The Almeria Focus - November 2017 by The Almeria Focus

Introduction & Contents

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 Aguilas on the coast and inland as far as Albox and Huércal Overa.

Contents A Very Fluid Situation ..................................................................…...10 In the News ........…................…………................................…….12 So Now You Know ..........................................................................48 Completely Flawed .....................................................50 Growing “María”.............................................................52 Read the Small Print ...........................................................54 Living with Autism ..........................................................56 Behind the Headlines ............................................................58 Autopilot Cars ..................................................................60 It’s That Time of Year .............................................................62 Useful Numbers ..................................................................66 A-Z Directory ……………….......……................................................68 Community News ............................................................................112 What’s On ..................................................................................113 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 Rob on 619 833 041.

The copy deadline for the December issue is November 18th

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A Very Fluid Situation

he very hot potato at present is the proposed attempt by the Catalonia region to split from Spain. It is absolutely clear that this is in breach of the Spanish Constitution, and central government are determined that the independence bid will be foiled. The EU is standing shoulder to shoulder with Spain and have no interest whatsoever in acting as mediators. We refer to this in our “In the News” section, and to the referendum in an article. Whatever happens on the political scene, this time of year in Spain, up to the end of December, is when the anti-’flu vaccinations are available at medical centres. In an article we explain which key sectors of the population are able to ask for these apart from pensioners over the age of 65. In October 2016, John Kerry who was the US Secretary of State, came to Spain for face-to-face meetings with the Spanish Government. A “nonlegally binding” memorandum was signed relating to the remainder of the radioactive waste at Palomares that has been there since 1966. Hilary Clinton was very sympathetic to a solution being hammered out, but now Donald Trump is President it seems unlikely that any decisions will be made.

December 6th is a very important event in the Spanish calendar. December 6th is the anniversary of the signing of the Spanish Constitution in 1978, and the constitution is very important at present because of Catalonia. Celebrations on this date are sure to be a major show of strength by central government. Last month we explained how October 12th is Hispanic day. In Madrid, where King Felipe VI reviews an annual march through the streets by the military and police, there was another huge show of strength. A very large number of politicians and the general public attended to give him their support. King Felipe had made a very rare appearance on Spanish TV on October 3rd condemning the independence proposals with 12.4 million people watching the broadcast, more than 25% of all the inhabitants in Spain. Post speech surveys stated that 60% of viewers supported him. Catalonia

There have been serious discussions and a promise of major funding for the ‘AVE’ (high speed train) from Murcia to Almería. A deadlock over the station in Murcia City appears to have been resolved, and the AVE is scheduled to arrive in Murcia in 2018. Plans for the remaining sections from Murcia to Almería are that work is supposed to be started in 2018 with an arrival date in Almería city of 2023. Tourist numbers for 2017 are certain to have beaten 2016 figures, and passengers into Almería airport In theory! were a record number. They exceeded the previous Most town halls have fleshed out their cultural record from 2008 for the first time, and we detail activities for the autumn period now that summer new flights planned for next year in our “In the has ended. We list the ones that we think will be of News” section. We comment on the Ryanair interest to our readers, and also activities by local problems in an article. The massacre in Barcelona organizations, in our “What’s On” section. had a very minimal effect on the number of tourists, but because of the problems in Catalonia hotels After All Soul’s Day on November 2nd there are no report a 20% drop in bookings. The UK Foreign more national “red” fiesta dates in Spain during Office is advising tourists in Barcelona to be on November when everything shuts down. Wednesday, their guard and avoid areas of major demonstrations.

In the News A Quick Guide Under the 1978 written Spanish Constitution, an autonomous region (such as Catalonia) cannot decide they want to be independent. Courts in Madrid and Barcelona confirmed this, but an independence referendum took place on October 1st. The referendum was highly flawed and we comment on this in an article. The President of Catalonia then announced on October 11th that independence would be proclaimed, but “not yet”. The Spanish government then gave him two deadlines of October 16th & 19th to step back and renounce the independence procedure, which did not happen. He was told that if he came to the Spanish parliament he would receive a hearing but he declined. The government can invoke section 155 of the constitution that would involve a hard, or soft, procedure to take over the control of Catalonia by central government. To avoid this they asked on October 20th that new elections should take place in Catalonia. They do not consider that the referendum result is a true manifestation of the wishes of the inhabitants of Catalonia as a whole, who could then vote in the elections. This was not accepted. On Saturday October 21st, the mechanism for invoking section 155 was started and it might have been ready to be put in place by October 30th. Forced elections could then be called to take place in a few months. So how will all this play out? Next question?

moved to Palma. Banco Sabadell (the 2nd largest bank in Catalonia) moved to Alicante after their share price fell sharply on October 4th. They have been based in Barcelona for 140 years. The large insurance company Catalana Occidente with a presence in 50 countries followed suit along with the energy supplier Gas Natural Fenosa and the very large textile company Dogi. Lleida.net is a large online communication company and they moved their base to Madrid. The insurance companies AXA Vida & AXA Pensiones moved their bases to Bilbao, and MRW, the enormous delivery company, moved to Valencia. Volkswagen, which includes Seat, issued a statement that they were leaving it up to Seat to decide whether they moved their fiscal headquarters. By October 11th, the Registrar of Companies had received 500 requests from companies of all sizes. Including the announced move by the giant insurance company Zurich and the enormous book publishing company Planeta, this number topped 800 by October 17th. The total was 950 by October 20th including a major lottery administration company. In the event that Catalonia split from Spain they would no longer be in the EU. Banks and financial companies would be without an EU framework and the protection of the Central European Bank, and the economic future of many businesses will be very uncertain. The six largest banks in Catalonia have 180 billion Euros in accounts from inhabitants there. The likely economic loss of EU funding for Catalonia is put at 60 billion Euros.

A Stampede Out of Catalonia

1714

A fiscal or legally registered address determines where taxes are paid. With the uncertainty over the eventual outcome in Catalonia, central government in Madrid approved regulations on Friday, October 6th that cut through the red tape if companies wanted to move their registered fiscal headquarters away from Catalonia. It was prompted by CiaxaBank, the third largest lender in Spain, having an emergency shareholder meeting after many people withdrew their money from accounts immediately following the October 1st referendum. They moved their fiscal base to Valencia, and a press release stated that this was to protect “clients, shareholders and employees”. This also applied to their associated companies Segur Caixa and VidaCaixa, and the Criteria Caixa bank

Specialist police on October 1st, the day of the referendum in Catalonia, blocked a site with an electronic list of all the voters on the last census which totalled 5.3 million persons over the age of 18. “Hacker News”, one of the major pirate technology companies, gained access to this list quite easily. Police state that this is because the referendum computer technicians used a mathematical algorithm that only had four digits: 1714. These digits relate to a key year in the history of Barcelona when their forces were defeated by King Felipe V. It didn’t take the hackers any time at all to crack the code. “Hacker News” and other hackers then had access to the 5.3 million last five digits of a person’s identity number, their date of birth and postal code. Whilst this data

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In the News did not include the identity of the voter, police say that there are other available data sources that would cross reference this information and reveal the names.

Autonomous Communities The 17 autonomous communities, or regions, have some latitude in what happens within their regions. One example is the rates of inheritance or gift tax that has just been drastically amended yet again, in our region of Andalucía which includes Almería province. Autonomous regions can also have a different amount of the basic income tax rate as 50% of all income tax goes to them. They cannot alter IVA (VAT) rates. Each region has a parliament, known as a “Junta”, and hold elections for their MPs, and have their own high courts. They also set yearly budget amounts. The health service and education and how they are run is also the responsibility of the individual regions. The 2018 budget in Andalucía will shortly be approved, and there will be an increase of 3,400 persons in the health service, 2,200 more teachers, and 2,100 more other public employees. Other announcements are to encourage employment and a target of an additional 3% in the Gross National Product for 2018.

www.mojacar.es was particularly praised and the Facebook page has 40,000 followers. On Sunday October 1st, Mojácar joined together with all the 57 municipalities throughout the country that belong to the Association of The Most Beautiful Towns and Villages in Spain, (‘Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España’) to celebrate their own special annual day. Afterwards, Mojácar Council offered all the tourists, and local people who attended, free visits to the newly opened Casa-Museo, a village house converted into a small museum.

A Lot of Awards

Recycling Glass

Mojácar has been awarded a “Family Tourism Seal” by a Spanish organization in recognition of the town being a top destination for family tourism, which is the first such award to a municipality in Andalucía. The 29 French ‘Pierre & Vacances’ apartment complexes, with one in Mojácar, hold the same award. The mayoress Rosa María Cano stated that this was the culmination of 14 years of work to attract families to Mojácar, and she congratulated the Tourist Office and local hotels for their collaboration. Museums, companies offering inland or coastal pastimes and cruise companies are eligible for these awards, apart from municipalities. The Municipal Tourist Office has been given the ‘Sicted’ award for 2017, a renewal of the 2015 award. These awards from the Ministry of Tourism are given to municipalities who show a commitment towards the improvement of quality tourism, working practices, and customer satisfaction. The website

The without profit company ‘Ecovidrio’ mounts campaigns to encourage people to recycle glass bottles, provide the “igloos”, and undertake the collections. Mojácar has been given a “Green Igloo” award for recycling 112 tonnes of glass during the summer months, 56% more than in 2016. 80 establishments including hotels and restaurants cooperated, and 71 special small containers were distributed to help recycle the glass. 50% of all glass bottles used in summer months relate to this sector. Vera received the same award for recycling 69 tonnes during the summer, 10% more than in 2016, and 46 establishments contributed to the grand total having been provided with 33 special containers. Carboneras greatly increased their collection of glass with 40% more than last year. The summer campaign in 80 coastal municipalities throughout Spain collected in 27,900 tonnes. In Roquetas de Mar, ‘Ecovidrio’ has installed various pink igloos to help the local

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In the News organization ‘La Fundación Sandra Ibarra’ who campaign against breast cancer. For every kilogram left in these containers they will donate 1 Euro to this charity. These anti-cancer igloos are present in 18 cities in Spain with 146 in total. It is very important for the ecology that everybody recycles glass and does not put wine or beer bottles in the general rubbish bins. The amount of CO2 emissions saved by recycling glass is very substantial, and the cost of producing new bottles is greatly reduced. There is not an igloo on every street corner, but there are ones in the general vicinity. ‘Ecovidrio’ hope that one day every glass bottle used in Spain will be recycled and not tipped in landfill sites. The cooperation of the general public is of paramount importance.

An Important Announcement Mojácar town hall has issued a press statement relating to the number of non-Spanish residents on the “padrón” (the official list of residents). They state that they have to reconcile the numbers with figures from the National Institute of Statistics. They state that in March 2017 the number of foreigners who needed to confirm their residence was 2,321, and 332 persons on this list have been verified as still living in Mojácar, mostly by the Policia Local (local police) knocking on doors. The remaining balance of 1,989 has not been confirmed as being residents. Persons who are official residents with the appropriate paperwork from the authorities need to renew their status every five years, and every two years for inhabitants who are not official residents. Mojácar town hall are asking that all foreign inhabitants visit the town hall to establish if they are on the padrón, renew this if they no longer appear on the list, or confirm their right to be listed. Opposition councillors also stress that this is very important. They criticise the town hall (in their opinion) for not making enough effort themselves to ensure the padrón accurately reflects the number of non-Spanish.

800 construction workers involved in the building phase and when open there will be employment for 1,300 direct employees. The main shopping area amounts to 60,000 m2 and Leroy Merlin will have a store that is 12,000 m2. MediaMarkt and Zara Home will cater for the home and electrical/electronic market, and fashion and textile stores include Primark, H & M, Punto Roma, Zara, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius and Massimo Dutti. 75% of the available commercial promises have now been taken. A major “food court” is planned along with a Yelmo Cines 4,000m2 cinema complex with 10 mini-cinemas. There will be a large amount of themed areas connected to the film industry in Almería.

Another Option There are a significant number of Brits in Spain who came here at an early age and then went back to the UK to obtain their driving licence. If they want to hire a car in the UK they need to obtain the special online check code. To do this they have to give their NI (National Insurance) number. It may well be that they have no idea if they have one, or what it is. In these circumstances these people can ring DVLA on +44 300 083 0013. You will be asked to answer various questions and will then be given a code valid for 21 days, for one use only. This code is then able to be given to UK hire car companies. Other ways to obtain the check code are given at www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence#other-ways-toapply. If a person has a Spanish driving licence there is no such problem when hiring a car in the UK.

A Bad Ambition

A Spanish man who was a forestry fire watcher deliberately set a fire in Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands when 20,000 hectares (77 square miles & 12% of the island) were destroyed and 4.500 people were evacuated. The man had a temporary contract from ‘Gesplan’, the fire prevention organisation, and considered that there were insufficient operatives. He reasoned that if he started a fire he might be given a permanent contract. Immediately afterwards On Track he called the operation centre to report it and The giant leisure and commercial centre near the thought it would soon be extinguished, but it got Torrecárdenas hospital in Almería city is proceeding out of control causing immense damage. The man as planned. It will be open during 2018. There are accepted a reduced prison term of eight and a half

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In the News years after the prosecution reduced their original request of sixteen years. Civil actions against ‘Gesplan’ and the Gran Canaria government who gave them the contract have been settled for 17 million Euros which related to 400 claims.

A Sensible Modification Last month we reported that from October 12th at all large airports, communications between pilots and airport controllers had to be in English, following an EU directive, “Standardised European Rules of the Air”. The Spanish pilot association ‘Sepla’ asked for an exemption where Spanish pilots were communicating with Spanish controllers. The Spanish Ministry of Transport has now announced that there is a “get-out” clause where safety might be affected, and as a result communications by both parties who are using Spanish as their native language will be allowed. France and Portugal have already adopted this opting out in their countries.

Come To Spain! Gary Bedell, a Canadian man who has been coming to Spain for 25 years, has seen how many towns and villages are suffering from young people moving out. To remedy this he has set up an internet site, “Viva Rural Spain’, to attract Canadian and US pensioners. His idea is that Spanish villages or towns offer a tranquil existence, money goes further, there is negligible crime, and Spaniards are friendly. He states that the people he hopes to attract will integrate much better into Spanish society than English or German people who create their own territories and wonder why so many people speak Spanish! His key areas are ones no more than 90 minutes by car from a hospital, basic facilities such as a chemist and some shops, and where town halls will help them integrate. He believes that the new residents should not make up more than 10% of any local population. He considers that many Canadian or US pensioners will probably rent property for a period, and then if they like it they will buy a property that they will probably repair or extend. This will give work to local tradespersons. In Teruel, the vice president of the Diputación (county council) states that there are over 100 villages with less than 100 habitants, and their future is very insecure. He likes

the idea of people with good pensions and savings coming to the area where properties are cheap to buy with a wide variety on offer.

A 90% Recovery Rate October 19th was World Day Against Breast Cancer, but in Almería province many societies turned October into “Month Against Breast Cancer”, with a wide range of activities. Almería University organized events, and the hospitals at Huércal-Overa and Almería city held talks to help people to realize the important of regular “well woman” checks and help for sufferers. Breast cancer in Andalucía (which includes Almería province) is quantified as 71 cases per 1,000 women, totalling 5,000. Early detection and treatment has a 90% success rate. In Andalucía since 1995 there has been a programme for the early detection of breast cancer, and thousands of early tumours have been detected and treated. The programme is particularly aimed at women aged 5069 years and mobile units come to a host of locations regularly. Over 100,000 women have been screened. Medical personnel stress that it is important that women of every age carry out self-inspection tests in front of a mirror to see if there are any lumps or visible signs of any abnormalities. This can provide an extremely early detection and treatment. Benign tumours may be detected as well that need minimum treatment giving peace of mind to these women.

Another Blow We recently reported that Helen and Len Prior, whose house in Vera was demolished in 2008, have been sent a bill for court costs in a case they lost some time ago against Vera Town Hall. Meanwhile, a court in Almería city dictated that Vera town hall must pay the Prior’s 425,000 Euros in compensation, but Vera town hall lodged an appeal. The Andalucía High Court has now ruled on this appeal and has reduced the amount of compensation to 220,000 Euros. The judge ruled that any compensation could not take into account the value of the plot where the house was built, and the amount of money had to be restricted solely to the value of the construction only, as this was the object ruled to be illegally given a licence. Whether Vera town hall will abide by this ruling remains to be seen. In January 2018 it will be

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In the News ten years since the Prior’s dream retirement home was demolished without them being given any indication of various court cases, with no notification of the day when the bulldozer appeared, and without any compensation whatsoever.

Carboneras Contamination The Almería branch of Ecologists in Action are complaining bitterly regarding the level of contamination in Carboneras where the Endesa power station is, beside the major cement works belonging to the company Holcim. There is also a nearby small oil refinery, and the major desalination plant. They claim that not enough action is being taken to reduce the ecological problems. Very large ships bring coal to the power station, which amounts to 800,000 tonnes annually, and sand and gravel to the cement works. Also water from the power station is discharged into the sea at a temperature of 35 degrees centigrade. The desalination plant also discharges some water back into the sea with a certain amount of salt. The ecologists complain that dust settles on cars, buildings, and clothes, apart from being a health problem. They claim that health issues in Carboneras, in some respects, are higher than in other local areas. They state that the contamination level falls far short of European regulations along with the levels of ozone and must be addressed. The Endesa power station is spending millions of Euros to improve their emissions and comply with EU regulations, and strongly criticise the ecologists for ignoring this major investment, as does Carboneras town hall.

A Warning The Bank of Spain are being cautious about the rise in employment in the hotel industry and construction industry. They agree that the hotel trade is a major motor of the Spanish economy but warn that there is a limit to the expansion that can take place, and to a large amount this is seasonal work. They also warn that the construction industry was nearly decimated in 2008, and work undertaken must not be too ambitious. In the last two years, 1.1 million new employees have been given work. The Bank of Spain considers that to reduce the unemployment levels other sectors have to expand, and there must

be more plans to give employment to the long term unemployed, with steady non-seasonable work. Retraining is also considered to be very important. The aim is that unemployment decreases to 16% this year, 14.5% in 2018, and down to 13% in 2019. The target for the rise in the economy is 2.5% in 2018 and 2.2% in 2019. The dispute with Catalonia is a big worry. Analysts state that there could be a big downturn in the Catalonia figures if they persist with their independence claim and this would have a knock-on effect in Spain generally.

Vélez-Blanco Patio The Vélez-Blanco castle and palace was built in the 17th century by the Los Fajardo family as a home and military base. The two areas were linked by a very exotic internal patio. This was created by Italian workers using local Macael white marble. In 1904 the complete patio was sold to a French merchant who dismantled it, and it was then acquired by the US millionaire George Blumenthal who had it erected in his home. On his death he donated it to the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The Junta de Andalucía bought the Vélez-Rubio castle in 2005, and a replica of the patio will be installed in the original position. Some time ago a complete 3D image of the patio was made by Spanish technicians at the New York museum. A contract for 142,000 Euros has been put out to tender for a viability study of the work and health and safety issues. The cost of

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In the News the patio replacement in white marble from the same mines is given as 1.3 million Euros. Apart from this boost to the marble companies and more international recognition it will be a very popular item for the many tourists who go there now. The castle is considered an important cultural heritage.

Work Restarted The widening of the road from Las Buganvillas to Vera was paralyzed for five years when the Ministry of Transport ran out of money. It was recently started again, but worked stopped last August. There was a dispute about the contract terms and price regarding the junction near Mercadona where the plans were changed to allow a large roundabout to be built. The association of companies carrying out the work were also about to declare bankruptcy. The company UTE Detea-Tapusa have now overcome their financial problems and the dispute regarding the roundabout has been resolved. The work was due to start again during October. The alternative was that the contract was rescinded, new tenders for the remaining work would have had to be put in place, and the delay would have been considerable.

A Lifesaving Birth The Virgen del Rocio Hospital in Seville has announced that a baby girl has been born without a genetic and hereditary disease that her 10 year old brother suffers from. He has a non-curable virulent blood disease and needs treatment that can only come from a 100% genetic blood match, which is now possible from the umbilical cord of the baby. The Genetic Reproduction and Foetal Department at the hospital have done this previously with two other cases in 2008 and 2012. In the case of this small boy, this is only the second time in the world that a genetic match treatment for his particular incurable disease has been possible using an umbilical cord.

Ryanair Cancellations Spanish regulators are working with the EU to tighten up the compensation procedure when flights are cancelled and to harmonize the whole scheme. This has been underway for some time. EU regulators state that only 1% of passengers receive the appropriate compensation they are entitled to. The

Ryanair cancellations are seen as a very good example where passengers were not given the correct information, and the compensation rights were not explained. They are asking for large fines when a situation like this takes place which is nothing to do with normal reasons for cancelling flights. The Spanish Ministry of Transport has started proceedings to fine Ryanair a total of 4.5 million Euros for their “unilateral” cancellation of so many flights to or from Spain. Ryanair only agreed to give full European compensation when the UK regulators from the CAA threatened them with large fines. We explain why Ryanair were having so many problems in an article.

Only 10%! In response to a question in the Spanish Parliament, the amount of money invested in Almería province in 2016 was 18.2 million Euros, but the amount in the budget for 2016 was 180 million! The money actually spent was for studies relating to the ‘AVE’ (high speed train), road improvements, and a study for a rest area at Huércal de Almería on the A-7 motorway. The 180 million Euros was for projects relating to the ‘AVE’, major rail improvements for the tortuous journey from Almería to Seville (which involves two train and bus changes), and airport expansion. 40 million Euros is the budget for 2017 to be spent in the province, but once again, much of this is for further studies. The ‘AVE’ train project is, in the main, not a double track as planned (the only double track is where the twin base has already been finished), and all other sections from Lorca to Almería not yet started will be single track. New studies have had to be put in hand to cater for these changes. A small amount of money is for the badly needed repair work at the old station in Almería city that has now started. Major spending is promised in 2018 when projects for the building of the missing links of the ‘AVE’ line are supposed to be awarded, with work starting in 2019. Cynics say that the work that is supposed to start on the ‘AVE’ in 2019-2023 is still a “wish list” and is not realistic.

Deaths on Spanish Roads Despite all the efforts to combat traffic deaths, the total number of people killed in Spain in 2016 was 1,810. For some time now deaths in hospitals following

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In the News an accident have been included in the statistics, whereas formerly they were ignored. The only “good” statistic is that deaths of drivers between the ages of 15-29 were only 420. This is a reduction of 75% during the last decade. It is considered that young people are being more safety conscious, and modern cars have much better safety features. In the age group 35-44, deaths in the last decade have fallen by 54%, and from age 45-55 by 30%. Traffic Police are still extremely concerned that large numbers of drivers do not wear seat belts, and major campaigns have been put in place to detect and fine these drivers. The cameras at black spots on secondary roads that take multiple photographs are proving to be the deterrent they were intended to be. These show if a driver is wearing a seatbelt or talking on a mobile phone. These cameras are self-powered and can easily be moved to different locations. The traffic police want the fines for using mobile phones to be drastically increased, along with the sanctions for alcohol and drug offences. New regulations in the pipeline are that drivers with drugs detected in their bodies would have their driving licence taken away immediately on health grounds, and classified as being in a medical condition that prohibits driving. To get their licence back they would have to attend rehabilitation classes with doctors and psychiatrists and obtain a certificate that states their drug habits have been cured.

Clausulas Suelo Since last June, some 54 judges in the Spanish courts are solely dealing with claims relating to the “clausulas suelo” (floor rates) minimum interest rates that have been ruled by EU and Spanish courts to be abusive. At present there are 57,000 people who have gone to court, and the “fast track” system is collapsing. A typical claimant is a man who lives in Madrid and has gone to court relating to his Banco Sabadell mortgage. When he went to his local branch to ask for a refund they reduced their interest rate for the period in question from 2.5% to 1.5%, which he didn’t accept as being fair. When told he was going to court, they offered him another reduction if he changed to a different mortgage, but no further monetary refund. A recent court judgement is that if a client goes to court and wins his case, the bank

or lender has to pay the court costs, including any expert assessment costs of the refund due. In Almería province there are 787 outstanding claims before the courts and 13,000 in Madrid.

Income from Cultural Events The rise in the rate of ‘IVA’ (VAT) in 2012 from 8% to 21% has had a very negative effect on the entertainment industry. Because of this, the IVA rate was recently put back down to 10%, and very recently a similar reduction in cinema tickets tax. In the dance sector which includes ballet and flamenco, there has been 2,600 less performances, and 775 fewer very large events or shows. Lost income is put at 10 million Euros. Income from concerts in general in 2016 was down to 110 million Euros, the lowest for ten years. The main exception was with regard to large live concerts by famous artistes which brought in 224 million Euros, 24 million more than in 2015. Numbers were down however with 22 million spectators in 2015 & 2016 compared to 30 million in 2007. Streamed” music went up in 2016 by 1.7% and brought in 164 million Euros. 13.5 million people went to the theatre, circuses and bullfights with 8 million more spectators in 2016 than in 2015. The reduction in IVA will help figures to increase, but in the case of cinemas a large number have had to shut. More Tourists Next Year The ‘Transavia’ low-cost airline belonging to Air France and KLM are increasing their flights to Spain next year from airports in Holland and France. New flights from Rotterdam will arrival at Almería from March 25th to October 27th next year, with four a week. The company at present flies to 17 Spanish airports, and in summer 2018 they will have 335 flights per week on 47 routes. British Airways will start two flights a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays from Heathrow terminal 5 to Almería from March 27th-October 27th. There is a special return price for passengers who only have cabin baggage. All flight times are from early to late afternoon. During 2017, some 26 companies have brought passengers to Almería from 34 cities out of Spain, and from 12 within Spain.

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In the News Problems with “Wipes”

extension had not been requested. This was then rectified. El Ejido, Almerimar, and Roquetas also have this status awarded.

A new phenomenon since 2000 is the use of “wipes” in bathrooms to give increased personal hygiene and freshness with disinfectants and perfumes. Users flush them down the loo, and many of them “Puerto-Ciudad” are described as biodegradable although there is One of the key proposals for when the ‘AVE’ (High often a plastic base material. As all our readers will Speed Train) eventually comes to Almería city is that know, some Spanish restaurants and bars have there has to be a connection that links the city with notices asking that toilet paper is put in a bin, not the port. This project is known as “Puerto-Ciudad”, flushed down the loo. This is often repellent to non- and Almería is the only major coastal city in Andalucía Spanish visitors, but sewage blockages are frequent apart from Motril where there is no existing link. events. In Spain, 4 billion wipes are put down loos Mari Carmen Ortíz,the new head of the port authority, every year, out of the total of 15 billion purchased, recently had meetings with representatives of and the results can be catastrophic. Recently in industry, politicians, and other interested parties. It Valencia there was a discharge of sewage into the was agreed that the link to the port was an urgent river Turia near the city centre. Investigations requirement. The Almería College of Architects have revealed that the very large and modern sewers expressed serious reservations regarding the port near the Arts & Science Museums were completely link being underground. This is because the line would blocked. The blockage went back over two kilometres, have to be 10 metres below the surface, and for and at great expense some 500 tonnes of material, heavy goods trains this would need an incline spread mostly wipes, were removed. To completely clear over 6 km. They favour a surface line and comment the sewer took several months. Even more recently, that in Hamburg and Vigo this has been achieved in Whitechapel in London, a plug called a “fatberg” with limits on the hours the trains cover the route, weighing 120 tonnes was removed from sewers and noise reduction solutions. Another idea is for a there. In the US, the company Proctor and Gamble part underground and part surface route. have been taken to court for claiming their wipes were biodegradable. An international group of 300 The ‘AVE’ in Murcia City companies in 25 countries is working on one of the The population of Murcia city is determined that the “ISO” regulations that will establish legal guidelines. ‘AVE’ (High Speed train) is underground and not on The Spanish official consumer organization ‘FACU’ the surface. They have been demanding this for conducted experiments with both wipes and toilet years, as a surface route is considered to split the paper in a large container where the contents were city. There have been various demonstrations and agitated for two days. Only 30% of the wipes were on September 30th, 50,000 people joined a protest reduced to small pieces, compared to 95% of the march. If this cannot be done they want a surface paper. They calculate that the cost of dealing with route to be provisional, with a tunnel following on blockages in Spain from wipes amounts to five euros very rapidly. Part of their objections is that the 9km per inhabitant, an additional 7% on sewage bills, and surface route will have “walls” 5 metres high, made a total annual cost of 300 million Euros. of a transparent material to give an acoustic barrier. There will only be crossing points every 3km and this Carboneras & Garrucha is seen as a great divide. Bus routes would have to Towns and cities can apply to the Andalucían chamber be substantially modified which the protestors say of commerce to be recognized as being a place of is not acceptable. One proposal is that the ‘AVE’ great tourist attraction. If this is granted, the shop station is at Beniel, a half hour car journey from opening hours can be extended in the high tourist Murcia City, until the tunnels can be built. The season. Carboneras and Garrucha have now been authorities say that the station at Beniel will need awarded this dispensation. Some years ago there major alterations that will involve complex planning, were complaints in Mojácar that this opening hour studies, and further delays, and is not a solution.

