ISSUE NO. 1544
EWN FRONT EXTRA
Partaloa quake A MINOR earthquake measuring 2.4 on the Richter Scale was felt on the evening of Feburary 1, with its epicentre in Partaloa.
Iraq bound THE first contingent of 200 Spanish legionnaires left Almeria yesterday (February 4) for Iraq. They will play an advisory and training role.
Fishing rules NEW rules for fishing at Cabo de Gata have been released. A full list detailing times, weight and prohibited species is available from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
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5 - 11 FEBRUARY 2015
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Give us back our right to vote! BRITISH expatriates are demanding that the rule which removes their right to vote in the UK after 15 years is abolished. With the general election in the UK fast approaching, many expats in Spain – still bristling from the recent Winter Fuel
UK in Italy/flickr
HARRY SHINDLER: War vet fighting for expats’ right to vote. See Page 16.
Allowance debate – are backing a promised bill to abolish the controversial rule. Any British expats who moved to Spain before the year 2000 are not entitled to vote in the general election this May. A large number of expats feel disenfranchised as they don’t have a vote either in their home country or their adopted country, as expats can only vote in Spanish national elections if they have taken Spanish citizenship. According to the
official representative of one of Spain’s Conservative Abroad (CA) branches, the so-called ‘15year rule’ should be amended to a vote for life. Peter Newey told Euro Weekly News (EWN): “The current position is unfair in many ways. I pay tax in the UK. I have investments and may one day wish to return to live in the UK; after all, who knows what the future holds for any of us. “As we are seeing now, whichever political party is in Government today has a profound effect and impacts on the quality of life in the UK in years to come, and so having the right to vote in elections does matter. There are so many issues that Britons living overseas are concerned about in the UK, yet can do nothing about at the one time you can have a voice… election time!”
This matter has cross-party support, with Labour International and Liberal International also calling for the rule to be abolished Mr Newey said that although not everyone wishes to exercise their right to vote, there are those in Spain who do want to have their say in the government of their home country. “The largest number of CA branches in any single country is in Spain and it has been these branches who have led the campaign over many, many years to highlight how wrong this rule is,” Mr Newey remarked. EWN has also tried to get in touch with Labour International, but was still waiting for a response at the time of going to press. Vote Special Page 16 What do you think about the 15-year rule? Have your say on www.euroweeklynews.com.
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INDEX News 1 - 34 Finance 35 - 40 Letters 41 Daily TV 48 Leapy Lee 50 Time Out 53 - 56 Health & Beauty 60 - 63 Food 69 - 72 Albox 74 - 78 Homes & Gardens 79 Property 80 Classifieds 81 - 83 Motoring 84-86 Sport 87 - 88
HONOURED: British sculptor Bruce Cameron.
Plaque for UK artist BRITISH resident Bruce Cameron has been honoured by the town council with a plaque on the wall outside his home in Oria. The ‘Casa del escultor’ (House of Sculpture) plaque is an award for the artist who has lived in Oria since 2003. It was presented as a thank you for his ongoing contribution to the town. Bruce has been exhibiting his rustic wood carvings and his mosaic wall art since 1975 in the UK, Canada and now Spain including an
exhibition at the prestigious Casa Ibañez in Olula del Rio. Bruce’s art has also been displayed on the lawns surrounding Oria’s municipal pool in an outdoor exhibition organised by the Department of Culture. His art is popular with people of all nationalities but it is his mosaic wall art which is gaining momentum at the present time, with styles that are sympathetic to the Spanish and Moorish blends popular in Southern Spain.
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Sierro jobs THREE youngsters have been given jobs as part of the Emple@Joven programme. The young men will be carrying out maintenance and cleaning of public spaces throughout Sierro.
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ALMERIA City is the location for Sunday February 8’s Medio Maraton, the annual race that sees thousands descend upon the capital as part of a weekend of sports. More than 4,500 runners are already registered for this popular race, already in its 18th edition, with that figure predicted by the organisers to grow before
the starting pistol on Sunday. Councillor for Sports in the city, Juan Jose Alonso, added the council’s support for the event. He encouraged everyone to attend and said he hoped it would continue to grow each year as it has done historically. More than 30 businesses are supporting the event including Coca Cola, Cajamar and Ego. The
event also has the backing of the town hall and Deportes de Almeria. This year the project to benefit from the Medio Maraton is Proyecto Hombre, a nondenominational, apolitical, nonprofit organisation that works for the prevention and treatment of addictions and other maladaptive behaviour patterns.
Albox women ALBOX women came together under the Redmur umbrella to show off their entrepreneurial skills with their handmade goods in a regional craft fair to promote business.
Carboneras recycling DURING 2014 Carboneras recycled more than 7,600 kilograms of clothing in the seven recycle points located in the town. The highest concentration was from Calle Bajada del Mar. Vicar lace MORE than 300 lace makers gathered in Vicar for the 10th edition of the provincial meeting. Mayor Antonio Bonilla said: “Vicar has earned the right to be the main meeting point for bobbin lace.”
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Youth work
TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY unemployed El Ejido residents have been given work through the Emple@ 30+ and Emple@Joven programmes. Roles vary from maintenance and home care to beauty and commerce.
Shepherd school REGISTRATION is now open for Shepherd school which will be held in Velez Blanco from March 2. Registration is open until February 19 via the Institute of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Hospital trip
Weather alerts ALMERIA received two severe weather alerts in just four days as high winds of up to 130kph and waves of up to five metres battered the province. A cold snap is predicted to follow. New roundabout CARBONERAS is soon to have a roundabout in place of the troublesome junction at Avenida de Almeria and Avenida del Carril which will ease the pressure of traffic at peak times.
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Medio Maraton in Almeria
Sebas Romero/Red Bull/SIPA/Cordon Press
Seron walking SERON has finished its panoramic trail through the old town. It will be officially open from February 8 with an 11 kilometre tour estimated at 3.5 hours. It is rated as medium difficulty.
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FIFTY students from IES Albujaira visited Inmaculada hospital in Huercal-Overa. The student visit was part of a health care course and examined the day to day operation of a hospital.
Urban complaints
THRILL-SEEKING: Extreme sports go up a notch.
Daredevils’ ‘slingshot’ jump at 7G is spectacular
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PAIR of death-defying adrenaline junkies have taken it upon themselves to hop out of a hot-air balloon at 5,000 metres and then slingshot themselves from a paraglider before skydiving down to a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It’s not the kind of thought to enter most people’s heads as a way to kill an afternoon, but then Spaniard Horacio Llorens and Argentinian Hernan Pitocco’s minds don’t tend to work the same way as other people’s. Thirty-two-year-old Llorens is a five-time Acro Paragliding World Cup champ and Guinness World Record Holder, and 36-year-old Pitocco is an experienced BASE jumper. The thrill-seekers took extreme sports to another level when they performed their spectacular dive over Catalonia, reaching 7G as
Quote of the Week They’re a sad bunch, who go around saying how badly things are going. They’re not going to do it,’ said Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the Podemos political party’s election chances as more than 100,000 anti-austerity supporters rallied in Madrid at the weekend.
they somersaulted through the air before slingshotting themselves in perfect tandem out of their paraglider. “To do it safely, we both needed to release from the glider together, at a very precise moment, to ensure we wouldn’t fall into the glider,” said Llorens. “At 3,900 metres, we did about 13 revolutions, and then after 13 we released, around 3,400 metres. Then it was a simple skydive to the landing at 2,000 metres, at the ski resort of La Molina.” To prepare for the Red Bull-sponsored jump, the two daredevils spent seven hours training in a wind tunnel and practised several jumps. And Llorens’ reaction when they touched down on Spanish soil? “One of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life.”
CREDITlev radin / Shutterstock.com
Number of the week
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is the number of consecutive months that new car sales in Spain have risen. In January, the figure rose by 28 per cent with a total of 68,118 new cars being registered.
CUEVAS DEL ALMANZORA’S Andalucista party have again complained about the neglect of some areas of Barrio Bravo. They claim there is danger of collapsed walls and rubble.
Activity day MORE than 5,000 people attended the meeting of 30 neighbourhood associations at the Palacio de Congresos in the capital for a day of activities, stalls, crafts and performances.
Exterior work WORK has begun on the exterior areas of Huercal de Almeria’s new multi-purpose centre to include an 80 space car park, outdoor stage and public areas.
And finally... ‘Pixelated hair’ is the latest craze in the top hair salons worldwide. Pioneered by three Madridbased hair colourists, the pixelated look involves square blocks of colour being soaked into the hair and layered to give a computer graphic-like effect. The wacky, futuristic look has even been used by Revlon for a campaign.
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Court says no to Albox mayor COURT Number Three in Huercal Overa has rejected the mayor of Albox Rogelio Mena’s request to shelve the case against him for an alleged crime against civil rights. This means that the Socialist (PSOE) mayor now faces court while his refusal to answer several requests to provide administrative
Mayor Rogelio Mena.
information from the opposition Partido Popular (PP) in the town is investigated. The prosecution claims the mayor’s refusal to supply documentation is a crime against civil rights. At the time of going to press, Rogelio Mena said he was surprised at the court ruling and that he had nothing to hide.
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Voting rights for UK expatriates
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HIS week we’re taking a look at the issues surrounding expats and the British general election in May. It won’t be happening this year, but hopefully by the next general election – and any future referendum on ‘Brexit’ – the ’15-year rule’ prohibiting expats who have lived outside the UK for 15 years or more from voting will have been done away with. Groups in Spain and the rest of Europe have been tirelessly campaigning for the rights of expat voters and are urging those who do have a vote to make sure to register now, in plenty of time to ensure you have your say. The more expats who register and vote, the larger the voice we have in the UK when it comes to matters that affect us all, not just those still at home.
Take a walk on the tipsy side! PEDESTRIANS in Spain have been warned this week that if they’re in a hurry and have had a few drinks that they could be ‘pulled over’ on the pavement for exceeding the ‘normal stride’. However, the new proposals to introduce pedestrian breath tests are only for those pedestrians involved in a traffic accident or offence. Overzealous policemen won’t be stopping joggers or pulling up happy revellers making their way home after a night out for a random breath test! More than half of the 370 pedestrians killed on Spanish roads last year had alcohol or drugs in their system. So just remember to stay safe while walking home, at all times, not just when you’ve been enjoying a drink. See full story on Page 32
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‘Legalising’ homes IN 2012, Arboleas had 3,000 properties that still required regularisation. Now, in 2015, that figure is down to just 300. Arboleas mayor, Cristobal Garcia Granados, explained that through the town hall’s work the remaining 300 are likely to be completed before the spring elections.
David Bisbal, the pride of Almeria ANDALUCIA closed its presentations at Madrid’s FITUR tourism fair with an appearance by David Bisbal, one of Spain’s most popular singers. Bisbal spoke of his pride in Almeria. He was accompanied by the Junta de Andalucia regional government’s president, Gabriel Amat, and Vice-president Javier Garcia. Amat thanked Bisbal and said: “You’ve always been with us for promoting your land.” Bisbal has been publicising Almeria and Andalucia during his latest world tour, ‘Tu y Yo’ (You and I). The Almeria-born heartthrob did, however, disappoint his female fans by reminding them that he was in a steady relationship. Referring to his girlfriend, Argentinian model and actress Eugenia Suarez, Bisbal said: “My girl likes all of Almeria.”
Cannes films on show TEATRO CERVANTES in Almeria City is currently showing a series of films honoured in the Cannes Film Festival. Today, February 5, Mommy from Canada is being screened. February 12 is Denmark’s Someone to Love. Camino de la Cruz from Germany screens on February 19 and America’s Love is Strange shows on Fenbruary 26. The theatre has already screened movies from Belgium, Turkey and the UK. All screenings begin at 8.30pm. Tickets are available at the theatre box office for €4.
NEWS AVE tender approved THE Ministry of Public Works has approved a tender worth €86.25 million with Adif Alta Velocidad for the train line from Pulpi to Cuevas del Almanzora. The works have a lead time of two years according to the Ministry of Development in a statement. The section, which will run through Cuevas del Almanzora and Pulpi will be 12.5 kms long. There will be three viaducts at Canalejas, Guazamara and Las Cachas. There will also be a 180 metre tunnel built, due to environmental requirements, to facilitate the passage of livestock. There will be another tunnel under the A-1205 and a bridge over the A-1201. Government representative for the Junta, Carmen Crespo, expressed her satisfaction.
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Francisco Navarro stands in La Mojonera
FRANCISCO NAVARRO: Has been promoted for mayor.
THE Socialist Party (PSOE) in La Mojonera has been promoting Francisco Navarro as their party candidate for mayor in the upcoming elections. Navarro promised: “We will change the direction of the town. We will be a government that worries for its residents and solves problems. We will radically change the course of the town that has led the town since it fell into the hands of the Partido Popular. The people of La Mojonera do not deserve to have a mayor who has been absent in recent years and who only left his office in Sevilla when he was forced to.” At a meeting the PSOE gave its overwhelming support for Navarro as a candidate for mayor with 87 per cent of the vote in favour. Referring to policymakers, Navarro said: “They should know the real lives of our people. They should care about their residents and solve problems rather than create them.”
