Costa de Almeria 20 - 26 December 2012 Issue 1433

ISSUE NO. 1433

20 - 26

EWN WISHES

DECEMBER

2012

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READERS AND ADVERTISERS A MERRY XMAS

Making shopping safer for all this Christmas THE ‘Safe Shopping Plan’ (Plan de Comercio Seguro) campaign has been launched jointly between El Ejido Local and National Police as well as the council itself.

Guaranteeing police surveillance in those areas with a higher number of shoppers is the aim of the initiative, in order to avoid the usual type of offences suffered by both shopkeepers and customers during the Christmas period.

The campaign’s start coincided with that of the ‘Night in White’ (Noche en Blanco) cultural event and the Cheese Fair on December 14, and will finish on January 9.

El Ejido Councillor for Tourism and Trade Luisa Barranco said

Vehicles ‘lost’ AFTER updating its list of unusable vehicles, Almeria Provincial Government discovered three were missing!

Nijar accident Five women aged between 25 and 50 were injured on December 15 in a crash between two vehicles on the A-3201 in Nijar.

Killer jailed A 32-YEAR-OLD Castellon man has been jailed for eight years by Almeria Provincial Courts for murdering a drug dealer in Roquetas de Mar last year.

SHOPPING SPREE: Police to keep extra watch. that the town hall will make a great effort to optimise the

available human resources in order to contribute towards the campaign’s success.

Barranco, National Police Superintendent Angel Fernandez and Citizens’ Protection Director Jose Luis Guerrero already-evicted one until met with El Ejido to they find employment and shopkeepers discuss the initiative. get back on their feet.

It was later He praised Vera Mayor Jose Carmelo Blanco ‘for announced that a offering him all the help practical guide would he could give, not as a be distributed among shopkeepers to help citizen, but as a mayor’.

Carmona described the them detect possible Vera Mayor as ‘someone instances of theft who cares about the and fraud that could country’s problems’ and happen on their plans on meeting him premises during the Christmas period. next week.

Lack of response surprises man who offered to house evictees EULOGIO CARMONA, the man who offered his holiday home in Vera to an evicted family for a two-year period, is

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surprised that only three families have shown interest in his offer during the first week since he made it public.

However, he admitted that a contact telephone number he could be reached on was only published in the last couple of days.

Carmona wants to give temporary help to a family facing eviction or an

Living in hope AN average of €57 will be spent per head in Almeria Province on this year’s El Gordo lottery to be drawn on Saturday.

Fortunes for some - Page 14

Five injured FIVE women aged 2550 were injured in a two-vehicle crash on the A-3201 in Nijar.

Rural theft TWO Las Tres Villas residents, SRP, 26, and 21-year-old SAC, have been arrested for alleged thefts from Abrucena and Abla farms.

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Costa de Almería

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€1 million smuggle bid

HARD EVENT: Due to the slopes in both the running and cycling sections.

Mojacar duathlon EIGHTY-SIX athletes from all over Spain took part in Mojacar’s II Cross Duathlon on December 15. It was the second event to score towards the II Circuito At – Sport de Duatlon Cross, organised by Mojacar Town Hall with the collaboration of the Andalucian Triathlon Federation and managed by Almeritour-Sport.

A hard event due to the serious uphill slopes in both the running and cycling sections, the duathlon consisted of a sixkilometre stretch on foot through the streets of Mojacar followed by an 18kilometre cycling section and a threekilometre final stretch on foot ending at Plaza del Mirador.

TWO Moroccans, 19year-old N.M. and A.B, aged 26 have each been jailed for four years and fined €4,903

by Almeria Provincial Courts for trying to smuggle 704 kilos of hashish worth almost €1 million through the coast of El Ejido.

Health break A NEW implant medical procedure to treat vertebral fractures has benefited more than 150 patients at Torrecardenas Hospital

Quake alert SEVERAL mild earthquakes – not exceeding 3.5 on the Richter scale – have hit Jaen province in recent days.

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Rent free for three years ALMERIA town hall is offering 11 business spaces rent free for three years in the Vega de Aca area. Interested entrepreneurs must submit projects by January 10.

One direction RAMON GALERA TISCAR has now been successfully directing the six theatrical groups in Alcontar, Hijate, Seron, Tijola, Lucar and Purchena for five years.

Costa de Almería

A fruity link planned News watch REPRESENTATIVES of Southampton Port, England, visited Almeria Port to continue talks on a future sea link between the two coastal cities.

The proposed trading link would allow the introduction of Almeriagrown fruits and vegetables into the British market.

A second link with Rotterdam, The Netherlands, is also being

considered as it would improve the distribution of agricultural products from Almeria all over Europe, the regions’ main market.

The feasibility of exporting Almeria agricultural products to both Southampton and Rotterdam by cold-storage ship as an alternative to land transport has been considered ever since Almeria and

Southampton port authority leaders met at the Fruit Attraction Fair in Madrid.

However, even though it has been proven that perishable products exported by boat arrive at their destinations in perfect conditions, it has so far been difficult to convince Almeria exporters, who prefer land transport.

Funds query

It’s play time

A €20,000 cut in the annual Almeria Provincial government funding of Museo Casa Ibañez in Olula del Rio has been questioned by Izquierda Unida Member Juan Pablo Yakubiuk .

TRADITIONAL and hand-made toys were on displayed at the Cueva de San Jose in Terque.

YouTune plan

NIJAR palm trees are the worst hit by the Red Palm Weevil in Almeria province followed by Almeria and Huercal Overa.

A fishy catch ALMOST 6,300 tonnes of fish and seafood were exported by Almeria Province’s fishing sector in the first nine months of the year, a 51.4 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

It may look simple from the air, but Barcelona is not instantly easy for foreigners to find their way around!

Sky-high view of Barcelona a city made up of squares!

F

EW expatriates visiting Barcelona are likely to have noticed how simple the city’s grid street system is.

All the neat squares of roads criss-crossing seem more like a maze when walking and driving the city’s highways and byways.

While the Spanish say it is an easy city to drive and get around - a fact this aerial picture clearly appears to indicate - foreign motorists driving in the city frequently find themselves regretting that they did not leave their car at home and take the train or bus instead.

Barcelona, a city with so much appeal, oozes attractions, from the famous La Sagrada Familia (arrowed and inset) to Las

Quote of the week

‘

A MAN being tried for guiding a large dinghy with 54 immigrants on board, intercepted 30 miles from El Ejido in May, faces seven years in prison.

THE El Ejido Council’s PSOE Party wants a single Social Services Councillor instead of the current two to release extra funds for elderly assistance.

EMERGENCY work costing €900,000 to dry riverbeds damaged in September floods in the eastern part of Almeria Province, and paid for by the Andalucian government, are nearly finished.

Nijar parasites

Dinghy threat

Elderly help

The end is nigh

COOKING of typical Andarax gastronomy is to be filmed in Benahadux, Rioja, Huércal de Almería, Pechina, Capi Cuevas de los Medinas, Capi La Fuentecica and Viator to post on YouTube.

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‘I know the Spanish Government will not be gentle with me. I have been preparing myself for this for a long time.’

Gao Ping, Chinese art dealer and businessman in Spain, in a conversation with his accountant recorded by the police. He was arrested on suspicion of leading a money-laundering gang.

Ramblas, from the world-famous local football team to the Joan Miro gallery, not to mention wonderful shops, world-class hotels, famous restaurants, an attractive port and marina area, plus numerous parks.

This aerial photograph was one of 28 recently circulated on the internet under the title ‘It’s a beautiful world’, showing a variety of global shots, from Japan to Ecuador, from Iceland to the US, on a wide range of topics, from lightning strikes to the craziest illusion, and from wildlife to the world’s busiest train.

Undoubtedly this shot of the nation’s second most important city after the capital Madrid deserves its place under the simple title of ‘Epic aerial of Barcelona’.

Number of the week

will be closed by 700 branches Santander Bank all over the world.

The Spanish bank announced this as a measure for saving costs, following the merger of Banesto and Banif bank into the Santander Group.

All lit up ADRA Christmas lights were switched on in the presence of Mayor Enrique Hernando and all local councillors .

Joint protest DOZENS of people in Almeria city staged a protest against global hunger, unemployment and child slavery.

New Dean ANA MORENO has been appointed new Dean of Almeria Economists Association.

and finally...

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ made €6.2 million in its opening weekend at more than 1,000 Spanish cinemas. It is the third best debut this year, behind ‘The Impossible’ and the latest ‘Twilight’ film.

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Death at El Bobar THE woman found dead between rocks at El Bobar beach has been identified

by National Police as seventy-four-year-old A.M.S.M., who lived nearby.

Police sources informed that the woman was last seen alive on the morning of the day she was found and that her family, after not having any news of her, started a search at around 3pm.

Even though no autopsy results have yet been disclosed, police speculate she may have slipped and fell onto the rocks, as her jacket was found folded on a rock.

Buses attacked IT is suspected a group of minors may be responsible for pelting buses and cleaning vehicles with stones in Almeria city.

The attacks happen at the start and end of the night shift at Sector 20, located in povertystricken El Puche.

Although no personal injuries have yet been reported, some vehicles have suffered significant damage, so a higher number of police officers will be deployed in the area during those times the attacks are known to happen as well as asking citizens for help in identifying those responsible.

Costa de Almería

New road access to hospital is now open THE new 165-metre road stretch had remained closed upon completion but after the required administrative authorisation by the Almeria Urban Planning and Development Council was recently passed, the road finally opened this week.

The road, which was constructed to relieve the only other hospital road access from the south of traffic, required an investment of €230,000 and, apart from its 3.5-metre-wide lanes it also has pavements with a 1.8metre width, allowing

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Stories making headlines from the United Kingdom

Flying baby A 7lb baby boy has been born in a helicopter, 1,000ft above the Shetland Island, Lunna Holm.

It is the first case of a baby being delivered on the Coastguard search and rescue helicopter .

Fewer gases

TORRECARDENAS HOSPITAL: Now fully accessible by road. pedestrians to use it as well.

The new stretch, which

begins at the roundabout on Calle Hermanos Siret ending at the hospital,

will have a speed limit of 50kms per hour as it lies within city limits.

20,000 neither work nor study ALMOST 20,000 people between 16 and 25 in Almeria province neither work nor study.

According to the Working Popul-

ation Survey, out of 34,000 people in the province who are between 16 and 25 years old, almost 20,000 are what is known in Spain as ‘ni-nis’,

Hotel to be left unmanaged THE Vincci Mediterraneo Hotel in Almeria city centre will be left unmanaged from December 27 onwards, as confirmed by the hotel chain without further disclosing the reasons behind the decision.

Trade union sources said as the hotel is based in a rented property, a new group might be interested in taking over as soon as the operator leaves, saving around 30 jobs there.

The four-star hotel opened on Avenida del Mediterraneo in January 2002 and has 72 rooms, two suites as well as two conference rooms.

which means they neither study nor work.

This figure represents close to 50 per cent of people who are of working age, for the 16-25 population segment.

The survey also shows the average percentage of ‘ni-nis’ for Andalucia is 28 per cent of the total number of people in the region who are of working age.

This figure rises to 30 per cent for those in the 15-34 age range who do not hold any qualifications (at least Bachillerato or Professional Training) beyond the legally-mandatory secondary education period, compared to 16.2 per cent for those aged 15-34.

FOUR STAR: The Mediterraneo.

Consumer goods price index drops by 0.1 per cent THE annual inflation rate in Andalucia dropped by 0.5 per cent to 2.6 per cent in November mainly due to a drop in petrol, lubricants and car prices.

According to the Consumer Prices Index (IPC) disclosed by the National Statistical Institute (INE), consumer

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goods prices dropped in Andalucia by 0.1 per cent in November.

The IPC decreased by 0.1 per cent in Almeria, Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla and by 0.2 per cent in Cadiz, but increased in Jaen by 0.5 per cent and remained the same in Malaga.

The worse hit sector by the inflation rate is medicine (+14.9 per cent increase), education (+9.9 per cent), housing (+6 per cent) and alcohol and tobacco (+5.2 per cent). Minor increases in household goods and furniture (+0.7 per cent), entertainment and culture

along with clothes and footwear (both at +0.5 per cent) and cafés and restaurants (+0.4 per cent), and decreased for the communications sector (-2.8 per cent).

Also, November’s inflation rate coupled to pensions will mean a loss for pensioners.

LONDON generated 28 per cent less carbon dioxide emissions than predicted during the 2012 Olympic Games, achieved by cutting energy use at venues, said the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games.

Laffy Duck A 50ft rubber duck sailed through the Thames River in London in a stunt to encourage Brits to have a laugh. It was to publicise Jackpot joy.com’s new £250,000 (€308,000) Facebook FUNdation grants pot.

Say cheese A WOMAN in Sussex inadvertently took her own picture when trying to unlock a stolen phone.

The photo was automatically e-mailed to the owner with the mapped location of the thief via the anti-theft app.

Blind rage A DRUNKEN man, registered blind, ran over his girlfriend after he got behind the wheel after drinking five bottles of wine. She escaped with minor grazing following the incident in Lincoln.

Sounds fishy A LONDON fishmonger, known as the £1 Fish Man, has released a song in the hopes of securing the coveted Christmas number one slot. Muhammad Shahid Nazir’s song was posted on YouTube.

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Almeria with an average monthly pension of €677,75 and, as little as that may be, the Government intends on freezing them next year, which will result in a significant wealth loss”.

He further moaned that “to worsen things, the Popular Party is considering making the pensioners partially pay for ambulance transport, something which will greatly maim not just their quality of life, but that of their descendants too, as many whole families are surviving on the pensions of their elder relatives.”

Both CCOO and UGT

TO BE FROZEN: More will be counting the pennies. will request the passing of a ‘Motion of Unconstitutionality’ against the decree, which they say violates certain precepts of the Spanish Constitution.

Trial for man accused of trying to kill two THE trial of a man who tried to kill both his ex wife and her sister with an iron sheaf and an axe in August 2011 has been set for February 7 and 14 2013.

Sixty-five-year-old J.M.R., who had already served a prison sentence for the 1998 murder of the victims’ brother with the aid of a hit man and had got out of prison 15 days before committing

the latest offences, faces 27 years and nine months in prison for two counts of attempted murder and one count of trespassing as requested by the Prosecution.

As the report states, in the early hours of August 29 2011, J.M.R. entered the residence of his ex wife, fifty-five-year-old A.M.O., in the Tarambana area of El Ejido, intending on killing her.

The noise made by J.M.R. woke up A.M.O. who tried to flee in vain but was hit with an iron sheaf all over her body.

The scuffle woke up A.M.O.’s sister, forty-fiveyear-old T.M.O. who lived next door who went to the scene. However, J.M.R. then struck T.M.O. several times on the head, chest and collar bone. A slip by J.M.R. let the two women flee.

New inspector position not welcome JOSE Luis Amerigo, PSOE Spokesman for Carboneras

Town Hall, has criticised Mayor Salvador Hernandez

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Costa de Almería

Almeria pensioners protest for decent pensions THE Pensioners, Retired and Pre-retired sector of the General Worker’s Union (UGT) along with Almeria Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) trade union gathered outside the Social Security National Institute (INSS) on December 13 to protest against ‘Royal Decree-Law 28/2012’, which will freeze pensions in 2013 as well as removing a compensation pay for the 2012 price index increase.

Luis Lopez Lopez, leader of the forementioned UGT sector, complained that “there are 94,690 pensioners in

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(GICAR Party) and the local Popular Party for using the town’s budgets to justify the creation of a new inspector position when a year ago they eliminated three council positions.

Amerigo, who believes political persecution was behind last year’s dismissals, has also criticised the decision by the Provincial Government’s Popular Party to charge the citizens of Carboneras more for tax.

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A hole lot easier MAJOR businesses looking to dig up the roads in Almeria will find it easier after a new bye-law was introduced.

After several meetings between Almeria City Hall and the city’s Industrial Engineers Association (COITAL), an agreement to modify the bye-law regarding the management of works in Almeria City public thoroughfares has been reached.

Among the changes in the bye-law is a reduction in the deposit required for works to go ahead, from €100,000 to €25,000.

That should let more companies do improvements, says COITAL. Also, from now on ‘entrepreneurial status’ will only be given to the most expensive projects, which will allow engineers to assume a greater say in the planning of works.

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Almeria tourist board welcomes the French ALMERIA Board of Tourism welcomed French journalists for a tourist promotion.

The journalists working for Grands Reportages, a specialised travel magazine, visited places like the Tabernas Desert, the Oasys and Fort Bravo theme parks, as well as all the Almeria city monuments and historic places.

They were the guests of the Provincial Board of Tourism last week, with the collaboration of the Spanish Tourism Office in Paris.

An article on Almeria tourist spots will be published in the French magazine in the new year.

Board of Tourism Leader Natalia Diaz Stalenhoef, said they were

NEWS EXTRA

Theatrical groups SIX theatrical groups in Alcontar, Hijate, Seron, Tijola, Lucar and Purchena have been succesfully managed under the same direction by Ramon Galera Tiscar for five years.

Almost done

HOLIDAY VISIT: Cabo de Gata is a popular national park. designing a Promotion Plan for 2013, which includes attending the Spanish

Tourism International Fair in Madrid from January 30 to February 3.

Fashion and gymnastics combined CLASSIC cars, Disney characters as well as the sounds of the El Ejido

Costa de Almería

Music Band were just some of the attractions at a ‘White Night’ event.

The event was held in the Plaza Antonio Mira last Friday night. It was led by Mayor Francisco Gongora, some of the town’s councillors as well as event organiser the Central Ejido Shopkeepers, and ended after midnight.

There was also an exhibition by the El Ejido Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, storytelling, an

Archaeology workshop and a fashion show by designer Jesus Martin.

Many of the shops were open to the publlic offering discounts, competitions and entertainment alternatives.

The First Traditional Handmade Cheese Fair, which also started last Friday in the Plaza Mayor ended the following day.

Health at risk as sewage pours out POLITICIANS are calling for urgent action on the lack of a sewage plant in Antas.

The Popular Party’s (PP) Jose Cara warned there were potential public health risks due to the lack of a water treatment plant. Now he wants Andalucia Government’s Leader of the Regional Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment Department, Luis Planas, to get work started as soon as possible.

He explained that at the moment “the human waste of 3,500 local residents is being dumped into the river Antas on a daily basis.” Now the PP is demanding “agility” from the regional government to start either of the two solutions it is currently looking at.

According to Cara, Planas has “promised to construct a new treatment plant” – at a cost of €4.4 million – “or a pipe to transport the waste from Antas to the treatment plant in Vera, which currently has a load of 30 per cent, requiring a €600,000 investment”.

The Antas treatment plant was swept away by floods in November, and was argued it had been wrongly sited.

EMERGENCY works by the Andalucian Government with a cost of €900,000 on damaged dry riverbeds after September’s floods in the eastern portion of Almeria Province are nearly finished.

Toy exhibit TRADITIONAL and hand-made toys were displayed on Saturday December 16 at the Cueva de San Jose in Terque.

Local foods COOKING of typical Andarax gastronomy will be filmed at centres in Benahadux, Rioja, Huércal de Almería, Pechina, Capi Cuevas de los Medinas, Capi La Fuentecica and Viator for later posting on YouTube.

New idea MORE than 150 patients at Torrecardenas Hospital have benefited from a new procedure to treat vertebral compression fractures involving the implantation of a percutaneous balloon.

Nijar pest THE town’s palm trees are the worst hit in the province by the Red Palm Weever, followed by Almeria and Huercal Overa.

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Police hunt for man after foiled bank robbery

Prison sentence for man selling drugs

selling hash and cocaine from a house in calle Maimonides, in Almeria’s Pecaderia neighbourhood.

The prosecution took into account the man’s severe drug addiction as a mitigating factor.

The Albox branch of the J.B.G, who has a Royal British Legion (RBL) criminal record, was would like to remind arrested on members the meeting September 27 in today (Thursday) will be a 2010, after a monthcoffee morning. Also, they long investigation raised more than €1,200 which resulted in a through a Poppy Masked search warrant Ball and annual bazaar.

MASKED BALL: Attendees John and Sandra Evans. issued by a court.

The police search yielded 111.41 grammes of highpurity cocaine, 92.16 grammes of hash, a NATIONAL Police in Almeria have arrested a 22- where he stole several sunglasses totaling €413. digital weight and a year old man who was fleeing from his latest After the arrest, it was determined the man was 9mm pistol, for which robbery in Calle Altamira. The suspect’s description responsible for seven street robberies, all on old J.B.G did not have a given to the arresting officers matched that of a women, who were robbed of gold chains and licence. man who had an outstanding warrant by El Ejido necklaces by the forceful pulling method. The man Local Police for a theft offence at an establishment has already been sent to prison.

NATIONAL Police are looking for a medium-height Spanish man, with a moustache in his 40s for trying to rob a Cajamar branch in Almeria on December 11.

It happened at 11am when the man entered the bank on Avenida del Peru and, after waiting for his turn, he leaned over the counter and violently demanded the female cashier “to give him all the money she had” while making faint gestures of having a gun in his pocket, but her colleagues rushed to her aid and the man fled empty-handed.

THE Almeria Provincial Court has sentenced a forty-three-

year-old man to three years and nine months in prison for

A week of fundraising

Street robber arrested fleeing from scene

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Costa de Almería

Man is arrested for six Nijar thefts TWENTY-ONE-YEAROLD R.M.L. was arrested by Nijar Guardia Civil on the morning of December 7 for a continuous theft offence in several Nijar homes. It has been determined the Nijar resident is behind six thefts. Among the stolen items are bikes, tools and a laptop.

The man, who always climbed to get into the homes, had been caught inside two of the homes by the respective owners, both times fleeing and dropping personal items on the way, helping the investigation to pinpoint him as the suspect.

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Costa de Almería

Local weather for next 7 days ALMERIA TODAY AND TOMORROW VELEZ RUBIO

HUERCAL OVERA

ALBOX

VELEZ RUBIO

GARRUCHA MOJACAR ALMERIA

HUERCAL OVERA

ALBOX

RETAMAR

ADRA

GARRUCHA

ROQUETAS

MOJACAR

ALMERIA ADRA

S Sun,

Cl Clear,

Sh Showers,

Alicante TODAY: CLEAR Fri - 21 13 C Sat - 21 12 Cl Sun - 20 11 Cl

Sn Snow,

C Cloud, Th Thunder

Madrid

MAX 18C, MIN 13C Mon - 19 12 Cl Tues - 17 12 S Wed - 16 12 Cl

TODAY: CLEAR, Fri - 18 11 Cl Sat - 19 11 S Sun - 19 11 Cl

MAX 12C, MIN 7C Mon - 12 -3 Cl Tues - 11 -2 Cl Wed - 10 2 Cl

MAX 16C, MIN 11C Mon - 17 10 Cl Tues - 15 9 Cl Wed - 14 8 Cl

TODAY: SHOWERS, MAX 15C, MIN 10C Fri - 18 10 C Mon - 18 10 Cl Sat - 17 11 Cl Tues - 17 8 Cl Sun -18 11 Sh Wed - 16 8 S

MAX 21C, MIN 12C Mon - 20 9 Cl Tues - 18 8 Cl Wed - 17 8 S

TODAY: CLEAR, Fri - 20 11 C Sat - 19 9 Cl Sun - 19 9 Cl

Malaga MAX 19C, MIN 11C Mon - 16 9 Cl Tues - 15 8 S Wed - 15 8 Cl

THESE are hard times for Almeria.

The economic crisis has left almost 30 per cent of the province’s population living in poverty, when the national average is 22 per cent.

According to figures provided by entities like the Food Bank, Caritas or the Red Cross and published by daily Diario de Almeria , there are over 60,000 people in the province who receive free food from the above charities.

The proportion of people that need the

contribution of citizens or non-profit organisations has shot up to 10 per cent of the province’s population in 2012.

The higher demand cannot be satisfied with just the contributions mentioned above, so new initiatives like clothes and book banks are being created like those in Viator.

The unemployment rate for the province is alarmingly approaching 40 per cent. The situation has resulted in five out of 10 elders in

the region providing financial help to their descendants, even though Almeria elders have one of the country’s lowest average monthly pensions.

Towards the end of November, the Almeria Food Bank Foundation launched a large-scale non-perishable foods collection campaign with over 1,000 volunteers beating all expectations in terms of vegetables, rice, pasta, oil and milk, although not enough baby food was collected.

The Dames do good

Mallorca

Murcia

Benidorm TODAY: CLEAR, Fri - 22 12 Cl Sat - 22 11 Cl Sun - 21 11 Cl

Fog,

TODAY: CLOUD Fri - 14 7 C Sat - 12 6 C Sun - 13 -3 Sh

Barcelona TODAY: SHOWERS Fri - 17 8 C Sat - 16 8 C Sun - 17 8 Cl

ROQUETAS

MAX 20C, MIN 13C Mon - 19 9 Cl Tues - 17 8 Cl Wed - 17 8 S

Almeria TODAY: SHOWERS Fri - 18 13 Cl Sat - 19 13 S Sun - 18 12 Cl

RETAMAR

Charities help those in need

MAX 19C, MIN 10C Mon - 19 7 Cl Tues - 17 6 Cl Wed - 16 6 S

FESTIVE FAYRE: Some of the stalls that generated the funds.

MORE THAN €2,500 was raised at The Dames in Turre Christmas market. In its 10th year, the money from the bazaar will be donated to local charities.

The ladies social group also has places left on their Granada visit from January 8 until 10.

More information: 950 478 633.

El Ejido Mayor to fight against shack settlements SONIA Ferrer, Leader of the Junta de Andalucia’s Provincial Branch asked El Ejido Mayor Francisco Gongora (Popular Party) to “start collaborating” to eradicate the town’s “urgent” shack settlement problem as well as “to fulfil his obligations” on the matter like other councils, instead of “going it alone”.

Ferrer said “the council only seems to want to demolish the shacks so that the problem goes somewhere else instead of looking for a permanent solution” like the rest of the affected

councils, which have all halted demolitions, regardless of shacks being empty or not. Likewise, she said that while other town halls or even the Junta’s Provincial Branch are “looking for solutions”, El Ejido Council “has refused” to hold meetings with council leaders and technicians.

She also said that while El Ejido Council has submitted the census of sub-standard homes required by the Junta to all affected councils, it also must “be willing to solve the problem”.

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Stories making headlines from Germany

Bomb scare A BAG left on a railway station in Essen caused a false bomb alarm, two days after an explosive device was deactivated by police at Bonn’s station.

Snow charge A 32-year-old man in Augsburg faces charges of negligence after a woman slipped and fell allegedly because he had not cleared snow from in front of his house.

Drinks limit THE Erding Thermal Spa near Munich has limited clients to three alcoholic drinks after a naked and drunk 35year-old Austrian client was held for hitting a private guard.

Legal practice RELIGIOUS circumcision of children under six months old has been allowed and regulated under a new law. The move comes after a German court controversially banned it.

Sex warrant THE German owner of top-visited porn websites YouPorn, Pornhub, Fabian Thylmann, was held for alleged tax fraud after a Cologne court issued a warrant.

Google it THE 2012 UEFA European Cup, London Olympic Games and the death of comedian Dirk Bach were Google Germany’s top searches in 2012.

Duty fail A POLICE officer was fined €10,800 by a Magdeburg court for negligent homicide, as he failed to check a man who burnt himself to death in his cell.

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Costa de Almería

La Parata cheque for flood victims of Pueblo Laguna SHEA FOX, proprietor of La Parata restaurant, handed a cheque for €3,146 to Isabel Gallardo Ortega, president of the Cruz Roja in Vera.

The donation – to be used to support victims of the recent floods in Pueblo Laguna, Vera Playa – was raised through a lunchtime and evening event held in October at the restaurant, attended by over 100 people and supported by a large number of local businesses, residents and musicians.

La Parata community has also collected, and is continuing to collect, a significant amount of furniture, bedding, crockery and useful household items to aid those in need of assistance.

Jail sentence

Dog seized SWEDEN - Customs officials have seized 22 dogs in nine separate cases of alleged puppy smuggling during 2012.

Fire attacks

Female entrepreneurs hold charity collection The funds, which will be raised by raffling the collected items, will be donated to the Caritas charity association in Vera.

The items are being donated by entre-

Stories making headlines in Denmark, Norway and Sweden

NORWAY - Mullah Krekar, the founder of Ansar al-Islam Islamist group, was acquitted of terrorism by an Oslo court, but sent to jail for two years after threatening witnesses.

DONATION: Shea Fox (right) hands over the cheque to Isabel Gallardo Ortega, President of the Cruz Roja in Vera.

FOUR business women with ties to Antas and Vera have started a charity collection aimed at raising funds for those whose homes were damaged after September’s torrential rains.

SCANDINAVIAN PRESS

preneurs and small business owners in return for their products, brands and services being promoted through different social networks.

Maria Jose Saez, one of the entrepreneurs behind the initiative, said the initial idea was to sell every donated item at a flea market but the tediousness of pricing each item individually put the women off the idea so they opted to sell cheap tickets to raffle all the items.

Saez recalled how the bursting of the river Antas’ banks resulted in both material and human losses among the residents of surrounding towns.

Those interested in collaborating can email Saez at msaezbelm@gmail.com before the prize date, scheduled for December 28 in Vera.

Previously free birth certificates will cost 200 euros in 2013 A ONE-HOUR partial strike was carried out by judges, prosecutors and lawyers in Almeria on December 13 as a protest against an upcoming reform bill for the Judicial System Organic Law (Ley Organica del Poder Judicial) planned by Alberto Gallardon’s Ministry of Justice.

