% of all domestic flights in Spain. The next airline with the most passengers in Spain is easyJet with 15 million. In 2018 worldwide, Ryanair carried 139 million passengers, the IAG group had 113 million and Air Europe 12 million. At present, Iberia have 145 planes that fly to 137 destinations in 48 countries and Air Europe have 66 planes that fly to 69 national and international destinations. It is not anticipated that the Spanish CNMC organization that approves or bans mergers as being non-competitive will have any real objections. If this does happen, the IAG group have to pay a 40 million euros “break fee”. Air Europe is 95% family owned. Juan Jose Hidalgo, their president from Salamanca, started a small coach company in the 1960s that steadily mushroomed into the very large company Globalia that last year billed 3.8 billion euros. They own the travel agents Halcón Viajes and Ecuador, the tour operator Travelplan and the hotel chain Be Live Hotels that will stay within the group. Juan Hidalgo left school aged 12 and his first business venture was a Mercedes taxi that specialised in carrying passengers from Spain to Switzerland.

There was a steady market of Spanish people immigrating to the richer countries in Europe.

General Elections Stories There are always some anecdotes regarding the Spanish General Elections and November 10th was no exception. In a municipality in Soria, the official who headed the team that supervised the polling centre with 5,000 voters came dressed in a polar bear suit. A member of the public said he was very committed to animal rights and Soria was one of the coldest places in Spain! Near Granada a group of voters came in full Star Wars outfits but they did take off their helmets and put their

hoods back to vote. In Villarroyo, a small village in the Rioja wine producing area, there are only eight registered voters. Four of them are polling station officials and along with other polling stations they are allowed to shut after all the people have voted.

This November in front of TV cameras, and after practising several times, they managed to do this this in 32 seconds and 25 hundredths of a second, beating their previous record in all of Spain of 40 seconds last April. Snow caused a 90 minute delay in polling at a village in Zaragoza where an election official was stuck in the snow, and in Caspe, voting had to wait until a locksmith had opened the school door as the lock had been filled with silicon overnight. Tragically, an elderly woman at a village near Granada was killed when she fainted and hit her head going up some steps outside the polling station, and an 87 yr old man in a Basque village died of a heart attack inside the polling station.

It had to be shut for an hour whilst a coroner came and they were able to remove the body.

Artificial Intelligence for Job Selection When companies advertise for employees there can be over 1,000 applicants for just a few jobs and the selection process is very lengthy. This happened when companies who were going to be opening up at the Torrecárdenas Commercial Centre in Almería announced that they wanted just a small number of employees and they were snowed under with appications. Various companies in Spain are now using artificial intelligence to sort out the best candidates. These include Alcampo, Telepizza, Porcelanosa, Prosegur, Securitas Direct, Five Guys, Econocon and Sprinter. The company Easycue have developed algorithms and these classify the on-line applicants in a video for a variety of attributes such as speech, key words, expression and behaviour. The ones who perform best are usually invited to take part in another interview on-line on social media. The Spanish CCOO union is concerned that candidates that may be best for the job are being turned away by the narrow limits of the algorithm and also that some job applicants are not as internet savvy as others.

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In the News Tracking Where We Are The ‘INE’ is the Spanish Institute of Statistics and they collect information such as the number of people on the ‘padrón’, the official list of inhabitants in all municipalities in Spain and the age groups of population. The figures collected are then published. From November 18th-21st, the mobile phone companies Movistar, Vodafone and Orange supplied the INE with location data of all their customers’ mobile phones throughout Spain. The survey was mostly in places with a population of over 15,000 but split into areas with 5,000 people that totalled 3,500. The position of mobile phones between midnight and 6am gave an indication of residency, and between 9am and 6pm it was intended to show journeys to work or educational centres. To be valid, a mobile phone had to be static in either location for four hours on two days. The information will show the movement of the population and is designed to indicate whether there is sufficient infrastructure including transport and health centres. Additionally, the locations of the phones were charted at 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm and 2am that showed how many people worked nights. The survey was also done on Sunday, November 24th and will be repeated on Christmas Day. All the mobile phone data is anonymous and the actual phone numbers or registered owners are not supplied. This ensures that there is no conflict with data protection laws.

Soon after this mobile phone survey was announced it was revealed that Orange was paid 150,000 euros in 2018 to provide data from their 16 million clients to the Spanish Ministry of Transport. For two periods of one month data was supplied relating to road, trains, sea and air travel within Spain where people moved out of their province. The INE is also collecting information from the supermarkets El Corte Inglés, Carrefour and Alcampo who supply them with information from the check-out scanners. This is intended to show shopping habits and the difference in prices in various areas and talks are ongoing with Mercadona and Lidl to collect their information as well. The cost of these types of surveys is

tremendously less expensive than questioning people on the street or asking people to complete forms. A major INE survey in 2001 with 50,000 people cost 150 million euros to run and collate the information afterwards.

IKEA Almería Store Doubtful In our September magazine we commented on the fact that IKEA were due to open a store in Almería city in 2019 but had not yet applied for a building licence on the “key ready” site where all the services and infrastructure have been finished. This is still the current situation and the normal construction to opening time of a store of this size is 15-18 months. We stated that an IKEA Design Centre had been opened at the Torrecárdenas Bogaris retail complex near the hospital, where interested people can be given advice on room settings, kitchen, bathrooms and bedroom design with the possibility of staff going to people’s houses in the immediate area to give onsite advice that costs 49 euros. Their staff will also give advice on arranging finance. Items can be ordered at the shop for collection at the nearest store in Murcia or Málaga or delivered to the logistical centre in Viator just off the A-7 motorway which normally costs 29 euros per item.

Home delivery for a large item is normally 69 euros and small items can be delivered direct to people’s addresses via a parcel service with a small charge. The 70m2 ‘IKEA Deseña Almería’ centre

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In the News didn’t open as planned in August and was officially opened on October 24th. It is on the first floor near the main entrance and is open from 10am10pm. To coincide with the opening of this centre, a spokesperson from Almería City council stated that in talks with IKEA last September they were told that the situation with regard to the large store was still being analysed. The spokesperson from the council was of the opinion that it would not materialise. With a substantial increase in internet sales, IKEA have already cancelled major projects for new stores in Alicante, Tarragona and Pamplona. IKEA Design Centres have been opened in Alicante and Benidorm.

Acceptable Figures from Ryanair Ryanair have published their 2019 figures from April to September. This period includes several strikes by pilots, cabin crew and handling staff in Europe, including some in Spain, after they announced that in 2020 they were closing their operations in Girona (Barcelona) Tenerife South and Gran Canaria with the loss of 500 employees.

Their profit was 1.15 billion euros which is almost identical to 2018 so they overcame the problems financewise. Total income was 5.4 billion euros and worldwide they carried 86 million passengers which is 11% more than the same period in 2018. Their income included 1.6 million euros that passengers paid for “extras”, over the cost of their ticket, that include luggage surcharges, priority boarding and seat reservation, and this went up by 28% so is a very good intake of funds. The present aircraft are older than was intended (so there are more maintenance costs) as they cannot take delivery of the large number of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that have still not been re-certified. Ryanair is negotiating with the receivers of Thomas Cook to buy some of their Airbus planes. Forecast for the full financial year up to March 31st 2020 is that they increase total passenger numbers by 8% to 150 million assuming that there is no problem post Brexit that is still an uncertainty. Overall profit is estimated to be between 800-900 million euros, slightly down on their forecast last July.

Very Good Trading Figures in Andalucía The autonomous community of Andalucía, that includes Almería province, have increased their 2019 exports up to the end of August to 21 billion euros with 200 new companies exporting goods.

The overall numbers are that exports have exceeded imports to give a surplus of 1.8 billion euros, twice as much as the same period last year.

This is the best result since figures were first calculated in 1995, except for 2016 when the excess was 2 billion euros. With regard to the rest of Spain, Andalucía is in second place to Catalonia (which includes Barcelona) and exported more than the autonomous communities of Valencia, Madrid, Pais Vasco, Galicia, and Castilla and Leon.

The two industries that made the largest contributions to the surplus are the agricultural industry with large exports from growers in Almería, and the aircraft industry as the military versions of the Airbus are assembled and sold in Seville. Exports from Almería province from fruit and veg account for 13% of all exports in Andalucía and went up by 13% to 2.8 billion euros. Of the “Top 10” countries worldwide for exports the US is in 6th place, and exports there went up by 20%.

The Torrecárdenas Centre In the first year it has been open, the Torrecárdenas shopping centre in Almería city has exceeded all expectations as regards the number of visitors and companies that have moved in. 7 million people have visited the centre which is nearly 10 times the total population of Almería province, and 95% of the available space is occupied. 3 million vehicles have parked at the centre and the dedicated bus service from different locations has seen a very high number of passengers. Recent arrivals are the IKEA design centre and the sports clothing company Oteros who are newcomers to Almería and have large stores in eight other cities in Andalucía. The total income from all the companies is put at 150 million euros which is also higher than expectations for the first year. This amount of money could build six hospitals, such as the maternity and children’s

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In the News hospital nearby, adjoining the Torrecárdenas hospital, which will soon be fully open. It is 50% of the cost of the underground section of the ‘AVE’ (high speed train) in the capital. Direct employees total 1,500 with another 300 who work for the company CBRE that runs the centre. There are a large number of indirect employees who perform tasks such as delivering goods. The CBRE company runs the Habaneras Centre in Torrevieja that is said to have given them valuable lessons when opening the Almería centre. CBRE state that the centre here has a really good range and mix of companies that provide food and drink, clothing, leisure items along with the cinema, technology products, pet requisites and decor.

Complete Fibre-Optic Cover The Almería Diputación (County council) is intending that all of the 103 municipalities in Almería province have fibre-optic technology installed by 2022 which is the end of their term of office. Fernando Giménez, the councillor for technology, considers that it is vital that fibreoptic is available for everybody. A survey is being made as to which municipalities already have some fibre-optic coverage, the ones where there is no such service, and the places where there are special difficulties due to their location. He states that there should be an absolute minimum of 50Mbps rising to 1Gbps in large centres of population. In rural areas the service will help people to stay there and run efficient companies and not have to migrate to larger centres of population.

A ‘Parador’ Hotel Initiative The Parador chain of hotels is run by the Spanish state and there are hotels in 11 of the places that have been awarded “The Prettiest Village” category including Mojácar. The President of the hotels, Óscar López, and the President of the Prettiest Village organisation, Francisco Mestre, have signed an agreement to emphasise the cultural, gastronomy and tourist attractions of the chosen villages in each of these hotels. The 2020 Parador

Guide, which is a prestigious magazine, will list the locations, and publicity material will be available at the hotels giving information, guided tours by arrangement with the tourist office of the local councils, and publicity about events such as ‘La Noche Romántica (Romantic night) and local fiestas.

Leaving Almería Province The Public Employment Service in Spain has collated figures that show the migration of people who are looking for work, and Almería province has the highest numbers in all of Andalucía which is made up of nine provinces. In 2018, a total of 60,800 moved into the province but 69,800 left which means that the movement to find work was 18%. This percentage is much higher than the average of 14% in Spain, and 15% in all of Andalucía.

The next “worst” figures in Andalucía are in Jaén at 14% and many people leave there to find work elsewhere because the predominant activity is agriculture. In all of Andalucía, 148,000 left for other places. The figures are collated from the number of people who sign work contracts, and 25% of these contracts relate to the agricultural industry, 17% in construction, 12% in the service sector and 11% in industry. 43% of the people who leave are between the ages of 25-34 who expect to have a long working life, but 19% are aged 55-64 and these people are the most likely to have a problem finding a new job unless they move. 502,000 people in all of Spain went to Madrid which boosted the number of contracts by 244,000 taking into account those who left, and 285,000 went to Barcelona giving a positive balance of 110,000. All the above statistics are movements within Spain and not people who emigrate from Spain to other countries. In an article we comment on the number of young people who stay at home because they do not have the financial security to leave.

More Rights for ‘Parejas de Hecho’ In practically all municipalities in Spain there is a register of people who are in a partnership but not married, and this applies to same sex couples

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In the News as well as heterosexual couples. Apart from both people being over the age of 18 there is sometimes a requirement that you have to stipulate that you have been together for more than 12 months, and at least one person has to be on the ‘padrón’ (the official list of residents in a municipality).

These couples are known as a ‘Pareja de hecho’ (in a civil union) and there are important benefits in the event that one partner dies and the other inherits property, goods or money. People on the register, ‘Registro de Uniones de Hecho’, have the same rights as married couples who often pay only a small amount of inheritance tax or nothing.

Leaving something to a “third party” with no legal relationship can be very costly in tax. As normal, there needs to be a Spanish will for inheritance purposes. A new proposal that may or not become law is that a surviving person in a pareja de hecho partnership should be entitled to a widow’s pension which is not the case at present. In Almería province there are 11,000 couples who have registered their partnerships. David Bisbal, the very famous international singer from Almería, registered his partner in the municipality where she lived in Madrid although they subsequently got married. A further advantage for a Spaniard or an EU national is that their non-Spanish /EU partner can then apply for residency status and obtain work. There is a paper chase (of course!) and the town hall charges a fee. If necessary, a ‘gestor’ who does legal paperwork will assist you.

The other side of the coin is fraud. Fraudsters will find a Spaniard or an EU national and pay them to be a pareja de hecho and then charge their non-Spanish /EU “partner” a large fee, without either of them having set eyes on the other one, and a residence permit can be obtained. A dishonest gestor will smooth over the paperwork and the pareja de hecho status will then be cancelled.

This will apply to public schools and the private schools that are partially or completely financed from public funds. A spokesperson for one of the political parties stated that “gendered school uniforms violate the principle of equality and nondiscrimination, which includes sexual and gender diversity.”

Doña Pakyta Art Museum

Museum Charges in Almería Last month we reported that the opening hours for museums in Almería city were being extended.

There has been a lot of discussion regarding admission prices and the Cultural Department of the Junta de Andalucía (the governing body for Almería province) has decided that from 2020 there will be a charge of three euros for the Almería castle and the museums where admission is free at present. All the money obtained will be spent on improvements, new acquisitions, staff and accessibility, and it is stated that these entrance fees that will apply to places throughout Andalucía are very similar to those in other parts of Spain. Admission will be free for everybody one day a week, with daily reductions for minors, students, pensioners, the disabled, groups of more than eight people, and the unemployed. In addition to this, on various fiesta dates admission will be free these being Día de Andalucía (February A Ban on Gender-Related School Uniform.

28th), International Monument Day (April 28th), Politicians in Valencia have approved a regulation International Museum Day (May 18th), the Spanish that bans school children from having to wear National Hispanic Day (October 12th) and the gender-related uniforms such as skirts for girls. Spanish Constitution Day (December 6th).

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In the News Twitter Bans Political Advertising Twitter has 380 million users and is small in comparison to Facebook that has 2 billion users along with You Tube. At the start of November, Jack Dorsey, their founder and CEO, announced that from November 22nd all political advertising would be banned worldwide, except for calls for people to vote in general. He stated that politicians should earn the endorsement of the general population and not buy it. This follows the many complaints that social media was used to influence the 2016 US elections, Brexit and more recently political events in Columbia. A spokesperson from the White House immediately hit back saying that shareholders should not be content with millions of dollars from advertising being stopped. This policy is in direct opposition to Facebook who have come under a barrage of criticism. In October, false information in a video from the Donald Trump camp relating to Joe Biden, (his main rival for election of the President) was not repeated on CNN or Fox News as they considered it to be “fake news”. In contrast, Facebook and Twitter took no action. In retaliation, another Presidential candidate took out an ad on Facebook suggesting that Mark Zuckerberg was endorsing President Trump which was obviously false. Various bodies are complaining bitterly that misleading political information on Facebook is not being fact checked, but Mark Zuckerberg considers that politicians have the right to free speech. He is however, coming under more and more pressure to stop misleading political paid advertising. His employees are banding together and complaining as well. They consider that this policy of not carrying out any fact checking is in direct opposition to the whole idea of Facebook being a trusted social media company. Prior to the Spanish General Elections on November 10th Facebook had 59 adverts that aggressively denigrated all the political parties except the PP (Conservative party), and called on people to abstain from voting with a page entitled “Yo no voto” (I’m not voting). One page had been viewed

by 9 million people and it emerged that a young university student from Murcia was the administrator for eight of the pages. It was not at all clear where the 40,000 euro cost of the 59 adverts came from! The ‘PP’ party headquarters denied any knowledge of the adverts and where they had originated. The Spanish daily newspaper ‘El País’ contacted Facebook who stated that they would mount an immediate investigation Fernando Alonso Back in F1?

Major changes in financing for the 2021 Formula 1 season may mean that Fernando Alonso returns as part of a new “low cost” Spanish based team led by Adrían Campos. In 2021 all the teams can only spend a maximum of 160 million euros in the development of the cars, wind tunnel testing and technological investigation of materials. At present Mercedes is stated to have spent 500 million euros this year, followed by Ferrari and Red Bull. Since the opening race of the 2016 season in Australia and including the 2019 Mexican F1, there have been 240 podium places for the first three winning drivers and only six have featured drivers who are not from the three main teams. Three of them have been the Mexican driver Sergio Pérez driving for Force India and Racing Point. Chase Carey, the CEO of Formula 1, considers that with a cap on spending smaller teams would be more competitive and racing would be more interesting.

The dream of Adrián Camps, a former F1 driver from Valencia and owner of Camps Racing, is to have his own Spanish team, and Fernando Alonso is the obvious choice to be the main driver. Adrián Camps had a team who competed in Formula 1 from 2010-2012, but with the lack of major finance he had to switch to a team in F2. Fernando continually states that he would like to return to Formula 1 “if the time is right”. The 160 million euro cap is totally apart from wages (Lewis Hamilton is apparently being paid 40 million euros this year), the money paid to the three most senior team bosses, and money spent on marketing. It has been suggested that the 21 Formula 1 race locations may be increased to 25,

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In the News Rises in Spanish Pensions Last month we explained that pensioners in Spain were in the dark as to the extra amount they would receive in 2020. It was stated that this might be as little as 0.3%. Although there has been no stable government in Spain since last April, it was announced at the end of October that the rise in pensions for 2020 has been fixed at 0.9%.

The change was put into law by amending the pension regulations without having to be approved by a majority in Parliament. This follows an increase of 1.6% for 2019. The big problem is that since 2012 pensioners have only seen their pensions increased by 0.25% every year, without any increase for the cost of living each year. The average pension for 2020 will go up by 9 euros a month although there are differences in the various autonomous communities such as Andalucía which includes Almería province. This means that for the 8.8 million people retiring in Spain with a full retirement pension the average amount per month has gone over the 1,000 euro amount and will be 1,002 euros. Widows will also see a rise of 6.2 euros to take the average monthly amount up to 720 euros. EU nationals in Spain can receive at least 50% of the annual Spanish pension amount providing they have paid into the Spanish system for at least 15 years. There is some slight flexibility as the exact pension amount takes into account pension contributions in other countries so for Brits the amounts paid into the UK scheme.

If the Spanish contributions are slightly less than 15 years an amount from the UK is added on. It is hoped that after Brexit this will still apply.

UK Adult Dependency Increases Stop in 2020 Male UK pensioners have been able to have in increase in their pension for a number of years for a wife or female partner, known as “Adult Dependency Increase”. This was because it was considered that men were the main income provider and if they had a financially dependent partner, not then able to receive a pension in their own right, the male received an increase. In 2007 this was stopped for new male pensioners after

2010 as it was considered that the idea of a male being the main income provider was no longer the case in general. It will be stopped from April 6th 2020 for all persons who still receive this increase as men and women are now treated equally, or before then if a wife reaches her own pension retirement age. This will result in an appreciable drop in income for many male pensioners with younger wives. If after Brexit the pound is devalued, this will be a double whammy for people who have their UK pensions paid here in euros. A UK pensioner can of course receive their pension in sterling paid into a UK bank account but the sterling to euro conversion rate for pensioners from the UK State cannot be matched by any currency company. Male UK pensioners have been receiving letters from the Department of Works & Pensions explaining this and the amount that the pension will be reduced by per week in each particular case. The information can b e s e e n a t w w w. g ov. u k / s t a te pension/circumstances-change. Another letter sent out to pensioners dated September 30th assumed that a hard or soft Brexit happened on October 31st(!) and states that UK pensioners living in an EU state in either event will continue to have the yearly increase in pensions for three years, so up to and including 2022-2023. At the bottom of this letter it states “The government plans to negotiate an agreement to ensure that your State Pension will carry on being upgraded in the longer term”. More information at: www.gov.uk/uk-nationals-living-eu.

The Spanish Royal Family Visit Catalonia The foundation “Princess of Girona” awards prizes to young people below the age of 35 who have merited special recognition. On November 4th the royal family visited Barcelona to present this year’s prizes, and it was the 10th anniversary of the first prizes being presented. This was the first visit to Catalonia by the royal family since the sentences from the High Court with prison terms were announced, and the subsequent demonstrations.

In a speech, King Felipe VI asked for constructive

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In the News dialogue in Catalonia and the rejection of any violence and divisive unconstitutional activity. On October 3rd, 2017, two days after the illegal referendum in Catalonia, King Felipe VI stated that the separatistswere “violating the democratic principles of the rule of law”.There were some anti-monarchy demonstrations outside the hotel where the prizes were presented but the 1,300 invited guests heavily applauded both him and his daughter, the Princess Leonor. Aged 14 she is the heir to the Spanish throne and presented the prizes speaking in Spanish, Catalan, English, and Arabic for the Arabian / Israeli woman Maria Jammal who is the founder of the charity “Humanity Crew” and received one of the prizes. Other prizes went to people in the arts, mathematics and neurology, and an entrepreneur and a social scientist. Princess Leonor spoke at the presentation of the “Prince of Asturias” awards at Oviedo on October 18th. In this case the entire Royal family mingled with large crowds who gave them an ecstatic welcome. The younger sister of Princess Leonor, Princess Sofía is aged 12.

Ecological Food Products Many food products are given labels such as Ecological, Organic, Biological, Bio and Eco but the common denominator is that there is no use of chemicals, pesticides or genetic modification, and that animals or poultry are outside for a part of every day and fed with products that only contain natural additives. Ecological growing started in the 1990s and Spain has been the principal supplier of ecological products in Europe since 2014. Sales now total 2 billion euros according to the Spanish Ministry for Agriculture and the number of growers, packers and sellers has gone up from 15,000 in 2000, 20,000 in 2005, and 30,000 in 2010 to 44,000 at present. The area under cultivation or for livestock in Spain is now 2.3 billion hectares (8.8 billion sq. miles). Within Spain, yearly purchases of ecological products is stated to be 47 euros per head of population which is double the amount in 2013, but this is far less than in Nordic countries. The amount spent

annually in Sweden is 288 euros and 278 in Denmark. The vast majority of Spain’s ecologically produced items are therefore exported. Ecological products are often more expensive and this has led some economists to call them “elitist” as not everyone can afford them. Ángel Soriano, a Spanish nutritionist, states that ecological goods are healthier because they do not contain chemicals, pesticides or additives that every person should avoid in their diet. In reality, the jury is still out as to whether ecological products are in actual fact a lot healthier or that they are something of an advertising claim or “fad”, without scientific foundation. The World Health Organization states that any fruit or vegetables that are not cooked and eaten raw should be peeled or washed well to remove pesticides, and that this is important.

What is certain is that the demand for ecological goods is increasing.

Moving a Danish Lighthouse In early November, Danish engineers completed an operation that involved digging under a lighthouse that weighed 720 tonnes to install a large trolley and moving in on rails 70m further away from a cliff. The Rubjerg Knude lighthouse is 120 years old and is considered a national treasure. Originally it was 200m from the sea but land erosion was measured at 2m per year. In 1968 it ceased to be used as a lighthouse and became a museum but in 2002 it was closed as swirling

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In the News sand was considered to make it dangerous for visitors. Despite this, 250,000 visitors come to see the exterior each year. The operation to move it cost the equivalent of 670,000 euros but the only other option was to completely dismantle it for re-building.

More Extradition Warrants for Catalan ExMPs Following the recent High Court judgements in the trials against politicians and senior figures in Catalonia, European arrest warrants and Interpol arrest warrants were issued by the court for four ex-MPs who fled Spain in 2017. The major fugitive from justice is Carles Puidgemont who was the President of the Catalonia Parliament at the time of the illegal independence referendum and the illegal declaration of independence in October 2017.

We comment on the extradition request for him in an article. Two other MPs, Antoni Comin and Lluis Puig, fled to Brussels at the same time and European arrest warrants for them were also sent to the Belgium Crown Prosecution Service. They voluntarily went to a police station with their lawyer followed by a brief court hearing. Another ex-MP, Clara Ponsatí, is a lecturer in economics at St. Andrew’s University in Glasgow where she now lives and has never returned to Spain. Following a short appearance in court in Glasgow the warrant was transferred to the Sheriff Tribunal in Edinburgh where extradition requests are handled. She is accused of sedition (treason), and of the two people in Belgium, one is accused of sedition and misuse of public funds and the other, misuse of public funds and disobedience of legal rulings. The prison terms for those people already convicted of sedition and misuse of public funds are from 9-13 years.

Overtaking on the Right It is not uncommon that on a motorway a vehicle overtakes another one in the right hand lane not the left one. This can result in a fine of 200 euros and if it is considered to be dangerous, the loss of four driving points as well. Exceptions are where there are more than two lanes and a traffic build

up means that vehicles in the right hand lanes are going faster. If a driver overtakes on the right because a vehicle in the left hand lane is going very slowly this is still an offence. In this case though, the driver in the left hand lane can be fined 200 euros as well, if their speed is below the legal minimum speed. On motorways and toll roads this speed as laid down by the Spanish Highway Code is 60km/h so 50% of the speed limit. This same 50% applies to non-urban roads as well. Vehicles on motorways or toll roads that have exceptional loads, so their speed is reduced, have to have other vehicles in front and behind with roof-top orange flashing lights to indicate this. It is illegal for an overtaking vehicle to not use their indicators before or after.

Dead For Over a Decade Isabel HernĂĄndez owned an apartment in a building in Madrid and her community fees, a special surcharge for repairs to the roof, standing charges for electricity water and rates were regularly paid by direct debits from a bank account and she received a monthly pension. Prior to the November 10th General Elections she was sent a polling card telling her where she needed to go to vote. A niece decided to visit her elderly aunt Isabel who she had not seen for a very long time when she was in Madrid and raised the alarm when she had no reply to knocking on her door several times.

Neighbours claimed they had not seen her for some time either. Police called out the fire brigade to get into her apartment via a balcony as her keys were on the inside in the lock and a locksmith could not gain entry. They found that she had died in the bath and due to the humid conditions and ventilation her body slowly mummified. A forensic autopsy determined that she had probably been dead for 12-14 years, just before her 80th birthday as she was born in 1926 and would now be 93. It came to light that there was a catalogue of errors and a bank official from a branch of La Caixa on her street where she had her bank account had gone to her apartment on one occasion as no money was being taken out for

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In the News living expenses. As she received no response and had no legal authority to take any further action she didn’t do anything else. A neighbour told the police a few years ago that post was not being taken out of her community box that had to be periodically emptied, and the police obtained a telephone number for Isabel’s sister-in-law, as they stated that no investigation could follow without a request from a relative. The sister-in-law said that she was sure that Isabel was still alive but was now in a nursing home. A neighbour on the same floor reported that he thought she might be dead at a community meeting but was told that because of data protection laws no contact details for relatives could be disclosed. The last positive sighting of Isabel appears to be in 2004. A porter for the apartment block who kept an eye on elderly residents lost his job after an intercom system was installed.