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In the News The rail company ‘ADIF’ gave in to the pressure on October 10th and announced that the surface route would be installed temporarily to enable the station to open in 2018 after initial tests. They have promised that the underground route will follow on afterwards.

Legally Dead! A 53yr old woman living near Seville is having major problems as according to official records she died on May 13th, 2010. This first came to light when she went to her family doctor who put her social security card into their card reader. The doctor told her that there was obviously some mistake as according to the records she was “deceased”, but as the doctor knew her she was given treatment. It turned out that a woman with exactly the same name and date of birth had died and was buried in a Málaga cemetery. One of the problems has been that her name was put in an official publication when the family of the deceased person stopped paying the maintenance charge at the cemetery. In 2011, the woman who is still alive needed a “living certificate” to claim a widow’s pension when her husband died, but couldn’t obtain this. A renewal of her driving licence has also been refused. The woman said that for the first few months she and her family thought it was funny, but it stopped being funny soon afterwards. Her bank thinks she is still alive and her accounts are still active, including payment of life insurance! A lawyer recently filed a claim in court that she has no idea who this person is, and her death registration needs to be removed, so that legally she is not dead. In the last few days a judge has ordered that DNA testing on the body in the niche at the cemetery should be carried out. The woman who is still alive lost contact with a sister many years ago. This sister has the same initials in her name, so just possibly this is the person who died in 2010, and if so she is the long lost relative.

engine supplier. The Red Bull racing team have been using Renault engines for some time and have had a great success in the 2017 season. In the Formula One races so far this year Alonso has been forced to retire with engine trouble in 12 of them, and so far has only gained 10 points. Along with all the other teams, if an engine change takes place their driver has to start at the back of the grid. It is rumoured that the McLaren team, based in Woking, will pay Alonso the equivalent of 40 million Euros to keep him, more than Louis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are paid. Last year Alonso was allowed to opt out from the race in Monaco to compete in the Indianapolis 500 race, but he had to retire with engine trouble! He has indicated he would like to do this again. ‘The Daily Mail’ have reported that Bernie Ecclestone ( the former owner of Formula One) has stated that the new contract is a “done deal” and all that remains is for it to be announced. Ironically, Alonso left the Ferrari team for McLaren after they were having major engine problems.

A New Contract It appears fairly certain that the McLaren racing company is going to sign a new contract with Fernando Alonso for 2018. One of the conditions from Alonso has been that they withdraw from their contract with Honda for the engines. This has now been announced, and in 2018 Renault will be the

Still a Big Row The operation of sports activities at the Cuevas rowing canal was awarded to a private company a few months ago. One councillor in particular, Indalecio Modesto who is councillor for Tourism and Culture,

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In the News is complaining that this was a very bad decision, and obstructs major events that could be staged. He considers that the council should run the canal themselves and points to the success of the very popular Spanish Federation of “Dragon Boats” event. He has received information relating to the 2019 European Dragon Boat competition that it now appears they cannot host. He also states that the Andalucían “Spain Film Commission” has made enquiries about filming at the canal. Only two companies put in bids to take over the running of the canal, and Indalecio states that there is no action, nor signs of work, nor any employment. The mayor of Cuevas, Antonio Fernández, has replied that no work has yet taken place to allow pre-programmed summer events to conclude, and work will start early in 2018.

Illegal Manipulation EU regulators have warned Spain that some fish being sold or exported as “red” tuna is not. They state that some tuna fish not classified as being genuine red tuna are being injected with vegetable dye to give them the red colour. They also say that some red tuna fish intended to be frozen and not sold as fresh fish is being manipulated. Recently, police in Almería took statements from seven people belonging to a company that were buying tuna to be processed, but were then selling it on as being fresh tuna, and had falsified documentation. Last Spring, 105 people in Spain complained of throat irritation, nausea and vomiting, and facial and skin sweating. The cause was high levels of histamine in tuna from a large supplier that were considered to have become present after incorrect storage. Histamine is present in many organisms, including the human body, and small traces cause no problems. The EU regulators stated that during October and November they would carry out an audit of all Spanish “fresh” red tuna, to see if it met European guidelines.

Cheap Supermarkets The Spanish Consumer Organization (OCU) regularly conducts surveys of the prices of food in different supermarkets in various cities. This is carried out with 164,000 prices over a range of 233 products in 1,137 establishments. When the survey was recently

made in Almería city it was found that the overall prices were the cheapest in Spain. Over the range of products, shoppers in the city could save an average of 480 Euros per year. Prices have gone up 1% since 2016 as regards “fresh” items, but this has been counterbalanced by “own brand” prices. The cheapest supermarkets were headed by Consum, Alcampo, Mercadona, Carrefour, Carrefour Market, Maxi Dia, and Dia Market. Whilst these prices strictly speaking only apply to Almería city they will be similar where the main supermarket companies have a presence in the whole province.

One of Three Vera has been chosen to become the third municipality in Andalucía to join a programme called ‘Proyecto Europeo Interreg – Mitomeg+’. This is designed to promote coastal tourism, sustainable maritime activities, and a responsible awareness of the Mediterranean coast. Vera town hall and the Andalucían Tourist and Sport department will work together to promote tourist destinations, with special emphasis on sustainable maritime activities. There will be regular joint meetings with local tour operators.

Sent Back! The Junta de Andalucía (the governing body for Almería province) approved a regulation in 2015 that stopped any construction 500 metres from beaches, which affected 52 municipalities. This idea has been hotly debated since 2012, and many town halls state that 500 metres is too restrictive. A municipality in Cádiz appealed against the order and the High Court in Andalucía has determined that the proposals have to be resubmitted. This is because they were approved on May 26th, 2015, when there was only a government “in function”. Susana Díaz and her PSOE party did not obtain a majority after the elections on March 22nd but the parliament was constituted on April 16th. She was not confirmed as President until June 11th after the Ciudadanos party put forward a series of proposals that they wanted passing before they gave her their support. When this was done, Susana Diáz became the President on June 18th. The High Court ruled that a government “in function” could not pass any legislation, so it was not legal. There were 3,500

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In the News allegations from the original number of 62 of the main museums and galleries in the city with municipalities included in the plan. The whole process important exhibitions. A contract for the preparation of a project to extend it, with a budget price of will now have to start again! 57,000 Euros, has now been put out to tender. More A Popular Place rooms within the building will be opened up along Almería museum has broken all records for tourists with a garden area, café and shop. The total cost of from July to September. The 20,000 visitors are 31% the work is about 1 million Euros. The museum is at up on 2016. There have been many workshops for Plaza de Emilio Peréz and is open to the public free adults and children, and the exhibition ‘Puertos, of charge on Tuesdays to Sundays 10am-1pm & on lugares de un vida’ (Ports, places of life) has Fridays and Saturdays from 5pm-8pm as well. concentrated on the maritime history of the area and the fishing industry. They have held an Instagram event with 500 photos uploaded from members of the public relating to the sea, with prizes for the best ones. During October there were special family visits organized on Saturdays. Another initiative is ‘Arts and History Tea Time’ where adults wishing to improve their English language skills take part in conversations relating to the vocabulary of art, archaeology and history.

Alternative Taxis Large companies such as ‘Cabify’ who compete with regular taxis have no presence in Almería province. There are 63 individual licences for cars with drivers compared to 494 taxis in Almería province, and 260 of the taxis are in Almería city. A strike of taxi drivers that took place in Málaga recently was because there is now one private hire car for every 30 taxis. The Junta de Andalucía (which includes Almería province) have ruled that individual municipalities can decide whether or not they want to issue special licences “if they are necessary, or not”. Taxi drivers complain that to obtain their licences and comply with all the regulations costs 26,000 Euros, and private hire driver /owners only have to pay an administrative charge. The other side of the coin is that strikes by taxi drivers are against the public interest, so the authorities don’t want this to happen.

Twelve So Far

Strenuous efforts are made to breed the Iberian Lynx, the wild cat that was almost facing extinction. Most of the adults and many of the “kittens” are equipped with radio transmitting collars. During October another death in a road accident in Córdoba brought the number of deaths up to twelve so far this year. All dead lynx that are recovered undergo an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death and their general state of health. Out of the total of twelve, eleven were killed on the roads, and one young male, without any special collar, was hit by a train. To keep an exact number of deaths that occur, anyone who has an accident involving a lynx, or finds a dead one, is asked to use the 112 emergency Phase Two number. These calls are then redirected to the main The Doña Pakyta building in Almería city was donated control centre in Jaén province. to the city in the will of the Spanish lady popularly known as Doña Paquita and was formerly her house. 410 People in 21 hours Her wishes that it was turned into a museum and The Spanish naval vessel “Cantabria” is now part of art gallery were honoured, and the conversion work the EU-NAVFOR MED “Sophia” operation put in place started in 2014. It has become very popular as one in 2015 to rescue would be immigrants in the

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In the News Mediterranean Sea. It is normally tasked with rescues off the coast of Libya. Vessels taking part in the rescue missions are co-ordinated from a centre in Italy after alerts to boat people spotted by other craft or aircraft on patrol. Recently, the Cantabria rescued 54 people including women and some young children, and then another 93, some of whom had various injuries. They were then directed to another area where 138 people were taken on board including a newly born baby and four pregnant women. A Maltese container ship alerted the Italian centre that a small boat with five people had been spotted and they were picked up as well. Finally, they were asked to take on board 120 immigrants that had been rescued by a boat belonging to the charity “Open arms”. All these rescues took place in a hectic period of 21 hours. The Spanish navy vessel has a crew of 122 with a comprehensive medical centre on board to give immediate assistance if necessary.

Online Food Consumers interested in limiting the cost of food items and saving time, are purchasing food online in much larger quantities. A Spanish survey has shown that e-commerce in food items went up 25% in the second quarter of 2017 with respect to 2016. A new range of items that are popular relate to fresh food, until now solely purchased in local shops or supermarkets. Online sales of fresh food are being seen as a very important market place. Carrefour state that 70% of their online customers now buy items such as fruit, vegetables, and increasingly meat and fish. They say that items are dispatched the same day they are ordered, with a clear “use by” date. They offer a “Freshness guarantee”, and any customer who contacts them because they are not satisfied will get an immediate refund off their next purchase. DIA supermarkets state that the ratio of in-store purchases as opposed to online is about 60/40. 77% of online purchases are made from supermarket websites, but Amazon and Google sales are increasing in numbers. For reasons as yet not fully understood, more men than women purchase from these two outlets. Amazon “Prime Now” offer fresh or frozen products in Madrid and Barcelona seven days a week from 8pm to midnight with a guaranteed free delivery within 2 hours. They intend

to offer this service in other parts of Spain. 87% of online purchasers of food items pay with debit or credit cards, but payment by ‘Paypal’ are increasing in volume. 42% of these purchasers consider that apart from the convenience they are saving money. The logistics of online food purchases have to be fully calculated and very efficient. Some supermarkets such as Mercadona use their own dedicated staff to make deliveries, but others use independent companies. A very large company in Madrid has opened up an association of delivery companies that will start supplying goods in 2018. They will offer a standardised service with guaranteed delivery times. They consider that their services will be taken up by many supermarket chains near to Madrid. Juan Roig, the boss of Mercadona, revealed earlier this year that their online service needed major improvements. His daughter Juana, who is highly qualified in retail strategies, was given the job of revamping the whole system. Their online sales were only 1% of total sales, but the aim is to increase this dramatically.

The Huércal-Overa Tapas Route “La Ruta de Tapas” in Huércal-Overa is a very big event, and the majority of the bars and restaurants take part. This year it is from November 3rd-12th. A new feature is that at weekends a free street train will convey people to different locations. This year there will be four zones, and people collecting the stamps that entitle themselves to be entered into a draw, have to collect 10 stamps with a minimum of two from each zone. This is to ensure that one zone does not have an unfair advantage. Last year, a total of 55,000 tapas were served up from more than 30 establishments.

Money on The Table The Ministry of Transport has announced that between 2018 and 2023 there will be 1.4 billion Euros spent on the ‘AVE’ (high speed train) from Murcia to Almería. The money is promised in various chunks with a specific timetable, and the AVE will arrive in Almería city during 2023. Rafael Hernando, the spokesperson from the P.P. party in the Spanish parliament, stated that this promise should stop all the discussions and discontent that nothing was being done. Interested parties in Almería city have stated in a reply to this promise that

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In the News they would await any concrete action with great to cover the deficit. A further amount will have to interest. Cynics say that 2023 is still on a “wish list”, be made available to cover the “extra payment” that and this date will not be met. pensioners receive every November as a Christmas bonus. Almería province is one of the few provinces ‘RTVE’ Patronage in all of Spain where income exceeds outgoings. This The Spanish state owned radio and television applies to Madrid, The Balearic Islands, and Las Palmas, company ‘RTVE’ have announced that for the fourth as well as Almería. In our case this is because of the year running they will collaborate with the XVI Almería relatively “young” working population and low International Film Festival. Their Symphonic Orchestra pensions in Almería. Income in 2016 was 985 million will come to Almería on November 17th to give a Euros, with 919 million paid back to pensioners, and film-themed concert, and they will give patronage 52 million for days of illness off work that were to one of the most important awards, ‘The Best covered, maternity, and paternity payments. The Latin American Short Film Competition’. Members 103,000 pensioners here receive 747 Euros for a of their specialist television and radio staff that deal normal pension, and others receive a corresponding with the film industry will be members of the main smaller amount depending on how many years they ‘International Short Film Competition’ jury. We have have paid in (including non-Spanish workers who more details regarding this and other venues in our qualify). The normal monthly pension paid out in Álava province in the Basque country is 1,167 Euros, ‘What’s On’ section. 421 more than in Almería. In eight other provinces Extra Payments pensioners receive more than 1 thousand Euros per Consumers of electricity have been surcharged an month. Compared to the average monthly amount average of 2 to 2.5 Euros during July, August, and paid out in Andalucía, pensioners in Almería province September. It has been shown on bills under the receive 80 Euros less, and 180 Euros less than the lengthy heading “regularización asociada al coste de average monthly payments in all of Spain. Previously, comercialización por sentencias judiciales”. This refers pensioners in Spain were given an annual rise based to a High Court case where the electrical supply on the cost of living index. For some years now, the companies challenged a former ruling made by the annual increase has been fixed at one quarter of then Minister for Industry, José Manuel Soria, that one per cent: 0.25%. The two main unions in Spain capped a charge made to clients in 2014. The court state that only 10% of the Gross National Product ruled that the companies had lost 12% of their is paid out in pensions, compared with 14% in most income from 2014-2016 relating to the actual cost other EU states. They say that Spain has to come of the capped amount, and the cap was not based up with more money. on precise calculations. The surcharge has been made to 15.4 million consumers although users of Really Good! very small amounts of electricity have had no changes Exports from Andalucía (which includes Almería made to their bills. ‘Endesa’ has recouped 18 million province) up to the end of July this year came to 18 Euros, ‘Iberdrola’ 10 million, and ‘Gas Natural’ 6 million. billion Euros, and was 1.9 billion more than imports. There was no further surcharge on October bills nor The exports were 35% more than the same period in 2016, and the surplus was 20% more. In Spain as will there be on future ones. a whole, the balance of exports and imports are the Self-Financed Pensions other way round. The deficit between the two is 13 Since the economic crisis started to bite in Spain, billion Euros, so imports exceed exports by this income from Social Security payments by employed amount. The good figures throughout Andalucía persons has not covered the amount paid out in reflect the very buoyant agricultural industry which pensions. The previous excess of income compared is a large feature of trade in Almería province. 11% to outgoings was eventually used up. Central of all exports from Spain came from Andalucía, and government have made special “loans” (in theory) exports to China and the UK have gone up by 51%

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In the News internet companies, Telefónica, Vodafone, Orange, and MásMovil, will be involved in the new scheme that will run to the end of 2020, and people will be able to choose which one they use. Depending on the success of the scheme it may be extended for a White Roads further period of time. The Digital Agenda in the EU A pilot study is underway in Los Angeles where is that every citizen has broadband access by 2020. solutions are being investigated to reduce surface temperatures. The company ‘Coolseal’ is painting a special white paint on two major roads in the city. This will reflect back heat from the sun, and laboratory tests have concluded that the road temperature will be reduced by 8-9 degrees. If motorists are cooler they may well turn down their air-conditioning which will save fuel and hopefully greenhouse emissions. Luis Viña is the head of the Department of Applied Physics at Madrid University. He states that reflecting sunlight back off the roads will just take the problem elsewhere. He doubts whether this will have any appreciable effect on global warming. He agrees entirely that painting houses white in Spain and other Mediterranean countries does reflect sunlight and reduce internal temperatures, but states this is a Eat Them! completely different subject. ‘RACE’, the Spanish RAC The population of kangaroos in Australia was organization, considers that reflected sunlight from calculated to be 45 million at the end of 2016, a white road may be a problem for motorists and compared with 27 million in 2010. This works out as affect safety. The cost of painting one mile of road two kangaroos for every inhabitant! Apart from white is 40,000 dollars (34,000 Euros), and the paint competing with all the other animals for food and is expected to last no more than 6-7 years. If water, nine out of every ten road accidents out of 34,000km of roads were painted in a city, this would towns or cities involves a kangaroo. David Paton, a cost 720 million Euros. professor from Adelaide University, proposed a couple of years ago that eating the kangaroos and making 400 Euros use of their skin was the only viable option for the Special grants of 400 Euros are being introduced by ecology. The government have now adopted this central government for municipalities with less than idea. Kangaroo meat does figure on some restaurant 5,000 inhabitants to provide access to 30 Mb of menus, but Australians consider this is mainly for broadband. The monetary grants will be made available tourists. The Australian government are advising to individuals, self-employed persons, small companies, their inhabitants that it is much healthier than eating and charitable organizations to be used “directly in red meat, is high in proteins, low in saturated fat, relation to the access of broadband”. The total and free from pesticides. They are stating that eating broadband cover throughout Spain at the end of kangaroos is not unpatriotic, although it is a national 2016 applied to 75% of the population, but there are symbol. The idea that Australians should include big differences in the various regions. Madrid has 95% kangaroos in their diet is considered a much better coverage and the Basque country has 92%. Only 50% idea than wholesale slaughter. A cull of emus took have coverage in Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura, place in 1932, and the numbers of them in Australia and only 67% in Andalucía. 10% of the population in are now about 700,000. There are no current plans Spain do not have access to 10 Mb. The four main that Australians should eat emus.

and 44% respectively to a total of 1 billion Euros. France and Germany each account for 2 billion Euros of the exports, and sales of olive oil brought in 1.8 billion Euros.

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In the News An Easier System Huércal-Overa is the first town or city in Almería province to introduce a vehicle parking phone app. The system is called ‘Elparking’ from the company who introduced it. Once a parking space has been found, the driver does not have to find a parking ticket machine, and can use the app. The time and location of the parking can be entered via a QR code along with the number plate and an amount of virtual money can be loaded onto the website. If a person does not need the parking time they have selected they can receive a refund for the difference in time. When they are about to run out of the selected time period or virtual money, a message is sent to their phone. This also means that no ticket has to be put on display in the vehicle. The cost to Huércal-Overa council is nil, and the electronic system is now in use in 70 cities throughout Spain. Parking attendants can see for themselves whether a vehicle has the app in place, and the amount of remaining time. A normal parking ticket can be issued if the time period has elapsed.

A Donation of Food British ex-pats from the Los Llanos del Peral church in Zurgena met up with the deputy mayor Lola García in early October to hand over more than a hundred kilos of food to be distributed to persons in danger of social exclusion. The mayor of Zurgena, Luis Díaz, stated that this was just one example of the generosity and integration of the British community in Zurgena. He referred to the donation of five computers in April from the ‘Pirda’ association based in Arboleas which reconditions and updates computer equipment.

Chasing Up Inheritors We mentioned last month that if a person dies without there being any inheritors that can be traced after 20 years, the money and goods revert to the Spanish state. In 2016 this amounted to 12.2 million Euros. An amazing 40% of Spaniards die without having made a will, some 150,000 every year. Tracing inheritors is now a big business, and one of the largest companies, ‘Coutot-Roehrig’ with origins in France, came to Spain in 2006 to assess the situation here. They now have offices in Madrid and Barcelona,

and 45 worldwide, but they cover the whole of Spain with people who act as agents and make local enquiries. In each office they have a team of lawyers and genealogists. They charge a fee of 10% to 30% based on the amount of money involved, and take advantage of a 10% “finder’s fee” from the Spanish Sate if their attention is drawn to goods or property where no inheritor can be found at all. In this case the state pockets the 90% remainder. In some cases it has to be accepted that there are no traceable heirs. In one case, a firm of lawyers in Andalucía asked for their help in tracing a person who had disappeared overnight a very long time ago. The family was asking for a legal declaration that this person was presumed dead and not an inheritor. Their investigators found this woman in New York where she had remarried and had children. One of the most famous cases in the world relates to Hungary. A mother abandoned her two sons and they eventually became homeless when adults, with no trace as to where they were. In 2009, a social worker in Budapest told them that their names appeared in enquiries that were being made as to their existence. Their grandmother, with no other directly related family, had died leaving a fortune, and their mother had also died previously. They both shared the enormous inheritance.

Banco Popular Investigation When Bano Popular was bought by Banco Santander it was because of the very precarious position with no spare cash. 30 large shareholders who lost their money have laid official complaints alleging that the bank presidents, Ángel Ron and Emilio Saracho, were negligent as regards their running of the bank during the last few months. The Spanish anticorruption agency has referred the complaint to a High Court Judge. Ángel Ron was the president of Banco Popular until last February when Emilio Saracho took over. The Luksic company in Chile owned 3.4% of the shares, and the Mexican company Antonio del Valle owned 4.2%. Major shareholders are also asking the EU banking arm who declared Banco Popular bankrupt to release a report by the very large accountancy company Deloitte that precipitated the sale to Banco Santander. The Deloitte investigation and advice was that Banco Polular was in the red from between 2

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In the News billion to 8 billion Euros. In the last six months before Banco Poular was sold they lost 18 billion Euros from clients and institutions closing their accounts, and the share price dropped by 70% until dealing was suspended.

started custody proceedings, and the mother was having a request for financial help to pay the rent dealt with. The family had only occupied the property for a few weeks and neighbours considered they were a normal family although neither of the older children attended any school. Social Services Still Sailing took the children into care to decide the next course The former King of Spain, Juan Carlos, has been a of action. sailing fanatic for many years, along with his son Felipe who is the present King. Juan Carlos was a Wareham Place crew member of a yacht called ‘Fortuna’ at the Fred Trump, the father of Donald Trump, built a Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, and Felipe was a house in 1940 where Donald Trump was born. It is champion in the 1989 and 1990 Spanish ‘Soling’ in the highly sought after district of Queens in New competition. This summer, Felipe was a crew member York. The present owners have it listed with Airbnb, of a boat competing in the Spanish ‘Copa de Rey de and Oxfam International recently rented it for 636 Vela’ (King’s sailing cup) in Palma. This boat is called Euros per day for a weekend. Two men from Somalia, ‘Aifos’ which is ‘Sofía’ backwards, the name of the a Vietnamese woman and another from Syria former Queen. Juan Carlos gave up sailing in 2011 occupied the house, and together with Oxfam they having been a patron of the 11.25 metre ‘Bribón’ held a large press conference. They are all US class of yachts for four decades. He recently returned residents who fled their home countries when they as a crew member of the ‘Bribón Movistar’ boat that were much younger, but may be deported. They won a race between 20 boats in Vancouver. Juan are four people out of the total of 800,000 known Carlos, now aged 79, was proclaimed to be Champion as “dreamers” who were given the right to study Sailor of the World. Sailing in the ‘Bribón’ class required and work as they came to the US at very young much less activity on the part of the king as opposed ages with their parents. Donald Trump has called to other smaller craft, and he can basically sit and for this to be stopped or at least curtailed. The watch his other four crew members most of the weekend was chosen to coincide with a meeting of time during the two hour race. ministers from 193 states that the General Assembly of the United Nations holds every September to A Terrible Occurrence discuss migration and other topics. A spokesperson The owner of a rented house in Zarza, in Huelva from the White House declined to comment on the province with 2,000 inhabitants, went to collect weekend visitors! the rent and the eldest of four children, aged between 5 and 13, told him that their mother was Would You Believe It? “asleep and cold”. The man went into the house A woman employed at a university in Italy has a pet which had a very strong smell and found that both dog that needed a major operation last February. the mother and her partner were dead. Police at She asked for a day of paid time off work for “grave the scene established that the deaths had occurred family reasons”. Her employer took this day off her some days before. The initial hypothesis is that holiday entitlement. When another operation had they died of an intentional or accidental drug to be done during May, she asked for another two overdose. The children told the Social Services staff days off work and provided a certificate from her that were summoned that they were used to looking vet. Paid leave was refused, and she went to court after themselves, frequently prepared meals, and with the backing of a society campaigning for the the older ones helped the smaller children to get rights of animals. They argued that ignoring a pet’s dressed. They stated that sometimes their mother serious illness that required special care was and partner stayed in their room all day or longer. maltreatment that was an offence in law. Before The biological father of three of the children had

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In the News the court case was heard, the university gave in and stated that the day in February should not have been taken off her holiday entitlement either! There are 60 million domestic pets in Italy.

Curvy Models Most fashion companies have now completely stopped using models that are extremely skinny and “size zero”. There have been many reports of young women overdosing on slimming tablets and dying. Famous companies such as Christian Dior and Saint Laurent have recently announced that all their models will be a minimum of UK size 6, or continental size 34. In the UK, women’s dress sizes have been classified from size 14 to 20 as being size “L” for “Large”, and the equivalent continental sizes are 44-50. There was no prospect that any woman in these size ranges would appear on a catwalk, or in fashion advertising. This has now changed completely and curvy and larger women are appearing more and more. Lorena Durán, aged 23 from Seville, is the most famous large size Spanish model who measures 37-28-45ins/ 95-70115cm. After a surgical operation she quickly went from size 36 to 42 and thought her modelling days were over. The American model Ashley Graham is probably the most famous of this new breed of models and is UK size 20 and continental size 49, with vital statistics of 42-30-46ins / 106-76-116cm. She has been the first “curvy” woman to appear in swimwear on the front page of the magazine “Sports Illustrated Swimwear” and on the catwalk in New York for the fashion company Michael Kors. She is now modelling lingerie for the Addition Elle brand. Iska Lawrence, aged 26, is the most famous British curvy model at 38-29-44ins / 97-74-112cm and UK size 14. She has related how for years she was told by various designers that she was too fat and consequently was always on a diet. Famous people such as Adele, Beyoncé and Serena Williams have helped to propagate the idea that “Big is beautiful”.

large margin. Of the 350 MPs, the PP party only have 119, the PSOE 89, and the Ciudadanos party have 40. The Ciudadanos party hammered out a wide range of agreements that were conditional on their support before Mariano Rajoy became Prime Minister for a second term. One of these was that paternity leave was increased from two weeks to four in 2017. The 2018 budget needs to be approved, and the Ciudadanos party have proposed a number of new regulations again, conditional on their support for the budget. The paternity leave from 2018 will be extended to five weeks, so the combined maternity and paternity leave is now 21 weeks. Another proposal hammered out with the unions is that salaries for public employees will be increased by 8% from 2018-2020. . Category “X” The UK has now come down in favour of a person who was born as a woman but then became a transsexual. “She” went to court and asked that “her” definition of being neither male nor female was categorized on documents with the letter “X”. The UK Passport Office had stated that this could only be done at an enormous cost. In ten other countries persons can assume this category, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. A proposal in the Spanish Parliament is that Spain should now allow the same thing, based on “autodetermination” by such persons that they have “no defined sex”. The European countries of Austria, Germany, and Denmark already allow this. In Spain up to now, and for the last ten years, a person can legally change their “designated” sex from male to female or the other way round.