The partial strike took place between 12am and 1pm outside the capital’s courts and was backed by over a 100 staff from the legal sector, who demanded instant withdrawal of the reform bill.

The Dean of the National Lawyers Association, Jose Pascual Pozo, said the planned reforms will make legal services less accessible by citizens, citing as an example the new Fees Law (Ley de Tasas), which entails the payment of a €200 fee to appeal a €100 fine.

Another concern is for the planned changes in the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) like closing afternoons and charging citizens for certain administrative proceedings.

Man tries to kill wife A MAN, 38, was arrested in El Portil, Huelva, for allegedly dousing his partner in fuel and threatening to kill her. The Guardia Civil report the Cuban man was arguing with his wife and her screams woke the neighbours.

When they arrived, she told them he had also put a machete to her throat. After a rapid trial, the man was sent to prison for attempted manslaughter.

DENMARK - Five men aged between 21 and 24 were found guilty of arson attacks against a police school in Copenhagen, which destroyed 13 police cars. They await sentence.

Drunk guard SWEDEN - A 25-yearold Royal Family guard was so hungover - the authorities reported - he was found unable for duty at Stockholm’s Royal Palace.

Murder hints NORWAY - Blood stains from a murdered 16-year-old girl in Oslo were allegedly found by the police inside a camper van of a man aged 37 from Ålesund.

Sun power DENMARK - Four solar heating plants in Jutland measuring up to 80,000 square metres each, will start producing solar energy in 2014.

Her hobby SWEDEN – “Penguins are feminists. The males incubate,” Swedish EU Commissioner and penguin collector Cecilia Malmström told Expressen newspaper.

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Costa de Almería

Soul stars roll out hits to remember at concerts 1

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1. Owners of Sala Group Claire and Ian Strutton, and Zoe and Bobby Strutton.

2. EWN publishers Steven and Michel Euesden (second from left) with from left Nicki Burgess, Sian and Steve Tiley, and Michel’s parents Irene and George Mole.

3. Alexander O’Neal performed all of his hits.

4. Chris and Jenny Howard and Helen and Martin Campbell.

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ITH more than 75 years in the entertainment business between them, two soul acts gave performances to remember during a tour of Spain.

British group The Real Thing and American singer Alexander O’Neal brought an eclectic mix of rhythm and blues to the Costas when they performed a trio of exclusive concerts - some a sell-out - on the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca.

And an added bonus for the audience was compere Dan ‘The Man’ Davies with a variety of old classics.

The Real Thing opened their performance with hits from their 40-year span in the music industry, including their chart-topping You To Me Are Everything, with some in the audience taking to the dance floor as the group also entertained with a 1970s’ and 1980s’ medley.

And the soothing tones of Alexander O’Neal also encouraged onlookers to get up and dance and at one point during his Costa del Sol show, the R&B singer invited the concert-goers to join him on stage, grooving to his top hits including Criticize, Fake, and If You Were Here Tonight.

At a VIP after-show party lucky 3 guests mingled with both acts who happily posed for photographs.

“Our show in Denia was great,” said vocalist and guitarist Eddie Amoo following The Real Thing’s second performance on the Costa Blanca. “We had been coming to Spain for years before we made it big, doing the club scene in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.”

He added: “Three of our hits have become classics and we have always had a strong live show, so have retained our audience over the years who return again and again. We are the backdrops of many people’s lives and that is quite touching.”

The concerts were held at the Don Carlos Hotel in Elviria on the Costa del Sol and at The Denia Marriott Hotel on La Sella Golf Resort in Alicante, and at La Casa del Reloj in San Pedro del Pinatar on the Costa Blanca. Show sponsors were the EWN, Spectrum Radio, Iceland food stores and telecoms company Telitec.

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5. Katie and Ron Griffin, with Assistant Manager of the Don Carlos Hotel Antonio Gonzalez (centre).

6. Hazel and Justin Durrant.

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7. Matt Johnson and Charley Jones.

8. Alexander O’Neal with Michel and her father George.

9.Ashlea Bell, and Gail and Geoff Cuttell

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Costa de Almería

JUST two days to go, and all eyes are on Saturday’s ‘El Gordo’ (The Fat One) lottery with more than €2.5 billion to be won. Times remain hard in cash-strapped Spain, but some people are about to get mighty rich.

PREPARE to see people glued to television screens and tuned into radio stations - in the home, cafés, bars anywhere reception is clear on Saturday.

For Spain often comes almost to a standstill as the El Gordo lottery draw results are announced.

As schoolchildren draw numbers starting at 8.30am at the Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) in Madrid, the nation will watch and listen.

There will be 27,547,200 prizes, from the ‘vuelta’ where people get their money back for having a certain number to the big prize, El Gordo.

Each ticket (individual number) costs €200, and each ‘decimo’ (10th) of a ticket, €20, and these are the most popular.

Since July, punters ranging from wealthy businessmen to work syndicates, from housewives keen for a change of luck, to ardent gamblers, have been investing in El Gordo tickets.

FLASHBACK: The smiles spell out an El Gordo victory, though the odds of breaking even are less than 6 per cent.

Just two days from fortunes for some!

With ticket prices high, given the state of most people’s finances, especially in the present economic downturn, syndicates are common with families, friends - even villages - buying tickets, splitting the cost and sharing the winnings. This year the total prize money will be €2.52 billion out of a total

revenue of €3.6 billion Some keen followers of the El Gordo draw try to buy tickets from various parts of Spain, with one Andalucia family ensuring each year that they buy individual tickets through a network of friends in various areas including Galicia, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Sevilla and San Sebastian.

Each year the lottery organisation pays back 70 per cent in prize money resulting in El Gordo offering the best lottery odds of a win worldwide… even though lottery games are high risk!

And individuals plus syndicates are not the only winners with El Gordo, with millions collected from sales also going to charities.

As well as at the official lottery sale outlets, tickets are sold in the street as well as online - according to some reports leading to sales in 140 countries - with prices charged often slightly higher than €20 once commissions have been added.

A study of the gambling habits of Spaniards revealed last year that people spent an average of €71 on lottery tickets, €3 more than in 2010.

According to the same study, while women prefer even numbers, men prefer odd.

El Gordo was introduced in 1812 by the Cortes de Cadiz, the country’s legislative body, to increase state income.

Almost 50 years earlier, lotteries were initially introduced to Spain by King Carlos III to raise finances in general,

A case of numbers *The favourite last number this year for people buying tickets online is 6, followed by 1, 5, 4 and 7, in that order. *The favoured three last numbers are 701, 666, 835 and 996. *The end number which has historically been a winner most often is 5. *Only two numbers have ever been drawn twice as El Gordo, 15640 and 20297. including for the nation’s Napoleonic War. El Gordo prize money has touched people from all walks of life.

In 1930, as the world sank deeper into the Great Depression, part of the year’s main 30 million-peseta prize went to a garage owner and his mechanics, who had each chipped in 22 cents to gain today’s equivalent of about €1,200 each.

In 2008, a bar in Soria, north of Madrid, sold all 1,950 of the third prize tickets, spreading €97 million among customers, family and friends.

With the familiar saying ‘you've gotta be in it to win it’, more than 30 million people are estimated to be lined up for this year’s draw.

A big fat nothing for most EL GORDO will come to a big fat nothing for the majority of

people who buy tickets, with mathematicians putting the

probability of breaking even at less than 6 per cent.

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Police appeal for help in search for missing Briton

Breton to stand trial for murder A PRIVATE prosecution is seeking 40 years in prison for Jose Breton for murdering his two children.

Ruth and Jose were reported missing by their father on October 8, 2011, in Cordoba.

However, his story of how they disappeared made police suspect he was involved and children’s remains were later found on a bonfire he had made on a property belonging to his parents.

He was arrested on October 18, 2011, and sent to prison.

Although the fire destroyed any DNA evidence, Breton will stand trial because other evidence points to him having killed his two children. He denies the charges.

Once the trial is over, the children’s mother wants the remains which were found on the bonfire handed over to her so that she can bury them.

An initial report regarding the remains claimed that they were not human, but a later report, in September this year, found the opposite.

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TREKKER: Robert Golden.

POLICE in Sussex are concerned for the welfare of Shoreham man Robert Golden, 58, who failed to return home from a holiday

in Spain. He flew on his own to Sevilla on November 5 and had bought a return flight on easyJet to return on

November 19. He was reported missing on November 23.

However, Robert, who has a passion for trekking,

Spanish families will spend less this Christmas TWENTY-FIVE per cent of Spanish families will only be able to spend €300 on Christmas this year.

According to a survey carried out by ESADE, following five years of financial crisis, the Spanish spend 38 per cent less at Christmas.

There are now two types of households, the survey shows. Fifty-five per cent of them will be able to celebrate Christmas in a similar way to previous years although they will attempt to buy ‘useful’ presents.

There will be fewer ‘impulse’ buys, but they plan to spend between €600 and €700. Back in 2007, the average

GIFTS: Not so lavish this year. expenditure was around €1,000. The cutbacks have mainly been on gifts, extra food and leisure activities.

There are another 25 per cent of families who will be unable to celebrate Christmas lavishly, and will spend an average of €300, mainly on food and gifts for children.

These families, experts say, will not go to large shops to do their Christmas shopping, but instead use corner shops and Chinese bazaars.

In many cases, it will be

up to the grandparents to help make Christmas a happier time.

In both groups, families will search for the best prices and compare them at different shops before buying.

There will be no luxuries and gifts will be practical and long-lasting.

There will be a return to traditional family meals at home, rather than in restaurants, and most will be prepared using precooked and frozen products.

The average expenditure per person will be €514, which is €46 less than last year and €300 less than in 2008.

didn’t board the return flight and hasn’t been in touch with his brother or his colleagues in London where he works in IT. His brother Barry said: “Robert loves walking and the outdoors. It is worrying that he can be away for that length of time and not use his bank cards. The last time was November 10 somewhere in Spain.”

He is a keen walker and mentioned to a friend about trekking to Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz and Jerez for about 10 to 12 days.

Anyone who knows of his whereabouts can contact Sussex Police on +441273475432, quoting number 804 of 23/11.

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Costa de Almería

A balloon farewell THE evening-sky was suddenly dotted with 38 pink balloons.

Each one marked a year in the short life of Louise Clarke, the Costa Blanca journalist, broadcaster and town hall worker who was buried at San Pedro del Pinatar after losing an intensive-five-week battle against sudden illness.

The balloons were released at 38year-old Louise’s funeral which was attended by hundreds anxious to say a final farewell to a local expatriate who will be missed, but not forgotten.

Canon Terence Sampson conducted the service - held as a celebration of Louise’s life - and he shared stories about her career and family life.

Wife of Lee and mother of their youngsters Charlie and Lilly, Louise died at Torrevieja Hospital.

A prominent figure in media on the Costa Blanca, she joined Round Town News in 2007 as a reporter, covering stories from property scandals and community issues to local charity events, of which she was an avid

supporter. She later went on to do local radio and television work and spent a year at Orihuela Costa Town Hall helping the expat community.

The funeral celebration of Louise’s life continued the following night at the Christmas Glitterball event.

Lee Clarke revealed that his wife had said she wanted people to celebrate her life, and at the event family members wore bright colours and thanked everyone for their support.

Suzy G, Nick Gold and Snowblind entertained, and a raffle raised hundreds of euros for the Clarke family.

However the final funding will not be announced until the amount raised from auction of items donated which is ongoing - is finalised.

Bids can be made until the end of today (Thursday) via the Facebook page www.facebook.com/ events/117347298429404/

No more telephoneRUSSIAN PRESS based assistance for Russia 1,500 elders throughout MTV A NEW channel called Pyatnitsa the province (‘Friday’) will replace Stories making headlines from Russia

THE Provincial Government will stop providing the over-the-phone elderly care service from January 1 2013 due to the cuts by the Central Government, which funded 65 per cent of the service cost, with a total of 1,500 elders throughout the province being affected, as told

by Provincial Government socialist member Jose Nicolas Ayala.

The remote assistance service, which is managed jointly between the Provincial Government and the town halls of those municipalities with a population of over 20,000, had a total budget of €402,833.60, out of which around €140,000 is covered by

EPSA public company has over 1,000 empty houses ACCORDING to the Andalucian Land Public Company’s (EPSA) webpage, there are 1,181 empty available dwellings throughout the province.

The company is associated with the Junta’s Department of Public Works and Housing, led by Elena Cortes.

When Popular Party Parliament Member Jaime Rynaud asked Cortes about the 5,162 available homes throughout Andalucia, she replied that “the properties are

not empty as well as having been assigned to Andalucian families”.

The Andalucian Popular Party recently reported that EPSA converted 87 temporary contracts into permanent ones, with most of those conversions being illegal and that the beneficiaries of many of those contracts were relatives and close friends of staff in high positions at the Department of Public Works and Housing and EPSA.

the Provincial Government.

In October, the Provincial Government was informed that it would have to finance the service by itself from next year as the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality would be removing the funds for the service from its 2013 budget.

Obscene gesture by biker at 166kph A MOTORCYCLIST was arrested after making an obscene gesture at a speed camera on the A-6 near Madrid.

Guardia Civil report that the man and two others were zigzagging across the motorway at great speed.

He did not have matriculation plates on his motorbike and the three motorbikes fled when officers ordered them to stop.

A chase followed and the three motorcyclists were stopped.

However, one escaped again, but an image of him making an obscene gesture was caught by a speed camera on the M-30 when he was travelling at 166kph in an area where the speed limit was 90kph.

The other two were released, but the 22year-old was arrested and charged with dangerous driving and endangering others.

the music channel on June 1, 2013 due to low ratings, said ProfMedia president Nikolai Kartozia.

New mobile THE latest smartphone which has been developed

by Yota Devices will be presented at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2013.

Arms head KONSTANTIN Busygin has been appointed new head of arms manufacturer Izhmash after an internal dispute within the company.

Jet tested THE new T-50 fighter jet successfully completed a 40-minute test flight in Komsomolsk-onAmur.

Still jailed ALLEGED mass-riot plotter Leonid Razvozzhayev will remain arrested until April 2013, as ruled on Wednesday by Moscow’s Basmanny District Court.

Pussy Riot ARTIST Nikas Safronov has filed a lawsuit against the controversial band for the unauthorised use of his image in their ‘Pussy Riot Scorches Putin’s Glamour’ video.

Easy call PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin called for legislative adjustments that would simplify the citizenship acquisition process.

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Long sentence awaits THE Almeria Provincial Public Prosecutors Office will request 25 years in prison for the forty-three year old man accused of killing his thirty-year-old estranged wife on May 2011 after he stabbed her 21 times, as well as €200,000 compensation for each of the couple’s two minor children.

As stated in the sentence, the man went to his estranged wife’s house in the El Zapillo area and, after a threehour wait ouside the building, he killed her with a 20-centimetrelong blade kitchen knife when she went to take her dog for a walk at 10am.

2012 was safest year in history for civil aviation TO date, 2012 has been the safest year in the history of civil aviation.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), there has been one accident per 5.3 million

flights this year.

IATA also said that 2012 has seen airlines offering an “incredible level of safety” and if the trend continues until the end of the year, it will be the

MONEY LAUNDERING: On a big scale.

Unlucky gambler lies to police A MAN who made a false report to cover up the fact that he was playing poker online was arrested by Guardia Civil in HuercalOvera, Almeria.

The detainee, 52, spent almost €2,000 gambling online and then reported that his credit card had been used by someone else to hide this fact from his family.

After he made the formal complaint a month ago, the Guardia Civil found that to use the site where he had been playing, a bank account was required.

They also found that the player account had been used from Tervel, Bulgaria, where the man had been living.

When they questioned him, there were several contradictions in his statement, and he eventually admitted that he had lied.

1,000 accounts linked to fraud POLICE have located as many as 1,000 bank accounts linked to the ‘Emperador’ operation in which Chinese businessman Gao Ping was arrested.

So far, they have investigated more than 3,000 accounts with 100 banks and frozen €11 million.

The public prosecutor’s report has so far named

130 properties and 120 vehicles owned by the money laundering network.

The detainees who are believed to have been part of the network are also accused of extortion, illegal immigration and prostitution.

Gao Ping was remanded in prison following his arrest in the

third year running of improvements.

The Association added that a person is likely to be involved in a plane crash if they took flights every day for 14,000 days, meaning it is the safest form of transport.

So far this year, only five aeroplanes have sustained damage which would cost more to repair than the total cost of the plane, compared to the 11 of 2011.

Only 15 per cent of the accidents occurring this year registered any fatalities, compared to the 26 per cent of last year.

Africa has the worst accident rate, with 12.9 accidents per million flights, Europe sees 2.24 accidents per million, and the best results were seen in North Africa, South America, Middle East, former USSR countries and North Asia.

‘Emperador’ operation, but later released due to a legal error.

He left Villena prison in Alicante in a Mercedes.

Another 11 people, also arrested for their involvement in the network, were released.

They have to appear in court every day and have had their passports confiscated.

Man arrested for €1m extortion demand A JOINT operation between Guardia Civil and Almeria and El Ejido Police led to the arrest of a forty-seven-year-old El Ejido man in the town on December 13. The plan would have pocketed the man over €1 million.

It all started when one of the company partners received a letter threatening both him and his family unless a €150,000 sum in used €50 notes was paid. The threats also applied to the

other partners, with the total extortion exceeding €1 million. The man later received a phone call from the extortionist confirming the letter demands and reported the threats to the Guardia Civil in November.

It was determined that the caller was an acquaintance of one of the victims as he kept a business relationship with the company and he was known to be going through serious financial problems.

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Costa de Almería

Food for victims THE generous customers of Vera’s Iceland store have raised €800 for the people affected by the floods that struck southern Spain in September.

Collection pots were placed at the end of each till, and as people were leaving the store, they kindly donated any spare change they had to help those still suffering.

“We’re so proud of the residents of the area. They kindly donated money and purchased extra tins of food to fill food trolleys, five loads full have been taken to the local Red Cross,” said Suzanne White, supervisor of the store.

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Costa de Almería

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

AXARQUIA

Police called to school brawl

Noisy bangers

POLICE were called to a brawl among 50 pupils at Alcoy secondary school. No arrests were made and no-one was injured, police said.

No love lost!

ONE of the stalls selling fireworks at the entrance of Parque de Andalucia in Velez-Malaga has been from supplying bangers as local residents claim they are too noisy.

News from our editions

BENIDORM town hall must pay €607,000 to the organisers of the 2009 Davis Cup matches at Terra Mitica after a judge ruled that last-minute court changes were their responsibility.

Crime down CRIME in Alicante has fallen 5 per cent this year following improved detection and prevention measures, police said. Even so the province has Spain’s highest crime rate after Madrid and Valencia.

Not child’s play ONLY two companies responded to the tender to run Calpe’s Silene d’Ifac kindergarten.

Neither fulfilled the conditions and the town hall may have to close the school.

Turkish delight TURKISH AIRLINES is to add Alicante and Sevilla to its existing Spanish routes, with the airline already flying to Valencia, Malaga, Barcelona, Bilbao and Madrid.

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

Natural birth bid ALICANTE General Hospital has introduced changes to make giving birth as natural as possible, including aromatherapy and music therapy, special chairs for mothers-to-be and more contact with newborn babies.

Tram transport REGIONAL railway company FGV recorded a total of 388,292 users during November on the Metropolitan Tram network.

Balcony fall A MAN was injured after falling from a balcony in Arenales del Sol. He was trying to jump from a neighbour’s balcony to his own after leaving his keys inside.

Supermarket for port WORTH A VISIT: Nerja Caves to be promoted to cruise-ship passengers.

Caves to get a boost CRUISE-SHIP passengers are being targeted in a bid to attract more visitors to Nerja’s caves.

The Caves of Nerja Foundation Managing Director Angel Ruiz has been meeting representatives of the City Council, tourist agencies and cruise-ship operators.

Nerja Caves’ managers are aiming to reach

Cocaine trial TEN people will appear in court today (Thursday) at the Provincial Court in Elche, charged with dealing cocaine. More than 20 kilos of the drug were allegedly seized valued at €1.3 million.

Young project SCHOOLCHILDREN in Alicante have presented business projects to the Federation of Young Entrepreneurs of the Province of Alicante as part of a school assignment to encourage entrepreneurial spirit.

Foreign enclave SEVENTY-TWO per cent of Rojales residents are foreign, according to the population census prepared by the National Statistics Institute.

COSTA DEL SOL

Oil protest set A PROTEST is planned at noon on Saturday in the boulevard near La Cala de Mijas Town Hall organised by the Citizens Againt Oil Exploration on the Costa del Sol. The protest will include presentation of a manifesto against plans by the Spanish Government and oil companies

the 500,000 annual visits recorded less than a decade ago. At the moment the Nerja museum barely attracts 1,000 per year.

“We are sure there will be more visitors next year,” Angel Ruiz said, adding: “Neither cruise holiday operators nor passengers are aware of the caves at present, but we are working on it.”

read by people who claim their economic, social and ecological future will be ruined if exploration goes ahead. More information: Juan Jesus Alarcon, tel 650 952 081

Complaint raised MEMBERS of the Electores Equo party and the group for the Defence of Health and the Alhaurin de la Torre Mountain have gone to the EU Parliament to complain that local quarries which were ordered to close continue extracting sand.

Eight lottery wins MALAGA has been the province where the ‘El Gordo’ lottery prize was drawn on eight different occasions. The luckiest city is Madrid, with 73 times, whereas Almeria City has only been lucky once.

Homes not legal ALMOST 200 homes in El Ponton area of Antequera will not be legalised by the Junta de Andalucia decree which was approved this year. They are on non-urban land and cannot access the sewage or electricity networks.

Animal enquiry A MALAGA Prosecutor has asked the Malaga Veterinary College to carry out an investigation into the deaths of animals which were allegedly put down at the Parque Animal Shelter in Torremolinos.

MALLORCA

Robber arrested A FORTY-SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Palma man has been arrested after robbing a pharmacy and two slot machine arcades. He was said to have been armed with a knife and stole a total of €2,200.

Rotger resigns BALEARIC Parliament President Pere Rotger officially stepped down from his position after the judge in the Over Marketing corruption case maintained his impeachment at the trial.

Gift of life SEVENTY-SIX kidneys, 34 livers, five hearts, five lungs, four pancreases and one intestine have been donated by 41 people in the Balearics so far this year.

THE Muelle Uno leisure port in Malaga is planning a 2,000square-metre supermarket. The developer of the port has ordered consultancy reports on the plan.

Old rally takes off THE second Villa de Alfarnate 324-kilometre rally, a stage in the Andalucian Rally Championship, was held in Alfarnate. Only cars more than 25 years old were allowed to take part.

Unheard stories LOCAL stories of Nerja are included in a new book by researcher Pablo Rojo, Historia Insolita de Nerja (The Unheard Stories of Nerja), to be presented tomorrow (Friday) at the History Museum from 7.30pm.

Pointing the finger MANAGERS at the University Hospital in Malaga have been accused by the CSI-F trades union of using bed shortages in some units as an excuse to redistribute staff and cut expenses.

20 - 26 December 2012 www.euroweeklynews.com

Stat of week Women earn 20 per cent less on average in Spain compared to male counterparts with the same educational background, work hours, position and length of service.

Finance,

business

&

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legal www.ewnbusiness.com

A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 8 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION

Casinos on a loser...

Punters prefer to gamble online at home BINGO HALLS, casinos and slot machines are losing clients who now favour online gambling.

Last year the amount of money played at bingo halls, slot machines and casinos fell 20.3 per cent, 15.1 per cent and 13.2 per cent respectively.

And since laws were passed to regulate online gambling

Iberia Express flying upwards!

SHORT-HAUL carrier Iberia Express has been used by more than two million passengers since it was launched in March.

The offshoot company of Iberia is now one of the five most used airlines at the Madrid-Barajas Airport.

General Manager Luis Gallego said that 94 per cent of the company’s flights have arrived on time and that customers are highly satisfied.

The company has recently introduced two new planes, bringing the total to 14 Airbus A320s that fly to 24 destinations.

Gallego also said: “The company is meeting all the objectives planned for the outset both economically and regarding efficiency, quality and innovation.”

Iberia Express recently launched a smartphone app from which clients can carry out most of the necessary procedures regarding their flights.

The airline is a member of oneworld, an alliance of 11 airlines including British Airways, which offers clients 2,500 planes, 8,750 daily flights and 800 destinations in 150 countries.

in May last year, the sector has taken €1.76 billion.

Though no official data regarding online gambling is available before 2011, the Spanish Association of Digital Gaming claims that business increased 20 per cent last year, and this is confirmed by the State Lottery Department.

LOSING OUT: Casinos are no longer as popular.

Now H&M woos recycling

Motor Insurance

FASHION retailer H&M, which has stores throughout Spain, is to promote the recycling of used clothes amongst clients.

With this project, it aims to improve its image with environmentalists.

“Every year, tonnes of clothes are thrown away in the rubbish and contaminate municipal dumps. Ninety-five per cent of it could be reused or recycled,” the company said.

Loewe hits high with factory SPANISH luxury brand Loewe, favoured by the Royal Family, has opened a new factory in Getafe, Madrid.

With double the size of factory floor space in Madrid the company now plans to also double production.

The aim is to create employment in Madrid.

Seventy-five per cent of produce made in Spain by Loewe is exported, and Montague told Spanish national El Mundo that they want the Spanish nation to be proud of the brand.

Loewe already has four factories in Spain, but will not reduce

production or staff at any of them due to the new opening.

They have 167 shops as well as franchises in more than 30 countries, mainly in Europe and Asia.

Since 1996, the company has been part of the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy company of France.

NEW FACE: Spanish actress Penelope Cruz is now promoting Loewe.

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Underwritten at Lloyd’s of London Tailored to suit your needs and your pocket Easy payment options Special rates for the over 40’s Fast claims service

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Department of Correction and Clarification: Annuities WHAT is the tax rate on an annuity in Spain? In Euro Weekly News (Issue 1430), we were asked for a definition of annuities in Spanish tax law. The questioner was in dispute with the Spanish Tax Agency regarding whether his income was an annuity or a pension. The difference is important because pensions are usually taxed more than annuities. Unfortunately, a small editorial slip changed the meaning of the final example in our answer.

The original text stated that only 24 per cent of the income from an annuity would be taxed. The version finally printed said that all You and the annuity income would be taxed at 24 per cent. There Law in Spain

By David Searl is a big difference. Let’s try to make it clear.

The basic definition of annuity is a financial product which you purchase with money you already have in exchange for the guarantee of a lifetime income at a fixed rate. In Spanish this is called Renta Vitalicia. This is not the same as income received from a pension plan.

The Spanish Tax Agency taxes income from a pension at the normal income tax rates. This is because most contributions to a pension plan have been free of tax previously, so they are taxed now. This would be a tax rate of 24.75 per cent for an income up to €17,000, or 30 per cent up to €33,000 before any deductions are taken.

Income from an annuity is taxed less because the money to buy it has already been taxed. If you start receiving payments between 60 and 65, you are taxed on only 24 per cent of your income instead of the whole amount. This percentage varies with age.

So we see that if your pension income is €32,000, you face a Spanish tax bite of about 30 per cent before deductions, or a little under €10,000. If your annuity income is the same €32,000, you are taxed on only about one-fourth of it, or €8,000. This means that, after deductions, you will probably pay no tax at all.

David will respond to queries but reserves the right to select letters which will be of interest to the greatest number of readers.

You can also consult David through lawyers Ubeda-Retana and Associates in Fuengirola. ask@lawtaxspain.com or call 952 667 090.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

A bleak Christmas for HMV MUSIC retailers HMV have admitted they will probably break banking covenants after bleak preChristmas sales’ figures. Directors issued a profit warning that may cast doubt on the group’s future

£££

BRADFORD City Football Club has had its future safeguarded by beating Arsenal to reach the semi final of the Capital One Cup. Club director Dave Baldwin says the club’s projected annual deficit has

B

ritish usiness riefs

been more than halved by income from the one match.

£££

IN a campaign against late payers the UK taxman has warned 300,000 people may have goods

seized. Letters have been sent to people who have not filed their selfassessment forms for 2010-2011.

£££

MIKE ASHLEY, Newcastle United owner and majority shareholder in Sports Direct, is going to have to work even harder to get paid. He does not get a salary, relying instead on bonuses. Now the company has said it is minded to increase his earnings’ targets from €357m to €382m before he is paid.

Britain’s green shoots ignored as industry order books fill up AS it’s Christmas I thought I’d give bashing the eurozone a break.

After all, the problem is the euro, and until the EU heavy hitters can bring themselves to admit that, there’s not much chance of an improvement.

That being the case, I thought it was time to talk about how Britain’s doing outside the eurozone. If you listen to the eurofanatics they’ll still say we’d be ruined if we left the EU, but their figures just do not add up.

They go on about ‘strong Germany’, ignoring the looming stagnation of that economy. “Of course trade is slow,” they protest, “how could it be otherwise when the entire planet is in the grip of recession?”

But this recession began in 2008, and although since then Germany has done well working to fulfil prerecession commitments the absence of new orders is giving the ‘European Powerhouse’ cause for concern. It is moving inexorably into stagnation, which bodes ill for Ms Merkel.

But surely, it’s the same for everyone?

Britain’s growth rate is

Jim Collins Costa Blanca

not what you’d call healthy, and according to official figures, manufacturing has gone down over the last semester.

All true if you take the government’s chosen criteria, farm products, clothes and other perishables upon which people are cutting back.

But look again at engineering products, especially those in the highly technical fields.

Strange how British good news is so often ignored by the media and government.

There was an item on BBC One Southern the other day mentioning just casually passing over - factories in that area of Britain were struggling to fill orders flowing in from all over the world.