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FEATURE
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How to complete an accident report form WHAT is an accident report form? An accident report form is a document which outlines the circumstances which have occurred in a car accident. In addition to the personal details of the drivers and their vehicles, the document includes a jointly agreed description of the manoeuvres carried out by the drivers when the accident took place, which plays a key role in determining who is responsible for a traffic accident. How should it be completed? Línea Directa offers the following advice to complete the form: 1. Columns A and B (blue and yellow), are for the personal details of the drivers and their vehicles. 2. In section 12, (Circumstances) the numbered column on the left describes the manoeuvres of car A and the one on the right those of car B. If you are unsure which box to mark, leave it blank. Make a drawing of the accident in section 13 indicating the manoeuvre of each car. 3. If anybody has been injured or if you think they might have been injured, complete section 24. 4. If there is more than one car involved in the accident, also complete section 23, on the reverse side of the form, and include it in the sketch. 5. Sign the form and keep a copy.
How to act in case of an accident Línea Directa Insurance advises you of the steps to follow in case of a road accident in Spain. 1. Call the emergency number: 112. They will coordinate the procedure and will ask you in detail about the circumstances of the accident. 2. Remain calm at all times. Switch on the emergency lights and if the state of the vehicle permits, remove the vehicle from the road, in order to avoid delays and further accidents, to the extent possible. 3. Signal the accident location. Before stepping out of the car, put on your high-visibility jacket, which is compulsory, and place the emergency triangles correctly. The first must be placed about 50 metres behind the car in the direction of the traffic, and the second about 100m. 4. If someone is seriously injured, never try to move them, except if in danger of fire or imminent explosion. Cover the injured person, keep them calm and wait for the emergency services to arrive. 5. If the circumstances of the location allow, always fill in the European accident report, which is an essential document for speeding up the procedures and handling between the insurance companies. If you have any doubt about how to do this, don’t hesitate to call your insurance company.
LÍNEA DIRECTA ADVISES YOU
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This document is essential for determining who is responsible for a traffic accident, which has a direct effect on the price that customers pay when renewing their insurance.
For more information, Call 902 123 309
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Pair arrested for engine theft GUARDIA CIVIL officers have arrested the suspected perpetrators of a robbery from an agricultural warehouse in Gador. The detainees allegedly accessed the store after forcing the perimeter fence and a window grate. Shortly afterwards, Guardia Civil officers pulled their vehicle over on Puesto de Gador after spotting that it had no rear number-plate. After establishing the identity of ECS and SFU, both residents of Almeria City, the officers carried out an inspection of the car, where they found part of an engine in the boot. When questioned by the officers, the vehicle’s occupants admitted that the item had been stolen from the
BOOTY FOUND: Part of a stolen engine. warehouse a short distance away. Officers proceeded to the warehouse and discovered signs of forced entry. Inside, the officers found a partially dismantled engine with a missing piece which corresponded to that in the suspects’ vehicle. The officers arrested ECS and SFU on suspicion
of theft. ECS has a criminal record for similar offences. The two arrested individuals await processing at Almeria magistrates’ court.
Two held in drugs bust OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil have arrested a man suspected of selling marihuana and a second person for possession. The 20-year-old man, MGG, was arrested in Canjayar after officers observed three people at the Mirador de Almocita tourist attraction behaving suspiciously. As the officers approached, the man threw his backpack over the edge of the cliff. Once it was retrieved, police officers found marihuana, scissors, plastic bags and precision scales inside. A bag of marihuana was also found on the floor next to one of the three people the officers had been observing. The two detainees, and the case details, have been passed to Almeria magistrates’ court.
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NEWS
Almeria extends its reach AT the FITUR fair in Madrid, Almeria’s vice president, Javier Aureliano Garcia, has been holding meetings to promote the region in Denmark and Lithuania. Garcia stated: “It is a pleasure and an honour for Costa Almeria when companies and agencies come to us moved by the good image of our promotional campaigns, campaigns that highlight our excellence as well as the way we have treated our tourists this past year.” He also met the director of the Spanish tourist office in Denmark, Juan Francisco Cervero. Garcia described a good reception by the Danes who recently visited Almeria. In addition to strengthening links with Denmark, Almeria is opening negotiations with a new market, Lithuania.
ESCAPEE: A female Harris hawk.
Seprona recovers bird of prey SEPRONA, the department of the Guardia Civil that handles wildlife, has recovered a Harris hawk. A resident of El Ejido had spotted the female bird and reported it to Seprona. The bird had seemed disoriented but once the officers were able to capture the female hawk, they
checked its leg ring to identify the owner and return her home. The female hawk had escaped from her owner while out training a few days previously. Harris hawks are commonly used for falconry because of their ease of training.
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Almeria welcomes Estonian TV crew AS part of Costa de Almeria’s ongoing drive to promote tourism, Almeria City played host to a delegation from Estonian Television (ETV). The press trip request came via Turismo Andaluz
while on a tour organised by the Spanish Tourist Board in Helsinki, Finland. The representatives from Estonian National Television visited various parts of Andalucia before heading to Almeria and
Speeding is main driving offence SPEEDING was a factor in 22 per cent of fatal accidents in 2014, according to a report by Linea Directa. Going over the speed limit is the main offence for most drivers, and is still the most prosecuted one in Almeria. Although stricter rules and steeper fines have helped to reduce speed, it still has a way to go. In Almeria during 2014, 17,250 drivers were caught speeding. Of these, 14,566 were caught by mobile radars and 2,684 by fixed radars. Most of the offences happened between 8am and 2pm and Friday was the day when the most occurred.
enjoying the sights the area has to offer. The objective of the press trip was to record a special half-hour episode of ‘Travel With Me’ which airs on ETV on March 7. The Almeria episode will feature some of the province’s best known areas including Cabo de Gata. The crew also toured the capital, taking time to pose with the John Lennon statue outside the Hotel Torreluz. Then they headed to Plaza Vieja and the Heritage Interpretation Centre, a building which uses four floors to display information about Almeria throughout its Muslim, Christian and modern history. The Heritage Centre has a panoramic terrace with views across the city including the Alcazaba.
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NEWS
Day of peace marked in Huercal Overa EVERY year since 1964, January 30 is celebrated as a Day of Peace to commemorate the death of Mahatma Ghandi, one of the world’s icons of world peace. Ghandi was assassinated in 1948, aged 78. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Mayor of Huercal
PEACE MARCH: People gathered in the main square. Overa, Domingo Fernandez, joined with schoolchildren in the town to celebrate the day of non-violence and peace. The day was filled with various activities including the releasing of balloons, manifesto reading, a march and a charity race. Students and teachers from IES Cura Valera and IES Albujaira came together for the charity race to benefit UNICEF
recently. Also IES Cura Valera let loose white balloons as a symbol of peace and the rejection of violence. Meanwhile, the students and teachers from IES Albujaira marched through the streets of the town, ending at the Plaza de la Constitucion, where a manifesto was read out which made reference to the importance of values
in education and peace in the classroom. The mayor emphasised how important it was to celebrate these events. He said: “Our children are the protagonists and through them are transmitted defence of rights, health, education and the protection from violence for children all over the world, educating them on tolerance, solidarity, harmony and respect for human rights.” In addition to the mayor, the children and their teachers, the townspeople came out in support as well as a number of councillors from the town hall, Alonso Mena, Antonio Lazaro, Manuel Buitrago and Maribel Sanchez.
NEWS EMERGENCY SERVICES rushed to the scene when a woman was injured in a crash on the outskirts of Albox The accident occurred on the A-334, the main road between Albox and Arboleas when a silver car drifted into the lane the woman was driving in. Both cars were written off, although the female driver’s smaller car came off worse. The entire front was crushed and the fire services had to cut the woman out before transferring her on a stretcher by ambulance to Hospital La
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Woman hurt in car crash Inmaculada at Huercal-Overa. She had suffered multiple severe injuries. The male driver of the other car escaped serious injury, although he was very visibly upset and needed to be calmed down by a Local Police auxiliary. He was spoken to
by the police who were on the scene very quickly and additionally assisted the emergency services in freeing the woman. The investigation continues to find out why the silver car had drifted into the path of oncoming traffic.
ACCIDENT SCENE: The woman had to be cut out of her car.
Urbanization works in Mojácar to improve safety THE Provincial Deputation of Almería has started work on the project ‘Mojácar Urbanization’ to be funded from the 2014 and 2015 Provincial Plans. The project, initially valued at €660,000 was awarded to the company Eiffage for €466,000. Fifty five per cent of the cost is financed by The Provincial Deputation with Mojácar Council covering the remaining 45 per cent. Mojácar has benefited from the savings resulting from the deduction of its percentage share called ‘baja,’ which
means the difference of the initial price of the project and the final contracted price. In this case, Mojácar’s contribution is reduced from €297,000 to €103,000, which represents a saving for the council’s coffers. The project ‘Mojácar Urbanization’ will allow basic improvements and infrastructure installations in various areas of Mojácar beach. These will consist of pavement repairs and resurfacing of the following streets:- Jesús de Perceval,
Embrujo, Atalayones, Romance, Torrebahía, Pintor Morales, Picasso, Los Lomos del Cantal, Miguel Hernandez, Hermanos Machado, Vista de los Angeles, Almería, Luna and Piedra Villazar. Rosa María Cano, the mayor of Mojácar, said “With these investments, the municipality will see improvement of infrastructure and basic services, elements of unquestionable value to promote the development of the area and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants.” The
improvement area is an important, high population density centre, so that the improvement works and refurbishments have been welcomed by local residents. Also included in the plans is a much needed rearrangement to the parking and pavements in the beach bar area. New, wider pavements will be installed along with designated loading and unloading areas as well as improved lighting. This will greatly improve safety of pedestrians and ease the traffic flow in the area.
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2015 sees the introduction of a new pension regime in the UK. It provides UK residents and British expatriates with a range of options for their pension savings. What will the changes mean for you? What can you do with your funds? After first being announced in the March budget, further reform was released in stages over 2014. It is therefore important that you are up to date on all the changes and latest legislation. There are different rules for different types of pensions, so it is rather confusing. In order to make an informed decision, you need to be aware of all the implications of all your options, for your long-term financial security, for your heirs, and from a UK and Spain taxation point of view. It is increasingly important to seek expert advice on the detailed implications and opportunities. Here is a summary of the key changes from 6th April 2015, which apply to those with defined contribution schemes and aged 55 or over: • You will have complete freedom to draw down as much or as little of your pension pot as you wish, with
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FINANCE
UK Pensions 2015 – What Can You Do With Your Funds?
By Bill Blevins, Financial Correspondent, Blevins Franks no requirement to buy an annuity. If you cash in your entire pension you will no longer be charged the 55% unauthorised payment tax charge. UK residents will pay tax at their marginal rate of income tax. For non-UK residents, where a double tax treaty applies, as is the case with Spain, taxation falls to their country of residence.
• You can take a series of lump sums from your pension funds without having to enter into a drawdown policy. • The 55% pension ‘death tax’ will be abolished. If you die under age 75, the balance of your fund can be paid to your choice of beneficiaries as a lump sum or drawdown, tax free. If you are over 75, beneficiaries pay their marginal rate of tax on the income. If they opt to take it as a lump sum, it will be taxed at 45%, though the government hopes to change this to the marginal rate from 2016. This applies to drawdown and annuities, but not to those in final salary pensions. • If you have an existing drawdown plan, you can keep it as it is and retain the current income limits (150% of GAD).
This may be of interest to you if you are still able to contribute more than £10,000 to your fund. Many of the new pension options apply specifically to defined contribution schemes. From April 2015 those with private sector defined benefit pensions could transfer to a defined contribution scheme, but be aware that you could lose valuable benefits. Transfers can only be made with advice from a pension transfer specialist regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Most Public Sector schemes will not be able to transfer after April 2015. It is essential to consider the tax implications here in Spain to establish what would work best for you. This article can only cover the key points of the new legislation
and only provide a summary. There are also other elements you may need to consider. Sound financial planning and personalised advice is crucial, particularly for those with larger funds. Do not make any decisions until you have all the information and understand all the implications. Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. 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 is advised to seek 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.
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Prison break ends in Huercal Overa OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil have arrested a 38-year-old man in Huercal-Overa after he failed to return to prison after a break. BJEM, who has more
than 40 arrests for offences against property, threats and road safety, had been serving time in Sevilla prison but failed to present himself after an agreed break.
Churros bill for Alhama THE Socialist Party (PSOE) in Alhama de Almeria has revealed unpaid bills from the Partido Popular (PP) mayor totalling €402,599. The bills include €775 for churros, all electricity bills from 2014 and €3,500 for accommodation and meals for attendees of a town event. PSOE’S Efren Rodriguez said: “They exhausted the budget for 2014 and then approved a line of credit for themselves, which is nothing more than acknowledging that the mayor spent more money last year than was available.”