The 14th Richest The richest woman and the 14th richest person in the world has died, aged 94, in Paris. Liliane Bettencourt, according to ‘Forbes’ who calculates people’s wealth, was worth 33 billion Euros as hereditary owner of the French ‘L’Oreal’ cosmetic giant. She withdrew from active involvement in More Paternity Leave 2012 when she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease The PP party, led by Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish and dementia. There are various court cases in Prime Minister, lack a majority in parliament by a France that have spread to the former Prime

Continued ....

In the News Minister Jacques Chirac over allegations that money and valuable paintings were handed over by her in dubious circumstances, and a Swiss bank account held 100 million Euros from “unexplained” sources. L’Oreal started up in 1907 when Eugéne Schuella introduced different shades of make-up and skin treatments under the trade name ‘L’Auréale’

Child Neglect A woman in Almería province, who is separated from her husband who lives in France, was recently in court accused of child neglect. Their 15 year old son who lives with his father had come to Almería for an Easter visit. After the holiday the mother put her son on a train from Lorca to Marseille which involved one change at a station in France. The mother told the judge that she had been on fairly good terms with her ex-husband who had been fully consulted regarding the journey and raised no objections at the time. Later he

complained to the French police that the young man had become “stressed”. She explained that her ex-husband had full details of the journey and times sent to him in an email. The son had regularly made the train journey before from the age of eight, but previously had always been accompanied. The young man was completely fluent in Spanish and French and both parents spoke to him several times on his mobile phone. The mother explained that she did not have sufficient money for flights and her ex-husband had paid the train fare. It was claimed in court that the frequent mobile phone contact with the father, who had become over concerned, was the cause of any stress. The judge ruled that in the circumstances he did not consider that the mother had acted in a manner that showed a temporary abandonment or a lack of care, and there was plenty of contact between the young man and his parents. He dismissed the charges brought against her.

So Now You Know... The Euro Currency The Euro was introduced into the financial markets in 1999 and started to be circulated in 2002. 30% of the world’s money reserves are now in Euros. Apart from the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia and the Czech Republic are EU countries that have not adopted the Euro. Montenegro and Kosovo both use the Euro although they are not in the EU and neither do they have currency agreements. Andorra, Monaco, Sal Marino and the Vatican State use the Euros with official EU approval. Between 1999 and 2002, 14.5 million Euro notes were put into circulation. The Tallest Man Robert Wadlow, an American, is officially recorded as the world’s tallest man. He was born in Illinois in 1918 and was 6 feet tall when he was aged eight. At the age of fifteen he was 7 feet 5 inches. By the age of 21 he was 8 feet 11 inches in height and weighed 491 lbs. He died aged 22 after a serious leg inflammation that was caused by badly fitted leg irons. He was buried in a coffin that was 11 feet long. Robert Wadlow, as well as other “giants”, have a pituitary gland tumour that excretes large amounts of a growth hormone, and this condition leading to extreme height is called acromegalic gigantism syndrome. False Eyelashes The American film director D. W. Griffith first used the idea of false eyelashes when he was filming “Intolerance” in 1916. He wanted to have the eyes of the actress Seena Owen shine through large lashes that came down to her cheek. A wigmaker wove human hair through a gauze strip which was then glued to her eyelids. The film received rave reviews from film critics and the film industry, but it flopped at the box office, leaving Griffiths heavily in debt. Beauty companies then started making their own false eyelashes, and they gradually evolved to become the simple and inexpensive ones available today.

Chess The history of chess is about 1,500 years old. In the sixth century it was played in India with the name “chaturanga” that meant four limbs. From India it spread to Persia, and when the Arabs conquered Persia it became popular in Islam countries and was called “shatranj”. From there it travelled to Europe and by the thirteenth century it was a popular game. Modern day rules were put in place in Spain and Italy. In 1886, the first World Chess Championship was held, and by the 20th century published game plays and strategy became very popular, and eventually analysed on computers. High quality chess boards are made in Spain. Mad as a Hatter The “Mad Hatter” in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and the phrase “Mad as a Hatter” are both based on a very bad industrial process with a tragic history. Hat makers used various chemicals in the manufacture, including mercury to cure felt. Because mercury is a deadly poison, thousands of workers suffered from noxious fumes causing kidney damage, anaemia, inflammation of the gums, and in many cases it lead to insanity as well. The effects of insanity in these workers became known by the name “Hatters syndrome”. It is believed that at one time 10% of all the workers were certified as being insane. TV Remote Controls In 1950 the Zenith Electronics company brought out a TV device called “Lazy Bones” that was on the end of a long cable. It allowed basic features to be operated remotely, but was quite dangerous with people often tripping over the cable. In 1956, one of their engineers, Dr. Robert Adler, suggested ultrasonic technology could be used, as ultrasonic sound is beyond the range of human hearing. They made and sold 9 million “Adler remotes” in the first year. These worked well, but family dogs often howled and barked as they could hear it. Infra-red technology eventually replaced ultrasonic devices with no sound.

Completely Flawed

he autonomous community of Catalonia is one of a total of 17. The population is 7.5 million out of the 46.6 million inhabitants of Spain. To give an idea of the size, there are 8.34 million people in Andalucía. The independence referendum was declared to be illegal by High Courts in both Madrid and Barcelona, so during September, police were instructed to thwart the referendum taking place. Physical activities included the seizure of 12 million ballot papers and envelopes. Specialist police served notices on webservers, and over 140 sites were shut down.

stored electronically. Just before the polling stations opened at 9am this Amazon hosted site was shut down. People running the polling stations started listing names and identity numbers on sheets of paper, but there was no way to verify them. Only 319 polling stations had been shut down, but (not unsurprisingly) the one where Carles Puigdemont, (President of Catalonia and leader of the main political party pushing for independence), went to vote was shut. It was then stated that voters could vote at any polling station.

Carles Puigdemont

Election regulations within Spain are very similar to the UK. Persons entitled to vote have to register and are told where to go. At the designated polling stations they have to provide photo ID with their names checked on the official lists. They then cast a secret vote on designated size ballot papers, put into designated size envelopes. Their name is then highlighted on the lists, so they cannot vote more than once. When the polling station closes the votes are counted under controlled conditions. The “illegal” referendum in Catalonia took place on October 1st and 5.3 million people were registered on the last voter census. The autonomous Los Mossos police were instructed to “passively” stop polling stations opening and voters entering them. This 15,000 strong police force took “passively” extremely literally and in many cases just stood outside. 10,000 Guardia Civil police and National “anti-disturbance” Police were drafted into Catalonia, including 50 from Almería. The police trying to confiscate election material had totally failed to realise that 10,000 ballot boxes had been purchased from China. Ballot papers and envelopes were in short supply and separatist leaders listed a website on social media where ballot papers could be downloaded and printed. This was quickly shut down, except Russian hackers put ballot papers on one of their sites. On the day, it was announced that votes could be made on any piece of paper. The voter lists had not been printed out and were

It is absolutely clear that people voted more than once, and in some cases it was claimed persons had voted ten times. A “no” voter videoed himself voting at four different locations to show how flawed the referendum was. In some cases ballot boxes were put on the pavement and people crowded round to put votes into the boxes with no control as to who they were. Police were supposed to thwart voting until the vote closed at 8pm, but after all the violence was aired internationally they were told to withdraw at 5pm.The claim was that 2.2 million votes were recorded, 42% of registered voters, and 2 million were “yes” votes, so 38% of those registered. It will never be known how many people voted who shouldn’t have, or how many people cast multiple votes. The very low number of “no” votes was because many voters opposed to the referendum didn’t vote as they considered it illegal! The Constitutional Tribunal ruled on October 16th that the referendum was null and void under the law.

Growing “María”

he growing of cannabis plants, known in Spanish as “maría” amongst other names, can be very profitable, but the big problem for growers is the strong smell. Police are often alerted to cannabis plants being grown, from small quantities to enormous ones, by neighbours or people walking in rural areas that report the strong odour. The other requirement for growing cannabis plants indoors is a very heavy use of electricity for lamps, airconditioning and extractors. Many growers overcome this by connecting the equipment to the wrong side of electricity meters.

This quantity is the largest ever discovered in the province by far, and more than all cannabis plants found in the last ten years. It is the second largest haul in Spain except for one found in Huelva province a few months ago. A fire near the Doñana National Park left 65,000 plants exposed to the open air, and fire fighters came across them.

Apart from confiscating the plants that are discovered, the police take action on the grounds that the cannabis plants and cannabis are an offence against public health. Illegal hook-ups to electricity are also an offence. Quite often a prison term is handed down as well as fines. A branch of the Guardia Civil Police is called ‘Seprona’ and their job is connected with animals, wildlife, fish, and agriculture. They also report illegal properties constructed in protected areas of the countryside or on non-urban land. The authorities are particularly vigilant that illegal fertilisers are not being used in the growing of vegetables. If detected in other countries following exports, this can cause big problems for the thriving agriculture businesses in Almería province. Recently, the Seprona police were carrying out a spot check at a group of four very large plastic greenhouses in Níjar, not far from San Isidro. There were no workers present, but the smell from cannabis plants was very strong. They informed the Guardia Civil Police who, after obtaining search warrants, discovered a man leaving the premises with keys in his hand. To their amazement they found a total of 41,500 plants spread over 60,000 m2 (slightly larger than 8 football pitches). One of the greenhouses was ready for the planting of new plants and another had 22,000 plants more than two metres in height. Humidifiers, ventilation units, and anti-smell filter equipment were found, along with sleeping accommodation. A building nearby had large quantities of cannabis flower heads drying out or packed in boxes.

This haul is small fry compared to a major investigation concluded recently in Granada province. A specialist police operation resulted in the arrest of 51 people, the confiscation of 46 luxury cars and an extremely large lorry, and the blocking of numerous bank accounts. This was a distribution centre for marihuana, and 271 kilos were discovered with a total street value of 6 million Euros. Apart from the members of a well-known gang, an employee of ‘Tráfico’ (Spanish vehicle office) and three tax officers were arrested, who allegedly manipulated vehicle documents and carried out tax evasion on a large scale. The investigation started in 2016, and in July this year simultaneous raids took place in Albote, Santa Fe, Moraleda de Zafayona, Málaga, and Vélez Málaga. The profit from the sale of drugs was used to purchase very high class luxury vehicles for resale, usually with a price tag of over 90,000 Euros, and the owner of a large car sales company was arrested. The member of the traffic department is alleged to have evaded vehicle tax, and entered the names of unsuspecting third parties as the vehicle owners. A big business!

Read the Small Print

btaining travel insurance would seem to be fairly easy, and many people go on price comparison sites to find the cheapest deals, but there may be a lot of exclusions clauses that need to be studied. For large numbers of people trying to get back their money after the Monarch Airline bankruptcy, they needed to make a claim against their travel insurance.

specialist travel back home an insurer may insist on being given permission to have access to medical records. If they decide that the cause of the illness is a condition that existed before the travel was undertaken and the insurance was taken out, they may refuse a claim on the grounds that this was not specified. Travel insurance for lost baggage has previously been a “standard” of 1,500 pounds sterling or the equivalent Euros, but some To keep near the top of the list of cheapest companies have now reduced this by half. insurance many of the online companies have modified their conditions and in many cases reduced the services they offer. If you are a frequent traveller it may be cheaper to take out multi-trip travel insurance that covers this with a single premium, and you do not have to arrange separate insurance every time you travel. Reading the conditions is still very important as well as the countries that are covered. If you are travelling to the US, this may well be more expensive. The amount of the “excess” (the amount automatically taken off any pay out) is very variable. One company offered insurance for lost or stolen cash during a holiday up to a limit of 200 pounds sterling or the equivalent Euros, but the excess to be taken off was also 200 pounds sterling! Getting cover for sporting or leisure events whilst on holiday may also have very rigid conditions. If you are on a camel or an elephant, or go sailing, are you covered if you injure yourself by falling off or whilst on board? People undertaking winter sports may well consider that a helmet is a very good idea, but check whether it is a mandatory requirement from your insurer. If you sky offpiste this may be excluded because the policy states that you have to be within defined designated areas within the boundaries of a recognized ski resort. With a multi-trip policy it may be that there is a limit on the number of days you can spend enjoying Insurance to cover a major illness is also very variable. winter sports or other activities. It is essential that current health information requested by the insurer is completely detailed. Nobody wants to have a holiday ruined by any event, This comes under the heading of “due diligence”, but it is essential that a person shops round for the meaning that full disclosure has to be made best available cover that applies to them and their otherwise the cover may not apply. Before arranging particular circumstances, at the least expensive cost. Most travel insurance companies have traditionally imposed a limit for their standard cover on people over the age of 65, but nowadays some companies have lowered the age to 50, or even 45. The cost of their policies is then higher than normal taking this age restriction into account. Travel insurance for dependent persons at college or university on a multi-family policy has frequently been possible up to the age of 23, but some companies have lowered the age limit to 18, so they lose this cover much earlier.

Living with Autism

SD are the initials for ‘Autism spectrum disorder’ which is a neurological disease. Some of the clearest signs are repetitive behaviour where a child excessively carries out the same task multiple times, problems with vocabulary, hyperactivity and anger, and problems with social interaction. A diagnosis is often made by the time a child is aged five, but other mental disorders such as epilepsy, depression and anxiety can be present as well. This can make a clear diagnosis more complicated. For those of our readers who remember Dustin Hoffman and the film “Rain Man”, this was not a documentary, and in the main, persons with autism have no astounding achievements that will enable them to win a fortune at a casino! The number of persons who suffer from autism is difficult to determine accurately, and a very basic figure from the World Health Organization is 1% of the population. In the US, where numbers are calculated from children aged eight, the figure was one child in 88 in 2012. In 2016 this was upgraded to be one child in 68 with a lot more understanding of the symptoms. Manuel Posada is the Director of the Institute for the Investigation of Rare Diseases at a centre in Madrid and is one of the world’s experts and a senior member of an EU study group. He agrees that the US figures are probably correct, but pioneering work at the University of Salamanca has resulted in tests that are applied to children from the ages of 18-24 months where there may be signs of hyperactivity or other behaviour typical of autism. Another experimental diagnosis is blood tests that so far appear to have a 90% success rate in indicating possible autism. In these cases an ‘Alternative Communication System’ can be used even at this early age. This can involve a basic sign language, or a much increased exposure to images such as pictures. Talking to these children is much more effective if simple words and phrases are used that hold their concentration better than complicated sentences. Children with autism often get very upset if they cannot communicate and

may exhibit a lot of anger. Pictures of everyday life and activities that they are familiar with can make a bridge between non-verbal communication and things they wish to express.

Keith Stuart published a book entitled “A Boy Made of Blocks” in 2016 relating to his autistic son Zac. Keith showed him the video game “Little Big Planet” at the age of three, and he soon understood how it was played. Later on, Zac was introduced to “Minecraft” which came out on Xbox 360 in 2012. This is a game without any “rules”, no time pressure, no violence, and blocks of information that contain aspects of a puzzle. Zac was quickly able to play this game with his father, mother, and older brother, and his vocabulary improved to a marked degree. Following on from this success the ‘Minecraft Club’ came into being in 2015. This has been proved to increase interaction between children suffering from autism and “normal” children. 80% of children suffering from autism are boys, and one theory is that their exposure to testosterone, cortisol, and progesterone in the womb is a factor, and which girl babies are not exposed to. The use of antidepressants by mothers in the year before a birth may be a cause of autism in girls, and a very low body weight at birth of less than 2.5 kilos also seems to be related. Every year the understanding of autism improves.

Behind the Headlines

he chaos caused by the Ryanair cancellations with no prior notice for thousands of passengers has been fully aired in the international press and TV channels. Broadcasters and journalists have scrambled to interview affected families and portray their anger. The lack of comprehensive EU compensation information was harshly attacked by regulators in the UK and Spain.

members who can only log in with their “crew code” number. One of the demands is for full time contracts and the lifting of targets such as the number of scratch cards and perfume they have to sell on board. Pilots and cabin crew in 30 European bases felt so strongly about their job situation that they recently sent Ryanair a joint letter asking for fairer terms now, and full employment contracts from January 1st, 2018. There are various reasons why the major problem Ryanair ignored a deadline put forward for a reply, with pilot rosters has taken place. Ryanair have so this has caused more discontent. been using the period April 1st to March 31st as their operating year and worked out holidays for staff within this period. With the high demand for flights during the summer months many airlines, including Ryanair, expect their staff to take as much as one month’s leave between September and March. The Irish Aviation Authority has recently forced Ryanair to use the normal year starting on January 1st. With no transition period, the majority of staff holidays (in many cases the entire leave due) have to be taken this year from September to December 31st. Flight Time Limitations (FTL’s) dictate that a pilot can only work 100 hours in any 28 day period, and no more than 900 hours in a calendar year or 1,000 in a rolling year. Ryanair Air industry guidelines are that airlines need to are offering pilots incentive payments if they have 10 pilots a day for every passenger aircraft work in holiday periods, but for some pilots they that flies. Pundits claim that Ryanair only have have reached their hourly limit. 80% of the total number needed, and Michael O’Leary admits they need another 600. Norwegian Apart from this there are deeper problems relating Air is making serious inroads into the low cost to pilot and cabin crew employment rights. Irish market and is now the third largest company with labour laws allow Ryanair to avoid recognizing their major European base at El Prat airport in trade unions, but they lost a recent labour rights Barcelona. They are not in the short haul business battle in the European Court of Justice. They but sell a return ticket from Barcelona to New ruled that staff could pursue labour disputes in York and a single ticket from London to Singapore the EU country where they are based. This applies for 149 Euros, with flights to Boston from Dublin to large numbers of staff, although Ryanair often and Edinburgh. They presently have 142 Boeing use agencies that have a pool of pilots and are 787 “Dreamliner” aircraft, each carrying 276 not permanent Ryanair crew. economy class passengers, and are taking delivery of a new one every 45 days. They state that 150 Employees are taking advice from trade unions Ryanair pilots have joined them so far this year, in countries such as Italy and Spain, and they want and they expect many more to follow. Apart from to form their own unions. An “invite-only” Facebook increased wages (about 17%) they say that many site, Ryanair Cabin Crew United, has 3,400 pilots prefer long haul routes to short ones.

Autopilot Cars

f an intelligent alien came to earth to see how off in the rear seats! They stress that any driver we did things, they might be appalled to find can revert to manual control within seven seconds that every day billions of assorted vehicles are if they are behind the wheel. driven on all sorts of roads where the drivers are solely in manual control. They might say that on their planet every single vehicle journey is fully controlled by “autopilot” technology, the same as is used for aircraft. Having full autopilot controlled driving might one day be a reality but only in the distant future, if that. The car company ‘Tesla’ now have 70,000 vehicles throughout the world, particularly in the US and China, where an autopilot system can be engaged. They point out that this is not a 100% facility for total journeys, and a human driver has to be able to rapidly take back control. In May 2016, the first fatality associated with a Tesla autopilot car occurred when a car was being driven at 119k/h down a US highway and a white articulated lorry crossed in front. It was determined by accident investigators that the autopilot system had not “seen” the white lorry against a bright sky. The car ploughed into the underside of the lorry and the top of the car was ripped off. In another accident, a car left the road and overturned on an embankment and then hit a telegraph pole. The two occupants were not badly injured, and Tesla claimed that they had no transmitted information that proved the car was on autopilot at the time. Critics of the Tesla system say that the software is what is called a “public beta” one. When items such as new smartphones are introduced, the manufacturers use the public beta system which is designed to show up glitches after they have been purchased that can then be ironed out. Getting the product onto the market is the major consideration. They state that Tesla should not be using the term “autopilot”. Tesla claims that drivers often abuse the system facilities by not sitting behind the steering wheel or even dozing

The Spanish ‘DGT’ traffic authority has issued guidelines for vehicles with automatic park assist. They are considering allowing people to learn to drive in cars that have this system in place, and they would not have to demonstrate their skills in reversing or parallel parking manually. Their driving licence would only relate to these types of vehicles. They state that the maximum distance a car can travel backwards is 15mts, and if the driver is out of the vehicle the maximum speed must be 5km/h. Drivers cannot be more than 4m away, with unrestricted vision and an emergency stop button. If an automated system malfunctions and there is a crash, damage, or injury, the driver is still responsible. There have been incidents where a malfunction has taken place when an animal, a pushchair, or even a young child, has not been noticed. Heavy rain can also be a problem. Many drivers are reluctant to make the leap in faith that everything will function correctly. A skilled driver can reverse into a space quicker than an automated system so automatic park assist may hold up traffic flow. Cars fitted with a camera and sensors that bleep when a driver is a predetermined distance from an obstacle, or parked cars in front or behind, are considered by many drivers to be quite sufficient, and they still have full manual control.

It’s That Time of Year

ith changes in the weather from summer to autumn the period for obtaining the anti-flu vaccine has started. From October 23rd, 87,000 doses will be available from 231 points throughout the province. Most of these places will be our local health centre. Each year the actual constituents of the vaccine are amended slightly on the recommendation of the World Health Organization.

age of two can be vaccinated. If children do get the flu this may be a very unpleasant experience for them, but they do recover. One of the arguments for children being vaccinated is that if they don’t get the flu their parents are not having to take time off work, and other family members (such as grandparents) benefit. Some agencies think that this is not a good reason morally. Can vaccinating children to have an effect on other sectors of society be justified ethically? A practical issue is the cost and time that health professionals would have to devote to children each year. Most European countries, including Spain, do not offer flu vaccinations for children. The scientific and medical result from vaccinating children in the UK is being studied in other countries with interest, to access the pros and cons.

The Secretary General for Public Health, Josefa Ruiz, has set out the categories of people that are entitled, or should take advantage of the program. The main body is persons over the age of 65. With the close family unit relationship in Spain, many grandparents help to look after their grandchildren when their parents are working, or when the children need looking after for a particular reason. Young children will often be able to “shrug off” the onset of the flu, but their grandparents have no such protection without the vaccine. The next group of people that need to be vaccinated are those who suffer from medical conditions that put them at special risk. This sector includes people with any chronic illness where catching the flu may severely worsen their existing condition. Cancer patients undergoing treatment may well have a reduced immunity, and those persons with respiratory diseases are particularly vulnerable, along with diabetes sufferers. Persons between the ages of 6575 will be encouraged to be vaccinated against pneumonia at the same time if they have not had this vaccination before. Pregnant mothers should be vaccinated at any stage of their pregnancy to stop them getting the flu and also their new born babies. Health professionals need to be vaccinated and staff who work in residential homes or day centres. The essential services such as the military, police and firemen are able to have the vaccinations along with prison officers and other people who deal with large sectors of the population. There are various discussions as to whether young children should be vaccinated against the flu, with contradictory opinions. In the UK, children over the

People suffering from the flu should keep warm, always use disposable tissues, avoid sneezing into the air, take medications such as Paracetamol (not antibiotics), suck menthol based throat tablets, and drink plenty of fluids. Going to see your doctor is not recommended, unless there are very severe symptoms, as you can then infect other patients. Flu vaccinations will be given until the end of December, but the date they are available will vary in different health centres. As we explained last month, the ‘Salud Responde’ health agency in Andalucía has a new phone number, 955 54 50 60, and they will give you an appointment at your health centre.

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 San Javier airport ……...……….902 404 704 / 968 172 000 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

Free directory entries.

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The Focus A-Z Directory

2000 entries!

This A-Z directory is the only comprehensive listing of all the businesses and services you routinely need, and can never find!

For a free directory entry, call 670 84 92 65 or e-mail almeriafocus@gmail.com Keep this magazine in your office, by your 'phone, in the car or beside your bed! It's unique and updated every month. Red line entries signify that there is a display advert for that advertiser.

ACCOUNTING Asesoría Forte (Vera) ..........................950 395778 / 682 372196

AIR CONDITIONING ABC (A Better Climate) (See p.51)...647 247494 / 950 092604 Asesoría López (Vera) ……...................................….950 393071 Cool Solutions ...........................................................600 621436 Asesoría Torres (Mojácar) .........................................950 472748 DCM Digitek Comms (Mojácar) (See p.19) .950 472947 / 670 084438 Asesoría Sánchez Moral (Mojácar) ...........................670 099726 Digital Vision ........................................950 472081 / 645 294064 Electrotorres ........................................950 472898 / 610 750771 MD Air Conditioning & Refrigeration S.L.607 364917 / 950 432110 Richard Hayes ...........................................................603 567676 Solo Satellite & Air-Con. (See p.55)...950 398146 / 699 909737 Williams Electrical (Andy)........................................…..677 741366

Barbara Caparros Ridao (Vera) …..........................950 390427 CG Legal & Financial (Mojácar Playa) ..950 472504 / 670 215926 Cazorla Martinez (Turre) .........................................950 479137 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 Mayor Consulting S.L.(Mojácar) .................................950 615185 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

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com The Gallery (La Concepción) ..................................607 146352

AIRPORT PARKING

AA Parking (Almería, Murcia, Alicante) ......................639 081067 AUCTIONS Aqua-Car (Alicante) ……………........................................966 790 011 A & A Auctions (Albox) ………..............950 064576 / 661 759882 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

ALARMS AC Security ........................................950 387822 / 657 AXA .........................................................................950 CD Electrical Services ......................662 414043 / 617 Safes & Security (Dean)...........................................666 Prosegur Alarms .........................................................608

397218 478763 410534 949213 825509

AIRPORT TRANSFERS (LEGAL) Exclusive Airport Shuttles (See p.2) .........................950 092602 IndaTravel .....................................................................950 149539

Auction Subasta SL (Zurgena) (See p.61) 622 288750 / 681 095096 Location Warehousing S.L. (Antas El Real) ..............950 528565

AUTOMATIC DOORS & GATES The Metal Works (Albox).......................950 930520 / 638 900949

ANTIQUES Delfos (Mojácar) ......................................................647 163681

AWNINGS & BLINDS

ARCHITECTS

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 Sol Shaders S.L. (See p.7).....................................627 907207 Speedyfit (See p.17) ..................................................600 006032 Toldos Farrago (Vera) ...............................................667 567564

Angel Pardo (Técnico) .......................950 121960 / 687 939315 Antonio Martinez de la Casa .....................................950 092094 Blas Haro Morales ...................................................950 615345 Daniel González Aranda (Vera) ......................................686 846 624 Elena Acebo Architects (Huércal-Overa) .669 680098 / 950 134976 Paula Puente (Mojácar) .............................................610 433001

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

BARS & CAFES See also Restaurants Albox

ART & ARTISTS Adolfo Prado ...............................................................950 472668 Alexis Shillinglaw ....................................................642 107453 Alison .......................................................................630 833873 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 Roberto Lombardi ................................950 930757 / 671 800317

Bar Lepanto ................................................................642 906638 Cafe-Bar Oasis ………......................................…....669 242166 Chapman’s ...............................................................642 447663 Cornish Pride ...................................................………666 618933 La Palmera ….............................................................950 430993 Maloan’s Bar ….........................................................850 993205 The Travellers Inn, Los Marcelinos ...........................642 011900

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

Antas Bar Gloria ...................................…….950 453150 / 625 668613

Arboleas Hotel Rural Azabache ...............................................690 258813 Humbugs Cafe …......................................950 095904 / 634 309 465

Bédar El Paso ...................................................................678 868963

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Free directory entries.