Non-Spanish Voting in Municipal Elections Last May in the municipal elections throughout Spain 470,000 EU nationals were able to vote. 50% were Rumanians and Brits who were on the ‘padrón’ (the official list of residents) in every municipality as EU nationals could vote if there was a reciprocity scheme in place in their countries for Spaniards.

Despite Brexit, Brits who qualified were allowed to vote and also stand as councillors. There are about 36.5 million Spaniards who are eligible to vote in each election. Following legislation passed in 2008, citizens from Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Norway, New Zealand, Peru, Cabo Verde, South Korea and Trinidad and Tobago could also apply to vote from reciprocal arrangements in their countries. In the run-up to the General Elections on November 10th, Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister in function, proposed that this right should be extended to other non-EU nationals.

This would apply to an estimated 740,000 Moroccans, 217,000 Chinese, 79,000 Pakistanis, 59,000 Senegalese, 51,000 Algerians, 46,000 Russians, 40,500 Indians and 34,500 Argentineans and there are no reciprocal arrangements with these countries. These totals are from figures

calculated last June 30th and form part of the estimated 5.5 million non-Spanish people who live in Spain. A PSOE party spokesperson stated that many of these nationalities had lived in Spain for years, paid taxes and Social Security and contributed to the general economy and they should have a voice in their municipality. In most Nordic countries persons of any nationality can vote in local or regional elections providing they have been registered residents for between 2-3 years according to the regulations in each country.

Electric Cars Not Popular Last month we commented on the fact that applications for grants to purchase an electric vehicle were not being made in any quantity and the scheme will probably be extended to next year.

A recent survey of 1,500 adult motorists asked if they would “consider” buying an electric car and only 10% thought that they might. The lack of sufficient charging points was one of the reasons, together with 40% of the people surveyed complaining about the cost. 35% of the people didn’t think they should have to pay more money to buy an electric car, but 30% thought they might pay up to 3,000 euros more. Only 14% thought that they would pay 5,000 euros more. Pere Navarro, the head of the DGT, the Spanish Traffic Authority, has commented that the cost is still too high. A range of 100-200km before a charge is necessary is also seen as an obstacle with many motorists seeing this as a handicap unless cars are used for urban journeys only. The survey also found that there was considerable confusion regarding purely electric and hybrid vehicles. As regards electric scooters, only 5% thought that they would buy one in the next year. A second survey, asking about company cars, showed that diesel cars were still the preferred option if new purchases were being made for 70% of those questioned. Only 30% thought it likely that they would buy electric cars in the next five years. The reasons given against a purchase of an electric vehicle were just the same as those given by members of the public.

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In the News Catalonia Independence Survey Whilst politicians who favour independence for Catalonia are threatening further action a survey shows that the idea is now rejected by the general public. A poll by the regional government official research centre published in mid-November revealed that 48.8% of those polled rejected the independence initiative and only 41.9% were in favour. This is a higher percentage of people voting against independence since another survey last July also came out against. The survey also asked if people thought that the present level of autonomy in Catalonia was sufficient (Catalonia is one of 11 autonomous communities in Spain that to a certain extent are self-governing) and 59% thought it was not. This is however, the lowest percentage for some time. In the November 10th General Elections the proindependence parties gained 42.6% of the votes but non-independence parties gained 39.9%, so the difference was not very pronounced. Political parties who want a democratic independence referendum obtained 14% of the votes. 3,000 companies moved their registered offices out of Barcelona and Catalonia after the independence declaration in October 2017 so that they pay corporation tax in places such as Madrid, Valencia and Alicante. This was because it was feared that much higher taxes would have to be introduced in Catalonia if independence became a reality.

Only a handful of companies have moved their registered offices back. Hotel groups are complaining of reduced numbers of guests, and the UK Foreign Office has advised potential travellers to Barcelona that they should avoid areas where there are demonstrations for their own safety, and the recent shutting of El Prat airport by demonstrators was not well received.

The purchase of new cars is well down and this is attributed to people being jittery and not wanting to spend money at present.

the common method of paying, and how to avoid risks. The courses were open to all ages but the target population was principally elder people.

Surveys in Spain from the Spanish Institute of Statistics from people who didn’t purchase online revealed that 28% of these want to go to a shop or sales outlet, 18% didn’t know how to make online purchases, 17% were worried about privacy or secure payment and 13% were worried about sending back defective goods and getting refunds.

In Almería city 178,000 people had shopped online in the last 12 months and the most popular purchases were food and drink and items for the home, which accounted for 80% of all purchases.

Anti-flu Vaccinations for Spanish Children Last month we reminded readers that the antiflu vaccinations were available and that vaccinating children was the subject of some debate. The Spanish Association of Microbiology has proposed that in the vaccination period November /December 2020 children in Spain from 6 months up to the age of five should be vaccinated. As we mentioned last month, children aged 2-11 were recommended to have the vaccinations in the UK this year, and children have been vaccinated in Finland for the past five years. Spanish Ministry of Health figures for 2018 are that 35,300 people with the flu were admitted to hospital, and 2,500 into intensive care wards, and 40% were minors. A total of 6,300 people died but only 54% of people over the age Using the Internet Courses have been set up in Almería city to explain of 65 asked to be vaccinated. The advice from the to people how to make secure purchases online, World Health Organization is that to stop outbreaks

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In the News of flu, 75% of this age group should be vaccinated.

Pregnant mothers need the vaccination that protects them and their babies for the first six months after birth but only 30% of pregnant mothers did this in 2018. Having the vaccination is stated to reduce the risk of hospitalisation by a factor of eight for this group. Another proposal is that people of every age should be able to be vaccinated as is the case in the US and Canada.

There will be a considerable cost in vaccinating children and a very considerable cost if all the population were able to have the ant-flu vaccinations.

The English Impeachment Witness Witnesses giving evidence in the US Congress enquiry as to whether Donald Trump should have impeachment proceedings started against him included the English-born diplomat Dr Fiona Hill.

Like other diplomats who testified, she is a nonpartisan career diplomat with no axe to grind.

Fiona was born in 1965 in Bishop Auckland where her father was a coal miner and her mother was a nurse. She obtained a degree from the Scottish St. Andrew’s University and then her doctorate degree at Harvard University. In the George Bush administration she served on the National Intelligence Council focusing on Russia and Europe, and in 2012 she co-authored the book “Mr Putin, Operative in the Kremlin”. In 2017 she was appointed a senior Russian and Europe adviser to the National Security Council and she prepared position papers with her department that dealt with the political situation in Ukraine, corruption and the role of the US in helping them with diplomatic and military aid. In the televised proceedings, where she testified under oath, many political reporters and CNN commented on her attractive English accent and cool delivery. The impeachment enquiry centres on the question as to whether Donald Trump held back a requested meeting between him and the new President of Ukraine and also delayed the release of a very large military aid financial package for his own political purposes. He is accused of pressurising

the President of Ukraine to announce investigations into his political rival Joe Biden who is the person most likely to oppose him in the 2020 Presidential Elections. Joe Biden’s son is on the board of a large Ukrainian gas company. Fiona testified that the holding back of the visit and aid came directly from the White House and President Trump. She detailed how there was a channel of negotiations to the Ukraine that was solely motivated to help President Trump personally, as opposed to the official State Department channel concerned with the importance of the Ukraine and the US on national security matters and combating Russian interference.

Shutting Down Website Access In conjunction with specialist cyber police, courts in Spain that work with the Spanish Minister of Culture can order website access to be denied where there are copyright issues. In November, a Latin music site from the Dominion Republic was closed and it had five variations of the main website that was Lomusic.org. It had hundreds of songs and albums and had ignored a previous court order.

Complaints from the Spanish Association of Authors resulted in access to two sites being blocked that had 67,000 books to be downloaded that were mostly novels. These were Ebookmundo.net and Lectulandis.com. The shutting down of access is notified to Telefónica, Vodafone, Orange, Masmovil, Google, Yahoo, Bing and other companies.

Popular Cars to Rob In Spain, the compulsory basic third party insurance does not include fire or theft so these are additional, but fully comprehensive insurance does give this cover. Nearly 20 million cars in Spain are covered for theft which includes the robbery of the whole vehicle, items inside, or parts, but only 42% of drivers are insured for theft in Almería province. A survey by the Spanish Association of Insurance Companies has compiled a list of the 10 cars most likely to have experienced robberies in 2018. The list mostly includes vehicles that are at least ten years old as their security features are

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In the News not as good as newer cars and the survey calls for better substitute locks to be available. The 2005 Seat Ibiza was the car stolen or broken into the most times, followed by the Seat León from 20032004 and then the Volkswagen Golf in third place.

The next most popular cars were the BMW Series 3, the Citroën Zara 2002-2003, the Ford Focus, Peugeot 206, Renault Megan, Citroën C3 and the Opel Astra. Only 20% of vehicles less than five years old are stolen or broken into but high value luxury cars are often stolen “to order” to be taken abroad or dismantled for parts. Central locking in modern cars is often a wifi system, and sophisticated thieves have high tech equipment that duplicates the unlocking mode or keyless ignition function.

Robberies of cars in Almería province are going down as more modern cars with better security are on the road. In 2010 there were 1,180 robberies but in 2018 there were only 360.

Falsifying Working Hours Since May, employers in Spain have to keep a record of daily working hours and each employee has the right to see the paperwork. This normally takes the form of time sheets, unless a big company has some sort of a clocking in and out system. The aim of this is to make sure that overtime is paid where applicable. Some employers have come to an “arrangement” with their employees that they will collude in the falsification of the correct hours and an employee may be threatened with losing their job if they don’t do this. Inspectors from the Ministry of Employment have been making spot checks and have announced 2,000 sanctions for fraud up to the end of October. Employment tribunals have also been hearing complaints. The owner of a hair and beauty salon has been fined for making false records when in reality an employee was obliged to work extra hours on a Friday and Saturday that were the busiest days.

The judge stated that it was quite clear that in businesses like this employees were required to work additional hours at weekends. The employee had a temporary contract for 24 hours a week and worked for five hours a day on Mondays to

Thursdays. On the Friday she had to work from 10am to 9pm with one hour off for lunch and from 10am to 3pm on Saturdays. This meant she actually worked 35 hours, not 24 and the owner of the salon made her sign a false declaration of her work hours. When the employee complained, she was sacked instead of being given a further temporary contract and so she went to an employment tribunal. The owner was given the option of paying the employee 1,100 euros in compensation for the extra hours or giving her back her job with back payment of wages. Quite often, bar or restaurant employees have to work very long hours, particularly in the summer months, and they are often very scared of losing their jobs if they do not let the owner falsify the hours they work.

A Property Renting Scam Last year, a woman who advertised holiday rental properties that did not exist, or were not for rent, was arrested in Almería city. She had defrauded people out of substantial amounts of money, not just in Almería province. The latest arrest concerns a man who advertised long-term rentals on the internet, and he conned 24 people out of a total of 9,000 euros. When people replied to his adverts and wanted to rent the property he asked for a deposit, or one month’s rent, via a bank transfer.

He then came up with excuses such as that the previous renter was late moving out, or there were documentation problems, or improvements were being made that were not yet completed. In reality the properties did not exist. Police advise potential renters of properties on the internet to be wary of ones where the rent is substantially lower than normal, or there is no contact phone number. An honest owner of one or more rental properties on the internet should have opinions from previous renters that look reliable. The police state that potential renters should ask for documentation such as the identity of the person advertising the property, a receipt such as one for ‘IBI (rates) or a ‘nota simple’ from the land registry that will indicate that the property does exist and is not ficticious.

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Reducing the Cost of Electricity

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nderstanding electricity bills is something that the average person in Spain finds almost impossible, with various fixed charges before any electricity is used and additional charges related to the amount used. There is then the charge for the actual electricity we use and the whole lot is then subject to IVA (VAT) at the top rate of 21%.

be the same. On the back of sheet 2 that comes with your electricity bills, electricity supply companies have to put the saving in cost if you opt for a split tariff so that you can easily see how much you could save. On the Endesa website they state that for 85-90% of Spanish homes the saving can be 40%.

Between November to perhaps April (depending on the weather) people are in general heating their houses with electrical equipment and this is an expensive time of year. Summer costs, even with air-conditioning, are usually less money but there are ways to reduce your bill.

In Spain, consumers of electricity can elect to have a split tariff known as ‘2.0DH discriminación horaria’ and any user can ask for this, but only 22% of consumers have done. In winter, during the hours of 10pm to 12 noon (11pm-1pm in summer) known as “horas valle” the price of electricity is about 50% of the cost from 12 noon to 10pm known as “horas punto”. There is another split tariff with a “super reduced” cost from 1am to 7am, as well as the normal two periods, but in the main this is for people with electric cars. If everybody opted for the split tariff it is calculated that electricity bills throughout Spain would be reduced by 170 million euros.

Once a person has the split tariff they can make the highest saving by using the most electricity that they need in the cheap period. This can include putting a time clock on a water heater, using a washing machine or dishwasher and setting the timer on a pool pump to come on in this period. Using an oven to cook food in this period will also save money. With air-conditioning that gives heat in the winter, keeping it on during the night at a low “tick-over” temperature will mean that the cost in the expensive period is less, and the same applies to oil filled electric radiators.

With care and forethought it should not be difficult to use twice as much electricity in the cheap period as in the expensive period and the cost will

Electricity supply companies also offer a fixed price per month so that every bill is the same but FACUA, the official Spanish Consumer Organisation, considers that apart from the peace of mind that every bill is the same, it may not be an overall saving over the year and can be 20-25% more expensive. The Endesa name for this is “One Luz” or “One Luz Nocturna” with a fixed price split tariff.

If your electricity appliances are getting on in age it is a good idea to change them for modern ones that are much more efficient. Air-conditioning comes into this category along with washing machines, dishwashers and fridge freezers. Light bulbs are another item where the cost can be drastically reduced by substituting existing bulbs for the LED variety. These are typically 4watt to 8watt, giving the same light as 60-100watt tungsten bulbs and the initial cost is soon recouped.

Switching any light bulb off in a room or hallway when you don’t need it also saves money!

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Latest Spanish General Elections

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aturday, November 9th was a “day of reflection” before the latest General Elections in Spain that took place on Sunday, November 10th, and no electioneering can take place on that day. These General Elections were the second in six months and the fourth in four years. The PSOE Socialist party led by Pedro Sánchez took office in July 2018 after a vote of no confidence in the PP Conservative party but with a minority. In the last General Elections in April they obtained the most seats but still not a majority, and he was unable to be elected Prime Minister on July 23rd and 24th.

This meant that if no party or coalition of parties could form a government by September 23rd new elections had to be called for by King Felipe VI, and this is what happened. The minimum time period between calling for elections and the new ones meant that elections took place on November 10th.

36.89 million Spaniards were entitled to vote including 2.1 million in other countries, with 502,000 in Almería province. The turnout was a respectable 70%. Pedro Sánchez was gambling on increasing his number of MPs from 123 last April but this backfired. He lost three seats and 728,000 votes although this was still the largest number of MPs. To form a majority there needs to be 176 MPs. More importantly, the situation with regard to other parties changed dramatically. The PP party gained 22 seats giving them 88 MPs with 662,000 extra votes. The feared popularity of the Vox ultra-right wing party was a fact and they went from 24 to 52 MPs, twice more than last April, with 962,000 votes. Worryingly, they stand for a united Spain with no autonomous communities such as Andalucía, are against same sex marriages, the amount of money spent on helping victims of domestic violence and the numbers of immigrants, but are vehemently opposed to independence in Catalonia. The Ciudadanos, a centre right party that was formed 13 years ago but only became a major player recently as “a

conservative party without the corruption”, lost out spectacularly with 2.5 million less votes going down to only 10 MPs from 57 and their leader promptly resigned.

Pedro Sánchez

The left wing Podemos (We can) party went down from 42 to 35 MPs and this was the party most likely to form an alliance with the PSOE but the combined numbers were only 155, worse than last April, and 21 short of a majority. The very new Más País party, a splinter group from Podemos, gained three seats, and other small parties mostly in the Basque country and Catalonia made up the remainder of MPs. The ERC and JXCAT “separatist” parties pushing for independence in Catalonia gained 21seats out of 47.

Pedro Sánchez called for “constructive dialogue” with other parties for him to become Prime Minister. On the Tuesday after the elections he announced an alliance with the Podemos party and gave their leader Pablo Iglesias a big hug for the TV cameras, but he could have done this on April 30th and certainly by last July! Pablo Iglesias will be one of two Vice Presidents with three government ministers. Five small parties will probably give Pedro Sánchez another 13 votes and the ERC party with 13 votes may abstain. He is portraying them as the party that would mean third General Elections were necessary if they don’t do this. Pedro Sánchez has set the dates of December 16th and 18th to be elected Prime Minister.

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Susana Díaz

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So Now You Know...

Department Store Santas In 1841, the J. W. Parkinson’s store in Philadelphia decided to feature a visit from Santa for children as a means of attracting people into their store. It was by no means a universal event throughout the US, and it was not until 1890 that a store in Boston featured a Santa. Before long, the use of a Santa for boosting sales became a normal thing, and lines of children queued up to sit on his lap and tell Santa what they wanted. Parents normally slipped some money to Santa when the children were not looking!

The “Department store Santa” has been immortalised in famous films such as “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Christmas Story”.

Home Alone As with many famous Christmas films, “Home Alone” contained a reference to another Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” in the scene where the rest of the family are seen watching TV in their hotel room in France. Macaulay Culkin still has a scar to this day from when the character Harry, played by Joe Pesci, bit Kevin McAllister’s finger far harder than was intended. Daniel Stern was not at all impressed when he had to be filmed with a big tarantula on his face but he agreed to do it for just one take. His scream had to be dubbed on later as it was thought that it might scare the tarantula, and this was the last thing anybody wanted to happen!

Mistletoe Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that only grows on other trees. Legend has it that Balder, who was the son of Frigga, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, was killed by an arrow dipped in mistletoe poison.

Frigga mourned for her son so deeply that the red berries became white from her tears and the Gods brought Balder back to life. Druids considered that mistletoe cured diseases, and in Europe and Asia extracts were credited with curing arthritis, rheumatism, hypertension and mild epilepsy. The origins of kissing under the mistletoe becoming popular are totally unclear but to be given a kiss a young man had to remove a berr y.

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The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree Starting in 1947 as a gift from Norway to thank the UK for their help in WWII, a Norwegian spruce tree is sent to Trafalgar Square every Christmas.

It is carefully selected and felled in November when the Lord Mayor of Westminster, the UK Ambassador to Norway, and the Mayor of Oslo attend the ceremony. A typical tree is 20-25m high and is 50-60 years old. It is shipped to the UK and taken to London on a decorated lorry where a special team erect it in the square and adorn it with lights. This year the tree will be lit up on December 5th at 6pm and after January 6th the trees are recycled and composted to make mulch.

Christmas Turkeys Turkeys were a poultry that was easily bred and not as tough as chicken rooster meat. Normal chickens were kept for laying eggs, and beef as a cooked meat was considered to be wasteful as cows gave milk. In the 17thand 18th centuries venison was popular at Christmas but as it had to be hunted it was not a food eaten by ordinary people. As an alternative in Britain, serving up geese, swans or even peacocks was popular but swans tasted fishy unless they had been specially fed on corn. Eating turkey at the traditional thanksgiving meal in the US eventually crossed the Atlantic and became popular in the UK as the normal Christmas Day lunch meal.

Poinsettias The poinsettia plant was originally native to Mexico and cultivated by the Aztecs who considered that the brilliant red colour symbolized purity. They called the plant “Cuetlaxochtl” and used the leaves to make dye and the sap to cure fever. Joel Roberts Poinsett was the first US Ambassador to Mexico from 1825 and he saw the plants in 1828 in the Taco area. Because he was so taken with the plant he sent some back to South Carolina. They then became known as “Poinsettia” in 1830. Mexican legend is that God turned some weeds into the striking plant as a gift for a poor girl who had nothing to give to the baby Jesus at Christmas.

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Wild Boars in Spain

W

ild boars in Spain, called ‘jabalí’ (Latin name Sus Scrofa), are ancestors of the domestic pig. They are found in most parts of Spain except in the Balearic and Canary Islands. and not arid areas, although there are some in the Cabo de Gata National Park which is semi-desert. In November there were many reports and sightings of wild boar in our area, or evidence of where they had been.

on the outskirts of Almería city a good number went down a vehicle ramp onto the beach and nonchalantly headed down to the sea. After a quick dip they went away, but as it was in the afternoon people sunning themselves on the beach were not amused!

Strictly speaking a boar is the male hog only, but the name is used to describe all of them. Fully grown male boars are called ‘veraccos’, the female is a ‘jabalina’, and the piglets are ‘jabatos’. Males can grow to a shoulder height of -47 inches (76119 cm), weigh 150-400 pounds (68-181 kg), and sometimes as much as 700 pounds (317 kg). They have a thick body, relatively thin legs, a short neck, and a long, pointed head ending in a snout. Canine teeth are usually well-developed and form impressive tusks. Females are smaller than males and have much smaller tusks. Their coats are a dense , sometimes with cheek whiskers and a neck mane. Each foot has four toes, the middle two supporting the body. The females give birth to four or five piglets once a year but they can have as many as six. In areas where there is not a pronounced winter period there may be two litters in a 15 month period. After six months the young ones weigh about 30kg.

Wild boars are beneficial to the woodland ecology as they root up and overturn earth in search of insects and worms. This helps propagate seeds that grow into plants, and insects and birds follow so the food chain is repeated. They eat all kinds of vegetable matter, along with small animals and carrion. Their sense of smell and hearing is very good but their eyesight is only fair. They are There are large numbers of wild boars, except in normally wary and alert and are fast runners and places where there are still wolves, as they have strong swimmers. no other natural predators. They are hunted, and as many as 80,000 to 100,000 are killed each year, So the big question is, how dangerous are they? but a rough estimate is that there are 600,000 The answer is that they are unpredictable and to 700,000 in all of Spain. There are periods of can be dangerous if they feel threatened. The the year when various animals in Spain cannot be ones that encroach on urban areas that have been hunted, but as there are so many wild boars, spotted here recently are more likely to be seen in the evening or at night time as they have hunting is allowed all year. adapted to scavengingwhen it is dark. A person The absence of water partly determines where walking a dog who comes across wild boars should they like to live as wild boars have no sweat glands. beat a retreat, and the sows may feel threatened In hot weather they seek out water or mud to when they have their young. Serious accidents wallow in to cool down but last August at a beach can occur if a car slams into a large boar.

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The Extradition of Carles Puidgemont

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hen the illegal declaration of independence a period of 60-90 days but he has asked for a delay was made in the Catalonia Parliament on until December 16th “to prepare his defence” and October 27th, 2017, central government invoked the judge in Brussels allowed this. article 155 of the Spanish Constitution and dissolved the parliament for “exceptional circumstances”.

Various people appeared in court and twelve were remanded in custody charged with rebellion, sedition (treason) and misuse of public funds.

Last month we detailed the prison terms handed down, but Carles Puidgemont, the ex-President, and other MPs fled Spain in October 2017, and he went to Brussels to avoid arrest. Since then he has attempted to influence events in Catalonia and is very media savvy. In December 2017, a court in Belgium declined to extradite him back to Spain as they considered that there was no such offence of rebellion in Belgian law so the European arrest warrant was withdrawn, but the Spanish arrest Carles Puidgemont was elected as a Euro MP for Catalonia along with another ex-MP in Brussels last warrant was still in place.

May, but this was ruled invalid by the Spanish High In March 2018, when he was returning from a Court as they had to appear in the Catalonia political event in Denmark he travelled back to Parliament to be confirmed as Euro MPs. They didn’t Brussels by road and a new European arrest warrant do this as they would have been arrested! They was issued and he was arrested in Germany. Their tried to enter the European Parliament as elected court decided that they were not going to extradite Euro MPs but were denied entry. The extradition him for rebellion for the same reasons but they request has been put forward to the court by the would for misuse of public funds. The Spanish judge Belgian Crown Prosecution Department and if they in charge of the proceedings then withdrew the rule in Spain’s favour there will certainly be appeals second European arrest warrant as they didn’t want to a higher court in Belgium, or if this fails, to the him extradited solely for the misuse of public funds. European Court of Human Rights. The published written verdict from the Spanish High Court judges This October, when the verdicts were made public had several pages of legal argument designed to in Madrid, the seven high court judges ruled that thwart any appeals. Carles Puidgemont’s Belgian the prosecution for rebellion could not be proved lawyer has dealt with extradition requests in Belgium without direct violence or a direct order that previously when Spain was extraditing ETA terrorists. violence took place, so these charges were dropped. The “statute of limitations” for sedition (the time A new European and Interpol arrest warrant was from the offence within which a prosecution can issued as the charges of sedition (that Carles be mounted) is 15 years so there is plenty of time!

Puidgemont would have been charged with) were proved in court and prison sentences handed down.

In Brussels he was initially arrested, appeared in court the next day and was released after being ordered not to change his address, report regularly to the police, and hand in his passport. Extradition hearings are usually dealt with very quickly within

The ex-President of Catalonia, Oriol Junqueros, was given a prison term of 13 years so this would be the absolute minimum sentence if Carles Puidgemont is eventually convicted, and an additional prison term could be added on for misuse of public funds.

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Leaving the Nest

C

hristmas is a time when children often like to return to their family home. In Spain, many of them still haven’t left home as the age at which they do this is much higher than the 24yr old average in Europe. It is quite normal here that young adults are 29-30 when they set off on their own, and this applies to 25% of this age group.

The Spanish Institute of Statistics state that 53% of young people aged 25-29 still live at home.

quality of life improves and this is reflected in the general economy. The ability to obtain a mortgage or rent a property without worries has benefits not just for the individual person, but also for providers of goods and services. A person on a temporary contract is continually worried that they may lose their job and if they are on low wages they don’t have disposable income to buy things or leave home.