And it’s not only the

ENGINEERING EXPERTISE: But UK manufacturing innovation barely receives a mention in the Press. south; Birmingham’s about their requirements manufacturers of high for small naval support quality engineering pro- vessels, work that will ducts are feeling the keep their skilled, pinch, not because they specialist workforce don’t have the work, but together. because they are having As ever with our news difficulty in finding media, any encouraging enough skilled workers items about Britain’s to allow them to expand innovatory manufacturing as quickly as they would capability merits hardly a wish. line or two.

Not for them the Tucked away on an modern disease of sitting inner page of the Daily on their hands, waiting Telegraph last week was and praying for the next a short item by the government contract science correspondent which, in these times of concerning the design austerity might never and development - by a British engineering commaterialise.

The shipbuilders of pany - of a system which Portsmouth, for will “allow jets to fly to instance, as their share Australia in four hours or of the construction of even go into orbit and the new Ark Royal nears back to Earth in one stage.

The its completion, are clean sending sales repre- gateway is now open to sentatives abroad to talk move beyond the jet to foreign governments age.”

20 - 26 December 2012

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com Are you making plans to move to Spain? Or perhaps you are at the final stages of your move, or have recently arrived in Spain. There are many important financial considerations to plan for, and the sooner the better.

Here is a checklist of the important ones. It is a brief summary, and you should explore them further with guidance from a tax planning and wealth management company like Blevins Franks, which is highly experienced at helping British expatriates plan for their new life in Spain.

1. Tax residency and obligations You need to establish if and when you become resident in Spain for tax purposes. There is a list of criteria that make you tax resident. If you meet any of them you are liable for tax here on your worldwide income, gains, wealth and estate. You need to register for tax and submit annual tax returns.

At the same time you need to understand the UK tax residence rules as it can be harder than you think to lose UK tax residency.

Where necessary, the UK/Spain double tax treaty will determine where you pay tax.

2. Tax planning Income and savings taxes have risen in Spain, but do not let this put you off. You can often structure your savings and investments to be tax

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Planning Your Financially Secure Retirement in Spain

by Bill Blevins, Financia l Correspondent, Blevins Franks

efficient. Seek advice on what arrangements are effective and compliant in Spain. Do not presume that what was tax efficient in the UK is tax efficient in Spain.

3. Currency Many expatriates keep their savings and investments in Sterling.

This however puts your income at the mercy of exchange rate fluctuations, which can have a significant impact on your income.

A good rule of thumb is to match your assets to your liabilities, so if you are spending Euros, your assets are in Euros. However you may have other considerations. Perhaps you will return to the UK one day, or want to leave an inheritance to UK resident children, or do not have confidence in the Euro.

4. Pensions Retired people rely on their pension funds to provide most, if not all, of their monthly income.

Depending on the type of pension funds you have, there may be ways to improve them and make them work better for a UK expatriate living in Spain.

5. Inflation and your long-term security Inflation will reduce the spending power of your savings over your retirement years, so it is important to take steps to protect your wealth in real terms, so that you can enjoy the lifestyle you are used to right through retirement.

With life expectancy increasing, this may be longer than you expect.

Allow for extra expenses along the way, such as healthcare issues, home renovations, new hobbies or more time travelling.

Do not underestimate the risk of inflation. I have met many people who thought they had enough

money to live on, but who 20 years later found they could no longer maintain their standard of living.

6. Investment strategy The first rule of any investment strategy is that it should be specifically designed around your circumstances and short and long-term objectives.

Your circumstances drastically change with retirement and a move to a new country, so your strategy needs to be professionally reviewed to establish how it should be adjusted to suit your new life and goals.

7. Estate planning This is a major issue when you move to a new country, as it may have different laws regarding succession and tax. The Spanish succession laws may not affect British expatriates, but the tax laws will.

Spanish succession tax works quite differently from UK inheritance tax, and is particularly complicated since the rates and allowances vary by region, and the regional rules may not apply to you.

Most British expatriates remain UK domiciled and so continue to be liable for UK inheritance tax, so you need to take that into account as well.You also need to understand how probate works in Spain, and anywhere else you have assets, and find out if there are steps you can take to avoid probate for your heirs.

While you can do a lot of research online these days, taking advice from a professional tax planning and wealth management firm is invaluable. It is the only way you can be sure that you have not overlooked anything, and that you are have established what all your options are and how suitable they are for you. A firm like Blevins Franks has local Partner/s here in the Costa Blanca as well as its head office in the UK. It focuses on UK and Spanish tax and how together they impact on UK expatriates here, and will use its experience to guide you on your financial future in Spain.

Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual should take personalised advice To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

LONDON - FTSE 100 C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 3.80 1.10 9.00 0.79 -406.06 -19.11 -3.00 -0.29 12.00 0.66 0.00 0.00 -4.00 -0.54 5.00 0.33 -7.00 -0.24 -3.05 -0.82 -1.50 -0.15 -0.50 -0.15 -0.85 -0.33 -10.50 -1.01 12.00 0.57 -2.65 -0.62 -49.92 -1.54 -4.00 -0.71

NET VOLUME 1,649.11 129.63 3,642.41 532.98 1,194.30 607.35 1,782.64 258.14 874.05 2,865.79 349.19 803.44 13,148.96 4,222.33 2,191.28 8,270.80 1,230.05 727.07

CU RR EN CI ES

C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 17

PRICE(P) C O M PA N Y Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 348.30 Admiral Group PLC 1144.00 Aggreko PLC 1717.50 AMEC PLC 1016.50 Anglo American PLC 1838.50 Antofagasta PLC 1354.00 ARM Holdings PLC 739.00 Associated Brith Fds PLC 1523.50 AstraZeneca PLC 2917.50 Aviva PLC 366.90 Babcock Intnal Group... 978.25 BAE Systems PLC 338.60 Barclays PLC 254.75 BG Group PLC 1031.00 BHP Billiton PLC 2106.25 BP PLC 423.88 British Am Tobacco PLC 3195.50 British Land Co PLC 557.25

0.81171

Units per €

United States $......................................................1.31548 Japan Yen ¥ ...........................................................110.125 Switzerland Francs................................................1.20826 Denmark Kroner ....................................................7.46113 Norway Kroner.......................................................7.36968

C O M PA N Y

PRICE(P)

British Sky Broadtng Gr BT Group PLC Bunzl PLC Burberry Group PLC Capita PLC Capital Shopp Cntrs Gr Carnival PLC Centrica PLC Compass Group PLC CRH PLC

763.00 235.80 1048.50 1259.00 752.50 353.80 2458.00 333.55 733.75 1161.50

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. -1.00 -1.90 -16.00 -5.00 -10.00 -0.50 -3.00 -2.10 -4.25 -12.00

DOW JONES

NASDAQ

C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 17

C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 17

C O M PA N Y

PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME

MMM 3M Co 93.03 AA Alcoa Inc 8.75 AXP American Express Co 57.27 T AT&T Inc 34.23 BAC Bank of America Corp 11.00 BA Boeing Co 74.65 CAT Caterpillar Inc 89.64 CVX Chevron Corp 108.68 CSCO Cisco Systems Inc 20.11 DD E. I. du Pont de Nemours and C... 44.63 XOM Exxon Mobil Corp 88.87 GE General Electric Co 21.93 HPQ Hewlett-Packard Co 14.21 HD Home Depot Inc 63.31 INTC Intel Corp 20.57 IBM International Business Machine... 193.62 JNJ Johnson & Johnson 70.94 JPM JPMorgan Chase and Co 43.48 MCD McDonald's Corp 89.91 MRK Merck & Co Inc 43.63 MSFT Microsoft Corp 27.10

+0.75 +0.01 +0.62 +0.22 +0.42 +0.63 +0.64 +0.86 +0.25 +0.54 +0.79 +0.31 -0.54 +1.25 +0.0433 +1.86 +0.25 +0.67 +1.03 +0.09 +0.285

+0.81% +0.11% +1.09% +0.65% +3.97% +0.85% +0.72% +0.80% +1.26% +1.22% +0.90% +1.43% -3.66% +2.01% +0.21% +0.97% +0.35% +1.57% +1.16% +0.21% +1.06%

2.8M 16.4M 5.8M 24.8M 170.7M 5.5M 6.1M 6.1M 46.9M 5.7M 15.7M 48.5M 30.9M 8.2M 35.0M 3.8M 14.3M 23.9M 6.0M 13.3M 42.1M

1.23196

C O M PA N Y

Most Advanced Zions Bancorporation Caribou Coffee Company, Inc. Velti plc MTR Gaming Group, Inc. VIVUS, Inc. Compuware Corporation ATA Inc. Concurrent Computer Corporation Stereotaxis, Inc.

-0.13 -0.80 -1.50 -0.40 -1.31 -0.14 -0.12 -0.63 -0.58 -1.02

PRICE

NET VOLUME 948.33 6,388.83 432.19 302.32 233.97 377.42 167.35 2,492.34 1,265.69 448.12

CHANGE NET / %

$ 2.60 0.80 / +44.44% $ 16.10 3.78 / +30.68% $ 4.55 0.71 / +18.49% $ 3.35 0.44 / +15.12% $ 13.075 1.595 / +13.89% $ 10.76 1.23 / +12.91% $ 4.50 0.4601 / +11.39% $ 6.17 0.63 / +11.37% $ 2.67 0.27 / +11.25%

Most Declined Clearwire Corporation $ 2.91 TranS1 Inc. $ 2.50 China Lodging Group, Limited $ 15.26 B Communications Ltd. $ 4.2601 Interphase Corporation $ 2.56 The9 Limited $ 3.25 Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 6.91 National American University Holdings, Inc. $ 3.74 TESARO, Inc. $ 15.99

0.46 / -13.65% 0.24 / -8.76% 1.43 / -8.57% 0.3779 / -8.15% 0.19 / -6.91% 0.24 / -6.88% 0.50 / -6.75% 0.25 / -6.27% 1 / -5.89%

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) CHANGE Croda International PLC 2342.50 -19.00 Diageo PLC 1828.50 -6.50 Eurasian Nat Resources ... 270.05 0.00 EVRAZ PLC 258.90 -3.00 Experian PLC 1008.50 -7.00 Fresnillo PLC 1936.00 -14.00 G4S PLC 249.50 -3.00 GKN PLC 226.45 -1.30 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1355.25 -8.70 Glencore Intnal PLC 350.90 -1.20 Hammerson PLC 483.25 -3.70 Hargreaves Lansdown 698.50 -5.78 HSBC Holdings PLC 637.70 -3.80 IMI PLC 1065.50 -3.00 Imperial Tobacco Gr PLC 2427.00 -4.00 InterContinental Hotels 1641.50 -4.00 International Consldtd 178.60 4.89 Intertek Group PLC 3074.50 -5.00 ITV PLC 101.15 -0.52 Johnson Matthey PLC 2411.00 -11.00 Kazakhmys PLC 774.25 16.12 Kingfisher PLC 275.10 -1.20 Land Securities Grp PLC 806.50 -7.50 Legal & General Grp PLC 143.80 -1.50 Lloyds Banking Grp PLC 46.68 -0.04 Marks & Spencer Grp PLC 391.60 -2.20 Meggitt PLC 388.40 -0.50 Melrose Industries PLC 226.75 -0.70 National Grid PLC 700.75 -7.50 Next PLC 3721.50 -17.00 Old Mutual PLC 173.60 -1.30 Pearson PLC 1180.50 -4.00 Pennon Group PLC 623.75 -1.00 Petrofac Ltd 1671.50 -8.00 Polymetal Intntnal PLC 1182.50 8.00 Prudential PLC 880.25 -1.00 Randgold Resources Ltd 6195.00 -40.00 Reckitt Benckiser Gr PLC 3901.50 -10.00 Reed Elsevier PLC 627.25 -3.50 Resolution Ltd 248.50 -0.70 REXAM PLC 441.45 -2.38 Rio Tinto PLC 3423.25 32.00 Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC 863.25 -6.50 Royal Bank of Scotd Gr 298.85 -3.40 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2190.25 -8.00 RSA Insurance Group PLC 124.15 -0.50 SABMiller PLC 2779.25 -25.50 Sage Group (The) PLC 289.60 0.30 Sainsbury (J) PLC 347.90 -0.20 Schroders PLC 1645.50 -2.00 Serco Group PLC 535.25 -6.00 Severn Trent PLC 1556.00 -11.00 Shire PLC 1921.00 -12.00 Smith & Nephew PLC 667.75 -1.00 Smiths Group PLC 1147.50 3.00 SSE PLC 1440.50 -4.00 Standard Chartered PLC 1486.25 -11.00 Standard Life PLC 332.10 -0.50 Tate & Lyle PLC 751.75 -3.25 Tesco PLC 341.50 -0.40 Tullow Oil PLC 1200.00 1.00 Unilever PLC 2414.50 -14.00 United Utilities Grp PLC 701.75 -1.00 Vedanta Resources PLC 1112.00 6.00 Vodafone Group PLC 157.62 -3.30 Weir Group PLC 1787.00 -20.00 Whitbread PLC 2410.50 -20.00 Wm Morrison Supmrkts 265.15 0.50 Wolseley PLC 2797.00 -35.00 Wood Group (John) PLC 710.50 -23.50 WPP PLC 870.00 -4.00 Xstrata PLC 1050.00 -0.38

% C H G. -0.80 -0.35 0.00 -1.15 -0.69 -0.72 -1.19 -0.57 -0.64 -0.34 -0.76 -0.82 -0.59 -0.28 -0.16 -0.24 2.82 -0.16 -0.51 -0.45 2.13 -0.43 -0.92 -1.03 -0.09 -0.56 -0.13 -0.31 -1.06 -0.45 -0.74 -0.34 -0.16 -0.48 0.68 -0.11 -0.64 -0.26 -0.56 -0.28 -0.54 0.94 -0.75 -1.12 -0.36 -0.40 -0.91 0.10 -0.06 -0.12 -1.11 -0.70 -0.62 -0.15 0.26 -0.28 -0.73 -0.15 -0.43 -0.12 0.08 -0.58 -0.14 0.54 -2.05 -1.11 -0.82 0.19 -1.24 -3.20 -0.46 -0.04

VOLUME 41.75 1,555.48 1,564.83 1,162.44 626.86 113.13 574.43 1,514.91 2,825.44 3,883.62 251.41 204.01 10,114.66 158.89 762.93 204.92 5,262.26 89.51 4,105.78 135.25 619.22 2,527.36 343.73 3,990.42 38,119.72 1,776.38 212.32 596.96 3,985.68 123.73 882.38 658.04 851.34 392.29 319.47 1,580.90 91.76 237.84 1,222.54 509.26 464.85 2,240.76 2,446.89 3,701.03 1,182.62 3,857.52 643.66 710.54 1,422.13 107.91 780.47 202.43 334.32 473.48 246.06 654.36 647.52 1,935.08 389.44 4,871.99 1,573.42 800.63 1,083.12 255.89 90,190.68 289.34 156.90 1,498.72 488.64 750.17 1,058.39 1,677.68

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

20 - 26 December 2012

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Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

Unwelcome record as bail set at €50m BUSINESSMAN Gerardo Diaz Ferran equalled an unwelcome record when he was granted bail of €30 million.

But that record lasted just a few hours when it was topped by the €50 million bail set for business partner Angel de Cabo. He allegedly bought companies’ assets for less than their true worth from Diaz Ferran, former president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Associations.

They are both languishing in jail awaiting trial after the bail payments were not met.

Diaz Ferran is accused of leading the Grupo Marsans travel group into debt by selling its assets and keeping the money, then letting it go bankrupt when it no longer had any value. He is now in Soto del Real Prison in Madrid.

The judge also set bail at €30 million for Ivan Losada, who was allegedly De Cabo’s right-hand man and took part in the events which led to the bankruptcy of companies including Marsans, Vías Canales y Puertos, TECONSA and Nueva Rumasa.

Marsans was sold in June 2010 through a pact by which De Cabo allegedly helped to hide assets and cash in tax havens, meaning more than 10,000 creditors, owed €1 billion, went unpaid.

Previous record bail was also €30 million, demanded from businessman Javier de la Rosa in 1999 for the Torras Case. He was jailed for misappropriation of €382 million when he was the Spanish administrator of the Kuwait Investments Office group.

Spanish take on the world SPANISH fashion group Inditex has taken €1.65 billion between February and October this year.

This is 27 per cent more than for the same period in 2011, and is mainly thanks to improved sales in the Asian market.

In the first nine months of the tax year, the company created almost 6,600 jobs and now employs more than 116,100 people. Between

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LOBAL IZ

Sales rocket SALES of M-75 perfume, named after the rockets Palestinian militants fired at Israel, have soared. The citrus scented fragrance has become a best seller in Gaza.

Cancer hope

February and October, it has opened 360 shops in 54 countries, bringing the total to 6,000 with more openings in the later months, including one shop in Oxford Street, London.

A spokesperson pointed out that the Autumn-Winter period is always improved by spending at Christmas and in the winter sales.

Zara launched an online shop in

GERMAN firm Bayer hopes for annual sales of €1bn from a new prostate cancer treatment. It has applied for approval from US and EU regulators.

FASHION STAKES: Spanish retailers expanding.

China in September and plans to do the same in Canada which it hopes will continue to improve sales.

Meanwhile, Massimo Dutti has opened in the US and Canada; Zara has increased its presence in Munich and opened in Cape Town,

Tokyo and Moscow; Bershka is now in Frankfurt, and Uterque is in Hong Kong, Beijing and Mexico.

Stradivarius has also opened in Mexico, Pull and Bear has arrived in Vienna, and Oysho has its first shop in Macao.

More time THAI company bosses have called for more time for a million migrants before they are deported.

Thailand is heavily dependent on workers from neighbouring Myanmar who face deportation.

THREE WAYS TO MAKE MORE OF YOUR MONEY. Fixed Rate 11 Month Deposit

Fixed Rate 200 Day Deposit

Premier Current Account

3.50%

3.25%

3.00%

T.A.E.*

available in Euros until 31st December 2012

T.A.E.**

available in Euros until 31st December 2012

T.A.E.***

during the first three months ***

You choose… whether… you’re looking for a current account with a world of benefits, or a fixed term deposit to see your savings grow. For other options about our Pounds Sterling and Dollars(1) fixed term deposits, please visit your local branch in:

Valencia, Denia, Calpe, Guardamar, Torrevieja, La Zenia, Los Alcázares or Mazarrón.

902 024 365 or +34 91 484 81 81 lloydsbankinternational.es (1) There is a potential risk arising from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates between the acquisition date and the subsequent sale or maturity date of the deposit or investment. * T.A.E. (Tasa Anual Equivalente) corresponds to Annual Interest Rate. Effective Interest Rate: 3.494%. From €6,000 to €200,000. Interest paid at maturity. Available until the 31st December 2012. For funds coming from other financial entities, credited to the account from 1st October 2012 onwards and that represent a balance increase from the aforementioned date. ** T.A.E. (Tasa Anual Equivalente) corresponds to Annual Interest Rate. Effective Interest Rate: 3.226%. From €6,000 to €200,000. Interest paid at maturity. Available until the 31st December 2012. For funds coming from other financial entities, credited to the account from 1st October 2012 onwards and that represent a balance increase from the aforementioned date. *** T.A.E. (Tasa Anual Equivalente) corresponds to Annual Interest Rate. Effective Interest Rate 2.9596% for the first three months, on balances up to a maximum of €500,000, with all amounts above said limit accruing no interest. From the fourth month remuneration will be based on tired rates depending on the balance you hold. As of today these rates are from 0% to 1.50% T.A.E. (1.4898% Effective Interest Rate). The applicable rates for each tier are available on www.lloydsbankinternational.es. Interest paid monthly.

Lloyds Bank International, S.A.U., with registered offices at Serrano 90, 5ª planta, 28006, Madrid, Spain, Trade Registry of Madrid, T. 6799, Book 0, Folio. 108, Sec. 8, Page M-110714, 1st Entry, N.I.F. (Tax Identification Number) A-80481765.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

Monopoly game shows world how unfair life is for the poor A RECENT series of BBC documentaries on poverty has really been shedding light on the unfairness of the world economy and the privileges those with money continue to enjoy.

Capitalism today, more than ever, really is a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. And it’s all down to the lottery of where you are born.

In general, those born into wealthy families have ample opportunity and resources and sail through life confronting little or no obstacles along the way, while those born into poor and struggling families are given few leg-ups in life and continue to live in poverty, just like their parents and grandparents.

Fewer jobs, but more applicants EACH job offer on Spanish internet site Infojobs was applied for by an average of 12 people in November.

This is 13.5 per cent more than the same time last year, while the total number of offers for November was 66,700, 24 per cent fewer than the same month in 2011.

Most of the contracts offered, 22.8 per cent were open-ended.

Commercial and sales positions were the biggest sector, with 28 per cent of the total.

Despite this, the number of offers in commerce and sales, fell by 24.6 per cent from last year.

Nearly 32 per cent of the positions needed experience of at least one year, although just over 29 per cent required no prior experience.

Loose change A look at finance for females Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews. com

Using a Monopoly board, researchers have shown just how unjust finance can be.

The researchers challenged two players to a game. One ‘rich’ player was given a heap of money to start the game and he was allowed to collect $200 (€150) every time he passed Go. The other ‘poor’ player was given very little money to start and could only collect $20

RICH OR POOR: The throw of the dice.

(€15) every time he passed Go. Needless to say the ‘rich’ player whipped around the board, buying up property and collecting money.

What was also interesting, was the sense of entitlement the rich player showed. But the poor player struggled to buy or to save money and

ultimately lost the game.

Every day around the world people are out on the streets protesting against cuts and austerity measures, but unless the root of the problem is addressed - which is the relationship between money and politics -

nothing will change.

Rich people continue to reap benefits, because politicians continue to accommodate rules and regulations in their favour.

So much so, that when a lobby group for the superrich in the US put forward a proposal to dramatically cut public spending, the Catholic Church felt it had to intervene. It asked politicians making decisions to be humane and think about the poor.

The super-rich, a lot of whom are CEOs of banks or industry, have little concern for the well-being of ordinary citizens, but each ‘ordinary’ person had to bail them out when the economy crashed.

Isn’t it time to change the rules and spread the wealth?

Recipe for sandwich success ANDALUCIAN restaurant chain 100 Montaditos continues to expand throughout the world and is now present in South America.

The chain, which offers what it describes on its website as ‘unique tapa-sized bread rolls produced with an exclusive bread formula and filled with the best high quality ingredients’, is already present in the USA, France and Portugal.

It has opened restaurants more recently in Mexico and Colombia, and plans to continue its expansion throughout South America, starting with another restaurant in Mexico and one in Chile.

Their mini-rolls were launched in 2000 in Huelva, and they have since opened 220 restaurants in Spain, based on the type of taverns typically seen in Spain in the mid-20th century.

Their formula is that clients write on a type of order form what they want to eat, and put their name on it. When the food is ready, the client is called by name to pick it up at the bar.

A company spokesperson

GLOBAL DEMAND: Mini bread rolls (montaditos). reported that they receive some 30 requests per day from people wanting to see the company open in different parts of the world.

They say the secret to their success is their prices, including the star ‘euromania’ promotion, which sees everything at €1 on Wednesdays and Sundays throughout Europe. In the US, it’s been renamed ‘dollarmania’ and

‘pesomania’ in Mexico.

Despite the variety they offer, the favourite montadito for clients in Spain is the simple and traditional Serrano ham with olive oil.

This is also the best-seller beyond Spanish borders.

In the US alone, 300,000 montaditos are served every month.

B

USINESS IZ

Prices down PETROL and diesel prices have fallen to levels last seen in July. In August, they reached historical highs of €1.522 and €1.444 per litre respectively.

Debt up THE debt of public administrations in Spain has risen to €817 billion, which is 77.4% of the national GDP and the highest in history, according to the Bank of Spain.

Oil rises JAEN’S Young Farmers Association has warned that olive oil prices will rise because the most recent harvests have produced fewer olives.

Mobile phone giants lose clients IN October, 486,183 mobile phone lines were cancelled, making it the ninth consecutive month for falling figures in Spain.

The Telecommunications Market Committee advised that most of the losses were suffered by Movistar, Vodafone and Orange.

Movistar lost 284,290 lines, Vodafone 278,070 and Orange 14,870.

Virtual mobile operators and phone company Yoigo, however, gained 78,550 and 12,490 lines respectively.

Meanwhile, Orange España has announced that it has purchased 100 per cent of Simyo shares, the virtual mobile operator of Dutch company KPN in Spain, which currently has almost 380,000 clients.

20 - 26 December 2012

EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

W EEKLY

29

Costa de Almería

ROUND - UP OF REGULAR AND OCCASIONAL TOPICS

E XPAT EXTRA

LETTERS LEAPY HEALTH & BEAUTY

FOOD TIME OUT HOMES & GARDENS

PETS TV

On slippery slope to the L word

CRISPIN is just perfect.

The surprise date he took me on - with the need for a bikini - turned out as I hoped.

Three days of pure bliss, just him and me, romantically intertwined in our very own chalet in Sierra Nevada.

As I see it...

Ana Jefferson-Smith takes an irreverent look at life as a singleton expat in Spain Why did I need to take along my Chanel two-piece when surrounded by thick

snow?

Well our lodge had its own hot tub!

And a sauna, treatment rooms plus an outdoor pool, heated of course.

It was more like a five-star retreat. Exactly what I love.

We spent our mini vacation in each others arms, literally for much of the time as I struggled

MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

COMMENT Temporary partners SPAIN’S politicians willingly bury differences if both are threatened by the same adverse situation. PP and PSOE representatives have held secret meetings regarding new Local Administration Laws. These will cut the number of councillors and erode their power and pay in some towns, a move they want to prevent.

Politics bring strange bedfellows, even though this new rapprochement is closer to a one night stand than a marriage of convenience.

Taxing situation HACIENDA is looking into the multinationals operating in Spain. “It is not normal that a company with a turnover of thousands of millions hardly pays tax,” said a high ranking official. Of course it is not normal, but normality, or its absence, has nothing to do with wide-scale tax avoidance by those most able to pay it. Hacienda should ask Britain’s tax authorities about that and ask Starbucks, too.

An Xmas sermon...by Tweet!

MOTORISTS in Australia have been warned about using Apple Maps on the latest operating system following rescues of people stranded in the wilderness after being directed into a national park rather than the inland town of Mildura. *** TWO students have been arrested after giving brownies laced with cannabis to classmates and a professor. Thomas Cunningham and Mary Essa served up the cakes as part of a ‘bring food

JUST FANCY THAT... day’ to the University of Colorado, USA. *** SENIOR bishops are to tweet their Christmas Day sermons in a Tweet campaign. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Archbishop Designate will be joined by congregations and clergy from across the Church of England. *** AN Indian couple should

have luck on their side throughout their marriage. Brandon Pereira and Emilia D’Silva celebrated their engagement on 10/10/10, had a registered legal marriage on 11/11/11 and their wedding on 12/12/12. *** ONLY one football fan turned up to cheer on Udinese FC when they headed to Genoa Cricket and Football club in Italy

for their Series A match against Sampdoria FC. . *** A NEW prehistoric lizard species has been named after US President Obama. The Obamadon Gracilis was first discovered in eastern Montana, USA, in 1974. *** SHOPPERS at an Ikea store in Canada were left stunned when a monkey wearing a sheepskin coat was spotted wandering around the car park. The primate had escaped from its owner’s car.

to stay upright on the slopes.

I’m not the keenest of skiers, but I didn’t care. I was with him!

Normally I don’t respond well to the cold. More often than not I am a beach babe, not a snow seeker. But this was different.

I have been on holidays with boyfriends before, but not like this.

It was special, because Crispin is something special.

Such a gentleman. And he didn’t let me pay for a thing!

Ski-ing, champagne, strawberries, chocolate, caviar… need I say more.

Not a moment of silence between us, giggling like teenagers as we frolicked in the snow, unaware of anyone else.

A haven, it felt like only us there.

All I want to do is spend more and more time together, I simply can’t bear to be apart. I miss him already and he left my side only moments ago.

The greatest gift this Christmas would be to spend it with him.

If only. Or maybe?

We have only known each other for two weeks, although it feels like much longer.

So would it be so bad to ask him?

I am on the slippery slope to being head over heels in love, and if he feels how I do, it will be exactly what he wants.

So I’m going to do it.

With the L word ringing in my ears as the Christmas countdown continues, I’m going to ask him to spend it with me.

Just the two of us again, for another wonderful three days. It could be the best present ever!

30

THURSDAY

EWN

TV

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

BBC1

BBC2

5:40am BBC News 7:00am Breakfast The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC’s Breakfast team. 10:15am Heir Hunters 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm You've Been Scammed 12:30pm Cash in the Attic Series looking at whether unwanted items could be worth a small fortune.

1:15pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News at One The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather. 2:30pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London. 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm Escape to the Country

4.00pm - midnight 4:00pm BBC News The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather.

4:05pm Show Me What You’re Made of 4:35pm The Slammer 5:00pm Help! My Supply Teacher is Magic 5:30pm Rocket’s Island 6:00pm Newsround Topical news magazine for children.

6:15pm Pointless Celebrities test the depths of their general knowledge in this special edition of the quiz.

7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London.

8:00pm The One Show Matt Baker and Alex Jones present the stories that matter from across the country.

8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Young Apprentice 10:00pm Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Lapland 12:50am This Week A political review of the week presented by Andrew Neil, with Michael Portillo and guests. 1:35am Skiing Weatherview Detailed weather forecast.