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Los Amigos .......................................…………………950 478489 Bistro Bonita .......................................650 599739 / 950 930169 Mesón Felipe San Bernabé ................950 475966 / 631 301368 Mesón Mémé ……………...........……….674 141159 / 647 954405 Cortijo Grande Mimi’s Bar ..................................................................651 872604 Casa Los Pinos …............................................…….950 468236 Moca Cafe Bar …......................................................950 452885 Cucador No 353 (Mojácar)..................................950 104937 / 662 164424 La Vida .....................................................................950 634562 Rincon de Zahorí ................................630 314400 / 625 103672 El Campico (Bédar-Lubrin) Rose & Crown (See p.15)........................................634 796884 La Montaña .............................................................670 589788 Rusty Nail …………....................................................950 472786 Huércal-Overa San Pedro Belgian Bar .............................................722 485340 El Capricho …..........................................................697 297235 Scotty's …...................................................................687 382540 The Hub ......…………….....................................……950 135039 The Elephant Club .................................................673 195872 The Emerald Isle (See p.41)....................................950 475391 La Alfoquía Bar La Unión ...........................................................642 008003 The Irish Rover ........................................................950 473135 Bar Trabalon .......................................................….687 098959 The Lemon Lounge .............................................….950 472659 Bar Los Mellizos ……….........................................…667 919025 The Loft …..........................................950 472432 / 690 756196 Cielos …...................................................................634 393235 The Roof Garden .................................................674 113218 El Local ……......................................950 634449 / 633 684855 Trufibar ....................................................................664 103611 Twister (Mojácar Playa) ........................………………950 472357 Las Buganvillas Gnomo Feliz II ..........................................................950 132350 Valery Music ..............................................................950 615537 La Colonial ……………….........................................….636 140307 Wine Not? ............................................................... 950 100077

Cerro Gordo

Los Gallardos Apolo ……………................................................……600 495182 Meson Verfran ………...................................................637 810143

Mojácar Bar Alizee ...............................................................950 091810 Bar Esencial ...............................................................618 826092 Bar Luz .................................................................654 866110 Beachcomber ..........................................................634 339216 Beauchelles En El Sol ..............................................950 472288 Big Fat Momma’s .......................................................634 315720 Burladero ……..........................................................950 615041 Cafeteria Bellagio .......................................…………950 472323 Cafetería Dolce …….................................................950 475178 Cafetería Pizzería Alcazaba ………...........................645 414793 Café Latino ...............................................................626 717323 Captain's Tapas Bar & Restaurant...............................617 477797 Cave Bar ...............................................................…..950 478799 Delfos .......................................................................647 163681 Dolce Vita (See p.29)................................................950 478476 El Ángel (Mojácar Pueblo) ..................950 478343 / 607 537101 El Antler ………...........................................................600 540661 El Barrio Libre .............................................................950 475739 El Deseo ....................................................................670 018035 El Toro .....................................................................622 456560 Enrico ...................................................950 472995 / 642 514738 Fany …………...........................................………….634 312820 Jazz Life Café (Mojácar Pueblo) ........................…….647 724367 Koi ….........................................................................950 615452 Kukis ........................................................................686 038259 La Cantina (Mexican) ................................................950 478941 La Parata (See p.7).....................................................950 478186 La Piká .....................................................................950 930744 La Taberna (Mojácar Pueblo) ....................................647 724367

Palomares 102 Tapas Bar …………...........................……………..615 157905. The Oasis Bar ....................................950 467381 / 676 365010 Centro Plaza ................................................................950 618614 La Dulce Casa ….................................................…….950 467768

Piedra Amarilla, Partaloa Yellow Stone Bar ......................................................634 332178

Pueblo Laguna / Vera Beach Bar Dolar ....................................................................950 095642

Pub Millionaire ....................................950 617467 / 637 255978 Restaurante Tibu .....................................................950 133747

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Bar La Plaza Villaricos .........................................…950 El Galeon ……...................................................……600 La Casa del Siret ....................................................950 Los Conteros .....................................950 618629 / 699

467590 559379 467777 010705

BARS (BEACH BARS)

San Juan de los Terreros Mi Cortijo ………......................................................…950 466323

Turre Alice’s Bar ………......................................................620 Chili ...................................................950 468425 / 608 La Pará ……………............................................……637 Vinilo Bar ................................................................629

876485 802227 545590 657402

Valle del Este Hole in One Karen’s Bar ......................950 461068 / 677 655790

Vera

Aku Aku (Mojácar) ..............................950 478981 / 607 347612 Alma (Mojácar) …......................................................950 805928 Chiringuito Manacá (Mojácar) .....................................600 045599 Costa Tranquila (San Juan de los Terreros)..664701457 El Cid (Mojácar) ...................................950 472063 / 696 056128 El Patio (Mojácar) ........................................................629 287265 Hola Ola (Mojácar) ..................................................664 097279 Lola Bbme (Palomares) ……………….634 062350 / 657 303043 Los Tarahis (Agua Amarga) .......................................950 138235 Mandala Beach Club (Mojácar) ................................902 442420 Maui (Mojácar) ……...................................................950 478722 Neptuno (Mojácar) (See p.4)....................................…616 005387 Playa Blanca (Mojácar) .....................950 473001 / 639 507520 Sol y Arena (Mojácar) ..............................................950 478308 Tito’s (Mojácar) ..........................................................950 615030 Trufibar ....................................................................664 103611

Casa de la Vega ......................................................950 391208 BATHROOMS & SHOWERS La Amistad …………….…......................................…666 622085 24hr Casaserve ...................................950 466438 / 676 306269 Vera Playa ABS Advanced Building Services ..............................687 846016 Bar La Reva .........................................................950 618032 Cerrajería Jara (Las Buganvillas) ……………………..950 109986 El Balconcito .............................................................635 589909 Cristalería Omega (Mojácar) …..........950 478137 / 670 500711 Frankie’s Bar .....................................950 467541 / 622 649469 Diamond Bathrooms ..................................................671 717149 Dorothy Bathrooms (Albox) .........................................661 463842 Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 Mojácar Home Improvements..............950 473104 / 689 296432

Shower Master screens ...........................................677 604497 SpeedyFit (Screens) (See p.17)....................................600 006032 Toldos Farrago (Screens)(Vera) ................................667 567564

BEAUTY See Hair, Health & Beauty BED & BREAKFAST Casa Barranca (Huercal Overa) ....... 95 0952947 / 648 250699 Casa Jasmine (La Alfoquía) ......................................950 449513 La Buena Mesa ……............................950 467222 / 610 356387 Casa Montes Guesthouse (Arboleas) ..................... 686 400331 La Peperina .............................................................677 420243 Las Persianas Azules (Velez Rubio) ..950 068054 / 630 149622 The Blue Parrot ......................................................950 467682 Hostal La Parata (Mojácar) ........................................950 472670 Villaricos The Palms (Urcal) …………......................................678 832036 Bar Genesis ………………................................…….647 073598

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BEDS Furniture Plus (Puerto de Mazarron)...968 153907 / 678 083491 Sleepcentre (Albox) (See p.25)..........868 931872 / 671 715294

BICYCLE HIRE Aguila Bike (Las Buganvillas) ........................................950 133063 BiciStar (Vera) ……............................................……667 024001 BikeRun Sport (Albox) …………………950 930190 / 678 166252 Ciclos Mountain Bike Aguilas …..........................……968 413984 Dazzlem (Vera Playa) ...........................627 818719 / 673 589874 Doltcini (Mojácar) ................................950 092600 / 658 028646 Lufran Bike Sport …………....................................….607 074753 BOWLING CENTRES (10 pin) Mountain Biking Spain …...............……637 831509 / 661 178656 Almería Ten Pin Bowling (Arboleas) …...................….950 439013 Rodeca Bike Zone ..................................................950 132525 Ozone Bowling Mojácar ............................................950 473073 Weekend Sport (Las Buganvillas) .........................950 460738

BUILDING MATERIALS

BICYCLE SALES, MAINTENANCE & CLOTHING

(& Sanitary Ware, Tiles etc)

Aguila Bike (Las Buganvillas) ........................................950 133063 BikeRun Sport (Albox) …………………950 930190 / 678 166252 Doltcini (Clothing) (Mojácar) ..............950 092600 / 658 028646 Lufran Bike Sport …………....................................….607 074753 Rodeca Bike Zone ..................................................950 132525 Weekend Sport (Las Buganvillas) ............................950 460738

BLINDS see Awnings & Blinds BOATS & NAUTICAL

Aridos Mojácar S.L. ……..........................................650 914257 Brico Depôt (Huércal de Almería) …........…………….950 625652 Casa Conchillo (Albox) …..........................................950 430740 Contrucciones Angel Oller (Albox) ...........................950 431453 Comercial Vera (Vera) ........................902 112236 / 950 393329 Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 Leroy Merlin, Gran Plaza (Roquetas) ….................……950 339800 Sanyfer (Antas El Real) ………....................................950 459082 VeraSur SL (Vera) ....................................................950 393028

BUILDING SERVICES

Veramotor S.A. ............................................................950 392552 24hr Casaserve ..................................950 466438 / 676 ABS Advanced Building Services ..............................687 BOAT TRIPS Glass Bottom Boat (Villaricos port) ….......................662 604456 Adam's Building Services .............................………..600 Orca Steve (Mojacar, Garrucha) ..............................634 352873 Alan Barker ........................................950 099913 / 600 Partylevante (Puerto Deportivo Garrucha) (See p.59)680 942141 AlmeriaBuilders.com ……......................659 685133 / 950 Red Line Coast Tours ….....................950 133082 / 687 189230

BOOKS Librería Nobel (Vera) ................................................950 392642 Tabernas Books …..............................663 121256 / 676 256083 The Book Box (Albox) ……................................…….662 585098 The Book People Almería …........……686 817945 / 626 578164 Total Entertainment (Turre) .........................................950 468295

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

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

306269 846016 041820 268176 930520

Free directory entries.

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Andalucian Con Co Print .................................….…..628 Andaluz Building Services.......................................…950 Antas Building Company …..........…..........................661 Arboleas Building ………........……….950 930536 / 634 Armadillo ........................................…......................950 Ben Foster Building Services ...................................642 CES Builders (Paul) ................................................685 Charlie Fyre ..............................................................686 Construction & Plastering ....................634 327201 / 661 Construcciones DISACA (Mojácar) ...........................639

408197 439094 075802 306690 528128 471236 017178 833444 129028 817778

Constructions Martinez Moreno (Rambla de Oria) ….696 052044 Cutler’s Carpentry .................................................697 907708 Daniel ……………..................................................….642 236810 DAGA Construction ……...................................……686 846624 David Croft (Urcal) ………....................................……661 148067 David Pritchard Construcciones ................................617 698418 Deco-house (Ismael) …………....................................670 596085 Diamond Plastering and Building Services .................671 717149 Elegant Homes S.L. ..............................950 092603 / 687 629777 Garden Works ...........................................................666 847583 Genco Construction ...................................................607 271869

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

Free directory entries.

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Hire a Husband …………............……..677 557 190 / 950 930596 J B General Builder ................................................. 687 024884 Jasmine Construction C.B ...................................... 659 185189 Mat Murray ...............................................................647 841750 MD Building Services ..........................628 414861 / 628 414862 Nash Groundworks ...................................................722 546192 P & S Building Services ……...….…….950 449639 / 671 318982 PR Building Services ................................................662 422170 Paul Acreman (General Builder) ..............……………607 196779 Professional Bricklayer ……………........................…..626 730764 Saxon’s Complete Building Services ....618 920126 / 968 485729 Valley Construction ..............…………..665 517643 / 610 905173 Valoser Obras .........................................................642 016954 Auto Corner (Limousines) .....................950 069198 / 667 439671 Vision Design and Build ........................950 459523 / 600 985583 Caracola (Mojácar) .............................950 473157 / 637 545814 Costa Coches (Mojácar) ........................950 459208 / 950 069272 BUTCHERS Europcar ............................................950 615101 / 654 297681 Ávila (Vera) …….................................................……663 126062 Mo-Car (Mojácar) ................................950 478307 / 626 976973 Casa Jose (Garrucha) ..............................................950 132573 Juan’s Carniceria (Mojácar Playa) ….............………950 478409

CAKES TO ORDER Cafeteria Dolce (Mojácar Playa) ………................….950 Cafeteria Pasteleria Romantic (Mojácar) ..................950 Crazy Cakes Almeria .......................634 335821 / 634 Joan's Cakes & Bakes (Albox) ..................................678 Moca Cafe Bar (Mojácar).........................................950 No 353 (Mojácar)..................................950 104937 / 662 Occasion Cupcakes (Velez Rubio) ............................634

475178 615344 345558 166272 452885 164424 329403

CAMPSITES

Camping el Cantal (Mojacar) ................................... 950 478204 Solvi Car (Mojácar) …………....................................950 478151 Camping Los Gallardos .............................................679 970399 SRS Vehicle Services ................................................950 449095 Campsite Marion (Vera) .............................................607 316553 Tikka RentaCar (Mojácar) ............................................950 472662

CAR WASH & VALETING

CAR HIRE

Al Andalus Car Hire ...................................................664 269440 Autos Gowi (Garrucha) ........................950 806066 / 607 863939 Integral Autos (El Real) ...........................................950 459304 Jones’s Mobile Valeting ............................................661 571939

Khaled - Valeting (Mojácar) ......................................671 715285

CARD SHOPS C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 Colin the Card (Albox) (See next page)..................…..650 600032 Forget Me Not (Las Buganvillas) (See next page)...663 302740 Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 121318 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 009051 Total Entertainment (Mojácar) ……….................……950 615596

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

CATERING / EVENTS See also Wedding & Party Planning Cortijo de la Media Luna ....................950 478813 / 659 Elite Cuisine ..........................................................610 Hog Roasts .............................................................671 La Capilla Restaurant (Las Alparatas, Mojácar) .......950 The Whole Hog / Hog Roast parties ....968 485729 / 618 Soft Ice Cream and Frozen Yoghurt Machines............600

198424 994435 851135 479305 920126 006032

CATTERY see Kennels CHILDREN & BABY

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

CARPENTRY

A.N.S.T.E.Y - Carpentry & Joinery ………...............687 251629 Baby Basics (Equipment Hire, Albox) ........................950 104345 Cutler’s Carpentry .................................................697 907708 Mobility Almería (Mojácar Playa) ..............................634 322475 Meditania, Children’s Activity Centre (Turre) ...........661 751244 Menudo Park (Mojácar) ............................................627 830499 Funky Monkeys, Pre school Group (Mojácar) .....……697 264179 Smartie Pants the Clown ............................................617 815221 The Baby Hire Centre ..............................................615 806126

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

CHINESE & ASIAN RESTAURANTS Inspired Timberwork ..................................................610 988371 Simon the Woodworker .............................................667 989270 TJ Carpentry (Albox) …….....………….619 584405 / 635 979829 Unicraft …..............................................................…692 176069 Vision Design and Build ........................950 459523 / 600 985583

Casa Sun (Mojácar Playa) ......................................950 099914 Chino Peking (Garrucha) .............................................950 132948 China Town (Aguilas) ................................................968 414786 Chino Tsing-Tao (Aguilas) ........................…...............968 448548 Dragon Chino (Las Buganvillas) ..................................950 133226 Gran Muralla (Albox) ................................................950 120166 Gran Muralla (Turre) ……............................................950 618880

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

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Palacio Imperial Marina (Mojácar Playa) ….................950 472208 Chris .......................................................................627 565049 Restaurante Asia - Maribo Kitchen ...........................950 110420 Clean Sweep ………..........................950 469345 / 662 390453 Clean Team …………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 CHIROPODIST & PODIATRISTS Cherie's Ironing & Cleaning (Mojácar) ............………634 301389 Alexandra Coll (Clinic Reverdy-Coll) ......................616 673116 Crystal Clear ............................................................637 229464 Clinica Podológica (Garrucha) ..................................950 132768 Daisy Proaño Alcivar (Contract & private) ……...….663 538596 Fit Feet (Ann-Marie) .................................................647 415848 Elite Cleaning Agency ........................629 113860 / 699 699617 Kim White (Vera Playa) ………...................................637 149659 Freshclean …………….........................659 353708 / 638 272482 Idea (Mojácar) .. ......................................................605 162709 CHIROPRACTOR Jone’s Upholstery & Rug cleaning ….........…………661 571939 Maximilian Bolté (Garrucha) .............950 133515 / 650 700783 Limpiezas Cristina ….............................................…660 306695. Limpiezas Maxlim (Palomares) ……...678 567783 / 629 680161 CIVIL ENGINEERS Isabel Morales ........................................................617 749105 Upholstery & Leather Cleaning ...................................636 193256

CLOTHING (Personalized) AdverTees (Mojácar Playa) ......................................634 336789

Rascals Designs ............................... 950 064665 / 686 582140 Tikka Uniforms (Mojácar) ….......................................667 479903

COMPUTERS Advance Digital ........................................................616 506569 Beep (Garrucha) ……………..................................….950 133059 Compleo Personal I.T. Centre .................................….950 393689

CLAIRVOYANCY / PSYCHIC READINGS Anna (Tarot) ……….........................................………670 897832 Chrissie Cremore ....................................................634 349638 Psychic Karen (Turre) …..........................................678 118108

CLEANING SERVICES A1 Cleaning ..............................................................666 340190 Amba Cleaners ........................................................697 516955

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Computer Care (Nick) ...............................................600 070075 Computer Services (Dani) ..................678 490639 / 630 007430 Connexions (Turre) (See front cover).......................950 479502 C.Y.G. Vera ...........................................................950 393350 Don Robinson .........................................................646 587746 Dynos Informatica (Albox) …………...................……..950 430806 First Call Computer Solutions …......618 539500 / 628 251399 George Boricean .....................................................661 375489 IKamale-on ……………...............................................950 616521 Mark Adamou (Mojácar) ........................634 324918 / 634 306799 Mi PC (Almeria) …..............................................….950 633015 Mr. Micro (Turre) ....................................................950 479502 Palomares Computer Services ..................................659 353708 PC Playa (Mojácar) ......................................................634 356498

COUNSELLING / HEALING Acupuncture & Massage ...........................................637 120429 Barbara Clarke ...........................................................637 469937 Chrissie Cremore (Reiki)............................................634 349638 Cristina Ballesteros (Transcendental Meditation) .....622 903600 Donald Mackinnon (Hypnotherapist) ........................628 651022 Emotional Freedom Technique/Healer …....................645 290728 Eve Morgan .............................................................647 203652 Fred Smithers (Acupuncture) ...............950 930456 / 618 107351 Gill Ballard (Healer/Counsellor) ...............................663 336655 Heaven Scent Holistics ...........................................663 923733 Hypnotherapy (Karen) ............................................678 118108 Dr. Jane Thompson (Psychotherapy)...968 485729 / 618 920126

Kate Roberts ...........................................................950 469540 PC-Solutions (Mojácar) ..............................................637 459293 Lucy Lovejoy (CraneoSacral Therapist) .....................647 045919 Malcolm Forrest-Hazell (Counsellor/Psychotherapist) ...693 489725 Norman & Carole Monro ..........................................950 439205 Sara Vigar (Aromatherapy) .......................................665 334895 Shiatsu (Wendy) ....................................................671 851135 Sue Osman (Healer) ………...............950 473021 / 600 847964

COURIER DELIVERIES Nacex (Mojácar) ………..................................……….950 472940 Offex Spain ................................…….......................966 765950 Spanish Property Choice (Easypost) ..950 615388 / 635 722290

CRAFTS PhonePC (Garrucha) .................................................950 133502 Elaine's Wools (Arboleas) ........................................667 273889 PuntoMatica ................................................................950 133908 Serendipity (Albox) ................................................617 699624 PRYS Informatica (Antas) ........................................617 382511 Simply Art (Albox) …...................................................662 443095

CURRENCY

CONSERVATORIES

Screenmasters (See p.47)......….…..680 777789 / 677 152911 Currencies Direct (Mojácar) ...............950 478914 / 626 916443 SpeedyFit (See p.17)..........................950 472357 / 600 006032 Eurochange (Mojácar) ................................................615 403877 Global Currency Exchange (Mojácar Playa) ..............950 615319

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Clinica Dental, Multicentro (Mojácar) ........................950 478989 Curtains with Style (See p.21)...........950 069032 / 678 811125 Clinica Dental Palomares .....................950 109710 / 670 878427 Clinica Dental, Parque Comercial (Mojácar) .............950 478534 Clinica Dental Saludent (Huércal-Overa) ……………..950 135672 Dental Clinic Belen Oliver (Olula del Río) ................950 443265 Dentalbox (Albox) .........................................................950 121284 Nadal Pérez, M A (Turre) .........................................950 479444 Odonto Stetic (Los Gallardos) ...........722 706732 / 950 398993 Puerta de Vera (Vera) ........................................950395319 Valero Martinez (Garrucha) ………............................950 132047

CURTAINS & SOFT FURNISHINGS

DIET PLANS & WEIGHT LOSS Image (Helen) ........................950 930192 / 665178326 Issysweigh (Albox) ...................................................600 334318 Curtainsandthings.................................................……678 684564 Pam (Turre) ..............................................................639 465631 Vicki (Turre) .............................................................650 764623 Solo Style ………...............................950 528334 / 626 319907 Unicraft Upholstery ...................................................692 176069 DIGGER HIRE Antas Mini Diggers .............................950 069288 / 650 906114 Aridos Mojácar S.L. (Vera) .....................................650 914257 Bob (Mini digger) (Albox) ..........................................642 392922 Diego Ramos S.L. (Los Gallardos) ……..............…..647 841750 Elite Plant Hire (JCB) ………….................................636 092632 Lubrin Plant Hire (Mini and Micro) .......950 592922 / 664 327898 Mick (Mini Digger) .....................................................634 375428 Nash Groundworks ...................................................722 546192 Paco .................................................................................637 777 238 Tropicana Mini Digger ………………650 906114 / 950 069288

DIVING See Scuba Diving DOCTORS & CLINICS (Private)

CYBERCAFES Can Connect (Albox) …........................................…..950 The Hub (Huércal-Overa) …............…………………..950 Servidea 2020 (Mojácar Playa) .................................950 Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 Total Entertainment (Turre) ........................................950 Total Entertainment (Mojácar) …….............................950

121149 135039 399726 121318 009051 468295 615596

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 Brigbe’s Dog Grooming ...........................................630 Elite Dog Grooming (Albox) …….…..617 313587 / 647 DAMP PROOFING Southern Spain Damp Proofing .................................652 358672 Luis (Clinica Veterinaria Garrucha) ....950 132200 / 628 Lulu’s (Albox) ...........................................................600 DENTISTS / DENTAL TREATMENT Pampered Pooches (All areas)..................................662 Centro Dental Dr. Cremades (Vera) ........................950 390655 SoloPerros (Turre) ..................................................674 Clinica Dental (Aguilas) ….........................................968 449121 Ulti-Mutt .....................................+44 7894747657 / 634 Clinica Dental (Albox) ..............................................950 120732

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344734 557123 897533 663616 046557 344734 509382 332578

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DOG TRAINING

Williams Electrical (Andy)......................................…..677 741366

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

DOMESTIC APPLIANCE REPAIRS

ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES Voluta's Place (Parque Comercial Mojácar Playa) ….699 975552

Rod Bridges ……........................……..950 473035 / 687 261280

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

DVD & VIDEO The Hub (Huércal-Overa) ….........................………..950 135039 Cinebank (Turre) .......................................................627 738957 Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 121318 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 009051 Total Entertainment (Turre) ...950 468295 ...(Mojácar) 950 615596 VHS to DVD conversion .. ........................................647 202599

ELECTRICAL GOODS 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 Economesticos La Juaida (Viator) ……………………..950 315560 Euronics .............. (Albox) 950 430702 (Garrucha) 950 460832

ELECTRICIANS A1 Services ………..............................635 810941 / 679 631458 Abbott Electrical ….............................638 010691 / 950 137208 Andrew Morrison .....................................................627 250204 Anglo Electrical ........................................................671 948213 Andy …..............................…................950 438237 / 679 656450 Baltasar .....................................................................655 691107 Charlie Fyre ................................................................686 833444 Connexions (Turre) ……..............................………….950 479502 DJT Electrical Services (Vera) .............686 817945 / 626 578164 ElectroTorres .....................................950 472898 / 610 750771 EMI Electrical Installations .......................................673 502867 Fernando (Huércal Overa)...........................................677 549247 Francisco Montoya (Mojácar) .........................……….687 466352 InstalRep ................................................................651 130059

José Cortés Electrical ……................950 363751 / 619 N.E.Electrics .............................................................634 Peace of Mind 24/7 ............................................... 637 Rod Bridges (Domestic Appliances) ….687 261280 / 950

881325 358777 974662 473035

ENTERTAINERS Abbie Lou (Female vocalist) .......................................687 340544 Amy Amy Amy Tribute Band ....................................645 886919 Ashley Cathcart .......................................................693 486788 Bass Player with Vocals .........................................681 286291 Belly Dancer & Fire Eater ....................................... 680 124159 Blues Brothers ........................................................680 355376 Bob Management .......................................................666 310251 Brendan O'Dee (Singer/Guitarist) ..............................610 855964 Brian Dee ………........................................................647 897533 Carmen Yuste GR ...................................................675 101355 Carol George (Female Vocalist) ............................634 285009 Catchlove Music (Varied styles duo)…..950 634402 / 678 397536 Chris (Solo Guitarist) .................................................950 437606 Darren Antony (Vocalist) ......................................... 672 112933 DJ Digit-Al ...............................................................634 338014 Dominic Doolittle ..........................................................681 339778 Don Tadeo ..................................................................670 860386 Driftwood …….............................................................687 672028 Dynamite International Rock Band ............................666 310251 EMI Electrical Services ............................................673 502867 Flamenco Dancer (English speaking) ...............687480694 Francisco J. ‘Pasus’ ..........................950 397401 / 699 510966 Georges Femenias (vocalist/guitar) ……...…………….634 300356 Good stand in drummer ...........................................648 699733 Graham D.(Mobile) Karaoke ......................................662 480966 Infinity (Vocal duo & tributes) ..................................678 821330 Jazz Flautist .............................................................634 326672 Jill Farmiloe (Female vocalist) .................................607 443908 Jim Mackie (Piano Man) ..........................................651 751629 Johnny Slade (DJ Extraordinaire) ............................ 647 202599 JuJu Entertainment ............................950 950797 / 697 462746 Kay Frances (Vocalist) ........................950 069288 / 689 404244 Kev Moore .............................................................600 762856 Kim Allen .................................................................699 950257 Kris Kelly (Female Vocalist) .................................. 634 374525 Lady Ellen Sings .............................673 459331 / 677 475268 Legend DJ (Ian) ………….....................................…634 313796 M Soul & Motown (all music styles) ........................634 340409 Marcela (Belly Dancing) ..............................................666 952089 Maurice Casanove ....................................................671 386947 Maximum Output Karaoke /Disco ............................697 317557 Mel J (Female Vocalist) ........................................664 111990 Melodee (Duo) ................................610 855964 / 664 111990 Melodeemusic (Backing Tracks & Recording Studio).....610 855 964 Menta & Canela Duo ..............................................645 886919 North South Country Boys ........................................634 332135 Northern Lights Karaoke …...............................……..697 500673 Phil and The Invisibles ..................... 950 475752 / 651 045120 Ratatouilles .............................................................638 391975 Red (Female Vocalist) .............................................628 149340 Replay Duo ..............................................................950 124154

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Richard Hill ..............................................................670 243461 Robin Lamble ..........................................................602 469425 Rocio Starry (Vocalist) .............................................645 886919 Sabrina Lloyd .............................................................661 055440 Shirin (bellydancer) .................................................607 805367 Short-Fuse Blues Band...............................................651 610189 Smartie Pants the Clown ............................................617 815221 Solo Simon ...............................................................667 989270 Spotlight Entertainment (Karaole, disco etc.) .............634 311652 Starry Jazz trio/quintet .............................................645 886919 Sue Moretta .............................................................672 148730 The Fat Lizard Band .....(English) 651 045120 (Esp) 617 464728 The Jaguars ............................................................634 397513 The Opium Buddhas ………………….687 033106 / 667 989270 The Twilight Shadows (Duo) ....................................950 437606 Tom Lee ……............................................................671 754851 Tony Matthews (Quiz organiser) ..............................634 391414 Tony Justice ……….............................950 950797 / 637 159249 Trio Chaos ................................................................687 361440 Triple Trouble Blues Band ........................................671 754851

Casas Almería (Huércal Overa) ..........950 134434 / 649 777218 Casas y Sol (Aguilas) …........................................…..968 446663 Citrus Homes ...........................................................638 849254 Cole's of Andalucia ...............................950 469592 / 697 640681 Complete Holiday Care .......................950 478612 / 610 808631 Cortijos Almería …………............……........................676 916088 Destination Spain Property Services .........................672 668803 Euroxan (Vera) .........................................................699 067922 Fincas Vera Playa ..............................950 460670 / 639 314767 Find Me A Home .................................951 914195 / 636 266641 FW Properties ................................634 325152 / 634 352285 Gogo Estates (Aguilas) ........................968 414459 / 615 282151 Grupo Platinum Estates (San Juan)....950 466122 / 666 687251