Often this is not because young people choose to stay at home. It is rather that they do not have financial stability in work (assuming they are in work) so they cannot get their foot on the property ladder, or be confident that that they can continue to pay rent which often costs more than a mortgage. Elisa Chuliá is a Professor of Sociology and she states quite firmly that a young person staying in the parental home is a necessity, not a voluntary choice. The construction and financial crisis is still having an effect on young persons and whilst employment in Spain is improving, 34% of young people are unemployed and 50% of those aged 16-24. In 2007 when there was no crisis, 60% of young people aged 20-29 There are a large number of case studies of typical had their own accommodation, even if it was situations. One of these relates to a young man shared, but in 2018 this number had halved. who left school aged 16 without the basic qualification he could have obtained if he had Rafael Pampillión is a spokesperson for the College repeated a year. His uncle gave him a job as a of Economists in Madrid and also holds a chair in labourer at a building site but with the construction Applied Economy at the Madrid San Pablo crisis he was laid off six months later. During University. He says that there has to be a major periods when he was mostly unemployed he incentive for employers to give permanent worked as a waiter, helped a plumber and contracts instead of temporary ones that account electrician, and washed up in a kitchen. All these for 40% of all contracts, the highest in the EU. jobs were without any contract and paid in “black” Rafael points out that many university students money. In ten years he had fifteen temporary cannot find work that reflects their qualifications jobs and only paid into the Social Security system but consequently many employers now ask for a for one year. He rented a very small studio higher level of education than the job merits. This apartment with his girlfriend but when they split means that under-qualified young people are up (partly because she lost her job) he went back squeezed out, and this is a vicious cycle. home and is now 28. The Red Cross trains unqualified young adults to get a job and four months He points out that a fixed contract results in ago, after a trial period, he was finally given a better productivity because an employee will work permanent contract as an assistant cook at a fast better if they have steady employment, their food outlet.

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“ITV” Vehicle Tests

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ll Spanish registered vehicles have to pass compulsory tests at certain periods of time depending on the age and type of vehicle. These are known as ITV tests (Inspección Técnica de Vehículos) and are the equivalent of the UK MOT tests. Unlike the UK they have to be done at special centres, not garages. In Andalucía, including Almería province, the company VIEASA S.A carry out the tests and there are nine centres here including Vera, Albox and Vélez-Rubio.

You then fill in either box two or box three (you can choose which one). Box two is the date of first registration: ** (two digit date) ** (two digit month) **** (four digit year). Box three is the last six digits of the “bastidor” (chassis number) which is a long number made up of capital letters and numerals. The date of first registration is on line “I” of your “Permiso de Circulación” and the bastidor number is on line “E”. Alternatively, on modern vehicles, the bastidor number can be seen by looking at the windscreen where it is shown at All centres have a comprehensive data bank that the bottom right hand corner. tells them which vehicles are due for a test each month. Private cars have to pass a test on the fourth anniversary of the date they were first registered, at two year intervals until they are ten years old and then annually. The first test for a small van is when it is two years old. Vehicle owners, friends, mechanics or garages can take a vehicle to be tested at any centre with a central telephone number for prior bookings given on our “Useful Numbers” page, or it can be done online. Vehicles may pass straight away or have minor faults “defectos leves” or serious faults “defectos graves” or be deemed to be unroadworthy “defectos muy graves” so you can’t drive the vehicle away. Retests have to be carried out in all cases.

All vehicles have two important documents. The technical specification from first registration is the “Ficha Técnica”. The “Permiso de Circulación” is a green document personal to you, with your name and the date you registered the purchase.

Apart from these, ITV stations want to see a current certificate of insurance.

Until September 2018 in Andalucía, vehicle owners were sent a letter with the date a test was due.

Since then, a vehicle owner can apply to be advised of the next due date by a text message to a mobile or an email address. To obtain a reminder go to www.notificacionesvieasa.es and there are three boxes.

The first one is the “matricula” (number plate).

You then click on “siguiente” (next) and choose to supply a mobile number or an email address that has to be put in twice. To finish you click on “confirmar” (confirm). You immediately get a message on-screen advising you that the data has been registered, and you will then receive a text message or an email straight away. If your vehicle has already passed an ITV test, the windscreen sticker showing the year it is due has a piece punched out for the month in Roman numerals. The actual date for the next test is shown on the ITV document from the last test, or on the “Ficha Técnica”. Being stopped by the police with no valid ITV carries a fine of 200 euros, or 100 euros if paid within 20 days. Your insurance company may be reluctant (or refuse) to process a claim if you have no valid ITV.

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Useful Telephone Numbers Emergencies (Multi-lingual)...................112 Health Emergencies: Life Threatening .........................................061 Other Health Emergencies...........902505061

HACIENDA (TAX OFFICE) Huércal Overa .......................950 470209 / 950 471013

FUNERAL DIRECTOR Albox (Funerarias Teruel) .......................................950 430122 Guardia Civil ..................................................062 Huércal Overa (Colly Fer) ...............................950 616161 Local Police ....................................................092 Garrucha (Funerarias Funerga) ..............................950 460295 Coast Guard .................................900 202 202 Mojácar (Funeraria Pérez) ...................................950 478102 Vera (Funeraria Ntra. Sra. de las Angustias) ..950 390884 AIRPORTS Almeria airport .....…..............…902 404 704 / 950 213 700 HOSPITALS Huércal-Overa, Alicante airport ….............………913 211 000 / 966 919 000 Hospital La Inmaculada..................................................950 029000 Corvera airport ……...……....................................….913 211 000 Almería Torrecárdenas............................................950 016000 Almería,Virgen del Mar (Private).....................950 217100 BRITISH EMBASSY Virgen del Mar Emergencies:............................950 217240 Madrid ......................................................................917 146300 LOCAL POLICE BRITISH CONSULATE Albox ...............................................................................950 121080 Málaga (for this area) ................................................952 352300 Carboneras .................................................................950 136136 Cuevas del Almanzora ................................................950 548700 UK PASSPORT INFORMATION Garrucha ............................................................................950 460002 www.gov.uk/browse/abroad/passports Huércal-Overa ..............................................................950 470585 Mojácar ...........................................................................950 472000 EMERGENCY UK PASSPORTS Pulpi ……………......................................................................950 465049 www.gov.uk/emergency-travel-document Vera .................................................................................950 390010 CREDIT CARDS 24hr EMERGENCIES 4B(Visa/Mastercard) …..902 114400 / 913 626200 American Express …...................................................900 814500 Diners Club …..........................................................902 401112 Mastercard …..........................................................900 971231 Servired (Visa/Mastercard) …............................902 192100 Visa …..........................................................................900 991124

TOWN HALLS Albox ....................................................................................950 120908 Antas ............................................................................950 619015 Arboleas .............................................................................950 449430 Cuevas del Almanzora .................................................950 456488 Los Gallardos ....................................................................950 469000 Garrucha ...............................................................................950 460058 Huércal-Overa ...............................................................950 134900 Mojácar ...........................................................................950 615009 ELECTRICITY Sevillana Endesa Enquiries: ..................(free).800 760333 Turre ..................................................................................950 479011 Breakdowns:.........................(free).900 850840 Vera .....................................................................................950 393016 WATER Galasa Enquiries: ..................................................950 391200 TELEPHONE (Telefonica) Breakdowns: ...........................................902 355575 Normal Operator ..................................................................1004 Gestagua (Albox) ....................................................950 120649 Faults Operator ....................................................................1002 International Operator ......................................................11825 GAS Speaking Clock .........................................................................093 Cepsa (Silver bottles) Leaks ….......................902 100224 Cepsa, information …......................................902 416416 TAXIS See Directory pages Repsol (Red bottles) Leaks .......................901 121212 Repsol, information .........................................901 100100 MOBILES LOST OR STOLEN (From any 'phone) ITV (Spanish M.O.T. Centres) Orange …........................................................................656 001470 Vera, Albox, Veléz Rubio Telefónica Movistar …............................................095 702611 Central number ……………........................................959 999999 Vodafone …....................................................................607 123000 Yoigo …..................................................................................622 622622 TRAINS Renfe www.horarios.renfe.es ……..........…….902 240202

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Cazorla Martinez (Turre) .........................................950 479137 ACCOUNTING AFIRA (Mojácar) .........................................................622 549019 Cervantes Alarcon Consulting (Garrucha) 950 106490 / 647 863787 Concepción Rivas Gil (Arboleas) ….....950 438092 / 647 577716 Flores Montoya Asesoria S.L. (Garrucha) ..................950 132577 Gecko Legal Services S.L. (Mojácar) 950 475949 / 638 264621 Gestoría Salvador (Mojácar Playa) ................................950 473 192 Mojácar Playa Asesores ……................…….…………950 472710 Sintra Consultores (Vera) …......................................950 393815 Vera Advisors (Vera) ………………..................………950 390621 Villalba Asesores (Albox) ..........................................950 431720

ACUPUNCTURE Acupuncture Antonio Herrero ......................................670 099725 Asesoría Forte (Vera) ..........................950 395778 / 682 372196

AIRPORT PARKING Asesoría López (Vera) ……...................................….950 393071 AA Parking (Almería, Murcia, Alicante) ......................639 081067 Asesoría Torres (Mojácar) .........................................950 472748 Aqua-Car (Alicante) ……………........................................966 790 011 Asesoría Sánchez Moral (Mojácar) ...........................670 099726 Coastline Alicante Airport Parking .............................661 517890 Plane Parking S.L. …………............................................966 840 289 ...............(24hrs Alicante) 656 532725, (24hrs Murcia) 656 532724 Seguro Parking (San Jávier – Murcia) ……............622 062115 Victoria Parking (Alicante).................................................965 830 254

AIR CONDITIONING ABC (A Better Climate) (See p.11)...647 247494 / 950 092604 Andy Lake - Williams Electrical ............................…..677 741366 Cool Solutions ...........................................................600 621436 DCM Digitek Comms (Mojácar) (See p.19) .950 472947 / 670 084438 Electrotorres ........................................677 530410 / 610 750771 MD Air Conditioning & Refrigeration S.L. 607 364917 / 950 432110 Barbara Caparros Ridao (Vera) …..........................950 390427 Richard Hayes ...........................................................603 567676 CG Legal & Financial (Mojácar Playa) ..950 472504 / 670 215926 SolAir (See p.49) ................................950 472081 / 645 294064 Cabrera Cervantes (Turre) ................950 099400 / 627 464545 Solo Satellite & Air-Con. (See p.55)...950 398146 / 699 909737

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ANTIQUES Delfos (Mojácar) ......................................................647 163681 Pink House (La Concepción) ..............622 288750 / 681 095096

ARCHITECTS Angel Pardo (Técnico) .......................950 121960 / 687 939315 Antonio Martinez de la Casa .....................................950 092094 Architecture & Engineering Mojácar (See p.17)..........950 655468 Blas Haro Morales (Mojácar).......................................639 317429 Daniel González Aranda (Vera) ......................................686 846 624 Elena Acebo Architects (Huércal-Overa) .669 680098 / 950 134976 Paula Puente (Mojácar) .............................................610 433001

AIRPORT TRANSFERS (LEGAL) Exclusive Airport Shuttles (See p.59)..........................950 092602

ART & ARTISTS Adolfo Prado ...............................................................950 472668 Alison .......................................................................630 833873 Anushree Krementz .................................................672 721096 Caz (art classes) ………................................……….607 444034 Dee Butler (Albox) ................................................….663 341904 Delfos Gallery (Mojácar) …........................................647 163681 Evie Fox ................................................................ 603 493163 Isabel Raths (Bedar) ................................................677 034957 Jeremy Fox-Rayner ...................................................653 714767 Jill Bennett (Mojácar) .........................950 478383 / 600 070188 Living Design (Albox) ...............................................678 308073 MarianMay Simpson …...........................………..……629 113436 Melanie .....................................................................638 495784 Miki ...........................................................................628 458491 Pink House (La Concepción) (See p.57)622 288750 / 681 095096 Roberto Lombardi ................................950 930757 / 671 800317 The Gallery (La Concepción) ..................................607 146352

AUCTIONS A & A Auctions (Albox) ………..............950 064576 / 661 759882

ALARMS & SECURITY AC Security ........................................950 387822 / 657 AXA ...........................................................................950 B-Safe Digital Security Solutions ..............................634 Prosegur Alarms .........................................................608 Safes & Security (Dean)...........................................666 SE Telecoms ..............................................................697

397218 478763 349859 825509 949213 780499

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Auction Subasta (Los Carasoles) (See p.58).UK 7413190882 / 643 137106 Las Buganvillas Location Warehousing S.L. (Antas El Real) ..............950 528565 Gnomo Feliz II ..........................................................950 462540 La Colonial ……………….........................................….950 133918

AUTOMATIC DOORS & GATES

The Metal Works (Albox).......................950 930520 / 638 900949

Los Carasoles

AWNINGS & BLINDS

Los Gallardos

Curtains with Style (Interior blinds) ...950 069032 / 678 811125 Costasol S.L. (Lloyd Dean) (See cover)...........................667 652 888 Coverbox (Albox) …................................................…615 992007 Cristalería Omega (Mojácar) …..........950 478137 / 670 500711 Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 PersiVera 2005 S.L. ..................................................627 978635 Screenmasters (See p.45)......….…...........................677 152911 Sol Shaders S.L. (See p.45).....................................627 907207 Speedyfit ...................................................................600 006032 Toldos Farrago (Vera) ...............................................667 567564

Harley’s ..................................................................642 637371 Apolo ……………................................................……600 495182 Meson Verfran ……….........................950 469393 / 637 810143

Las Herrerias Eugenia ...................................................................950 069021

Mojácar Bar Esencial ........................................630 26626 / 618 826092 Bar Luz ....................................................................654 866110

BABY See Children & Baby BAKERIES Cornish Pride (Albox) …................................………666 618933

BARS & CAFES See also Restaurants Albox Bar Lepanto .........................................................................642 391433 Chapman’s ...............................................................950 091188 Cornish Pride ...................................................………666 618933 La Palmera ….............................................................950 430993 The Travellers Inn, Los Marcelinos ...........................664 111990

Alfaix La Venta de Alfaix .....................................................671 272464

Arboleas Hotel Rural Azabache ...............................................690 258813 Humbugs Cafe …................................643 123253 / 643 075387

Bédar El Cortijo ...........................................950 398108 / 689 702916 El Paso ...................................................................950 469409

Cerro Gordo Bistro Bonita .......................................650 599739 / 950 930169

Cucador La Vida .....................................................................950 634562

El Campico (Bédar-Lubrin) La Montaña .............................................................670 589788

Garrucha Tierra y Mar .............................................................850 992808

Huércal-Overa El Capricho ….........................................................637 595326 Hotel Overa (See p.13) ............................................950 470879 New Why Not? ............................................................950 135614

La Alfoquía Bar La Unión ...........................................................642 008003 Heathers ...................................................................642 144727

Beachcomber ..............................................................634 339216 Cafeteria Bellagio .......................................…………950 472342 Cafetería Pizzería Alcazaba ……….657 560679 / 645 414793 Café Latino ...............................................................626 717323 Captain's Tapas Bar & Restaurant...............................617 477797 Cave Bar ...............................................................…..950 478799 Delfos .......................................................................647 163681 Dolce Vita .................................................................950 478476 El Aleman ...............................................................617 317801 El Antler ………...........................................................600 540661 El Deseo ..................................................................670 018035 El Lugar ...................................................................679 676405 El Toro .....................................................................622 456560 Enrico ...................................................950 472995 / 642 514738 Fany …………...........................................………….634 312820 Fusion Beach ...........................................................950 615224 Gastro Malabar (See p.38/39)...................................950 472970 Koi …...........................................................................950 615452 Kukis ...........................................................................950 475766 La Cantina (Mexican) ................................................950 478841 La Piká .....................................................................950 930744 La Taberna (Mojácar Pueblo) ..............618 696172 / 647 724367 Los Amigos .......................................…………………950 478489 Levante ....................................................................950 615224 Lucero ………..................................................……….673 544617 Marcelo Entre Tapas ...................................................950 031812 Martinis ....................................................................950 285330 Mesón Felipe San Bernabé ................950 475966 / 631 301368 Mesón Mémé ……………...........……….674 141159 / 647 954405 Mimi’s Bar ..................................................................651 872604

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Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com La Pará ……………............................................……637 545590 Rosie Lees .............................................................643 198600

Moca Cafe Bar …......................................................950 452885 Playa Blanca ...........................................950 473001 / 639 507520 Reina Mora ...............................................................950 473204 Valle del Este Rincon del Zahorí ..................................630 314400 / 625 103672 Hole in One Karen’s Bar ......................950 461068 / 677 655790 Rose & Crown (See p.15)........................................634 796884 Vera Rusty Nail ...............................................................662 153813 La Amistad …………….…......................................…666 272817 San Pedro Belgian Bar .............................................722 485340 Scotty's …...................................................................687 382540 Vera Playa The Emerald Isle .....................................................652 105827 The Irish Rover (See p.41).........................................950 473135 The Lemon Lounge .............................................….950 472659 The Roof Garden .................................................674 113218 Trufibar ....................................................................664 103611 Twister .....................................................………………600 006032 Valery Cocktail Bar .........................................................950 615537

Palomares 102 Tapas Bar …………....................950 467745 / 615 157905.

Asagía Asador ........................................................640 210185 La Dulce Casa ….............................950 618059 / 950 467768 Monika ......................................................................659 672615 Bar La Reva ..........................................................618 The Oasis ............................................950 467381 / 676 365010 El Balconcito .............................................................635 Frankie’s Bar ............................................................622 Piedra Amarilla, Partaloa La Peperina .........................................678 643013 / 678 Lorena’s ...................................................................634 345353 The Blue Parrot ......................................................950

Pueblo Laguna

541115 589909 649469 642856 467682

Villaricos

Bar Restaurant Laguna ……….........................……..950 132566 Bar La Plaza Villaricos .........................................…950 Dee’$ Dollar Bar ........................................................950 372295 El Galeon ……...................................................……671 Pub Millionaire ....................................950 617467 / 637 255978 El Gato ..............................................619 884792 / 628 Los Conteros .....................................950 618629 / 699 Lucky Bar Pizzeria ...........................................…….647

467590 588790 169659 010705 073598

BARS (BEACH BARS) Aku Aku (Mojácar) .............................950 478981 / 607 347612 Alma (Mojácar) …......................................................950 805928 Ankara Beach Terrace (Mojácar) ………........………..950 473042 Armony Beach Club (Vera Playa) …......……………..617 745021 Chiringuito Manacá (Mojácar) ............693 618671 / 600 045599 Costa Tranquila (San Juan de los Terreros)..............620 236798 El Cid (Mojácar) ...................................950 472063 / 696 056128 El Patio (Mojácar) ...............................670 018035 / 629 287265 San Juan de los Terreros Hola Ola (Mojácar) ..................................................664 097279 Mi Cortijo ………......................................................…950 466323 Lola Bbme (Palomares) ……………….634 062350 / 657 303043 Turre Los Tarahis (Agua Amarga) .......................................950 138235 Alice’s Bar ……….......................................................677 161705 Lua Beach Club (Mojácar) …......................………… 950 472643 Chili ...................................................950 468425 / 608 802227

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Mandala Beach Club (Mojácar) ................................950 Maraú (Vera Playa) ………...........................…………671 Maui (Mojácar) ……...................................................950 Neptuno (Mojácar) ..................................................…616 Playa Juana Beach Club (See p.7) ..........................690 Sol y Arena (Mojácar) ..............................................950 Tito’s (Mojácar) ..........................................................950 Trufibar ....................................................................664

473131 580340 478722 005387 984992 478308 615030 103611

BATHROOMS & SHOWERS ABS Advanced Building Services ..............................687 846016 Ana Rodríguez (Huércal-Overa) ..........950 939154 / 606 784598 Cerrajería Jara (Las Buganvillas) ……………………..950 109986 Complete Renovations (See p.17) .....644 389255 / 672 379960 Cristalería Omega (Mojácar) …..........950 478137 / 670 500711 Dorothy Baños (Albox)...................................................661 463842 Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 Homes & Beyond (Garrucha) ....................................950 132458

BICYCLE SALES & HIRE Aguila Bike (Las Buganvillas) ........................................950 133063 All Bike All Run Sport (Albox) ...................................647 836426 Bikespin (Huércal-Overa) ................. 950 927678 / 662 543056 Doltcini (Clothing) (Mojácar) ..............950 092600 / 658 028646 Lufran Bike Sport …………....................................….607 074753 Rock & Road (Garrucha) .............................850 992805 / 628 2633389 Rodeca Bike Zone ..................................................950 132525 Weekend Sport (Las Buganvillas) ............................950 460738

BLINDS see Awnings & Blinds BOATS & NAUTICAL Veramotor S.A. ............................................................950 392552

BOAT TRIPS Glass Bottom Boat (Villaricos port) ….......................662 604456 Orca Steve (Mojacar, Garrucha) ..............................634 352873 Mojácar Home Improvements ...................................950 473104 Partylevante (Puerto Deportivo Garrucha) ...............680 942141 Sunshine Charters (Garrucha) ....................................634 398074

BOOKS Librería Nobel (Vera) ................................................950 392642 The Book Box (Albox) ……................................…….662 585098 The Book People Almería …........……686 817945 / 626 578164

BOOK PUBLISHING Costa Books ............................................................634 304344

BOWLING CENTRES (10 pin) Almería Ten Pin Bowling (Arboleas) …...................….950 439013 Indalo Bowling Mojácar ............................................950 473073

SpeedyFit (Screens) ..................................................600 006032 BUILDING MATERIALS The Bathroom & Tiling Specialists ...................+44 7756081843 Toldos Farrago (Screens)(Vera) ................................667 567564 (& Sanitary Ware, Tiles etc) Aridos Mojácar S.L. ……..........................................650 914257 BEAUTY See Hair, Health & Beauty Brico Depôt (Huércal de Almería) …........…………….950 625652 Casa Conchillo (Albox) …..........................................950 430740 BED & BREAKFAST Casa Barranca (Huercal Overa) ..............................648 250699 Contrucciones Angel Oller (Albox) ...........................950 431453 Casa Montes Guesthouse (Arboleas) ..................... 686 400331 Comercial Vera (Vera) ........................902 112236 / 950 393329 Castellón (Bédar) .......................................................642 435909 Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 Leroy Merlin, Gran Plaza (Roquetas) ….................……950 339800 BEDS & BEDDING VeraSur SL (Vera) ....................................................950 393028 Colchón San Gines (Huércal-Overa) ........................950 809519 BUILDING SERVICES Furniture Plus (Puerto de Mazarron)...968 153907 / 678 083491 Me & Mrs Jones (Mojácar) (See p.25).........................634 364795 ABS Advanced Building Services ..............................687 846016 Sleepcentre (Albox) (See p.6) ..........868 931872 / 671 715294 Adam's Building Services .............................………..600 041820

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Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Alan Barker ........................................950 099913 / 600 268176 AlmeriaBuilders.com ……......................659 685133 / 950 9305202 Arboleas Building ………........………........................634 306690 Ben Foster Building Services .................................642 471236 CES Builders (Paul) ................................................685 017178 Charlie Fyre ..............................................................686 833444 Christopher Knell Building Contractors .....................634 344450 Complete Renovations (See p.17) .....644 389255 / 672 379960 David Croft (Urcal) ………....................................……661 148067 David Pritchard Construcciones ................................617 698418 Elegant Homes S.L. ..............................950 092603 / 687 629777

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Elite Constructions .......................................................636 092632 Genco Construction ...................................................607 271869 J B General Builder ................................................. 687 024884 Mario the Handyman ................................................642 245017 M13 ........................................................................657 105084 Mat Murray ...............................................................647 841750 MD Building Services ..........................628 414861 / 628 414862 Nash Groundworks ..................................................722 546192 PR Building Services ................................................662 422170

Paul Acreman (General Builder) ..............……………607 196779 Saxon’s Complete Building Services ....618 920126 / 968 485729 Sierra Construcción .................................................611 028716 Valoser Obras .............................................................642 016954 Mo-Car (Mojácar) ................................950 478307 / 626 976973

BUTCHERS Juan’s Carniceria (Mojácar Playa) ........................950 478409

CAKES TO ORDER Alison’s Homemade British Cakes .............................639 028517 Moca Cafe Bar (Mojácar).........................................950 452885 Occasion Cupcakes (Velez Rubio) ............................634 329403 The Cake Boutique (Arboleas) ............................+44 7800 892244

CAMPSITES Camping el Cantal (Mojacar) ................................... 950 478204 Camping Los Gallardos .............................................679 970399 Solvi Car (Mojácar) …………....................................950 478151 Campsite Marion (Vera) .............................................607 316553 SRS Vehicle Services ................................................950 449095

CAR HIRE Al Andalus Car Hire ...................................................664 269440 Auto Corner (Limousines) .....................950 069198 / 667 439671 Caracola (Mojácar) .............................950 473157 / 637 545814 Costa Coches (Mojácar) ........................950 459208 / 950 069272 Europcar .................................................................950 615101

You Can Always Find it in the Focus!