BJEM had made his way to Huercal-Overa where he remained in hiding. A Guardia Civil officer in the town knew BJEM was there illegally and began surveillance to track him down. He used his own car to locate the man and spotted him walking the streets, obscuring his face and remaining out of the path of streetlights. The officer followed BJEM as he entered a property and was able to get help and apprehend him. The arrest of the man had been complicated because he only travelled by night in dark areas and even dressed as an elderly person during which he used a coat, hat and a walking cane while walking in a crouched manner. At court BJEM was ordered back to prison.
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Register to have your say BRITISH expats in Spain are being urged to demonstrate that they have a voice in the upcoming general election in the UK by registering to vote as soon as possible. Those not affected by the ’15-year rule’ should register to vote now, according to the head of campaigns for Conservatives Abroad in Europe, Paul Barnes. “If you are a democrat, the core is the ability to vote,” Mr Barnes told
Expats’ right to vote COLIN BIRD THE vast majority of Brits leaving the mother country do so for one basic reason – to improve their quality of life. That’s it. I also believe that many have taken this major step because of the disgust at the constant attack on our long-established institutions, our crumbling public services and a general erosion of standards across the board. And like me, downright anger with self-seeking politicians and criminally-inept governments that have replaced what was once seen universally as the shining model for parliamentary democracy. Nevertheless, it is of vital importance that we retain and use the right as British citizens to vote in UK elections, and have our voices heard. In addition, demand the abolition of the arbitrary 15-year period of domicile in a foreign country, after which we are automatically disenfranchised. It was our choice to move to Spain, but I am an Englishman first and last. I have no idea whether I will have the opportunity to settle again in the country of my birth, but I sure as hell have earned the right over my working life to have a say in who governs it – wherever I choose to live.
Electoral limbo CASSANDRA NASH THERE will always be a corner in expat hearts that remains forever British and most of us
EWN. “We expats need to show that we do have a voice and as a result we should get out and vote. The 15-year rule alienates some British expats and as a result they feel disenfranchised. They can’t vote in the UK and they can’t vote in national elections in Spain.” Mr Barnes said that of the estimated 5.6 million Britons living abroad, around three million are eligible to
vote. But the UK Government has no record of the number of people who have lost their right to vote. “If expats voted they would suddenly have a voice and a bigger say in UK affairs,” he said. “The Conservatives have promised that they will eliminate the 15-year rule should they win the May election. This is of vital importance as expats currently not eligible to vote may be able to have their say if there
is a referendum on Britain leaving the EU, a matter which affects every single Britain living in Europe. Just because you live abroad doesn’t mean you’re not British and entitled to your say.” Mr Barnes stressed that those eligible to vote should register this month to ensure they can vote in the May general election. Don’t lose your right to vote! Register at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
Tirelessly campaigning for expat voting rights
How it affects you
HARRY SHINDLER, a 94-year-old British war veteran, is the well-known face of the campaign to restore voting rights to UK expats abroad. Mr Shindler, who was last year awarded an MBE for his work in helping find the graves of missing Second World War British servicemen, has fought for years for the rights of Britons living abroad. Born in 1921 and currently living in Italy, Mr Shindler is a veteran of the Battle of Anzio and the liberation of Rome in the Second World War. He has fought tirelessly for the abolition of the 15-year rule, even bringing the matter to the European Court of Human Rights. He has also argued for parliamentary
representation in the UK for Britons living abroad. The war veteran is not alone, however. British MP Geoffrey Clinton-Brown has also been actively supporting the right of British citizens living abroad to vote. He has introduced a bill to abolish the rule. Mr Shindler has thrown his support behind the bill and travelled to the UK Parliament to give his views.
Niyazz.
care about what happens back in the place we still refer to as home. Nevertheless, anyone who has not voted in the UK for 15 years only has the right to hold forth in their local bar or on the Euro Weekly News Letters’ page. By the same token, many expats who have lived so long in Spain that they cannot vote in the UK want the right to vote here. Instead these long-term residents live in an electoral limbo and can’t vote in the regional and general elections although their results directly affect them. Being able to vote in local and European elections is better than nothing but if we are eligible for these, why are we not considered eligible for the others? As for residents whose command of Spanish is as sketchy as it was the day they arrived and whose knowledge
of Spain and its politics is sketchier still – better for them to have a vote and not use it than to have none at all. They probably didn’t vote at home, either.
A people without a nation MIKE WALSH IT is unlikely to be lost on many that the issue of expatriate voting rights follows the decision to end another state benefit. This is part of a
creeping strategy to make second-class citizens of us all. This in return for 50 years of our being taxed roughly 50 per cent of every penny we earned. Mainstream media spin, goose-stepping to the government’s tune, continually demonise those who wish to retire and live elsewhere in the European Union. I am sometimes asked if I have signed a petition for this, that or the other. My friends, if they treat our votes with contempt, how do you think ‘Pigminster’ responds to
Have your say and leave your comments at www.euroweeklynews.com
THERE are many issues that directly affect expatriates living in Spain on which after 15 years they have no say. Here are just some of them. Winter Fuel Payments: Pensioners are to lose their allowance. Tax changes on pensions: Any changes to pensions’ rules could have a profound effect on retired expatriates, many paying UK tax. They have no say in the matter after 15 years. EU referendum: The Conservatives have promised one if they win the next general election, but many people living in the EU will not be able to vote. The slogan for the American War of Independence is apt: ‘No taxation without representation.’ petitions? In exactly the same way as we treat their election promises, with contempt. The parliamentary system is a rotating dictatorship. In terms of electoral accountability it is no different from any former Eastern Bloc self-styled ‘democracy’, like the former German ‘Democratic’ Republic (GDR). I am inclined to riposte; does voting matter? Taking part in such an artfully manipulated fraudulent democracy can only achieve one thing, encourage the elite to keep fooling us.
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NEWS
Bacares’ Dia del Romero battles the elements BACARES refused to give up its celebrations for Dia del Romero during freezing temperatures and driving rain. The revellers moved the entire celebration from the town square to an
No bail for killer A 38-YEAR-OLD man has been sent to prison without bail until his case reaches court. The man, FER, is accused of killing a 54-year-old man with a blunt instrument at his home in Almeria City. According to information given to the judge, the killer blow to the victim’s head came after a heated argument about the payment for a shop at the victim’s home on Calle Celia Viñas on January 27. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services.
underground car park. According to the local mayor, Jose Segura, the town had never seen weather quite like it in previous years’ celebrations. While the town gathered for mass at the Church of Santo Cristo, heavy rain and wind battered the town so the decision was made to move the giant paella pans and entertainment to the underground parking. The following day brought sunshine and therefore the party was able to continue in its original location. Anacrusa, the municipal band, provided live music on both days and entertained the town’s residents, council representatives and visitors from as far afield as Catalonia. Home-made doughnuts, local wines, sausage and cakes were all available alongside the giant paellas. In all, the day was declared a success and the weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of the hundreds of partygoers that participated in the two day festival.
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AENA questions from the PSOE MARIA DEL CONSUELO RUMI, the deputy for the Socialist party (PSOE) in Almeria has formally written to the ruling PP government to ask about details of the privatisation of AENA. Specifically, Rumi has asked what will happen to Almeria airport after AENA is privatised. Rumi said: “What are the guarantees offered by the government for
QUESTIONS: Maria del Consuelo Rumi (centre). the maintenance of the airport?
What about the mobility of citizens and the stability of thousands of jobs?” Rumi has also asked whether any of the 46 affected airports will be at risk. The PSOE has made its objections to the privatisation known. In November 2014 the PSOE held a meeting with the management at Almeria airport and their workers to offer its support. AENA’S privatisation is set to culminate on February 11, 2015 with shares going to institutional and private investors including the Financiera Alba, Ferrovial and The Children’s Investment Fund.
NEWS
Travelling office in HuercalOvera HUERCAL-OVERA Council has set up a mobile office to make it easier for residents to carry out administrative tasks. The mobile office will spend one day per week in three separate districts of HuercalOvera. Tuesday is at Urcal’s social hall. Wednesday is at San Francisco’s social hall. Thursday is in Overa social hall. The opening hours will be 9.30am until 12 noon. The mayor of Huercal -Overa, Domingo Fernandez, explained: “Commissioning this mobile office brings the town to its residents and makes it easier for them to carry out administrative tasks, as most will now not have to travel into the town centre. They now have access to processes that can be done in the villages. “In addition to the new services we are creating, all residents will now have to make less effort.”
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NEWS
More court time for alleged killer of Baby Miriam JONATHAN MOYA GONZALEZ, the alleged abductor and murderer of 16-month-old Baby Miriam in Huelva is in court, this time in Almeria. This time Gonzalez faces charges of misappropriation of a second hand motorcycle, posing as an interested buyer. He asked to try the bike out, promising to return it, but failed to return it to the owner in Roquetas de Mar. The hearing, which will be held in Criminal Court Two of Almeria, is the first of three court appearances for Gonzalez. The second court appearance for Gonzalez is for posing as an
intermediary for the sale of a stolen BMW car. He imitated the rightful owner of the BMW, including forging his signature on transfer paperwork. Trafico detected the alleged fraud. The prosecution is seeking 26 years in prison for the crime of kidnapping and murdering Baby Miriam. Gonzalez allegedly repeatedly hit the child around the head with a blunt instrument in order to silence her. He then allegedly suffocated her with transparent film. The killing of Baby Miriam allegedly came after kidnapping her for four days.
Gonzalez, currently in custody for the Baby Miriam trial, allegedly put the lifeless child in a small travel bag with clothing and 15 stones to ensure the body sank when thrown into water. Gonzalez claims that Baby Miriam died because she fell out of his arms as he ran down a hill. Shortly after he was arrested on December 28 2012 for the alleged crimes against the child, Gonzalez also faced several pending convictions for scams and misappropriations. In all those cases, except one, he admitted his guilt and made deals with the prosecutors.
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NEWS
Special gymnasts SOPHIA Wellness Centre in Arboleas would like us to make a special mention of four unique young gymnasts. Time has flown for the gym as it has now been open a year. When it first opened, only a few could manage a forward roll, but now they are holding handstands and producing dive forward rolls and round-offs. Some are doing back walkovers and one gymnast has learned back flicks. It is a fantastic achievement from just one hour per week recreational gymnastics. Onto the girls, starting with Aimee Perez, who only joined in November 2014 but is already showing natural talent. Ellen Maydew, Jingles Smith and Lulu Bamford are also receiving a
From L to R: Lulu Bamford, Ellen Maydew and Jingles Smith.
New recruit, Aimee Perez. hearty mention as they have worked so hard. Stacey and the team at Sophia’s would like to congratulate the whole squad on their performance and look forward to seeing how they improve further in 2015. Stacey would also like to say
“break a leg” (not literally) to all the gymnasts performing in the Mother Goose pantomime. If anyone has fundraising events and would like the girls to do a display, please contact Stacey by email on info@sophias.es. The 30 gymnasts are currently working towards a May fiesta.
NEWS
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Racing for Unicef CHILDREN from schools in Huercal-Overa have shown their caring side by racing for Unicef. The children from secondary schools in the area took part in this second race for the charity. The activity was supported by HuercalOvera’s department of Sports with a twofold purpose. First, to raise
money for Unicef and secondly to encourage sport among youngsters. This year IES Cura Valera organised the race under the slogan, Gotas para Niger (Drops for Niger). The run took place at Huercal-Overa fairground, the same venue as 2014’s event. Councillor for Sports, Alonso Mena, joined the
students and teachers for the race. The money raised via the registrations was donated entirely to Unicef. Unicef is a driving force behind the rights of children all over the world. They work with decision makers to make changes and overcome poverty, violence, disease and discrimination.
Sanitation improved In 20 rural roads in the municipality of Mojácar, sanitation works have been carried out. Roads like Alcantarilla, Loma de la Faz, el Camino de la Nava, el Camino de las Pilas, Huerta de las Parras, Huertas de Abajo, Camino Alcudia, Cuesta Chilla, El Río, Mancaperros, Mícar, Los Gurullos and Barranco Ruz have been improved. Works are focusing on cleaning and maintaining merging pathways for the reconstruction of natural elements that make the roadsides and waste
collection. Scuppers have also been restored to prevent natural disasters caused by rainfall. This task is being conducted by municipal workers due to the neighbours’ appeal. They own land and homes in this natural environment. The works councillor at Mojácar Town Hall, Agustín Montoya has emphasised that this action was demanded by farmers who work on farms in the area, as well as neighbours and residents who have now got better pedestrian and vehicular access to their homes.
Cyclist killed A MAN in his 30s and of sub-Saharan origin has died after being hit by a car while riding his bicycle in Nijar. Local Police in Nijar reported that the event took place at 5.30pm on Thursday, January 29 on the AL3108 road linking the villages of San Isidro and San Jose. They added that the cyclist was hit by a man of Moroccan origin and are investigating the circumstances of the accident.
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NEWS
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Advertising Feature
Believe in LIBERTY SEGUROS campaign
‘BELIEVE in the market leader’ is the main message Liberty Seguros, the expat’s number one choice of insurance company, wants to convey to its evergrowing international customer base across Spain. The campaign, geared to reaffirm its position as the favourite choice when it comes to insurance, is focused heavily in areas including the Costa Blanca, Costa Calida, Costa Almería, Costa del Sol, the Canaries and the Balearics. Liberty emphasises its: ‘better care, better service and better insurance’ attributes, as well as simplicity and convenience, in dealing with a company that works with
SPACE MISSION: Children learnt about science through theatre.