1:40am Britain’s Secret Terror Squad 2:40am Countryfile Countryfile visits the Norfolk coast for a seasonal spectacle. 3:40am Antiques Roadshow 4:40am MasterChef: The Professionals 5:40am BBC News

BBC3 8:00pm Doctor Who 9:00pm Don’t Tell the Bride 10:00pm Russell Howard’s Good News 10:30pm Impractical Jokers 11:00pm World’s Craziest Fools 11:30pm EastEnders 12:00am Family Guy Animated comedy series about family life.

12:25am Family Guy Animated comedy series about family life.

12:45am American Dad! Animated series about Stan Smith, who works for the CIA. 1:10am American Dad! 1:30am Impractical Jokers 2:00am The Revolution Will be Televised 2:30am The Revolution Will be Televised 3:00am Him and Her 3:30am Russell Howard’s Good News 4:00am Don’t Tell the Bride

ITV

Channel 4

Channel 5

8:05am Cloudbabies 8:15am Everything’s Rosie 8:25am Bob the Builder: Project Build It 8:35am Chuggington 8:45am Octonauts 9:00am Tilly and Friends 9:10am Woolly and Tig 9:15am Mike the Knight 9:30am Timmy Time 9:40am Tweenies 10:00am Numtums 10:05am Abadas 10:15am Alphablocks 10:20am The Rhyme Rocket 10:35am The Lingo Show 10:45am Something Special - A Christmas Special 11:05am Show Me Show Me 11:35am Mr Bloom’s Nursery 11:55am I Can Cook on the Go 12:10pm Mister Maker Comes to Town 12:30pm BBC World News 1:00pm The Daily Politics 2:00pm Royal Upstairs Downstairs 2:30pm To Buy or Not to Buy 3:15pm The Weakest Link

3:20am Scarface 6:05am ITV Nightscreen Textbased information service. 6:30am ITV Morning News The latest national and international news.

7:00am Daybreak 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning Presented by Phillip Schofield and Ruth Langsford. 12:25pm ITV News The latest headlines from around the world. Followed by a local weather forecast. 12:30pm This Morning Presented by Phillip Schofield and Ruth Langsford. 1:30pm Let’s Do Christmas with Gino and Mel Comedian Rhod Gilbert adds a little mayhem to the festive kitchen today. 2:30pm ITV News and Weather Natasha Kaplinsky with the latest headlines from around the world.

3:00pm Storage Hoarders

5:45am Countdown 6:30am Make Do and Mend Simon’s cooking skills are challenged by a kitchen machine that belongs in a museum. 6:55am Quick Bakes with Eric Lanlard 7:00am Sali Mali Sali Mali invites all of her friends in from the frightening storm.

7:05am Sali Mali 7:10am The Hoobs 7:35am The Hoobs 8:00am Freshly Squeezed 8:30am According to Jim 9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 11:00am The Big Bang Theory 11:30am The Big Bang Theory 12:00pm Jamie’s Christmas with Bells On 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Kirstie's Handmade Treasure 1:15pm Swiss Family Robinson 3:40pm Countdown

4:00pm Real Rescues 4:45pm Wanted Down Under Revisited 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Celebrity Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:00pm Masterchef: The Professionals Michel’s Classics 8:30pm University Challenge 9:00pm Springwatch 10:00pm Last Chance Harvey 11:30pm Newsnight

4:00pm Dickinson’s Real Deal 5:00pm Britain’s Best Bakery 6:00pm The Chase Quiz show hosted by Bradley Walsh.

7:00pm London Tonight 7:30pm ITV News and Weather Geraint Vincent and Natasha Kaplinsky with the latest headlines from around the world.

8:00pm Emmerdale Cameron takes his place on the witness stand.

8:30pm Tonight 9:00pm Emmerdale Under the pressure of the trial, Cameron makes a confession.

9:30pm Coronation Street Fiz helps Tyrone gather evidence. Is Nick the victim of a hoax?

10:00pm Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Celebrity contestants attempt to win that magical million in this Christmas Special.

11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather Mark Austin and Julie Etchingham with the latest headlines from around the world.

11:35pm Waterworld

4:15pm All I Want for Christmas 4:30pm 1001 Things You Should Sentimental drama.

Know 6:00pm 5 News Sandi Toksvig hosts at 5 Channel 4’s Nicolas Cage.

National brand new and general CH5 11:00pm - Lord of War international knowledge quiz news. show.

6:30pm Emergency Bikers 5:00pm Deal or No Deal Action-packed documentary series following the 6:00pm Come Dine with Me work of emergency bike crews.

The latest to host in this new competition is singer 7:30pm 5 News and proud Liverpudlian Marcus Collins.

National and international news.

6:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways 7:00pm The Simpsons 9:00pm World’s Strongest Man 2012 7:30pm Hollyoaks 10:00pm Cowboy Builders Nancy fears the worst when she receives a call Dom Littlewood and Melinda Messenger track from the hospital. down the UK’s most terrible tradesmen.

8:00pm Channel 4 News 11:00pm Lord of War Includes sport and weather.

Satirical action thriller set in the world of black 8:55pm 4thought.tv market arms dealing, following a gunrunner 9:00pm George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces from humble beginnings in Little Odessa to a 10:00pm Jamie and Jimmy’s Food Fight Club millionaire lifestyle supplying weapons to global Jimmy and Jamie want to see if British puds can trouble spots. While dealing with an African beat Italian desserts. dictator, he is pursued by a relentless Interpol 11:00pm Adam Hills Stands Up Live agent and begins to have doubts about the morality of his profession.

Emma Thompson.

Dustin Hoffman.

BBC2 10:00pm - Last Chance Harvey

2:00am Jackpot247 Join the presenters live and play roulette on your telly. 4:00am Tonight 4:25am ITV Nightscreen Text-based information service. 5:35am The Jeremy Kyle Show

12:40am Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Classic comedy from 80s teen comedy genre king John Hughes.

2:30am David Blaine: Magic Man 3:20am Unreported World 3:45am Dispatches 4:15am Time Team 5:15am The Herd 5:20am Deal or No Deal

7:45am Peppa Pig 7:50am Olive the Ostrich 7:55am Little Princess 8:10am Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom 8:20am The Mr. Men Show 8:35am Thomas and Friends 8:50am Noddy in Toyland 9:05am Fifi and the Flowertots 9:20am Peppa Pig 9:30am Peppa Pig 9:35am Roary the Racing Car 9:50am Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00am Tickety Toc 10:15am Angelina Ballerina 10:35am Mist: Sheepdog Tales 10:55am Mexican Food Made Simple 11:25am Emergency Bikers 12:25pm Superior Interiors with Kelly Hoppen 1:20pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:25pm Build a New Life in the Country 2:30pm Mrs. Miracle

1:25am Super Casino Live interactive gaming featuring roulette, blackjack and autowheel.

4:55am House Doctor 5:20am HouseBusters 5:45am The Great Artists

12:20am The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff 1:20am An Island Parish 1:50am BBC News 5:00am Spark 5:55am Ask Lara

BBC4 8:00pm Tails You Win: The Science of Chance 9:00pm Top of the Pops: 1977 9:30pm Top of the Pops: 1977 10:00pm Michael Grade’s History of the Pantomime Dame Michael Grade explores the rich history of the very British pantomime dame.

11:00pm The Dark Ages: An Age of Light 12:00am Chas and Dave: Last Orders 1:00am Tails You Win: The Science of Chance 2:00am The Unthanks: A Very English Winter 3:00am Top of the Pops: 1977 3:30am Top of the Pops: 1977 4:00am Michael Grade’s History of the Pantomime Dame Michael Grade explores the rich history of the very British pantomime dame.

Satellite channels SKY1 5:10am Stargate SG-1 6:05am Stargate SG-1 7:00am Airline USA 7:30am Airline USA 8:00am Spy 8:30am Spy 9:00am Dog the Bounty Hunter 9:30am Dog the Bounty Hunter 10:00am Hawaii Five-0 11:00am Hawaii Five-0 12:00pm Lie to Me 1:00pm Lie to Me 2:00pm Life of PI Special 2:10pm Stargate Continuum 4:00pm Stargate SG-1 5:00pm Stargate SG-1 6:00pm Futurama 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Middle 8:30pm Modern Family 9:00pm Our Diamond Queen 10:00pm Little Crackers 10:30pm Little Crackers 11:00pm An Idiot Abroad 12:00am Spy 12:30am A League of

Their Own 1:30am Brit Cops - Zero Tolerance 2:30am Brit Cops - Zero Tolerance 3:30am Road Wars 4:20am Road Wars 4:45am Crash Test Dummies 5:10am Stargate SG1

SKY MOVIES COMEDY 5:40am Dunston Checks In 7:10am The Brady Bunch Movie 8:45am Taxi 10:25am Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason 12:15pm Little Fockers 1:55pm The Change-Up 3:55pm Swingers 5:35pm Taxi 7:20pm Little Fockers 9:00pm The Change-Up 10:55pm Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason 12:45am Swinging with the Finkels 2:15am Swingers 3:55am Best Defense 5:30am Clue

SKY MOVIES DRAMA

5:40pm Batman Returns 7:50pm Real Steel 10:00pm Independence Day

5:10am Listen to Your Heart 7:00am Prom 8:45am Country Strong 10:45am I Don't Know How She Does it 12:20pm The Help 2:50pm Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

12:30am I, Robot 2:30am Your Highness 4:20am Anaconda 2: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

5:05pm That Thing You Do! 7:00pm Just Go with it 9:00pm I Don’t Know How She Does it 10:35pm The Help 1:05am Shallow Hal 3:05am Intersection 4:50am Prom

SKY MOVIES ACTION 5:00am Skyline 6:40am Spy Kids 8:20am The Hobbit 8:50am Real Steel 11:00am Independence Day 1:30pm I, Robot 3:30pm Batman

TCM 6:00am West of the Divide 6:55am The High Chaparral 7:50am The High Chaparral 8:50am Rocky Mountain 10:25am River of No Return 12:10pm Young Billy Young 1:50pm The High Chaparral 2:55pm The High Chaparral 4:00pm How the West Was Won 6:55pm The Return of Frank James 8:40pm Kansas Pacific 10:00pm Passenger 57 11:35pm Dark City 1:30am Great Expectations 3:20am Dark City 5:00am The High Chaparral

32

FRIDAY

EWN

TV

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

BBC2

4.00pm - midnight 4:00pm BBC News The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather.

4:05pm Show Me What You’re Made of 4:30pm The Cow That Almost Missed Christmas Animation retelling the story of the nativity from the point of view of a young cow.

5:00pm Blue Peter 5:30pm CBeebies Panto 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather.

7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Nigel Slater’s 12 Tastes of Christmas 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Outnumbered 10:00pm Have I Got News for You Christmas Special 10:30pm Live at the Apollo 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Graham Norton Show 12:20am The National Lottery Friday Night Draws The National Lottery Friday night draws presented by OJ Borg. 12:30am John Bishop’s Britain John Bishop hosts a festive edition of the comedy and entertainment show.

1:15am EastEnders Omnibus 3:10am Weatherview 3:15am Natural World 4:15am MasterChef: The Professionals 5.15am BBC News

8:00pm Great Movie Mistakes 2012 10:00pm Gavin and Stacey Special festive edition of the hit sitcom.

11:00pm Russell Howard’s Good News 11:30pm EastEnders 12:00am Kill Bill: Vol. 1 1:45am Impractical Jokers 2:15am Pramface 2:45am Pramface 3:15am Russell Howard’s Good News 3:45am Don’t Tell the Bride

4:00pm Real Rescues 4:45pm Wanted Down Under Revisited 5:30pm Flog It! Antiques series.

6:15pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 7:00pm Celebrity Eggheads 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two 8:30pm University Challenge 9:00pm Mastermind John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind.

9:30pm An Island Parish Series following the community on the tiny crown dependency of Sark in the Channel Islands.

10:00pm Westminster Abbey A behind-the-scenes look at one of Britain's greatest landmarks.

11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight In-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines with Gavin Esler.

12:05am Grumpy Guide To...1:05am Holiday in Handcuffs Romantic comedy. 2:30am BBC News

BBC4 8:00pm Concerto at the BBC Proms 8:30pm Placido Domingo’s Gala Concert 10:00pm It’s Slade 10:50pm Slade at the BBC 11:50pm Slade in Flame Tom Conti, Dave Hill, Noddy Holder, Tommy Vance, Paul Eric Bosko, Kenneth Colley.

1:20am It’s Slade 2:10am Slade at the BBC 3:10am Placido Domingo’s Gala Concert

BBC3

BBC3

7:50am Charlie and Lola 8:05am Cloudbabies 8:15am Everything’s Rosie 8:25am Bob the Builder: Project Build It 8:35am Chuggington 8:45am Octonauts 9:00am Tilly and Friends 9:10am Woolly and Tig 9:15am Mike the Knight 9:30am Timmy Time 9:40am Tweenies 10:00am Numtums 10:05am Abadas 10:15am Alphablocks 10:20am The Rhyme Rocket 10:35am The Lingo Show 10:45am Something Special - Out and About 11:05am Show Me Show Me 11:35am Mr Bloom’s Nursery 11:55am I Can Cook on the Go 12:10pm Mister Maker Comes to Town 12:30pm BBC World News 1:00pm The Daily Politics 2:00pm Royal Upstairs Downstairs 2:30pm To Buy or Not to Buy 3:15pm The Weakest Link

12:00am - Kill Bill:Vol. 1

Uma Thurman

Channel 4

5:35am The Jeremy Kyle Show 6:30am ITV Morning News The latest national and international news. 7:00am Daybreak 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning Presented by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. 12:25pm ITV News The latest headlines from around the world.

Followed by a local weather forecast. 12:30pm This Morning Presented by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. 1:30pm Let’s Do Christmas with Gino and Mel Paul Nicholas joins Gino and Mel today in the festive kitchen. 2:30pm ITV News and Weather Nina Hossain with the latest headlines from around the world. 3:00pm Storage Hoarders

Channel 5

7:10am The Hoobs 8:00am Freshly Squeezed 8:30am According to Jim 9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am 10:00am Frasier 11:00am The Big Bang Theory 12:00pm Jamie’s Christmas with Bells On 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Kirstie's Handmade Treasures 1:25pm Cutthroat Island 3:40pm Countdown

10:00pm - The Mentalist Simon Baker

4:00pm Dickinson’s Real Deal David and the team are in Ilford for a Text Santa edition of the show.

5:00pm Britain’s Best Bakery Today is the Grand Final as the three remaining contestants take part in the ultimate challenge.

6:00pm The Chase Quiz show hosted by Bradley Walsh.

7:00pm London Tonight 7:30pm ITV News and Weather Geraint Vincent and Nina Hossain with the latest headlines from around the world.

7:55pm Text Santa 8:00pm Emmerdale Cameron takes drastic action to keep his secret.

8:30pm Coronation Street Is Tyrone and Fiz’s affair about to be exposed?

Kirk and Beth experience a Christmas miracle.

9:00pm Text Santa

12:00am ITV News and Weather Mark Austin with the latest headlines from around the world. 12:15am Celebrity Juice 1:00am Text Santa 2:15am Jackpot247 Join the presenters live and play roulette on your telly. 4:00am Quadrophenia

4:30pm 1001 Things You Should Know Sandi Toksvig hosts Channel 4's brand new general knowledge quiz show.

5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News Includes sport and weather.

8:30pm Unreported World 8:55pm 4thought.tv 9:00pm King of Christmas Lights 10:00pm The Hoarder Next Door The hit documentary series returns to Channel 4 with a festive special.

11:00pm Alan Carr: Chatty Man 12:05am Father Ted 1:15am Father Ted Father Ted finds himself in sumptuous surroundings. 1:50am Father Ted 2:15am Full English 2:45am The Ricky Gervais Show 3:10am The Ricky Gervais Show 3:40am My Name is Earl 4:00am Glory Daze 4:45am A Ninja is for Life, Not Just for Christmas 4:50am 90210 5:30am Deal or No Deal

7:00am Thomas and Friends 7:10am Igam Ogam 7:20am Fireman Sam 7:30am Jelly Jamm 7:45am Peppa Pig 7:50am Olive the Ostrich 7:55am Little Princess 8:10am Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom 8:20am The Mr Men Show 8:35am Thomas and Friends 8:50am Noddy in Toyland 9:05am Fifi and the Flowertots 9:20am Peppa Pig 9:35am Roary the Racing Car 9:50am Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00am Tickety Toc 10:15am Angelina Ballerina 10:35am Mist: Sheepdog Tales 10:55am Mexican Food Made Simple 11:25am Emergency Bikers 12:25pm Superior Interiors with Kelly Hoppen 1:20pm 5 News Lunchtime 1:25pm Build a New Life in the Country 2:25pm Meet the Santas

4:10pm Mistletoe Over Manhattan Seasonal fantasy yarn.

6:00pm 5 News at 5 National and international news.

6:30pm Emergency Bikers Action-packed documentary series following the work of emergency bike crews.

7:30pm 5 News National and international news.

8:00pm Cowboy Builders Dom Littlewood and Melinda Messenger track down the UK’s most terrible tradesmen.

9:00pm North Pole Ice Airport 10:00pm The Mentalist American crime drama.

11:00pm Castle US mystery series.

12:00am Law and Order: Criminal Intent 12:55am Inside Hollywood Get your daily fix of the latest film and TV news from the USA. Presented by Mark Morris. 1:00am Super Casino 4:50am Motorsport Mundial The latest motor racing action from around the world.

5:20am HouseBusters 5:45am The Great Artists

Satellite channels SKY1

5:10am Stargate SG-1

6:05am Stargate SG-1 7:00am Airline USA 7:30am Airline USA 8:00am Spy 8:30am Spy 9:00am Dog the Bounty Hunter 9:30am Dog the Bounty Hunter 10:00am Futurama 10:30am Futurama 11:00am Best of Oops TV 12:00pm Lie to Me 1:00pm Lie to Me 2:00pm Stargate: The Ark of Truth

SKY MOVIES COMEDY

4:00pm Stargate SG-1 6:00pm Futurama 7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Little Crackers 9:30pm Spy 10:00pm An Idiot Abroad 11:00pm A League of Their Own 12:00am Road Wars 1:00am Brit Cops - Zero Tolerance 2:00am Brit Cops - Zero Tolerance 2:55am Road Wars 3:50am Road Wars 4:45am Crash Test Dummies

5:30am Clue 7:10am Henry’s Crime 9:00am Snow Dogs 10:40am Chalet Girl 12:20pm The 40 Year Old Virgin 2:20pm Tower Heist 4:05pm American Pie 5:45pm Hall Pass 7:35pm 30 Minutes or Less 9:00pm Tower Heist 10:45pm The 40 Year Old Virgin 12:45am American Pie 2:25am Hall Pass 4:15am 30 Minutes or Less

SKY MOVIES DRAMA 4:50am Prom 6:40am The Descendants Special 7:00am The Magic of Belle Isle 9:00am Rabbit Hole 10:40am Moneyball 1:00pm Romeo and Juliet 3:05pm Movie

Special 3:25pm Deck the Halls

Point Last Seen 7:50am The Hobbit 8:20am Master and Commander: 10:40am Ironclad 12:45pm Twister 2:45pm First Blood

5:05pm Albatross 6:45pm The Terminal 9:00pm Romeo and Juliet

4:25pm Rambo: First Blood Part II 6:10pm The Tourist 8:00pm Daylight 10:00pm First Blood 11:40pm Rambo: First Blood Part II

11:00pm Moneyball 1:20am The Stepford Wives 3:00am Burlesque 5:10am Stepping Out

SKY MOVIES ACTION 4:20am Anaconda 2: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid 6:05am

Angelina Jolie

SMA

5:40am BBC News 7:00am Breakfast The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC’s Breakfast team. 10:15am Heir Hunters 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer Series featuring properties sold via auction.

12:00pm You’ve Been Scammed 12:30pm Cash in the Attic 1:15pm Bargain Hunt A football fanatic mum and son face off a dad and daughter in Bargain Hunt from Newark. 2:00pm BBC News at One The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather. 2:30pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London. 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm Escape to the Country

ITV

CH5

BBC1

6:10pm The Tourist

1:20am Rambo III 3:05am 22 Bullets 5:05am Small Soldiers

TCM 6:00am Kansas Pacific 7:15am The High Chaparral 8:15am The High Chaparral 9:15am The Return of Frank James 11:00am How the West Was Won

20 - 26 December 2012

yoursay@ euroweeklynews.com

www.euroweeklynews.com

Letters for Your Say should be emailed to yoursay@ euroweekly news.com, posted to Euro Weekly News, C/Moscatel 10, P-62, Polígono Industrial, Arroyo de la Miel, 29630 Benalmadena, Málaga, Spain or faxed to 0034 952 440 887

Not so healthy view of Spain’s medical care I WOULD like to warn your readers about the slowness of Spanish health departments.

My wife first suffered knee problems in 2006. Torremolinos hospital sent her to see a rheumatologist who referred her to a knee surgeon, and then a pain management clinic.

This went on for two years before we went to a private clinic.

They gave her a report which we took to the CARE health centre in Fuengirola. They wanted more x-rays before she was referred back to pain doctors.

In February 2009 we signed papers for a new knee operation. Then in November we were told she was seeing the wrong doctor and she was sent back to rheumatology, and eventually to pain management again.

Now, six years after first seeing a doctor, they have finally accepted she needs a new knee, but it is too late.

Her knee muscles are too weak to support the operation.

We have made an official complaint, but that does not help my wife who now needs a wheelchair if out for any length of time.

Name supplied, Riviera del Sol , (Malaga)

At it again OH DEAR! Just when you thought the Spanish banking services had seen sense and were back on the straight and narrow road to financial stability, the SabadellCAM is at it again!

We read (Issue 1431) that SabadellCAM's real estate subsidiary, Solvia, is about to begin a multimillion-euro building programme.

“There is a growing demand” says Sabadell’s CEO, Miquel Montes. Oh yes? Take your blinkers off Miquel, and gaze upon the thousands of brand new and re-sale properties across Spain that remain unsold.

Oh! dear, I can see it all happening again. Will the last one to leave, switch the light off.

Robert Barnes, Pilar de la Horadada (Alicante)

Airport right YOUR Article about El Altet (Alicante) airport numbers for November (Costa Blanca North Issue 1431) did our

L etters OPINION & COMMENT

Snapped!

by Maria Hopkins, Calahonda.

P pub hotog r l em icati aphs pho ail w on sh for p o ton ews ith a f uld b ossibl e es @e ull e c uro wee aptio nt by klyn n to ews : .com

Our neighbour’s cat for some reason loves to sit - winter or summer - in the window of our home. Some days he just sits, watching the world go by, other times he shows how relaxed and safe he feels by falling asleep... on the window ledge, with his feet pointing skywards. Happiness is....

WHEN YOU WRITE All letters, whether by email or post, should carry the writer’s postal address, NIE and contact number though only the name and town will be published.

Letters may also be edited.

Readers who have missed earlier correspondence can see all letters posted on:

www.euroweeklynews.com

wonderful airport no favours.

We are in a recession and in November you expect numbers to be up?

Aena should be praised for taking a stand against the bullying tactics of Ryanair, the least favourite airline!

It is not funny for elderly folk to stand at the top of the steep airplane stairs in torrential rain and a gale force wind and struggle down with a suitcase, being pushed from behind.

Unable to make a long dash across slippery tarmac, many of us regularly get very wet!

For a few euros more those nice people at Easyjet will look after you properly.

N Cummins (by email)

Clear pictured REGARDING Registering an imported car in Spain (Issue 1431), while I applaud the efforts of reporter Raul Candela to give facts, it is important that the information provided is

correct. Much of what he states is factual and accurate but not all, and I challenge that a non-resident may keep his foreign (non-Spanish) car for up to six months in Spain before he is required to re-register it or remove it from the country on a six months rolling basis.

Residents have 30 days if the car was purchased abroad specifically to bring it to Spain and two months if they owned the car before moving to Spain. After re-registering over 1,200 vehicles, I have only once had to apply for green plates.

It is customary to change to Spanish plates directly from the foreign ones causing less hassle and cost.

In my experience, the process takes five to 10 days, not three weeks, and sourcing continental headlights is normally same day or within 48 hours, not the 10 days mentioned There is no requirement in law to register on the Padron in order to register a car, as a factura or escritura is typically accepted.

As a response to the question posed by a reader asking if she may save money by delaying signing on the Padron, the answer given is disturbing and inaccurate. It was stated that a Padron should be obtained immediately.

The facts are as follows: If a person wishes to gain exemption from the registration/import tax there are critical timescales. The car must have been owned for six months and one

EWN

33

Costa de Almería day before applying for the Padron or Residency Certificate.

While I also would encourage everyone to sign on the Padron, it may not be immediately imperative Graham Shelton info@spanish-number-plates.com Editor’s note: Guardia Civil Press sources confirmed that EU non-residents can drive an EU plated vehicle for up to three months. After that if the vehicle is to remain in Spain they need to apply for a Residence Certificate and a Spanish plate, for which they have three additional months to start the applications.

If during this period proceedings have not been started, they can have their car seized.

The recommendation in the article that residents apply for green plates was made by the DGT traffic authority, and the statement that sourcing continental headlights can take 10 days was attributed to the Gestoria Administrativa, Los Boliches.

As with many procedures in Spain, bureaucracy can vary, and some officials make different demands through various interpretations of requirements.

Crazy world WHAT a crazy world we live in where a telephone prank can go so tragically wrong.

An un-briefed nurse passes a hoax call through to the ward sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, then commits suicide when it becomes apparent it is a prank.

The Australian radio station that perpetrated the hoax has not apologised, and why should it? The suicide was caused by British failures to employ the right people to filter messages.

The management of the hospital and the security team needs to be taken to task over this event for not briefing the staff properly.

Brian Deller, Malaga

Dog advice I AM horrified at the account written

by Suzanne Manners (Issue 1431) and her lack of common-sense.

For someone to be bitten by a dog and take no action is beyond belief.

The minimum treatment is to have a tetanus injection.

Angus McKenzie (by email)

The views expressed and opinions given in Letters are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. They accept no responsibility for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements, and reject claims arising out of any action that a company or individual may take on the basis of information contained therein.

34

SATURDAY

EWN

TV

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

BBC2

5:15am BBC News 7:00am Breakfast The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC's Breakfast team. 11:00am Saturday Kitchen 12:30pm Nigel Slater’s Christmas Suppers 1:00pm BBC News The latest national and international news from the BBC. 1:10pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London. 1:15pm Football Focus 2:00pm Equestrian: Olympia 2012

4.00pm - midnight 5:30pm Final Score 6:20pm BBC News The latest national and international news from the BBC. 6:30pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London.

6:40pm Pointless 7:30pm Strictly Come Dancing 8:55pm Merlin 9:40pm The National Lottery Saturday Night Draws 9:50pm Strictly Come Dancing 11:05pm BBC News The latest national and international news from the BBC. 11:25pm Match of the Day

CH5

ITV

BBC4

8:00pm Olympics 2012 10:00pm Live at the Apollo 10:30pm Live at the Apollo 11:00pm Kill Bill: Vol. 2 1:10am Family Guy 1:35am Family Guy 1:55am American Dad! 2:20am American Dad! 2:40am Impractical Jokers 3:10am Him and Her 3:40am The Revolution Will be Televised 4:10am The Revolution Will be Televised

6:00am ITV Nightscreen 6:30am ITV Morning News 7:00am Special Agent Oso 7:25am The Hive 7:35am The Hive 7:45am The Hive 7:50am Canimals 8:00am Canimals 8:05am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:20am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:30am Almost Naked Animals 8:40am Almost Naked Animals 8:50am Horrid Henry 9:05am Horrid Henry 9:15am Horrid Henry 9:30am Fort Boyard 10:25am ITV News 10:30am The Jeremy Kyle Show US 11:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show US 12:20pm Murder, She Wrote 1:20pm ITV News and Weather 1:35pm Holiday Home Sweet Home 2:35pm Holiday Home Sweet Home 3:35pm Steppin’ Out with Katherine Jenkins

5:30am Deal or No Deal 6:25am Countdown 7:10am The Hoobs 8:00am The Enduroman Arch to Arc Triathlon 8:30am Everybody Loves Raymond Marie treats the family to a holiday in Rome, but Ray’s not happy. 8:55am The Morning Line Turf tips and news from the Channel 4 Racing team. 9:55am Frasier Frasier and Charlotte get stranded in the middle of nowhere when Frasier's car breaks down. 10:25am Frasier 10:55am A Christmas Carol 12:50pm The Big Bang Theory Leonard finds himself forced to choose between Priya and Penny. 1:20pm The Simpsons 1:50pm The Simpsons 2:20pm Channel 4 Racing

4:00pm Nigellissima Nigella Lawson loves Christmas and for her a party is the perfect way to celebrate.

5:00pm The Game Plan 6:45pm The Toys That Made Christmas 8:15pm Porridge Seasonal special of the Clement/Frenais sitcom a masterclass in comedy writing.

9:00pm TOTP2 Mark Radcliffe digs deep into the archives to deliver some familiar and unfamiliar festive 10:30pm Never Mind the Buzzcocks 11:00pm The Mystery of Edwin Drood

4:50pm London Tonight Regional news update for the capital and the South East, plus local weather.

5:05pm ITV News and Weather Andrea Byrne with the latest headlines from around the world.

5:20pm Back to the Future Part III Concluding part of the comic time-travel trilogy.

7:30pm The Nation’s Favourite Christmas Song 9:00pm Paddy’s 2012 Show and Telly 10:00pm The Jonathan Ross Show 11:30pm ITV News and Weather Andrea Byrne with the latest headlines from around the world.