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CAR WASH & VALETING

CBD SPECIALISTS

Denis’s Car Wash (Mojácar Playa) ...............................643 198320 CBD Natural (Huércal Overa) ..............950 882237 / 661 373684 Jones’s Mobile Valeting ............................................661 571939

CHILDREN & BABY

CARD SHOPS

Baby Basics (Equipment Hire, Albox) ........................950 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 Mobility Almería (Mojácar Playa) ..............................634 Colin the Card (Albox) .........................................…..650 600032 Meditania, Children’s Activity Centre (Turre) ...........661 Funky Monkeys, Pre-school Group (Mojácar) .....……697 Smartie Pants the Clown ............................................617 The Baby Hire Centre ..............................................615

104345 322475 751244 264179 815221 806126

CHIMNEY SWEEPING & REPAIRS Paul the Chimney Sweep …………..617 150300 / 850 993057 Sammy Sweep ..........…............................…………..619 070839

CHINESE & ASIAN RESTAURANTS Chino Peking (Garrucha) .............................................950 132948 Dragon Chino (Las Buganvillas) ..................................950 133226 Gran Muralla (Albox) ................................................950 120166 Forget Me Not (Las Buganvillas) ............................663 302740 Gran Muralla (Turre) ……............................................950 618880 Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 121318 Palacio Imperial Marina (Mojácar Playa) ….................950 472208 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 009051 Restaurante Asia - Maribo Kitchen ...........................950 110420 Total Entertainment (Mojácar) ……….................……950 615596 CHIROPODIST & PODIATRISTS Total Entertainment (Turre) .........................................950 468295

CARPENTRY Bédar Madera (Bédar) ................................................687 503181 Cutler’s Carpentry .................................................697 907708 Go2 Joinery & Services ...........................................674 963957 Mojacar Carpentry & Home Improvements ...............603 688622 Simon the Woodworker .............................................667 989270 Unicraft …..............................................................…692 176069 Wildwood Bespoke Joinery ......................................634 328574

CARPET CLEANING Jones’s Mobile Valeting ............................................661 571939

CATERING / EVENTS See also Wedding & Party Planning Elite Cuisine ..........................................................610 Hog Roasts .............................................................671 The Whole Hog / Hog Roast parties ..968 485729 / 618 Soft Ice Cream and Frozen Yoghurt Machines............600

994435 851135 920126 006032

CATTERY see Kennels To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Lee on 634 32 22 76

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Clinica Podológica (Garrucha) ..................................950 132768 Mr. Micro (Turre) ....................................................950 479502 In-Step (Arboleas) ...................................................634 330067 PC Playa (Mojácar) .................................................634 356498 Kim White (Vera Playa) ………...................................637 149659

CIVIL ENGINEERS Isabel Morales ........................................................617 749105

CLAIRVOYANCY / PSYCHIC READINGS Anna (Tarot) ……….........................................………670 Beverley Kearns .....................................................600 Chrissie Cremore ....................................................634 Psychic Karen (Turre) ….........................................663

897832 796684 349638 477658

CLOTHING (Personalised) PRYS Informatica (Antas) ........................................617 382511 Sello Gráfico (Mojácar Playa) ..................................607 424452 Paul Wieder (Mojácar) ..............................................617 830696 Rascals Designs ............................... 950 064665 / 686 582140 CONSERVATORIES Tikka Uniforms (Mojácar) ….......................................667 479903 AA Window Doctor ......................…............................630 231644 CLEANING SERVICES Screenmasters (See p.45)......….…..........................677 152911 Amba Cleaners ........................................................697 516955 SpeedyFit ........................................950 472357 / 600 006032 Chris .......................................................................627 565049 Clean Team …………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 COUNSELLING / HEALING Cherie's Ironing & Cleaning (Mojácar) ............………634 301389 Acupuncture & Massage ...........................................637 120429 Crystal Clear ............................................................637 229464 Anushree Krementz (Healing / Satsang) ...................672 721096 Daisy Proaño Alcivar (Contract & private) ……...….663 538596 Barbara Clarke ...........................................................637 469937 Idea (Mojácar) .. ......................................................605 162709 Chrissie Cremore (Reiki)............................................634 349638 Jone’s Upholstery & Rug cleaning ….........…………661 571939 Donald Mackinnon (Hypnotherapist) ........................628 651022 Limpiezas Cristina …..............................................…660 306695. Eve Morgan .............................................................647 203652 Limpiezas Maxlim (Palomares) …..…...678 567783 / 629 680161 Fred Smithers (Acupuncture) ...............950 930456 / 618 107351 Under Pressure .......................0044 7896 075925 / 633 436927 Gill Ballard (Healer/Counsellor) ...............................663 336655 Upholstery & Leather Cleaning .................................636 193256 Heaven Scent Holistics ...........................................663 923733 Xtreme Cleans Property Care ..................................634 328911 Hypnotherapy (Karen) .............................................663 477658 Dr. Jane Thompson (Psychotherapy)...968 485729 / 618 920126 COMPUTERS Advance Digital ........................................................616 506569 Beep (Garrucha) ……………..................................….950 133059 Compleo Personal I.T. Centre .................................….950 393689

Connexions (Turre) ...................................................950 479502 C.Y.G. Vera ...........................................................950 393350 Don Robinson .........................................................646 587746 Dynos Informatica (Albox) …………...................……..950 430806 George’s Sales & Repair (Vera Playa) ..950 042338 / 661 375489 IKamale-on ……………...............................................950 616521 Infordatox (Albox) .....................................................950 633223 Mark Adamou (Mojácar) .....................634 324918 / 634 306799

Karen Green (Holistic Therapist) .........615 163416 / 850 993150

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Kate Roberts ...........................................................950 469540 DAMP PROOFING Malcolm Forrest-Hazell (Counsellor/Psychotherapist) ...693 489725 Southern Spain Damp Proofing .................................652 358672 Natural Health (Mojácar) ............UK 0783 4872273 / 658 638142 Shiatsu (Wendy) ....................................................671 851135 DENTISTS / DENTAL TREATMENT Sue Osman (Therapist) ……...............950 473021 / 600 847964 Centro Dental Dr. Cremades (Vera) ........................950 390655 VaVa Yoga y Más (Vera) ........................................ 643 102335 Clinica Dental (Albox) ..............................................950 120732 Clinica Dental, Multicentro (Mojácar) ........................950 478989 COURIER DELIVERIES Clinica Dental Palomares .....................950 109710 / 670 878427 Nacex (Mojácar) ………..................................……….950 472940 Clinica Dental, Parque Comercial (Mojácar) .............950 478534 Offex Spain ................................…….......................966 765950 Clinica Dental Saludent (Huércal-Overa) ……………..950 135672 Spanish Property Choice (Easypost) ..950 615388 / 635 722290 Dentalbox (Albox) .........................................................950 121284 Nadal Pérez, M A (Turre) .........................................950 479444 CRAFTS Elaine's Wools (Arboleas) ........................................667 273889 Odonto Stetic (Los Gallardos) ...........722 706732 / 950 398993 R.F. (Marquetry) .....................................................711 003476 Puerta de Vera (Vera) ........................................950395319 Simply Art (Albox) …...................................................662 443095 Valero Martinez (Garrucha) ………............................950 132047

DIET PLANS & WEIGHT LOSS

CURRENCY

Currencies Direct (Mojácar) ...............950 478914 / 626 916443 Image (Helen) ........................950 930192 / 665178326 Global Currency Exchange (Mojácar Playa) ..............950 615319 Issysweigh (Albox) ...................................................600 334318 Pam (Turre) ..............................................................639 465631 CURTAINS & SOFT FURNISHINGS VaVa Yoga y Más (Vera) ........................................ 643 102335 Cortinas Gredécor (Vera / Huércal-Overa) ..................950 391361 Vicki (Turre) .............................................................650 764623 Curtains with Style (See p.21)...........950 069032 / 678 811125

DIGGER HIRE See Excavation DIVING See Scuba Diving DOCTORS & CLINICS (Private)

Analysis Clinic (Mojácar Playa) .................................950 475282 Centro Médico Mojácar ...............................................950 475105 Clinica Medica Garrucha ……...........950 133157 / 617 404500 Dr. Maria Rose (Garrucha) ..........................................950 132803 Euroclinicas (Vera) ........................................................950 391300

DOG GROOMING Anita (5 Bone Kennels) …………......................……662 344734 Curtainsandthings.................................................……678 684564 Solo Style ………...............................950 528334 / 626 319907 Unicraft Upholstery ...................................................692 176069

CYBERCAFES Can Connect (Albox) …........................................…..950 Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 Total Entertainment (Turre) ........................................950 Total Entertainment (Mojácar) …….............................950

121149 121318 009051 468295 615596

Berta Ayora (Turre) ..................................................637 395775 Brigbe’s Dog Grooming ...........................................630 557123 Centro Garras (Huércal-Overa) ............950 616820 / 617 456548 Elite Dog Grooming (Albox) …….…...........................617 313587 Luis (Clinica Veterinaria Garrucha) ....950 132200 / 628 663616 Lulu’s (Albox) ...................................950 952940 / 600 046557 Pampered Pooches (All areas)..................................662 344734 Pelitos (Los Gallardos) ..............................................637 286176 Shampooch professional pet grooming ........................642 276442 SoloPerros (Turre) ..................................................674 509382

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Ulti-Mutt ......................................+44 7894747657 / 634 332578 ElectroTorres

.....................................677 530410 / 610 750771

DOG TRAINING Didi Arias (Mojácar) ……............................................639 724521

DOORS See Windows & Doors DRY CLEANERS City Sec (Vera) .........................................................950 390255

DVD & VIDEO Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 121318 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 009051 Total Entertainment (Turre) ...950 468295 ...(Mojácar) 950 615596 VHS to DVD conversion .. ........................................647 202599 EMI Electrical Installations .......................................673 Fernando (Huércal Overa)...........................................677 ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS Francisco Montoya (Mojácar) .........................……….687 Eco1 (Garrucha) .........................................................627 690056 N.E.Electrics (Arboleas).............................................634 Peace of Mind 24/7 ............................................... 637 ELECTRICAL GOODS Zlatan ................................................630 207864 / 682 Centro Comercial Almanzora (Olula del Rio) .............950 442012 Centro Ferretería Lopez Mojácar ...........................950 473111 De Pablo S.L. (Vera) ..............................................950 390129 Electro Ahorro (Albox) .............................................950 121069 Electro Hogar Rodriguez S.L. (Garrucha)..................950 460832 Euronics .............. (Albox) 950 430702 (Garrucha) 950 460832

502867 549247 466352 358777 974662 277576

ELECTRICIANS A1 Services ………....................................................679 631458 Abbott Electrical ….............................638 010691 / 950 137208 Andy …..............................…................950 438237 / 679 656450 Andy Lake - Williams Electrical ..............................…..677 741366 Baltasar .....................................................................655 691107 ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES Charlie Fyre ................................................................686 833444 Connexions (Turre) ……..............................………….950 479502 CDB Natural (Huércal-Overa) ...................................950 882237 DJT Electrical Services (Vera) .............686 817945 / 626 578164 Jules Outlet (Mojácar Playa) .....................................633 640918

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Mobility Almería (Mojácar Playa) ......634 322475 / 633 629883 Starry Jazz trio/quintet .............................................645 886919 Voluta's Place (Mojácar Playa) …...............................699 975552 Sue Moretta .............................................................672 148730 The Fat Lizard Band .....(English) 651 045120 (Esp) 617 464728 ENTERTAINERS The Opium Buddhas ………………….687 033106 / 667 989270 Abbie Lou (Female vocalist) .......................................687 340544 Tom Lee ……............................................................671 754851 Amy Amy Amy Tribute Band ....................................645 886919 Tony Matthews (Quiz organiser) ..............................634 391414 Ashley Cathcart .......................................................693 486788 Tony Justice ……….............................950 950797 / 637 159249 Blues Brothers ........................................................680 355376 Trio Chaos ................................................................687 361440 Bob Management .......................................................666 310251 Triple Trouble Blues Band ........................................671 754851 Brendan O'Dee (Singer/Guitarist) ..............................610 855964 ESTATE AGENTS Brian Dee ………........................................................647 897533 Carol George (Female Vocalist) ............................634 285009 Alhambra Holdings (Mojácar)...............950 475199 / 629 673450 Catchlove Music (Varied styles duo)…...................678 397536 AlmeríaCasas ...........................................................950 387852 DJ Digit-Al ...............................................................634 338014 Almería Homes ................................0044 1273 929286 / 950 930 259 Dominic Doolittle ......................................................634 353525 Almería Property Agency (Arboleas) ..670 596085 / 628 872334 Driftwood …….............................................................687 672028 Almeria Property Finder (Albox) ................................950 431624 Dynamite International Rock Band ............................666 310251 Almería Prop. Investments (Las Buganvillas).950 460874 / 666 260792 Emma Wild ..............................................................642 276385 Angel Property (Palomares) .....................................950 618054 Flamenco Dancer (English speaking) ...............687480694 Antonio Martinez de la Casa (Energy certs)..............950 092094 Francisco J. ‘Pasus’ ..........................950 397401 / 699 510966 Arboleas Property Shop .................…....................…958 003391 Funky Nomad ..........................................................643 256459 BMS Huerta Nueva ............................950 615035 / 669 355914 Georges Femenias (vocalist/guitar) ……...…………….634 300356 Calida Homes (Arboleas)......................950 430763 / 634 302801 Good stand in drummer ...........................................648 699733 Casa y Campo (Lubrin) .............................................678 587007 GuitarMac ( Guitar/Vocals ) .....................................634 340476 Casas Almería (Huércal Overa) ..........950 134434 / 649 777218 Harmony Duo .........................................................687 340544 Citrus Homes ...........................................................638 849254 Jill Farmiloe (Female vocalist) .................................607 443908 Cole's of Andalucia ...............................950 469592 / 697 640681 Jim Mackie (Piano Man) ..........................................651 751629 Complete Holiday Care .......................950 478612 / 610 808631 JuJu Entertainment ............................950 950797 / 697 462746 Kay Frances (Vocalist) ........................950 069288 / 689 404244 Kayleigh Easton (vocals) ...................................... 642 581198 Kev Moore .............................................................600 762856 Kris Kelly (Female Vocalist) .................................. 634 374525 Lady Ellen Sings .............................673 459331 / 677 475268 Loose Change ..............................................................671 754851 M & M's Rock & Roll Revue ...................................699 462859 M Soul & Motown (all music styles) ........................634 340409 Maurice Casanove ....................................................671 386947 Maximum Output Karaoke /Disco ............................697 317557 Mel J (Female Vocalist) ........................................664 111990 Cortijos Almería …………............……........................676 916088 Melodee (Duo) ................................610 855964 / 664 111990 D & D Property Care, Sales & Rentals .....643 335386 / 643 337063 Melodeemusic (Backing Tracks & Recording Studio).....610 855 964 Destination Spain Property Services .........................672 668803 Menta & Canela Duo ..............................................645 886919 Dream Homes Almería (Arboleas) ...............................697 875717 Northern Lights Karaoke …...............................……..697 500673 Phil and The Invisibles ..................... 950 475752 / 651 045120 Richard Hill ..............................................................670 243461 Roadrunner (duo) ......................... 628 122363 / 684 330431 Robin Lamble ..........................................................602 469425 Rocio Starry (Vocalist) .............................................645 886919 Roy Fox ..............................................................711 003476 Sabrina Lloyd ..........................................................661 055440 Sharna Knight (Vocalist & Entertainer) ....................0044 7340 638513 Sharon-Elizabeth Regan ........0044 7858 459637 / 666 673055 Shirin (bellydancer) .................................................607 805367 Short-Fuse Blues Band...............................................651 610189 Smartie Pants the Clown ............................................617 815221 Españarural (Albox) ............................950 102505 / 654 359607 Solo Simon ...............................................................667 989270 Euroxan (Vera) .........................................................699 067922 Spotlight Entertainment (Karaole, disco etc.) .............634 311652 Fincas Vera Playa ..............................950 460670 / 639 314767

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77

78

79

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Find Me A Home .................................951 914195 / 636 FW Properties ................................634 325152 / 634 Grupo Platinum Estates (San Juan) .950 466122 / 666 Homes of Spain (Huércal Overa).........950 616516 / 616 Indal-futur S.L. (Mojácar) ……............950 615156 / 609 Indalo Real Estate ...........................950 091137 / 616 Indasol Mojácar S.L. .................................................950 Inmobiliaria Almanzora ..................... 9501 20406 / 637 InmoTerreros (San Juan) ...............950 096180 / 666 K7 Mojácar ...............................................................950

266641 352285 687251 562447 026526 760409 472200 251238 255765 478555

Polansky and Associates ..........................................950 Price Brown Partnership (Mojácar) (See p.64/65)....950 Property Floor Plans ................................................619 Real Almería Property (Mojácar) .......950 336 769 / 620 Realtors MB Spain ..................................................678

478086 478915 672431 368194 347125

Rural Almería (Mojácar Playa) ................................…950 472200 Santiburi Properties (Cabrera & Mojácar) 694 404971 / 647 901478 Sol y Mar (Albox) ...............................950 064584 / 635 979829 Sonia Cantalejo Bueno (Energy Certs.)......................608 147640 Spanish Estate Agents (Albox) ………950 431855 / 661 143871 Linnitt Properties (Turre).............................................950 479054 Spanish Hideaways (Oria) ....................634 366672 / 676 604008 Mojácar Estates (See p.50)......................................950 478935 Spain Assured (See front cover)............950 469622 / 634 300020 Spain Property Finder …..............……........................686 878789 Spanish Property Choice (Mojácar Playa)...................950 615388 Sun Med Properties (Vera Playa) ............................…..950 618209 Vaitier SL (Cabrera) .....................................................609 626140 Veritas Homes (Mojácar) ............................950 472430 / 610 053563 VIP Almería (Mojácar Playa) (See back)..950 472524 / 617 587903 Voss Homes (Huercal-Overa) ...................667 891 741 / 950 616 827

Mojacarmar ......................................950 475891 / 636 903184 Multicasa Aguilas .................................................... 968 493009 Neinor Homes (Mojácar) ..........................................900 110022 New Horizon Villas (Zurgena) ..................................950 438221 New One Stop (Mojácar) ..........................................950 473040 New Wave Villas (Mojácar) (See back cover)950 475800 / 607 146352 Next Stop Almería (See p.3)..............950 617518 / 678 034651 Nicla Property Consultancy S.L. ............950 133508 / 628 585538 WPMS Inmobiliario (Villaricos) ..........678 321111 / 950 618697

EVENT MANAGEMENT See also Wedding and Party Planning JuJu Entertainment .............................950 950797 / 697 462746

The Almería Focus

Okisur (Mojácar) .........................................................950 472010 Olive Property Sales (Bédar)(See cover) .950 469624 / 687 938466

5,000 copies delivered monthly to 250 places.

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EXCAVATION Aridos Mojácar S.L. (Vera) .....................................650 Bob (Mini digger) (Albox) ..........................................642 Diego Ramos S.L. (Los Gallardos) ……..............…..647 El Cano SL )Mojácar) ................................................950

Blacktower (See p.127) .........................................657 684094 CG Legal & Financial (Mojácar Playa) ..950 472504 / 670 215926 914257 Currencies Direct (Mojácar) …....…...…950 478914 / 626 916443 392922 Indalo Partners ........................................................950 472242 841750 479185

Elite Plant Hire (JCB) ………….................................636 092632 MD Digger Hire & Construction.................................634 375428 Nash Groundworks ...................................................722 546192

EXCURSIONS Andinas Buggy Treks ..............................................645 984122 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 Costa Almería Tours ..................................................646 760389 Day Tours Almería ............................651 592836 / 645 253155 Indalo Quads (Mojácar) ...........................................634 315074 Mojácar Jeep Tours .................................................611 028716 Kennedy Financial Services .........................................678 035992 Mountain Biking Spain …...............……637 831509 / 661 178656 Offshore Money Management .............952 830916 / 950 398078 Rancho Luz del Sol (Partaloa) …..........……...……………..642 1185467

FIREPLACES

FABRICS Curtains with Style (See p.21)...........950 069032 / 678 811125

Chimeneas Mojácar S.L. (Mojácar Playa) ..............950 472135

FASHION Dandara (Garrucha) ................................................950 617013 Etcetera (Mojácar Playa) ...........................................950 532810 Garabatis (Children's) Mojácar Playa …..........………670 035630 Glad Rags (Albox) ……….........................................634 313071 H & R Men's Fashion (Albox) …................................692 682164 Jules Outlet (Mojácar) ...............................................633 640918 Liz Fashion Accessories (Garrucha) .627 970819 / 607 511179 Manumaga (Mojacar Playa) …………..........................659 884479 Modern Times (Mojácar Playa) …..........…………….950 475207 Oasis Fashions (Mojácar Playa) (See p.5)...............950 473222 FITNESS & DANCE Palme (Mojácar Playa) ............................................950 472813 Prins Vitali (Mojacar) ….............................................950 478690 See also Activities-Clubs-Associations Saga Boutique (Mojácar) .........................................950 475258 Alison .....................................................................666 273168 Sunflower (Mojácar) ..........................950 023030 / 600 880525 Ananda Yoga & Holistic Centre (Mojácar) ...............617 719913 Aqua Aerobics - Marianne (Arboleas) .......................637 435864 FENCING Club Deportivo Puerto Rey ......................................950 460545 Chain Link Almanzora ………...................................697 801875 Debbie James (Personal training) (Mojácar) ...........687 619239 Dorothy Rowntree, personal trainer (Mojácar)..........666 815838 FIRE EXTINGUISHERS Aero Extinción S.L. (Almería) …............………………..950 263565 Fitness For All (Bédar) ………..........…………………..647 593323 Extin-Torres S.L. (Mojácar) ............................................950 475067 Gimnasio Formas (Turre) .............................................950 468065 Gympower (Personal trainer) (Albox) ......................609 591606 FINANCIAL SERVICES Javi Orta, personal trainer (Mojácar) .........................651 693681 AMASS ……......................................................……..678 035992 Jova Sport Center (Mojácar Playa) ............................950 473137

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Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com LIS Florist (Garrucha) ................................................950 460901 Penny’s Florist (Mojacar) ..........................................645 351767 Persa Floristas (Albox) …….......................................950 120211

FLY SCREENS AA Window Doctor ..............……….........................…630 231644 Armadillo …..............................................................663 303350 Bugs ...........................................................................600 049515 Coastal Mosquitoes ...........................606 040462 / 610 000700

Platino Gym (Mojácar Playa) .....................................950 284845 Sano Centre (Albox) ...................................................610 544306 Sano Centre (Huércal-Overa) ..................................666 021259 Sierra Club Desert Springs ........................................687 599115 Sol Yoga Centre (Arboleas) .........................................686 400331 Sophia Wellness Centre (Arboleas) ...........................950 449451 Valle Del Este Spa & Health Centre ..........................950 548600 VaVa Yoga Studio (Vera) .........................................643 102335 Vicki’s Fitness & Slimming ........................................650 764623 Yoga therapies & slimming (Turre & Vera) ....................643 102335 Curtains with Style (See p.21).........950 069032 / 678 811125 Dave ........................................................................634 351275 FISHING Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 Orca Steve Sea Fishing (Mojacar/Garrucha) ……… 634 352873 SpeedyFit ..............................................950 472357 / 600 006032 Pete Fishing Trips (Mojácar/Garrucha) …..................634 379173 Toldos Farrago (Vera) ...............................................667 567564 Rio 600 Boat Fishing (Sid & Graham). 647 020929 / 647 803030 Tony Justice ...................................…..950 950797 / 637 159249 Mojácar Home Improvements .........................…….950 473104

FISH & CHIPS

Kingfisher (Pueblo Laguna) ......................................663 553001

FOOD SHOPS

Catch of the Day UK Fishmonger ........ 634 301490 / 634 304288 Eurowise (Albox) ……………….............................…..950 439801 Gastronomía (Delicatessen) (Las Buganvillas) .......950 132048 Home Sweet Home (Turre) ...............................……..950 479487 La Maruja (Mojácar) ..................................................664 647171 La Venta de Alfaix Minimarket (Alfaix) ..........................950 469660 Las Buganvillas Minimarket ………........................…..635 036408 Manoli (Arboleas) …...................................................627 941654 Price Busters (Albox) .................................................950 951494 Sol Supermercado (Albox) ….......................................950 430043 Spar Supermarket (Huércal-Overa) ...........…………..950 135222 Spices n' Herbs in Spain (Albox)...............................689 482694 The Chippy (La Alfoquía) ........................................634 324484 Super Corner (Turre)..........................950 468303 / 637 016107 The Corner Shop (Albox) ………………950 930539 / 680 776791 FLORISTS Hortiflor (Mojácar) ....................................................950 478985 FUNCTION VENUES Isamy Florist (Los Gallardos) ...................................670 215902 Miraflores Restaurant (Camping Los Gallardos) .........650 418954

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FUNERAL COMPANIES CollyFer (Huércal Overa) …….............617 456259 / 617 456335

Funeral Homes Robles (Cuevas) ..............................657 921383 Funeraria Ntra. Sra. de las Angustias (Vera) 950 390884 / 607 705672

Funeraria Pérez (Mojácar) ........................................950 478102

FUNERAL PLANS Avalon Europe S.L. ............................950 069012 / 634 321296 Golden Leaves Funeral Plans (Benitachell)............. 966 493082 Iberian Funeral Plans (See p.35)...........951 203994 / 965 993498

FURNITURE PACKAGES Furniture Plus (Puerto de Mazarron)...968 153907 / 678 083491 Homes & Beyond (Garrucha) ....................................950 132458

FURNITURE, RUSTIC/HANDMADE La Buena Artesania (Mojácar) ....................................950 475508 The Furniture Doctor .............................................667 989270

FURNITURE & FURNISHINGS Abodes (Mojácar Playa) ...............................................697 778355 Casa Carma (Turre) ...................................................645 080310 Continental Descanso (Antas) 950 459011 (Albox) ...950 633288

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El Rincón de Mueble ....(Vera)950 460867 (Antas) 950 459071 GAS INSTALLATION & REPAIRS Elleann’s Homestyle .................................................674 514999 Smith Plumbing (Spanish Authorised).........................950 468041 Embargos Bestiales (Antas El Real) ......................950 105711 Fig Furnishings (Mojácar Playa) ...............................643 065179 Furniture Plus (Puerto de Mazarrón)....968 153907 / 678 083491 Homecentre (Albox) (See p.6)...........868 931872 / 671 715294 Homes & Beyond (Garrucha) ..................................950 132458 Ideas del Mueble (Antas) ...........................................950 452816 Indalocio Garden Furniture & BBQs ...........................850 993090 Inspired (Furniture & BBQs) (El Real, Antas) (See p.4) 950 147763 Koala Furniture (Antas).................................….........950 392307 La Lonja (Lorca) (See p.27) ........................................968 443322 Linea Nueva (Arboleas) ……………….620 237529 / 950 120630 Me & Mrs Jones (Mojácar) (See p.25).........................634 364795 GAS TANK SUPPLIERS Muebles Rodríguez (Los Llanos, Arboleas) …...........950 430778 Muebles La Simona (Garrucha) ...............................950 132443 Gas Alboran ..........................................656 662000 / 950 259382 Oak Furniture Spain (See p.29)........622 288750 / 681 095096 GIFT SHOPS Sofa & Sofa (Las Buganvillas) ..........654 596247 / 654 596220 Isabella (Vera Playa) ......................................................637 188901 Unicraft (El Real, Antas) ............................................692 176069

GLASS CURTAINS

GARDENS

Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 24hr Casaserve ..................................950 466438 / 676 306269 Screenmasters (See p.45)......….…...........................677 152911 Agave …….................................................................617 826334 SpeedyFit .......................................950 472357 / 600 006032 Antas Garden Centre (El Real) .............................610 243838 Toldos Farrago (Vera) ...............................................667 567564 Cedar Landscapes …….............……....................…620 112193 GLAZING (Supply & Repair) Chris (Gardening) .................................................643 082899 AA Window Doctor ......................…............................630 231644 Clean Team …………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 Complete Pool & Property Maintenance 634 343541 / 634 891709 Cristalería Mojácar …............................................…..950 475376 Indalocio Garden Furniture & BBQs .............................850 993090 Cristalería Omega (Mojácar) …..........950 478137 / 670 500711 Inspired (Furniture & BBQs) (El Real, Antas) (See p.4) 950 147763 Cristalería Rubi (Vera) ………......................................950 390546 Jardin Natural ............................................................685 478187 SpeedyFit ............................................950 472357 / 600 006032 L & M Landscapes .................................................670 409538 La French Touch ......................................................607 226269 Lady Muck Gardening .............................................697 317557 Madera Mania (Garden Supplies) ….........................667 562872 Mel Wood Landscapes ...................................0044 7973843706 Mobile Shredder & Mulch Garden Service .............687 024884 Nash Groundworks ..................................................722 546192

GOLD & JEWELLERY BUYING Gold & Jewellery Buying ...........................................616 453813

GOLF COURSES Aguilon Golf (Pulpi) ......................................………..672 Cortijo Grande ..........................................................950 Desert Springs ........................................................637 Macenas Beach Golf ...................…....................…..950 Marina Golf ..............................................................950 Valle del Este ...........................................................950

655600 479176 861591 548240 133230 398743

GOLF TUITION Gareth Edwards (Cortijo Grande) …...........................950 Marcus (Mojácar) .....................................................610 Neil Evans (Desert Springs Golf Resort) ............... 638 Valle del Este (Vera) ...............................................676

479176 526671 531821 256923

GRASS, ARTIFICIAL Grass 4 U .................................................................638 574145 Greenfingers Arboleas S.L. ..........……......……………629 947633 Potty Finca Services ..................……..950 163930 / 616 855294 Inspired (El Real, Antas) (See p.4) .................... 950 147763 Riegos y Conducciones (Antas, El Real) .................950 459146 Nash Groundworks .....................................................722 546192 The Tidy Gardener .................... 0044 7957167633 / 634 318369 Tiger Turf ............................................950 431624 / 635 652745 Xtreme Cleans Property Care ..................................634 328911