ESTATE AGENTS 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

562447 026526 760409 472200 251238 255765 478555

Alhambra Holdings (Mojácar)...............950 475199 / 629 673450 AlmeríaCasas ...........................................................950 387852 Almería Homes ................................0044 1273 929286 / 950 930 259 Almería Property Agency (Arboleas) ..850 993099 / 628 872334 Almeria Property Finder (Albox) ................................950 431624 Almería Prop. Investments (Las Buganvillas).950 460874 / 666 260792 Angel Property (Palomares) .....................................950 618054 Antonio Martinez de la Casa (Energy certs)..............950 092094 Arboleas Property Shop .................…....................…958 003391 BMS Huerta Nueva ............................950 615035 / 669 355914 Linnitt Properties (Turre).............................................950 479054 Calida Homes (Arboleas)......................950 430763 / 634 302801 Mojácar Estates (See p.45)......................................950 478935

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Multicasa Aguilas .................................................... 968 493009 New Horizon Villas (Zurgena) ..................................950 438221 New One Stop (Mojácar) (See p.13)............................950 473040 New Wave Villas (Mojácar) (See back cover).950 475800 / 607 146352 Next Stop Almería (See p.27)..............950 617518 / 678 034651 Nicla Property Consultancy S.L. ............950 133508 / 628 585538

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 WPMS Inmobiliario (Villaricos) ..........678 321111 / 950 618697

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

EXCURSIONS Andinas Buggy Treks ..............................................645 984122 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.26).950 634388 / 627 635514 Costa Almería Tours ..................................................646 760389 Day Tours Almería ............................651 592836 / 645 253155 Indalo Quads (Mojácar) ...........................................634 315074 Rancho Luz del Sol (Partaloa) ………...……………..678 838547

FABRICS

Okisur (Mojácar) .........................................................950 478386 Curtains with Style (See p.21)...........950 069032 / 678 811125 Olive Property Sales (Bédar)(See cover) .950 469624 / 687 938466 FASHION Polansky and Associates ..........................................950 478086 Price Brown Partnership (Mojácar) (See p.64/65)....950 478915 Bella Donna (Turre) ................................................642 434862 Property Floor Plans ................................................619 672431 Realtors MB Spain (See p.84) ................................678 347125

Dandara (Garrucha) ................................................950 Garabatis (Children's) Mojacar Playa …..........………670 Rural Almería (Mojácar Playa) ................................…950 472200 Glad Rags (Albox) ……….........................................634 Santiburi Properties (Cabrera & Mojácar) 694 404971 / 647 901478 H & R Men's Fashion (Albox) …................................692 Sol y Mar (Albox) ...............................950 064584 / 635 979829 Jules Clothing .........................................................633 Sonia Cantalejo Bueno (Energy Certs.)......................608 147640 Spanish Estate Agents (Albox) ………950 431855 / 661 143871 Spanish Hideaways (Oria) ....................634 366672 / 676 604008 Spain Assured (See front cover)............950 469622 / 634 300020 Spain Property Finder …..............……........................686 878789 Spanish Property Choice (Mojácar Playa)...................950 615388

617013 035630 313071 682164 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 Palme (Mojácar Playa) ............................................950 472813 Prins Vitali (Mojacar) ….............................................950 478690

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FISHING Orca Steve Sea Fishing (Mojacar/Garrucha) ……… 634 352873 Pete Fishing Trips (Mojácar/Garrucha) …..................634 379173 Rio 600 Boat Fishing (Sid &Graham)………. 647 020929 / 647 803030

FITNESS See also Activities-Clubs-Associations Alison .....................................................................666 273168 Aqua Aerobics - Marianne (Arboleas) .......................637 435864 Club Deportivo Puerto Rey ......................................950 460545 Betsy Fox Zumba ....................................................603 493163 Saga Boutique (Mojácar) .........................................950 475258 Debbie James (Personal training) (Mojácar) ...........687 619239 Dorothy Rowntree, personal trainer (Mojácar)..........666 815838 FENCING Entrenador Personal I.F.B.B. …….....................……..676 871950 Chain Link Almanzora ………...................................697 801875 Fitness For All (Bédar) ………..........…………………..647 593323 Gimnasio Formas (Turre) .............................................950 468065 FINANCIAL SERVICES GymXtreme Yoga (Vera) ..........................................643 102335 AMASS ……......................................................……..678 035992 Blacktower (See p.127) .........................................657 684094 CG Legal & Financial (Mojácar Playa) ..950 472504 / 670 215926 Currencies Direct (Mojácar) …....…...…950 478914 / 626 916443 Indalo Partners .............................................................950 472242

Indigo Gym (Mojácar Playa) ...........................................950 475 403 Javi Orta, personal trainer (Mojácar) .........................651 693681

Kennedy Financial Services .........................................678 035992 Offshore Money Management .............952 830916 / 950 398078

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS Aero Extinción S.L. (Almería) …............………………..950 263565 Extin-Torres S.L. (Mojácar) ............................................950 475067

FIREPLACES

Jova Sport Center (Mojácar Playa) …………………..950 473137 Lotus Integral Yoga Centre (Mojácar) ........................617 719913 Pam - Fitness & Slimming .........................................639 465631 Sansonora (Mojácar Playa) .....................................630 688615 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 Vicki’s Fitness & Slimming (Turre) .........................650 764623

Chimeneas Mojácar S.L. (Mojácar Playa) ..............950 472135 FLORISTS Tabika (Vera) …...........................……950 390110 / 950 390635 Hortiflor (Mojácar) ....................................................950 478985 Persa Floristas (Albox) …….......................................950 120211 FISH & CHIPS The Chippy (La Alfoquía) ........................................634 324484

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FUNCTION VENUES

FLY SCREENS

AA Window Doctor ..............…………630 231644 / 636 838484 La Capilla (Las Alparatas, Mojácar) .........................950 479305 Armadillo …......................................…950 528128 / 663 303350 Miraflores Restaurant (Camping Los Gallardos) .........650 418954 Bugs ...........................................................................600 049515 The Palms (Urcal) ………...................950 958167 / 678 832036 Coastal Mosquitoes ...........................606 040462 / 610 000700

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

Curtains with Style (See p.21).........950 069032 / 678 811125 Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 SpeedyFit (See p.17)...........................950 472357 / 600 006032 Toldos Farrago (Vera) ...............................................667 567564 Tony Justice ...................................…..950 950797 / 637 159249 FUNERAL COMPANIES Ventanas y Puertas Mojacar S.L. ......................…….950 473104 CollyFer (Huércal Overa) …….............617 456259 / 617 456335

FOOD SHOPS Arkrites (Roquetas) ................................................. 950 334081 Catch of the Day UK Fishmonger ........634 301490 / 634 304288 Centro Comercial Almanzora (Olula del Rio) …..........950 442012 Eurowise (Albox) ……………….............................…..950 439801 Gastronomía (Delicatessen) (Las Buganvillas) .......950 132048 Home Sweet Home (Turre) ...............................……..950 479487 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 Super Corner (Turre)..........................950 468303 / 637 016107 The Corner Shop (Albox) ………………950 930539 / 680 776791

FOOD SUPPLIERS Food4 .............................................................618875394 Fresh Herbs ............................................................695 941724 King’s Foods ...........................................................606 437683

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Funeral Homes Robles (Cuevas) ..............................657 921383 El Pinar (Los Carasoles) ……......................…………950 104272 Funeraria Ntra. Sra. de las Angustias (Vera) 950 390884 / 607 705672 El Rincón de Mueble (See p.57)(Vera)950 460867 (Antas) 950 459071 Funeraria Pérez (Mojácar) ........................................950 478102 Elleann’s Homestyle .................................................674 514999 Embargos Bestiales (Antas El Real) ......................950 105711 Furniture Plus (Puerto de Mazarron)(See p.3).968 153907 / 678 083491 Homecentre (Albox) (See p.18)..........868 931872 / 671 715294 Homes & Beyond (Garrucha) ..................................950 132458 Ideas del Mueble (Antas) ...........................................950 452816 Inspired (El Ral, Antas) (See p.6) .........................950 091153 Koala Furniture (Antas) (See p.39).................….........950 392307 La Lonja (Lorca) (See p.23) ........................................968 443322 Linea Nueva (Arboleas) ……………….620 237529 / 950 120630 Muebles Rodríguez (Los Llanos, Arboleas) …...........950 430778 Sofa & Sofa (Las Buganvillas) ................654 596247 / 654 596220 Unicraft (Upholstery) ..................................................692 176069 FURNITURE PACKAGES Furniture Plus (Puerto de Mazarron)...968 153907 / 678 083491 Homes & Beyond (Garrucha) ....................................950 132458

FURNITURE, RUSTIC/HANDMADE Andinas (Antas, El Real) ...........................................950 Artisanos (Antas) …...…….......................................…696 Casa Nativa (Valle del Este) …….............................629 El Pinar (Los Carasoles) ....................950 104272 / 670 La Buena Artesania (Mojácar) ....................................950 Soluciones Rusticas (Carboneras) …950 364835 / 646 The Furniture Doctor .............................................667

459128 431510 624286 845498 475508 821821 989270

FURNITURE & FURNISHINGS Abodes (Mojácar Playa) ...............................................647 901478

GARDENS Brian’s Furniture & Removals (Mojácar Playa) .........674 Casa Carma (Turre) ...................................................645 Casas Nativa (Valle del Este) ..................................629 Continental Descanso (Antas) 950 459011 (Albox) ...950

280268 080310 624286 633288

24hr Casaserve ..................................950 466438 / 676 306269 Acer Garden Services ..............................................697 618320 Agave …….................................................................617 826334 Cedar Landscapes …….............……....................…620 112193 Clare’s Hanging Baskets …………...............………….634 331440 Clean Team …………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 Garden Works ..............................…..950 132518 / 666 847583 Indalocio (Furniture & BBQs) ...................................850 993090 Inspired (Furniture & BBQs) (El Real, Antas) (See p.6)950 091153 Jardin Natural ............................................................685 478187 L & M Landscapes .................................................670 409538 Lady Muck Gardening .............................................697 317557 Madera Mania (Garden Supplies) ….........................667 562872 Mediterranean Gardens …….................................. 661 577019 Mobile Shredder & Mulch Garden Service .............687 024884 Nash Construction (Landscaping)...............................661 793418 Potty Finca Services ..................……..950 163930 / 616 855294

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Free directory entries.

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Avon Cosmetics (Húercal Overa) …....647 092010 / 950 137208 Riegos y Conducciones (Antas, El Real) .................950 459146 Avon Cosmetics (Los Gallardos) .............................687 960362 GAS INSTALLATION & REPAIRS Avon Cosmetics (Los Gallardos camping ) ..............950 469684 Smith Plumbing S.L (Spanish Authorised)...................950 468041 Avon (Total Entertainment, Albox) .............................950 121318 Avon (Total Entertainment, Arboleas) ........................678 009051 Beauty by Marilyn ....................................................950 398852 Beauty Center (Mojácar) (See p.37)..........................687 480694 Bonita Hair & Beauty Salon (Mojácar) .........................950 473159

GEO-TECHNICAL SOIL REPORTS Sonia Cantalejo Bueno ............................................608 147640

GLASS CURTAINS

Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 Centro Estética (Mojácar Playa) …..................………950 472680 SpeedyFit (See p.17)..........................950 472357 / 600 006032 Cutting Edge (Hair & Beauty) (Albox) .........................950 633086 Toldos Farrago (Vera) ...............................................667 567564 Dave Eccles (Mobile Hairdresser) ......950 525790 / 687 033106 Donna's (Albox)..................................950 930167 / 628 669456 GLAZING (Supply & Repair) Elegance (Turre) ......................................................634 308877 AA Window Doctor ......................…630 231644 / 950 091128 Etticut (Turre) .............................................................667 971960 Cristalería Mojácar …............................................…..950 475376 Euphoria Hair & Beauty (Esparragal) ...868 188706 / 657 713571 Cristalería Omega (Mojácar) …..........950 478137 / 670 500711 Farrow's Hair Design (Arboleas) .................................950 634346 Cristalería Rubi (Vera) ………......................................950 390546 Favola (Las Buganvillas) (See p.33)...........................675 622216 SpeedyFit (See p.17)..........................950 472357 / 600 006032 Heaven Scent (Huércal-Overa) ……....................…..663 923733 Hollywood Beauty & Hair ..............................................965 326082 GOLF COURSES Aguilon Golf (Pulpi) ......................................………..672 655600 IIsabel Castaño (Hairdresser, Bédar) ..666 045552 / 950 469462 Cortijo Grande ..........................................................950 479176 Jax Hair & Beauty (Albox) …..................………………645 560367 Desert Springs ........................................................637 861591 Jean & Co.(Mojácar Playa) ……..............................…950 615094 Macenas Beach Golf ...................…....................…..950 548240 Jing (at Pascal Chevallier Emporium) ......................622 251432 Marina Golf ..............................................................950 133230 Julie Rodriguez .......................................................634 338017 Valle del Este ...........................................................950 398743 Kim White (Beauty)(Vera & Mobile) ………...……….637 149659 Kuts 2 (mobile) ..........................................................662 094372 GOLF TUITION LAB (Hair & Beauty) (Mojácar) ..............................950 473110 Gareth Edwards (Cortijo Grande) …...........................950 479176 Loulou’s (Albox) …..............................850 993141 / 642 015920 Marcus (Mojácar) .....................................................610 526671 LU & NA (Valle del Este) …….............................…950 461113 Neil Evans (Desert Springs Golf Resort) ............... 638 531821 Marcela Torres (Manicure & Pedicure) .....................697 421672 Valle del Este (Vera) ...............................................676 256923 Naturalmente Mediterraneo (Skin care) (Garrucha) …655 299494 Oceanic Massage Therapies (Mojácar)...666 710964 / 687 619239 GRASS, ARTIFICIAL Grass 4 U .................................................................638 574145 Opulence (La Alfoquía) …...........................................619 467295 Greenfingers Arboleas S.L. ..........……......……………629 947633 Pascal Chevallier Emporium (Mojácar) .........................950 472790 Inspired (Albox) (See p.6)........................................950 091153 Pampered Beauty Centre (Palomares) (See p.39).......950 618129 Tiger Turf ............................................950 431624 / 635 652745 Phoebe (at Pampered) .............................................662 573939 Pure Natural Deodorant ...........................................950 066163 R retreat (Cucador) ……...........…...............................626 144680 GUTTERING Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 Room 97 (La Alfoquia) .............................................683 479261 Salon de Peluqueria y Estetica (Garrucha) ...............950 133162 HAIR, HEALTH & BEAUTY Sarah Noble (mobile hairdresser) ...........................692 195500 Affinity Beauty Treatments (Arboleas/La Alfoquia) ......678 992093 Shiatsu Centro de Terapia (Huércal Overa) .............671 851135 Anavi Estillistas (Palomares) .......................................670 094722 Sophia Wellness Centre (Arboleas) ...........................950 449451 Avon Co-ordinator (Jane) ……...................................670 722705 Stella’s Hair & Beauty (Las Buganvillas) ..................950 699973 Avon Cosmetics (Arboleas) ………........................….691 987454 Studio 201 (Mojácar Playa) ................950 096189 / 634 329247 Avon Cosmetics (Bedar) ...........................................950 398980 The Spanish Beauty Club (Mojácar / Vera) ..............637 149659

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Free directory entries.

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Wacky Barber & Hairdresser (Mojácar) ....................667 961645 Home Sweet Home (Turre) ..............................……..950 479487 Las Hierbas de Maria (Mojácar) ..............…………….657 513990

HEATING ABC (A Better Climate) (See p.51).....647 247494 / 950 Andrew Morrison (Econo-Heat)..................................627 Barry & Graham (oil heating) ………........................620 Mike Lacey ..........................................950 069073 / 636 Neater Heater ………...................................………….634

092604 250204 112193 407543 312171

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

Wavelengths (Albox) ………….................................…950 120309

HARDWARE OUTLETS

Expecting a Baby (Almanzora Valley) ....950 436581 / 666 375688 Nursery Hire (San Juan de los Terreros) ….............666 255765 The Baby Hire Centre ................................................615 806126

Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 HOME CARERS see also Nursing Ferretería Gonzalez (Mojácar) ……….........................666 471384 Ferretería López (Mojácar) ……..................................950 615026 Almería Angels ..........................................................902 026468 Ferretería Longo (Albox) ……....................................950 430064 Committed2ucommunitycare ......................................684 333442 Ferretería Soler (Garrucha) ……..................................950 460073

HORSE RIDING

HEALTH FOODS

Centro Hipico Valle del Almanzora .........................691 Girasol (Albox) ….......................................................639 089170 Didi Arias (Mojácar) ...............................................639 Media Legua Equestrian Centre (Vera) ..............……667 Rancho Luz del Sol (Partaloa) ...................................678 Sanctuary Limaria .....................................................628

241878 724521 243561 838547 239696

HOTELS & HOSTALS Casona Granado (Nr Lubrin) ...................................950 069077 Hostal El Olivar (Mojácar Pueblo) .........950 472022 / 672 019767 Hotel Al Sur (Calabardina) .........................................968 419466 Hotel Cala Real (Aguilas) ..........................................968 414562 Hotel Carlos 111 (Aguilas) ......................................968 411650 Hotel Carmona (Vera) ..............................................950 390760 Hotel - Casa Rural, Cortijo de la Media Luna (Mojácar) 950 478813

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Free directory entries.

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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 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 Las Colinas Suitotel (San Juan de Los Terreros) .........950 466353 Parador de Mojácar ...................................................950 478250

HOUSE & PET SITTING David .............................................................................. 950 099905 Linda Pettit .............................................................642 016954 Sharon Presley ..........................................................648 069200

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) ........902 105499

HOUSE CLEARANCE 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 Simone Senft (Tupperware) .................950 068181 / 676 308217

HYGIENE & FOOD HANDLING Liberty Seguros (Turre) ….................950 479568 / 620 179206 Grupo Sedesa (Vera) ...............................................950 390990 Liberty Seguros .......................................................902 444311 Linea Directa ………....................................................902 123248 ICE CREAM PARLOURS Mapfre (Mojácar) ...950 478151 (Garrucha)................950 617376 Bontá (Mojácar Playa) ..............................................950 472939 Maxine Morgan Liberty Seguros (Las Buganvillas) ........669 074 996 Twister (Mojácar Playa) ........................………………950 472357 Mojácar Insurance ....................................................634 323399 Sol y Mar (Albox) ……….....................950 064584 / 654 590258 INSURANCE Adeslas ............................................950 472701 / 633 431900 Sol Insure ………..........................................………..950 472098 Albox Insurance .......................................................950 121943 Victoria Insurance ..........................................………950 475241 Alhambra Holdings (Mojácar)...............950 475199 / 629 673450

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 Light & Luz (Vera) ...................................................686 457714 Lola Barranco ………..........................950 086116 / 691 261818

INTERNET CAFES see Cybercafes INTERNET TV ASSSA Seguros (Vera) (See p.31)..............……………950 392487 Asisa (Vera) ................................................................950 391950 Axa .....................................................950 478763 / 609 667333 BWI Bryan White Insurance (Mojácar) ......................950 472098

Connexions (Turre) (See front cover).......................950 479502 DCM Digitek Comms (Mojácar) (See p.19) .950 472947 / 670 084438 Europa digital (See p.63)..................950 133233 / 678 332815 Ezetv .......................................................................950 091112 GSF Communications .............................................950 473102 IPTV Spain UKTV ...............................619 893214 / 699 386277

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Free directory entries.

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S E Android Systems ...............................................697 780499

INTERNET PROVIDERS Albox Online ...........................................................950 091111

Connexions (Turre) ……..............................…………..950 479502 Next .............................................................................950 479369 GSF Communications ..........................................950 473102 Satcomms ..............................................951 406556 / 622 524335

INTERPRETING/TRANSLATIONS 1-2-1 Translations (Spanish, English, Norwegian)......662 390453 4wayconnections .....................................................646 844708 Alpha Interpreting and Translation .......950 133508 / 677 530690 Andrés Mojácar) ........................................................679 932632 Antonio García Russell (Mojácar) ..............................606 198958 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 Carolyn (Mojácar area) ........................950 132905 / 608 692545 Cristina …….......................................................…..626 741386 Clara Mata ..............................................................629 132529 Starena (Vera Playa) ............................................672 668803 Donna González-Linnitt ...........................................699 067922 Elizabeth ..................................................................662 504734 Espanglish Translation & Interpreters . 950 390037 / 950 392876

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Hind (Mojácar - French, Arabic, English) .................616 605341 Joanne Tissington ……………...................................637 267150 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 .........................................................608 626708 Milena (Albox) ………....................……654 359607 / 711 794366 Paul Jessop (Aguilas) .............................................626 421623 Simply Solved ………............................................….617 882689 Solutions Almería ......................................................687 632435 Susi ..................................................................................617 920 190 Tom Jones .................................................................608 721334 Traducciones Levante ..............................................606 953775 Wendy Interpreter/Translator ................................. 661 194278 Yamile (Written Translations) ....................................626 207575

My Place or Yours ....................................................607 554984 Palomino Kennels & Cattery …………........................950 093087 Paws*A*While (Nr Albox) …....................................…696 562662 Personal Pets (sitter/ walker) ….................................634 378193 Pet Hotel (Los Gallardos) ........................................634 312821 Pet Sitting in Your Home ………….......................…….637 061482 IRONING Sharon Presley ..........................................................648 069200 Cherie's Ironing & Cleaning (Mojácar) ............………634 301389 Sleepy Hollow (Huércal-Overa) ….............................617 313587 Clean Team …………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 The Hilton Cattery ............................950 163489 / 664565479 JET WASHING Woodhouse Boarding Kennels/Cattery (Arboleas)….950 930585 Aguaclean …………….........................950 064608 / 697 559395 KEY CUTTING Mobile Jet Washing ………..................950 069121 / 605 376873

JEWELLERY Jewellery Paula (Albox) ...........................................960 Joyería Pérez (Garrucha) ........................................950 La Luna (Garrucha) .................................................950 Serendipity (Albox) .................................................617

430871 460636 132543 699624

KENNELS, CATTERIES & PET SITTING Animal Hotel (Águilas) ..............................................639 722197 Berben petsitting (Velez Rubio) ..................................658 087966 Boarding Kennels Los Llanos de Rosa (cats & dogs) ..629 448073 Country Kennel (Turre) .........................950 473011 / 627 564640 KITCHENS Dog & Cat Sitter Service …………………..................676 389592 24hr Casaserve .................................950 466438 / 676 306269 Gail .....................................................693 769079 / 697 500673 Artizan (Vera) ................................…950 390635 / 661 985310 Five Bone Hotel (Turre) ............................................630 234556

Gatotel .....................................................................634 678852 Home from Home ...................................950 069010 / 677 382713 Horse & Dog sitting …………..............................……607 554984 Kareclif Cattery (Albox) ...........................................677 791165 Kit Cat Luxury Cat Suites (Los Gallardos) ..............674 113217 Louise ....................................................................... 680 124159

Cocinas Puntocom (Huércal-Overa) ...950 921975 / 722 136950 Harlequin Kitchens (Albox) ……........………………….619 584405 J.B. Kitchen Fitters (Turre) .......................................687 024884 KDI Kitchens .............................................................605 163613 La Lonja (Lorca) (See p.23) ........................................968 443322 Mojácar Home Improvements ...........950 473104 / 689 296432

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Gestoría Soria Bonilla (Mojácar) ................................950 478420 LANDSCAPING Nash Groundworks ...................................................722 546192 Kim Clark UK Benefit advice ……..….950 169729 / 663 297568 Mayor Consulting (Mojácar & Garrucha) ...................950 615185 LAUNDERETTES Mojácar Playa Asesores ……........……………………950 472710 Bish’s (Mojácar Playa) ...........................................639 161725 Pilar Pérez Gestión S.L. (Mojácar) ............................950 478863 LAUNDRIES Vera Advisors (Vera) .................................................950 390621 City Sec (Vera) .........................................................950 390255 MS Legal ..............................................950 479613 / 634 322827 Clean Team Laundry Service ...................................634 332502 Villalba Asesores (Albox) ..............................................950 431720 Costa-Azul (Aguilas) ……..........................................968 414327 LEISURE ACTIVITIES Ivi's Lavanderia (Las Buganvillas) ............................950 132657

see also EXCURSIONS and TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

LEGAL SERVICES See also Solicitors 4wayconnections ...................................................646 844708 ALO Services (Zurgena) ......................950 449179 / 667 994682 Asesoría Sánchez Moral (Mojácar) ...........................670 099726 Barbara Caparros Ridao (Vera) …..........................950 390427 CG Legal & Financial (Mojácar Playa) ..950 472504 / 670 215926

Almería Ten Pin Bowling (Arboleas) …...................….950 439013 Extreme Adventure Mojácar ......................................687 919840 Indalo Bowling Mojácar ............................................950 473073 Karting (Garrucha) ….........................................……950 460207 Nautarum Sea Museum (Garrucha) ………........…..950 139554 Paintball Almanzor (nr. Arboleas) ..................………..619 559261 Paragliding ………................................635 243539 / 680 358549 Sol-Aero (Vera) ..................................609 685132 / 661 985358 Water Park (Vera Playa) …...................................…..902 361294

LIGHTING Light & Luz (Vera) ...............................950 391804 / 697 643653

LINGERIE & UNDERWEAR Bras Etcetera …………...............................................950 Corpore (Garrucha) ………….....................................950 Lunas (Turre) ………................................................661 Manuelas Lenceria (Mojácar) ..................................626 Mya (Huércal Overa) .................................................950

121909 132253 642341 730088 135742

LOCKSMITHS 24hr Locksmith (See next page)..........950 472982 / 658 828560 Guzman Seguridad (Albox) ................950 431497 / 674 141559

Cam Concepts S.L. (Huércal-Overa) …......…………. 950 471357 Cervantes Alarcon Consulting (Garrucha) 950 106490 / 647 863787 English Wills Spain …......................…...................607 646027 Gecko Legal Services S.L. (Mojácar) 950 475949 / 638 264621 Gestoría Salvador (Mojácar Playa) ........................950 473192

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Locksmith (Dean) ....................................................666 949213 Speedy Fit Security Grilles ....................................600 006032 Phil the Pick 24hr (Arboleas) …................……………..697 243181 The Metal Works ..............................950 930520 / 638 900949

LOGS FOR SALE Antonio Diaz .............................................................689 127535 Colin & Carlos ....................................660 903158 / 630 455328 Leña Ramos (Arboleas) …...............….630 356095 / 616 044719 Lee (Arboleas) …………………....................................636 092632 Levante Logs ............................................................670 243724 Log-On-Tommy ……............................................……619 070839 Logs for Sale ..............................................................687 314775 Phil (Arboleas) ………………….....................................634 328779 Potty Finca Services .........................950 163930 / 616 855294

MARKETING (SOCIAL MEDIA) Edela Media (Moácar) ...............................................607 146352

MASSAGE Acupuncture & Massage ..........................................637 Holistic Massage, Lorraine ................950 064484 / 687 Alternativa (Jessica Rippin) ......................................676 Oceanic Therapies (Mojácar) ......................................687 Ray Daniel (Sports massage)………...........................617

120429 569113 284170 619239 741564

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 next page)...........................................687 845730 Veramotor S.A. ...........................................................950 392552

MOBILE PHONES See Telecommunications MOTORCYCLES & QUADS

MEALS ON WHEELS Committed2ucommunitycare ......................................684 333442

METAL WORK Angel Welding …………............................................610 Carpentería Metalica Chacón (Albox) …................950 Cerrajería Jara (Las Buganvillas) …............………….950 Coastal Rejas ...........................................................610 FS Fabrications …..............…………..627 167167 / 671 Ideal Metal Designs ...................................................656 Metalbox (Albox) .......................................................950 P & D Metals ............................................................638

601524 431738 109986 000700 424558 834064 633090 707406

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

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

NURSING see also Home Carers Almería Angels ..........................................................902 026468

Committed2ucommunitycare ......................................684 333442

NUTRITION Alternativa (Anne-Marie Pichon) ...............................666 966573

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

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OPTICIANS Federopticos (Aguilas) ……........................................968 414468 Federopticas Diaz (Albox) ..........................................950 121122 MultiOpticas (Mojácar) ..............................................950 472285 MultiOpticas (Garrucha) ...........................................950 460665 MultiOpticas (Carboneras) .....................................950 130707 Natural Optics (Garrucha) .........................................950 133921 Óptica Albox …………….......................................…..950 121991 Optica Mahis (Vera) ………...................................…..950 390777 Optica Orbera (Huércal Overa) ....................................950 135596

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Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com Curtis Helm Multiservices .........................................610 Daniel ……………..................................................….642 Darpa S.L. ..................................................................691 Darren Hargreaves ...................................................626