11:45pm Terminator 2: Judgment Day Sci-fi sequel unfolding a life-and-death battle to avert a nuclear holocaust.

4:30pm River Cottage 5:35pm Come Dine with Me 6:05pm Come Dine with Me 6:35pm Come Dine with Me 7:05pm Come Dine with Me 7:35pm Come Dine with Me 8:05pm Channel 4 News 8:25pm 4thought.tv 8:30pm George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces 9:30pm Stephen Fry: Gadget Man 10:00pm Four Christmases 11:40pm Die Hard 2

8:00pm The Prince and the Showgirl 10:00pm Arena 11:00pm Tom Jones - What Good Am I? 12:00am Tom Jones at the BBC 1:00am Top of the Pops: 1977 1:30am Top of the Pops: 1977 2:00am Johnny Cash at Christmas 2:50am The Beach Boys: Live at Knebworth 4:00am Arena

2:15am Jackpot247 Join the presenters live and play roulette on your telly. 4:00am In Plain Sight 4:45am ITV Nightscreen Text-based information service.

5:30pm Mrs Miracle 2: Miracle in Manhattan Drama. Magic and romance abound in a family-run department store in the lead up to Christmas.

7:20pm I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Festive family fun based on the traditional song of the same name.

9:00pm A Christmas Carol Adaptation of Dickens's classic tale of hope, compassion and the uplifting power of the spirit.

11:00pm 5 News Weekend 11:05pm Tommy Cooper's Christmas Classic comedy from 1973.

10:00pm Four Christmases

Vincent Vaughn & Reese Witherspoon

2:00am Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale 3:20am This is Me An Abingdon teenager discusses her identity crisis. 3:25am Hollyoaks Omnibus 5:30am 90210

2:10am The Plank 1:10am Super Casino Live interactive gaming featuring roulette, blackjack and autowheel. 4:55am Michaela’s Wild Challenge Michaela Strachan and colleagues undertake a range of wildlife-related dares in exotic locations. 5:20am The Great Artists 5:50am Rough Guide to Eco Escapes

Satellite channels SKY1 5:10am Stargate SG-1 7:00am Lion Man 7:30am Modern Family 8:00am UK Border Force 10:00am World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars 11:00am Soccer A.M. 1:00pm Futurama 5:00pm Diversity 6:00pm The Simpsons 7:00pm A Very JLS Christmas 8:30pm Got to Dance 9:30pm School of Rock 11:40pm Hawaii Five-0 1:40am Caribbean Cops 2:40am Inside Gatwick 3:40am Caribbean Cops 4:40am Road Wars 5:10am Don’t Forget the Lyrics

Tom Jones

7:05am Fifi and the Flowertots 7:15am Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 7:20am The Mr Men Show 7:35am Olive the Ostrich 7:40am Abby’s Flying Fairy School 7:50am Roobarb and Custard Too 8:00am Bananas in Pyjamas 8:10am Animal Antics 8:20am Make Way for Noddy 8:30am City of Friends 8:45am Little Princess 8:55am The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 9:15am Angelina Ballerina 9:30am Rupert Bear 9:50am Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom 10:00am Toby’s Travelling Circus 10:15am Roary the Racing Car 10:30am Jelly Jamm 10:50am Chinese Food in Minutes 10:55am Dallas 11:50am Once Upon a Time 1:50pm Crazy for Christmas 3:40pm Dear Santa

5:30pm -

BBC4

11:00pm What Good Am I?

Channel 5

7:00am Charlie and Lola 7:20am Little Charley Bear 7:30am 64 Zoo Lane 7:40am Mr Bloom’s Nursery 8:05am What’s New Scooby-Doo? 8:30am Dennis and Gnasher 8:40am Four O’Clock Club 9:10am M.I. High 9:40am Deadly 60 10:05am Copycats 10:35am 12 Again 11:05am The Ministry of Curious Stuff 11:30am Diddy Movies 11:45am Sorry, I’ve Got No Head 12:15pm Horrible Histories 12:45pm MOTD Kickabout 1:20pm Spy Kids 3: Game Over Thrilling adventure. 2:35pm Beverly Hills Chihuahua

12:55am The Football Mrs Miracle 2: Miracle in Manhattan League Show 2:10am Weatherview Detailed weather 12:00am The Mystery of Edwin Drood A twoforecast. 2:15am Rolling Stones: Crossfire part period drama adapted from the novel by Hurricane 3:15am Rolling Stones: Crossfire Charles Dickens. 1:00am The Story of A Hurricane 4:10am Nigellissima Nigella Fairytale of New York 2:00am QI 2:30am Never Lawson loves Christmas and for her a party is Mind the Buzzcocks 3:00am Arch of Triumph the perfect way to celebrate. 5:10am BBC News

BBC3

Channel 4

CH4

BBC1

SKY MOVIES COMEDY

Girls 2 Borrowed

5:40am Snow Dogs 7:20am A Night at the Roxbury 8:55am The Top Ten Show 2012 9:10am American Pie 2 11:00am Ice Age 12:35pm The Cat in the Hat 2:10pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 3:55pm Friends with Benefits

4:30pm The Help 7:00pm Life as We Know it 9:00pm Something Borrowed 11:00pm Mean Girls

2:30pm

Something

12:45am Life as We Know it 2:45am The Butcher’s Wife 4:40am The Hobbit 5:10am The 5th Quarter

5:50pm Ice Age 7:15pm Bad Teacher 9:00pm National Lampoon’s 10:40pm Friends with Benefits

SKY MOVIES ACTION

12:30am American Pie 2 2:20am Bad Teacher 4:00am A Night at the Roxbury 5:25am The Cat in the Hat

5:05am Small Soldiers 7:00am Fortress 8:40am Spy Kids 10:15am Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams 12:00pm Batman Forever 2:05pm Haywire 3:45pm Killer Elite

SKY MOVIES DRAMA 5:10am Stepping Out 7:05am Lucky Christmas 8:40am Anonymous 11:00am Mean Girls 12:45pm Mean

5:45pm Kingdom of Heaven 8:15pm Rush Hour 10:00pm Haywire 11:40pm Killer Elite

1:40am Battle: Los Angeles 3:40am The One 5:15am Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams

TCM 6:00am The High Chaparral 6:55am The High Chaparral 7:55am The Scarlet Claw 9:15am Sherlock Holmes in Washington 10:35am Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon 11:50am Sherlock Holmes and the House of Fear 1:05pm The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 2:40pm Dressed to Kill 4:00pm Sherlock Holmes: Pursuit to Algiers 5:10pm Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror 6:25pm The Pearl of Death 7:40pm Terror by Night 8:45pm Sherlock Holmes Faces Death 10:00pm U.S. Marshals 12:25am Stir of Echoes

OPINION & COMMENT

20 - 26 December 2012

EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

35

Costa de Almería

A

LTHOUGH I have no intention of appearing cold or unfeeling, in the light of the furore surrounding the recent hospital ‘prank call’ affair, I couldn’t help but wonder as to the mental condition of the tragic suicide victim.

Without doubt this poor lady was naive in the extreme. To accept, that in the dead of night, she was talking to the Queen of England and Prince Phillip and then passing them through without seeking some verification, or indeed immediately hanging up, almost defies the imagination.

It raises serious questions as to her intelligence level. She was after all a nurse, with people’s wellbeing and

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT even lives in her hands.

Her subsequent suicide leads one to believe her mental state must have already been extremely fragile.

If everyone who felt foolish, or was made to look silly, took their own lives, the whole population would be severely depleted on a daily basis.

It certainly seems a bit extreme to me. I don’t know. Perhaps it’s a cultural thing?

As far as the DJs are concerned, had this phone call not had such a tragic outcome, they would

probably have been considered a couple of really successful wags and moved into the number one slots in their profession, which is not actually much of an achievement.

Radio Disc jockeys are in fact, considered by many pros to be just about the pits of the music profession. Although they don’t broadcast it, recording artistes and song writers often deem DJs untalented, arrogant parasites, who seek success by exploiting the talents of others.

The only reason they are tolerated is because they have access to a media that can reach a wide public and sell records.

Indeed, when I myself entered the radio show

profession, I took some extremely derogatory stick from some of my successful showbiz colleagues.

Sixties Icon Jess Conrad OBE was one. (Mind you I’ll get my own back when he appears at my FCC Christmas party on the 22nd. Bookings on 689 485 956).

To overcome this stigma, DJs try to create more interest in their actual show. Some are very good at this.

People like Chris Evans and indeed our own much loved Vince Tracey, strive to use their music merely as a vehicle for other offerings. This is of course what these two young Australians were endeavouring to do.

To put them through the

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

DJs not to blame in death of naive nurse

MASTER DJ: Chris Evans. sheer hell they appear to be experiencing seems to me a totally unfair and malicious exercise. The young lady involved seems, at the time of writing, to be in a particularly fragile state herself.

I suggest they are now left alone, while their

superiors take some time out to reconsider their policies and come up with some directive that keeps up their entertainment output, but ensures a situation like this never rears its ugly head again.

Keep the faith.

Love Leapy.

Leapylee2002@gmail.com.

36

SUNDAY

EWN

TV

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

BBC1

BBC2

5:10am BBC News 7:00am Breakfast The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC's Breakfast team. 8:30am Match of the Day 10:00am David Suchet: In the Footsteps of St Paul 11:00am Fern Britton Meets...

Dionne Warwick is a music legend. 12:00pm Only Fools and Horses The first of a three-part Christmas special from 1996. 1:00pm BBC News The latest national and international news from the BBC. 1:10pm ‘Allo, ‘Allo! Comedy about a hapless cafe owner in occupied France.

1:55pm Nigel Slater’s 12 Tastes of Christmas 2:30pm The Borrowers Family adventure based on Mary Norton's classic children's books.

3:55pm Cool Runnings

4.00pm - midnight

Channel 4

12:25am The Graham Norton Show 1:15am Grumpy Old Men 2:55am Weatherview Detailed weather forecast. 3:00am Film 2012 3:30am Holby City 4:30am Nigel Slater’s 12 Tastes of Christmas Nigel Slater shares the flavours that for him make Christmas a truly delicious season. 5:00am Nigel Slater’s 12 Tastes of Christmas 5:30am BBC News

BBC3

SMC

8:00pm Great Movie Mistakes 2012 8:50pm Merlin Fantasy drama series.

9:35pm Kung Fu Panda Computer-animated comedy.

11:00pm Him and Her 11:30pm Gavin and Stacey Special festive edition of the hit sitcom.

12:30am Family Guy Subversive animated comedy about the trials and tribulations of American family life.

12:55am Family Guy Subversive animated comedy about the trials and tribulations of American family life.

1:15am Him and Her 1:45am Some Girls 2:15am Some Girls 2:45am Some Girls 3:15am Don’t Tell the Bride 4:15am Great Movie Mistakes 2012

4:45am ITV Nightscreen 7:00am Engie Benjy 7:10am Special Agent Oso 7:35am Signed Stories 7:40am Signed Stories 7:45am Monk 7:50am Canimals 8:00am Canimals 8:05am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:15am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:30am Almost Naked Animals 8:40am Almost Naked Animals 8:50am Almost Naked Animals 9:00am Big Time Rush 9:30am Fort Boyard 10:25am Dinner Date 11:20am Columbo 1:20pm ITV News and Weather 1:30pm Carry on Cowboy 3:15pm All Star Family Fortunes

5:30am 90210 6:15am 90210 6:55am The Treacle People Christmas Special: Sticky Christmas 7:15am The Hoobs 7:40am The Hoobs 8:05am Prep and Landing 8:25am Prep and Landing 8:50am The Bear 9:20am The Art of the Snowman and the Snowdog 9:25am Frasier 9:55am Frasier 10:30am Sunday Brunch 1:05pm The Big Bang Theory 1:30pm The Big Bang Theory 2:00pm The Simpsons 2:30pm The Simpsons 3:00pm Deal or No Deal

7:25am Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures 7:30am The Mr Men Show 7:45am Olive the Ostrich 7:50am Abby’s Flying Fairy School 8:00am Roobarb and Custard Too 8:10am Bananas in Pyjamas 8:20am Animal Antics 8:25am Make Way for Noddy 8:40am City of Friends 9:00am Little Princess 9:10am Angelina Ballerina 9:25am Hana’s Helpline 9:40am Rupert Bear 10:00am Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom 10:10am Toby’s Travelling Circus 10:25am Roary the Racing Car 10:40am Jelly Jamm 11:00am Chinese Food in Minutes 11:20am Dallas 12:15pm Once Upon a Time 1:10pm Once Upon a Time 2:10pm The Christmas Consultant 3:55pm It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas

4:25pm Flog It! 5:25pm First Knight 7:30pm The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show 8:35pm Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings 9:30pm Dragons’ Den Christmas is big business.

10:30pm James May’s Toy Stories 11:30pm The Sarah Millican Television Programme

4:00pm The McFly Show 5:05pm Twins Comedy.

7:05pm You’ve Been Framed!

Harry Hill is back with the best of viewers' funny camcorder and mobile phone clips.

7:35pm London Tonight Regional news update for the capital and the South East, plus local weather.

7:45pm ITV News and Weather James Mates with the latest headlines from around the world.

8:00pm Ade’s Christmas Crackers 9:00pm The Cube 10:00pm Joanna Lumley: The Search for Noah's Ark 11:30pm ITV News and Weather James Mates with the latest headlines from around the world.

11:45pm Take Me Out

4:00pm 100 Greatest Toys with Jonathan Ross 7:05pm Channel 4 News Includes sport and weather.

7:15pm 4thought.tv 7:20pm The Art of the Snowman and the Snowdog Channel 4’s new Christmas film The Snowman and The Snowdog is entirely drawn by hand.

7:25pm The Snowman Channel 4's most celebrated animation is this classic story from Raymond Briggs.

7:55pm Night at the Museum 10:00pm Homeland The second season of the compelling US thriller comes to a tense conclusion.

11:30pm Peep Show

5:40pm Christmas with the Kranks Yuletide family comedy.

7:40pm The Family Man Whimsical romantic comedy.

9:55pm 5 News Weekend National and international news.

10:00pm Bad Santa 12:00am Superbad

12:00am Victoria Wood: Seen on TV Victoria Wood looks back at her hugely successful television career. 1:30am QI In a special Christmas edition, Stephen Fry looks at ice.

2:00am French Film Romantic comedy. 3:25am They Knew what They Wanted

BBC4 8:00pm Cleopatra 11:55pm Omnibus 12:50am The Genius of David Bowie 1:50am David Bowie and the Story of Ziggy Stardust 2:50am It’s Slade 3:40am Slade at the BBC

5:40pm A Thousand Words

Channel 5

7:00am Show Me Show Me 7:20am Rastamouse 7:30am Gigglebiz 7:45am Mike the Knight 8:05am Shaun the Sheep 8:10am Little Howard’s Big Christmas Question 8:35am Four O’Clock Club 9:05am M.I. High 9:35am Bear Behaving Badly 10:00am Copycats 10:30am 12 Again 11:00am Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 12:30pm The Great British Bake Off Christmas Masterclass 1:30pm The Preacher’s Wife Romantic fantasy about a cleric who begins to doubt himself and is visited by an angel. 3:30pm Coast A look back at part of an episode of coast. The team is in the north west of England. 3:40pm Escape to the Country

CH5

5:30pm Songs of Praise 6:05pm BBC News The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team.

6:20pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London.

6:30pm Countryfile 7:30pm Mr Stink 8:30pm Antiques Roadshow Fiona Bruce looks back on another vintage year for the Antiques Roadshow.

9:30pm Loving Miss Hatto 11:00pm BBC News The latest national and international news, with reports from BBC correspondents worldwide.

11:20pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London.

11:25pm Match of the Day 2

ITV

12:45am Rugby Highlights 1:45am Jackpot247 Join the presenters live and play roulette on your telly. 3:45am River Monsters 4:35am ITV Nightscreen Text-based information service.

Tim Allen & Jamie Lee Curtis

5:40pm Christmas with the Kranks

12:00am In Bruges 2:00am American Football Live 5:45am Brief Encounters of the Sporting Mind 5:50am Brief Encounters of the Sporting Mind Christina McMahon’s mother wanted her to be a ballerina.

2:15am Super Casino Live interactive gaming featuring roulette, blackjack and autowheel.

4:55am House Doctor 5:25am House Doctor 5:50am Rough Guide to Weekend Breaks Travel series presented by Julia Bradbury and Toby Amies.

Satellite channels SKY1

5:00am Don’t Forget the Lyrics

6:00am Best of Oops TV 7:00am The Hour of Power 8:00am Modern Family 10:00am The Glee Project 11:00am World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars 12:00pm WWE Experience 1:00pm Futurama

SKY MOVIES COMEDY

5:00pm Got to Dance 6:00pm Diversity 7:00pm All Star Christmas Presents 8:30pm A Very JLS Christmas 10:00pm Arrow 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 1:00am A League of Their Own Christmas Special 2:00am Caribbean Cops 3:00am Big Trouble in Thailand 4:00am Big Trouble in Thailand

Kind of Wonderful 12:05pm Deck the Halls 1:50pm I Don’t Know How She Does it 3:25pm Just Go with it

5:25am The Cat in the Hat 7:00am Black Sheep 8:40am Evolution 10:35am A Thousand Words 12:15pm Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story 1:55pm Crazy, Stupid, Love 3:55pm The Big Year 5:40pm A Thousand Words 7:20pm Dodgeball: A Underdog Story 9:00pm Crazy, Stupid, Love 11:00pm Project X

True

12:35am Eurotrip 2:10am Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 3:55am Evolution 5:40am The Big Year

SKY MOVIES DRAMA 5:10am The 5th Quarter 7:00am Stay Cool 8:40am Prom 10:25am Some

5:25pm City of Angels 7:25pm I Don't Know How She Does it 9:00pm Just Go with it 11:00pm Burlesque 1:05am Purple Rain 3:05am 33 Postcards 4:50am Listen to Your Heart

SKY MOVIES ACTION 5:15am Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams 7:00am Over the Top 8:40am Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 10:40am Real Steel 12:50pm SpiderMan 2:55pm Immortals 4:50pm Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 6:50pm Real Steel

9:00pm Spider-Man 11:05pm Immortals 1:00am Broken Arrow 2:55am Species 4:45am Species II

TCM 6:00am TCM Shorts 6:20am Dressed to Kill 7:35am Sherlock Holmes: Pursuit to Algiers 8:50am Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror 10:05am The Pearl of Death 11:20am Terror by Night 12:25pm Sherlock Holmes Faces Death 1:45pm Scrooge 4:00pm Escape from Fort Bravo 5:50pm The Left-Handed Gun 7:50pm Guns for San Sebastian 10:00pm Hell on Wheels 10:55pm Hell on Wheels 11:50pm Posse 1:55am Valley of the Dolls 4:10am Posse

20 - 26 December 2012

EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

37

Costa de Almería

Emergency calls that help save lives M

ORE than four million calls are made to the a population of more than 30,000 have their own National Police 091 emergency number every dedicated service. And there is always at least one year. operator who speaks English on duty.

Now the Spanish force has launched a In the campaign, called ‘091: Police’s campaign to promote the number, and sure answer’, people calling the number, what it is for. are advised to: Last year specialist officers, who have - Try to keep calm and talk slowly in extra training in psychology so they can order to give the information properly. manage sensitive situations, answered an - Give an accurate address.

A weekly focus aimed emergency call every seven seconds.

- If there are people injured say how at keeping expatriate readers many and how badly.

Police claim that it takes an average six informed on various aspects of - Say what has happened clearly. minutes for National Police officers to Life in Spain - Report if any criminal is still there, and arrive at the scene of an incident once the if they are armed. call is made.

By Raul Candela - Try to give a description of the criminal They add that all provincial capitals with and any car number plates involved.

Life in Spain

TAKING CARE: Police authorities at the 091 headquarters in Madrid.

Healthcare worries as cards are cancelled

Q AND A

FLICKR,

USP HOSPITALES

MORE than 14,000 people have lost their Regional Health Cover in just one town after failing to register with the Social Security system.

And this has led one council official to call for people to apply for a residency certificate first and the municipal register (padron) second.

“In my opinion, if you don’t really live here you should not sign on to the padron,” Brian Knight from the Torrevieja Foreign Residents Department said. “I know many people GOOD CARE: Professional staff at San Jaime Hospital in have the padron but not the Torrevieja. Half of their patients are foreigners.

Certificate of Residence. That is just not real. We do not Municipal register statistics, Torrevieja want to mislead the State 2011 2012 Government.

“Where does that end up? In Total population: 102,136 106,836 14,000 people having their Foreigners: 53,570 57,070 health cards cancelled,” Brian added.

British: 12,994 13,240 For him, whether it is in Russian: 3,323 4,450 Torrevieja, Alicante, or any German: 3,950 4,100 other place in Spain, the residency certificate comes first, then the padron.

His comments fly in the face registered as resident, they spend a few days a year on of other municipal council want as many to join the list holiday in their second homes. views. As their share of the as possible.

And they do not have to have government grants goes up That means all property an official Spanish residency with the number of people owners, even if they only certificate.

As we will not be in Spain until January 7, we will be unable to register on the padron before December 31. Is it acceptable to send the town

In the past, people on the padron could be issued with a public health care card whether a resident or not. But now authorities are tightening up regulations, with access to health services being targeted.

But Torrevieja council can say the campaign to get people to sign on to the padron has been a success. The council has been allocated 30 per cent more money – nearly €3.6 million in total - by the Spanish Government for 2013. This is partially thanks to the increasing number of foreign residents signed on the register.

The money will guarantee more social benefits including 47 per cent more for individual grants and 131 per cent more for taxi discounts.

According to the latest official figures, Torrevieja currently has a population of 106,836 registered residents, out of which 53.4 per cent are foreigners. “But we estimate, by the number of water meters, there are actually 150,000 habitual residents at least,” town hall Press sources said. “In August’s tourism peaks, there could be up to 500,000 people in town.”

hall our details to meet the deadline? To register residents must go to the town hall in person. But there is no deadline. The December 31 date alluded to is to

The National Police also provides the 902 102 112 phone number for Foreign Tourists to report burglaries.

Available in English from 9am to 2pm, all week long, the service is also available in French, German and Italian.

People can use this number to report a burglary or car theft or break-in when documents and belongings are lost or stolen.

Once the telephone report is made, claimants have 48 hours to check and sign their statement at the police station of their choice.

In the case of robbery, where threat or force has been used, victims should call 091 at the time, then go directly to a police station to make a report.

%

List of Emergency numbers

112 – General emergencies (Police, fire, ambulance)

091 – National Police 092 – Local Police 062 – Guardia Civil 902 102 112 Complaints for Tourists Service

Foreign

061 – Ambulance 080 / 085 – Firemen

ensure bigger grants for 2013. Even if that date is missed, individuals will benefit from town hall services as soon as they register.

Send your questions to: raul@euroweeklynews.com

38

MONDAY

EWN

TV

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

BBC1

BBC2

5:30am BBC News 7:00am Breakfast The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC’s Breakfast team. 10:00am David Suchet: In the Footsteps of St Paul 11:00am The Two Ronnies Christmas Show 12:00pm Only Fools and Horses 1:00pm BBC News The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather. 1:15pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London. 1:25pm The Santa Clause 3:00pm The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

4.00pm - midnight

Channel 4

12:30am BBC News The latest national and international news, with reports from BBC correspondents worldwide. 12:45am Midnight Mass From Leeds Cathedral . 2:05am Serendipity Romantic comedy. 3:30am Weatherview Detailed weather forecast.

3:35am BBC News

BBC3

BBC3

8:00pm Top Gear 9:30pm Ratatouille Children's animation.

11:10pm Merry Madagascar Seasonal short featuring the characters of the hit animated movie series Madagascar.

11:30pm EastEnders 12:00am Russell Howard’s Good News 12:30am Family Guy 12:55am Family Guy 1:15am Family Guy 1:40am Family Guy Animated comedy series about family life.

2:00am Family Guy Animated comedy series about family life.

2:25am Family Guy Animated comedy series about family life.

2:45am Him and Her Comedy series 3:15am Russell Howard’s Good News 3:45am Don’t Tell the Bride

12:30am Family Guy

Channel 5

7:00am Postman Pat Children’s animation.

7:15am Bob the Builder: Project Build It Cartoon adventures of builder Bob and his friends. 7:30am The Adventures of Abney and Teal 7:40am Timmy’s Christmas Surprise Animation about a lamb at nursery school.

8:05am Shaun the Sheep Children’s animation.

Shaun discovers that the farmer will be spending Christmas Day alone. 8:15am Eliot Kid 8:30am The League of Super Evil 8:40am Four O’Clock Club 9:10am M.I. High 9:40am Dani’s House 10:10am The Nightmare Before Christmas 11:20am Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 12:55pm The Great British Bake Off Masterclass 1:55pm Wartime Farm 2:55pm Springwatch 3:55pm Equestrian: Olympia 2012

4:35am ITV Nightscreen Text-based information service. 7:00am Babar and the Adventures of Badou 7:10am Babar and the Adventures of Badou 7:25am The Hive 7:30am The Hive 7:40am The Hive When Rubee and Debee fall out, Buzzbee and Barnabee come up with a cunning plan to re-unite them! 7:50am Canimals Pow finds a tasty treat but rather than share it he makes an enemy of the angry wasp. 8:00am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:15am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:30am Horrid Henry 8:45am Horrid Henry 9:00am Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase 10:25am Dennis 12:05pm Dinner Date 1:10pm ITV News and Weather 1:30pm The Chase 2:30pm Doc Martin

6:00am Freesports on 4 6:25am Unreported World 6:55am Sali Mali 7:00am The Treacle People 7:10am Rugrats the Movie 8:25am Famous Fred 8:55am Ivor the Invisible 9:20am The Art of the Snowman and the Snowdog 9:30am A Christmas Carol 11:05am The Big Bang Theory 11:35am The Big Bang Theory 12:00pm The Muppet Christmas Carol 1:40pm The Simpsons 2:15pm The Simpsons 2:45pm Deal or No Deal’s Big Christmas Dinner 3:50pm Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

7:10am Igam Ogam 7:20am Fireman Sam 7:30am Jelly Jamm 7:45am Peppa Pig 7:50am Olive the Ostrich 7:55am Little Princess 8:10am Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 8:20am The Mr. Men Show 8:35am Thomas and Friends 8:45am Noddy in Toyland Charming animation. 9:00am Fifi and the Flowertots 9:10am Milkshake! Show Songs 9:15am Peppa Pig 9:30am Roary the Racing Car 9:40am Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00am Tickety Toc 10:10am Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures 10:20am Mist: Sheepdog Tales 10:40am The Family Recipe 10:50am Dallas 11:40am Once pon a Time 1:35pm Mistletoe Over Manhattan 3:25pm Trading Christmas

4:55pm Nativity!

A teacher is put in charge of his primary school’s musical version of the Nativity.

6:35pm Dad’s Army Classic comedy about the Home Guard unit of Walmington-on-Sea. 7:15pm Carols from King’s 8:30pm Morecambe and Wise 9:30pm Open All Hours Sitcom about a miserly shopkeeper.

10:00pm Porridge Christmas special of the classic sitcom from 1975.

10:40pm The Many Faces of...

11:40pm The Two Ronnies

4:30pm Rod Stewart’s Christmas 5:45pm How the Grinch Stole Christmas 7:40pm ITV News and Weather Mark Austin with the latest headlines from around the world.

8:00pm Emmerdale Cameron’s hand is forced when his prisoner fights to escape.

8:30pm Coronation Street Will Peter’s heartfelt words have the desired effect on Leanne?

9:30pm The Spice Girls Story: Viva Forever!

11:00pm ITV News and Weather Mark Austin with the latest headlines from around the world.

11:15pm Christmas Carols on ITV

6:05pm The Simpsons 6:40pm Hollyoaks 7:10pm Channel 4 News Includes sport and weather.

7:25pm 4thought.tv 7:30pm Heston’s Fantastical Christmas 8:30pm Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Special TV spin-off from the makers of the Ice Age film series.

9:00pm The Snowman and the Snowdog A brand new, charming animated sequel to Raymond Briggs's classic The Snowman.

9:30pm Stephen Fry: Gadget Man 10:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats 11:00pm Peep Show 11:30pm Friday Night Dinner It's Christmas Day.

5:10pm Scrooge Memorable cinematic adaptation of Dickens's classic story.

7:00pm Rolf’s Animal Christmas Documentary series presented by Rolf Harris.

8:00pm World’s Biggest Pets For some pet owners big is truly beautiful.

9:00pm A Right Royal Year 10:00pm Eddie Stobart’s Christmas Cracker 11:00pm The Thomas Crown Affair Crime caper movie about a New York playboy who executes a skilful theft.

ITV

5:15pm Merry Madagascar 5:35pm The Gruffalo’s Child 6:05pm The Lady and The Tramp 7:20pm BBC News The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather.

7:35pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London.

7:45pm A Christmas Carol Animation. The bitter and greedy Scrooge is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. 9:15pm Merlin Fantasy drama series.

10:00pm EastEnders 10:35pm Outnumbered 11:15pm Mrs. Brown’s Boys 11:45pm The Vicar of Dibley

ITV

12:10am Being Ronnie Corbett 1:10am QI Quiz show. 1:40am An Island Parish Series following the community on the tiny crown dependency of Sark in the Channel Islands. 2:10am The Tuttles of Tahiti

BBC4 9:00pm Norman Wisdom: His Story 10:00pm Nigel Slater: Life is Sweets 11:00pm Ultimate Number 1s at the BBC 12:05am Top of the Pops 12:55am Arena 1:55am Barry Manilow at the BBC 2:55am Ultimate Number 1s at the BBC 3:55am Tom Jones at the BBC

12:15am The Jonathan Ross Show 1:45am The Unforgettable... 2:40am Pushing Daisies Quirky US drama about a man who can bring the dead back to life. 3:25am ITV Nightscreen Textbased information service.