GUTTERING

Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196

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HAIR, HEALTH & BEAUTY Affinity Beauty Treatments (Turre) ............................678 992093 Anavi Estillistas (Palomares) .....................................670 094722 Angela Ellis - Holistic Therapist ...............................642 577637

Avon Co-ordinator (Jane) ……...................................670 722705 Avon Cosmetics (Arboleas) ………........................….691 987454 Avon Cosmetics (Bedar) ...........................................950 398980 Avon Cosmetics (Húercal Overa) …....647 092010 / 950 137208 Avon Cosmetics (Los Gallardos) .............................687 960362 Avon Cosmetics (Los Gallardos camping ) ..............950 469684 Avon Cosmetics (Turre & Vera) .................................643 102335 Avon (Total Entertainment, Albox) .............................950 121318 Avon (Total Entertainment, Arboleas) ........................678 009051 Beaches (Hair & Beauty) (Mojácar) ..............................950 473110 Beauty by Marilyn ....................................................950 398852 Beauty Center (Mojácar) (See p.37)..........................687 480694 Bonita Hair & Beauty Salon (Mojácar) ......................950 473159 CDB Natural (Skin care) (Huércal-Overa) ................950 882237 Carlos Barber Shop (Mojácar Playa)..........................610 575911 Centro Estética (Mojácar Playa) …..................………950 472680 Claire & Inma (Mojácar Playa) ................................950 147630

Cloud 9 (Mojácar) .........................................................662 226086 Cutting Edge (Hair & Beauty) (Albox) .........................950 633086 Dave Eccles (Mobile Hairdresser) ......950 525790 / 687 033106 Donna's (Albox)..................................950 930167 / 628 669456 El Rincon de Mary (Mojácar) ................................... 663 561521 El Rincon de Mary (Mojácar) Yasmin .....................656 646257 Elaine Mobile Hairdresser (Coast & Inland).................634 379424 Elegance (Turre) ......................................................634 308877 Etticut (Turre) .............................................................667 971960 Farrow's Hair Design (Arboleas) .................................950 634346 Favola (Las Buganvillas) (See p.33).........................675 622216

Forever Chic (Palomares) ......................................601 634193 Heaven Scent (Huércal-Overa) ……....................…..663 923733 IIsabel Castaño (Hairdresser, Bédar) ..666 045552 / 950 469462 Jean & Co.(Mojácar Playa) ……..............................…950 615094 Jenny’s Hair Design (Albox) .....................................620 447858 Kyra Beauty Salon (Arboleas) ...........950 106294 / 643 357906 Jing Nails .................................................................622 251432 Julian Hair Design ....................................................634 354507 Julie Rodriguez .......................................................634 338017 Kim White (Beauty)(Vera & Mobile) ………...……….637 149659 Lavender and Lemons ..............................................643 790511 LU & NA (Valle del Este) …….............................…950 461113 Marcela Torres (Manicure & Pedicure) .....................697 421672 Miki Designe (Villaricos) ............................................635 867757 Naturalmente Mediterraneo (Skin care) (Garrucha) …655 299494 Nina’s Beauty Therapy ..................................................642 131966

Oceanic Massage Therapies (Mojácar)...666 710964 / 687 619239 Opulence (La Alfoquía) …...........................................619 467295 Pascal Chevallier Emporium (Mojácar) ........................950 472790 Pampered Beauty Centre (Palomares) .650 092766 / 950 618129 Pure Natural Deodorant ...........................................950 066163 R retreat (Cucador) ……...........…...............................626 144680 Room 97 (La Alfoquia) .............................................683 479261

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Lee on 634 32 22 76

86

87

Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Salon de Peluqueria y Estetica (Garrucha) ...............950 133162 Sarah Noble (mobile hairdresser) ...........................692 195500 Shiatsu Centro de Terapia (Huércal Overa) .............671 851135 Sophia Wellness Centre (Arboleas) ...........................950 449451 Stella’s Hair & Beauty (Las Buganvillas) ..................950 699973 Sunlight Spain (Herbal Products) ...............................684 212474 VaVa Yoga y Más (Vera) ........................................ 643 102335 Wacky Barber & Hairdresser (Mojácar) ....................667 961645 Wavelengths (Albox) .............................................…950 120309

HARDWARE OUTLETS Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 Ferretería Gonzalez (Mojácar) ……….........................666 471384 Ferretería López (Mojácar) ……..................................950 615026 Ferretería Longo (Albox) ……....................................950 430064 Ferretería Soler (Garrucha) ……..................................950 460073

HEALTH FOODS Girasol (Albox) ….......................................................639 Home Sweet Home (Turre) ..............................……..950 La Maruja (Mojácar) ...............................................664 Las Hierbas de Maria (Mojácar) ..............…………….657

089170 479487 647171 513990

HEALING See Counselling/Healing HEATING ABC (A Better Climate) (See p.11).......647 247494 / 950 092604 Graham (oil heating) ……….....................................620 112193 Neater Heater ………...................................………….634 312171

HIRE Baby Basics (Equipment Hire) ...................................950 104345 Mobility Almería (Mojácar Playa) .............................634 322475

Expecting a Baby (Almanzora Valley) ....950 436581 / 666 375688 Sound Systems ..........................…............................630 231644

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Lee on 634 32 22 76

88

Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Linda Pettit ...............................................................642 016954 026468 Louise B. (LouB’s) ....................................................664 038031 333442 Sharon Presley ..........................................................648 069200 590988 HOUSE CLEARANCE 015765 Almeria Castaño House Clearance .......611 028716 / 950 110404

HOME CARERS see also Nursing Angels Nursing Group ...............................................902 Committed2ucommunitycare ......................................684 Helping Hands Mojacar (Kirsty Ratcliffe) .................678 Michaela Talbot .........................................................622

HORSE RIDING Centro Hipico Valle del Almanzora .........................691 Didi Arias (Mojácar) ...............................................639 Media Legua Equestrian Centre (Vera) ..............……667 Rancho Luz del Sol (Partaloa) .................................642 Sanctuary Limaria .....................................................628

241878 724521 243561 118546 239696

HOTELS & HOSTALS Casona Granado (Nr Lubrin) ...................................950 069077 Hostal Don Tadeo (Villaricos) ..................................950 467105 Hostal El Olivar (Mojácar Pueblo) .........950 472022 / 672 019767 Hostal Muria (Villaricos) ..............................................642 050290 Hostal Playa Azul (Villaricos) ................950 467075 / 609 386282 Hotel Al Sur (Calabardina) .........................................968 419466 Hotel Carlos 111 (Aguilas) ......................................968 411650 Hotel Carmona (Vera) ..............................................950 390760 Hotel - Casa Rural, Cortijo de la Media Luna (Mojácar) 950 478813 Hotel El Paso (Aguilas) ….........................................968 447125 Hotel Family (Agua Amarga) ......................................950 138014 Hotel Madrid (Aguilas) ................................................968 411109 Hotel Mamabel's (Mojacar Pueblo) .....950 472448 / 663 700542 Hotel Mayari (Calabardina) .................620 629508 / 968 409338 Hotel Overa (See p.13) ............................................950 470879 Hotel Playa (Mojácar) (See p.49) ...........................600 350382 Hotel Puntazo (Mojácar) ...........................950 478265 / 950 478 229 Hotel Rural Azabache (Arboleas)..................................690 258813 Hotel Mexico (Puerto Rey) ......................................950 132061 Hotel Salinas (Cabo de Gata) .....................................950 370103 Hotel & Spa Don Juan (Aguilas) ................................968 493493 Hotel Tikar (Garrucha) ..............................................950 617131 Hotel Valhalla (Carboneras) ......................................950 130444 Hotel Valle del Este ...................................................950 398743 Hotel Virgen del Mar (Mojácar) ..................................902 472222 La Esperanza (Mojácar Playa) ..........686 906624 / 606 916055

Items For Sale Mojácar .......................694 439275 / 950 478753 The Attic (Cucador) ..…….…................672 184354 / 648 250699

HOUSEHOLD GOODS Home Store ........………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 Home Sweet Home (Turre) ................................……..950 479487

HYGIENE & FOOD HANDLING Grupo Sedesa (Vera) ...............................................950 390990

INSURANCE Adeslas ............................................950 472701 / 633 431900 Albox Insurance .......................................................950 121943

Alhambra Holdings (Mojácar)...............950 475199 / 629 673450

Las Colinas Suitotel (San Juan de Los Terreros) .........950 466353 Parador de Mojácar ...................................................950 478250 ASSSA Seguros (Vera) (See p.33) ..........……………950 392487 HOUSE & PET SITTING Chris Leek ...................................................................642 608805 Asisa (Vera) ................................................................950 391950 David .............................................................................. 950 099905 Axa .....................................................950 478763 / 609 667333

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Lee on 634 32 22 76

89

Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com BWI Bryan White Insurance (Mojácar) ......................950 472098 Catalana Occidente (Palomares) ..............................950 618054 Catalana Occidente (Mojácar Playa) .........................950 478307 Edward William (Marine Insurance) ……………….….952 476090 García & Trinidad (Albox) …….............950 120340 / 620 240563 Gestoría Salvador (Mojácar Playa) ..........................950 473192 Grupo Catalana Occidente (Mojácar Pueblo) 950 478061 / 653 806 908 Ibex Insurance Services Ltd (Mojácar & Albox) ........950 120070 Liberty Seguros (Turre) ….................950 479568 / 620 179206 Liberty Seguros (See p.23).....................................913 422549 Linea Directa ………....................................................902 123248 Mapfre (Mojácar) ...950 478151 (Garrucha)................950 617376 Maxine Morgan Liberty Seguros (Las Buganvillas) ........669 074 996 Mojácar Insurance ...................................................634 323399 Sol y Mar (Albox) ……….....................950 064584 / 654 590258 Sol Insure ………..........................................………..950 472098

INTERIOR DESIGN Evie Fox-Rayner ................................603 493163 / 653 714767 Curtains with Style (See p.21) ..........950 069032 / 678 811125 Deco-house (Ann) .....................................................666 260792 Essential Solutions …….............................................627 245658 Lola Barranco ………..........................950 086116 / 691 261818

INTERNET CAFES see Cybercafes INTERNET TV Connexions (Turre) ...............................................950 479502 DCM Digitek Comms (Mojácar) (See p.19) .950 472947 / 670 084438 Europa Digital .......................................950 133233 / 678 332815 Ezetv .......................................................................950 091112 GSF Communications ................................................950 473102 IPTV UK ....................................................................603 613918 IPTV Spain UKTV ...............................654 617496 / 699 386277 Mobility Almería (Mojácar Playa) .............................634 322475

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PC Playa (Mojácar) ......................................................634 356498 Donna González-Linnitt ...........................................699 067922 S E Telecoms ............................................................697 780499 Elizabeth ..................................................................662 504734 UKTV Almería ....................................850 993202 / 694 440184 Espanglish Translation & Interpreters . 950 390037 / 950 392876 Hind (Mojácar - French, Arabic, English) .................616 605341 INTERNET PROVIDERS Joanne Tissington ……………...................................637 267150 Albox Online (See next page) .............................950 091111 Kathryn Jones .........................................................629 931125 Laberinto (Spanish, English, French, Dutch) .............609 781438 Marcela Chávez Riveros (Mojácar) .......................... 676 951352 Marguerite ……....................................................…..687 814157 Marisa .......................................................................636 179128 Michaela Talbot .........................................................622 015765 Milena (Albox) ………....................……654 359607 / 711 794366

Mojácar Interpreting ................................................617 830513 Pedro ......................................................................655 510420 Robert Boucher .........................................................693 618705 Simply Solved ………...............................................663 327091 Susi ..................................................................................617 920 190 Connexions (Turre) ……..............................…………..950 479502 Traducciones Levante ...............................................606 953775 Next .............................................................................950 479369 Wendy Interpreter/Translator ................................. 661 194278 Plusnet ................................................744 610389 / 850 992555 Yamile (Written Translations) ....................................626 207575 GSF Communications ...............................................950 473102 IRONING Satcomms ..............................................951 406556 / 622 524335 Cherie's Ironing & Cleaning (Mojácar) ............………634 301389 INTERPRETING/TRANSLATIONS Clean Team …………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 1-2-1 Translations (Spanish, English, Norwegian)......662 390453 JEWELLERY Alpha Interpreting and Translation .......950 133508 / 677 530690 Andrés (Mojácar) ........................................................679 932632 Castellón (Bédar) .................. ....................................642 435909 Antonio García Russell (Mojácar) ..............................606 198958 Jewellery Paula (Albox) ...........................................960 430871 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 Joyería Pérez (Garrucha) ........................................950 460636 Carolina Pérez Gallardo (Sworn Translator) ..............647 863745 La Luna (Garrucha) .................................................950 132543

KENNELS, CATTERIES & PET SITTING Animal Hotel (Águilas) ..............................................639 722197 Boarding Kennels Los Llanos de Rosa (cats & dogs) ..629 448073

Carolyn (Mojácar area) ........................950 132905 / 608 692545 Cristina …….......................................................…..626 741386 Clara Mata ..............................................................629 132529 Starena (Vera Playa) ..............................................672 668803

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Country Kennel (Turre) .........................950 473011 / 627 564640 Dog & Cat Sitter Service …………………..................676 389592 Gail .....................................................693 769079 / 697 500673 Five Bone Hotel (Turre) ............................................630 234556 Kareclif Cattery (Albox) ...........................................677 791165 Kit Cat Luxury Cat Suites (Los Gallardos) ..............674 113217 Palomino Kennels & Cattery ……....…671 916426 / 950 093087 Paws*A*While (Nr Albox) …....................................…696 562662 Pet Sitting in Your Home ………….......................…….637 061482 Sharon Presley ..........................................................648 069200 Sleepy Hollow (Huércal-Overa) ….............................617 313587 The Hilton Cattery ............................950 163489 / 664565479 Woodhouse Boarding Kennels/Cattery (Arboleas)….950 930585

Complete Renovations (See p.17) .....644 389255 / 672 379960 Ergo Küchen (Huércal-Overa) ...................................636 447730 Harlequin Kitchens (Albox) ……........………………….619 584405 Homes & Beyond (Garrucha) ....................................950 132458 J.B. Kitchen Fitters (Turre) .......................................687 024884 KDI Kitchens .............................................................605 163613 La Lonja (Lorca) (See p.27) ........................................968 443322 Mojácar Home Improvements ....................................950 473104

LANDSCAPING D & C Landscaping ..................................................634 359082 La French Touch .................. ..................................607 226269 Mel Wood Landscapes ...................................0044 7973843706 Nash Groundworks .....................................................722 546192

KEY CUTTING

LAUNDERETTES Bish’s (Mojácar Playa) .............................................639 161725 The Laundry Room (Vera Playa) ...............................666 007824

LAUNDRIES City Sec (Vera) .........................................................950 Clean Team Laundry Service ...................................634 Costa-Azul (Aguilas) ……..........................................968 Ivi's Lavanderia (Las Buganvillas) ............................950

390255 332502 414327 132657

LEGAL SERVICES See also Solicitors KITCHENS 24hr Casaserve .................................950 466438 / 676 Artizan (Vera) (See p.2) ..................…950 390635 / 661 Charlie Fyre ..............................................................686 Cocinas El Real (Los Gallardos) .........639 036051 / 622 Cocinas Puntocom (Huércal-Overa) ...950 921975 / 722

ALO Services (Zurgena) ......................950 449179 / 667 994682 Asesoría Sánchez Moral (Mojácar) ...........................670 099726 Barbara Caparros Ridao (Vera) …..........................950 390427 306269 CG Legal & Financial (Mojácar Playa) ..950 472504 / 670 215926 985310 833444 232186 136950

Cam Concepts S.L. (Huércal-Overa) …......…………. 950 471357 Cervantes Alarcon Consulting (Garrucha) 950 106490 / 647 863787 Gecko Legal Services S.L. (Mojácar) 950 475949 / 638 264621 Gestoría Salvador (Mojácar Playa) ........................950 473192 Gestoría Soria Bonilla (Mojácar) ................................950 478420

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Kim Clark UK Benefit advice ……..….950 169729 / 663 297568 Mayor Consulting (Garrucha) .......................................950 615185 Mojácar Playa Asesores ……........………...……………950 472710 Pilar Pérez Gestión S.L. (Mojácar) ............................950 478863 Vera Advisors (Vera) .................................................950 390621 MS Legal ..............................................950 479613 / 634 322827 Villalba Asesores (Albox) ..............................................950 431720

LEISURE ACTIVITIES and TOURIST ATTRACTIONS Almería Ten Pin Bowling (Arboleas) …...................….950 439013 Extreme Adventure Mojácar ......................................687 919840 Indalo Bowling Mojácar ............................................950 473073 Karting (Garrucha) ….........................................……950 460207 Lunar Cable Park (Cuevas del Almanzora) .................665 512873 Nautarium Sea Museum (Garrucha) ………........…..950 139554 Paintball Almanzor (nr. Arboleas) ..................………..619 559261 Paragliding ………................................635 243539 / 680 358549 LOCKSMITHS Sol-Aero (Vera) ..................................609 685132 / 661 985358 Water Park (Vera Playa) …...................................…..902 361294 24hr Locksmith .....................................950 472982 / 658 Guzman Seguridad (Albox) ..................950 431497 / 617 Locksmith (Dean) (See next page).............................666 LIGHTING Light & Luz (Vera) ...............................950 391804 / 686 457714 Phil the Pick 24hr (Arboleas) …................................697

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828560 272885 949213 243181

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Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Anushree (Cranio - Sacral -Therapy) ......................672 721096 Authentic Thai Massage (Jom) ..................................616 922612 Holistic Massage, Lorraine ................950 064484 / 687 569113 Lymphatic Drainage & Cranio Sacral-Therapy (Gabi) 950 472263 Mike Sheehan (Neuromuscular Therapy) .....................657 050394 Oceanic Therapies (Mojácar) ......................................687 619239 Ray Daniel (Sports massage)………...........................617 741564 VaVa Yoga y Más (Vera) ............................................643 102335 Zen Massage (Mojácar & Bédar) .............................643 766935

MEALS DELIVERED Committed2ucommunitycare ......................................684 333442 Dine In .......................... .....................................+44 7852 468499

LOGS FOR SALE Antonio Diaz .............................................................689 Colin & Carlos ....................................660 903158 / 630 Firewood Arboleas .................................................647 Las Norias Carden Centre (Los Gallardos) ..............670

127535 455328 932078 215902

Hannah’s Kitchen ....................................................642 142745

METAL WORK Leña Ramos (Arboleas) ….........................................616 Lee (Arboleas) ...........................................................636 Leñas Cazorla (Turre) ...............................................607 Levante Logs ............................................................670 Log-On-Tommy …........................................................619 Palm Deliveries (Albox) .....................950 122416 / 686 Phil (Arboleas) …........................................................634 Potty Finca Services ............................950 163930 / 616

044719 092632 827783 243724 070839 966008 328779 855294

AA Window Doctor ....................…............................630 231644 Carpentería Metalica Chacón (Albox) …................950 431738 Cerrajería Jara (Las Buganvillas) …............………….950 109986 Coastal Rejas ...........................................................610 000700 FS Fabrications …..............…………..627 167167 / 671 424558 Ideal Metal Designs ...................................................656 834064 Metalbox (Albox) .......................................................950 633090 Mojácar Home Improvements ...................................950 473104 P & D Metals ............................................................638 707406 Speedy Fit Security Grilles ....................................600 006032 The Metal Works ..............................950 930520 / 638 900949

MARKETING Edela Media (Social Media) (Mojácar) ....................607 146352 Mojácar Business (Social Media) ............................950 680110

MASSAGE Acupuncture & Massage ..........................................637 120429 Alternativa (Jessica Rippin) ......................................676 284170

MOBILE HOMES & CARAVANS Camping Los Gallardos .............................................679 970399 Caravan Storage (Antas) …….............................….661 508776 Casa Móviles .....................................637 418906 / 951 161348 Cherribar Park Homes ............…………950 396908 / 629 688153 Flor de Vida (Aguilas) ..........................968 438535 / 660 329907 Hispavan (See p.47) ..................................................687 845730

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Veramotor S.A. ...........................................................950 392552

NUTRITION

MOBILE PHONES See Telecommunications MOTORCYCLES & QUADS

Alternativa (Anne-Marie Pichon) ...............................666 966573 Ashlí (Naturopathic & nutritional therapies) ................643 102335

ONLINE MARKETING Donna González Linnitt .............................................699 067922

D Perez Motor (Antas) ...............................................950 069022 Harley Dees …………................................................600 685550 Indalo Quads (Guided treks) ..................................634 315074 Montoya Motos (Garrucha) …...............................…..950 133033 Nafta Custom (Antas) ………...............950 619293 / 615 938352

OPTICIANS Federopticos (Aguilas) ……........................................968 414468 Federopticas Diaz (Albox) ..........................................950 121122 Multiopticas Indalo (Garrucha) ...................................950 460665 Multiopticas Indalo (Mojacar) .....................................950 472285

NEWSAGENTS Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 121318 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 009051

Total Entertainment (Turre) .........................................950 468295

NURSING see also Home Carers Angels Nursing Group ...............................................902 026468

Committed2ucommunitycare ......................................684 333442 Michaela Talbot .........................................................622 015765

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Multiopticas Indalo (Campohermoso de Nijar) ............950 385082 Natural Optics (Garrucha) .........................................950 133921 Opticas Indalo (Garrucha) ..........................................950 133865 Opticas Indalo (Carboneras) .......................................950 130707 Opticas Indalo (San Isidro de Nijar) ...........................950 366200 Óptica Albox …………….......................................…..950 121991 Optica Mahis (Vera) ………...................................…..950 390777 Optica Orbera (Huércal Overa) ....................................950 135596 Optica Orbera (Albox) .....................................950430101 Optica Villazar (Mojácar Playa) …............................….950 472783 Opticalia (Albox) .....................................................950 121084 Primera Opticos (Aguilas) .........................................968 493482 Salas (Huércal Overa) ................................................950 135081 + Visión (Aguilas) …....................................................968 414279

Tucano Mascotas (Vera) ............................................650 292670 Union Jack (Pet Transportation) ...........………………….902 109560

PEST CONTROL Jason …….........................................950 064015 / 680 903609 Sedesa (Vera) …………............................................950 390990

OSTEOPATHS Alice Bellot (Mojacar & Arboleas) ….................………633 352259 Centro Physis (Olula del Rio) .................................695 355381 PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICES Enrique Arias (Mojácar) .........................950 472974 / 629 289385 Hector Gutiérrez (Vera Playa) ............607 479379 / 950 132765 20seven photography ................................................634 301635 Osteo Maestra (Arboleas) ......................................950 449451 Almería-Fotografía .....................................................663 627942 Sanatura (Albox) .................................610 269162 / 642 809453 Bluwater Photography ….........…………………………616 189002 Chincheto (Mojácar) ....................................................687 489182 PAINTING & DECORATING Fotomicar (Lyle Mallen) .............................................620 786914 ABS Advanced Building Services ..............................687 846016 Fotos Fabrega (Albox) ………...........……………………950 430223 A.J. Painting & Decorating .......................................687 024884 Indigo Photography & Video ...................................637 974793 Alan Barker ......................................950 099913 / 600 268176 Omar De La Cruz ………..........………950 460213 / 609 284852 Antonio Perez (Mojácar) ………........................…….691 240495 Professional Video & Photographic Services inc. Aerial...647 202599 Borders Painting ………..........................................…687 661807 Rod Westwood ………........................950 472321 / 609 611207 Cabrera Painting and Decoration Works ...................637 524709 The Image Suite …….............................…........................647 918 848 Casanove Interiors ......................................................680 836166 Toros Bravos ............................................................607 117174 C.I.S Services (Arboleas) ........................................634 621747 Curtis Helm Multiservices .........................................610 394815 PHOTOCOPIES & SCANS Daniel ……………..................................................….642 236810 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 Darpa S.L. ..................................................................691 055726 neö-cöpy (Vera) …...................………..950 390424 / 622 262100 Darren Hargreaves ...................................................626 855483 Pronto Printing (La Buganvillas) (See cover).............950 133492 Grupo Brideca (shop) (Huércal-Overa) 950 471045 / 950 135881 Servidea 2020 (Mojácar Playa) .................................950 399726 IPB Painting ........................................661 184848 / 622 524335 Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 121318 JPM ...........................................................................627 090422 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 009051 Jay the Painter ........................................................697 176787 PHYSIOTHERAPY Metalwork Painting ………………………699 246932 / 659 185039 Paul ...........................................................................649 186107 Caroline De Maeght (Villaricos) ................................650 134805 Phil the Painter ……..............................................…671 227259 Centro Physis (Olula del Rio) ......................................695 355381 The Fast Brush .........................................................950 472668 Clínica Fisioalbox (Albox) ..........................................629 402852 True Colours .............................................................636 638670 Clinica MOS Fisioterapia (Mojácar Playa) .................644 394335 Vera Painting Services ............................................711 004024

PATIO & POOL ENCLOSURES See Screened Patio & Pool Enclosures

PERFUMES & COSMETICS Son d’Aromas (Mojácar Playa) ..................................666 348253

PET SHOPS & TRANSPORT La Tienda de Basilio Rubio (Albox) ...........................950 431592 Madera Mania (Los Gallardos) …..................……….667 562872 Mojácar Mascotas ......................................................679 411203 Pet Tag Engraving ...................................................711 006027 Fisiomar Physiotherapy Centre (Albox) ....................667 425197

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Fisioterapia Vera-Salud (Vera Playa) ...607 479379 / 950 132765 Gabi Triebel (Mojácar Playa) ..............633 011442 / 950 472263 Physiotherapy Centre (Albox) ...........950 431463 / 657 516247 Remedio clinic (Mojacar) ....................950 472980 / 617 741564 Vitea Fisioterapia (Vera) ...................950 390655 / 663 024255

Charlie Fyre ..............................................................686 833444 Chris ........................................................................643 082899 Carlos (Saliente) Plumbing & Heating ..950 930900 / 620 742954 Curtis Helm Multiservices .........................................610 394815 Graham ....................................................................620 112193 James Santiago (Vera Playa) ......................................672 668803 PIANO TUNER Knowles ….........................................950 137197 / 606 807797 Terry …...................................................................…697 229753 Fernando (Huércal Overa)...........................................677 549247 Francisco Montoya (Mojacar) …............………………..687 466352 PICTURE FRAMING Casa de Cabra (Albox) ........................................ 633 364329 Smith Plumbing S.L. ..................................................950 468041 Pink House (La Concepción) ..............622 288750 / 681 095096