Optica Orbera (Albox) .....................................950430101 Opticalia M&G (Albox) ................................................950 121084 Primera Opticos (Aguilas) .........................................968 493482 Salas (Huércal Overa) ................................................950 135081 + Visión (Aguilas) …....................................................968 414279 Villazar (Mojácar Playa) …....................................….950 472783

OSTEOPATHS Alice Bellot (Mojacar & Arboleas) ….................………633 352259 Centro Physis (Olula del Rio) .................................695 355381 Enrique Arias (Mojácar) .........................950 472974 / 629 289385 Hector Gutiérrez (Vera Playa) ............607 479379 / 950 132765 Yannick Reverdy (Clinic Reverdy-Coll) ...................616 673116

PAINTING & DECORATING

394815 236810 055726 855483

Day’s Painting Services ..............................................634 365553 Eurodec ……..........................................................…667 238273 Euro Painters Spain …………….......................………677 557190 Futura España ..........................................................950 615338 Grupo Brideca (shop) (Huércal-Overa) 950 471045 / 950 135881 IPB Painting ........................................661 184848 / 622 524335 JPM ...........................................................................627 090422 Metalwork Painting ………………………699 246932 / 659 185039 Mode Services ...................................950 525790 / 687 033106 Paint Magic ..............................................................617 904774 Paul ...........................................................................649 186107 Phil the Painter ……..............................................…671 227259 S.O.S. Painting ……………........................................651 500670 SWH Painting Services .......................622 899167 / 683 479261 Susana's Painting Services ….............................……649 759053 The Fast Brush .........................................................950 472668

PATIO & POOL ENCLOSURES See Screened Patio & Pool Enclosures

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

ABS Advanced Building Services ..............................687 846016 PEST CONTROL A.J. Painting & Decorating .......................................687 024884 Jason …….........................................950 064015 / 680 903609 Alan Barker ......................................950 099913 / 600 268176 Sedesa (Vera) …………............................................950 390990

Antonio Perez (Mojácar) ………........................…….691 240495 Borders Painting ………..........................................…687 661807 PET SHOPS & TRANSPORT Cabrera Painting and Decoration Works ...................637 524709 InterZoo (Vera) .......................................................950 390075 Casanove Interiors ......................................................680 836166 Madera Mania (Los Gallardos) …..................……….667 562872 C.I.S Services (Arboleas) ........................................634 621747 Shift My Pets Transport (Spain/UK) …….........………634 368430

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Tucano Mascotas (Vera) ....................950 392617 / 650 292670 Osteria (Mojácar) (See p.46).........................................950 615151 Union Jack (Pet Transportation) ...........………………….902 109560 Ottocento (Mojácar Playa) .........................................950 615100 Pizzeria Gallo (Aguilas) …...........................................968 447862 PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICES Pizzeria D'Angelo (Mojácar Playa) .................................950 478517 20seven photography ................................................633 773563 Pizzeria El Desvío (Turre) ............................................607 804488 Almería-Fotografía .....................................................663 627942 Pizzeria Portofino (Mojácar) .......................................950 472809 Bluwater Photography ….........…………………………616 189002 Pizzeria-Restaurante Mari Cruz (Turre) …...........…….950 479646 Chincheto (Mojácar) ....................................................687 489182 Pizzería Quick (Garrucha) .............................................950 132305 Fotomicar (Lyle Mallen) .............................................620 786914 Provenzal (Mojácar Playa) ..........................................950 478308 Fotos Fabrega (Albox) ………...........……………………950 430223 Pulcinella (Mojácar Pueblo) .......................................950 478401 Indigo Photography & Video ...................................637 974793 Samz (Los Gallardos) ..................................................950 398981 Omar De La Cruz ………..........………950 460213 / 609 284852 Sottocasa (Mojácar Playa) (See p.46)....................950 093075 Professional Video Services ......................................647 202599 Rod Westwood ………........................950 472321 / 609 611207 PLASTERERS The Image Suite …….............................…........................647 918 848 David Pritchard Construcciones ................................617 698418 Toros Bravos ............................................................607 117174 Paul Morrison ..............................…….634 327201 / 661 129028

PHOTOCOPIES & SCANS

Diamond Plastering and Building Services ...............665 706880

C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.31).950 634388 / 627 635514 neö-cöpy (Vera) …...................………..950 390424 / 622 262100 Pronto Printing (La Buganvillas) (See cover).............950 133492 Servidea 2020 (Mojácar Playa) .................................950 399726 Total Entertainment (Albox) ......................................950 121318 Total Entertainment (Arboleas) .................................678 009051

24hr Casaserve ..............................................950 466438 / 676 3062699 A-Z Plumbing & Heating …………..….616 888058 / 662 342669 A1 Services ………..............................635 810941 / 679 631458 Andy (Mojácar) ........................................................697 302039

PLUMBERS

PHYSIOTHERAPY Centro Physis (Olula del Rio) ......................................695 355381 Fisiomar Physiotherapy Centre (Albox) ....................667 425197 Fisioterapia Vera-Salud (Vera Playa) ...607 479379 / 950 132765 Ignacio López de la Fuente (Mojácar) ......................627 244730 Physiotherapy Centre (Albox) ...........950 431463 / 657 516247 Remedio clinic (Mojacar) ....................950 472980 / 617 741564 Vitea Fisioterapia (Vera) ...................950 390655 / 663 024255

PIANO TUNER Terry …...................................................................…662 517106 Armadillo ….........................................................…950 528128 Ashley Reliable Plumbing (Albox area)......................610 052407 PICTURE FRAMING Barry H ..................................………........................667 853062 Casa de Cabra (Albox) ........................................ 633 364329 Blocked DrainsRUs ............................950 091109 / 648 768587 Charlie Fyre ..............................................................686 833444 PIZZERIAS Antonella (Mojácar Playa) ................................……..950 450215 Carlos (Saliente) Plumbing & Heating ..950 930900 / 620 742954 BiancoRossi (Mojácar Playa) ...................................950 472682 Cosy Casa Plumbing (Albox) ……............................950 425049 Bocapizza (Albox) ......................................................950 120506 Curtis Helm Multiservices .........................................610 394815 Cafetería Levante (Mojácar) .....................................950 615224 Graham ....................................................................620 112193 Cafetería Pizzería Alcazaba (Mojácar Playa) ............645 414793 InstalRep ................................................................651 130059 Centro Plaza (Palomares) …...............................…..950 618614 Knowles ….........................................950 137197 / 606 807797 Chili (Turre) ................................................................950 468425 Fernando (Huércal Overa)...........................................677 549247 El Ángel (Mojácar Pueblo) ...................950 478343 / 607 537101 Francisco Montoya (Mojacar) …............………………..687 466352 El Gaucho (Mojácar Playa) ....................................950 478846 Mike Lacey ..........................................950 069073 / 636 407543 El Sitio (Los Gallardos) ….................................……950 398799 Smith Plumbing S.L. ..................................................950 468041 Enrico (Mojácar Playa) ......................950 472995 / 642 514738 PODIATRISTS Meson Felipe San Bernabé (Mojácar Playa) ..…….950 475966 Imperial (Mojácar Playa) ......................................….950 478098 See Chiropodists & Podiatrists Indalo Burger (Mojácar Playa) ...............................950 099119 POOL COVERS La Góndola (Garrucha) ..............................................950 133928 1 Stop Pool Shop ...............................950 104345 / 637 582696 La Muralla (Mojácar Pueblo) .......................................950 472928 Little Italy II (Garrucha) …………...........………………950 133802 Coverbox (Albox) …….................................................615 992007 Enclose My Pool ..................................606 040462 / 670 510097

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Hispavan pool covers ........................950 047033 / 687 845730 Ultimate Print & Design (Mojácar) ..............................950 473102 Real Covers (Mojácar) ........................950 478763 / 609 667333

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

POOLS & POOL MAINTENANCE 1 Stop Pool Shop ...............................950 104345 / 637 582696 24hr Casaserve .................................950 466438 / 676 306269 Aguafer Piscinas S.L. ................................................950 617064 Aguagéstion Cantoria (Maintenance) ……….............653 078040 Alloa Pool Care (Albox) ………….................…………..650 244018 Aquazul Piscinas ….....................................................647 841750 Clean Pool Service (Arboleas) ...................................606 654389 D & J Pritchard Construcciones ................................617 698418 Daniel ……………..................................................….642 236810 Exclusive Holiday Villas ..................................................950 092 602 Guardian Angels (Pool Cleaning) …...950 466396 / 600 470778 Heat My Pool ....................................950 528128 / 663 303350 Hidro-Sport S.L. (Pebbletec) .................................…950 581407 IndalPool (Albox) …………...............................……..950 431859 Mat Murray ...............................................................647 841750 Oasis Pool Cleaning Services ............634 332170 / 634 332178 Piscinas Miguel (Maintenance) .............950 478652 / 607 480865 Pools & Piscinas (Cleaning - Bedar) ..........................637 915898 Pool Medics ……………...................................……….634 353525 Procare Pools (Arboleas) ..........................................642 370681 Proyectados Pool Sureste ............................................630 810299 Reflections Pool Services ........................................642 341603 Salvador (Pool Maintenance) ......................................696 426523 Sparkling Pools (Pool Cleaning) ….......................…….600 386437 Sundance Spas - Pool Maintenance S.L. ....................950 472845 Tanby Piscinas ............……….............950 468230 / 609 888549 The Property Shop Pool Maintenance …...............….950 475241 Triton Pool Cleaning ...............................................634 326322 Tropicana Swimming Pool Construction 650 906114 / 689 404244 True Blue Pools & Spas ..............................................661 148998 Underwater Pool Services …….....................................628 662582

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 Curtis Helm Multiservices .........................................610 394815 D & D Property Care & Rentals (See p.57) 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 Jasmine Construction C.B ..........................................659 185189 Mode Services ...................................950 525790 / 687 033106 Mojacar Estates ..........................................................950 478935 Procare Property Service (Arboleas) .......................642 370681 Triton Property Maintenance ...................................634 326322

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & RENTALS Alhambra Holdings (Mojácar)...................950 475199 / 629 673450 Almería Property Agency (Arboleas) …..850 993099 / 606 281865 Almería Property Services .....................950 060135 / 660 734323 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.26).950 634388 / 627 635514 Citrus Homes ...............................……......................638 849254

POSTAL SERVICES Can Connect (Albox) …….........................................950 121149 C.A.T. Services (La Alfoquía) (See p.26).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 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

PRINTING & GRAPHIC DESIGN A1 Cheapest Print ….....................................………622 AdverGraf & AdverTees ..........................................634 Idea (Huércal Overa) ...............................................605 Mail Boxes Etc (Vera) ............................................950 neö-cöpy (Vera) …...................………..950 390424 / 622 Pronto Printing (La Buganvillas) (See cover).............950

493499 336789 162709 393835 262100 133492

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Coastal Properties (Mojácar) ........................................950 475235 Complete Holiday Care ....………...........950 478612 / 610 808631 D & D Property Care & Rentals (See p.57) 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 ...................................................................666 255 765 KJ Property Maintenance (Albox /Arboleas) ............608 625675 KW Resorts Holiday Rentals ......................0044 (0)1293 863320 Loufa S.L.(Mojácar Pueblo) …..........................……..950 472773 Mojácar Estates ........................................................950 478935

Mojácar Holiday Services .................950 699947 / 634 972377

Mojácar Long Term Rentals …........................………950 475 891 Mojácar Property Maintenance & Decorators ………..649 304441 New Wave Villas (Mojácar) ................950 475800 / 607 146352

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Noble Services ...................................................... 692 188200 Next Stop Almería ................................950 617518 / 678 034651 Price Brown Partnership (Mojácar) ............................950 478915

REMOVALS & STORAGE See also Van & Man Hire Amanda’s (Lubrin) ............................950 069682 / 634 310512 Andy (Trailer hire/drive) (Mojácar) ……...........…………..600 225 929 Brian’s Furniture & Removals (Mojácar Playa) .........674 280268

Rent Mojácar ............................................................950 615042 Santiburi Properties (Cabrera & Mojácar) 694 404971 / 647 901478 Sierra property Rentals (Bédar) ...............................678 587007 Spanish Property Choice (Mojacar) ..... 950 475823 / 634 351562 Sunshine Villas............................………850 993202 / 694 440184 Susana's Property Services ......................................649 759053 The Property Shop (Mojácar) ..................................950 475241 Triton Property Services ..........................................634 326322 Vera Holiday Rentals .............................................634 347109 Voss Homes (Huercal-Overa) ...................667 891 741 / 950 616 827 Year Round Holiday Rentals .............950 619178 / 627 763052

Countdown Removals (UK/Spain/UK) ..................…678 855994 Dave’s Transport (International / Local)....................620 049524 De Lima’s International Removals ........................+44 7467341106 English Move (Tony) ….............................................699 819213

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 Cadena Ser Levante (Spanish, local and national) ....950 Onda Aguilas (100.1) ….............................................968 Plusfm ……….................................….609 818283 / 617 Smooth FM online (89.8)....................627 767254 / 634 Spectrum FM (96.1) .................................................950

Eurozone Removals UK(0034) 7786945300 Spain (0034) 662 569138

615006 447864 528121 357868 615142

REFRIGERATION MD Air Conditioning & Refrigeration SL .607 364917 / 607 366040 Thermotech …………….....................…950 069637 / 699 856372

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Free directory entries.

Call 670 84 92 65 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com El Guacamole (Mexican) ...........................................968 413491 Hotel El Paso ...........................................................968 447125 La Calica (Hotel Cala Real) .....................................968 414562 La Vía ........................................................................646 430496 Piccolo Mondo ............................................................968 411946

Albox Club de Tenis …….....................................…………..667 671578 El Gallego ...........................................950 120590 / 615 717978 La Cena ……........................................……………….90 430930 La Parrilla ................................................................950 430024 Little India (Albox) ….................................................632 454505 Maloan’s Bar ….........................................................634 300752 Mesón de Irene ………........................647 730103 / 950 430145 Oliver’s Bar …............................................................950 930988 Paché ….....................................................................950 431659 The New Delhi (Indian) ……...........….950 431705 / 639 231507

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

Antas Asador Gloria …..............................…...950 453150 / 625 Cortijo Carlotta ......................................950 619226 / 638 El Fogon, Asador Argentino ........................................950 Mi Casa .................................................950 453007 / 950

668613 549646 459081 453048

Arboleas El Mirador …………….............................................…678 Happy Garden .........................................................950 Hostal Meson ………..........................950 430137 / 635 Hotel Rural Azabache ............................................690

160806 120851 612738 258813

Bédar El Paso ...................................................................678 La Fuente .................................................................950 Malcolm’s Restaurant ..............................................634 Miramar .....................................................................950

868963 469185 318633 469308

Cabrera Indalo Transport .......................................................634 336468 Items For Sale Mojácar .......................694 439275 / 950 478753 J & B Removals (Albox) …......…………...................616 888058 Location Warehousing S.L. (Antas) .............................950 391412 Moves2Spain (Antas) ..........................950 452869 / 661 969393 Orange Box ...........................................................610 887757 Reliable Removals (Albox) .UK 0044 1942 418951 Spain 664 857920 Speedlink Logistics (Garrucha) ...................................637 011686 Sprinter Services (Vera Playa) .............605 376873 / 950 609121 St. George’s European …UK 0044 207 193 5984 / 952 485984 Storage Solutions (Arboleas) ................950 930316 / 671 220105 Union Jack Removals (International) ….......………….902 109560 Swift Transport (Arboleas) ........................................618 511234

Los Pastores .............................................................950 468002

RESTAURANTS

La Montaña ................................................................670 589788

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

Cortijo Grande Casa Los Pinos ……......................…..950 468236 / 619 136877 Finca Listonero (See p.31)...........................................950 982045

Cucador La Vida

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

Desert Springs Resort El Torrente Restaurant …....................................……637 861590 The Crocodile Club ...................................................678 746706

El Campico (Bédar-Lubrin)

See also Chinese Restaurants & Pizzerias El Marchal Agua Amarga

El Paniajo ................................................................950 477202

La Chumbera ............................................................950 168321 El Pilar de Lubrin Restaurant Family ......................................................950 138014 Restaurante Albar ....................................................950 069077

Aguilas

Garrucha

Carlos III ..................................................................968 411650 Angus & Hereford .....................................................950 460588 El Faro .....................................................................968 412883

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Casa Adriana ...........................................................950 Góndola ....................................................................950 La Plazoleta ……….........................................…….666 Nautico …................................................................622 Restaurante Andalucia ..............................................950 Restaurante Azul, Hotel Tikar ...................................950 Rincón del Puerto …….......................950 133042 / 950

133154 133928 711997 451935 460604 617131 133043

Mojácar See also Mojácar Pueblo Al Punto (Brazilian) .................................................950 Antonella (Italian) .............................................……..950 Azeefa (Indian) ...................................950 109758 / 660 Badgers ...................................................................950

475899 450215 173987 478525

Huércal-Overa El Capricho …........................................................697 297235

Las Alparatas (Mojácar) La Capilla (See p.11)....................................................950 479305

Bar Alizee ...............................................................950 091810 Beachcomber .........................................................634 339216 Beauchelles En El Sol ..............................................950 472288 Bellavista ..................................................................950 478800 Botaniq ...................................................................696 809035 Bowen Resto Bar .............................. 666 406203 / 634 357654 Burladero ...................................................................950 615041 La Alfoquía Cafetería Pizzería Alcazaba ………...........................645 414793 Bar La Unión ...........................................................642 008003 Captain’s Tapas Bar & Restaurant ...........................617 477797 Cielos …..................................................................634 393235 Casa Egea .................................................................950 472190 El Local ……......................................950 634449 / 633 684855 Los Mellízos …………................................……………667 919025

Lijar Mesón La Hoya ........................................................638 298507

Limaria Welcome Stranger …........................………...........….950 432719

Los Carasoles Restaurante Kalevala ...............................................607 484414

Los Castaños Cortijo Las Piezas ........................……..950 951498 / 634 780943

Los Gallardos Apolo ……...................................................…………..600 495182

La Ambrosia ..............................................................950 093086 Meson Verfran ....................................................………637 810143 Miraflores ...........................................679 970399 / 609 506869

Lucainena de Las Torres Venta el Museo ........................................................950 364200

Cortijo de la Media Luna .....................950 478813 / 659 d’Angelo .....................................................................950 Delfín Dorado......................................950 475212 / 645 Dolce Vita (See p.29)...............................................950 El Deseo .................................................................670 El Gaucho ................................................................950 El Sitio ....................................................................950 Enrico (Italian)......................................950 472995 / 642 Imperial (Italian) .......................................................950 Imperial Playa (Italian) ..............................................950 Indalo Restaurante....................................................950 Indian Curry House ...........................632 416554 / 632 Kukis ........................................................................686 La Cabaña ................................................................950 La Cantina (Mexican) ................................................950 La Caracola .............................................................622 La Cometa ...............................................................950 La Estancia …….............................................………654

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103

198424 478517 220095 478476 018035 478846 615411 514738 478098 475360 472994 711667 038259 615179 478941 520925 615209 562396

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Mountains of the Moon (Indian) ........950 472002 / 637 914632

Mont Martre (French) ..............................................634 388867 Neptuno (See p.4)..................................................…616 005387 Omega ........................................................................950 475317 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 Restaurante Asiatico Yao …......................................686 998409 Restaurante Martín Morales ....................................950 478812 Restaurante Mediterráneo ..........................................950 472268 Sal Marina .................................................................950 472405 Sensations ................................................................950 472057 Sottocasa (Italian) (See p.46) ..................................950 093075 The Irish Rover (See p.53)........................................950 473135 The Lemon ....................……...............................…….950 472659 The Roof Garden .....................................................674 113218 Torre Bahía ...............................................................950 478651 Trufibar ....................................................................664 103611

Mojácar Pueblo La Gaviota ……………...............................................950 472117 La Parata (See p.7)..............................................…950 478186 La Piká ....................................................................950 930744 La Posada …............................................................661 595845 La Table de Cathy (French) …..............…………….650 745807 Los Amigos ......................................…………………950 478489 Mesón Felipe San Bernabé ...................…………….950 475966 Meson Mémé …........…………………..674 141159 / 647 954405 Mandala Beach Club ................................................902 442420 Meson de Perico ....................................................950 615582

Arlequíno ..........................................950 478037 / 649 337781 Casa Minguito ………...............................................950 478614 El Ángel ..........................................950 478343 / 607 537101 El Antler ……....................................................……600 540661 El Reclamo …….......................................................950 472881 La Candela …...........................................................647 724367 Pulcinella (Italian) .....................................................950 478401 Restaurante Aires del Sur ..................606 061811 / 950 478014 Restaurante Calima ………………........................….663 286962 Restaurante Mamabel's ....................... 663 700542 / 950 472448 Rincón de Embrujo …....................…………………….600 531270 Rincon de Zahorí ................................630 314400 / 625 103672

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Palomares

RETRACTABLE ROOF SYSTEMS

The Oasis Bar ...................................950 467381 / 676 365010 Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196

Partaloa

ROOFING

Mis Amigos ..............................................…………….671 608498

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

Pueblo Laguna

RUGS & CARPETS

Bistro .......................................................................950 132022

Albox Rugs (Albox) ...........................607 375697 / 950 633149

RURAL TOURISM 2 Poplars (Velez Blanco) ……...............................….670 Cortijo Pocio de la Nava (Mojácar) ............................670 Finca Arboleda (Vera) ..............................................678 Mi Abuela Maria (Mojácar) ……..........................……659

243856 777752 027656 198424

SATELLITE TV ABC (A Better Climate) (See p.51).....647 247494 / 950 092604 Cuevasat ...........................................950 523740 / 628 153340 DCM Digitek Comms (Mojácar) (See p.19) .950 472947 / 670 084438 Dalí ............................................................................950 132345 Digital Vision .......................................950 472081 / 645 294064 Restaurant Laguna …………….........................……..950 132566 Europa digital .(See p.63).................950 133233 / 678 332815 GBTV (Albox and Mojácar) ..............616 888058 / 634 337210 San Juan de Los Terreros Mi Cortijo …………......................................................950 466323 GSF Communications (Mojácar) ...............................950 473102 Solo Satellite & Air-Con. (See p.55) ......950 398146 / 699 909737 Turre Chili .................................................608 802227 / 950 468425 Hostal Rural .............................................................950 478806 SCREENED PATIO & POOL La Pará …………………….................................…….637 545590 ENCLOSURES Pizzeria El Desvío (Turre) ........................................607 804488 Enclose My Pool ...............................606 040462 / 670 510097 Pizzeria-Restaurante Mari Cruz ……....................…..950 479646 Inside Out In Europe S.L. .................677 114576 / 695 118960 Taj (Indian) ..................................................................950 479607 Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 Urcal Screenmasters (See p.47)......….…..680 777789 / 677 152911 The Palms …………...............................950 958167 / 678 832036 Sol Shaders S.L. (See p.7)........................................627 907207

Vera Casa de la Vega ......................................................950 391208 Cortijo Albari ..............................................................950 391706 El Paseo de Oscar ...................................................950 392496 Gran Muralla (Wok Buffet) ..........................................950 391691 Terraza Carmona ...................................................950 390760

SCUBA DIVING Buceo (Aguilas) ……………......................................968 Buceo Mojácar ..................................950 472760 / 629 Molasub (Villaricos) ............................950 467572 / 675 SES (Aguilas) ………..................................................669

493215 049229 321404 040963

SECOND HAND

Villaricos

Amanda’s (Lubrin) ............................950 069682 / 634 310512 Brian’s Furniture & Removals (Mojácar Playa) .........674 280268 Designer Thrift (Albox) ...........................................950 064576 Merka Recycla (Huércal Overa) .........950 616683 / 666 577006 Second Time Around (Albox) .......................................950 431871 Vera Playa The Attic (Cucador) ..…….…................672 184354 / 648 250699 b2 Mohana (Argentinean) ........................................678 642856 Buy Buy Auctions (Los Carasoles) ......681 095096 / 679 207545 El Balconcito .............................................................635 589909 The Treasure Trove (Turre) ……….................………..666 281316 Gateway to India (Indian) ...........................................950 923994 La Buena Mesa …………..…................950 467222 / 610 356387 SECURITY & SAFES See Alarms La Pampa (Argentinean Grill) ……….950 397702 / 671 653116 SEPTIC TANK SERVICE Lua (Italian) ...............................................................950 478202 Drainage Solutions …...........………….616 531283 / 670 088966 Restaurante Tibu ......................................................950 133747 Taj Mahal (Indian) …............…………950 618691 / 671 231465 Blocked DrainsRUs ............................950 091109 / 648 768587 The Blue Parrot ......................................................950 467682 Ginés Millán (All areas) ……….............(after 4pm) 607 366355 Lymasur (Vera) ……..........................950 390732 / 609 442695 Zurgena Sepserve (All areas) …..............................................675 838808 Tiger Bar (Indian) …..................................................950 449000 Septic Tanks Cleaned ……….....................…………..675 838808 Don Tadeo ..................................................................670 Goah ........................................................................950 La Esperanza ............................................................625 Los Conteros ....................................950 618629 / 699

860386 467030 737025 010705

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SEWING Alice .........................................................................620 876485 Coser y Planchar (Vera) .........................................689 303765 Alexis Shillinglaw .....................................................642 107453 J.F.M. Modas Sedal (Turre) ..............950 468031 / 606 945502 Lola Alterations & Repairs (Mojácar Playa) .950 475994 / 637 963835 Nicky (Mojacar) ..................................................... 667 479903 Solo Style .............................................950 528334 / 626 319907 The Sewing Room ....................................................607 375697

SHOE REPAIRS Keys Copy Centre (Mojácar Playa) ..........................950 472982

SIGNS (Shop & Vehicle) Ian (Hand Painted) …………….....................………..634 313796 Idea (Huércal Overa) ...............................................605 162709 Pronto Printing (La Buganvillas) (See cover).............950 133492

SKIN TREATMENTS

Francesca Herman (See p.37)....….......................….687 480694

SKIP HIRE Aridos Mojácar S.L. .................................................650 914257 Servacon .................................................................950 475853

SNOOKER HALLS CD Snooker Mojácar ............................634 364311 / 609 026526

SOLAR ENERGY See also Alternative Energy DCM Digitek Comms (Mojácar) (See page 19)...........950 Ecocorp (See p.43).....................................................671 Hi-Tec Solar (Turre) ............................609 888549 / 950 Hispavan Solar ..................................950 047033 / 687 Solartech (Las Buganvillas) …..............................….950 Sunergy Almeria ........................................................636

472947 716597 468230 845730 139568 261240

SOLICITORS Alonso & Garrido (Albox) ...........................................950 121040 Alonso & Haro (Vera) ..............................................950 392208 AM & RG (Mojácar) ………….............950 478984 / 649 286437 AVSA Lawyers (Aguilas) ..........................................968 446576 Babelia (Mojácar) ……..........…........635 577562 / 950 397114 C & P Solicitors (Mojácar) ….....…………950 460731 / 675 383 160 Casas Almería (Huércal Overa) .................................950 134434 Davies Solicitors (Mojácar) ........................................950 472775 EuroAbogados (Vera) .................................................950 617017 Javier Loustau (Mojácar) .........................................950 475086 José Francisco López Molina .............950 133607 / 635 189986 Lopez & León Solicitors (Garrucha) ..950 888314 / 666 513917 Mario Redondo (Albox) ….................950 430222 / 626 389322 Miguel Angel Rojas Benitez .......................................950 615404 Pablo Suarez (Purchena) ..........................................610 014680 Leticia Moreno-Torres Camy (Vera) (See p.33)..950 391249 / 607 840182 Mundi Abogados (Las Buganvillas) ........................950 460999 Ramírez Abogados (Vera) (See p.41) ...................950 391171 Ross Legal Services (Aguilas) .................................968 412321 Ruiz Orozco (Vera) ..................................................950 390282 Saugar Abogados (Mojácar) ......................................950 615038

The Almería Focus is the magazine that everyone keeps to hand. If you want to advertise your business, just call Rob on 619 833 041, Clara (español) on 670 849 265 or email almeriafocus@gmail.com