LIBERTY: Better care, service and insurance. over 200 brokers with face to face personal assistance at all stages of the insurance process. As Iván Ortego, Expatriates’ Commercial Manager of Liberty Seguros, explains: “Many expats are disenchanted at having to listen to recorded messages from a machine and prefer to discuss their insurance needs with a friendly face
in one of our offices and to receive advice from an expert in their field. “Our products include car, home, marine, pet, commercial and personal liability, and are specifically suited and written for expatriates in their language in an easy to understand format.” For friendly advice, call 902 255 258 or go to www.libertyexpatriates.es
Theatre with a scientific theme
ALMOST 1,000 children from Huercal Overa schools enjoyed a trip to the theatre with a scientific theme. The theatre group entertained the schoolchildren with a representation of a space mission. The purpose of the play was to encourage a love of science in young children by mixing it with theatre and fun. This enabled the children to enjoy a break from their usual routine with a day out, but ensuring that they
still benefited from some education. Councillor for Culture, Antonio Lazaro, commented: “Children are the cornerstone of our society. They are our future and so we have prepared a broad programme.” The schoolchildren have two more theatre presentations to look forward to. ‘Martinez y el bosque de papel’ is on February 13, while February 23 brings ‘Cuento de Brujas’.
Smart meters for urban water THE southern part of Retamar in Almeria City will soon have 1,000 smart meters as part of the project ‘Urban Water’. The scheme aims to improve water supply efficiency. The area is the
first to receive the meters as part of the Urban Water project, which is made up of 11 partners from several European countries. Implementation begins next month through water company FCC Aqualia.
Representative for Promotion and Citizen Services, Manuel Guzman, said: “We will proceed towards the installation of 1,000 smart meters plus a fixed network in southern Retamar allowing for
customer interaction through new technologies, and affect service improvement and cost savings while also providing advanced solutions for remote meter reading and measurement.”
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NEWS
Charity bash a massive success APPROXIMATELY 1,000 partygoers headed to the Puerto Marina hotel in Mojacar for The Big Mac, a massive charity event to raise money for MACS cancer support charity. Musical performers, dressed to the nines, entertained the crowds as they danced along and enjoyed the music while raising money for a great cause. Many popular local entertainers took part including the Twilight Shadows, Jill Farmiloe, Kev Moore, Kay Frances, Brendan O’Dee, Efervescentes y Tauriton, Rocio Starry, Scratch and Sniff, and Phil and The Invisibles. Stallholders and bar staff looked after the partygoers from noon until late and there was a tremendous response for the huge tombola. Businesses and individuals from across Almeria showed their support by providing gifts, vouchers, their services and goodies for the tombola, which raised additional funds for the MACS charity. Despite the threat of wind and rain, the sun came out to ensure that everyone remained dry
HUGE TURNOUT: Audience listens to Jill Farmiloe performing.
BOOGIE TIME: Partygoers danced the afternoon away.
throughout the day. For those attendees who didn’t want to dance there were many stalls offering handmade goods; food and drink flew over the counters for hungry revellers and of course the tombola attracted lots of attention. There was even a monitored play area for the younger guests. An area was set aside where people could light candles in memory of loved ones or those still fighting cancer.
Messages of support and thanks have been flooding in to the organisers with attendees praising the well managed event. One of organisers, Kay Frances, said: “Thank you so much everyone who helped make the
day such a success. There was amazing support from the community at The Big Mac, an unbelievable 1,000 people came through the door. A cast of 22 brilliant artists, dressed in their finery, wowed the crowd with their professionalism, enthusiasm and fantastic music from 12.30pm until 10pm. The bar staff and volunteers wore the biggest smiles despite a long and manic day and the public appeared in droves in a massive show of support for MACS. Thank you so much to every one of you.” The Big Mac event has so far raised €5,887.67 for the charity. ON SONG: Jill Farmiloe.
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ALMERIA IPAD WINNER
Congratulations
PERFECT: EWN’s Rebecca presents Murphy with his iPad mini.
M
ANY congratulations to Murphy Stevens from Arboleas, the winner of an iPad mini for the Almeria region. When Euro Weekly News offered the chance to win an iPad mini to readers who came up with suggestions on how we could improve our newspapers 18year-old Motocross fan Murphy was
direct: “I wouldn’t make any changes to the company because it is perfect as it is.” Murphy, who is out and about on his bike constantly, has worked for Almeria Homes for the past 18 months but is thinking about returning to the UK to continue his studies, so his iPad mini will prove invaluable.
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NEWS
Pound in the pocket cheer or another lost decade of gloom? THE good news is that the pound in the tourist’s pocket - and the spending power of British pensioners living in Spain - has been boosted in recent days. The European Central Bank’s decision to splash out €1.1 trillion on ‘quantitative easing’ to flood the money markets with cash has weakened the euro, meaning more spending money for people with Sterling incomes living in Spain. It is also good news for the tourism industry, worth around €60 billion a year to Spain. The country is starting to look even better value again after suffering from the effects of a weak pound for several years. It should all be a timely boost for the country that is slowly emerging from recession. The average British pensioner should certainly be feeling the difference after all the gloom over the loss of winter fuel payments. With the exchange rate at the time of writing at €1.328 to the pound (Tuesday, February 3)
EATING OUT: More spending power means local businesses benefit.
compared to €1.245 last September, there has been a significant rise in spending power. But looking at the wider picture, the bad news is that Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned that the Eurozone faces another ‘lost decade’ if significant structural changes in the area are not made. Speaking in Dublin on Wednesday January 28, Carney said that the Eurozone should ease its austerity policies otherwise it could see another decade of low growth. He said: “Since the financial crisis all major advanced economies have been in a debt trap where low growth deepens the burden of debt, prompting the private sector to cut spending further. “Persistent economic weakness damages the extent to which economies can recover. Skills and capital atrophy. Workers become discouraged and leave the labour force. Prospects decline and the noose tightens. “As difficult as it has been, some countries, including the US and the UK, are now escaping this trap. Others in the euro area are sinking deeper.” He went on to say: “Europe needs a
comprehensive, coherent plan to anchor expectations, build confidence and escape its debt trap.” So looking to the future are things looking good or is the gloom set to continue? There is no doubt that the expat on the street with a UK income is better off. And the many owners of businesses that rely on British tourists, whether they be bars and restaurants or car hire companies or hotels, will be looking forward with optimism if the pound continues to grow stronger and hits the predicted heights of €1.40. Some money market insiders even foresee it topping €1.60 after the Greek election results brought in a left-wing, antiausterity party. Or should everyone be sinking into a gloomy morass at the prospect of another lost decade? What do you think? Are you feeling richer? Are you looking forward to the future with optimism? Or do you feel the long-term outlook is not too rosy and the hatches should remain firmly battened down? Let us know what you think at www.euroweeklynews. com
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NEWS
Breath tests for pedestrians IF you have a drink too many and decide to walk home, be careful as proposed new regulations mean you might face a breath test. And you could get reprimanded for speeding as well if you can manage to stagger at a faster pace than ‘a normal stride.’ In a report, Spain’s traffic department, the DGT, has proposed new “tools to foster better relations and coexistence between pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and vehicles.” While proposals for higher drink-driving fines and better regulation of driving schools are probably not too controversial, the plans hidden away in the report to give alcohol and drug tests to pedestrians involved in traffic accidents or offences are more contentious. Now Spanish government advisory body, the Council for State, has queried the proposals in a report, said Europa Press. The council is worried that it is a step too far which would restrict the freedom and invade the privacy of people as they go about their daily life. The proposal to restrict the speed of
PEDESTRIANS: Don’t stagger too fast! pedestrians to a normal stride could even amount to a ban on jogging if police enforce the proposed laws in an overzealous manner. But the DGT has said that there is nothing new in the alcohol test proposals, with spokesperson Maria Segui Gomez explaining that municipal police “have been carrying out these tests for months - there is nothing new here that will allow us to start sanctioning pedestrians, whether with fines or penalty points.” She added that in 2014 more than half the 370 pedestrians killed on Spanish roads had alcohol or drugs in their blood.
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Benejuzar budgets BENEJUZAR has approved a budget for 2015 of €3 million, with around €1 million planned on investments to improve the infrastructure of the town.
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HIGH winds and strong waves caused severe damage at some of the La Herradura and San Cristobal beaches, as well as the Reina Sofia promenade. Reparation works will start shortly in the area.
Doctor exams
UNION officials are calling on Elche’s General Hospital to increase the number of nurses and nursing assistants to deal with the increase in cases of flu expected in the coming days.
Toy sales FOREIGN sales by Alicante Province toy manufacturers rose 6.4 per cent between January and November last year, with exports to the USA up by 40 per cent.
COSTA BLANCA NORTH
Home brew THE second vintage of Benitachell’s ‘Moraig’ organic white wine was formally presented to a gathering of experts in Valencia City. It was chosen to conclude the Tastavins wine-tasting course.
Getting places ALICANTE City mayor Miguel Valor and Benidorm’s Tourism councillor Gema Amor meet next week to discuss the previouslyvetoed AVE station shuttle bus. Valor is more open to dialogue than his predecessor, Amor said.
Straight flush MAIN drainage will be brought to 150 Denia homes in Les Marines and 85 in Montgo next September. There are still 22,000 properties in the town relying on septic tanks.
Tree sanction TWO Teulada property-owners who felled 11 pines without permits were given six
ALMOST 10 years after the project began, Sabinillas sports centre is finally reaching completion and will be ready to open in March, Manilva Mayor Diego Urieta has announced.
Damage in Almuñecar
ANTI-EVICTION platforms have managed to halt the planned eviction of a family with a three-year-old child in Catral. They had been paying their rent, but it seems the banks had not received payments from the property owners.
More nurses
Sports at last
AXARQUIA
Eviction stopped
AROUND 3,000 health sciences graduates in the Valencia Region have sat exams to get a seat on one of the specialised training courses offered by the Ministry of Health in public hospitals.
NEWS DESK
Police honoured AXARQUIA: Nerja continues to be one of the most requested settings for TV productions and this time it was an Estonian channel that chose the town.
Estonian TV visits photogenic Nerja A TEAM from National Estonian Television (ETV) visited Nerja to shoot a tourism programme titled Reisile Minuga (Travel with Me), a weekly production featuring Nerja and other Andalucian towns. The show is broadcast on Saturdays at peak viewing time and this particular episode will be released in February. The programme is not only broadcast in Estonia but also in countries such as Finland and Russia, and attracts a high audience share of more than 20 per cent. months to replace them. If they fail to comply they will be fined €150 for each tree.
Fakes seized THE managers of three Chinese bazaars in Benidorm and a fourth person were arrested and charged with selling fake designer goods. Police impounded 1,196 handbags, wallets, sweaters, shirts, caps, watches and earphones.
COSTA DEL SOL
It is hosted by Ivo Linna, a very popular Estonian singer who represented his country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996 together with Maaria-Liis Ilus, with a song titled ‘Kaelakee hääl.’ The visiting team have recorded scenes at Nerja’s beaches, Europe’s Balcony, the town’s historic centre and the Nerja Caves. Mr Linna commented that Nerja is one of the most ‘camera-friendly’ towns with movies such as Fathom, featuring Raquel Welch, shot in the 60s near the town’s Playa de Calahonda.
Attracting birds LOCOS DE PARQUE volunteers are busy building nesting boxes for La Linea’s Princesa Sofia Park, which thanks to the group’s efforts has an ever-increasing bird community.
Dog friendly TORREMOLINOS has opened two new dog-parks, one in Los Palacios area and another on Calle Francisco de Jorge Gallardo near Parque Olivar.
Bilingual leaflets
Saving on lighting
OJEN Council will be distributing 4,000 leaflets in both Spanish and English to tourists in Malaga Province this year including information on local attractions and hiking routes to attract visitors.
MIJAS Council expects to save 24,300 watts of electricity per day once current work to change the bulbs on 162 streetlights on the Carretera de Mijas is complete.
NINE officers of Velez-Malaga’s Local Police were honoured in an event for their performance on an illegal tobacco operation carried out in October. Officers confiscated 24,000 illegal packs of cigarettes.
Padel success MORE than 150 people participated in Nerja’s Padel Tournament at the town’s indoor sports centre. Winners were David Ponce and Maria Urbano.
Sand loss THE Playa Granada in Motril has lost a substantial amount of sand during the rain storms of the past week. Back in November, the council had spent €544,000 to add 150,000 cubic metres of sand.
Beach improvement NERJA will receive more than €120,000 to renovate its beaches. Head of the town’s Beach Department explained that aid was provided by the Commonwealth of Costa del Sol-Axarquia municipalities together with the Provincial Council of Malaga.
MALLORCA
New mosque THE new Mosque of Porreres will be located in front of the sports complex of Ses Forques and beside the Secondary School of Porreres. The Muslim community was forced to change the location of the new building due to neighbours’ protests.