9: 30pm The Spice Girls Story: Viva Forever

12:05am The Inbetweeners 12:40am The Inbetweeners 1:15am The Inbetweeners Simon and his new girlfriend Tara are on a double date with Will and her friend Kerry. 1:45am The Inbetweeners 2:15am The Inbetweeners Will's mum is away for a weekend with old schoolfriend Fergus. 2:45am The Inbetweeners 3:15am Rude Tube Another chance to see this Rude Tube special from 2010. 5:05am Made in Chelsea

1:15am NCIS 2:15am Super Casino 4:55am House Doctor 5:20am HouseBusters 5:45am The Great Artists

Satellite channels SKY1 6:00am Best of Oops TV 7:00am Got to Dance 8:00am Futurama 10:00am Robbie Williams: Take the Crown 11:30am Futurama 5:30pm Michael Buble Home for the Holidays 6:30pm Little Crackers 7:00pm Little Crackers 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm Futurama 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Simpsons 9:30pm The Simpsons 10:00pm Trollied 11:00pm A League of Their Own 12:00am An Idiot Abroad 1:00am Fringe 2:00am Brit Cops - Zero Tolerance 3:00am Road Wars 3:55am Road Wars 4:45am Street

Crime 5:10am Don’t Forget the Lyrics

SKY MOVIES COMEDY 5:40am The Big Year 7:20am National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 9:05am Team America: World Police 10:50am Ice Age 12:15pm Bridesmaids 2:20pm Horrible Bosses 4:05pm Without a Paddle 5:45pm Ice Age 7:15pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 9:00pm Bridesmaids 11:05pm Horrible Bosses 12:50am Team America: World Police 2:35am White Men Can’t Jump 4:45am The Fighting Temptations

SKY MOVIES DRAMA

Tomorrow Never Dies 2:10pm The World is Not Enough

4:50am Listen to Your Heart 6:40am Movie Special 7:00am Lucky Christmas 8:30am Honey 2 10:30am Love and Other Drugs 12:30pm Forrest Gump 3:00pm The Adjustment Bureau

4:25pm GoldenEye 6:40pm Tomorrow Never Dies 8:45pm The World is Not Enough 11:00pm Safe House 1:00am The Recruit 3:00am The Eagle 5:00am Priest

4:50pm My Week with Marilyn 6:35pm Forrest Gump 9:00pm Love and Other Drugs 11:00pm The Adjustment Bureau 12:50am Going the Distance 2:40am Conviction 4:30am Lady Jane

SKY MOVIES ACTION 4:45am Species II 6:30am Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Special 7:00am Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Special 7:30am Movie Special 7:50am Safe House 9:50am GoldenEye 12:05pm

TCM 6:00am Sweet November 8:05am Scrooge 10:00am Escape from Fort Bravo 11:35am The Left-Handed Gun 1:15pm Guns for San Sebastian 3:05pm Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. 5:00pm Scrooge 6:55pm Tarzan and the Lost Safari 8:15pm Dial M for Murder 10:00pm Payback 11:40pm Say Anything...

1:20am Taps3:20am November 5:15am Off Set

Sweet

44

TUESDAY

EWN

TV

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

BBC2

4.00pm - midnight 4:00pm The Queen Her Majesty the Queen’s Christmas message to the nation and the Commonwealth.

4:10pm Shrek Forever After Animated family adventure.

5:35pm Room on the Broom 6:00pm BBC News The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather.

6:15pm Doctor Who Sci-fi drama. It is Christmas Eve, 1892, and the falling snow is the stuff of fairytales.

7:15pm Strictly Come Dancing 8:30pm Call the Midwife 9:45pm EastEnders 10:45pm The Royle Family 11:45pm BBC News The latest national and international news, with reports from BBC correspondents worldwide.

7:00am Baby Jake 7:15am Let’s Celebrate 7:30am The Cow That Almost Missed Christmas 8:00am The Slammer 8:30am 12 Again 9:00am Horrible Histories A seasonal special of the historical sketch show based on the successful books by Terry Deary. 9:30am The Story of Tracy Beaker Drama series about a young girl and her life in a children's home.

9:45am Attenborough and the Giant Egg David Attenborough returns to the island of Madagascar on a very personal quest. 10:45am Natural World 11:45am Carols from King’s 1:00pm On the Town 2:35pm Singin’ in the Rain Classic Hollywood musical set during the difficult transition from silent movies to talkies.

Channel 4

3:25am ITV Nightscreen 7:00am Babar and the Adventures of Badou 7:10am Babar and the Adventures of Badou 7:25am The Hive 7:30am The Hive 7:40am The Hive 7:50am Canimals 8:00am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:15am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:30am Almost Naked Animals 8:45am Almost Naked Animals 8:55am Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders 10:25am Aladdin 12:10pm The Nation’s Favourite Christmas Song 1:40pm Text Santa 2:15pm ITV News and Weather 2:25pm Toy Story

4:15pm Cenerentola 6:15pm The Queen 6:25pm Arena Arena goes in search of the ‘real’ Sister Wendy Beckett, who burst on to screens in the 1990s, telling the story of Christian art and painting, but revealing little of her own extraordinary story.

Wendy herself, 82, talks frankly, humorously and profoundly about her life and spirituality for the first time. Her story, inseparable from that of the Gospel, is told alongside her selection of paintings Queen Elizabeth II by the greatest old masters, revealing the emotional insights they have given her.

4:00pm - The Queen 7:25pm Top Gear 8:30pm Dad’s Army A special Christmas episode of 4:00pm HM the Queen the classic sitcom from 1976.

4:10pm Tangled 9:00pm Blackadder’s Christmas Carol 6:00pm You’ve Been Framed!

Seasonal comedy special. Christmas Eve, 1850.

6:30pm Emmerdale 9:45pm The Choir: A Year with the Military 7:00pm Paul O’Grady: For The Love of Dogs Wives 8:00pm Emmerdale 10:45pm QI XL 8:30pm Coronation Street 11:30pm The Sarah Millican Television 9:30pm ITV News and Weather Programme 9:45pm Downton Abbey 11:45pm Couples Retreat

Channel 5

6:00am 90210 6:40am The Hoobs 7:05am Little Wolf 7:30am Lost and Found 7:55am Father Christmas 8:25am The Art of the Snowman and the Snowdog 8:30am The Simpsons 8:50am The Simpsons 9:20am Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who 11:00am Gordon’s Christmas Cookalong Live 2:55pm The Snowman and the Snowdog 3:25pm Scrooged

5:45am The Great Artists 6:10am Michaela’s Wild Challenge 6:35am Michaela’s Wild Challenge 7:00am Thomas and Friends 7:10am Igam Ogam 7:20am Fireman Sam 7:30am Jelly Jamm 7:45am Peppa Pig 7:50am Olive the Ostrich 7:55am Little Princess 8:05am Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom 8:20am The Mr. Men Show 8:35am Thomas and Friends 8:50am Noddy in Toyland 9:05am Fifi and the Flowertots 9:15am Peppa Pig 9:25am Peppa Pig 9:35am Roary the Racing Car 9:55am Inside Hollywood 10:00am Gone with the Wind 2:15pm Ben-Hur

5:20pm The Alternative Christmas Message 5:25pm Deal or No Deal’s Big Christmas Dinner 6:30pm Channel 4 News 6:35pm 4thought.tv 6:40pm The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 10:00pm Alan Carr: Chatty Man 11:00pm Rude Tube

6:25pm The Santa Incident 8:05pm Eddie Stobart's Christmas Cracker 9:00pm Eddie Stobart: Trucks, Trailers and Tinsel 10:00pm Eddie Stobart: Christmas Delivery 11:00pm Greatest Christmas TV Moments

CH5

3:35am BBC News 7:00am Breakfast The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC’s Breakfast team. 10:00am The Gruffalo 10:25am Peter Rabbit’s Christmas Tale: The Tale of the Christmas Deliveries Animation inspired by Beatrix Potter's classic.

10:50am First Flight Short animation. 11:00am Christmas Day Eucharist 12:00pm Only Fools and Horses The final part of the threepart 1996 Christmas special of John Sullivan's popular sitcom. 1:05pm BBC News The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather. 1:15pm Shrek the Halls Festive animated comedy.

1:40pm Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa 3:00pm Top of the Pops Christmas Special

ITV

BBC1

BBC1

6:25pm The Santa Incident

Greg Germann

12:00am The Vicar of Dibley 12:40am On Christmas Night The story of Christmas from Luke's gospel, read by Team GB Paralympic medal winner Rachel Morris. 12:45am Have I Got a Bit More News for You Christmas Special 1:30am Cold Mountain Romantic drama, based on the novel by Charles Frazier.

3:55am Weatherview Detailed weather forecast. 4:00am BBC News

BBC3 8:00pm First Flight 8:10pm Shrek the Halls 8:30pm Kung Fu Panda Computer-animated comedy.

9:55pm The Incredibles Children's animation.

11:45pm EastEnders 12:45am Family Guy 1:25am American Dad! Animated adventures of a hapless CIA agent and his family.

1:50am American Dad! 2:10am American Dad! 2:35am American Dad! 2:55am Pramface 3:25am Pramface 3:55am Impractical Jokers 4:25am Impractical Jokers

BBC4 8:00pm A Musical Nativity with John Rutter 9:00pm Swan Lake 11:15pm Top of the Pops 12:05am ... Sings Bee Gees 12:35am One Touch of Venus 1:55am James Bond 50th Anniversary Gala Concert 3:25am ... Sings Bee Gees 3:55am Rome: A History of the Eternal City

With Chevy Chase

SMC

12:00am The Christmas No.1 Story 1:00am TOTP2 Mark Radcliffe digs deep into the archives to deliver some familiar and unfamiliar festive treats. 2:30am The Hunchback of Notre Dame

5:40pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

1:55am Christmas Carols on ITV 2:55am Pushing Daisies 3:45am ITV Nightscreen

12:05am C4’s 30 Greatest Comedy Shows 2:05am Airplane! 3:35am David Blaine 4:20am KOTV Boxing Weekly KOTV regular Henry Lundy returns at lightweight against Raymundo Beltron for the NABF title. 4:45am Extreme Sailing Series 5:15am Brief Encounters of the Sporting Mind Blue has been bodybuilding since he was 19. He has won Mr Ireland 11 times. 5:20am Ultimate Frisbee 5:25am International Volleyball

2:00am Super Casino Live interactive gaming featuring roulette, blackjack and autowheel.

4:55am House Doctor Home improvement series. 5:20am HouseBusters 5:45am The Great Artists

Satellite channels SKY1 6:00am Airline 7:00am Brainiac: Christmas Cracker 8:00am Little Crackers 9:00am All Star Christmas Presents 10:30am Little Crackers 11:00am Skellig 1:00pm Futurama 2:00pm The Simpsons 4:00pm The Queen 4:10pm The Simpsons 4:40pm The Hobbit 5:00pm The Simpsons 5:30pm Robbie Williams: Take the Crown 7:00pm All Star Christmas Presents 8:30pm A Very JLS Christmas 10:00pm An Idiot Abroad 11:00pm An Idiot Abroad

1:00am Brit Cops - Zero Tolerance 2:55am Road Wars 4:45am Street Crime 5:10am Emergency with Angela Griffin

SKY MOVIES COMEDY 4:45am The Fighting Temptations 7:00am American Pie 8:45am Snow Dogs 10:40am National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 12:30pm Jack and Jill 2:15pm Johnny English Reborn 4:10pm The Cat in the Hat 5:40pm National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 7:20pm A Thousand Words 9:00pm Johnny English Reborn 10:45pm Friends with Benefits 12:35am American Pie 2:15am American Pie 2 4:00am Shanghai Knights 5:55am The Cat in the Hat

SKY MOVIES DRAMA 4:30am Lady Jane 7:00am An Affair to Remember 9:00am Sweet Home Alabama 11:00am Footloose 1:00pm Water for Elephants 3:05pm Shakespeare in Love 5:10pm Sweet Home Alabama 7:05pm Footloose 9:00pm Water for Elephants 11:00pm Shakespeare in Love 1:15am Shallow Hal 3:15am Just Married 5:00am An Affair to Remember

SKY MOVIES ACTION 5:00am Priest 6:30am The Hobbit 7:00am Spy Kids 8:40am Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams 10:30am Die Another Day 12:45pm Casino Royale 3:15pm Quantum of Solace

5:15pm Die Another Day 7:30pm Casino Royale 10:00pm Quantum of Solace 11:50pm First Blood 1:30am Rambo: First Blood Part II 3:10am Rambo III 5:00am Movie Special 5:20am Spy Kids

TCM 6:00am Dial M for Murder 7:45am The Woman in Green 8:55am Around the World in 80 Days 11:45am A Christmas Story 1:20pm Scrooge 3:15pm Calamity Jane 4:55pm The Wizard of Oz 6:35pm Ben-Hur 10:00pm The Fugitive 12:10am When Harry Met Sally 1:45am Garden State 3:25am The Fugitive 5:35am Michael Caine Off Set

46

WEDNESDAY

EWN

TV

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

BBC1

BBC2

4:00am BBC News 7:00am Breakfast The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC’s Breakfast team. 10:00am CBeebies Panto 10:45am Room on the Broom 11:10am Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper The penguins of the Central Park Zoo have an adventure in the city on Christmas Eve. 11:25am Cars Animated adventure from Pixar. 1:15pm BBC News The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather. 1:30pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London.

1:40pm Mr Stink 2:40pm Happy Feet Animated adventure. Mumble is a young emperor penguin, but he is not like the others.

ITV

7:00am Justin’s House 7:30am Octonauts Christmas special of the animated deep sea adventure series. 8:00am Naomi’s Nightmares of Nature 8:30am Four O'Clock Club Comedy about two brothers at the same school - one as a pupil, the other as a new teacher. 9:00am M.I. High 9:30am Hero Squad 10:00am The Bear Family and Me 11:00am Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild 12:00pm John Wilson on Broadway Uncut 2:10pm Darcey Bussell Dances Hollywood 3:40pm An American in Paris

Channel 4

3:45am ITV Nightscreen 7:00am Babar and the Adventures of Badou 7:10am Babar and the Adventures of Badou 7:25am The Hive 7:30am The Hive 7:40am The Hive 7:50am Canimals 8:00am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:15am Fleabag Monkeyface 8:30am Almost Naked Animals 8:45am Almost Naked Animals 9:00am Horrid Henry 9:15am Horrid Henry 9:30am Fort Boyard 10:25am The Railway Children 12:30pm Dinner Date 1:30pm ITV News and Weather 1:45pm Land of the Lost 3:25pm The Spice Girls Story: Viva Forever!

Channel 5

5:25am International Volleyball 6:20am Sali Mali 6:25am Firehouse Dog 8:10am Wilde Stories 8:35am The Art of the Snowman and the Snowdog 8:40am According to Jim 9:10am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:40am The Morning Line Turf tips and news from the Channel 4 Racing team. 10:40am Valiant 12:10pm The Simpsons 12:45pm The Simpsons 1:15pm Deal or No Deal’s Big Christmas Dinner 2:15pm Channel 4 Racing

7:10am Igam Ogam 7:20am Fireman Sam 7:30am Jelly Jamm 7:45am Peppa Pig 7:50am Olive the Ostrich 7:55am Little Princess 8:10am Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom 8:20am The Mr. Men Show 8:35am Thomas and Friends 8:45am Noddy in Toyland 9:00am Fifi and the Flowertots 9:10am Peppa Pig 9:25am Roary the Racing Car 9:40am Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00am Tickety Toc 10:10am Bert and Ernie’s Great Adventures 10:25am Mist: Sheepdog Tales 10:40am The Family Recipe 10:50am Dallas 11:40am Cowboy Builders 12:40pm Once Upon a Time 1:40pm The Greatest Story Ever Told Spectacular Biblical epic with an all-star cast, chronicling the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

4.00pm - midnight 4:20pm Enchanted 6:00pm How to Train Your Dragon Animated children's adventure based on the best-selling books.

7:30pm BBC News at Six The latest national and international news stories from the BBC News team, followed by weather.

7:40pm BBC London News The latest news, sport and weather from London.

7:50pm Alice in Wonderland Tim Burton fantasy featuring Lewis Carroll's creations.

9:30pm EastEnders 10:00pm Miranda Sitcom starring and written by Miranda Hart.

10:30pm Mrs. Brown’s Boys 11:00pm BBC News at Ten The latest national and international news, with reports from BBC correspondents worldwide.

11:20pm The National Lottery Wednesday Night Draws The National Lottery Wednesday night draws presented by Jenni Falconer.

11:25pm Match of the Day

1:00am Blades of Glory 2:25am Weatherview Detailed weather forecast. 2:30am BBC News

BBC3 8:00pm Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper The penguins of the Central Park Zoo have an adventure in the city on Christmas Eve. 8:10pm Merlin 9:00pm Doctor Who 10:00pm A Christmas Carol Animation. The bitter and greedy Scrooge is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. 11:30pm Him and Her 12:00am EastEnders 12:30am Family Guy 1:10am American Dad! 1:35am American Dad! 1:55am American Dad! 2:20am American Dad! 2:40am American Dad! 3:00am Some Girls 3:30am Some Girls 4:00am Some Girls 4:30am Impractical Jokers

CH5

1:40pm The Greatest Story Ever Told Spectacular Biblical epic with an all-star cast, chronicling the life of Jesus of Nazareth. There are a number of cameo appearances from famous Hollywood actors, most notably from John Wayne as the Roman centurion. Originally released in a four-hour version, the film largely exceeded its budget when shooting moved from Arizona to Hollywood, where a huge replica of Jerusalem was built.

Max von Sydow

5:30pm Final Score 6:30pm Miss Potter 8:00pm Morecambe and Wise 9:00pm Blackpool: Big Night Out Exploring Blackpool’s history as the beating heart of British entertainment.

10:00pm The Girl 11:30pm Rebecca

4:55pm This is Lionel Richie 6:00pm ITV News and Weather 6:15pm Toy Story 2 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm That Dog Can Dance!

10:00pm Doors Open

1:35am Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock Documentary in which Paul Merton explores Alfred Hitchcock's British films. 2:35am Mr. & Mrs. Smith

12:00am ITV News and Weather Steve Scott with the latest headlines from around the world.

12:15am Atonement Romantic drama based on the novel by Ian McEwan. 2:25am Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire? 3:20am Every Which Way But Loose 5:15am ITV Nightscreen Text-based information service.

BBC4 8:00pm The Two-Thousand-Year-Old Computer 9:00pm Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012: The Modern Alchemist 10:00pm Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson 11:00pm Legends Roy Orbison was the best singer in the world. That’s what Elvis Presley said, and he should know.

12:00am Neil Diamond: Hot August Night 1:00am Arena Arena presents the first part of the greatest Beatles story never told.

2:00am Arena Arena presents the second part of the greatest Beatles story never told.

2:55am Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson 3:55am Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2012: The Modern Alchemist

4:40pm Turner and Hooch 6:40pm The Simpsons 7:10pm Hollyoaks 7:40pm Channel 4 News Includes sport and weather.

7:50pm 4thought.tv 7:55pm The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 11:30pm The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

5:30pm Will You Merry Me 7:15pm Rolf’s Animal Christmas Documentary series presented by Rolf Harris.

8:15pm TV’s 50 Greatest Magic Tricks 11:00pm Most Shocking Celebrity Moments 2012

2:20am Airplane II: The Sequel Director Ken Finkleman's comedy sequel, spoofing the disaster movie genre. 3:45am The Good Wife 4:25am St. Elsewhere 5:15am 90210 5:55am 90210 Adrianna takes Dixon to the hospital when he collapses during an argument in the recording studio.

1:50am Super Casino Live interactive gaming featuring roulette, blackjack and autowheel.

4:55am House Doctor A special compilation edition of the home improvement series. 5:20am HouseBusters 5:45am The Great Artists

Satellite channels SKY1 6:00am Brainiac: Christmas Cracker 7:00am Skellig 9:00am Stargate: The Ark of Truth 11:00am The Middle 12:55pm School of Rock 3:05pm The Middle 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Spy 10:00pm Spy 10:30pm Little Crackers 1:00am Little

Crackers 3:20am Road Wars 4:45am Street Crime 5:10am So You Think You're Safe Xmas Special

SKY MOVIES COMEDY 5:55am The Cat in the Hat 7:20am Due Date 9:05am Little Fockers 10:45am Tower Heist 12:30pm The Hangover Part II 2:15pm Road Trip 3:50pm The Big Year 5:35pm Little Fockers 7:15pm Tower Heist 9:00pm The Hangover Part II 11:00pm Project X 12:30am Road Trip 2:05am Due Date

SMA

10:00pm Batman Begins Christian Bale

3:45am The Pool Boys 5:15am Clue

SKY MOVIES DRAMA 5:00am An Affair to Remember 7:00am Burlesque 9:10am Albatross 10:45am Something Borrowed 12:45pm Romeo and Juliet 2:50pm The Descendants Special 3:10pm What's Your Number?

5:00pm Just Go with it 7:00pm Something Borrowed 9:00pm Romeo and Juliet 11:00pm What’s Your Number?

8:50am Batman 11:00am Batman Returns 1:10pm Batman and Robin 3:20pm Batman Begins 5:40pm Batman 7:50pm Batman Returns 10:00pm Batman Begins 12:25am Batman Forever 2:30am Batman and Robin 4:40am Batman

TCM 5:35am Michael Caine Off Set 6:10am Ben-Hur 9:35am Houseboat 11:25am Casablanca 1:05pm Our Man Flint 2:50pm In Like Flint

1:00am Just Go with it 3:00am Albatross 4:40am The Hobbit 5:10am Prom

4:40pm The Longest Day 7:35pm The Dirty Dozen 10:00pm The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen 11:55pm Hell on Wheels

SKY MOVIES ACTION

12:40am Hell on Wheels 1:25am The Revengers 3:15am The Dirty Dozen

5:20am Spy Kids 7:00am Batman

20 - 26 December 2012

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Those embarrassing things forgetful guests leave behind EVER checked out of a hotel, travelled home, and then realised you left something behind in the room?

An international sampling of 500 hotels has uncovered the oddest things left behind this year.

While nearly 25 per cent reported finding more and more forgotten iPads, laptops and smartphones, 10 per cent of European hotels claimed an increase in abandoned xrated items. Like adult toys and performance-enhancing drugs. Phew!

Among the oddest items recovered, though, was a bag full of live snails in Budapest, a traditional Japanese Yakuza sword in Istanbul and a live snake in Washington.

Still in Washington, $10,000 (€7,670) in cash was discovered concealed in different parts of one hotel

Breaking Views NORA JOHNSON Nora, who has lived on the Costa del Sol for a number of years, is the author of psychological suspense and crime thrillers. To comment on any of the issues raised in Nora’s column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/ nora-johnson

room while in New York, $20,000 (€15,340) in a suite.

How on earth could anyone be that forgetful?

Easy is the answer! One motorist at a four-star hotel in Milan had crossed the frontier and left Italy far behind before figuring out he’d forgotten his pooch. Likewise the couple in New York who checked out following their wedding, only to discover they’d forgotten something, too. The bride’s dress.

The strangest things get left behind in hotel rooms!

And what about the cop who left behind in his Las Vegas hotel his badge and gun? And the hotel in Milan where housekeeping staff found a gun; another in New York where they found bullets and yet another in Barcelona where police ID badges were found.

Surely enough combined props here for a TV cop series!

Things don’t seem to have changed much over the years with respect to guests’ forgetfulness, though perhaps with respect to items recovered.

A similar questionnaire in 2003 disclosed that Travelodge recovered 80 artificial limbs. And in 2009, an urn containing the ashes of a guest’s mother-in-law, a six-foot high model helicopter … and a life-size, cardboard cut-out of comedian Lenny Henry. Never collected.

But really, you have to ask yourself what’s the point of such surveys, except to advertise the company conducting the survey and the hotels taking part? It’s no secret people are forgetful and, especially while traveling, are always going to leave something behind. It’s like saying because Marks & Sparks’s sales are down 10 per cent it means people have gone off food.

Or like a committee of turkeys funding a study that advised, after much deliberation, one shouldn’t vote for Christmas. Er, Happy Christmas!

Nora Johnson’s thrillers ‘Soul Stealer’ & ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora-johnson.com) available from Amazon in paperback / eBook (€0.89; £0.77) and iBookstore. Profits to Cudeca.

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The lows of high technology

O

NCE upon a time, Teletubbies dolls were the most coveted toy for Christmas, people who knew about computers were strange ‘geeks’ and we did not feel as if a limb had been chopped off if we had to make do without our mobile phone for a day.

Today, an iPad is the most requested ‘toy’, geeks are Gods and most people will take a phone call even while on the toilet. In a sense, we have already become a world of cyborgs, unable to function without high technology and gadgets.

My computer literacy involves flicking the on/off button to solve any issues and I have only just given up my loyal, yet ‘dumb’ mobile phone for one that does

Expat Strife Swedish-born Ulrica is a freelance journalist living in Mallorca with her family. Her debut novel $Expat Wives is available on Amazon and iBooks.

To comment on any of the issues raised in Ulrica’s column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/ ulrica-marshall

iPAD: The most requested ‘toy’ of today.

only on sporadic speaking terms, the state of the ULRICA MARSHALL art music system sparks ulrica @euroweeklynews.com into life when it feels like it, which is not often. Oh, almost everything, only falling and the robotic floor cleaner died after the first round of my living short on the washing up.

The thing is, I am still a tad room. Maybe it was the wrong sceptical about this technology kind of dirt or too much of it?

In my books, computers are lark. Maybe it’s because there weren’t many computers in my only as reliable as the people who school, I watched Terminator too programme and operate them. many times, or that, at times, With an erroneous press of a key blind faith in computers has that new computer-driven car may merrily launch itself off a cliff resulted in total disaster.

My PC and WIFI printer are with you inside.

And wasn’t it these inexplicable computer programmes that allowed the city’s rogue traders to hide their shenanigans so long as to (nearly) break the bank? “The computer says no,” as Walliams so eloquently put it in Little Britain.

Like a modern-day version of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, The Emperor’s New Clothes, no one dares to disagree with a computer for fear of looking stupid, even when common sense suggests otherwise. As one friend recently pointed out; ‘common sense these days is so rare it

should be classified as a super power’.

Super geeks have also voiced fears about the prospects of high technology. Leading computer scientist Bill Joy has warned of a near future where intelligent robots will replace humanity, a concern echoed by physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking.

Even today, it is not without risk. While you may think yourself environmentally green, if you use a computer you contribute to a considerable impact on global warming through servers and data storage for the 1 billion-plus computers on our planet.

While I might not be quite ready to pop an Abacus and a messenger pigeon in my handbag instead of my new mobile phone, I shall resist demands for iPads and Nintendos in favour of more traditional toys.

Tinky Winky and Dipsy have served their purpose in our household, but I reckon some traditional board games and the odd Monster High doll might do the trick. Let’s see if Santa agrees, assuming he can actually make his way through the clouds so densely stored with computer data.

Wishing you all a very merry and low tech Christmas!

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Who is the cleverest of them all?

I

T is difficult to define what cleverness is; impossible when you add the concept of morality or integrity.

We all know saints and geniuses who had failed in life, then were tossed into a pauper’s grave at death. On the other hand the most magnificent obelisks in Mike Walsh cemeteries cast their shadows on the most corrupt. vwww.michaelwalsh.es I have had the International Journalism Europe Broadcaster Commentator International Radio pleasure of mixing Awarded ‘Writer of the Year’ Mobile 0034 662 067 490 with the intellectually To comment on any of the issues raised in gifted and befriended Mike’s column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/ those written off as mike-walsh failures. My mum comforted me by telling me that my failing the 11 plus was down to my inability to understand the language in the very Welsh town of Corwen.

She was being kind. I failed because I wouldn’t pay attention; I had no goals.

We lived a rustic existence. Our cottage high up a mountain had no a paradise. running water, gas or electricity. But it Each school morning I would run did have wide open spaces and forests; down to the valley near to where the

GIFTED: Some of the most intelligent people cannot manage the ordinary things in life. town nestles. Once out of sight I would whistle my Welsh collie. Giving two fingers to academia me and my dog would then go off for the day. A favourite haunt was the cattle market in Llangollen; a lift for a wayward schoolboy and his dog could be assumed.

In later life I met those who did pay attention.

Meredith earned more diplomas than I had fingers or toes. Alas, he was so hapless he couldn’t manage the most ordinary things like lighting a fire.

Another ‘bright’ swatter, when I suggested he fry a burger, placed it directly on the stove’s hot plate. After I put the fire out I showed him what a grill and

frying pan was for.

Going through the University of Life and for once paying attention, I gained an impressive position. I had caught up with or overtaken the academics. I never took a brass cent out of the system or took a day off work. Having a responsible job there was no way I could accept my neighbour’s invitations to go fishing.

Eddie would shake his head sadly: he had never worked a day in his life. He thought those who did so were idiots.

Another ‘informal economy’ acquaintance once told me he had spent a staggering amount on a retreat in Scotland. “Is it an investment or an indulgence,” I asked.

He looked at me blankly and then broke the silence: “What the f*** do you mean; I don’t understand those clever words.”

Yet he always had wads of banknotes in his pockets at a time I was barely getting by despite my impressive job.

Like many other achievers I was the hamster on a wheel. As the time approaches, when there is little sand in the top half of life’s egg-timer, I do wonder just who the clever bugger is; me or them.