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106

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Exclusive Shuttles pre-booked airport taxis (office hours).950 092602 SPAS IndalOcio (Arboleas) ................................................850 993090 Taxi Emilia (Arboleas) ..............................................618 968497 Sundance Spas (Mojácar) ......................................950 472845 TELECOMMUNICATIONS Albox-Online ………..............................…………….950 091111 AlmeriNet-Cheap Calls .........................950 479517 / 627 027758 Euphony Mojacar .........................................................677 146592 Connexions (Turre) (See front cover)..........................950 479502 Indalphone .............................(Mojácar) 950 475784 / 622 455 608 Indalphone ...........................................(Huércal-Overa) 950 471470

GSF Communications (Mojácar) ..................................950 473102 Maso Telefonia (Albox) ……..............................………….950 121279 MaxiMovil – Plus S.L. Orange ....................................950 393538 Next .............................................................................950 479369 Phone@ Mojacar …….............……....950 882222 / 607 885522 Servcom (Turre) ........................................................902 023268 SPA SERVICING & CLEANING True Blue Pools & Spas ..........................................661 148998 Telitec Connections S.L. ..............……902 889070 / 965 743473 The Phone House (Albox) …………….950 121045 / 670 359698 STAINED GLASS WiFi Internet .............................................................950 615156 Janet Broady ….............................…........................950 130627

TILING & PATIO WORK

SURVEYORS Philip Chesler (Chartered Surveyor).............................687 814369 Survey Andalucía (Architect Daniel González) ............686 846624 Sapphire Surveyors ………...................950 064725 / 671 208782

SWEET SHOPS Forget Me Not (Las Buganvillas)..............................663 302740

TAKEAWAYS See also Chinese Restaurants, Fish & Chips & Pizzerias Azeefa (Indian, Mojácar Playa) .............950 109758 / 660 173987 BiancoRossi (Mojácar Playa) ...................................950 472682 Cornish Pride (Albox) …....................................………666 618933 d’Angelo (Mojácar Playa) ..............................................950 478517 Enrico (Mojácar Playa) ..........................950 472995 / 642 514738 Estambul Döner Kebab (Albox) …..............................630 427599

TATTOO ARTISTS

1 Stop Paving (Albox) ………................................…634 313939 ABS Advanced Building Services ..............................687 846016 A.J.B. Tiling Services ...............................................687 024884 Andalucian Con Co Print .........................................628 408197 Arboleas Paving ……………...............................…….636 092632 Borders .....................................................................647 803030 C.I.S Services (Arboleas) ........................................619 693118 Curtis Helm Multiservices .........................................610 394815 Diamond Plastering and Building Services ..............671 717149 Elegant Homes S.L. ..............................950 092603 / 687 629777 Garden Works .....................................950 132518 / 666 847583 Mode Services ...................................950 525790 / 687 033106 Saxon’s Complete Building Services ......618 920126 / 686 377172 Steve Holman .......................................................... 697 678708 United Tile ................................................................667 702817 Vision Design & Build ...............................................672 153298

TIMBER SUPPLIERS Wood2Go ..............................................950 614050 / 606 156151

Body-Zone Tattoo (Mojácar) ……………......................634 336789 TOURIST ATTRACTIONS Classic Tattoo (Mojácar Playa) .................................605 611782 Almería Castle ………............................................…950 271617 Lisa V Tattoos (Cantoria) ....................634 362737 / 642 024810 Oscar (Mojácar Pueblo) …................................…….629 944374 Almería Solar Centre ( Nr.Tabernas) ....950 387990 / 670 866122 Aquavera Water Park (Vera Playa) ...........................950 467337 TAXIS (Legal) Aquarium (Roquetas de Mar) ...................................950 160036 Levante Radio Taxis (all areas)................................950 888111

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

107

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Camelus (Mojácar Camel Rides) ………663 930272 / 950 100076 Simon Farmiloe (Spanish & English)(Albox/Mojacar) 647 677097 Fort Bravo – Western theme park (Tabernas) .....….950 165405 Tennis Coach (Diego Rodriguez) ........950 393851 / 607 021280 Nautarium (Sea Museum) (Garrucha) ………………….950 139554 The I.T.Teacher (Computer Tuition)...............................695 280699 Nijar Butterfly Farm .................................................617 692778 TV & AUDIO REPAIRS Ponce S.L. (Garrucha) ..............................................950 617181 Seth Pittham (Zurgena).......................950 634477 / 666 826886

Oasys Western Park & Zoo (Tabernas) ….............….950 365236 Western Leone Theme park (Tabernas) …............…950 165405

TRANSLATING see Interpreters TRAVEL Autocares Rodriguez (Coaches) ...............................950 469061 Halcón Viajes (Vera) ................................................950 393472 Exclusive Airport Shuttles (See p.2)........................950 092602 Inda Travel (Mojácar) ..............................................950 472431 Levante Travel (Garrucha) ...................950 132258 / 628 604752 Mojácar Tour (Mojácar Playa) (See cover)..........…..950 475757 Viajes Yedra Tours (Aguilas) ...................................968 412498 Viajes Zafiro Tours (Aguilas) ....................................968 410197 Zafiro Tours (Albox) ………..................................……950 121021

TUITION

UNIFORMS

Tikka Uniforms & Shoes (Mojácar) …..........................667 479903 Computer Training & Tuition Call Out (Dani) ...........678 490639 Uniformes de Levante (Los Gallardos & Vera) ..........902 110218 Dave Eccles (Drum lessons) ..............950 525790 / 687 033106 UPHOLSTERY ELC Education & Language Centre .........................950 615489 Albox Rugs (upholstery cleaning) .............................950 633149 Espanglish .........................................950 390037 / 950 392876 Curtains with Style (Fabrics) ............ 950 069032 / 678 811125 Girasol, Albox (Spanish) ..........................................639 089170 Jone’s Mobile (Upholstery cleaning) …....……………661 571939 Guillermo (Spanish conversation, Antas)...................647 525639 Unicraft (Upholstery) .................................................692 176069 Guitar Lessons ………….....................................…..667 989270 Guitar Lessons (Chris Pottle) ................................950 437606 Hind (French & Arabic, Mojácar) ...............................616 605341 Jane Catchlove (Piano/keyboards/violin A.R.C.M) ...950 634402 Jose (Spanish Lessons) ..........................................667 303376 Kinder Garrucha (Bilingual Education Centre)..950 047026 / 671 608519 La Galeria Art Classes (Albox) …..............................663 341904 Laberinto (Spanish, English, French, Dutch) .............609 781438 Leticia (Spanish Conversation) ……......................…950 615566 Marcela Chávez (Spanish-English school support)....676 951352 Native Spanish Teacher (All levels) ………………….670 619017 Native Spanish Tuition ..............................................661 654812 Pencils English Academy (Garrucha)..........................634 314110 Upholstery & Leather Cleaning ......................................636 193256 Penny Baltrus (Piano) ...............................................662 517106 Upholstery Larios (Cuevas del Almanzora) 950 465 364 / 651 998738 Piano (Mojácar) …………............……950 069803 / 667 408941 VAN & MAN HIRE Piano tuition. Terry Peace (Limaria/Albox.) ...............868 931815 Professional Writing Services …..........………………..662 067490 See also Removals & Storage Sam Catchlove (Professional drum/latin percussion) ..950 634402 Amanda’s (Lubrin) ............................950 069682 / 634 310512 Sarah Dyson (Computer tuition) …....................……687 632435 Andy (Trailer hire/drive) (Mojácar) ……...........…………..600 225 929

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

108

Free directory entries.

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IDP Services ……........................................................608 238775 Indalo Transport .......................................................634 336468 Mal Van Man ............................................................662 569138 Storage Solutions (Arboleas) ................950 930316 / 671 220105 Way 2 Go (UK/Spain) ……UK 0044 208 0904292 / 965 794682

VEHICLE IMPORTATION Car Check Spain (Andy) ............................................618 043186 Hispavan vehicle importation ..............950 047033 / 687 845730 Talleres Daydo (Antas Real) ….……….950 459116 / 607 373298

VEHICLE REPAIRS Auto Corner (Turre/Los Gallardos) ….950 069198 / 667 439671 Auto Shine Body Repairs ………........607 324623 / 607 324624 CostaCoches ...........................................................950 459209 Gómez Motor (Huércal-Overa) ............662 502895 / 950 471250 Mojácar Motor (Mojácar Playa) ……..950 478335 / 950 475776 Reparbox (DIY) (Antas El Real) .........687 879744 / 628 648131 SRS Vehicle Services ................................................950 449095 Taller Daydo (El Real) .........................950 459116 / 607 373298 Talleres Azor ..(Mojácar) 950 478519 ..............(Vera) 950 391400 Talleres Fad (Aguilas) …...........................................968 447565 Talleres Vizcaino (Mojácar) ........................................950 472104 The Car Surgery ...................................................666 272792 AutoFex (Albox & Antas El Real) ............................950 431861 The Garage (Llanos de Arboleas) .......950 930922 / 616 453813 Automobiles Bajuma S.L. (Antas) .............................662 167758 Tyre King (El Real) ................................................950 459253 Automobiles Playcar SLU ...................950 459302 / 672 737663 CostaCoches (Antas, El Real).....................................950 459209 VEHICLE REPAIRS (MOBILE) Albox Service Centre S.L. …....................................662 093051 Mojácar Motors ...950 472056 ................(Workshop) 950 478335 Auto Frio .............................................950 104488 / 600 827517 Nissan (Albox) ………..................................................950 430856 Cool Air (Air Conditioning) .......................................673 195872 Pit Stop (Oria) ……………....................................…..950 124828 Veloc Tuning ECU Remapping Services ..................600 827517 Que Coches Almería (Antas) …...................................627 423675 SRS Vehicle Services ................................................950 449095 VEHICLE SALES Talleres Azor ...............(Mojácar) 950 478519 (Vera) 950 391400 Auto Corner (Turre/Los Gallardos) ….950 069198 / 667 439671

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

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Don (Mojacar) .........................................................666 VEHICLE SHIPPING Car Shipping ………………UK 0044 1704 575983 / 671 101220 Idea (Mojácar) ...................................................……..605 J&A Window Cleaning Services ..........950 122452 / 689 VETS James .......................................................................678 Animal Care (La Alfoqúia) …....................................950 449064 Lady Jane Window Cleaning (Arboleas) ...................634 Astrid (Mojácar) ..............950 472252 Emergencies: 629 099920 Mick ...........................................................................634 Teresa Jimenéz …………….............................……..636 Window Panes ..................................633 814809 / 677 Woody the Window Cleaner (Almanzora Valley) .......634

814913 162709 548824 988812 255373 327075 119538 689077 349665

WINDOWS & DOORS AA Window Doctor .............................630 231644 / 636 838484 Direct Trade Windows ............................................. 662 118785 Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 Interglaze ……..............................….950 121909 / 680 743311 Lifestyle Enclosures Europe S.L. (See p. 9) 950 459060 / 638 063196 Mojácar Home Improvements .............950 473104 / 689 296432 Clinica (Albox) ...............950 430814 Emergencies: 617 305784 Clinica Huellas (Aguilas) ...968 447877 Emergencies 629 445327 CliniVet (Turre) …..........................…..950 069780 / 626 171999 Costa Indalo (Mojácar) ....950 475213 Emergencies: 659 957942 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) …............…............................….667 304876 Veterinary Centre (Huércal-Overa) …........................950 616781

WASHING MACHINE REPAIRS

Rod Bridges ………...............................950 473035 / 687 261280 Ortega Windows & Doors .......................................950 393305 Planet Windows …...............................950 449639 / 664 327863 WATER (Tanker Delivery) Plas-Tech Windows ...................................................600 320761 Sierra Cabrera Water ...................…………………….693 866558 Speedyfit (See p.17)..................................950 439228 / 600 006032 Standard Windows (Antas) ........................................950 393121 WATER PARK Aquavera (Vera Playa) ....................................................950 467337

WINES

WATER TREATMENTS

Bodega Gran Baco (Aguilas) .............................…..968 Ashley Reliable Plumbing ………..........................…..610 052407 Enoteca Tikar (Garrucha) ……..............................….950 Healthy H2O ..............................................968 437270 / 666 302 987 Isalva (Palomares) ………..........................................615 JF Supplies Albox ……….................….950 064315 / 660 350246 Wine Not? (Mojácar Playa) ....................................950 Water Filters ……................................................…….600 063303

411538 617131 265092 100077

WOOD & PELLET STOVES

WEB SERVICES

Chimeneas Acar (Albox) ...........................................950 120077 Divine Logix ...........................................................617 401332 Chimeneas Mojácar S.L. (Mojácar Playa) ..............950 472135 Image Suite ………........................................................647 918 848 Enrique Aguirre S.L. (Garrucha) .................................950 460028 MODS ........................................................................600 284975 ZOO & PARK Paginasweb .......................................902 005799 / 911 011505 Oasys (Tabernas) ....................................................950 365236 WebFaze .................................................................601 628137

WEDDING & PARTY PLANNING Weddings in Spain .....................................................950 475826

To advertise your business, call Rob on 619 833 041, or email almeriafocus@gmail.com

WEIGHT LOSS See Diet Plans & Weight Loss WINDOW CLEANING Clean Team …………..............………850 993202 / 694 440184 Cristal Clear Windows (Mojácar) …..........……………634 347193

To place a box advert or ask for prices, call Rob on 619 833 041

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Community News What a Weekend for Walk for Life! Walk for Life Arboleas had a very busy weekend early in October. On Saturday 7th, over 100 people had a fabulous evening at the annual Dinner Dance at The Kubatin, Arboleas. The food and service were excellent and the guests were entertained until well after midnight by the wonderful Jill Farmiloe. The Mayor and his family attended as well as several councillors. Deputy Mayor Mike Page and Councillor Danny Daniels both spoke, saying what valuable work the charity was doing for cancer sufferers in the area. The Mayor was presented with a photograph of the Town Hall. Jean Bircher, who is stepping down, gave a farewell speech, and everyone stressed how much she will be missed for her tireless energy both in raising funds and caring for the clients. Monday 9th saw the pre-launch of the Autumn/Winter Collections at Glad Rags in Albox. Guests were treated to cava and canapés whilst models showcased new lines from Maloka, Casa Mia, and the UK High Street, in an array of sumptuous colours and beautiful fabrics. UK Lingerie in Spain by Leanne also launched their autumn range. Jenny Rock of Glad Rags Boutique, and Glad Rags Bangles & Bows, announced that all proceeds from ticket sales and the raffle will go to Walk for Life Arboleas. This important local charity published its first calendar this year and by early October it had almost sold out. Another print run was ordered and arrived on this same weekend. The calendars are on sale again in the following local outlets. Albox: Sol Supermercado, Glad Rags, Almería Homes, IBEX Insurance and Wavelengths. Arboleas: Total Entertainment, Padpal Store, Covirán, Sophia Wellness, and Calida Homes. Zurgena: ALO Services (Amanda Oakley). They are just 5 Euros and as the advertising has paid for all production costs every céntimo goes to the charity. Walk for Life is a local registered charity organisation that helps cancer sufferers and their family members in Arboleas and surrounding areas. For more information go to www.walk4lifearboleas.com or Walkforlife Arboleas on Facebook.

The Walk for Life 2018 calendar

The PAWS / PATAS Cat’s Treasure Hunt This was a fantastic event on Saturday, October 14th which raised 470 Euros. This money will help to home many cats and kittens in Holland and the UK, and also go towards the feral cat neutering programme. Our many thanks to everyone.

Dames in Spain At our October meeting, the Dames in Spain (Mojácar) said goodbye to a valued member of their committee - Rosy Wildsmith. Rosy had been a committee member for many years but owing to other commitments has decided to step down from these duties. She will remain a member. The vice chairman, Carol Threfall, presented Rosy with a gift voucher to spend on an item for her new home. The meeting continued with a demonstration of carnival face painting by Carolina of Vera. Although only painting two faces, on carnival days Carolina paints over 70. The Dames in Spain (Mojácar) meet the 3rd Monday in the month from 11.00am at Sensations Restaurant on Mojácar Playa.

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What’s On Almería City Concerts The opera ‘El Barbero de Sevilla’ (The Barber of Seville) by Rossini comes to the Maestro Padilla Auditorio, Almería city, on Friday, November 10th at 9pm, performed by the choir, soloists and orchestra, Opera 2001. Tickets 25 & 30 Euros. The José Balastegui septet performs a homage concert to Cole Porter on Thursday, November 2nd at 9pm, Teatro Cervantes, Almería city. Tickets are 10 Euros in advance and 12 Euros on the door. Guitar Concert To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the guitar maker Antonio Torres, David Martínez gives an acoustic guitar recital on Saturday, December 16th at 8.30pm, Museo de la Guitarra, Almería city. Admission is free. The museum is at Ronda del Beato Diego Ventaja.

Carlos Núñez, a very famous flute and bagpipe performer, comes to Teatro Cervantes, Almería city, on December 1st at 9.30pm. He is presenting his latest album Inter Celtic, and has received many international awards. He has sold over 1 million CDs. Tickets are 18 Euros in advance or 20 Euros at the door. Grease El Musical performed by the Aedea Teatro company comes to the Auditorio Maestro Padilla, Almería city, on December 8th at 9pm. Tickets are 10 Euros. This is a benefit concer t for the association ANDA that helps physically challenged children in Almería city.

Dance Mano a Mano is a dance & flamenco performance by La Milonga Flamenca Company that came to being in Almería in 2013. They perform on November 3rd at 9.30pm, Teatro Cervantes, Almería city. Tickets are 12 Euros in advance or 15 Euros at the door. Oskara is a ballet performance that records the advent of culture in the Basque country, from first origins to present day. It is performed by the Kukai Dantza dance company on November 17th at 9pm, Teatro Apolo, Almería city. Tickets are 13 Euros.

Mike Gibbs & The Clasijazz Big Band concert is now on December 10th at 7pm, Teatro Apolo, Almería city. Tickets 15 Euros. The concert celebrates Mike Gibbs’ 80th birthday. The Spanish State RT VE symphony orchestra, conducted by Miguel Gómez-Martínez, come to Almería city on November 17th, Maestro Padilla Auditorio, as part of the 16th Almería Short Film Festival. They are performing film music from major films, including some Western films associated with Almería province. At time of going to press the concert time and ticket prices were not available.

Michael’s Legacy is a tribute concert for Michael Jackson by the Jackson Dance Company. It has been hailed as the best representation of Michael Jackson’s music by his official fan club, and has been seen by over 200,000 spectators. It comes to Teatro Cervantes, Almería city, on November 25th at 10pm. Tickets are 15 Euros in advance or 20 Euros at the door.

The Alabama Gospel Choir bring their gospel and spirituals show “Oh, Happy Day”, with songs from the 19th century, to Teatro Cervantes, Almería city, on Monday, December 25th at 8pm, as part of their 19th world tour. Tickets are 25 Euros.

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El Cascanueces (The nutcracker) ballet com posed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, with libretto by Earnst Hoffmann, is performed by the Russian National Ballet Company on December 3rd at 7pm, Auditorio Maestro Padilla, Almería city. Tickets are 22 & 24 Euros. The Strauss Festival Orchestra & Ballet Ensemble comes to Teatro Cervantes, Almería city, on December 29th at 9pm. This is a Johann Strauss New Year concert and is part of their European tour. Tickets are 30 Euros. The orchestra

What’s On was formed 27 years ago, and 5 million people have been to their concerts. El Lago de Los Cisnes (Swan Lake) is performed by the Bolshoi and Moscow State Ballet Company and the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Teatro Cervantes, Almería city, on January 18th at 9pm. Tickets are 30 Euros. Tickets for concerts in Almería available from the ticket office in the Teatro Apolo, 25 Rambla Obispo Orberá, Almería , tel: 950 230 922. Mon- Fri, 10.30am-1.30pm & 68pm, or Sat, 11am-1pm. Also 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. Teatro Cervantes, Almería city. Calle del Poeta Villaespesa, 1. Tickets from box office, Monday – Friday, 11am-1pm & 4pm-7pm, Saturday, 11am-2pm or 1 hr before per formance, or w w w. t o d a s l a s e n t r a d a s . c o m

Águilas Auditorio The Águilas ProMúsica concerts for the 2017-2018 season feature The Region of Murcia Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Virginia Martínez on November 10th at 9pm. They perform Franz Schubert’s overture Rosamunda, Mozart’s piano concerto no. 23, and his Jupiter symphony no.41. The piano soloist is Ryuichi Sakamoto. Tickets are 15 Euros. The Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Leonardo Martínez performs on December 1st at 9pm.

Miguel Poveda

They perform Beethoven’s piano concerto opus 3, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition. The solo pianist is Marton Kiss. Tickets are 15 Euros. The Deutsche Rhein Philharmonic Or c hestra, conducted by Desar Sulejmani perform a New Year Gala “lollipop” concert with waltzes, polkas, and marches, on January 2nd at 9pm. The Region of Murcia Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Virginia Martínez are in concert on February 2nd, 2018 at 9pm. They perform Schuman’s piano concerto opus 54, and Johannes Brahms’s symphony no. 1 opus 68. The piano soloist is Hyumn Hutterman. Tickets are 15 Euros. Águilas Events Tickets from Viajes Almeida 968 410 828; Museo Arqueológico; www.redentradas .com; www.auditorio-aguilas.org; or from two hours before performances at box office.

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Roquetas de Mar The Roquetas Festival of Jazz takes place on November 3rd & 4th, Roquetas Auditorio. 150 young musicians are joined by five jazz bands on November 3rd. O Sister! Perform Stompin’ In Joy on November 4th. Performances start at 9.30pm and tickets are 10 Euros for both concerts together (or each one). Miguel Poveda the well-known flamenco singer / performer comes to Roquetas Auditorio on November 18th at 9.30pm. Tickets are 28, 30 & 35 Euros.

Roquetas de Mar tickets The box office at the auditorio is open 11am-1pm & 6pm-8pm, or tel: 950 328759, or from the website www.teatro auditorioroquetas.org.

What’s On at 9pm. Tickets are 5 Euros in advance from Convento de la Victoria, or 7 Euros at the door.. “Felíz Navibrass” is a Christmas concert by the Bel Cantus Brass Quintet, Auditorio Ciudad de Vera, on December 22nd at 9pm. Tickets are 5 Euros in advance from Convento de la Victoria, or the box office on the night.

Exhibitions

Mojácar Christmas Flamenco Gala On Friday December 8th we will present (in colaboration with Mojácar Town Hall) a Christmas Flamenco Gala. This will showcase a large cast of top flamenco performers from Granada who will offer us a traditional lively Granadino Christmas Fiesta. Tickets on sale from Tourist Office Mojácar Pueblo and the Newspaper Kiosk, Parque Comercial. Price 15 euros. For more info email info@lagitanainglesa.com

Almería Castle, La Alcazaba, has an extensive exhibition of ítems relating to films made in the province, organized by the association ‘Almeríacine’. The exhibition can be seen until January 28th, 2018, and normal admission fees to the castle apply. Almería In The Romantic Period is an exhibition in the newly opened ‘Micro-Exposiciónes’ area on the 1st floor of the Doña Pakyta museum in Almería city. It is made up of 12 romantic period paintings relating to Almería province from the collections of Francisco

Salmerón & Martín Moreno. It can be seen until November 19th. The museum is at Plaza de Emilio Peréz and is open to the public free of charge on Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am-1pm, & on Fridays and S a t u rd ays f ro m 5 p m - 8 p m . Maestro Alemanes Contemporáneos is an exhibition of 45 paintings by 15 German artists from 1870-2015. It can be seen at the ‘Espacio 2’ area at the Museo de Arte de Almería until December 3rd. Inner Condition is an exhibition by the very famous photographer Nadav Kander, now based in London, and is a collection of his photographs of the human nude body. It can be seen until February 4th, at “El Centro Andaluz de la Fotografia” (‘CAF’) in Almería city. The centre is at number 9, Calle Pintor Díaz Molina and is open from 11am-2pm & 5.30pm-9.30pm. It is not far from Almería Cathedral and the park Parque de Nicolás Salmerón near the La Rambla area. The Moscow Ballet

Vera La Compañía Murciana de Danza perform the classical ballet La Cinecienta (Cinderella), Auditorio Ciudad de Vera, November 11th at 8pm. Tickets are 15 Euros from Convento de la Victoria, or the box office on the night. T h e S a xo p h o n e Q u a r t e t ‘Tharsis’ perform a concert entitled “Ka Tharsis”at the Auditorio Ciudad de Vera, on November 18th

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What’s On Trips by Carlos Cartagena trip, November 9th, to see the Rossini opera “Barber of Seville”. The cost is 109 Euros including coach, ticket, & 1 night b & b in 3* hotel. Gibraltar trip, November 27th29th with 3 days 2 nights b & b in a 4* hotel. The cost is 145 Euros. Trip to Teatro Romeo theatre in Murcia, December 13th, to see one of the most famous AfricanAmerican gospel & blues singers, Barbara Hendricks. Cost is 108 Euros including coach, ticket, & 1 night b & b in 3* hotel. Seville trip. Cirque du Soleil. January 30th - Feb 1st & February 5th-7th, 2018, to see “Totem”. Inclusive cost January 30th-Feb 1st is 255 Euros, & Feb 5th-7th, 270 Euros with 3 days & 2 nights half board in a 4* hotel. For info & bookings call Carlos on 610 681 068 or 950 525 761.

Miscellaneous The Huércal-Overa Tapas Route takes place from November 3rd12th. We have more details in our “In the News” section.

A Flower Remembered The Rose Singers present their November concert titled “A Flower Remembered”. The programme of songs, sung in harmony by our local ladies choir, has guest soloist Ellen Turner and oboist Maddy Frowd. Our afternoon concert will be held on Tuesday, November 7th at 3pm at our new location, the Hotel Parador, Mojácar Playa. Why not enjoy a bite to eat before joining us for some fabulous entertainment?! Our evening concert will be at Miraflores Restaurant, Camping Los Gallardos on Thursday, November 9th at 7.30. pm. A Raffle will be held at both events with proceeds going to the aid of Stepping Stones carers support group. Come and support this worthy cause! Tickets are 8 Euros and can be bought in advance from Forget-MeNot (Las Buganvillas), Total Entertainment (Turre) and the Camping Los Gallardos shop.They are also available on the doors, through our choir members and by messaging our Facebook page (search Rose Singers, Mojácar). We look forward to seeing you there!

The annual Mojácar Half Marathon and the City of Mojácar 7 km race take place on November 5th at 8pm, starting and finishing at Marina de la Torre. Registration at www.asupuestos.com. The National Petanque Championship for People with Disabilities takes place at the petanque areas, El Descargador beach on Mojácar Playa, on November 25th all day.

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Anglican Churches of Costa Almeria and Costa Calida. Remembrance Day Services. Saturday, November 11th: Renfre Building, Alfoqúia 10.30am & Aljambra Chapel, Albox 10.30am. Sunday, November12th: Mojácar Anglican Church 10.45am & Llanos Ang lican Church 10.55am. The Universal Wonderful Street Academy is holding their VI Annual Fundraising Buffet Lunch on Sunday, the 12th November 17 at Marina Playa Hotel ****, Marina de la Torre, Mojácar. Time: 13:30 h .Price: 20 Euros (adults), 15 Euros (children). We help children who are orphans or whose parents cannot afford to send them to school. We give them a nutritious meal a day and prepare them to go to formal school becouse we believe that only through education they can have a better future. Registered charity. www.universalwonderful streetacademy.org. Beatriz: 617 182 154 Cirque du Soleil - Totem

What’s On Christine: 697 887 362. For any information on any events or about the branch please contact Christine: secretary.rblmojacar @gmail.com or Andrew: chairman.rbl.moj3485@gmail.com. Ever yone always welcome, member or not.