Fire in Sa Pobla MALLORCA’S firefighters put out a fire which ignited at a home in sa Pobla. The fire completely destroyed the bottom floor of the property but there were no casualties.
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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
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STAT OF WEEK SOCIAL SECURITY allocated the record sum of €8.164 billion for contributory pensions in January, chiefly for old age and widowhood. This was 3.1 per cent more than in January 2014.
OHL wants €783.5 million compensation after Qatar rescinded its €1.759 billion contract to build the Sidra medical centre. The Qatar Foundation and the Spanish construction company parted ways last July after the former accused OHL of “lack of diligence” and failing to meet deadlines. The project was 95 per cent completed
SIDRA-MEDICAL-CENTER-COURTESY-THE-ARCHITECT
Qatar Foundation and OHL at loggerheads INCOMPLETE: Sidra medical centre.
AENA shares sell like hotcakes TRADING in AENA shares begins on February 11, but demand already outstripped supply at prior meetings for investors. The price will be fixed on February 9, but shares in Spain’s airports operator are expected to fetch between €43 and €55 each. This puts a €2.31 billion price tag on the share offer and AENA’s total value at between €6.45 billion and €8.25 billion. Privatisation is partial, as the state retains control with a 49 per cent stake. Twenty-one per cent of AENA shares were allocated last November to three key investors with the remaining 28 per
cent going to new shareholders, including retail buyers. Spain’s airports handle 195.9 million passengers a year but are capable of handling an annual 335 million, said AENA’s president Jose Manuel Vargas. This, coupled with scant need for further investment make the company an attractive prospect, Vargas added. The excess capacity corresponds to the country’s biggest airports, he said. Passenger traffic could grow 67 per cent at Barajas airport in Madrid, by 46 per cent at El Prat (Barcelona) while Malaga, Alicante and Gran Canaria could all double their current rates.
B
usiness extra
Car boost SPANISH car manufacturing plants produced a total of 2.4 million vehicles last year. Production in 2014 rose by 11.08 per cent, generating the best figures in the last five years.
€1bn offer AER LINGUS would accept a €1 billion offer from IAG, owner of Iberia, Vueling and BA. IAG would first have to negotiate with shareholders, the Irish government and Ryanair, plus the unions, the airline said.
Zara chief is landlord to rivals INDITEX owner Amancio Ortega has bought another prime property, this time in Madrid’s Gran Via. The world’s fourth-richest man now owns the building in Spain’s equivalent of Oxford Street where Mango and H&M already have premises. Primark has its Spanish flagship store there and Inditex itself, under its Lefties label, is also present in the 36,376square metre, nine-storey building that
is also the headquarters of the SER radio network. It was sold by the Longshore group which is headed by Drago Capital and includes Phoenix and Sun Capital. Neither seller nor purchaser has revealed how much money changed hands in the deal. The Gran Via purchase is in line with other investments made by Inditex’s investment division Pontegadea.
and due to be handed over during the first four months of 2015, the company maintained. It initiated an arbitration process supervised by the International Chamber of Commerce because the Foundation’s accusations had no legitimate basis, OHL said. The €783.5 million compensation claim excludes “additional concepts yet to be calculated” and could rise higher, OHL warned.
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E W N 5 - 11 February 2015 / Costa de Almería
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C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 4.45 0.97 0.65 0.15 8.00 0.55 13.00 0.84 3.25 0.29 3.50 0.54 -2.00 -0.19 -10.00 -0.92 13.50 0.44 25.25 0.53 0.75 0.14 4.50 0.45 7.25 1.43 0.95 0.41 -1.00 -0.22 33.15 3.74 22.00 1.52 4.88 1.15
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British Amrcn Tobacco 3,768.50 British Land Co 837.75 British Sky Broadcstng Gr 929.75 BT Group 422.05 Bunzl 1,895.00 Burberry Group 1,748.50 Capita Group (The) 1,116.00
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C O M PA N Y MMM 3M Co AXP American Express Co T AT&T Inc BA Boeing Co CAT Caterpillar Inc CVX Chevron Corp CSCO Cisco Systems Inc KO The Coca-Cola Co DIS Walt Disney Co DD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co XOM Exxon Mobil Corp GE General Electric Co GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc HD Home Depot Inc IBM International Business Machine... INTC Intel Corp JNJ Johnson & Johnson JPM JPMorgan Chase and Co MCD McDonald's Corp MRK Merck & Co Inc MSFT Microsoft Corp NKE Nike Inc PFE Pfizer Inc PG Procter & Gamble Co TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies Corp UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc VZ Verizon Communications Inc V Visa Inc WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc
PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 162.30 80.69 32.92 145.37 79.97 102.53 26.37 41.17 90.96 71.21 87.42 23.89 172.41 104.42 153.31 33.04 100.14 54.38 92.44 60.28 40.40 92.25 31.25 84.29 102.82 114.78 106.25 45.71 254.91 84.98
-3.83 -1.31 -0.04 -2.41 -0.03 -0.47 -0.86 -0.93 -2.26 -1.50 -0.16 -0.19 -3.58 -3.20 -2.17 -1.17 -2.24 -1.29 -0.83 -1.81 -1.61 -2.62 -0.58 -1.38 -1.72 -1.67 -3.14 -0.40 +6.91 -2.74
-2.31% -1.60% -0.12% -1.63% -0.04% -0.46% -3.14% -2.21% -2.42% -2.06% -0.18% -0.79% -2.03% -2.97% -1.40% -3.42% -2.19% -2.32% -0.89% -2.92% -3.83% -2.76% -1.82% -1.61% -1.65% -1.43% -2.87% -0.87% +2.79% -3.12%
3.6M 7.2M 56.3M 11.3M 8.2M 20.6M 38.4M 19.2M 10.2M 5.4M 22.7M 54.7M 3.0M 7.0M 6.6M 38.7M 10.7M 26.9M 12.4M 12.1M 78.0M 4.1M 43.1M 14.7M 3.7M 4.6M 5.4M 22.8M 5.5M 10.3M
1.32813
0.75293
C O M PA N Y
C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 16.50 8.25 1.75 4.15 -2.00 19.50 -2.00
0.44 0.99 0.19 0.99 -0.11 1.13 -0.18
NET VOLUME 70,121.74 8,453.53 15,999.75 34,126.82 6,349.39 7,693.19 7,395.75
PRICE
CHANGE NET / %
Books-A-Million, Inc. $ 2.52 ImmunoGen, Inc. $ 7.63 VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short Term ETN $ 3.54 Quotient Limited $ 15.45 Performant Financial Corporation $ 4.96 Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 201.03 Coherent, Inc. $ 61.88 Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. $ 2.89 Amazon.com, Inc. $ 354.53 Synaptics Incorporated $ 76.81 Harmonic Inc. $ 7.65
0.842 ▲ 50.18% 1.43 ▲ 23.06% 0.55 ▲ 18.39% 2.36 ▲ 18.03% 0.75 ▲ 17.81% 30.34 ▲ 17.77% 7.58 ▲ 13.96% 0.35 ▲ 13.78% 42.75 ▲ 13.71% 8.50 ▲ 12.44% 0.74 ▲ 10.71%
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Most Declined Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. $ 19.44 7.18 ▼ 26.97% Presbia PLC $ 6.51 1.64 ▼ 20.12% Computer Programs and Systems, Inc. $ 49.26 9.68 ▼ 16.42% Tuesday Morning Corp. $ 17.70 3.33 ▼ 15.83% Strattec Security Corporation $ 63 11.51 ▼ 15.45% ScanSource, Inc. $ 34.48 5.02 ▼ 12.71% Cnova N.V. $ 5.50 0.78 ▼ 12.42% Silicon Graphics International Corp $ 9.43 1.18 ▼ 11.12% Cass Information Systems, Inc $ 43.82 5.11 ▼ 10.44% VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short Term ETN$ 24.97 2.85 ▼ 10.24% Unilife Corporation $ 3.97 0.45 ▼ 10.18%
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) CHANGE Carnival 2,964.50 -32.50 Centrica 292.20 -1.60 Coca-Cola HBC 1,090.00 19.00 Compass Group 1,162.50 11.50 CRH 1,701.00 98.00 Diageo 1,971.75 1.75 Direct Line Insurance 309.95 -2.55 Dixons Carphone 441.90 6.90 easyJet 1,789.00 -73.00 Experian 1,174.50 1.50 Fresnillo 879.75 -19.25 Friends Life Group Limitd 400.15 1.75 G4S 284.70 -0.50 GKN 370.90 2.30 GlaxoSmithKline 1,471.75 4.75 Glencore Xstrata 248.60 -0.30 Hammerson 693.50 5.00 Hargreaves Lansdown 1,011.00 1.00 HSBC Holdings 606.05 -3.55 Imperial Tobacco Group 3,131.00 7.00 InterContinental Hotels 2,663.50 1.50 International Cnsldatd 539.75 -4.75 Intertek Group 2,289.50 -3.50 Intu Properties 368.55 3.55 ITV 221.60 1.60 Johnson Matthey 3,291.00 30.00 Kingfisher 338.60 -4.20 Land Securities Group 1,286.00 12.00 Legal & General Group 267.20 -0.70 Lloyds Banking Group 73.75 -0.00 London Stock Exchange 2,368.50 3.50 Marks & Spencer Group 485.25 0.85 Meggitt 544.50 5.50 Mondi 1,199.00 10.00 Morrison (Wm) Sprmrkts 179.35 -0.55 National Grid 936.10 0.60 Next 7,217.50 -17.50 Old Mutual 208.20 0.10 Pearson 1,360.00 9.00 Persimmon 1,588.00 -4.00 Prudential 1,623.75 3.75 Randgold Resources 5,597.50 -87.50 Reckitt Benckiser Group 5,642.50 12.50 Reed Elsevier 1,159.00 3.00 Rio Tinto 2,903.25 -21.75 Rolls-Royce Group 880.50 -11.00 Royal Bank of Scotland 364.65 2.25 Royal Dutch Shell 2,046.50 28.50 Royal Dutch Shell 2,143.00 38.50 Royal Mail 432.40 -2.60 RSA Insurance Group 452.40 -1.90 SABMiller 3,621.00 -4.50 Sage Group (The) 479.90 -0.30 Sainsbury (J) 262.80 7.40 Schroders 2,899.00 1.00 Severn Trent 2,146.00 -6.00 Shire 4,968.50 114.50 Smith & Nephew 1,194.00 3.00 Smiths Group 1,132.00 5.00 Sports Direct Internatinl 718.00 6.50 SSE 1,605.50 -3.50 St James's Place 861.75 3.75 Standard Chartered 882.00 -5.70 Standard Life 401.20 -1.80 Taylor Wimpey 134.75 -0.65 Tesco 225.28 0.53 Travis Perkins 1,929.00 7.00 Tui Ag New Ord Reg Shs 1,148.00 -1.00 Tui Ag Ord Reg Shs Npv 1,176.50 -0.50 Tullow Oil 376.70 11.70 Unilever 2,920.50 -9.50 United Utilities Group 1,020.00 -7.00 Vodafone Group 233.60 -0.90 Weir Group 1,692.00 12.00 Whitbread 5,027.50 22.50 Wolseley 3,860.00 -2.00 WPP Group 1,473.00 7.00
% C H G. -1.08 -0.54 1.77 1.00 6.11 0.09 -0.82 1.59 -3.92 0.13 -2.14 0.44 -0.18 0.62 0.32 -0.12 0.73 0.10 -0.58 0.22 0.06 -0.87 -0.15 0.97 0.73 0.92 -1.23 0.94 -0.26 -0.01 0.15 0.18 1.02 0.84 -0.31 0.06 -0.24 0.05 0.67 -0.25 0.23 -1.54 0.22 0.26 -0.74 -1.23 0.62 1.41 1.83 -0.60 -0.42 -0.12 -0.06 2.90 0.03 -0.28 2.36 0.25 0.44 0.91 -0.22 0.44 -0.64 -0.45 -0.48 0.24 0.36 -0.09 -0.04 3.21 -0.32 -0.68 -0.38 0.71 0.45 -0.05 0.48
VOLUME 6,471.86 14,660.24 3,906.09 19,228.22 11,867.07 49,634.22 4,689.75 5,013.12 7,399.99 11,648.99 6,622.83 5,633.39 4,429.80 6,124.03 71,521.90 32,619.70 5,405.76 4,809.59 117,382.82 29,942.59 6,288.98 11,091.60 3,701.64 4,815.02 8,878.26 6,690.57 8,079.62 10,087.19 15,942.57 52,880.80 8,217.66 7,951.42 4,307.70 4,370.17 4,199.64 35,254.15 11,068.05 10,220.38 11,109.41 4,888.04 41,695.61 5,277.09 40,475.71 13,143.70 41,417.52 16,738.95 23,114.57 78,758.95 51,573.20 4,356.00 4,616.40 58,682.19 5,183.11 4,893.68 6,569.34 5,164.09 28,678.78 10,673.94 4,452.83 4,267.05 15,960.00 4,455.56 21,989.65 9,652.92 4,408.44 18,226.37 4,781.32 13,995.44 N/A 3,329.83 37,746.54 7,016.63 62,318.58 3,594.40 9,087.43 10,044.40 19,285.84
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
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5 - 11 February 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
37
Business is not a charity AN article recently caught my eye that reminded me of the sacrifices made by performers who offer their free support to charities. Why artistes are singled out to do so is beyond me. I can imagine the expression on plumbers or lawyers faces if it was suggested that they donate their fee to a charity. What others do is their business. I do think such artistes should be better appreciated. I recall a talented professional piano duo being invited to perform at a charity’s gala. Being a charity there would not of course be a fee. The pair gave up their free time. On their arriving at
Talking shop Mike Walsh Mike Walsh was for 20 years Regional Assessment Manager for the Guild of Master Craftsmen, Britain’s biggest quality assurance body for businesses.
www.michaelwalsh.es • 966 786 932
the venue the two were flippantly waved to a stall-sized area without shade. At no time during their performances were they offered a meal, drink or even a word of thanks. Personally, I think many charities,
beneficiary to many perks denied to the rest of us, are already advantaged profitable concerns. There should be a much better partnership between charities and those who serve our communities. Substantial funds are raised at charity events; the venues where they are held do well out of bar and restaurant sales too. Guest speakers, comedians, sportsmen, politicians too, are paid handsomely for speaking at charity and fundraising events. My advice is, if asked to support an event of any kind, to negotiate a reasonable fee. A concession might be made as to the
size of the fee. Perhaps, wherever an event is held, an offer might be made in return of an overnight stay or dinner vouchers. Or, is that too charitable? Charities and artistes will be better rewarded if respect is mutual, there is understanding, and a complementary partnership. Charities tend to be well connected in the leisure industry. They might come to an arrangement with a venue by which supporting entertainers, or any other service that offers their support gratis, are provided with a paid for booking at a later date. That way everyone wins. It is called business.