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My business partner Meinrad (Meini) Spenger and I came up with a business plan for this concept back in 2005. Less than a year later the EU ordered the three main Spanish mobile operators to rent out their mobile network to other operators in order to create competition within the market and we managed to come to an agreement with one of the major mobile phone operators – Orange.

Co-founder of MÁSMÓV!L, Christian Nyborg.

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20 - 26 December 2012

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‘Voice’ UK series two blind auditions start filming in Manchester

By Richard Shanley JESSIE J, Will.i.am, Danny O’Donoghue and Sir Tom Jones have kicked off filming on the second series of The Voice UK. The BBC’s official Twitter account has started teasing behind-the-scenes details from the first auditions, which are taking place at Manchester’s MediaCityUK. “This week, filming begins on The Voice UK series 2. We’ll be tweeting from tomorrow so please clear your diaries and unfollow everybody else.”

The Voice UK BBC boss Danny Cohen recently confirmed the show’s second run would have “less live shows” and “more blind auditions and battle rounds”. The first series of the talent show was the BBC’s biggest new entertainment series on record, averaging 9.2million. In the early audition shows, it overtook Simon Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent in the ratings, before figures began to slide in the latter rounds.

Leanne Mitchell, coached by Sir Tom Jones, was crowned the winner of the first series and bagged a record contract with Universal.

Joey Essex has reportedly signed up for new celebrity diving show Splash! The

DISHING THE DIRT

By Richard Shanley Of Europa Digital

TOWIE star is one of 15 famous faces who will be taught to dive by mentor and Olympic diver Tom Daley. A panel of expert judges will score the celebrities and viewers will vote for their favourite to determine who is crowned top diver.

“Joey Essex has a passion for wearing strange clothes so everyone is waiting for the first show to find out what kind of trunks or Speedos he will be wearing on that diving board,” a source told the Daily Star. Kate Price’s ex-fiancé Leandro Penna and former Olympic skier Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards are also said to be taking part.

Splash! will start in the New Year on ITV1 and will run for five weeks.

Simon Cowell has officially confirmed he will be returning for the 2013 series of Britain’s Got Talent. David Walliams, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and hosts

The judges on top TV show The Voice UK. Ant & Dec will also be back to find a new British variety star. “I loved doing the show last year, the new panel worked really well and I’m very happy they have all agreed to come back,” said Cowell.

“Last year was a special year for talent and I hope that in 2013, off the back of an amazing year for Britain, we find another global star.” Comic star and fellow judge Walliams joked: “My Simon and I are going to be together again. I’m delighted to confirm I will be a judge on Britain’s Got Talent again next year. I am so happy I could cry.”

Ashleigh and Pudsey became the first animal act to win the ITV talent show last year and have gone on to become stars

around the world, appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, starring in panto together and even releasing their own ‘autobiography’.

Last year’s series also produced opera duo Jonathan & Charlotte, male choir Only Boys Aloud and pop trio Loveable Rogues, who are currently finishing their debut album. The show is open to acts of any age, background or talent and auditions start in January. The panel will visit Cardiff, London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham to find the next big superstar.

A new twist to this year’s show is that members of the public can act as ‘Star Scouts’ and recommend unsigned talent for the show. If a Star Scout finds the winning act, they will be given £10,000. Britain’s Got Talent will return to screens in spring.

If you would like me to answer any questions you may have please call me on 678 332 815 or email on richard@europa-digital.com I look forward to your comments and questions. Don’t forget to listen to my radio show every weekday from 10am on Spectrum Radio (90.8fm), or listen online at costaalmeria.spectrumfm.net.

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The best part of growing up T

HE trouble with growing up is that there is never one particular moment when one can say “That’s it I’m a grown up.”

Throughout history the age at which one can be classed as an adult has shifted and ebbed like the tide. Tudor women married and gave birth as young as 12 and the Plantagenet kings were ruling in their early teens.

It was the Victorians who first revealed a sentimental attachment to their children and developed a notion of childhood as sweet and innocent.

Children were dressed in fluffy dresses and little sailor suits, unlike the miniature adult wear favoured by their predecessors.

Children who were lucky enough to have been born to the aristocracy or the burgeoning class of wealthy industrialists, were spoiled and coddled (more so due to the high rate of infant mortality).

The Victorians did not

Suzanne Manners Suzanne has a degree in Fine Art from Goldsmiths and an MA in Writing from Lancaster University. She is currently teaching in Alicante and writing a book for teenagers (which doesn’t have a vampire as its central character). To comment on any of the issues raised in Suzanne Manners’s column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/suzanne-manners.

Children of the wealthy were coddled in the Victorian era. extend this coddling to the children of the working classes, who were not only sent to work in mills and mines but were treated as adults by the justice system.

Hence the awful tales of eight year old boys being deported to Australia for stealing bread, or child prostitutes rotting in Newgate Jail.

In the East End of London, little match girls died of diseases such as Phossy Jaw, which rotted bone and teeth and made eating impossible.

Social reformer Annie Besant gathered these girls together

to encourage what was one of the first large scale workers strikes since the peasant revolt.

A year later, bolstered by

the success of the Bryant and May workers’ demands for a safer working environment, the 1889 general strike began.

Many of those

workers, who risked life and limb so that we now have more rights in the work place than ever before, were in fact just children.

So to the question of growing up, do I feel grown up? No. I have no car; no mortgage, no pension and no husband. I have a son, but we sort of muck along together doing the best we can. I do have a job and I pay my rent and cook and clean, but I still don’t feel like a grown up.

Time passes so quickly that it’s hard to adapt to each new role assigned to us as we age.

I can see myself, Mrs Brady Old Lady-like shouting at passing cars and I have been known to act like Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

But try as I might I cannot see myself putting on a pinny, ruffling my son’s hair and waving him off to school, while I organise a dinner party for six; unless it’s one that includes Tequila slammers and male lap dancers.

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Beach scheme by unpopular Yank T

HIS scheme of selling houses near the beach didn’t excite the local foreign village populace at all.

It was offensive. They feared that tourists would come. That the cheap living would go. And the comfort of acting any damn way they pleased would become defined and limited.

The name Paul Polansky became as hated as could be. The Spaniard’s were confused.

This man that lived in an empty cortijo in the hills, kept to himself but was disliked by their foreign village friends. Yet, he was providing the local Spanish with plenty of construction work, gardening, carpentry, and assorted tasks. Enough money so they wouldn’t have to emigrate to France to pick grapes. How could he be bad?

In those days you could buy a piece of land for about $9000 (€6,800) an acre (4000 square metres).

Usually a two bedroom house on ¼ acre went for $10,000 (€7,600). A three bedroom, two bathroom with excellent sea views, no more than $12,000 (€9,100) American expatriates in Madrid leapt at the chance of obtaining a place in the

SCENIC: View from my brother’s house out to sea.

Ric Polansky Ric Polansky moved to Mojacar in 1969 and became one of the pioneer developers. He read extensively and travelled in South America panning gold and looking for El Dorado.

sun. That kind of money couldn’t get you a garage back in the USA. Furthermore, the weather was so much better than Madrid. It had to be worth the gamble.

I resold many of those same houses at the early turn of the millennium for around €400,000 to €500,000 each!

Those early investors were characters too. Helen Larson already had a cafeteria in Madrid and produced the first doughnuts made in Spain.

IN THE HILLS: Beautiful houses were built and put up for sale.

She told her friend Lisa Pearce, who worked in the embassy code room in Barcelona, and she bought two places.

The son of the famous raconteur Luis Stumer, Miguel, who was then bouncing about Spain as an apprentice bullfighter, invested in land where now sits the

Kimrick. And each of them brought other friends to stake their claim in Mojacar.

Charlie Avery fresh off a boat once bound for South America. Ed and Nancy Dacey, architects; Eve Steinhower, Pat Maroney, Janet Newton, Dante Leonelli, Mrs Mustad, Mary O’Donnell school teacher, Dorothy Schwartfeger from a US African embassy, and long time good friends Ken and Renee Apperly.

The English that were living here and had decided to leave the village and move to the beach were Sir Alex Spearman, Lord and Lady Cotter, Mr Morris Pryor of Truman’s breweries and the Throwley’s and diplomat Rafael Lorente.

For each of them I could write wonderful colourful stories concerning how they all helped Mojacar develop.

So many new people arrived. Henry Higgins, who announced himself as an English matador. Arthur Wareham, editor of the Daily Mail, a man of great distinction, dignity and grace. Kay Scott a bullfight aficionado incredibly well known in that world. Matadors from Mexico and the US visited her frequently.

I loved Mojacar then. It was full of just all the right people you wouldn’t meet driving a tractor in Iowa.

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Letter delays get worse W

E all benefit from advances in progress.

One service, despite all modern aids, seems to have got worse: step forward the Post Office. In my lifetime you could pop a letter in the box at 8am for midday delivery. A letter to the US took three

days, about the same for Europe.

I now post regularly to Russia from the UK and Spain. If it arrives within the month you’re

lucky. Before Communism devoured Europe, Russia was part of our continent with St Petersburg – Paris travel as easy as taking a train from London to Barcelona. It isn’t interplanetary.

Birthday cards sent from the UK to my friend here took a month to

LETTERS: Don’t be tempted to post, email instead.

arrive; a packet from the Ukraine took a month. One got lost. If you have the answer, email, don’t write.

Still Franco era TWO Alicante school football teams salute each other by singing Spain’s Franco era national anthem. They also used the upraised open-hand fascist salute. Not generally known, this salute is many centuries old; the open-hand signifying there being no weapon. It was a peace greeting.

That aside, I was this week horror-struck by a video going viral. Taken in secret during austerity protests, it makes public horrifying images of Spain’s police attacking and beating defenceless protestors.

I am surprised people can tell the difference between the two periods.

Get out of jail free IT is an oddity of modern life.

Images of Spain

By Mike Walsh www.michaelwalsh.es To comment on any of the issues raised in Mike’s column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com /columnists/mike-walsh

Western nations demand of others, like Egypt, Iraq and Iran, the rule of law, independent of parliament, to underpin democracy.

Here in Spain the Mariano Rajoy regime has issued 468 pardons so far this year. These pardons are for offences such as murder, drug trafficking (at 41 per cent the largest number of pardons), sexual abuse, torture, pimping, etc.

This anomaly in legislation dates back to 1870. It allows Spain’s government the power to pardon criminals, including the king, without recourse to law. Very few are allowed to know why a felon has been handed his get out of jail keys.

20 - 26 November 2012

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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Stay healthy over Christmas period ENJOY the holiday season but keep small goals in mind.

1. Set realistic expectations Don’t be too hard on yourself, enjoy a few indulgences here and there.

2. Bump up exercise Now is the time to get out there and get fitter.

3. Taper meals

Hold out on any indulgences and save them for the big day.

4. Say ‘no’ Feel comfortable in declining food or not joining in with rounds of drinks.

5. Portion control Enjoy meals but don’t overdo the serving sizes.

6. Beware alcohol Remember, alcohol is second to fat for high calories.

7. Don’t deny Allow some indulgences, relax and have some treats.

MOISTURISER: Keeping skin hydrated helps keep wrinkles at bay.

More harm than good?

SALES of moisturiser is higher than any other skincare product, but some experts claim it can do more harm than good, as

Diabetes sufferers have higher risk DIABETES sufferers are almost 50 per cent more likely to have a heart attack.

The National Diabetes Audit has also revealed sufferers are at greater risk of heart failure and other potentially fatal conditions including angina and strokes.

The report shows the extent to which people with the disease are dying earlier and developing more health problems, with figures showing between 2010 and 2011, 17,900 diabetics suffered a stroke, 9,800 needed a kidney transplant or dialysis and 1,700 required ‘amputation.’

The risk is much higher among people with rarer Type 1 diabetes. , which accounts for 10 per cent of all cases of the disorder.

prolonged use can make skin weaker.

Plastic surgeon Chris Inglefield says that moisturisers can be so effective that skin forgets how to soften itself.

It reacts to the environment and keeps itself supple using ‘natural moisturising factors’ (NMFs) but moisturisers mask the skin so the NMFs presume everything is fine and become idle.

So the catch 22 is that when you stop moisturising, your skin feels dry as it takes a few weeks to recover itself naturally.

However, an eight-year study funded by skincare brand Olay and published in the British Journal of Dermatology showed that keeping skin hydrated helps keep wrinkles at bay.

Preema Vig, a Harley Street cosmetic doctor, says, “In an ideal world the skin should not need moisturising. But because of what the environment throws at our skin, not to mention lifestyle factors, our skin needs help.”

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For solutions: http://www.euroweeklynews.com/puzzle-answers.html

Time Out NEW ON DVD

A band of brothers

Ted Comedy Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane brings his boundary-pushing brand of humour to the big screen for the first time as writer, director and voice star of Ted. In the live action/CG-animated comedy, he tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish... and has refused to leave his side ever since.

1h55 Director: Seth MacFarlane Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale

struggles,

BOOKS books@euroweeklynews.com

Javea author Harry Duffin has written his third novel, The Tribe: Birth of the Mall Rats.

Based on the cult-teen TV series he co-created in 1998 which ran for five years in the UK on Channel 5, this is the first story in a series of novelisations of The Tribe.

The world began without the human race. Now, after a

mysterious pandemic decimates the entire adult population, it looks as if it will end exactly the same way. Unless the young survivors – who band together in warring Tribes – overcome the power

10-star quiz dangers and unexpected challenges in a lawless dystopian society to unite and build a new world from the ashes of the old. Creating a new world in their own image – whatever that image might be.

CHRISTMAS QUIZ

The initial letters of the answers to these seasonal posers spell out the name of your favourite newspaper.

1. Also known as Twelfth Night, what is the name of the Christian festival held on January 6 in celebration of the manifestation of the divine nature of Christ to the gentiles as represented by the Magi?

2. Sviata Vecherya or Holy Supper is the central tradition of the Christmas Eve celebrations in the homes of people from which former republic of the USSR? 3. What was the first name of the author of the famous children’s cartoon stories The Snowman and Father Christmas?

4. Traditionally, what is always the first carol sung in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings College in Cambridge?

5. Which famous ‘good’ king ruled Bohemia from 1378-1419?

6. Which ‘delivery man’ reached number one at Christmas 1971?

7. In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, what was Scrooge’s first name?

8 & 12. Which zany DJ, who was born in Liverpool on Christmas Day in 1944, was originally named Maurice Cole?

9. What was the title of Mud’s 1974 Christmas number one hit single?

10. What name was given to the religious festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples and some neighbouring peoples, before later being absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas?

11. Best known for her 1906 novel The Railway Children, what was the

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) Eager Mars meets affluent Jupiter and enriches your financial forecast. It might show a foretaste of money to come, or on-stream benefits. If you intend to make alterations to your personal and home interests, you'll cope with both offbeat and upbeat activities.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20)

Y our S tars

antics, you won't be totally the same Piscean who walked in.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Education, media, creative and social connections are given star merit. The solar eclipse in your

One thing is certain, when you come through this week's restless planetary

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Elena de Borbon born December 20, 1963. She is the elder daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain. She owns the titles of Her Royal Highness Infanta and Duchess of Lugo. She is fourth in the line of succession to the throne.

own sign bursts with vitality and success, more so for an array of bold moves, replacements and makeovers covering your personal affairs.

getting tongue-tied or dogmatic on Tuesday and Friday. Promising potentials appear, especially if you spruce up your competitive streak.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21)

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21)

Stand by for a week of whoosh and whirl. More importantly, try to avoid

Throughout this fortunate week, whatever else you decide, refuse to discard your hopes and wishes. As a Gemini, you like to have two strings to your bow of life, which gives you an alternative option, especially if the going gets tough.

SU DOKU

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) A vivid star pattern portends a frantic personal and social diary. Ensure that any tight planning is carefully handled, especially if you hope to fit in everything you would like to say. Don't allow Monday or Wednesday's tensions to spoil opportunities for settling something important.

HOW TO PLAY Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every 3X3 box contains the digits 1-9. There’s no maths involved. You solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic.

LEO (July 24 - August 23)

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Pave the way for any ambitious schemes you may have, rather than actually starting them. With your ruler the Sun eclipsing your kindred fire sign, determined Aries, you are now more likely to get the support and affection you need from the powers that be or someone who thinks the world of you. Loosen up on Tuesday and Thursday.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Even if the opposite to what you want happens, it could prove useful. One clue to this week's planetary crossword puzzle is ʻWhat word could also mean success?ʼ Check it out, and make it work for you.

The solar eclipse in your opposite sign of Aries intensifies your willpower.

Before you say 'go', find out where you stand. It might pay you to leave things be for a little longer to see if things begin to change.

UK NATIONAL UK LOTTERY THUNDERBALL

LOTTERY

What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman?

Frostbite

13. What can be either ‘sweetened ale or wine heated with spices and roast apples drunk during celebrations for 12th Night and Christmas Eve’ or ‘lively and noisy festivities involving the drinking of plentiful amounts of alcohol’?

14. What was the title of Cliff Richard’s 1990 Christmas number one hit single?

TARGET: Average: 12 Good: 15

Very good: 21 Excellent: 26

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

cert, cite, kite, rete, rite, tick, tier, tike, tire, tree, trek, citer, erect, recti, retie, terce, trice, trick, trier, trike, recite, retire, ticker, tierce, cricket, reciter, tricker, CRICKETER

How many English words of four letters or more can you make from the nine letters in our Nonagram puzzle? Each letter may be used only once (unless the letter appears twice). Each word MUST CONTAIN THE CENTRE LETTER (in this case T) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

Word ladder

Saturday December 15

19

6

Saturday December 15

15

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

Saturday December 15

Friday December 14

13

3

10 11

22

22

23

29

28

22

15

23 31

39

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

18

9

LA PRIMITIVA

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA

Saturday December 15

Sunday December 16

4

8

9

34

36

28

37

44

50

20

29

40 26

30

BONUS BALL

9

43 LUCKY STARS

3

11

31 REINTEGRO

14

3

REINTEGRO

9

COAL

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) The planets mobilise your streak of Scorpio daring, but don't stretch your limits.

Your most effective weapon against personal and work-related pitfalls is your ability to be objective. Your desire to make specific situations and conversations work needs to be combined with your faith that they will work. Even if a different approach is required, try it and see.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) The main gist of the solar eclipse in fiery Aries and the link between plucky Mars and your ruler friendly Jupiter will stir surprises. Whether you create the right atmosphere all round depends on how you interpret other people's views.

Stick to crisp, simple but sensitively tuned

FIRE

Move from the start word (COAL) to the end word (FIRE) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder. You must only change one letter at a time.

COAL FOAL FOAM FORM FORE FIRE

What do you call a snowman on roller blades?

A snowmobile

12. (See question 8)

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23)

Just joking Who looks after Father Christmas when he is ill?

The national Elf service

Pudding, in which a Christmas pudding is undercooked and tastes of soap?

Nonagram

Hard-working, enterprising and selfsacrificing are just some of the words that describe your zodiac sign. It will be these qualities that count. Friday will boost your powers of persuasion, but you won't have too much to complain about if you follow this lucky trend into next week's encouraging tide.

IF ITʼS YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK: Your sphere of friendships, relationships and career issues are delightfully aspected. Circle June and August for making contact with those who may be able to point you in the right direction. Between June and November, your social scene will be full of surprises.

surname of the author who wrote a Christmas story entitled The Conscience

1. EPIPHANY, 2. UKRAINE, 3. RAYMOND Briggs, 4. ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID’S CITY, 5. WENCESLAS, 6. ERNIE (The Fastest Milkman in the West), 7. EBENEZER, 8. KENNY, 9. LONELY THIS CHRISTMAS, 10.

YULE or YULETIDE, 11. (Edith) NESBIT, 12. EVERETT, 13. WASSAIL or WASSALING, 14. SAVIOUR’S DAY

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20)

20 - 26 December 2012

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Crosswords CRYPTIC

ENGLISH - SPANISH

Across 1 Figures provided by confused static sits (10) 8 Peer that is right in the first place (7) 9 Turkish leader at home once more (5) 10 Writes in pensionerʼs diary (4) 11 County borders (4) 12 Address thatʼs somewhat undesirable (3) 14 One hundred and fifty always bright (6) 15 Recommended some made better (6) 18 Discharge in middle of March (3) 20 Cooked meat for eleven (4) 21 Obscure English coin found in the US (4) 23 King Johnʼs last to find out (5) 24 Outdo alien to produce a musical instrument (7) 25 Famous rebel acted poorly (10) Down 1 Eccentric from the Gold Coast range of mountains (7) 2 Like a first class return to the Orient (4) 3 Serial broadcast in Middle East country (6)

The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English.

Across 1 Parades (8) 5 Júbilo (3) 7 Shepherd (6) 8 Red (4) 9 Cama (3) 10 Christmas (7) 11 Duende (3) 12 Ángeles (6)

Co d e B r e a ke r 4 Serf rant about move (8) 5 A lesson in style (5) 6 Replace best churn, all right? (11) 7 Incorrectly tenderising items (11) 13 A prison term for a group of words (8)

16 Sprinkled very softly in dried (7) 17 Beat the one at the crease? (6) 19 Hoist the bird (5) 22 Spoil some strawberry yoghurt (4)

Down 2 Educator (7) 3 Eskimo hut (5) 4 Add sugar to (7) 5 Happening (5) 6 Sparkle (7) 7 Musical drama (5) 13 Relations (7) 14 News (7) 15 Correspondence (7) 17 Love intensely (5) 18 Murky (5) 19 Beau (5)

CRYPTIC - Across: 1 Trample, 5 Bogus, 8 Dubai, 9 America, 10 Mud, 11 Eerie, 12 Idle, 13 Vesta, 15 Tonga, 17 Shell, 19 Loafs, 21 Sewn, 22 Apple, 25 Gnu, 26 Leakage, 27 Lingo, 28 Dress, 29 Sustain.

Down: 1 Tidiest, 2 Amber, 3 Primeval, 4 Evades, 5 Beer, 6 Griddle, 7 Stale, 14 Assaults, 16 Newgate, 18 Lie down, 20 Angers, 21 Salad, 23 Panda, 24 Mars.

QUICK - Across: Abolish, 7 Fatal, 8 Set-back, 9 Stress, 11 Usurp, 13 Rate, 14 Trample, 15 Bore, 16 Camel, 17 Leaves, 21 Cabinet, 22 Basic, 23 Naughty.

Down: 2 Breastbone, 3 Liberate, 4 Sock, 5 Fact, 6 Bare, 9 Swipe, 10 Settlement, 12 Wages, 13 Relaxing, 18 Afar, 19 Evil, 20 Data.

ENGLISH - SPANISH Across: 1 Attic, 4 Short, 7 Ice, 8 Chupete, 9 Atreverse, 13 Empresa, 15 All, 16 Tears, 17 Suelo.

Down: 1 Apio, 2 Theft, 3 Cockerels, 4 Saucepans, 5 One, 6 Tren, 10 Spade, 11 Belt, 12 Algo, 14 Pea.

1.Unscramble the name of a popular Christmas song written by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 (three words): Y-FRONTS WANT HOMES 2. Unscramble the name of a famous Christmas pantomime (one word): CLEAN, IDLER!

Play on Words MANAWAYGER

PEAS SOIL

Answers: Away In A Manger , Peace on Earth

Funagram

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet.

In this week’s puzzle, 11 represents H and 18 represents Z, so fill in H every time the figure 11 appears and Z every time the figure 18 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares.

As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

QUICK Across 1 Steps (6) 5 Punch (6) 8 Passageway (4) 9 Makeup (8) 10 Variable resistor (8) 11 Flat board (4) 12 Damaged (6) 14 Excitement (6) 16 Animal abode (4) 18 Faithfulness (8) 20 Sledge (8) 21 Scene (4) 22 Hebdomadal (6) 23 Anxiety cause (6)

Down 1 December (9) 2 Hiedra (3) 3 Condimentos (9) 4 Bola de nieve (8) 6 Gold (3) 7 Inn (6) 8 Rojo (3)

Quote ‘If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.’

‘

Barack Obama (1961 - ) 44th and current President of the United States.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Hexagram The purpose of the Hexagram puzzle is to place the 19 sixletter words into the 19 cells. The letters at the edges of interlocking cells MUST BE THE SAME. The letters in the words must be written CLOCKWISE. The word in cell 10 (SKIERS) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

ACTORS

CHURCH

SEASON

ADORNS

CRECHE

SHERRY

ALARMS

DONKEY

SKIERS (10)

AMUSES

MISERS

SPICES

BANTER

ORIENT

UNCORK

BARMEN

PRINCE

CHAIRS

REWARD

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 1 Thrill, 2 Helped, 3 Strike, 4 Tasted, 5 Pitted, 6 Barely, 7 Bested, 8 Reacts, 9 Mashed, 10 Become, 11 Treats, 12 Cheers, 13 Roared, 14 Cruise, 15 Reform, 16 Kettle, 17 Orders, 18 Killed, 19 Flower

FUNAGRAM SOLUTION 1. FROSTY THE SNOWMAN 2. CINDERELLA

FOOD

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Advertising Feature

A success in Alfoquia BECCY’S family came to Alfoquia at the beginning of 2012 and took on the bar La Union. It was like a tornado had swept through the bar.

New name, decorated from top to bottom with a new marble bar, new tiled floor and a kitchen overhaul.

Beccy designed a new menu based on her experience back in England in sizzler steak bars. Her menu is a breath of fresh air to the village.

Sizzling combos are not only great tasting but excellent value. Beccy’s aim is always to give good value and serve good food. Beccy’s bar hit Alfoquia with the Sunday carvery just like back in English pubs, with a choice of four meats plus many seasonal vegetables. The meat portions are not lacking at Beccy’s and there are doggy bags at the ready.

Saturday night is sizzler night with many combo grills sizzling out of the kitchen to the tables. Saturday’s special offer is a meal for two including wine at only €15. Beccy’s entertainment nights are renowned and famous throughout the area.

Just book your meal for the night with no charge for the entertainment and you are guaranteed a great night.

EWN

NEW INTERIOR: Beccy’s Bar was given a complete overhaul.

Due to the closure of the village chip shop, Beccy’s bought the special fish fryers to offer fresh fish and chips to her customers on Thursdays and Fridays. Special offer on a Thursday is a meal for two for only €10.

Beccy’s has had great success on its themed nights including medieval night and recent Hollywood night.

The bar is often booked for private parties where Beccy puts on her famous buffet.

The Christmas package is out-

standing value including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day lunch and Boxing Day night. The New Year’s Eve spectacular night has had such demand Beccy has taken on the Renfe building to accommodate her guests offering great night entertainment plus Beccy’s buffet.

For up to date info on what’s happening at Beccy’s Bar La Union, see our advert, go to Facebook or check out www.beccysbar.com.

Tel 950 634 533

60 EWN

FOOD

20 - 26 December 2012

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Costa de Almería

Brussels are off the menu BRUSSEL SPROUTS may be off the Christmas dinner menu this year

EXPENSIVE: The unpopular sprouts.

following a price rise of the unpopular vegetable of 69 per cent. It is not the

only thing to rise in price as a new report reveals the cost of Christmas dinner has soared by more than double the increase in wages over the past five years. It’s not all bad news though - the price of champagne is down nearly AN age-old tradition is to hide trinkets in your 10 per cent.

Christmas pudding for someone to find.

This is meant to predict your year’s fortune. A coin means wealth, a ring means marriage and a button means you will stay single. The idea came from a Middle Age tradition where a bean was hidden inside a cake which was served on 12th night and whoever found the bean would be king for the remainder of the night.

A surprising slice

TRADITION: Hiding trinkets.

COLOUR CODE: Tones used affect our eating habits.

Eating psychology RESTAURANTS use different colours in their décor to affect appetite and mood. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most popular colours when it comes to eating.

Red is an appetite stimulant. There are plenty of red foods, from tomatoes, to strawberries and red peppers.

Red also stimulates conversation, so it’s no surprise restaurants want to incorporate it into their colour scheme.

Orange is associated TO bring a light-hearted with need and hunger. approach to your Orange is commonly used preparation of the turkey, in restaurants because like cut cranberry jelly into red it stimulates hunger, slices and use a turkey- and restaurants want you shaped cookie cutter to to eat. determine the shape.

Yellow is a sociable This traditional garnish colour. Bright yellows are will be tasty and may put a used liberally in fast food smile on your guests’ faces. restaurants – McDonald’s.

Tasty finish

20 - 26 December 2012

FOOD

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Eat the tree SOMETHING else to add to your Christmas feast; the festive tree. Many parts of the pines, spruces and firs can be eaten.

The needles are a good source of vitamin C, and pine nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition. The firs can also be used to infuse drinks. Just leave a sprig of needles in a bottle of gin or vodka overnight.

chain Starbucks was avoiding paying tax in the UK, the company has caved in to public pressure and agreed to pay millions in corporation tax.

The group has struck a deal and will pay £20million (€15million) over the next two years, whether or not it reports a profit.

Starbucks has not paid corporation tax for 14 of the past 15 years of trading in the UK, despite owning more than 700 stores.

The move will bring valuable money into Treasury coffers and increases pressure on other multi-nationals such as Google and

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Coffee chain to pay millions in tax AFTER it was revealed that US-owned coffee

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VALUABLE MONEY: Starbucks make a tax deal.

Amazon to make contributions.

Campaigners however

are unhappy and plan to hold protests at Starbucks’ cafes.

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20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

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Feliz Navidad I THOUGHT you might enjoy knowing a little more about how the Spaniards celebrate Christmas and the New Year.

Though it is usually a last minute rush for the women, Christmas is a family affair.