Royal British Legion Mojácar Branch November 2nd, 11.15am. Branch Meeting at Centro de Usos Multíples (artisan centre) Mojácar. Guest speaker Tim Taplin. November 3rd, Fish n’ Chips with quiz, Beachcomber Restaurant Mojácar, 7.30pm. November 12th, 10.45am, Remembrance Sunday Service, Mojácar Anglican church, followed by lunch at Bellavista Restaurant Mojácar at 1pm. November 16th, 11.15am, Branch AGM meeting at Centro de Usos Multíples (artisan centre) Mojácar, followed by lunch at Osteria Restaurant Mojácar. To book a table for any meal, contact

Dames in Turre November Meeting will be held on Monday 27th at 11am Hostal Rural Turre, when our guest speaker will be Ann Webber from Oasis Boutique, Mojácar, entitled "It Doesn't have to be Black". Ann will be bringing along fashions from her Boutique for us to try and hopefully buy. Who knows, you may find just the right little number for your Christmas Party or Special Night Out. We will also be very pleased to accept donations for our Christmas Market Raffle and Tombola if you would like to bring them along. Turre Dames are a friendship group raising monies for local charities, come along and see for yourself, we always welcome new faces. For more details please contact Membership Secretary, Eileen McGill Tel: 652 208 072 or President Lesley Barlow Tel: 661 085 551. Dames in Turre are on the ball already preparing for their biggest fund raising event of the year, their Christmas Market which will be held on Saturday, December 9th in La Plaza De Constitution (Turre Square). Are you interested in running a stall? If so please contact our Chairman, Soo Wallace, by email on sillyboo59@yahoo.co.uk or 677 362 713 giving your name and details of what you will be selling on your stall. If you have

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been in contact in other years, please confirm you are interested again this year. We are also looking for donations of items suitable for our Tombola stall and the main Christmas Raffle. All monies raised at this event help towards local charities. Turre Dames appreciate the support the general public give, and we hope this year will be the best one yet. Thank you for your support in advance. The 2018 PAWS / PATAS Calendars, for only 8 Euros, are now available from our shops in Mojácar, Turre and Las Buganvillas. Printed in both English & Spanish, the calendar features photographs of cats and dogs in our shelter ...plus lots of information about the charity: what we do, aim for, and achieve. The perfect gift for anyone, whatever age! PAW S / PATA S A n n u a l Christmas Fayre is on Sunday, November 26th from 11am-1pm, in the square at Scotty's Restaurant in Mojácar, before the Red Cross Roundabout. 30 different stalls...including Tombola, Raffle, Gifts, Books, Craft, Knitting, Jewellery, Cakes, Cuddly Toys, Art, Live Music by Lady Ellen...and...meet Father Christmas! The Butterfly Farm at Níjar is open weekends only in November (unless a pre-arranged group). Opening hours vary according to the season (See facebook). The motorway turnoff from the A-7 motorway is the Níjar-Lucainena junction 481. They have an advert in our “Tourist Attractions” section. .

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 Cuevas del Almanzora, Olula del Río, Carboneras, Sorbas Garrucha, Turre, Zurgena Aguilas, Vera, Arboleas, Vélez Rubio Villaricos, Purias

Rastros, Car Boot Sales, etc. Saturday: Rastro, Mojácar Playa, opp. Red Cross, 9am - 1pm Saturday: Los Llanos, between Arboleas & Albox Sunday morning: Los Gallardos Campsite Sunday morning: Multiple Use Centre (Artisan Centre), Mojácar Village 1st Sun of the month: Casa Lorenza, Las Menas, Sª Maria de Nieve, 4.30pm 2nd Sunday of the month: Bédar, from 9am Last Sunday of the month: Velez Rubio on Industrial estate

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Activities - Clubs - Associations Clubs, Societies & Activities

The Royal British Legion, Mojácar Branch, The Artisan Centre, 1st and 3rd Thurs. of each month, 11:15am. All welcome inc. non-services personnel. Almanzora Group of Friends Library and Information Centre, Tues, For enquiries & Welfare call 950 066053 Thurs, Fri & Sat, 10am–1pm . Avda. http://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/ Lepanto, Albox (near Chapman’s). branches/mojacar/news-events/ Extensive English Library, DVD’s and The Royal British Legion - Albox Talking Books. Trips, monthly quiz and Everyone welcome. Monthly meeting other social events. Tel: 634 343 147 3rd Thursday of every month, La Parrilla, www.almanzoragof.org or see Facebook Albox, 11am. Coffee morning 1st Thursday of every month, Oasis Cafe Almería Link Friendship Group Meetings Wednesday, 8pm, Marina de Bar, 11.30am. For info contact chairman la Torre Golf Bar & Restaurant. Ken Matthews, email ken.matthews10 For information contact Bob (Chairman) @gmail.com. For support, Filip Ostrowski 950 472 551 or Cynthia (Secretary) 950 on 950066037. http://counties.british legion.org.uk/branches/albox 472 699. Living Alone in Spain? We are a 60+ group of friends who meet for lunch every Wednesday in the Mojácar area. Tel: 667 303 788

The Royal British Legion - Zurgena & District Branch Bar Latinos, C/ Granada, La Alfoquia, every first Thursday of the month at 11a.m. Email zurgenaRBLsecretary @yahoo.co.uk. See www.britishlegion. org.uk/branches/zurgena

WOW Women on Wednesday Beauchelles, Mojácar Playa, from 1.30pm. Get together, buy, sell, swap, Psychic Development Circle meet new people. Various classes at different times. Dames in Huércal Overa Everyone welcome. Tel: Barbara 637 3rd Wed. of the month, 10.30am, Tennis 469 937 barbaramoonlight@gmail.com Club. All welcome. Tel. Carolyn 637 798 AUAN - Abusos Urbanisticos 494 Almanzora No. Dames in Spain Association campaigning for the 3rd Monday of the month, 11 am, legalisation of homes in the Almanzora Sensations Restaurant, Mojacar. Valley built without proper authority. Chairman Myra Holmes, 950475491; Meeings on 3rd Sat. of every other Secretary Iris Hamilton 666 107 364. month, 11am, La Parrilla, Albox. Tel: 617 Guests welcome. 118 209 www.almanzora-au.org Dames in Turre The Divine Life Society, Almeria 11am, last Mon in the month, Hostal Branch Rural, Turre. Talks, trips, support for Lotus Yoga Centre, Mojácar. Evening local charities. Guests welcome. Tel: of Meditation and a talk, 1st Fri of the Membership Secretary Eileen McGill 652 month, 7.30pm. Spiritual Cinema, 3rd 208 072 or President Lesley Barlow Fri of the month, 7.30pm. Meditation 950 478 633 and Yoga classes. Tel Sharon 950 469122 or 672 061 048 or omsharon50 Mojácar Community Library Multi-Use centre. Mon, Wed and Fri, @gmail.com 11am - 1pm . Vera & District Lions Club. 5.00pm on the first Wednesday of the Mojácar Walking Group Walks of different levels. Tues & Thurs. month at El Gnomo Feliz restaurant, www.mojacarwalkinggroup.com or tel: Vera. Telephone Sandie Tinkham on 950 439324 or Pam Mattioli on 950069249 950 467 679 for more information. Mojácar Bridge Club Monday and Thursdays, 7pm. Marina Flamenco Forum for English Playa Hotel. Contact Les 950 437 100 Speakers / 634 219 174 Facebook: Mojácar Bridge on Facebook. Information and events. Tel: 687 480 694 Club

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Vera Photo Club First Sunday of month, Bar La Pará, Turre (opposite the Vet), 10am 12.30pm. Presentations by invited speakers, field trips, instruction, studio photography, monthly assignments and exhibitions. All levels welcome. Phone Sarah 670003717 or Claus 628585538. Mojacar Photo Group Contact Lyle Mallen: 620 786 914 Ancestry Club for Beginners & Intermediate Piedra Amarilla. Wednesdays, 2pm-4pm. 5 euros per week. Tel. 634 309 590 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: 603 587 805 Mojacar Computer & Electronics Club Saturdays, Beachcomber, Mojácar. 10 – 12 noon, Laptops. 12 noon – 1pm, smart phones, tablets, cameras, etc 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 alboxcc@gmail.com Jeff Brown 659 558 091 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 Mojácar Angling Club Tel. John (Beachcomber): 950 473 099 Traditional Japanese Reiki and Gendai Reiki Ho Classes, workshops, and Reiki shares in Mojacar. Tel: 634 347 930, website: www.gendaireikispain.com Send details of your club, society or activity to almeriafocus@gmail.com Tel: 670 849 265

Activities - Clubs - Associations Clubs, Societies & Activities continued

Living Water Church Mojacar Playa Opp. Red Cross and Salas Farmacia, Amigos del Coches Clasicos Sunday Service 4pm. Bible Study Tuesday Local, multi-national group of classic car 11am. Cafe Church, Weds & Thurs 11am. enthusiasts. Meetings first Thursday of Come for a chat and coffee. Contact month, 3pm, Hotel Overa, jn 547 of Pastors Dave 697522521 or John E15/A7. www.a-c-c.es, email: info@a-c- 634254781. See FaceBook or visit c.es, tel. David 950 412 165 www.livingwaterchurchmojacar.com Cabrera Slot Car Club The Evangelical Church, Turre Thursdays, 4.30-6pm. Richard 950 970 Avda de Almeria on the corner of 869. Call to check if on first. C/Alberquillica . Sunday 10.30am. Tuesday 3pm Bible Studying. Midweek Model Aero Flying Club, Cortijo Grande prayer meeting. Tel. 950 617549 or 950 Sun. & Wed., 10.30am. Contact Johnny 47 2 3 4 9 . w w w . t u r r e c h u r c h . c o m Hayes: 634 346 762 or 980 099 930 Kingdom Hall, Jehovah's Witnesses Aeroclub ULM Günter (Vera) Tues 7:30pm & Sun 10.00am. Poligono Tel: 607 316 553 Aljoroque - C/El Cajete 6, Antas. Contact: 652 293 269 Pita Escuela Agave School of Río Aguas. A multicultural, Aguaviva Evangelical Church environmental and musical project, Near the health Centre, opposite Bicispecialized on the integral usage of the Box, Albox. Tel: Rod Southwood, 687 agave plant and the processing of its 560 544 wood.Tel 630 66 18 65 (Timbe) Puerto Lumbreras Christian pitaescuela@hotmail.com Fellowship 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

Religious Groups & Churches Church of England Costa Calida and Costa Almeria 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. Comunity Hall Aljambra. Llanos del Peral, nr El Cucador: Eucharist or morning worship, Sundays, 11am.at Village Church and Community Hall. Roquetas: Eucharist, 3rd Thursday of the month, at noon at Burty´s Bar. Details: Church Wardens, Pam Carter, 667947573 & Tony Noble 950092096 or 634301873 www.mojacarchurch.org

Every 1st and 3rd Sunday each month at 11.00 am. Phone for exact location (now at their house) Tel 619453283 or 968 018 228 Paul and Sandra Santa Cruz Christian Fellowship Sundays and midweek in Albox and surrounding areas. Contact 677 087 257 or santacruzalbox@gmail.com

A.A. Alcoholics Anonymous Mojacar area Meetings –Tuesday, 6pm, Artisan Centre, Mojacar Fuente - Friday & Wednesday, 6pm, Living Water Church, Mojácar Playa (opposite Red Cross building). Tel: 634 320 262 or 661 078 864 or email mike@aaspain.org On Public Holidays when the Artisan Centre is closed, the Tuesday meeting will be at the Living Water Church. Ostomist Support For Expats Call Dee 950 064 322 in confidence. Age Support Almanzora Information Centre. Avda Lepanto, near Total Entertainment. Tues - Fri, 10a.m. to 2 p.m. Welcomes anyone who has concerns about an older person who is in need of support. Tel: 634 333 544 or email welfareteam.asa@gmail.com Shop, Plaza Padre Arias in Arboleas village (the square with the bakery and hairdresser) six days a week 10-1.30. Tel: 634333544, 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

Support Groups & Charities

The Helping Hands Support for Animals and People alike. Registered charity. Tel: 968 48 29 48

Parkinson's Disease Support Contact Joyce Boxall (Santa Maria de Nieva, Huércal-Overa), tel 677 688037

Harmony Community Support Providing assistance to those in need. Tel. 634 339 192 Mon - Fri, 11:00 - 14:00 help@harmonycharity

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. Turre Evangelical Church Services in English, Sundays, 10.30am. Tel 950 472822 or 677 683385 Everyone welcome. 950 617 549 www.steppingstonescarersgroup.wee bly.com

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

Activities - Clubs - Associations Music & Drama Groups

Dance

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

Line Dancing Hotel el Puntazo, Mojacar. Fridays, 7.–10pm. Beginners welcome. Contact: Glynis 648217503 or Mary Beth 661671526 or strictlylinedancing mojacar@gmail.com

Independent Theatre Group Always looking for new people, novices & full blown Thesbians. Call Ian Jones on 950 436 581 or 666 375 688 or e-mail independenttheatre@hotmail.com

Eleanor & Gilly's Line Dance Class Maloan's Bar, Albox, 2-30pm- 4-30pm, Mondays. All levels welcome. Eleanor Tolman 950 439 003.

The Luvvies Maloan’s Bar, Arboleas. New members always welcome for acting or work behind the scenes etc. Contact us via www.theluvvies.com, tel. 634 346 309 or e-mail info@theluvvies.com

Step2It - Line Dancing Maloans, Albox. Weds: 6.45 p.m - 7.30 p.m, First Steps/Introduction. 7.30 p.m - 10.30, Beginners / Improvers /Intermediate. Contact: Carrie Ann 627279584 www.carrieanngreen.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

Line Dancing Beachcomber Restaurant, Mojácar. Beginners/Improvers. Mondays, 4pm. Contact John 666 200 579

Almeria Strings Folk Club Third Thursday of the month, 8pm, Turre. Free admission. For location and other events, see www.almeriastrings.org or call 634 347 930 The Rose Singers Small ladies choir singing a variety of musical genres in aid of local charities. 45 performances a year. Rehearsals Friday mornings, Los Gallardos. New singers always welcome. Call Alison on 667 408 941 or see us on Facebook. The Incognito Singers A mixed voice group performing a varied repertoire of songs to a high standard. Rehearsals Wednesday evening in Arboleas. www.theincognitosingers.com, Facebook, theincognitosingers@gmail.com 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 All welcome, any age, any level, only requirement is to read music. Rehearsals Sundays 6-7pm, Cariatiz (between Los Gallardos and Sorbas). Contact Emma, emma.v.randle@gmail.com 654 164 293

Line Dancing La Vida, Cucador. Tuesday 5pm Pro Danza Nicky Mainstone Royal Academy Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Dance fit fusion. Children & Adults. Mojacar & Los Gallardos. T. 667479903 Ceroc Dancing Artisan Centre, Mojacar, Tues 8.15pm Beginners/Improvers/Advanced. All welcome. Contact Tracey 687251799 Belly Dancing Classes in Mojácar, Garrucha & Huércal-Overa. Contact Fatima: 610 472 596 Bellydance Classes Mojácar, Turre, Palomares. Call 639 724 521 Oriental and Middle Eastern Folklore dancing classes Tues at Vera, Wed at Turre. Shirin, 607805367, gytanshark@yahoo.es Dance Classes with Hollie Newell Ballet, tap, contemporary, modern, jazz, lyrical, zumba and more. Based in Turre. Tel: 634 317 391 Flamenco Dance Workshops Beginners level. Telephone 687480694

Performing Arts Centre DanZaVera 54 Verasol, Vera. Classes include : Royal Academy Ballet, Imperial Society Modern, Tap and Jazz. Also Hip-Hop, Oriental Dance, Spanish Classical. Tel Anita: 670 715 787

Arts & Crafts Sewing Group, Mojacar Meet at Dolce Vita for sewing, knitting etc. Weds 10.30 - 12.30. Tel: Brenda 634 34 34 92 or Sylvia 628 006 197. Ladies Sewing Circle Evangelical Church, Turre, Wednesday 10.30 – 12.30 667 702 774 Glass Bead Making La Cueva del Pájaro, Carboneras. Call 950 130 627 Ladies Pottery Painting Parties Albox - every 2nd Thursday, 6 - 9pm. SimplyArt 662 443 095 Art Classes All levels. Thurs, 11-1pm, Miraflores Campsite. Fridays, 10.30am - 12:30pm. kukis Bar, Mojácar. Tel: 653 714 767 Girasol, Albox Art & painting. Tues, 10-1pm. Mosaic classes. Thurs 3-5.Tel 639 089 170 Sophia Wellness Centre, Arboleas Art classes. Tel. 950 449 451.

Yoga Lotus Yoga Centre, Mojácar Mondays. Contact Sharon - 950 469 122 or 672 061 048 or omsharon50 @gmail.com L.O.T.U.S Integral Yoga Centre Mojácar. Yoga all levels/gentle yoga. Weds, Fri, Sun. Tel. Parvathi: 636063560 Sansonora, Mojacar Wednesday, 2.30pm. All levels, visitors welcome. Sharon 672061048 Sol Yoga Centre, Arboleas Tel: 686 400331 Girasol, Albox Call 639 089 170 Cortijo El Saltador Lucainena de las Torres. Mon, 5:30pm. Tel: Brahmani on 600 34 91 51

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

Tennis & Padel Tennis Sierra Club Desert Springs. Tel: 687599115

Body Control Pilates. Classes or private. Sharon 638 487 314

Tennis Coach Diego Rodriguez Tel: 950 393 851 and 607 021 280

Aerobics or Pilates Campo de Futbol, Turre. Contact Vicki 650 764 623 or vicki.lynch@live.co.uk

Bowling Club de Zurgena Friendly, social and competitive bowling, Padel tennis lessons all levels and standards. Contact Keith: At home. Tel: Ulises Gutiérrez, 606 902 634 335 988 or zurgenabc@gmail.com. 691 www.zurgenabc.com Albox Sub-Aqua Club Cabrera Lawn Bowling Club Wed, 8pm, Travellers Inn (7Km from Contact Mrs Lynne Hughes-Jones Albox on Taberno Road). lynne@genesis-cs.com Tel: 617 830 660 Mojácar Sailing Club Indalo Lawn Bowling Club Sunday afternoons, Playa Cantal, near Contact Toni: 950 468 165 or 647 703 Trufi Bar. All ages welcome for crewing 393 wattsmyt@gmail.com or social membership. Contact George Mojacar Bowls Club on 950 475 428. Behind Marina Mar Hotel. Everybody PartyLevante Sailing Club welcome - Tues, Thurs and Sat starting Initiation for children from 7 yrs in small with coffee at 9:30. Contact Verna 610 groups. Email info@partylevante.com 838 644. or call 680942141 www.partylevante Badgers Golf Society .com Mojacar, play Wednesday and Saturday. Everyone always welcome. Contact Santa Irene Sailing Club Duncan Smart on 634 331 059 or Meets Sundays at 10:30 at the boat park badgersmojacar@gmail.com of the New Marina, Garrucha, with a presail coffee at café La Oficina virtually Boxers Golf Society Albox All welcome to join us as members or opposite at 11:00. Contact Ian via info@ guests. Call in at the Why Not bar in santaireneclubdevela.com or call 671 Albox on Saturday mornings or email 474 385. See www.santaireneclub devela.com peterstooks@avired.com Garrucha Table Tennis Club Forum Golf Society Plays friendly events at local courses Tel Barry on 677 174 430 twice a month. Richard Price. Telephone Cazadores de Turre Cricket Club. 850993073 or rfp53@yahoo.co.uk. Welcome new members of all ages and www.forumgolfsociety.webs.com experience. Contact Sam Lewis on 663 132 487 or Derek Larkins 634 361 941 Marina Phoenix Golf Society Visitors welcome Mondays and Adelante Gimnasia Artìstica Thursdays. Tel Don Atkins 605 051 238. Classes for fun gymnastics , competitive Email marinaphoenixgolfsociety levels, pre school and adults. Fully @gmail.com qualified coach. From 2 years. Tel 622 129 702 or info@adelanteartisitca.es Valle del Este Golf Society. Tuesdays, Thursdays & Sundays. Contact www.adelanteartistica.es Facebook Alan Townsend Tel. 690 090 982 Adelante Gimnasia artistica. Almería Golf League Contact Les on 950 619 273 Albox Club de Tenis Sun & Thurs mornings, Tues afternoons. Tel Sue: 950 064 369 Cabrera Tennis Club Email: cabreratennis@gmail.com www.facebook.com/cabrera.tennis Club de Tenis y Padel Indalo Vera. Tel: 608 250 607 - 950 59 28 77 www.tenisypadelindalo.com

Walking Football Club Campo De Football, Los Gallardos, Monday mornings. Secretar y peter@multigrate.com. Call 0044 7545 321 233. www.fclosamigos.com

Fitness & Martial Arts

Slimming Groups Casa Pepa, Turre, Weds 10 am, Hostal Meson (Kubatin) Arboleas, Thurs 1pm, Rose & Crown, Mojácar, Fri 11.30 Contact Vicki 650 764 623 or vicki.lynch @live.co.uk Slimming & Fitness with Pam Various locations. Tel: 639 465 631 pamsslimming@gmail.com 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. Sansonora, Mojácar Qi Gong, Pilates, Dance. Contact Elena, 630 688 615 or elenasansonora @gmail.com Hollie Newell Zumba Almeria Turre, Los Gallardos, Arboleas and San Juan. Contact: 634 317 391 Fitness with Pam Aerobics, Jane Fonda workout, Gentle Cardio/Pilates, Hits/Circuit, Limited Mobility. Various locations. Tel: 639 465 631 Zumba, La Vida Cucador Fridays 10am.

Girasol, Albox Pilates, children’s karate & gymastics, Betsy Fox Zumba advanced gymnastics, Tai-chi. Tel 639 603493163 – Mojácar area. 089 170

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Your Stars Things are looking up. You can come up with future trends in creative fields. Someone may try to damage your reputation. Difficulties with your mate may lead to isolation. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Saturday.

(Mar. 21- April 20)

Older family members may try to put unreasonable demands on you. Your emotional life may be up in the air if your mate has been going through a change of heart. You will have to watch out for minor health problems related to stress. You must consider yourself for a change. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Tuesday. (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23)

You will learn a great deal from people with different cultural backgrounds. Avoid too much discourse with colleagues this month. Your sensitive, affectionate nature will capture the heart of anyone you are attracted to. You'll find it easy to upgrade your environment by redecorating or changing your residence. Your (Apr. 21- May 21) luckiest events this month will occur on a Friday.

Take care of the needs of elders in your family. You may find that others do not do things the way you want; however, if the job gets done, let it pass. Try not to spend too much on children or entertainment. Your own small business on the side sounds pretty lucrative. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Monday. (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)

You may want to take another look at the investment you are about to make. Take action. Stubborn about making changes around your home. You may be ill-treated if you have to deal with institutional environments. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Thursday. (May 22 - June 21)

Creative pursuits should pay off. Empty promises will cause confusion. You will be able to make favourable changes in your living quarters. You are likely to be left alone if you aren't willing to bend just a little. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Friday. (Nov. 23 - Dec. 21)

Don't jump too quickly if someone tries to make you join in on their crusade. Colleagues may try to undermine you when talking to superiors. Your creative ideas will be put to good use if you dig in and do things around the house that will make your family happy. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday. (June 22 - July 22)

(July 23 - Aug. 22)

(Aug. 23 - Sept. 23)

Romantic opportunities will develop through friends or relatives. Try to understand their point of view. Travel should be on your agenda. You may need to lend an ear to an old friend. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday.

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) You can make money if you work on personal investments. Don't hold back. You can meet a new romantic partner or secure the love connection you already have by going out and entertaining yourself. Things are looking good for you, so open your eyes and get to it. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday. Do not get involved in joint financial ventures. You may want to put your creative thinking cap on. Make changes around your house and plan to do some entertaining. Talk to an older, established individual about your present situation. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Sunday.

It may be a disappointing day emotionally. You'll find it easy to charm members of the opposite sex this month. Someone you live with will get angry if you are neglecting your duties. Sudden romantic encounters will set your head spinning. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Friday. (Jan. 21- Feb. 19) You need activity. You have a lot to offer. You can mix business with pleasure to get favorable results. Too many opportunities and too many changes going on. Your luckiest events this month will occur on a Wednesday.

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20)

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Jokes of the Month The Bull

Diets

A man in a country area is going to catch a train and is worried he might be too late and miss it. Walking down the road he spots a farmer looking out over a large field. He asks the farmer, “Would you mind if I cut through your field instead of walking round it? I have to catch the train that leaves at 12.30.” The farmer replies, “Not a problem, go ahead. If my bull spots you, catching the train that leaves at 12 noon is quite possible!”

An elderly couple are killed in a road accident and are given a tour of heaven by St. Peter. He tells them, “This lakeside house is now yours. You can see it is close to some tennis courts, a large swimming pool, and the golf course is just down the road. If you want anything to eat and drink when you are out, there are lots of bars and restaurants, and you just go in and tell them what you want. It’s the same with all the nice shops. You don’t have to pay for anything.” As he is walking away the man hisses to his wife, “Heck Gladys, we could have died naturally ten years ago and come here. You shouldn’t have insisted that we always ate healthy food and had to eat stupid things like oat bran and wheat germ wholemeal brown bread that tastes terrible. We didn’t need to have all those boring salads instead of juicy beef burgers, sausages, and thick steaks, and we didn’t have to have all that low fat rubbish you made us eat for years. And what about all that horrible alcohol free beer that you always made me drink?”

Women in Space It took NASA a long time to decide that they could send a woman into space, and there were a lot of meetings. One of the engineers asked the committee, “What happens if you send a woman into space and she contacts us and says ‘Houston, I have a problem.’ We will then ask her what her problem is, and she is almost certain to reply”, “Yeah! Right! Are you still claiming you have no idea what I am talking about?” Quite Logical

Facebook Pages

A police officer pulled over a blonde driver for speeding and asked to see her licence. She turned to him angrily and shouted, “I do wish you lot could get your act together! Just yesterday you took my licence away, and now you expect me to produce it. How dumb it that?”

A woman in Spain put on her Facebook page, “I was far too hot last night, so I am going to sleep with my window open tonight and not wear a nightie.” 1,400 mosquitoes gave it a like, 210 mosquitoes shared it with a friend, and it received 425 comments from other mosquitoes. The number of mosquitoes who said they would attend the event was up to 2,800 within two hours.

Different Reasons Two male friends are talking at a bar and one of them says, “Hey! I’ve decided to get married. I am sick and tired of a messy house, unwashed dishes, and never being able to find a shirt that doesn’t want ironing.” His friend replies, “Hey! These are the exact reasons why I have decided to get a divorce!”

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Progress Men in 1845 were quite likely to state that they had killed a buffalo or another wild animal. Men in 1952 often stated that they had fixed the leaky roof or the washing machine. A lot of men in 2017 stated that they had shaved their legs.

...and next... The Cause A man goes to his doctor and tells him, “ Docc.c..c..tor.., my stut…t.. t.. te… ring.. i…s..s,, a bi..g..g..g..prob..b..b..lem.” The doctor examines him and tells him, “Well Mr. Smith, the problem is that you have the fattest and longest penis I have ever seen. It needs far too much blood and not enough is being pumped up to your brain. The only solution I can see is that we remove half of it.” The man agrees and has the operation. A month later he goes back to his doctor and tells him, “You have completely cured my stuttering and I am very grateful. The only thing is, my wife is not at all happy. She has sent me to ask if you can sew the amputated bit that you removed back on.” The doctor replied, “I’…m.. a. .a.. fr..fr..fr.. aid.. th..th..is..ca…ca…nt.. b..b..be ..d…d…d…one”

The Price of Brains In the hospital, where one of their close family members is near to death, the relatives are all sitting in the waiting room. Finally the doctor comes in, looks at all the worried faces and says, “I am afraid I have some bad news. The only hope left for your loved one that I can see at this time is a brain transplant. These are still experimental procedures, there is a certain amount of risk, and you will have to pay for the brain yourselves”. The family members sit quietly absorbing this news, and eventually one of the women asks the doctor, “Well, how much does a brain cost?” The doctor replies, “They cost 5,000 dollars for a male brain, and 500 dollars for a female brain. All the men try to avoid any eye contact with the women and try not to smirk. One man, unable to contain himself, asks the question everybody else is wondering about. “Why is a male brain ten times more expensive than a female one?” The doctor smiles at the man and says, “It’s a standard pricing policy. We have to mark down the price of a female brain as they’ve been used.”

Gone Fishing One Saturday morning a keen fisherman had planned to go out for the day to see what he could catch. He got out of bed, dressed quietly so as not to wake his wife, kissed her on the forehead, went downstairs and made himself a packed lunch, grabbed the dog, and went into his garage to hook up his trailer. When he backed out there was a torrential downpour with strong winds. He pulled back into his garage and switched on the morning radio programme. They said there was going to be really bad weather all day with possible gale force winds and no let-up in the rain. He decided this was not at all a good day to go fishing, so he went back into the house, undressed, and slipped back into bed. He decided that sex might be a better alternative than fishing so he cuddled up to his wife and told her, “The weather outside is really terrible today.” She replied sleepily, “Can you believe how stupid my husband is, going out fishing all day on a day like this, when the weather is so bad!”

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Coffee Break

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