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E W N 5 - 11 February 2015 / Costa de Almería
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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
Sterling hits 7-year high versus the euro THE great British pound (GBP) recently rallied to a seven-year high against the euro. The move has been driven by the announcement of Quantitative Easing (QE) by the European Central Bank (ECB) at their January 22 meeting. The ECB unleashed a 1.1 trillion euro QE plan to stimulate the Eurozone economy and boost inflation. The programme will see the ECB buy a total of 60 billion euros of public and private assets per month, starting in March 2015 and running through to September 2016. Although the ECB denied that a weaker euro was a target, the impact of the news significantly devalued the euro. A weaker euro will help to boost exports and inflation across the Eurozone, as investors and importers outside the Eurozone take advantage of the exchange rate. The long-term impact of QE in the Eurozone is still very
Ask the expert Peter Loveday Contact me at euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com
uncertain, but when you contrast the monetary policy of Europe who are just embarking on significant easing to that of the UK and the US, who are on the path to monetary tightening, the divergence is very apparent. This difference could in fact drive GBP/EUR higher still and some analysts are pointing towards 1.40 as a target. To achieve the heady heights of 1.40, much will also depend on the ongoing economic recovery in the UK. The UK recently posted its strongest level of growth for eight years
THE EURO: Volatility is expected to remain extremely high. with the annual pace growth of 2.6 per cent, up from 1.7 in the previous year, and confirms the UK is on course to be the world’s fastest growing developed economy for 2014. Admittedly other forecasts are still to post, but the data would place the UK top of IMF current projections for developed economies.
The news will come at a handy time for Prime Minister David Cameron as we enter the last 100 days before the national election on May 7. For the momentum in the pound to continue, the market will be looking for the Bank of England to be moving towards an interest rate increase and future economic data will be
Visit us at our Spanish offices in Costa del Sol, Costa Almeria, North Costa Blanca and South Costa Blanca. Telephone: UK +44 (0) 207 847 9400 SPAIN +34 950 478 914 Email: euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com • www.currenciesdirect.com
Can they ban debtors from pool? Q. We have heard that the Spanish courts have ruled that communities are authorised to ban debtors from using certain community facilities, including the swimming pool. As the president of a large community, with a large debt, this would be very useful to us as a way to encourage owners who owe back community fees to pay up. I am not
sure of how it could be enforced. So my question is: “Can we ban the debtors from using the community pool, and what precedent or law can we quote?” Also the latest book I have is the 2011 edition of ‘You & the Law in Spain.’ Has an updated version been released? P.B. (Costa del Sol)
You and the Law in Spain By David Searl
A. No, the Spanish courts have not ruled that communities may prohibit debtors from using common areas, such as the pool. What has happened is that the General Directorate of Notaries and Land Registries, which rules over Community Statutes and Constitutions, decided in 2012 that communities could include a clause by which they prohibit the debtors from using common areas such as the pool or play areas for tennis or other activities. They base their decision on the fact that these areas are not essential to the right of property of the owners. However, this prohibition has
not been confirmed by the courts. Therefore we cannot be sure that a case
would be won if an owner protested to the judge that he was unlawfully prohibited from using the pool. In strict legal terms, this can be considered as harassment or coercion against the owner. This is the same legal principle that stops landlords from changing locks or cutting off electric or water supplies to tenants who do not pay the rent. In any case, the prohibition clause has to be included in the basic Statutes of the Community and registered in the Land Registry. To answer your question about ‘You & the Law in Spain,’ yes, there is a new 2015 edition, which you can obtain by sending an email to the law firm UbedaRetana & Associates, for the attention of David Searl, at the address given below. And thank you for asking.
Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.
very important, in particular regarding growth, inflation and wage growth. Assuming the wheels do not fall off the UK’s economic recovery, the Bank of England should be raising interest rates within the next 12 months to support the pound. Although the UK recovery and the pound’s relative strength will be an important driver for GBP/EUR, it will be the euro that will be the key protagonist. For the euro the ongoing effect of QE is anticipated to be euro negative. In addition, the euro could potentially face additional pressure from the new antiausterity government in Greece and potential escalation of the Ukraine crisis. Overall the euro is facing significant headwinds for 2015 and volatility is expected to remain extremely high. As it stands, further momentum for GBP/EUR is anticipated possibly towards the key 1.40 level.
GROWN TOGETHER Peter Loveday, Currencies Direct’s Southern European Director, says: Currencies Direct are proud to support Steven, Michel and all the team at Euro Weekly News (EWN). Our long association has gone from strength-to-strength as our businesses have grown together; with eight offices along the Costas and on the islands, Currencies Direct mirrors the areas that the six EWN editions cover – we are in them all! We have found that by having our full-page in the paper every week readers know where to find us; we also have the opportunity to sponsor items and market commentaries. Our marketing spend is important to us and so we make sure we ask each and every client how they came to Currencies Direct – from this we are able to accurately determine our return on investment and how to make our EWN spend effective. Just as Currencies Direct pride themselves on the currency exchange service that we provide for our customers, we also appreciate the service that EWN provides in supporting and connecting the local businesses and expatriate communities.
OPINION & COMMENT
Scant reward in return for giving out so much I HAVE sent this letter to the Work and Pensions committee as dictated by my mother Ruth Ransford. Thank you for giving us the information in order to make our objection. “Please do not take away my heating allowance. I am on a reduced pension and need this money to keep warm. “After six years of apprenticeship my husband emerged as a highlyskilled fitter facing a country in depression with no work, no money. After doing whatever jobs he could find, he slowly built up a small poultry farm. “At the beginning of 1938 he was visited by government officials, asking him to start a job in a nearby factory overhauling cranes and machinery as pre-war work. He went on to work in a blacked-out workshop in Shrewsbury, making essential machinery to produce arms for a war which seemed inevitable. It was hard work with long hours and he was there throughout the war. “After the war my husband set up in business, providing work for others and paying their social security for many, many years. At the beginning he was not required to pay into the pension social security system for himself and did not do so as the business needed money. “Because of the period of nonpayment I find myself on a reduced pension. I am 96-years old and need a hot water bottle to keep warm. We live in sight of the snow-capped mountains of Sierra Nevada and the north winds blow down from them. “I am grateful for the winter fuel allowance which is so necessary to pay for my heating bills during the winter. Please think again before depriving me of it. Thank you.” Christine Ransford, Granada.
Bright flipside I AM a 71-year-old part time expat pensioner, here for five winter months only. I sympathise with Bob Heaven’s plight but must point out that due
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to the plummeting euro, the exchange rate that expat pensioners get for their UK pensions has resulted in a healthy 10 per cent increase in their pensions over the last year. From what I see, the cost of living in Spain has not risen at all so the expats are really in heaven, unlike non-expats. Add to that the low cost of fuel, the abundance of low-cost high quality fruit and vegetables and we are tempted to become permanent expats! Michael Warren, Fuengirola (Malaga)
Brainwashed YET again I read with disappointed shock Mr Walsh’s glib article and his blatant pandering to the totalitarian Putin kleptocracy. If he is a fifthcolumnist, he is doing a pretty poor job of staying under the radar. From what I can gather from past articles, both Mr Walsh and I have been blessed with finding Russian-speaking spouses. I assume, however, that whereas my wife prefers to listen to one of the last few independent media sources out of Russia, his is content to have her brain thoroughly laundered by the Kremlin propaganda machine that now owns 97 per cent of all media in Russia. Does Mr Walsh realise that there are over 20,000 journalists now directly employed by the Kremlin, all instructed to spin the
EWN
41
address as Mojacar, Almeria. Tony Nolan, Alicante
On the cards REGARDING EHIC renewal, I have just renewed ours. The whole exercise was completed over the phone. It was not necessary to fill in any forms, and the cards arrived within 10 days. Information requested was date of birth, address and verbal confirmation that we were already registered in the Spanish health system. Have your old card handy as it has your details on it. The phone number provided for renewal that came with the cards is +44 191 279 0575. Hope this helps. Keith Braddock, La Manga (Murcia).
Cruel customs THE full moon, photographed in Arboleas. Gilly Elliott-Binns, Arboleas (Almeria) party line (yes, the twaddle in his article)? It is important to call Putin’s regime what it is: ultranationalist, populist, authoritarian and directly opposed to liberal democracy. Or put another way: neo-fascist. David Charteri, Palma de Mallorca (Baleares) Note from Mike Walsh: I would love to ask this correspondent to identify his sources. That would be an education in mind control.
Election chance I NOTICED last week that many people seem to think that they cannot vote in the UK elections if they live in Spain. We can vote if we have been on the electoral roll in the last 15 years. Contact the Electoral Commission Office where you were last registered. Diane Baty (by email)
Going nuts I HAVE just spent my 87th birthday screwing up my nuts.
I’ve been lying on my back with my head underneath the bidet after a leaky hose flooded the bathroom. I had previously bought stopend nuts from a local Chinese shop and connected one as a temporary measure to stop the flow but water still leaked from the connection. I spent a whole day sealing and rescrewing my nut without result. Then I remembered I had previously bought a television amplifier from the same shop, but could not connect it due to faulty threads. I replaced the pipe nut with an old nut with immediate success as the new nuts had faulty threads: I did not know that Chinese nuts were different from ours. A difficult job at my age, but thankfully I am no longer leaking. Ernie Barnes, Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmadena (Malaga)
Home address I CANNOT help thinking how amusing and ironic it is that the correspondent Roger Page, bemoaning immigration in the UK and explaining why ‘we’ should leave the EU, gives his
WE READ with dismay about the ill-treatment of horses, donkeys and mules forced to go in fire in some barbaric ritual in honour of St Anthony, the so-called patron saint of animals. When will people realise that such appalling behaviour, coupled with bullfighting and abandoning or killing dogs at the end of the hunting season, earns the contempt of the majority of rightminded European citizens. The failure to act by the Guardia Civil says a lot about Spanish rule of law. Roger and Sylvie Jefferies, Javea (Alicante)
Local help LIKE John Shannan I have had similar problems with Telefonica and Vodaphone over payment and refusal by the companies concerned to resolve it. We took all the paperwork regarding our complaint to our local Consumers’ Office in Palma (Mallorca). Mr Shannan will have one in Almeria and should look online for Oficina de la Atencion Al Consumidor. When we went to the one in Palma they told us that the most complaints they get are about telephone companies. Good luck! Don Donovan, Palma de Mallorca (Baleares)
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.