PODIATRISTS See Chiropodists & Podiatrists POOL COVERS

PIZZERIAS Antonella (Mojácar Playa) ................................……..950 450215 Bocapizza (Albox) ......................................................950 120506 Cafetería Levante (Mojácar) .....................................950 615224 Cafetería Pizzería Alcazaba (Mojácar Playa) ............645 414793 Centro Plaza (Palomares) …...............................…..950 618614 Chili (Turre) ................................................................950 468425 D'Angelo (Mojácar Playa) .................................950 478517 El Gaucho (Mojácar Playa) ....................................950 478846 Enrico (Mojácar Playa) ......................950 472995 / 642 514738 Meson Felipe San Bernabé (Mojácar Playa) ..…….950 475966 Ilario Imperial (Mojácar Playa) (See front cover) ...….950 478098 La Góndola (Garrucha) ..............................................950 133928 La Muralla (Mojácar Pueblo) .......................................950 472928 Little Italy II (Garrucha) …………...........………………950 133802 Lucky Pizzeria (Villaricos) ........................................670 073597 Pizzo (Villaricos) .....................................................655 797530 Osteria (Mojácar) ......................................................950 615151 Ottocento (Mojácar Playa) .........................................950 615100 Portofino (Mojácar) ....................................................950 472809 Mari Cruz (Turre) …..........................................…….950 479646 Provenzal (Mojácar Playa) ..........................................950 478308 Pulcinella (Mojácar Pueblo) ......................................950 478401 Rincon del Zahorí (Mojácar Pueblo) ..630 314400 / 661 604220 Quick (Garrucha) ......................................................950 132305 Sottocasa (Mojácar Playa) ........................................950 093075

1 Stop Pool Shop ...............................950 104345 / 637 582696 Coverbox (Albox) …….................................................615 992007 Enclose My Pool ..................................606 040462 / 670 510097 Hispavan pool covers ........................950 047033 / 687 845730 Real Covers (Mojácar) ........................950 478763 / 609 667333 WS Cover ...................................................................667 480363

PLASTERERS David Pritchard Construcciones ................................617 698418

PLUMBERS 24hr Casaserve ..............................................950 466438 / 676 3062699 Andy (Mojácar) ........................................................697 302039

Blocked DrainsRUs ............................950 091109 / 648 768587

POOLS & POOL MAINTENANCE 1 Stop Pool Shop ...............................950 104345 / 637 582696 24hr Casaserve .................................950 466438 / 676 306269 Aguafer Piscinas S.L. ................................................950 617064 Alloa Pool Care (Albox) ………….................…………..650 244018 Almeria Pools .............................0044 7957167633 / 634 318369 Blue Diamond Pool Care ..............................697238933 Clean Pool Service (Arboleas) ...................................606 654389 Complete Pool & Property Maintenance 634 343541 / 634 891709 D & J Pritchard Construcciones ................................617 698418 Heat My Pool ....................................950 528128 / 663 303350 IndalPool (Albox) …………...............................……..950 431859

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Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Idea (Huércal Overa) ...............................................605 Mail Boxes Etc (Vera) ............................................950 Mobility Almería (Mojácar Playa) .............................634 Mojácar Business ....................................................950 neö-cöpy (Vera) …...................………..950 390424 / 622 Pronto Printing (La Buganvillas) (See cover).............950 Sello Gráfico (Mojácar Playa) ..................................607

162709 393835 322475 680110 262100 133492 424452

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

Mat Murray ...............................................................647 841750 Oasis Pool Cleaning Services ............634 332170 / 634 332178 Olive Tree Farm Pool Services ...............................643 463129 Piscinas Miguel (Maintenance) .............950 478652 / 607 480865 Pool Medics ……………...................................……….634 353525 Pools & Piscinas (Cleaning - Bédar) .........................637 915898 Procare Pools (Arboleas) ..........................................642 370681 Proyectados Pool Sureste ............................................630 810299 Salvador (Pool Maintenance) ......................................696 426523 Sundance Spas - Pool Maintenance S.L. ....................950 472845 Tanby Piscinas ............……….............950 468230 / 609 888549 Triton Pool Cleaning ...............................................634 326322 Tropicana Swimming Pool Construction 650 906114 / 689 404244 True Blue Pools & Spas ..............................................661 148998

POSTAL SERVICES Can Connect (Albox) …….........................................950 121149 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 Connexions (Turre) ..................................................950 479502 Forget-me-not (Las Buganvillas) ....................………..663 302740 Frankie’s Bar (Vera Playa) .........................................662 474861 Mail Boxes Etc (Vera) ................................................950 393835 Offex Spain ................................……..966 765950 / 661 386942 Pam’s Post (Albox) ............................................... 664 565479 Spanish Property Choice (Easypost) ..950 615388 / 635 722290 The Post Shop (Albox) ………..............950 064584 / 635 979829 Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 121318 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 009051 Total Entertainment (Turre) .........................................950 468295

24hr Casaserve .....................................950 466438 / 676 306269 ABS Advanced Building Services ..............................687 846016 Arboleas Builders ………...............……950 930536 / 634 306690 Can I Help You (Vera) ………..................................691 662267 Complete Pool & Property Maintenance 634 343541 / 634 891709 Curtis Helm Multiservices .........................................610 394815 D & D Property Care & Rentals (See cover).643 335386 / 643 337063 Destination Spain Property Services .........................672 668803 Exclusive Holiday Villas ............................................950 092602 Hire a Hubby …………........................950 436679 / 619 066022 IDP Services …………................................................608 238775 Indalfutur S.L. (Mojácar) ……........….950 615156 / 609 026526 J & J Property Care ....…….................950 452106 / 617 657414 James Santiago (Vera Playa) ......................................672 668803 La Casa es Tuya .......................................................663 931471 Mode Services ...................................950 525790 / 687 033106 Mojacar Estates ..........................................................950 478935 Procare Property Service (Arboleas) .......................642 370681 Triton Property Maintenance ...................................634 326322 Xtreme Cleans Property Care ..................................634 328911 Zlatan ................................................630 207864 / 682 277576

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & RENTALS

PRINTING & GRAPHIC DESIGN AdverTees (Albox) ...................................................641 407147 GSF Communications (Mojácar) ..................................950 473102

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Alhambra Holdings (Mojácar)...................950 475199 / 629 673450 Almería Holiday Rentals ............................................638 701670 Almería Property Agency (Arboleas) …..850 993099 / 606 281865 Almeria Rentals ................................. 650 764623 / 648 523073 Apartamentos Torrelaguna (Las Buganvillas) .............950 132580 APT Lets (Valle del Este) ….................950 619227 / 626 578164 Blaumar (Huercal Overa) .....................950 135512 / 670 869533 Blue Sea Villas (Mojácar) (See front cover).............….950 478643 Casa Benedict Rentals (Turre) …...………....…………616 189002 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 Citrus Homes ...............................……......................638 849254

Clean Team Property Care & Rentals 850 993202/ 642 911850 Coastal Properties (Mojácar) ........................................950 475235 Complete Holiday Care ....………...........950 478612 / 610 808631 D & D Property Care & Rentals (See cover).643 335386 / 643 337063 Destination Spain Property Services .........................678 203143 E-Property Almería ...................................................677 146592 Exclusive Holiday Villas ..........................................950 092602 Findmeahome ....................................951 914195 / 636 266641 Holiday Home Europe .........................950 120210 / 654 590258 Holiday Letting Service ........................950 472903 / 627 565049 Homes of Spain (Huércal Overa).........950 616516 / 616 562447 Indalfutur S.L. (Mojácar) ……........….950 615156 / 609 026526 Indalo Real Estate .............................950 091137 / 616 760409 Indasol Mojácar S.L. ..................……....................….950 472200 Inmoterreros ...................................................................950 096180 KW Resorts Holiday Rentals ......................0044 (0)1293 863320

La Casa es Tuya .......................................................663 931471 Mojácar Estates ........................................................950 478935 Mojácar Holiday Services .......................950 699947 / 634 972377 Mojácar Long Term Rentals …...............................…636 903184 Next Stop Almería ................................950 617518 / 678 034651 Price Brown Partnership (Mojácar) ............................950 478915

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REFRIGERATION MD Air Conditioning & Refrigeration SL .607 364917 / 607 366040

REMOVALS & STORAGE See also Van & Man Hire Amanda’s (Lubrin) ............................950 069682 / 634 Brian’s Removals (Mojácar Playa) .........................674 Dave’s Transport (International / Local)....................620 English Move (Tony) ….............................................699 Indalo Transport .......................................................634 Items For Sale Mojácar .......................694 439275 / 950

Real Almería Property (Mojácar) ............................634 316068 Rent Mojácar ............................................................950 615042 Sandy Goldfinch ........................+44 7767 301159 / 670 575897 Santiburi Properties (Cabrera & Mojácar) 694 404971 / 647 901478 Spanish Property Choice (Mojacar) ..... 950 475823 / 634 351562 Sunshine Villas............................………850 993202 / 694 440184 Triton Property Services ..........................................634 326322 Voss Homes (Huercal-Overa) ...................667 891 741 / 950 616 827 Year Round Holiday Rentals .............950 619178 / 627 763052

PROPERTY PROMOTERS Almanzora S.L. (Desert Springs) ...............................950 467104 BMS Huerta Nueva ............................950 615035 / 669 355914 Elegant Homes S.L. ............................950 092603 / 687 629777 Elide Group S.L. …............….............950 390009 / 950 615076 El Pinar de Bédar ......................................................950 469496 GM Associates (Mojácar) ……….........……..............…950 475225 Miramar (Marina Golf) ................................................950 397060 New Villas (Albox) ………………........………..............…950 121036 Nicla Property Consultancy S.L. .................................950 133508 Polansky and Associates ..........................................950 478086 Promobys …………….................................................950 618889

PROPERTY VALUATIONS Philip Chesler (Chartered Valuer) …................………687 814369

PSYCHOLOGIST Dr. Jane Thompson ............................968 485729 / 618 920126

QUAD BIKES see Motorcycles RADIO STATIONS Onda Aguilas (100.1) ….............................................968 447864 Smooth FM online (89.8) ........................................634 332666 Spectrum FM (96.1) ............................950 615142 / 678 332815

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Lee on 634 32 22 76

100

310512 280268 049524 819213 336468 478753

Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Miramar .....................................................................950 469308

Cabrera Riad Cabrera ………………….....................................950 092042

Cerro Gordo Bistro Bonita .......................................650 599739 / 950 930169

Cortijo Grande Finca Listonero .........................................................950 982045

Cucador La Vida

……….................................….........……….950 634562

Desert Springs Resort Location Warehousing S.L. (Antas) .............................950 391412 Moovit Transport & Storage ...............950 930316 / 642 586701 Sprinter Services (Vera Playa) .............605 376873 / 950 609121 St. George’s European …UK 0044 207 193 5984 / 952 485984 Storage 42 Removals and Storage (Albox) ...............634 325639 Storage Solutions (Arboleas) ................950 930316 / 671 220105 Swift Transport (Arboleas) ........................................618 511234 UK Direct ..................UK 0044 7719.118.879 / Spain 642 099479 Union Jack Removals (International) ….......………….902 109560

RESTAURANTS See also Chinese Restaurants & Pizzerias Agua Amarga La Chumbera ............................................................634 676298 Restaurant Family ......................................................950 138014

Aguilas Carlos III ..................................................................968 411650 El Faro .....................................................................968 412883 El Guacamole (Mexican) ...........................................968 413491 Hotel El Paso ...........................................................968 447125 La Calica (Hotel Cala Real) .....................................968 414562 La Vía ........................................................................619 131152 Piccolo Mondo ............................................................968 411946

Albox Bar Lepanto ............................................................642 Chapman’s ..............................................................950 La Cena ……........................................……………..950 La Parrilla ................................................................950 Mesón de Irene ………........................647 730103 / 950 The New Delhi (Indian) ……...........….950 431705 / 639

391433 091188 430930 430024 430145 231507

El Torrente Restaurant …....................................……950 091546 The Crocodile Club ...................................................950 091546

El Campico (Bédar-Lubrin) La Montaña ...............................................................950 398856

El Pilar de Lubrin Restaurante Albar ....................................................950 069077

El Pinar Bar El Pinar ...........................................................634 302673

Garrucha Angus & Hereford .....................................................950 Casa Adriana ...........................................................950 GBG ……………...................................950 132625 / 639 Góndola ....................................................................950 La Cantina de Flor ....................................................950 La Gurulla ………................................................….666 Maui Gastro ….................................................………950 Nautico …................................................................694 Restaurante Andalucia ..............................................950 Restaurante Azul, Hotel Tikar ...................................950 Rincón del Puerto …….......................950 133042 / 950 Tierra y Mar .............................................................643

460588 133154 915993 133928 132757 995669 460882 433535 460604 617131 133043 463940

Huércal-Overa Crisbe .............................................950 134100 / 607 El Paladar .......................................673 695939 / 631 El Capricho …........................................................637 Hotel Overa (See p.13) ............................................950

338460 494536 595326 470879

La Alfoquía

Alfaix

Bar La Unión ...........................................................642 008003 Indian Tandoori ........................................................632 110888 The Heathers ...................................................................642 144727

La Venta de Alfaix .....................................................671 272464

Las Herrerias

Antas

Eugenia ......................................................................950 069021

El Fogon, Asador Argentino ........................................950 459081 Mi Casa .................................................950 453007 / 950 453048

Arboleas

Los Carasoles Harley’s ...................................................................642 637371

Los Gallardos

Bar Limaria ..............................................................950 930047 Apolo ……...................................................…………..600 495182 Happy Garden .........................................................950 120851 Meson Verfran ...................................950 469393 / 637 810143 Hostal Meson ………..........................950 430137 / 635 612738 Hotel Rural Azabache ............................................690 258813 Miraflores ..................................................................950 469519 Nueva Trinidad ....................................850 993250 / 634 369833 Mojácar - see also Mojácar Pueblo Alcazaba ………......................................................657 560679 Bédar El Cortijo ............................................950 398108 / 689 702916 Al Punto (Brazilian) ...................................................950 475899 El Paso ...................................................................678 868963 Antonella (Italian) .............................................……..950 450215

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BaoBab .....................................................................689 642923 Badgers ...................................................................950 478525

Beachcomber ...........................................................634 Bellavista ..................................................................950 Botaniq ...................................................................696 Bowen Resto Bar .............................. 666 406203 / 634 Cabo Norte ..............................................................665 Captain’s Tapas Bar & Restaurant ...........................617 Casa Egea .................................................................950

339216 478800 809035 357654 891772 477797 472190

Casa Juan …………................................................….950 450305 Cortijo de la Media Luna .............................950 478813 / 676 547555 d’Angelo .....................................................................950 478517 Delfín Dorado......................................950 475212 / 645 220095 Dolce Vita ................................................................950 478476 Don Pancho (Mexican) .................................................950 472543

El Deseo .................................................................670 El Gaucho ................................................................950 El Lugar ...................................................................679 El Sitio ....................................................................950 Enrico (Italian) ...................................950 472995 / 642 Gastro Malabar (See p.38/39)...................................950 Ilario Imperial (Italian) (See front cover)....................950

018035 478846 676405 615411 514738 472970 478098

Imperial Playa (Italian) ..............................................950 475360 Indian Curry House ...........................632 416554 / 950 887681 Kukis ..........................................................................950 475766 La Cabaña ................................................................950 615179 La Cachimba (Moroccan) .........................................950 099179 La Cantina (Mexican) ................................................950 478841 La Cometa ...............................................................950 615209 La Estancia …….............................................………654 562396 La Gaviota ……………...............................................950 472177 La Piká ....................................................................950 930744 Los Amigos ......................................…………………950 478489 Levante ......... ...................................................950 615224 Marama ..............................................660 696229 / 666 260852 Marcelo Entre Tapas .................................................950 031812 Martín Morales ..............................................................950 478812 Mediterráneo ............................................................950 309869 Meson de Loic y Cathy ...........................................950 478050 Mesón Felipe San Bernabé ...................…………….950 475966 Meson Mémé …........…………………..674 141159 / 647 954405 Mandala Beach Club ................................................950 473131 Mohana .....................................................................950 472941 Mountains of the Moon (Indian) ........950 472002 / 637 914632 Mont Martre (French) ..............................................634 388867 Neptuno ..................................................................…616 005387 Omega ...................................................950 475317 / 647 675919 Ostería Ristorante Italiano ..........................................950 615151 Ottocento (Italian).......................................................950 615100 Palacio Imperial Marina (Thai, Japanese, Chinese) ...950 472208 Parador de Mojácar ...................................................950 478250 Playa Blanca .....................................950 473001 / 639 507520 Playa Juana Beach Club (See p.7) ..........................690 984992 Reina Mora ...............................................................950 473204 Robert (Marina de la Torre) …………..............………950 110412

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Sal Marina ...................................................................950 472405 Scotty’s .....................................................................687 382540 Sensations ................................................................950 472057 Sottocasa (Italian) .......................................................950 093075 The Irish Rover (See p.41).........................................950 473135 The Lemon ....................……...............................…….950 472659 The Roof Garden .....................................................674 113218 Torre Bahía ...............................................................950 478651 Trufibar ....................................................................664 103611 Twister ...................................................………………600 006032 Zaika Fusion ..........................................................632 727851

San Juan de Los Terreros La Geoda ..................................................................637 020159 Mi Cortijo …………......................................................950 466323 Mondy Playa ........................................600 254314 / 622 807809

Turre Casa Adelina ...............................................................950 479153 Chili .................................................608 802227 / 950 468425 Doner Kebab ............................................................603 527699

Mojácar Pueblo Arlequíno ..........................................950 478037 / 649 337781 Calima (Moroccan) ..................................................608 807331 Casa Minguito ………...............................................950 478614 El Antler ……....................................................……600 540661 La Candela …...........................................................647 724367 Pulcinella (Italian) .....................................................950 478401 Restaurante Aires del Sur ..................606 061811 / 950 478014 Restaurante Calima ………………........................….663 286962 Restaurante Mamabel's ...............................................950 472448 Rincón de Embrujo …....................…………………….600 531270 Rincon del Zahorí .............................630 314400 / 661 604220

Palomares

Hostal Rural .............................................................950 La Pará ……………………..................................…….637 La Sorpresa ...............................................................950 Orsoca ………………............................................…..602 Pizzeria-Restaurante Mari Cruz ……....................…..950

478806 545590 099901 554609 479646

Asagía Asador .........................................................640 210185 Valle del Este Golf Monika ......................................................................659 672615 Sawadee Thai .........................................................634 393235 The Oasis Bar ...................................950 467381 / 676 365010 Vera

Partaloa

Gran Muralla (Wok Buffet) ..........................................950 391691 Mis Amigos ..............................................…………….612 508447 La Mariposa de Fran ………........……..950 166774 / 683 641957 Pueblo Laguna Terraza Carmona ...................................................950 390760 Bistro .......................................................................950 132022

Vera Playa

Armony Beach Club .................................................617 745021 b2 Mohana (Argentinean) ........................................678 642856 El Balconcito .............................................................635 589909 Gateway to India (Indian) ...........................................950 923994 Maraú (Vera Playa) ……………...........................……671 580340 Taj Mahal (Indian) …............…………950 618691 / 671 231465 The Blue Parrot ......................................................950 467682

Villaricos Don Tadeo ..................................................................950 467105 El Faro ..................................................649 766252 / 687 351764 Gastrobar D’Alvaro ......................................................648 220383 Restaurant Laguna …………….........................……..950 132566 Los Conteros ....................................950 618629 / 699 010705 Playa Azul .............................................950 467075 / 609 386282

The Almería Focus 5,000 copies delivered monthly to 250 places.

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RETRACTABLE ROOF SYSTEMS Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196

ROOFING Ark Roofing ...............................................................634 379173

RUGS & CARPETS Homecentre (Albox) (See p.6)..........868 931872 / 671 715294 P & R Rugs (Los Llanos de Aroleas) .......................665 258680

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RURAL TOURISM

Pronto Printing (La Buganvillas) (See cover).............950 133492

Cortijo Pocico de la Nava (Mojácar) ...........................670 777752 SKIN TREATMENTS Finca Arboleda (Vera) ..............................................678 027656 Francesca Herman (See p.37)....….......................….687 480694 Mi Abuela Maria (Mojácar) ……..........................……659 198424

SKIP HIRE

SATELLITE TV

Aridos Mojácar S.L. ..................................................650 914257 ABC (A Better Climate) (See p.11).....647 247494 / 950 092604 Casa Conchillo (Albox) ......................950 430740 / 695 844425 DCM Digitek Comms (Mojácar) (See p.19) .950 472947 / 670 084438 El Cano SL )Mojácar) ................................................950 479185 Europa Digital ....................................950 133233 / 678 332815 Servacon .....................................................................950 475853 GBTV (Albox and Mojácar) .......................................616 888058 SNOOKER HALLS GSF Communications (Mojácar) ...............................950 473102 SolAir (See p.49) ................................950 472081 / 645 294064 CD Snooker Mojácar ..............................................609 026526 Solo Satellite & Air-Con. (See p.55) ......950 398146 / 699 909737 Snooker Ambigu (Los Gallardos) .................................661 973205 Tweaks (Albox) .........................................................620 040331 SOLAR ENERGY DCM Digitek Comms (Mojácar) (See page 19)...........950 472947 Ecocorp ..................................................................671 716597

SCREENED PATIO & POOL ENCLOSURES Enclose My Pool ...............................606 040462 / 670 510097 Inside Out In Europe S.L. ....................................677 114576 Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 Screenmasters (See p.45)......….…...........................677 152911 Sol Shaders S.L. (See p.45)........................................627 907207

SCUBA DIVING Buceo Mojácar ........................................................950 472760

SECOND HAND Auction Subasta (Los Carasoles).....UK 7413 190882 / 643 137106 Amanda’s (Lubrin) ............................950 069682 / 634 310512 John’s (Albox) ..........................................................634 325639 Merka Recycla (Huércal Overa) .........950 616683 / 666 577006 Pink House (La Concepción) ...........622 288750 / 681 095096 The Attic (Cucador) ..…….…................672 184354 / 648 250699

SECURITY & SAFES See Alarms SEWING Alice .........................................................................620 876485 Alexis Shillinglaw .....................................................634 361874 J.F.M. Modas Sedal (Turre) ..............950 468031 / 606 945502 Lola Alterations & Repairs (Mojácar Playa) .950 475994 / 637 963835 Hi-Tec Solar (Turre) ............................609 888549 / 950 468230 Nicky (Mojacar) ..................................................... 667 479903 Hispavan Solar ..................................950 047033 / 687 845730 Solo Style ...............................................................626 319907 Sunergy Almeria ........................................................636 261240 Sew n Sew Susie (Albox area) ..........950 930643 / 633 683872 SOLICITORS The Sewing Room ....................................................607 375697 Alonso & Garrido (Albox) ...........................................950 121040 SEPTIC TANK SERVICE Alonso & Haro (Vera) ..............................................950 392208 Desarascos Litesa ............................670 863791 / 609 442695 AM & RG (Mojácar) ………….............950 478984 / 649 286437 Drainage Solutions …...........………….616 531283 / 670 088966 AVSA Lawyers (Aguilas) ..........................................968 446576 Blocked DrainsRUs ............................950 091109 / 648 768587 Babelia (Mojácar) ……..........…........635 577562 / 950 397114 Ginés Millán (All areas) ……….............(after 4pm) 607 366355 C & P Solicitors (Mojácar) ….....…………950 460731 / 675 383 160 Limaser (Vera) ……..................................................950 390732 Cabrera Cervantes (Turre) ................950 099400 / 627 464545 Sepserve (All areas) …..............................................675 838808 Casas Almería (Huércal Overa) .................................950 134434 Davies Solicitors (Mojácar) ........................................950 472775 SHOE REPAIRS EuroAbogados (Vera) .................................................950 617017 Keys Copy Centre (Mojácar Playa) ..........................950 472982 Javier Loustau (Mojácar) .........................................950 475086 José Francisco López Molina .............950 133607 / 635 189986 SIGNS (Shop & Vehicle) Idea (Huércal Overa) ...............................................605 162709 Leticia Moreno-Torres Camy (Vera) ......950 391249 / 607 840182

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Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Lopez & León Solicitors (Garrucha) ..950 888314 / 666 513917 Mar Abogados & Consultores (Mojácar) .................950 478911 Mario Redondo (Albox) ….................950 430222 / 626 389322 Miguel Angel Rojas Benitez .......................................950 615404 Pablo Suarez (Purchena) ..........................................610 014680 Mundi Abogados (Las Buganvillas) ........................950 460999

Ramírez Abogados (Vera) .......................................950 Ross Legal Services (Aguilas) .................................968 Ruiz Orozco (Vera) ..................................................950 Saugar Abogados (Mojácar) ......................................950

391171 412321 390282 615038

SPAS IndalOcio (Arboleas) ................................................850 993090 Sundance Spas (Mojácar) .......................................950 472845

SPA SERVICING & CLEANING True Blue Pools & Spas ..........................................661 148998

SURVEYORS Philip Chesler (Chartered Surveyor).............................687 814369 Survey Andalucía (Architect Daniel González) ............686 846624

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS La Maruja (Mojácar) ................... ................................664 647171

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TRANSLATING - see Interpreters TRANSPORT - see Removals TRAVEL

UPHOLSTERY Curtains with Style (Fabrics) ............ 950 069032 / 678 811125 Jone’s Mobile (Upholstery cleaning) …....……………661 571939 Unicraft (Upholstery) .................................................692 176069

Autocares Rodriguez (Coaches) ...............................950 469061 Halcón Viajes (Vera) ................................................950 393472 Exclusive Airport Shuttles (See p.59).......................950 092602 Levante Travel (Garrucha) ...................950 132258 / 628 604752 Mojácar Tour (Mojácar Playa) (See cover)..........…..950 475757 Viajes Zafiro Tours (Aguilas) ....................................868 782663 Zafiro Tours (Albox) ………..................................……950 121021 Zafiro Tours (Mojácar) .................................................950 615343

TUITION Dave Eccles (Drum lessons) ..............950 525790 / 687 033106 ELC Education & Language Centre ........................669 294342 Espanglish ...............................................................950 390037 Girasol, Albox (Spanish) ..........................................639 089170 Guitar Lessons ………….....................................…..667 989270 Hind (French & Arabic, Mojácar) ...............................616 605341 Jewellery making ......................................................642 435909 Kinder Garrucha (Bilingual Education Centre)...........950 460472 La Galeria Art Classes (Albox) …..............................663 341904 Marcela Chávez (Spanish-English school support)....676 951352 Pencils English Academy (Garrucha)..........................634 314110 Piano (Mojácar) …………............……950 069803 / 667 408941 R. F. (Marquetry, Guitar) ........................................711 003476 Sarah Dyson (Computer tuition) …....................……687 632435 Simon Farmiloe (Spanish & English)(Albox/Mojacar) ..647 677097 English tuition & conversation (TEFL) (Vera) ............642 314316

TV & AUDIO REPAIRS

Upholstery & Leather Cleaning .................................636 193256 Upholstery Larios (Cuevas del Almanzora) 950 456 364 / 651 998738

UNIFORMS Tikka Uniforms & Shoes (Mojácar) …..........................667 479903 Uniformes de Levante (Los Gallardos & Vera) ..........902 110218

VAN & MAN HIRE See also Removals & Storage Amanda’s (Lubrin) ............................950 069682 / 634 310512 Andy (Trailer hire/drive) (Mojácar) ..........................600 225929 IDP Services ……........................................................608 238775 Indalo Transport .......................................................634 336468 Storage Solutions (Arboleas) ...................................950 930316 Way 2 Go (UK/Spain) ……UK 0044 208 0904292 / 965 794682

VEHICLE IMPORTATION Ponce S.L. (Garrucha) ..............................................950 617181 Seth Pittham (Zurgena).......................950 634477 / 666 826886 Great Cost Matriculation ...........0044 7957167633 / 634 318369 Hispavan vehicle importation ......................................687 845730 Talleres Daydo (Antas Real) ….……….950 459116 / 607 373298 VEHICLE REPAIRS Auto Corner (Turre/Los Gallardos) ….......................667 Auto Shine Body Repairs ………........607 324623 / 607 CostaCoches ...........................................................950 Fran’s Garage ....................................664 571060 / 950

The Almería Focus is the magazine that everyone keeps to hand.