Christmas Eve, ‘Nochebuena’ as it is known in Spanish, on the actual day starts earlier more likely for the older members of the family by attending midnight mass - which is rarely at midnight now - it is usually at eight or nine o’clock. After the mass, they all go to the designated in-laws’ to have dinner.

The meal, at least in Andalucía, mainly consists of cold dishes where vast amounts of sea food, in particular ‘gambas’ are the protagonists, cold cuts, cheese, ensaladilla and other similar dishes are served.

South of the Border KERRY SASTRIAS Kerry Sastrias is a director at www.espanglish.net language school in Vera, Almeria. Read more on: elbloginglesespanol.blogspot.com.es

In some homes they will prepare a hot meal with fish and ‘papas pobres’ (sliced potatoes and onions are slow-baked in the oven with gallons of olive oil and salt) and in even fewer will they serve turkey.

The houses are characterised not so by the decorations but

NO ORDINARY TABLE: There is an electric heater underneath for warmth. by the cold temperature, given – as no doubt you have experienced

Advertising Feature

Valle Del Este Golf Resort: An oasis in the middle of the desert

SITUATED off the Autovia E-15, exit 529 just outside Vera, near Mojacar in the province of Almeria.

We are delighted to be open for Christmas Day lunch from 12 noon to 2pm. We are offering a traditional fun afternoon of singing and entertainment with an intimate family feel, with excellent food and great entertainment from local singer Kaye Frances.

On offer is a selection of starters and main courses including seafood cocktail, cream of seafood soup, oven baked salmon with vegetables, lemon cava sorbet and traditional turkey with roast potatoes all finished off with Christmas pudding. We also have a vegetarian menu if required. Water, wine and beer are included to make sure your afternoon goes with a swing.

Cost is only 45€ per person and you can also make a night of it with our special bed and breakfast offer of just 34€ per person and then enjoy the rest that Valle del Este Hotel, Golf & Spa Resort has to offer.

Our four-star hotel offers a total of 142 avant-garde style rooms including six suites, 11 conference rooms of varying capacity. We also have a purpose-built gym, padel courts and Wellness Spa offering a range of

FOUR STAR HOTEL: Has a Wellness Spa offering a range of treatments.

treatments where guests can enjoy a 25 per cent discount on listed prices. All rooms have a terrace, views of the golf course and/or the coast.

Best known for our famed championship golf course. Valle del Este fairways wind their way through a landscape that rivals some of Arizona’s

best desert style courses. With the occasional view of the Mediterranean, rolling hills and steep cliffs make it visually spectacular playing.

The course manages to extract every bit of skill from even the most seasoned of golf-pro, without ever becoming unfair for the beginner golfer. Come and enjoy a game with friends or book lessons with our resident Pro golfer.

For more information or to make a reservation for the Christmas lunch or to play golf, please call 950 548 600 or email reservas.hotel@valledeleste.es & see our website www.valledeleste.es.

yourself - they were not designed for this weather! People keep warm around ‘la mesa camilla’ which is a tall (80 cm) table in the centre of the three piece suite.

This is no ordinary table as not only does it have a long tablecloth reaching the floor, but under it there is an electric heater. Everyone is sat around the table, using the tablecloth as a blanket over their legs, eating the meal whilst watching TV. At midnight, they drink and hug each other. Younger members of the family swiftly depart into the darkness and to nightclubs. Generally, as they do not have the tradition of Father Christmas, no gifts are exchanged, save a little something for the children which is left next to the Nativity.

That brings us to New Year.

Many families have dinner at home along the same lines as Christmas. However, others go to ‘cotillones’ (parties) until the small hours. What is actually fascinating is that in many homes they have a lot of rituals upon the clock striking 12.00, yes indeed.

The majority of them with a glass of cava in their hand manage to have a grape with each strike, making a wish for the coming year, a few do it standing on a chair allowing evil spirits to pass under it.

Others also brush water out of the house to cleanse it, whilst some with a suitcase come in and out of the house as many times as possible to signify many trips for that year.

Women usually wear red underwear but the trick here is that it has to be new and a gift from a friend not bought, otherwise you will not be blessed with good luck!

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20 - 26 December 2012

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W

ITH only a few days to go, here are some practical present ideas for the gardening member/s of the family or friends, especially those who have nurtured colourful gardens and terraces, and fresh eco vegetables for Christmas.

A special Christmas request for Clodagh and Dick.

A few weeks ago we found that our website name / domain had somehow been hijacked which is very frustrating as we had built up a readership over some six years and it was a convenient place to find out about the content of our books etc.

We have had to change our website name from www.garden inginspain.com to www.gardenspain.com and so have to rebuild the visibility and use of the site from scratch over the next couple of years.

A great Xmas present to us from EWN readers would be a simple internet search using the new name gardenspain.com.

Many thanks for your help.

Wearing out old shoes or walking boots is not really the best thing for your feet, ankles and knees, so how about a

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Don’t forget the gardeners at this time of year

pair of comfortable shoes or boots with reinforced toes.

Thinking about knees, how about a new pair of knee pads for all those kneeling jobs.

Gardening gloves are welcome, especially waterproof ones at this time of year.

A new pair of sharp easy to use pruners

maybe, ready for the winter cutback in the New Year. Fiskars brand are a good buy.

In some households gardening is not a shared activity so a promise to help out next year, especially in getting a vegetable plot going, may go down well.

How about a miniature gardening kit for young children to get them involved – perhaps give them a few square metres of soil or a collection of containers for their own garden.

Sorry for including them but our six gardening books are good Christmas presents especially as they are designed to be used

Gardening Corner

By Clodagh and Dick Handscombe

Spain’s best known gardening authors who have lived and gardened in Spain for 25 years. www.gardeninginspain.com

throughout the year and not just a few hours read in front of the Boxing Day log fire. For those living in apartments www.santana books.com have seasonal special offers of only €5 for ‘Apartment Gardening Mediterranean Style’.

If the intended recipient is new to gardening on Spanish soils how about a set of three sizes of mattocks

that are easier to use than a British fork and spade.

Every 10 years a new wheelbarrow might be an idea. But do buy one with a wide bouncy solid or blow up

tyre.

Winter days are often sunny but they can be windy and cold, so a snug gardeners green sweater or padded waistcoat could be appreciated.

It’s not too late to plant deciduous fruit trees and bushes so add to the existing collection of fruits for healthy living.

To ensure a chemical free garden next year,

perhaps buy bottles of neem oil insecticide and propolis fungicide.

Cutting hedges gets no easier as one grows older so perhaps arrange for someone to come and cut the hedges and prune tall trees in January.

A small grape press could help the family press next year’s grape harvest rather than using the bath and feet!

If the garage is getting cluttered with garden tools and products how about a garden shed.

If you enjoy or would like to try growing sprouting seeds buy yourself an automatic sprouting machine.

Several times during the year we have mentioned drying fruit, herbs and seeds on our tray drier. They are very handy. We use ours several times a week.

Currently for drying slices of tangerines for dipping in chocolate to eat after dinner or when needing a boost on winter walks.

Raisins and sultanas were dried for the Christmas cake!

Gardening socks wear out every few years.

Perhaps this is the year for a couple of new pairs.

To attract wild birds how about bird boxes, feeders and a bird bath. We notice the Wiggly Wigglers catalogue includes a bird box with a built in internal video camera to connect at the end of a 30 metre lead to the television.

A good bottle of Spanish brandy to warm up after a long cold winter day in the garden always goes down well.

Happy last minute Christmas shopping!

(c) Clodagh and Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com December 2012

20 - 26 December 2012

EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com Advertising Feature

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The only Way2go

helping your money go further W

ay2go was founded because there was a gap in the market between ‘cash in hand’ man with a van and large expensive removal companies.

It quickly became apparent in these trying financial times that a more cost effective and flexible service could be offered to help people move from one country to another with the minimum amount of stress.

Way2go now have four depots in Javea, Malaga airport, Swanley and Burton-on-Trent adding more value and convenience to our service and if these don’t suit, then we offer a delivery and collection service.

We also offer one day’s free hire on all bookings, no charges for credit or debit card transactions and additional drivers are free of charge. We can also offer discounted rates when using Brittany Ferries between Spain and the UK where you can transport your pets for as little as €50 (£40).

It is worth remembering when travelling self-drive, you don’t have to pay for expensive flights as with conventional removals.

So, if you don’t fancy using a removal company to handle and deliver your personal belongings and want a more cost effective option, Way2go is perfect for you. Pack and load your own prized possessions, take full control of your schedules whilst taking in the beautiful scenery of Spain, France and of course, the UK. Rest assured that all Way2Go vehicles have commercial insurance with Lloyds of London which is essential for self-drive hire companies. Beware of alternative insurance being

FOR HIRE: Can’t be beaten on value or service. offered where the wrong insurance is as good as having no insurance!

If self-drive hire isn’t your cup of tea, relax and let us take the responsibility for you. We will include all the overheads along with a full UK invoice offering you peace of mind and accountability for the service we are providing.

Please remember that Way2Go never trans-ships your consignment onto third party sub-contractors’ articulated lorries which has become common practice within the industry.

The same helpful and professional driver loading your consignment will be the same making the delivery at your destination. We feel that this old fashioned, tried and tested method is hard to find these days unless you pay large organisations huge sums of money. We are confident when quoting ‘apples for apples’ that Way2Go can’t be beaten on value or service.

After only five years we are proud to announce the expansion of Way2Go Hire with two new depots and eight brand new vehicles.

This now means half our fleet are left hand drive, where over the next year we will be working hard to open more depots and only operating left hand drive vehicles.

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For all the above reasons, along with a great hardworking team, we find ourselves providing our customers with a most cost effective quality service for all your requirements which is reflected in our testimonials. Way2Go Hire would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clients, past and present.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

To find out more on our services please visit www.way2gohire.com. Or give us a ring on UK 02080 904 292 or Spain 965 794 682.

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Advertising Feature

Property of the week

Brought to you by Price Brown Partnership

Cortijo Grande charmer Enjoy the shady courtyard.

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Luxurious pool deck and terrace. pool terrace, courtyard and BBQ area.

A further Andalucian arch from the living room leads to the dining room which also has double aspect views and access to covered terrace.

The kitchen is fully fitted, has a utility room, and is easily accessed for outside entertaining.

The outside terraces and swimming pool area are idyllic and offer complete privacy with cool and shady seating areas.

There is also a large and fully tiled outside wet-room. A dry-stone pathway winds through attractive and mature gardens. This property, which has charm and character, is to be sold fully furnished and is priced to sell. Rental potential is excellent.

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ALBOX

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de AlmerĂ­a

20 - 26 December 2012

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Advertising feature

Remember pets are for life not just for Christmas!

A

T this festive time we must not forget our pets. Here at Huercal Overa Veterinario, not only do they have an up to date modern surgery they also stock a wide range of presents for that pet in your life for Christmas, and remember a pet is a friend for life not just for Christmas The modern, sparkling HOVC is on the cutting edge of all things veterinarian, they know how much you love your pets, and can advise you in English, on how to keep your ‘best friends’ happy and healthy.

At HOVC they are also specialists in exotic animals.

Veterinary care for rabbits, iguanas, birds and other less common pets should not be carried out by just anybody. You can rest assured that with more than seven

Two satisfied canine customers. years experience in the field, Elena and Angel know exactly what they are doing.

Vaccinations, X-Rays, micro-chip ID implants, minor or major

operations, dog and cat grooming by ex-dog show judge, Maria, and a whole array of pet food and accessories are on offer at HOVC. Take your pets for regular, affordable check-ups too, and you’ll ensure they stay healthy all year round.

Elena and Angel are on call 24 hours a day and if your pet needs to spend the night, you’ll be pleased to know that they have sleeping quarters at their centre and will be at your pets’ bedside.

Visit the Huercal Overa Veterinary Centre, next to Ferreteria Tapia and see their advert for more information.

They will be on call over the festive period and the surgery is closed only 25 December and 01 January, Tel 950 616 781, emergencies 663 524 003.

Take care with your cats’ playtime toys "I WAS over at a friend's house recently and was shocked to see him open a jug of milk and toss the little plastic tab onto the floor for his cats to chase (which they did rather enthusiastically, I should add).

“I noticed that there were a lot of these little tabs around on the floor. I know this to be dangerous as the cats might eat them but he said he didn’t have any problem.

Is it alright to put down those little toys?"

UNFORTUNATELY, the correct answer is yes and no. When selecting appro-priate toys for a cat, think of what would be safe for a human infant or toddler.

Unfortunately, there are no regulations or cautionary statements on

69

Caution with cats and their toys.

toys for pets so it’s up to you as pet owner to decide if the toy is alright.

The same backwardpointing barbs on a cat’s tongue that allow it to groom also make it difficult

for them to remove items from their mouth.

String, yarn, floss, ribbon, twine, rubber bands, bells, can all be swallowed and may cause severe injury.

Check toys for glued-on decorations or trim that could come off and be swallowed. The eyes on some playthings can be especially hazardous. For

example, one very popular toy, those small mice made of real fur, have eyes that are tacks and should be removed before being given to your cat.

Be aware while some toys may be perfectly safe for some cats others, specifically those that may have a penchant for chewing, may get into trouble with them.

Know your cat and if in doubt, supervise playtime with the new toy. Play with feathered toys should always be supervised as an exuberant cat will chew the feathers and the shafts can become lodged in the cat’s throat.

Generally, if you use common sense and provide safe, acceptable toys for your cat, the result will be a happier, healthier pet.

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Eating habits SAVE your goldfish from indigestion trouble by feeding it a small amount of food several times a day instead of feeding it a huge portion in one sitting.

Goldfish have no stomach to hold and digest ingested food. Instead, the food continuously travels from the mouth and out the other end while being digested.

Man’s best friend DOGS will remain loyal to their masters for life.

When a dog sees that someone loves, cares for, and protects them, they become entirely loyal to that person.

Also, by nature dogs are considered pack animals, so when in the wild they go in groups.

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Oil spill that was toxic to a man’s heart, not just the environment With the passing of the 10th anniversary of the Prestige tanker disaster, Jack Gaioni examines the life of the one ‘fatality’ of the massive oil spill..

I

T was on November 13, 2002 that The Prestige oil tanker broke apart releasing 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel-oil onto Spain’s Galician coast.

The Prestige was a Greek operated, Japanese made, British insured, American certified, Bahamian registered yet Liberian owned singlehulled oil tanker.

It had left Riga, Latvia, earlier in the month headed for Gibraltar. Encountering gale force winds and six metre waves not uncommon to this part of the Atlantic, the Prestige’s captain radioed Spanish authorities (later French and Portuguese) requesting safe harbour.

Consider This All allegedly denied help.

US citizen Jack is spending the first years of his retirement in Almeria. His articles have Ultimately, the tanker broke been published in Spain and the US. apart and sunk in the open Atlantic. The spill polluted thousands of kilometres of 1938, left Germany in the early Galician coastline.

1960’s. Like many of his The affected area is a very generation (this author important ecological region included!) he questioned the supporting some of the planet’s industrial and consumer driven most unique marine life. It is world which surrounded him. also home to Galicia’s He found his way to Camelle, substantial Spain, a small fishing industry. isolated fishing The long term village on Can a effects on Spain’s north oceanic life and west coast. His person the health of life took on a really die the clean-up new dimension. crews is He was of a unknown. The transformed broken heart?

Greek captain from a neatly was initially dressed church taken into attendee to a custody accused of not co- loin clothed, bearded recluse. operating with rescue crews He lived in a four metre by six and with various environmental metre hut without running crimes. water or electricity.

The 24-member crew was air“I came here to create my lifted to safety and official own world… I don’t think I like documents list no human other people”, he said. Manfred fatalities. lived on home grown Yet, if you ask locals from this vegetables and that which he part of the Galician coast, they procured from the sea. He mention one very significant spent most of his time creating fatality. This article directs your his own artistic environment. attention to that one death.

He made fascinating Consider the story of Manfred sculptures from the stones, Gnadinger… shells, whale vertebrae, Manfred Gnadinger, born driftwood and all that washed

Jack Gaioni

The Prestige oil tanker disaster in 2002.

ashore. He also read extensively about philosophy and environmental concerns. He was eccentric to be sure, but locals tolerated his lifestyle, accepted him into the community and encouraged his art.

Even though Manfred was introverted, he opened a small museum and often asked his patrons to submit possible artistic designs. He encouraged people to think about seaside environments. In November, 2002 the aforementioned Prestige oil spill occurred and Camelle took a direct hit.

Manfred’s vegetable garden, his sculptures, his hut and his entire museum was covered with a thick layer of crude oil.

So emotionally distraught was Manfred that he locked himself in his hut with a sign imploring people to stay away. Villagers were concerned and after a number of days they checked in on him only to find him dead in his bunk.

To this day, most locals will

Manfred Gnadinger, German hermit and sculptor.

tell you that his death was due to the complete despair and torment of the Prestige disaster.

Manfred they say, no doubt died of a broken heart. Locals organised and paid for his funeral. His casket was paraded through the street with hundreds attending the service.

To the local populace, Manfred Gnadinger has become a symbol of ecological concern.

This past month not only marks the 10th anniversary of

the spill, it marks the beginning of the court case.

Who is liable for the €2.7 billion clean-up costs? Did the Spanish government take prompt enough action? Will single-hulled tankers be deemed structurally deficient?

Will there be more rigorous inspections in the future? Who really owned The Prestige and was it using its many flags of convenience to by-pass regulations?

Certainly these and many other questions will surface during the on-going trial. It is unlikely that any mention of Manfred Gnadinger will be part of these legal proceedings.

His story is anecdotal and based on personal accounts.

Yet we might ask ourselves some significant questions drawn from Manfred’s experience. Is it not incredibly ironic that a man who strove to reject the disturbing features of modern society eye-witnessed his life’s work destroyed by the very fuel on which that society depends?

Could it be just as toxic to one’s soul to surrender to the reality that the physical world can never satisfy the ideals of the mind? Can a person really die of a broken heart, emotional pain or the loss of hope?

Could we be incrementally poisoning ourselves with the very life-blood we use to drive the engines of our collective economies? Will Manfred’s experience represent any significant call to action? Might there be greater allegorical questions here for the rest of us? Please consider…

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Extra high performance and luxury in new BMW A THIRD body variant of the BMW M6 sports car has been presented. The BMW M6 Gran Coupe joins the existing Coupe and Convertible models in the line-up. Its retail price is €128,800 and the market launch will be in May 2013.

The new member of the M6 family brings together customary performance characteristics with extra helpings of luxury and aesthetic appeal. The highrevving V8 engine with

Twin Power Turbo technology and 412 kW/560 hp propels the BMW M6 Gran Coupe from 0 to 100 Kph in 4.2 seconds.

Average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle stands at 9.9 litres per 100 kilometres (28.5 mpg imp) and CO2 emissions are 232 grams per kilometre.

Taking care of power transfer is a seven-speed Double Clutch Transmission with Drivelogic.

The elegantly sporty lines of the four-door Coupe are complemented by features such as the carbon fibrereinforced plastic (CFRP) roof.

The greater interior space allows two rear passengers to enjoy onboard comfort, and there is also a third rear seat for use on shorter journeys.

The front of the car is dominated by its large air intakes and standard Adaptive LED Headlights.

A sports car for every day THE new Audi RS 6 Avant, the brand says, is a high-performance sports car for everyday use. The sprint from 0 to 100 Kph takes 3.9 seconds, and top speed is 305 Kph. Audi reported the RS 6 Avant is lighter and more efficient than the previous model, and performance has been improved. Available to order early in 2013, the base price is €95,000.

The RS-specific engine management and unthrottled intake system also

75

contribute to the eight-cylinder engine’s spontaneous response. The average fuel consumption is 9.8 litres per 100 km.

A remarkable efficiency technology in the new model is the cylinder on demand (COD) system. At low to intermediate loads and engine speeds, it shuts down the intake and exhaust valves of cylinders 2, 3, 5 and 8. The new RS 6 Avant is the first RS model from Audi to come standard with specifically tuned air suspension.

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SPORT

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20 - 26 December 2012

VERVERIDIS VASILIS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Costa de Almería

The draw for the third round of the FA cup sees interesting ties

By Tony Matthews CHRISTMAS is coming and games are thick and fast.

As usual over the Festive season there are some cracking football matches to look forward to over the weekend.

These include Chelsea v Aston Villa, Manchester City v Reading, Swansea v Manchester United, West Ham v Everton and Wigan v Arsenal in the Premiership.

In the Championship Crystal Palace v Huddersfield, Leeds v Middlesbrough, Leicester v Cardiff and Millwall v Barnsley, plus Swindon v Tranmere and Torquay v Exeter in the Devon derby in Leagues One and Two. Then, on Boxing Day, there’s a London showdown between Arsenal and

West Ham, Manchester United take on Newcastle and Manchester City go to Sunderland.

The top two in the Championship, Cardiff and Crystal Palace meet at The City Stadium, Brighton entertain Millwall and Hull play Leicester.

ROUND-UP • Congratulations to Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Jessica Ennis came second and Andy Murray third. Paralympian swimmer Josef Craig is the Young Sports Star of the Year; the Team of the Year Award went jointly to GB’s Summer and Paralympic teams; Coach of the Year was GB’s cycling-master

Did you know?

EARLIER this month, jockey Luke Morris had 12 rides in seven hours, four at Lingfield and eight at Kempton Park.

The Arctic winter which gripped Britain 50 years ago lasted for three months, affecting sport everywhere, even in Europe. More than 600 football matches in the UK were postponed, 261 in Cup competitions. In fact, the Falkirk-Inverness CT game was called off 29 times, the Birmingham-Bury clash suffered 14 postponements and unlucky Halifax did not play at all between December 14, 1962 and March 2, 1963.

Dave Brailsford; Usain Bolt took the overseas prize and Sebastian Coe received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

And it was great to see Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, present the trophy to Bradders.

• Last Sunday in Japan, Corinthians (Brazil) beat limp Chelsea 1-0 to lift the World Club Cup while in the UK over the weekend, Manchester United defeated Sunderland to maintain their sixpoint lead at the top of the PL. Neighbours City won by the same score at Newcastle… QPR gained their first win of the season, v Fulham… Liverpool lost at home to Aston Villa…

Norwich pipped Wigan …

Spurs edged past Swansea…

Everton’s Marouane Fellaini admitted head-butting Ryan Shawcross in the draw at Stoke… and lowly Peterborough caused a shock by beating Cardiff.

M TTERSTOCK.CO

Festive season action stations

L YAHYA / SHU AHMAD FAIZA

Usain Bolt.

From Back Page England was when Cardiff beat Liverpool (7), Blackburn Rovers (6), Arsenal 1-0 in the 1927 final.

Newcastle (6), Everton (5), • Ashley Cole holds the record Manchester City (5), The Wanderers for most winner’s medals – seven (5) and WBA (5) are the next best 10 – three with Arsenal, four with in terms of success.

Chelsea.

• Of the current 20 Premiership • Leicester City have appeared in clubs, only four - Norwich City, four finals and lost them all.

Reading, Swansea City and • Bury hold the record for Wigan Athletic - have still to the biggest FA Cup final reach the final. win, 6-0 v Derby County The first • The first final took in 1903. final place 140 years ago, in • The Scottish club, 1872, when The Queen’s Park, lost in the took place Wanderers beat the 1884 and 1885 finals to 140 Royal Engineers 1-0 with Blackburn Rovers. years ago. a goal by Morton Betts.

• The 1975 all-London • In the 100th final, final between Fulham and played at Wembley in 1981, West Ham featured 23 Tottenham and Manchester City Englishmen and Jimmy Conroy of drew 1-1 before Spurs went on to Ireland. win the replay 3-2 with a fabulous • Birmingham City did not take part Ricky Villa goal. in the 1921-22 FA Cup after the club • So far, of the 131 finals secretary failed to submit the official played, there have been entry form.

14 replays, the last in • Nottingham Forest has played FA 1993 when Arsenal Cup ties in four different countries: beat Sheffield England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Wednesday.

• Villa Park has staged the most FA • The first Cup semi-finals, 53. penalty shoot• Bert Turner scored for both teams out to decide in the 1947 final: Charlton (his own the winners club) and Derby County. came in 2005 • The first final televised in colour when was Everton v WBA in 1968. And in this Arsenal game Dennis Clarke (WBA) became the edged out first substitute to be used in a final.

Manchester • Notts County has competed in United 5-4 every FA Cup competition since 1877, a after a 0-0 record never to be beaten. draw.

• Steve Bloomer, ex-Derby County • Fourteen and Middlesbrough, holds the record different venues have for most goals scored in FA Cup staged the Cup final, football, total 41. Ian Rush netted 39. five in London, • Billy Hampson, the oldest player including the old and ever to appear in an FA Cup final, was new Wembley.

41 years and 257 days old when he • 2,000 spectators helped Newcastle beat Aston Villa 2-0 witnessed the first-ever in 1924. final… ‘officially’ 123,000 • The longest-ever Cup-tie took place attended the first one at in 1971; the clash between Alvechurch Wembley in 1923 when and Oxford City covered six games and Bolton beat West Ham 660 minutes.

2-0… and 89,012 saw • The only team to win the FA Cup Chelsea beat Liverpool and gain promotion in the same season in last year’s is WBA in 1930-31. encounter.

• Didier Drogba (Chelsea) is the only • The only time the player to have scored in four FA Cup Cup has gone out of finals.

• The last club from the second tier ASHLEY COLE: Holds the record for of English football to win the FA Cup is West Ham in 1980. holding the most winner’s medals.

SPORT

80 EWN

20 - 26 December 2012 Costa de Almería

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Badgers bask in sunshine BADGERS visited Valle del Este Golf for their weekly competition.

The course was in great condition and the sun was shining.

Winner, and playing his home course was George Crichton with 36 points, runner-up spot went

to Mark Newhall (33) and Dave Wright (28) was third. Nearest the pins went to George Crichton, Andy Mucha and Dave Wright.

Last Saturday Badgers were at Macenas. Top player of the day was Dave Wright, taking the

honours for the second week running with 39 points from Tony Randall (35) in second.

Badgers Golf is holding a Boxing Day competition at Macenas Golf, with visitors welcome to join.

To enter contact Richard at Badgers.

Guests are welcome to join the society on both Wednesday and Saturday competitions and can book in at Badgers Restaurant on Mojacar Playa or call 950 478 525.

The third round draw of the FA cup brings some interesting games THE draw for the third round of this season’s FA Cup has produced some very interesting ties.

There are only four allPremiership clashes: West Ham against Manchester United, Swansea, who

won at the Emirates recently, versus Arsenal, QPR take on WBA at Loftus Road, while the holders Chelsea, who have won four of the last six finals, visit the 1976 winners Southampton.

Elsewhere there will be a repeat of the 1987 final between Tottenham Hotspur and Coventry • 2011 winners Manchester City welcome Gianfranco Zola’s Watford to the

Etihad Stadium • Liverpool, who last lifted the trophy in 2006, take on non-League opposition in Mansfield Town • Everton, who haven’t won the silver pot since

CHARITY MATCH: Secretary of Valle del Este GS Alan Townsend handing over the proceeds of a charity day to Dr Ignacio Martin Cuadrudo from Asprodalba .

Charity match winners

SIXTY-FOUR golfers from the Valle del Este golf society raised €1,550 on their charity day for special needs centre Asprodalba .

Winning team on the

day at the Vera course was Bob Mearing, Mark Newall, Steve Gilmore and Tony Redstone.

Second was Sue Hull, Dick Hull, Ann Miles and Phil Miles. Third came Bill

Churchill, Mick Colston, Steve Wright and Paul Henshaw.

Sponsors for the event were Valle Del Este Hotel & Golf, Full Swing, James & Son, Sunshine Fairways, Sophia Wellness Centre, Costa Coches, A&A Auctions, La Dulce Casa, Colin The Card, Pools & Piscinas, Torre Bahia, R&S Golf, Coastal Properties, Carniceria Barnet, Hotel Restaurante Overa, and all the members who sponsored tee boxes.

1995, will play Cheltenham Town • Newcastle United must travel 350 miles south to play Brighton • Sunderland go to Bolton • Wigan Athletic face AFC Bournemouth.

It’s Fulham v Blackpool at Craven Cottage • Aston Villa, who last won the trophy 55 years ago, have drawn Ipswich Town, winners in 1978 • Reading have a banana-skin tie at Crawley Town • Stoke City go to Crystal Palace • And there’s an intriguing clash between Peterborough United and Norwich City at London Road.

The rest of the draw reads: Accrington Stanley/Oxford United v Sheffeld United, Aldershot Town v Rotherham/Notts County, Barnsley (winners 100

SPORTS SCENE

By Tony Matthews A former football player and the world’s most prolific author of football books (more than 100 published), Tony is also the sports reporter for Spectrum Radio and lives in the Cabrera mountains.

years ago) v Burnley, Barrow/Macclesfield Town v Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City, Southend United v Bradford City/Brentford, Charlton Athletic v Huddersfield, Derby County v Tranmere Rovers, Hull City v Leyton Orient, Leeds United v Birmingham City, Leicester City v Burton Albion, Luton Town v Wolves, Middlesbrough v Harrogate Town/ Hastings, Millwall v PNE, Nottingham Forest v Oldham and Sheffield Wednesday v MK Dons.

The 32 ties will be played over the weekend of January 6/7 FA CUP FACTS • Manchester United have appeared in most finals (18), in most semifinals (27) and have won the trophy most times (11).

• Arsenal have played in 26 semifinals, appeared in 17 finals and have lifted the Cup on 10 occasions.

• Tottenham Hotspur (8 wins), Aston Villa (7), Chelsea (7),

Turn to Page 78 Gianfranco Zola’s team Watford to play at Etihad.