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E W N 5 - 11 February 2015 / Costa de AlmerĂa
Thursday BBC ONE 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Eat Well for Less? 10:00pm Death in Paradise 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:45pm Question Time 12:45am This Week
BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm The Great Antiques Map of Britain 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm The Great British Sewing Bee 10:00pm Modern Times 11:00pm Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am A Cook Abroad: Dave Myers' Egypt
ITV 5:00pm Mel and Sue 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm The Kyle Files 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Birds of a Feather 10:00pm Car Crash Britain 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Kylie: Kiss Me Once 12:50am Ade at Sea
CH4 5:00pm Shipping Wars 5:45pm Couples Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Jump 10:00pm Cucumber 11:00pm Married Behind Bars 12:05am 24 Hours in Police Custody
CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Classic Car Show 9:00pm Secrets of Rome's Colosseum 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Botched Up Bodies 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side
SKY1 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm David Attenborough's Galapagos 10:00pm Ross Kemp: Extreme World 11:00pm Ascension 12:50am A League of Their Own
Friday BBC ONE 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Six Nations Rugby Union 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Graham Norton Show 12:20am Bluestone 42
BBC TWO 5:40pm Hi-De-Hi! 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm The Great Antiques Map of Britain 8:00pm Six Nations 2015 8:30pm The Wonder of Animals 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Food and Drink 10:00pm The Big Allotment Challenge 11:00pm Rhod Gilbert v Kilimanjaro 11:30pm Newsnight 12:05am Things We Lost in the Fire
ITV 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm The Martin Lewis Money Show 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Benidorm 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Parenthood 1:55am Jackpot247
CH4 5:45pm Couples Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Jump 10:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 11:00pm The Last Leg 12:05am Catastrophe
CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Billion Dollar Wreck Hunt 9:00pm Ice Road Truckers 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:50pm Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 1:15am Super Casino
SKY1 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Show Me Your Garden 10:00pm Stella Ruth Jones's much-loved comedy drama returns. 11:00pm Quiz Nights 12:00am Hawaii Five-0
Saturday BBC ONE 3:00pm Six Nations Rugby Union 5:30pm Six Nations Rugby Union 7:55pm BBC News 8:05pm Regional News 8:10pm Weather 8:15pm The Voice UK 9:35pm The National Lottery 10:25pm Casualty 11:15pm BBC News 11:28pm Weather 11:30pm Match of the Day 1:00am The Football League Show
BBC TWO 3:00pm Cowboy 4:30pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Final Score 6:15pm Horrible Histories 6:45pm The Great British Sewing Bee 7:45pm Flog It! 8:35pm Britain's Tudor Treasure: A Night at Hampton Court 9:35pm Dad's Army 10:05pm QI XL 10:50pm Broken 12:15am Seven Years in Tibet
ITV 3:05pm The Chase 4:05pm Doc Martin 5:10pm Big Star's Little Star 6:05pm Local News and Weather 6:15pm ITV News and Weather 6:30pm You've Been Framed! 7:30pm Harry Hill's Stars in Their Eyes 8:30pm Planet's Got Talent 9:05pm Take Me Out 10:20pm The Jonathan Ross Show 11:20pm ITV News and Weather 11:35pm Hard Target 1:20am Jackpot 247 4:00am The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 4:40am Nightscreen
CH4 5:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm The Big Bang Theory 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Channel 4 News 8:00pm Our Guy in India 9:00pm The World's Weirdest Weather 10:00pm American Pie: Reunion 12:15am Panic Room
CH5 3:35pm U-571 5:45pm Columbo 7:35pm 5 News 7:40pm NCIS 8:25pm NCIS 9:20pm NCIS 10:20pm NCIS 11:15pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 12:10am Law and Order
SKY1 3:00pm Harrow: A Very British School 4:00pm Greggs: More Than Meats the Pie 5:00pm The Simpsons 5:30pm Modern Family 6:00pm Modern Family 6:30pm Modern Family 7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 9:00pm Hawaii Five-0 10:00pm Underworld 12:20am Hawaii Five-0
TV LISTING
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Sunday BBC ONE 3:15pm Escape to the Country 4:00pm Eat Well for Less? 5:00pm Your Home in Their Hands 6:00pm Songs of Praise 6:35pm BBC News 6:50pm Regional News 6:55pm Weather 7:00pm Animals in Love 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Call the Midwife 10:00pm The British Academy Film Awards 12:00am BBC News
BBC TWO 4:15pm Open All Hours 4:45pm To the Manor Born 5:15pm Hi-De-Hi! 5:45pm Flog It! 6:15pm Alaska: Earth's Frozen Kingdom 7:15pm Ski Sunday 8:00pm The Motorway: Life in the Fast Lane 9:00pm Top Gear 10:00pm Dragons' Den 11:00pm Match of the Day 2 12:15am Disconnect
ITV 3:10pm Mel and Sue's Best Bits 4:15pm Tipping Point 5:15pm Moonraker 7:35pm Local News and Weather 7:45pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Get Your Act Together 9:15pm All Star Family Fortunes 10:00pm Mr Selfridge 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:15pm Perspectives 12:15am LV Cup Rugby Highlights
CH4 3:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:25pm The Big Bang Theory 3:55pm The Simpsons 4:25pm Marmaduke 6:10pm Channel 4 News 6:30pm Ice Age 8:00pm The Jump 9:00pm The Hotel 10:00pm Our Guy in India 11:05pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 12:05am Patriot Games 2:10am The Last Leg
CH5 4:15pm Over Her Dead Body 5:55pm 5 News 6:00pm What to Expect When You're Expecting 7:55pm Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous 10:00pm The Bounty Hunter 12:20am Zack and Miri Make a Porno 2:15am Super Casino
SKY1 3:00pm Last Man Standing 3:30pm Last Man Standing 4:00pm Modern Family 4:30pm Modern Family 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Modern Family 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Holidaymakers 9:00pm A League of Their Own 10:00pm Hawaii Five-0 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am Show Me Your Garden
Monday BBC ONE 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Inside Out 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Panorama 10:00pm New Tricks 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm Waterloo Road 12:45am The Graham Norton Show
BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great Antiques Map of Britain 8:00pm Top Gear 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Only Connect 10:00pm A Cook Abroad 11:00pm Backchat with Jack Whitehall and His Dad 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am Weather
ITV 4:00pm Tipping Point 5:00pm Mel and Sue 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Richard Wilson on the Road 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Broadchurch 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:45pm The Jonathan Ross Show 12:45am The Kyle Files 1:10am Jackpot 247
CH4 5:45pm Couples Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Final Jump 10:00pm Heston's Recipe for Romance 11:00pm Catastrophe 11:30pm Bodyshockers 12:35am The 2015 57th Annual Grammy Awards
CH5 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Criminals: Caught on Camera 8:30pm Car Crash TV 9:00pm Police Interceptors 10:00pm Benefits Britain: Life on the Dole 11:00pm 10,000 BC 12:00am 16 Blocks
SKY1 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Holidaymakers 10:00pm 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy 11:00pm Air Ambulance ER 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles
Tuesday BBC ONE 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm The Gift 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm Count Arthur Strong 12:15am Have I Got a Bit More Old News for You
BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great Antiques Map of Britain 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Alex Polizzi: The Fixer 10:00pm Inside the Commons 11:00pm Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am Weather
ITV 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm River Monsters 9:00pm Bad Builders Bang to Rights 10:00pm Young War Widows 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Benidorm 12:10am Carry on Loving
CH4 5:00pm Shipping Wars 5:45pm Couples Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds 10:00pm 24 Hours in Police Custody 11:00pm Kid Criminals 12:00am Married Behind Bars
CH5 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Police Interceptors 9:00pm Costa Del Casualty 10:00pm Killer Psychopaths 11:00pm 10,000 BC 12:00am 33 and Married to Grandpa - Age Gap Love
SKY1 3:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 4:00pm Harrow: A Very British School 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Flash 10:00pm Air Ambulance ER 11:00pm Ross Kemp: Extreme World 12:00am Modern Family
Wednesday BBC ONE 4:45pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm The Great Comic Relief Bake Off 10:00pm Cancer on Trial 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm Match of the Day 1:15am Film 2015
BBC TWO 4:45pm Open All Hours 5:15pm To the Manor Born 5:45pm Hi-De-Hi! 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great Antiques Map of Britain 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Alaska: Earth's Frozen Kingdom 10:00pm Wolf Hall 11:00pm Up the Women 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am Weather
ITV 5:00pm Mel and Sue 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Midsomer Murders 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Exposure 12:40am I Never Knew That About Britain
CH4 5:00pm Shipping Wars 5:45pm Couples Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Restoration Man 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm Bodyshockers 12:00am Heston's Recipe for Romance
CH5 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Cowboy Builders 9:00pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 10:00pm The Ten Faces of Michael Jackson 11:00pm My Family Disapprove Age Gap Love 12:00am Trauma Doctors
SKY1 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Fanatics 10:00pm Stella 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles
50
E W N 5 - 11 February 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
OPINION & COMMENT
Don’t take offence! LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT
Copyright landmarkmedia.
I
SPEAKING OUT: London mayor Boris Johnson.
DON’T know about you but I’m heartily sick of people who consider themselves offended by someone’s piddling remarks or actions. Wimps, who rush to the authorities, wringing their hands and wailing that someone has somehow upset their pathetic equilibriums. These reactions are of course a sign of complete insecurity. To my mind they are like children, who run to mummy snivelling and whining that Johnny had called them a ‘scaredy cat’ or
‘smelly boots’. This latest example, however, just about took the whole tin. When Boris Johnson declared that, in his opinion, the majority of self-styled militants who leave their countries to fight for the likes of IS, are people who have difficulty with the opposite sex, probably spend a great deal of time watching internet porn and are social misfits who have problems communicating with normal society, up pops someone to tell us his remarks may cause offence! This time the general secretary of the ‘Women’s Muslim Network’ was given the opportunity to air her displeasure on Sky News. The lady declared that she really didn’t think the language Boris used was acceptable. Not acceptable to whom? Other toerag terrorists? How does she suggest we should describe these no-brain maniacs? Poor unfortunate, misled children? Soldiers of Allah? Pillars of society? A wonderful example to youngsters everywhere? Fighters to be admired and revered? Give us a break! Sorry
if you feel offended, madam, but these sub-humans are probably everything that Boris has profiled and more. To hell with his language! These misfits are psychopathic wastes of space that, on their return from these killing expeditions, should be locked away forever. Anyone who tries to excuse their actions should also be named as traitors and punished accordingly. I know many of these people consider the British a soft bunch and a nation of ‘sorrys’ (others have made this mistake to their cost!) but this ‘offended’ reaction really does stick in my craw. Well, I get offended when I see people’s heads being chopped off and kicked around by these animals. It also distresses me to hear of the mass killings and the rape and torture carried out in the name of their religion. ‘Offence’ is a question of priorities, ya see.
Keep the faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com
Cassandra Nash
A weekly look - and not entirely impartial reaction to the Spanish political scene
L
UIS BARCENAS, former PP treasurer is no longer on remand after his family scraped together €200,000 bail. He is out because instructing judge Pablo Ruz has now finished his investigation into Barcenas’ involvement in the notorious Gurtel corruption case or his inexplicable millions in Switzerland. Without a passport he is unable to flee, cook up more stories or destroy evidence and there is no reason to keep him in custody until he comes to trial. What he can do, and is doing with much gusto, is sing about the PP party’s alleged double accounting, irregular donations and black money. It might be music to Barcenas’ ears, but tolls like a death-knell in Mariano Rajoy’s.
Comparatively speaking THE governing Partido Popular and the principal Opposition party PSOE are striving to avoid comparing Spain and Greece, according to political commentators. Unlike Greece, Spain did not lie about its finances to join the single currency and it does have industries other than tourism and olives. Despite a thriving submerged economy, the Spanish tend to pay their taxes, something many Greek voters recently failed to do, hoping for a Syriza victory. No, the comparisons are between Podemos and Syriza although Alexis Tsipras revealed Spain’s Izquierda Unida - the former Communist party - was his original inspiration. Meanwhile Tsipras appears to be
Weather vane THE early Andalucian election on March 22 promises to be another weather vane.
choosing the diplomacy route with Brussels regarding Greece’s repayment of its €240 billion debt, while Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias has gradually changed his tune about defaulting on Spain’s own. They both know that a party needs the moneymen if it is to keep its promises. Meanwhile, Podemos must keep an eye on Syriza because Greece will demonstrate if an antiausterity pro-gramme is workable or if it’s all going to end in tears.
But will it be an accurate one? Both the PP and Podemos are already claiming this year’s local, regional and general elections will be a two-horse race, but this
Cordon Press
Singing from different song sheet may not apply to Andalucia. Podemos is less of a force to be reckoned with there than elsewhere, so a less than mammoth vote will not necessarily herald dwindling support. Perhaps Diaz can hold it together and make a three-horse race of next month’s ballot but that doesn’t say much for what could happen later.
Stop plea PSOE candidates preparing for this year’s elections pleaded for an end to anti-Sanchez rumblings. They want to retain or gain seats in May and November free of party grandees’ complaints that party leader Pedro Sanchez is not shaping up. ALEXIS TSIPRAS: Diplomatic.
OPINION & COMMENT
www.euroweeklynews.com
5 - 11 February 2015 / Costa de Almería
EWN
51
Fore! Golfing with the admiral Ric Polansky Ric Polansky moved to Mojacar in 1969 as a pioneer developer. He reads extensively and has travelled in South America panning gold and looking for El Dorado.