To advertise your business, call Lee on 634 32 22 76 or Clare on 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com

439671 324624 459209 164912

Gómez Motor (Huércal-Overa) ..................................950 471250 Mojácar Motor (Mojácar Playa) ……........................950 478335.

Reparbox (DIY) (Antas El Real) ...............................687 879744 SRS Vehicle Services ................................................950 449095

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Taller Daydo (El Real) .........................950 459116 / 607 373298 Talleres Azor ..(Mojácar) 950 478519 ..............(Vera) 950 391400 Talleres Vizcaino (Mojácar) ........................................950 472104 The Car Surgery ...................................................666 272792 The Garage (Llanos de Arboleas) .......950 930922 / 616 453813

VEHICLE SALES AA Car Sales (Mojácar) ...........................................950 459208 Auto Corner (Turre/Los Gallardos) …....................667 439671 AutoFex (Albox & Antas El Real) ............................950 431861 Automobiles Playcar SLU ...................950 459302 / 672 737663 CostaCoches (Antas, El Real).....................................950 459209 Mojácar Motors ...950 472056 ................(Workshop) 950 478335 Navarro Segura - Seat (Vera) (See p.61).670 038580 / 950 393170 Nissan & Ford (Albox) …............................................950 430856 Pit Stop (Oria) ……………....................................…..950 124828 SRS Vehicle Services ................................................950 449095 Talleres Azor ...............(Mojácar) 950 478519 (Vera) 950 391400

VETS Centro Vet ABC (La Alfoqúia) ….................................950 449064 Astrid (Mojácar) ..............950 472252 Emergencies: 629 099920

Centro Garras (Huércal-Overa) ........950 616820 / 617 Tyre King (El Real) ................................................950 459253 Clinica Nexo (Albox) .......950 430814 Emergencies: 617 Clinica Huellas (Aguilas) ...968 447877 Emergencies 629 CliniVet (Turre) …..........................…..950 069780 / 626 Costa Indalo (Mojácar) ........................950 475213 / 605

456548 305784 445327 171999 495017

Egesta Centro Vetinario (Vélez Rubio) ..950 411208 / 608 438683 Europa (Mojácar) .................950472262 Emergencies: 629 099921 Javier .............(Garrucha) 950 132200 Emergencies: 619 236059 NEXO (Albox) …...............950 430814 Emergencies: 617 305784 Veravet (Vera Town) …............…............................…950 393307 Veterinary Centre (Huércal-Overa) …........................950 616781

VEHICLE REPAIRS (MOBILE) Auto Frio .............................................950 104488 / 600 Cool Air (Air Conditioning) ........................................673 JFK Karz ................................................................643 Veloc Tuning ECU Remapping Services ..................600

WATER (Tanker Delivery) Sierra Cabrera Water ........................651 994419 / 608 057941

827517 WATER PARK 195872 Aquavera (Vera Playa) ............................................950 467337 790511 827517

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WATER TREATMENTS Healthy H2O ..............................................968 437270 / 666 302 987

WEB SERVICES MODS ........................................................................600 284975 Mojácar Business ....................................................950 680110

WINDOW CLEANING Clean Team …………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 Don (Mojacar) .........................................................666 814913 Idea (Mojácar) ...................................................……..605 162709 J&A Window Cleaning Services ..........950 122452 / 689 548824 James .......................................................................678 988812 Plas-Tech Windows ...................................................600 320761 Lady Jane Window Cleaning (Arboleas) ...................634 255373 Screenmasters (See p.45)......….….........................677 152911 Mick ...........................................................................634 327075 Speedyfit ...........................................950 439228 / 600 006032 Window Panes ..........................................................617 208231 WINES Woody the Window Cleaner (Almanzora Valley) .......634 349665 Bodega Gran Baco (Aguilas) .............................…..968 925655 WINDOWS & DOORS Enoteca Tikar (Garrucha) ……..............................….950 617131 AA Window Doctor ...................................................630 231644 Isalva (Palomares) ………..........................................615 265092 Complete Renovations (See p.17) .....644 389255 / 672 379960 WOOD & PELLET STOVES David A. Pritchard Construcciones ............................617 698418 Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 Chimeneas Acar (Albox) ...........................................950 120077 Chimeneas Mojácar S.L. (Mojácar Playa) ..............950 472135 Interglaze ……..............................…...................... 680 743311 Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 Mojácar Home Improvements ....................................950 473104 ZOO & PARK Ortega Windows & Doors .......................................950 393305 Oasys (Tabernas) ....................................................950 365236

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108

Community News Parliament Endorses Decree to Regularise Houses in Andalusia

Looking forward to next year's event, it is scheduled for Saturday, April 25th, 11am to 4pm, and we are looking for a DJ and new members for the organising On Thursday, 24th October, the Parliament of team.

Andalusia endorsed the government’s new Decree by a large majority. The Decree contains urgent measures to deal with an estimated 327,000 irregular houses in its territory. It was endorsed with PSOE, PP, Ciudadanos and Vox delivering a combined total of 90 votes in favour, whilst Adelante Andalucia voted against with 16 votes.

The spokesperson for homeowners’ association AUAN, Gerardo Vazquez, who attended the session, said “We are very happy with the efforts made by the Ministry to quickly deliver a regulation that may help many thousands of people who deserve fast solutions because this has been going on for a long time.”

AUAN’s president, Maura Hillen, expressed her satisfaction that the PSOE, in opposition, had also chosen to support the Decree. “It is good to see our politicians putting the interests of the people they represent above party politics and I hope that their support sends a positive message to all our town councils so that they support homeowners in this situation and do not place unnecessary obstacles in the path of those seeking to regularise their homes”.

Charity Status for Kitty Kat

Kitty Kat Almanzora Valley (KKAV) is delighted to announce that it now has charity status. The organisation is responsible for a feral cat neutering programme based in Cantoria. The village and surrounding area have a large number of feral and stray cats who are fed by the locals but the numbers are getting out of hand. Seeing this problem, Ron and Jean Nield launched a project to limit the number of kittens being born. They humanely catch a feral cat, take it to the vet to be checked and neutered and then they return it safely back to its Wacky Races Villaricos Update area. Amazingly, the couple has neutered 30 cats since April. They are supported by the villagers and The Wacky Races Villaricos organising team are sad by Puri Sanchez, mayoress of Cantoria and George to report that they have lost a valued member. Gonzales from the town hall who has helped the Mark Burgess, owner of the Plaza Bar in Villaricos, organisation to gain charitable status. passed away on November 6th after several months of illness at the age of 52. He was keen on sailing Ron and Jean hold tombolas outside the town hall and also an ardent supporter of Portsmouth and attend other charity markets to raise funds.

Football Club. A celebration of life evening was held They are grateful to Ibex Insurance for sponsoring on Friday 15th. Mark was the founder of the 'new' the neutering programme and to individuals who Wacky Races which began again in 2015 after a 4- have paid for cats to be neutered. year gap. He contributed a great deal to the events over the last five years and the remaining group The next fundraiser is a Lucky Dip on the morning members have proposed a 'Mark Burgess' Trophy of Wednesday, 11th December outside Cantoria for next year's event...probably for the best fancy- Town Hall. A Facebook page for KKAV will be launched dressed cart and / or team. soon.

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Community News Glitz & Glamour Auction for APSA Chapman’s bar and restaurant recently hosted a sale and auction for the APSA animal charity of Albox. Viewing was during the afternoon with the auction run by Chapman's owner, Tonia Gray, in the evening. The auction had lots ranging from shoes, evening bags and accessories to beautiful dresses and jackets for cruises and the Christmas season - lots of glitz and glamour! Organiser Sally Miller was delighted with the 300 euros raised and thanked Val Boscott and all the volunteers who helped to run the event, and especially to Tonia and Connor for being such great hosts! APSA also had a Christmas goodies stall with decorations and gift ideas and they held a raffle with items donated by The Sleepcentre and Wendy's Shiatsu Centre amongst others.

Paul, Annelie, Ellen & Stan

Beerfest Fund Raiser Age Support Almanzora recently held a Beerfest at Albox Tennis Club on the Saliente Road. Guests were treated to music by Los Desparados, traditional food, schnapps bar, photodrop, auction and sale. A huge thanks from the charity to all who supported the event, raising nearly €500 towards a new hospitalstyle bed.

Ellen Green, fundraiser for the charity, praised the welcome that was received from Emilio and his staff and all the volunteers who made the evening such a success, including model Anita Stobridge and the Schnapps girls, Liz and Sue. Thanks also to Geoff Murrell, Carol George and John, Stanny G and Woody from Smooth FM.

APSA Charity Walk The APSA charity walk took place recently and raised over 500 euros for the animal charity. The walkers and their dogs met at the Rosaleda Hotel and went on a 5km circular walk led by David Ridyard.

At the hotel the charity also ran a raffle, and APSA is grateful to The Corner Shop, Harrisons and Total Entertainment for donating prizes. There was a huge variety of dogs - with some of the smallest having the biggest of personalities! A water stop half way provided a refreshing rest for everyone.

The walk was scenic but not too taxing! Margaret Ridyard, organiser of the event, was delighted with the number of walkers, despite the wind, who enjoyed the stroll in the sunshine. She thanked all the volunteers who helped and all the walkers some of whom had raised large amounts through sponsorship. Jack raised the most and walked proudly with his owner Maggie.

Ellen was delighted by the number of guests who had dressed the part for the evening and really got into the spirit of the theme. Items for the auction, run by the glamorous Frau Bond, had been donated

by Annelie Samuelsson and Paul Wood, Art and Corrine Quick the Copas Bar.

Mojácar Races The VIII Half Marathon and 7km “Ciudad de Mojácar” race were held last weekend, organized by Mojácar Council’s Sports Department and Puerto Lumbreras’s Nogalte-Hogar Athletics Club.

It is a day that continually attracts more amateur and professional runners participants, with 620 runners taking part, 100 more than last year, all keen to compete the circuit prepared by the local

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Community News Council that runs alongside the Paseo del Mediterráneo. A total of 21,097metres were covered by the half marathon runners on their three laps, with 7,097metres on the one lap 7km race. The virtually flat circuit also had skaters and joellete chair athletes joining in the on the scenic coastal route which started and finished by Mojácar’s Best Oasis Tropical Hotel, the official hotel of the race.

Prizes were given to the first three in the all ten male and female categories of the half marathon, with a trophy for the first 5 home runners, a commemorative trophy for the oldest athlete to cross the line, as well as team trophies, with trophies also for each of the five categories in the 7km race.

Winners in the 7 km race were;Andrés Palma (EDM Huércal Overa, Sabina Rico (Nogalte- Hogar Puerto Lumbreras), EDM Huércal Overa (men's team) and RealRunning (women's team). Half marathon winners were; Ennio Constantino (C.A. South East), Esther Galver (C.A. South East) and C.A. Southeast (men's team). 7 km Inline Skate winners were; Jorge Vitores (CPV Málaga) and Alicia García (Club Patinajenfila Cartagena CPC) with Fabio Manuel Martínez (C.D. Patín Speed Alborán), María García (CPV Málaga) and CPV Málaga (Team) leading the Half Marathon. As for the home runners, first with an excellent time in the 21km was Ennio Constantino with Amalia González first woman in the 7km. The awards were presented at the Oasis Tropical by Ana García Fernández, Mojácar’s Spor ts Councillor.

(Mojácar Town Hall Press Release)

El Bandido Runners make their mark at the Mojácar 7k and Half Marathon On Sunday, 10th November, 20 runners representing Mojácar’s El Bandido Runners raced at either the 7k or Half Marathon (21k) event in their striking blue and orange kit with some outstanding times and podium places. In the 7k event, the fastest Bandido was Tony Lloyd-WaldrenPhoto with a time of

by Aaron Baglietto 32:09 and the first Bandido lady was Karen Ayers in 37:29. Karen took first place on the podium in the VCF age group and was the second fastest local lady. Ursula Harper, visiting from Ireland, was second in the VCF age group and Kirsty Ratcliffe was the third fastest local lady. Janice Byers received a special award for being the oldest lady to finish on the day.

Full results: http://www.alcanzatumeta .es/resultados-express.php?e=468437&p=468525 In the Half Marathon, Dean Haywood got a personal best, breaking his goal with a finish time of 1:43:50, and Rachel Smith was second in the VDF age group.

Full results at website above finishing in =468524 not 468525.

El Bandido Runners is a local group set up by Ironman Kevin Rowe in June 2018. The group started with a small number of regulars and has grown with runners, joggers and walkers, from permanent residents to regular visitors and holiday makers, covering the 5k Mojácar Paseo twice a week. If you are interested in joining us you will receive a warm welcome, so come along on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:00 (October-April), or 8:00 (MaySeptember), opposite the Best Indalo Hotel on the Paseo del Mediterráneo, Mojácar. All ages, nationalities and speeds are welcome! The 1st Saturday of each month, we meet at the Red Cross LesleypostPosso roundabout so we are closer to BluPhoto forbyour run breakfast.

For more information please contact Kevin on ironmankev08@gmail.com and follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/elbandidorunners.

Photo by Aaron Baglietto

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What’s On Almería Cinderella the Musical, intended for children, comes to Teatro Cervantes, Almería city on December 22nd at 12.30am.

Tickets are 12 & 15 euros.

Zambomba Entre Flamenco is a flamenco performance at Teatro Cervantes, Almería city on December 22nd at 10pm. Tickets are 15 euros.

T h e O CA L A l m e r í a C i t y Orchestra and the Young Almería City Orchestra perform a concert entitled Concierto Familiar on December 15th at 12 noon, Auditorio Maestro Padilla, Almería City. This concert is intended to introduce children to orchestral music and includes a firework display. Tickets are 10 & 15 euros and half price for children below the age of 12.

The Alabama Gospel Choir come to the Auditorio Maestro Padilla, Almería City on December 26th at 9pm.The group of 20 singers on their 11th tour perform “Oh Happy Day”. Ticket prices were not shown at time of going to press.

Eskorzo: Alerta Canibal is a rock concert that comes to Teatro Cervantes, Almeria city, on December 21st at 9pm. ‘Alerta Canibal is the 6th album from this Granada rock band who perform Latin American based music.

Tickets are 15 euros in advance & 18 euros at the door.

The Almería Beatles Weekend is a tribute concert to the Beatles at Teatro Cervantes, Almeria city, on December 29th at 5pm. It features the group Help! From Slovenia, Hey Bulldogs from Barcelona and Beatles Connection for Almería. Tickets are 12 euros.

Circlassica is a traditional circus (without animals) and comes to Auditorio Maestro Padilla, Almería on January 30th & February 2nd.

The performance is in homage to the famous Spanish circus owner

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Emilio Aragón. The performances start at 6.45pm on January 30th and 7.30pm on February 2nd.

Ticket prices were not shown at time of going to press.

The Korea Art Festival Group brings their 2020 European Tour to Teatro Cervantes, Almeria city, on January 10th at 9.30pm. They have received many tributes for their ballet per formances worldwide. Tickets are 15 euros in advance or 18 euros at the door.

What’s On 11am-1pm. Tickets can be purchased from 2hrs before performances at the venue or from www.ticketmaster.es or call Ticketmaster: 902 1500 25. Main branches of ‘CaixaBank’ have machines which issue tickets; including Vera near the church square.

Tickets for Teatro Cervantes, Almería city, from box office at Calle del Poeta Villaspesa,1. Open Mon-Fri, 11am-1pm & 4pm-7pm, Saturday from 11am-2pm, or 1hr before performances, or from w w w. to d a s l a s e n t r a d a s . c o m

Aguilas Auditorio Noche Flamenca (Flamenco night) comes to the Águilas Auditorio on December 20th at 9.30pm performed by the Estudio de Danza Sinergia. Tickets are 6, 8 & 10 euros.

Michael’s Legacy, New Show is a tribute concert to Michael Jackson that comes to Teatro Cervantes, Almeria city, on January 18th at 9.30pm. The Jackson Dance Company is considered one of the best tribute groups with soloists, musicians and 14 dancers. Tickets are 15 & 18 euros in advance or 18 & 20 euros at the door.

Q u e e n Fo r eve r B o h e m i a n Rhapsody Tour 2020 comes to Teatro Cervantes, Almeria city, on

February 28th at 9pm. In 2019 in their previous tour they performed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Ibiza with an audience of 6,000 people. There is a large area without seats for dancing to the music. Tickets are 30 euros.

Tickets for concerts in Almería (except Teatro Cervantes) available from the ticket office in the Teatro Apolo, 25 Rambla Obispo Orberá, Almería , tel: 950 230 922. Mon- Fri, 10.30am-1.30pm & 6-8pm, or Sat,

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The Teatrola Music Company performs the musical La Bella y Bestia (Beauty & the Beast) at Águilas Auditorio on December 14th & 15th. Ticket prices not available at time of going to press.

Aguilas tickets from Victoria Tr a v e l 9 6 8 410 9 2 9 & w w w. b a c a n t i c . c o m , M u s e o Arqueológico, www. auditorioaguilas.org or from 2hrs before performances at the box office.

The Promúsica 2019 / 2020 classical music concerts at Águilas auditorio normally feature the Region of Murcia Symphony

What’s On Orchestra with their resident February 8th, 2020: The resident conductor Virginia Martínez. All orchestra and conductor with choir concerts start at 9pm. and soloists perform Verdi’s Requiem Mass.

December 13th: The ADUA Symphony Orchestra performs Tickets for each concert singly Ernest Chausson’s Symphonic cost 15 euros from Oficina Poem, Paganini’s “gran sonata” for Promúsica, C / Castelar 2, 2nd floor, violin and orchestra and tel: 626 476 389 or Victoria Travel B e et h ove n ’ s 7 t h s y m p h o ny.

C / Isabel La Católica 1, tel: 968 414 752 or from the box office from 2 December 26th: Concierto de hours prior to the performance. A Camara with Beethoven’s sonata season ticket is available that costs for cello & piano and sonata for 100 euros or 45 euros for children cello, piano and clarinet. Cello: Pedro and students and a cash payment Fernández Millán, Pianist: Lázaro can be made at the travel agents Fernández Millán & Clarinettist: Ángel F. López.

Roquetas de Mar January 2nd, 2020: New Year Concert of Waltzes and Polkas.

Region of Murcia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Virginia Martínez.

The FSO Film Symphony Orchestra comes to the auditorio on December 21st at 9.30pm. This is part of their new tour featuring a different repertoire of film music

by John Williams. The conductor is

Constantino Martínez-Orts and tickets are 30, 35 & 40 euros.

The Russian National Ballet Company perform Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty on January 12th at 8pm. The company has 45 dancers and soloists. Ticket prices were not shown at time of going to press.

Roquetas de Mar Auditorio tickets are on sale at www.teatro auditorioroquetas.org or the ticket office open Tuesdays to Fridays from 11am-1pm & 6pm-8pm

Villaricos The VIII Dreambeach Villaricos Music Festival takes place August 5th-9th, 2020. The first 15,000 tickets sold in 50 minutes. Tickets are available from www.dreambeach.es.

Vera The Young Person’s OCAL Orchestra from Almería and the Sinfonette San Francisco de Paula from Seville perform a concert on December 7th at 7.30pm Auditorio Ciudad de Vera. The concert is conducted by Michael Thomas and tickets are 5 euros.

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What’s On The St Petersburg Russian Ballet Company perform the ballet ‘The Nutcracker Suite’ on December 14th at 6pm & 9pm, Auditorio Ciudad de Vera. Tickets are 25 euros.

Huércal-Overa Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood), described as “the maddest version ever” comes to Teatro Villa on January 3rd, 2020, at 6pm. Tickets are 10 euros in advance or 12 euros at the door.

two leading male dancers from Jerez (Jairo Amaya, last seen in Carboneras ) and Carlos Castillo (Granada ) with a top singer and guitarist from Granada. There is non-stop traditional flamenco dance in two distinctive styles from two important Flamenco provinces.

Tickets are on sale from the Tourist Office in Mojácar Pueblo and La Super tienda at the Parque Comercial and cost 15 euros. More information by email at lagitanainglesa.com (see page 29)

Exibitions The ‘Añil’ art gallery in Mojácar Pueblo has an exhibition by Arnaud Berliaz until December. The gallery is at Calle Puntico and opening hours Tuesdays to Sundays are 11 a m - 2 p m a n d 5 p m - 7 p m .

Tickets for events in HuércalOvera are available at the box office on Mondays to Thursdays from 10am-1.30pm & 5pm-8pm, mornings only on Fridays, or from 1 hour before performances.

Internet sales from entradasho.es

Mojácar Jerez y Granada al baile is described as an exciting flamenco performance, in collaboration with Mojácar town hall, that takes place on December 28th at 8.30pm at the Mojácar Centro de Usos Múltiples (Artisan centre), featuring

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Local artists from the Almanzora Valley have an exhibition of their work at Purchena town hall from November 17thDecember 14th. The exhibition will be open daily from 10am to 2pm and 6pm to 9pm. For info contact Nina Higgins on 676 587 435.

El Campo Almeriense 1960s is an exhibition at the Espacio 2 area of Almería Art Museum that can be seen until December 15th. It has photographs from the Ministry of Agriculture that shows what the countryside and agriculture was like in the 1960s. The museum is at Plaza de Carlos Cano, Almería city, and the exhibition is open Tues Thurs: 10.30 -13.30, Fri & Sat: 10.30 - 13.30 and 17.00 -20.00, Sunday: 10.30 - 13.30, closed Mondays.

What’s On fund raising, please get in touch.

For Welfare advice or help call: 676 451 780 (9am-5pm, Mon-Sat) or email dmwilson@british legion.org.uk

Trips & Events by Carlos Isabel Bes is performing a concert of ballads, blues & rock genre on December 3rd at Lua Restaurant at Vera Playa. The event starts from 7pm for an haute cuisine dinner at 8pm and Isabel performs at 9.15pm.

Ticket price including concert and dinner is 28 euros.

Trip to Cartagena Auditorio El Batel on December 22nd to see the renowned Film Symphony Orchestra (FSO) perform a new repertoire of John William’s film music as part of their 2019-2020 tour. Coach & ticket price 80 euros.

For info & bookings call Carlos on 610 681 068 or 950 525 761

Miscellaneous Shoestring Productions performs a grand Variety Show “GRIN AND TONIC” with sketches, songs, magic and jokes galore on December 10th-12th at 7.30pm, MontMartre Restaurant in Mojácar.

Tickets are 8 euros with proceeds going to PAWS-PATAS animal shelter.

For more information visit Shoestring Productions on facebook or one of the PAWSPATAS outlets in Mojácar, Turre or Las Buganvillas, or the MontMartre Restaurant.

The Royal British Legion Mojácar Branch December Meetings The December branch meeting is at The Artisan Centre, Mojácar on Thursday 5th at 11:30 am for coffee and chatter and everyone is welcome.

The Oasis Bar, Palomares are holding their Fish & Chip night at 7:30 pm on Friday 6th in support of the Royal British Legion. There will be a quiz from our regular quizmaster Tim Taplin and a raffle.

There is no social meeting on the 12th but please join us for a Christmas Lunch at The Bistro, Las Buganvillas on Thursday 19th at 1.00pm. Pre booking required please. For further details and information about future events or meetings call: 682 405 858 or email mojacar.secretary@rbl.comm unity. Anyone who would like to help us with organising events or

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KittyKat Almanzora valley – A Lucky Dip to raise funds for the neutering programme will be held outside Cantoria Town Hall on Wednesday morning, Dec 11th.

KittyKat is now a registered charity.

APSA - Christmas Music – Sat, 14th Dec at 8pm by the Incognito Singers at Teatro Pedro Gilabert, Arboleas. Tickets 5 euros from APSA and Total Entertainment.

Dames in Turre would like to remind everyone of their Christmas Market which will be held on Saturday, December 7th in Turre Square. Do come along and support this fund raising event, a chance to come and do some Christmas Shopping and get into the swing of Christmas. All proceeds will be

What’s On donated to local charities. We look forward to seeing you there. You never know, you could be a lucky winner in the main raffle or on the Tombola. Sample a glass of mulled wine with a mince pie or sausage roll. Dames Christmas Lunch will be held on Tuesday, 10th December at Miraflores, and as there will not be a meeting in December, on behalf of all the Turre Dames may we wish you all a very Happy Christmas and Good Health in 2020 and we thank you all for your support. For more information, please contact the Chairman, Carol Pazdzierski on 950 099 932 or Membership Secretary Eileen McGill on 652 298 072.

The MojĂĄcar Moors & Christians event for 2020 is from June 12th14th.

PAWS/PATAS Cats The next Beachcomber Book Sale will be on Tuesday, 14th January, 10.30am 1pm. Any donation of books or DVDs on the morning of the sale would be appreciated. All proceeds to cat neutering

Anglican Church of Costa Almeria and Costa Calida Church Services in December MOJACAR Sun 2nd, 11am, Eucharist Mon 3rd, 8pm, Joint Carol Service, Catholic Church, Mojacar Pueblo Sunday 9th, 11am, Eucharist Sat 15th, 11am, Carols in Mojacar Parque Comercial Sun 16th, 11am, Eucharist Sun 23rd, 11am, Crib Service Mon 24th, 11.30pm, Midnight

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Mass Tues 25th, 11am, Eucharist ALJAMBRA Sun 16th, 6pm, Nine Lessons and Carols LLANOS DEL PERAL Sun 2nd, 11am, Eucharist Sun 9th, 11am, Eucharist Sun 16th, 11am, Crib Service, (No Eucharist) Tues 18th, 6pm, Carol Service Sun 23rd, 11am, Eucharist Mon 24th, 11.30pm, Midnight Mass

What’s On Market Days Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Sunday:

Huércal-Overa, Antas, Berja Albox, Los Gallardos, Cuevas del Almanzora Mojácar, Bédar, Lubrin, Vélez Blanco, Palomares, Tabernas Cuevas del Almanzora, Olula del Río, Carboneras, Sorbas Garrucha, Turre, Zurgena Aguilas, Vera, Arboleas, Vélez Rubio Villaricos, Purias, San Juan de los Terreros, Fines

Rastros, Car Boot Sales, etc.

Saturday: Los Llanos, between Arboleas & Albox Sunday morning: Multiple Use Centre (Artisan Centre), Mojácar Village 2nd Sunday of the month: Bédar, from 9am

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Activities - Clubs - Associations Clubs, Societies & Activities

The Royal British Legion - Albox Everyone welcome. Monthly meeting 3rd Thursday of every month, La Parrilla, Albox, 11am. Coffee morning 1st Almanzora Group of Friends Library and Information Centre Thursday of every month, Oasis Cafe Mon - Fri and first Saturday of month Bar, 11.30am. For info contact chairman 10am-1pm, Plaza San Antonia, Barrio Filip Ostrowski , email Albox.chairman Alto, Albox. Extensive English Library, @rbl.community. .For support contact DVDs and talking books, monthly Mrs Pamela Twissell Cross on 676 451 magazine, monthly quiz, trips. 780 Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm or email: www.almanzoragof.org or Facebook: SpainNorth.CommunitySupport@RBL. Almanzora Group of Friends. Tel: 634 Community 343 147 The Royal British Legion - Zurgena & District Branch Living Alone in Spain?

We are a 60+ group of friends who Heather’s Bar, La Alfoquia, every first meet for lunch every Wednesday in the Thursday of the month at 11a.m. Email Mojácar area. Tel. Ann: 677 877 087 zurgenaRBLsecretary@yahoo.co.uk. See www.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/z WOW Women on Wednesday urgena Kukis, Mojácar Playa, 2pm. Get together, buy, sell, swap, meet new people.

Mojácar Community Library Dames in Huércal Overa Multi-Use centre. Mon, Wed and Fri, 3rd Wed. of the month, 10.30am, Hostal 11am - 1pm .

Rural Los Sabores de Miguel. All welcome.

Mojácar Walking Group Tel. Carolyn 637 798 494 Walks of different levels. Tues & Thurs.

Dames in Spain (Mojácar) w w w. m o j a c a r wa l k i n g g ro u p . c o m Talks, trips, support for local charities.

3rd Mon. of the month, 11.00am Psychic Development Circle Sensations Restaurant, Mojácar Playa. Various classes at different times.

Chairperson Carol Threlfall. Secretary Everyone welcome. Tel: Barbara 637 Jenny Trask . See fb Dames in Spain. 469 937 barbaramoonlight@gmail.com Guests welcome. Tel: 674 477 679 AUAN - Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No Dames in Turre 11am, last Mon in the month, Hostal Association campaigning for the Rural, Turre. Talks, trips, support for legalisation of homes in the Almanzora local charities. Guests welcome. Valley built without proper authority.

Chairman, Carol Pazdzierski Tel: 950 099 Meeings on 3rd Sat. of every other 932, Membership Secretary, Eileen month, 11am, La Parrilla, Albox. Tel: 617 118 209 www.almanzora-au.org McGill Tel: 652 298 072 Vera & District Lions Club Mojácar Bridge Club 6.00pm on the first Wednesday of the Mon and Thurs, 7pm. Marina Playa Hotel. month at Hotel Terraza Carmona, Vera.

Contact Les 950 437 100 / 634 219 Telephone Jo Pearson on 711 00 56 82 174 Facebook: Mojácar Bridge Club or email veralionssecretary@gmail.com The Royal British Legion, Mojácar for more information.

First Thursday of the month, meeting Flamenco Forum for English in the Artisan Centre, Mojacar Pueblo, Speakers 11:30am. 3rd Thursday of the month on Facebook. Information and events. social meeting at 11:30 for coffee and Tel: 687 480 694 chatter. Call for information of the venue. Vera Photo Club Everyone is welcome, service or non- First Sunday of month, Bar La Pará, service. For enquires call: 682 405 858 Turre (opposite the Vet), 10am or email mojacar.secretary@rbl. 12.30pm. Presentations by invited community. For Welfare advice or help speakers, field trips, instruction, studio call : 676451780 (9am-5pm, Mon-Sat) photography, monthly assignments and or email dmwilson@britishlegion.org.uk exhibitions. All levels welcome. Phone Sarah 670003717 or Claus 628585538.

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Mojacar Photo Group meet 2nd Sunday each month at Dee’s Dollar Bar, Pueblo Laguna with monthly presentations, themes and challenges.

Open to all levels, training available for beginners. Contact Andy: 650406167 or mpg@funnell.eu Betty's Garden Club 11.30 for 12 noon, 2nd Monday of the month at Miraflores Restaurant, Camping Los Gallardos except in July & August. All welcome. Tel: 634 341 715 Freemasons in the Province of Almeria Craft & Chapter. 661 026 912 or 670 27 27 37 Freemasons – The Side Degrees Mark, RAM, RSM, OSM & Allied. 694 44 43 61 Cabrera Music Club For info call Richard: 666 274 861 cabreramusicclub@albox-online.net Albox Computer Club Hotel La Parrilla, Albox. Fri, 10am. All levels of experience are welcomed. www.alboxcc.com Indalo Hash House Harriers Meet 2nd and 4th Sunday, 11am, various l o c a t i o n s . w w w. i n d a l o h 3 . c o m Traditional Japanese Reiki and Gendai Reiki Ho Classes, workshops, and Reiki shares in Mojacar. Tel: 634 347 930, website: www.gendaireikispain.com Ananda Yoga & Holistic Centre Meditation Class, Crystal Class and Holistic Therapies. Contacts : 672 061 048 (Sharon) or 635 190 515 (Nana) Ancestry Club for Beginners & Intermediate Tel. 634 309 590

Send details of your club, society or activity to almeriafocus@gmail.com Tel: 670 849 265

Activities - Clubs - Associations Clubs, Societies & Activities continued

New Life Church, Huercal-Overa We are a Jesus centred church family learning to love one another. Sunday service at 11 am, www.newlifechurch.eu tel. 685 628 184

Amigos de los Coches Clasicos Local multi-national group of classic car enthusiasts. Meetings the first Thursday of the month, 3pm, Hotel Rural Miguel Rosi, junction 559 E15/A7. www.a-c-c.es, Living Water Church Mojacar Playa email: info@a-c-c.es, tel. David 950 412 Opposite Red Cross Centre and Salas Farmacia. Sunday Service 11am. Bible 165 study Tuesday 11am. Cafe Church Miraflores 1/10 Scale RC Club Thursday 11am to 1pm. For further info Thursdays, 3pm. Tel: Richard on 666 274 contact Pastors Dave 697 522 521 or 861 for more details.

John 634 254 781. See FaceBook or visit www.livingwaterchurchmojacar.com Model Aero Flying Club, Cortijo Grande Aguaviva Evangelical Church Sun. & Wed., 10.30am. Contact Jeff on Near the health Centre, opposite Bici950 469304 or Colin on 666 982186 Box, Albox. Tel: Rod Southwood, 687 Aeroclub ULM Günter (Vera) 560 544 Tel: 607 316 553 New Life Church, Huercal-Overa Pita Escuela Agave School We are a Jesus centred church family of Río Aguas. A multicultural, learning to love one another. Sunday environmental and musical project, service at 11 am, www.newlifechurch.eu specialized on the integral usage of the tel. 685 628 184 agave plant and the processing of its Roman Catholic Masses wood.Tel 630 66 18 65 (Timbe) These canbe found on www.misas.org pitaescuela@hotmail.com for most places.

Sunseed A hands-on practical centre for lowimpact living and environmental education in Los Molinos del Rio Aguas near Sorbas. Free tours at 4pm. www.sunseed.org.uk Tel: 950 525 770

Support Groups & Charities

Religious Groups & Churches Church of England (Anglican Churches) Mojacar: Eucharist, Sunday, 11am, at the church of San Pascual, Agua de Enmedio.

Albox: Eucharist, 2nd & last Thurs in month, 11am. Evensong, second Sun in month, 6pm at Aljambra Chapel.

Llanos del Peral, nr El Cucador: Eucharist or morning worship, Sundays, 11am.

Church Wardens, Pam Carter 667947573 & Janetta Causton 661575606. Priest in Charge, Rev. Vincent Oram 603659139 See www.mojacarchurch.org

Ostomist Support For Expats Call Dee 950 064 322 in confidence.

A.A. Alcoholics Anonymous Mojacar Area Meetings:- Monday 6pm, Turre Evangelical Church (Avenida de Almeria, Turre). WedS & Fri, 6pm, Living Water Church, Mojacar Playa (opposite Red Cross building). Tel: 634 300 364 or email aaspain@gmail.com Al-Anon Family Groups for people whose life is or has been affected by someone else's drinking.

Meetings Mondays, 4:45 - 5:45 at Turre Evangelical Church and Wednesdays 3:30 - 4:30 La Alfoquia, Avda Andalucia 1 (C.A.T. Services building). Tel: 698460801 or email AlAnon.LaAlfoquia@gmail.com Universal Wonderful Street Academy NGO that supports street children in Accra (Ghana). Registered charity. www.universalwonderfulstreetacadem y.org. Beatriz: 617 182 154 FACE (Fundraising in Arboleas, Caring for E ve r yo n e ) . Re g i s te r e d c h a r i t y. face.charity@hotmail.com www.face -charity.com Harmony Community Support Providing assistance to those in need.

Tel. 634 339 192 Mon - Fri, 11:00 - 14:00 help@harmonycharity.com

Parkinson's Disease Support Contact Joyce Boxall (Santa Maria de Nieva, Huércal-Overa), tel 677 688037 MACS Cancer Support Group General Enquiries call 634 328 334 10am to 4pm. 24/7 Careline: 634 656 555.

Fully Spanish registered charity.

Shops in Mojácar, Turre, Albox and Huercal-Overa open Mon-Fri, 10-2pm www.macscancersupport.com Email: macscancersuppor t@live.co.uk Stepping Stones Carers Support Group Turre Evangelical Hall, Thurs, 11am-2pm.

Tel 950 472 822 or 677 683 385 www.steppingstonescarerssupport.com

Age Support Almanzora Kingdom Hall, Jehovah's Witnesses Shop and welfare office near Peugeot Tues 7:30pm & Sun 10.00am. Poligono garage, Albox. Helpline 634 316 573 Aljoroque - C/El Cajete 6, Antas. Contact: 652 293 269

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Send details of your group to almeriafocus@gmail.com Tel: 670 849 265

Activities - Clubs - Associations Music & Drama Groups

Yoga

Indalo Players Well established drama group always looking for new members to act or help back stage. Tel. Bill White on 671 81 08 19 or email williamwhite9552@aol.com

Ananda Yoga & Holistic Centre Various different styles of yoga including Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and Integral Yoga.

Holistic Therapies including Reiki, Thai Foot Massage, Reflexology, Crystal Massage. Tel : 672 061 048 (Sharon) or 635 190 515 (Nana)

Independent Theatre Group Always looking for new people, novices & full blown Thesbians. Call Ian Jones on 950 436 581 or 666 375 688 or email independenttheatre@hotmail.com The Luvvies New members always welcome for acting or work behind the scenes etc.

Te l . 6 34 34 6 3 0 9 o r e - m a i l theluvvies@hotmail.com Jacqueline Welby Productions New members always needed to act or work back stage or with any other activities. Tel. Jacqueline Morris Welby 634 313 531 The Incognito Singers A mixed voice group, based in Arboleas, performing a varied repertoire of songs to a high standard. For more info visit www.theincognitosingers.com, see Facebook, contact us at theincognito singers@gmail.com., or drop in to a weekly rehearsal. (See web page.)

Sing Sing Sing A mixed informal singing group, singing all types of music, for the fun of it, and to be able to perform a few charity events. Everyone welcome, Rehearsal Tuesday 6pm Villaricos Social Centre.

For info. ring Janet on 617856680.

Cariatiz Community Orchestra A friendly group of musicians of various ages and levels. All newcomers welcome, only requirement is to play an orchestral instrument and read music. Rehearsals Vera Auditorio, 6-8pm every Sunday.

Contact emma.v.randle@gmail.com Facebook: Cariatiz Community Orchestra.

Vera Voces A friendly choir singing classical music, directed by pianist, singer and director, Barry Jobling. All welcome, no auditions.

Rehearsals Wednesdays, 6-8pm, at Vera Auditorio. Facebook: Vera Voces.

Contact veravoces1@gmail.com

Yoga in Mojacar with Sharon Fisher. All levels. beginners welcome. 672 061 048 Sol Yoga Centre, Arboleas Tel: 686 400331 Girasol, Albox Call 639 089 170 Yoga with Ashlí Turre, Vera & private. 643102335 Yoga Therapy with Portia Oliver. Tel: 681301474 www.portiaoliver.es

Arts & Crafts Sewing Group, Mojacar We meet at Scotty's el Tropico bar for sewing, knitting, crochet etc. Weds.

10.30 to 12.30. Tel. Brenda 634 34 34 92 or Sylvia 628 006 197. We are a friendly group meeting for coffee and chat.

Bedar Arts Centre Ceramic classes, Mondays and Wednesdays. Painting classes Tuesday 10:30-1330. For info, call 664 896 555

Dance Line Dancing Salon de Actos, Centro de Usos Multiples , Mojacar. Fridays, 4.–7pm. Beginners welcome. Contact: Glynis 648217503 o r M a r y B eth 6 616715 2 6 o r strictlylinedancingmojacar@gmail.com Eleanor & Gilly's Line Dance Class Chapman’s Bar, Albox, 2-30pm- 4-30pm, Mondays. All levels welcome. 950439003.

Step2It - Line Dancing Arboleas. Weds: 6.45 p.m - 7.30 p.m, First Steps/Intro. 7.30 p.m -10.30, Beginners / Improvers /Intermediate. : C a r r i e A n n 6 2727 9 5 8 4 www.carrieanngreen.com Almeria Line Dancers Julie - 634304625 / 950110433 Pro Danza Nicky Mainstone Royal Academy Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Dance fit fusion.

Children & Adults. Mojacar & Los Gallardos. T. 667479903

Ladies Sewing Circle Evangelical Church, Turre, Wednesday 10.30 – 12.30 Tel: 667 702 774

Ceroc Dancing Artisan Centre, Mojacar, Tues 8.15pm Beginners/Improvers/Advanced. All welcome. Contact Tracey 687251799

Girasol, Albox Mosaic classes. Thurs 1:30 - 4:30pm.Tel 639 089 170

Belly Dancing Mojácar, Garrucha & Huércal-Overa.

Contact Fatima: 610 472 596

Picante Quilting Club Scotty’s El Tropico, Mojacar. First Thurs of the month, 10am-12.30pm.

Beginners welcome. For more details or to book your place, please email Jo at jogibson787@yahoo.co.uk

Bellydance Classes Mojácar, Turre, Palomares. Call 639 724 521

The Happy Hookers Crochet Club Alternate Mondays, 2pm, Kuki’s Bar Restaurant, Mojacar. Beginners and all levels welcome. For details, or to book your place, please email Kim at kimlette7@hotmail.com Cloud Zebra Craft Workshops & Clubs In Almanzora and Oria, Tues 10-2, Thurs and Fri, 10.30 -2.30. Call 744 60 96 30 or check out our Facebook page. No experience needed.

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Dance Classes with Hollie Newell Ballet, tap, contemporary, modern, jazz, lyrical, zumba and more. Based in Turre.

Tel: 634 317 391 Performing Arts Centre DanZaVera 54 Verasol, Vera. Royal Academy Ballet, Imperial Society Modern, Tap and Jazz.

Also Hip-Hop, Oriental Dance, Spanish Classical. Tel Anita: 670 715 787 Complete Beginners Flamenco Mojácar. No specialist shoes or equipment required, friendly hour long class. Email info@lagitanainglesa.com

Activities - Clubs - Associations Sports Almería Lawn Bowling Club Contact Shirley: 679 970 399

Mojacar Golf Society Visitors always welcome to come and join in the fun on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tel Lynn Sefton on 667 349 908 or email raylynnsefton@gmail.com

Bowling Club de Zurgena Friendly, social and competitive bowling, Albox Club de Tenis all levels & standards. zurgenabc@gmail. Sun & Thurs mornings, Tues afternoons. com. www.zurgenabc.com Tel Sue: 950 064 369 Fb: Albox Club de Tenis Cabrera Lawn Bowling Club Cabrera Tennis Club www.cabreralbc.com Contact info@ cabreratennisclub.com Indalo Lawn Bowling Club www.cabreratennisclub.com Contact Janet 671 865 675 Club de Tenis y Padel Indalo Mojacar Bowls Club Behind Marina Mar Hotel. Everybody Vera. Tel: 950 59 28 77 - 608 250 607 welcome - Tues, Thurs and Sat starting Tennis Coach with coffee at 9:30. Contact Verna 610 Diego Rodriguez Tel: 689 688 226 838 644.

Padel tennis lessons At home. Tel: Ulises Gutiérrez, 606 902 Badgers Golf Society Mojacar, play Wednesday and Saturday. 691 Everyone always welcome. Contact Dave PartyLevante Sailing Club Ryder on 663 327 182 or badgers Initiation for children from 7 yrs in small mojacar@gmail.com groups. Email info@partylevante.com or call 680942141 www.partylevante Boxers Golf Society Albox All welcome to join us as members or .com guests. Call in at the Why Not bar in Albox on Saturday mornings or email Santa Irene Sailing Club Meets Sundays at 10:30 at the boat park peterstooks@avired.com of the New Marina, Garrucha, with a preForum Golf Society sail coffee at café La Oficina virtually Plays friendly events at local courses opposite at 11:00. Contact Ian via info@ twice a month. Richard Price. Telephone santaireneclubdevela.com or call 671 850993073 or rfp53@yahoo.co.uk. 474 385. See www.santaireneclub www.forumgolfsociety.webs.com devela.com Marina Phoenix Golf Society Adelante Gimnasia Artìstica Visitors welcome Mondays and H u e r c a l - O ve r a . C l a s s e s f o r f u n Thursdays. Tel Don Atkins 605 051 238. gymnastics , competitive levels, pre Email marinaphoenixgs@gmail.com school and adults. Fully qualified coach.

Valle del Este Golf Society.

Tuesdays, Thursdays & Sundays. Contact Alan Townsend Tel. 690 090 982

From 2 years. Tel 622 129 702 or info@adelanteartisitca.es www.adelanteartistica.es Facebook Adelante Gimnasia artistica.

Walking Football Club Campo de Football, Los Gallardos, 9am Monday for training, exercise & playing. www.fclosamigos.com El Bandido Runners Run, jog , walk a 5km route along the Paseo. Free to all. See Facebook.

Contact Kevin on ironmankev08 @gmail.com

Almería Golf League Contact Les on 950 619 273

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Fitness & Martial Arts Girasol, Albox Pilates, children’s karate & gymastics, advanced gymnastics, Tai-chi. Tel 639 089 170 erobics or Pilates Campo de Futbol, Turre. Contact Vicki 650 764 623 or vicki.lynch@live.co.uk Slimming Groups Casa Pepa, Turre, Weds 10 am, Sophia Wellness Centre Arboleas, Thurs 12.30pm, Contact Vicki 650 764 623 or vicki.lynch@live.co.uk Martial Arts Academy Seidokan Scientific Karate & Taiji-Qigong, Vera. Call John Watson 950 453 681 Performing Arts Centre DanZaVera Almeria. 54 Verasol, Vera. Martial Arts, Karate, Tai ji qigong, ancient weapons including Sword, Self Defence, Tactical Gymnastics, Yoga and ageless mobility.

Tel Anita: 670 715 787 Mojácar Taekwondo 5 years to adults. Various classes & times.

Contact Serge 646844708. Facebook GTF Spain Sophia Wellness Centre, Arboleas Gym, Toning tables, Kickboxing, Cross fit, Boot camp, Boxing, Salsacise, Zumba, Step Aerobics, Body Pump. Tel. 950 449 451.

Fitness with Alison, Mojácar Full Body Workout, Pilates, AquaZumba, Zumba, Step Aerobics, Total Toning, AeroFit. Tel 666 273 168.

Hollie Newell Zumba Almeria Turre, Los Gallardos, Arboleas and San Juan. Contact: 634 317 391

Your Stars Your emotions may get the better of you. Selfdeception regarding your own worth may lead you down the wrong path. Be extra careful with your valuables; loss and theft are evident this month. You may have problems with skin, bones, or teeth if you haven't been taking proper care of yourself. Your luckiest events this month will (Mar. 21- April 20) occur on a Friday.

Be prepared to counteract the damage that adversaries are about to create. Don't blame everything on your mate. Stick to your own projects and by the end of the day you'll shine.

Your creative imagination will help you in coming up with unique ideas. Your luckiest events this (Apr. 21- May 21) month will occur on a Thursday.

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23)

Travel and entertainment will be pleasurable. You have done all you can to sort things out a personal level. Finish overdue paperwork and catch up on letter writing and reading. Take that long overdue vacation if you can. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Sunday.

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)

Equilibrium in your romantic life is likely if you treat your partner well. Try to be there for someone if they need assistance. Uncertainties about your home may cause tension. Don't share your dilemma with those you work with. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Monday.

Try to enlist the help of those you trust in order to fulfill the demands being made of you. In-laws or older individuals may give you a bit of a hard time this month. Double check your work and be sure that your boss is in a good mood before you do your presentation. Think twice before you say something you might regret later. Your luckiest (Nov. 23 - Dec. 21) events this month will occur on a Wednesday.

You should be able to tie up loose ends this month. Make sure that you take time to remember those you love. Social events may lead to a romantic interlude. You will be in an overly generous mood this month. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Monday.

Interaction with colleagues will only be upsetting.

Stay out of other people's affairs. Make sure to arrange in advance to spend quality time together.

Avoid letting family get involved in your personal life. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Thursday.

(May 22 - June 21)

(June 22 - July 22)

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) Be careful when dealing with investments. Don't say something you'll live to regret. Try not to attempt to do something unless you are fully intent on following through with the plans. Your sensitive nature will allow others to read you well.

Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Saturday.

(July 23 - Aug. 22)

(Jan. 21- Feb. 19) Think about your budget before booking a trip.

You can find out interesting information if you get a chance to talk to people you respect. You will be able to catch up on overdue paper work.

Visitors may drop by unexpectedly, resulting in tension with your lover. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Friday.

(Aug. 23 - Sept. 23)

You might not be as reserved on an emotional level as you'd like. Don't take advantage of your expense account. Look for something entertaining to do. You've got that competitive edge. Children could cost you more than you can afford. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday.

Try to channel your energy into professional endeavors. You must make sure that all your personal documents are in order. This will not be the day to start new business ventures or make drastic changes in your career. You'll find it easy to talk about your feeling this month. Don't hesitate to find out what your mate's intentions are. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Friday.

You may want to stay in the background this month. Do not jump to conclusions concerning your romantic partner. Older family members may take advantage of you by making you feel guilty.

Avoid friction with your mate. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday.

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20)

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Jokes of the Month Christmas with the Children

The Company Party

A man in Scotland calls his son in London the day before Christmas Eve and says, “I hate to ruin your day but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.” “Dad, what are you talking about?” the son screams. “We can't stand the sight of each other any longer,” the father says.

“We're sick of each other and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Leeds and tell her.” Frantically, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. “Like hell they're getting divorced!” She shouts, “I'll take care of this!” She calls Scotland immediately, and screams at her father “You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow.

Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?” and hangs up. The man puts the phone down and turns to his wife,“Sorted! They're both coming for Christmas - and they're paying their own way.”

A man and his wife go to a company Christmas party where the husband works on a Friday night, and he has far too much to drink. The next morning he staggers downstairs feeling terrible and can hardly hold the cup of coffee his wife gives him. With his head in his hands he said, “Damn! What happened last night?” His wife replied, “It wasn’t a pretty sight!” He asks, “What did I do?” She replies, “You were not on your best behaviour, although a lot of people had too much to drink, and your boss was extremely upset.” “Why was that” he asked.

“You told him exactly what you thought of him in no uncertain terms, so you got fired”. The husband screams, “Did I really get fired?” and his wife replies, “Yes”. He then says, “Well, f*** him!” She replies, “I did! And you start back Monday morning!”

The Season Ticket James and Neil were fortunate enough to have a season ticket to watch Manchester United.

They could not help noticing that there was always a spare seat (A16) next to them and they had a friend who would love to buy a season ticket, especially if all three could have seats together. One half-time Neil went to the ticket office and asked if they could buy the season ticket for A16. The official said that unfortunately the ticket had been sold.

Nevertheless, week after week the seat was still empty. Then on Boxing Day, much to James and Neil's amazement, the seat was taken for the first time that season. Neil could not resist asking the newcomer, 'Where have you been all season'. 'Don't ask,' he said, 'the wife bought the season ticket back last summer, and kept it for a surprise Christmas present.'

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The Explanation One Christmas, when his son was nearly ten years old his father said, “I have to tell you something. When you get presents at Christmas, and when the Easter Bunny leaves you something, it is really me. Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny don’t exist.” The son replies, “That’s OK dad, I already know that, and when the stork is supposed to have brought me I know it was really mum and Uncle Fred.”

The Box of Lights A blonde walked into our store looking for Christmas lights. I showed her our top brand, but, wanting to make sure each bulb worked, she asked me to take them out of the box and plug them in. I did, and each one lit up. "Great," she said. I carefully placed the string of lights back in the box. But as I handed them to her, she looked alarmed. "I don't want this box," she said abruptly. "It's been opened."

...and next...

The Accident Once upon a time a perfect man and a perfect woman met each other and after a perfect courtship they have a perfect wedding. Their life is indeed perfect, but on Christmas Eve, driving perfectly within the speed limit in their perfect car, they notice Santa Claus standing by the side of the road. Being perfect they stop and asked him what is the trouble and he tells them his sleigh has broken down. The perfect couple don’t want all the children to have no presents so they give him a lift with his two heavy sacks and start stopping at houses.

Unfortunately, it starts to snow really hard and the perfect couple and Santa Claus have a bad car accident. Only one person survived, so the question is, who was that?

The Kiss Just before Christmas a cabby picks up a nun who is very attractive and he can’t stop looking at her in his mirror. Eventually, she asks him why he keeps staring at her. He tells her he has always had a fantasy about kissing a nun and she is the most attractive nun he has ever seen. She says that she is not offended, as it is Christmas, but to get a kiss he must be a Catholic and be single.

He tells her he is both so he pulls into the kerb and the nun gives him a real smacker of a kiss.

When they get to her destination the cab driver tells her that he is sorry but he has lied, and is married and a Methodist. The nun replies, “That’s OK, my real name is Kevin and I’m going to a Christmas drag party.”

The New Name The Three Kings eventually find the stable after following the star, but Baltazar is very tall. As they went into the stable he hit his head hard on the door frame. He exclaimed, “Jesus Christ!”

Joseph said to Mary, “Write that down... It’s a much better name than Clyde!”

The answer is that the perfect woman survived because she really existed. There is no such thing as a perfect man and Santa Claus isn’t real.

Women: Stop reading here, this is the end of the joke.

Men: Read the next bit.

If there is no such thing as a perfect man and no Santa Claus, the perfect woman must have been driving, so this is why there was an accident!

A Letter of Complaint “Now look Santa, I didn’t get to bed until 2.30am wrapping all the presents and the children woke me up at 7am to tell me what you had left them.

If you had eaten the mince pie the dog would not have been sick all over the lounge carpet.

My mother gave me a coffee maker, but so did my husband and the one I have already is fine.

Next year, please be more responsible otherwise I will put barbed wire up the chimney. Christmas is supposed to be a fun time”.

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Coffee Break

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