G
OLF is a game of strategy. No place more important than the first tee wherein 98 per cent of all matches are decided before the first ball is hit. Now this bit of observational wisdom once led me to an unusual encounter. I suppose one didn’t have to be a Hollywood detective to figure it out, but one day while lacing up my shoes to practice at Cortijo Grande in walked a tall distinguished man followed by two soldiers, one carrying a machine gun and the other a high powered scoped rifle. Not your usual golfing caddies. I invited the man being guarded to join me for a round. He introduced himself as ‘Sr
CORTIJO GRANDE: The course is a pleasure on the eyes. Rodriques’ (Iberian code for any male Spaniard not wanting to reveal his true identity). I didn’t have to fluff any shots to make him look good, my natural game would force quiet and soft spoken caddies to throw my bags in the lake and suggest I take up brain surgery. We had a chat as we loped about the course which is a pleasure on the eyes and an exacting science to play, even for the best of players. When we
finished I invited him and his bodyguards for a drink in a local bar. He reluctantly accepted, the bodyguards gave me long and beady looks trying to see through my intention. We had a couple of beers while the guards kept surveillance of anyone else entering or leaving the bar. Just before he left he invited me for drinks in an unusual place. “Be on the beach of Puerta Rey exactly at 6.30.” Expecting
LOOKING BACK IN MOJACAR something surprisingly unusual I enquired if I could bring my wife and sons. Well, I was on time and so was a small motor launch to escort us aboard the Spanish navy’s flagship, the Lepanto. There we got a tour of the vessel along with a gin and tonic, key chains and even a bottle of brandy. Wherever we walked the man was saluted and we were
ON SHORE: My accomplishment fell on deaf ears. acknowledged as persons of importance. My heart fluttered the tiniest as I had never had a single victory concerning my outings at golf. And here I was, at sea with the admiral of the fleet. At 8.30 we were ferried back to shore wherein I strutted into the nearest bar to announce my accomplishment. It fell on deaf ears. Nevertheless, who says you can’t be a bad golfer and not score!
52
E W N 5 - 11 February 2015 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
OPINION & COMMENT
Copyright tkemot
Austerity out here, Champagne in there Nora Johnson
Breaking Views A Costa del Sol resident for a number of years, Nora is the author of psychological suspense and crime thrillers. To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/norajohnson
W
AR in the Middle East, turmoil elsewhere and many in the UK facing austerity. And the members of the House of Lords, what do they do? Complain about the quality of their Champagne. The Lords spend roughly £65,000 a year on Champagne and, it was recently reported, refuse to drink anything cheaper because “Champagne quality would suffer.” At a time when many resort to food banks to feed their families, such disconnectedness from the lives of ordinary citizens is appalling. What we see
HOUSE OF LORDS: Complaining about the quality of their Champagne. now is a Britain of bling and food banks: billionaires extending sprawling, empty mansions while waiting lists for social housing lengthen. It’s instructive to watch political interviews from the early 1970s on YouTube where you’ll find interviewees like PMs Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan reacting to tough questions with tough, even-handed answers.
Telling because you don't see much of that nowadays. Instead a love of the sound bite and a general lack of accountability and responsibility. Recently there’s been a whole string of disturbing reports about failure in the NHS, the worst: Mid-Staffs. Some nurses were punished, but no doctors or administrators, despite exercising control over
dreadful conditions. (At a time when, with the NHS on life-support, many NHS managers are being paid grotesquely high salaries by cash-strapped health trusts.) The Staffordshire police and the CPS showed little interest in an investigation regarding it as a ‘systemic failure’ - the politically correct approach to avoid going after those responsible.
Don’t let’s forget either Rotherham and its Police and Crime Commissioner clinging to office over its child abuse scandal and Rochdale’s PC approach that ignores the racial elements of endemic child abuse. The problem is there seems little enthusiasm to tackle failure in the UK’s public institutions. Why? A decline in personal/professional
standards and integrity. Apart from the Lords and their scandals, it’s hard to forget MPs and all their shenanigans either. Claiming mortgages for second homes; fraudulent claims for overnight allowances; using parliamentary allowances to employ relatives who haven’t actually completed any work. And what about the £100 million spent on luxury travel over the past four years by Government Departments? I thought of a few words to describe my feelings after rereading all this and most of them wouldn’t be publishable. And the ones that would don’t express those feelings adequately. Nora Johnson’s thrillers ‘Landscape of Lies,’ ‘Retribution,’ ‘Soul Stealer,’ ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora-johnson.com) available from Amazon/ eBook and iBookstore. Profits to Cudeca.
Colin Bird Each week, Colin brings his slightly off-the-wall view of the world to the pages of EWN in his own irreverent style.
L
IKE many people who visit the mother country during the winter months, my lovely wife returned with some excess baggage in the form of a nasty bug. The cough that accompanied it seems to come and go, and yesterday just as we were thinking it had finally departed, back it came with a vengeance. ‘It feels like I’ve been here before,’ moaned the Princess. ‘Perhaps it’s déjà flu’ I quipped, which I sensed did not go down particularly well, because she proceeded to staple a shopping list to my forehead and sent me off to the supermarket. I don’t have a problem with shopping when I can mooch around on my own and avoid spending valuable time doing a
complete circuit or two looking for my much-better half, or scour the supermarket aisle by aisle for the disappearing spouse. One minute she is there, the next dematerialised. It’s a neat trick, because without warning there she is at my elbow demanding where the heck I have been. With the required items safely in my basket, I did a final reconnoitre because let’s face it, women always forget something. I pick up some of those scrummy chocolate chip muffins that holler ‘eat me!’ How could she forget those? And I drop a bag or six of various flavour crisps into my ballooning basket, oh and a pack of beer. We rarely partake of these naughty items you understand, but you never know who is going to drop by and it’s best to play safe. Now the tricky bit. The check-out. Why is it that the people checking through a bottle of water and a donut use a credit
Copyright Robert Kneschke (2)
Yackety-yack at checkout No. 2
CHECKOUT: It always seems a surprise that goods need paid for. card, and those with trolleys stacked two storeys high, insist on paying in cash? The latter
being the case on this occasion. It didn’t help that the two ladies were having a riveting
discussion about family, the Spanish economy and Antonio Banderas’s dangly bits. But the news that the said goods had to be paid for, seemed to come as a complete surprise to the highrolling customer, who then began to rummage through her handbag for euros. And being a thoughtful soul, she was determined to tender the exact amount down to the last cent, as she dug around in a separate purse that appeared to hold several kilos of shrapnel. Just before Halley’s Comet reappeared, I managed to plonk the two bags on the counter that I had been mindful to bring with me, as the now disinterested looking teller began to ring up my items. ‘Bolsa?’ she challenged, and before I could reply, threw one at me and dinged up the amount on the till. Must sharpen up my response time.
Colin Bird can be contacted at: badbirdnow@gmail.com
www.euroweeklynews.com
CROSSWORDS
5 - 11 February 2015 / Costa de Almería
Time Out EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREAK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE
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MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE
Famous quote
This week
I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times.’ Bruce Lee
‘
in history 1885: King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo in Africa as his personal possession. His rule sees mistreatment of local people, millions of deaths and forced labour for the extraction of rubber and ivory for the world market. 1935: The popular board game Monopoly is invented, dubbed ‘The Fast-Dealing Property Trade Game.’ 1939: Generalisimo Francisco Franco becomes leader of Spain. He establishes an autocratic dictatorship and his 36-year rule comes to an end upon his death in 1975. 1952: Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom. Her coronation the following year becomes the first ever to be televised. 1958: Eight Manchester United football players and 15 other passengers die when their plane tries to take off from Munich Airport. The team on board were affectionately known as the ‘Busby Babes.’ 1964: British band The Beatles arrive in the United States for the first time. Their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show leads to the ‘British Invasion’ of music in the US. 1975: The Conservative Party in the UK chooses Margaret Thatcher as its new leader, the first woman to head a British political party. She later goes on to become Prime Minister from 1979 until 1990. 1983: A nationwide hunt for the 1981 Derby winner Shergar is launched in Ireland. The prize stallion was stolen from stables in County Kildare and never seen again. His remains have never been found. 1990: Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison near Cape Town, South Africa, after serving 27 years as a political prisoner.
Women’s wit Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home.’ Phyllis Diller
‘
World of English
‘
There was no word in English for the colour orange until around 450 years ago. People used to describe the colour as ‘yellow-red’ or ‘red-yellow.’
K a k u ro
Almería weather for next 7 days
VELEZ RUBIO
TOMORROW HUERCAL OVERA
VELEZ RUBIO GARRUCHA ALBOX MOJACAR
HUERCAL OVERA
RETAMAR GARRUCHA
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Alicante TODAY:
Benidorm
SUNNY MAX 13C, MIN 4C MAX MIN
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Mon - 13 6 S Tues - 13 6 C Wed - 12 6 S
12 2 S 11 3 C 12 6 S
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LOTTERY
ALBOX
Fill all the empty squares using the numbers 1 to 9, so that the sum of each horizontal block equals the ‘clue’ on its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the clue on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once.
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
TODAY
ALMERIA
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EWN
UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
UK THUNDERBALL
IRISH LOTTO
EURO MILLIONS
LA PRIMITIVA
Saturday January 31
Saturday January 31
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Friday January 30
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7
10
6
2
6
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10 16
33
22
39
44
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EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA Sunday February 1
8
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38
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13 8
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15
30
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7 21
19
BONUS BALL
THUNDERBALL
BONUS BALL
15
12
45
LUCKY STARS
3
8
REINTEGRO
31
2
REINTEGRO
9
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Time Out EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREAK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE
H ex a g r a m
AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) A shopping trip with a friend makes you realise that there is more to them than meets the eye. Should you have underestimated them, encourage them to open up. Something you hear this week will be of immense value to you in the future. Decorating and changes at home really bring spring into your life and perk you up. PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Someone new to your circle of friends brings humour and a new lease of life, socially. When something outside your comfort zone is suggested, then be sure that it is not just faint heart that is stopping you. There is nothing wrong with saying ‘no’, unless there is heartache in doing so and then wishing that you had not. ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Are you in the mood for some retail therapy? There are bargains to be had this week. The trend also extends to your personal life where it is possible to negotiate much more easily with a loved one. Suggestions for a busy weekend may be resisted owing to overload. TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) The more sensitive side of your nature comes to the fore this week. You are likely to find yourself upset but, by looking on the bright side and keeping your sense of humour, brings a balanced view. GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) This is a time to keep your mind sharp, so get plenty of sleep and exercise for sure. Legal matters may be paramount and need specialist advice. So long as you are doing your best in a certain situation, no more can be expected of you. CANCER (June 22 - July 23) This is a time of the year when new starts and fresh ideas come to you, which is excellent news for those who are looking forward to changes. The weekend brings you courage and determination and you feel confident enough to speak plainly with people.
LASHES
ASTUTE
PATROL
BUCKET
RESCUE
ENDURE
SHELLS
ESTATE
SICKLE
HAMPER
SIMPLE
HISSED
SPIKES
INSECT
STRUCK (10)
ISLAND
TRACKS
DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY
LARDER
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 1 Purred, 2 Dealer, 3 Bitter, 4 Morsel, 5 Roared, 6 Either, 7 Tallow, 8 Titled, 9 Mantle, 10 Wreath, 11 Sister, 12 Months, 13 Steals, 14 Detour, 15 Tastes, 16 Desire, 17 Humans, 18 Tested, 19 Enters
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Your Stars
February 5, Cristiano Ronaldo, 30, football player Renowned as one of the best football players in the world, the Portuguese striker is known for his dazzling footwork and free kicks. He moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid for a record transfer fee in 2009 and has won FIFA’s Ballon d’Or three times. February 5, Duff McKagan, 51, musician Former rock guitarist with Guns n’ Roses and bass player with Velvet Revolver, McKagan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. He was one of the last people confirmed to have seen Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain alive when he sat beside him on a plane journey. February 6, Rick Astley, 49, singer Pop singer whose 1987 single ‘Never Gonna
LEO (July 24 - August 23) Something said to you in confidence should be respected this week. Should the beans be spilled, it will not be you who is feeling guilty. The need to help someone with legal forms or some other complicated matter will be much appreciated. VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) A slow start to the week sees you full of beans come Wednesday. What is the cause of this change of attitude? Something you worked on last week shows signs of progress just when you thought it wouldn't. LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) It is now that you may realise
Give You Up’ reached number one in more than 20 countries. He worked as a driver and a local nightclub performer after dropping out of school and was voted Best Act Ever at the 2008 MTV Europe Awards. February 9, Joe Pesci, 72, actor A favourite of movie director Martin Scorsese, Pesci starred in Goodfellas and Casino and is known for portraying Mafia types. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the 1980 movie Raging Bull. February 11, Jennifer Aniston, 46, actress Best known for her role as Rachel in the hit 90’s TV sitcom Friends, Aniston has gone on to star in a number of Hollywood movies such as Bruce Almighty, Horrible Bosses and The Good Girl. She married fellow actor Brad Pitt in 2000 until their split in 2005.
how right you were to keep something in reserve. Certainly, so far as a relationship is concerned, holding back has proved its worth. Financially, you are entering a period of frugality, but this is more for your own satisfaction than because of any money worries. SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Getting more sleep and fresh air last week may show dividends now. The results are a brighter mind and more willingness to be social. Young people will be particularly helpful and fun to be with. Asking for their help makes them feel important in your life and will also bring you great pleasure. SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Keep a wide circle of friends and constantly seek to add to them.
1. According to Alma Cogan’s 1955 UK hit single, who should you never do a tango with? 2. Dance to the Music was a UK top 10 hit in 1968 for which American soul/funk band? 3. The mazurka is a country dance that originated in which European country? 4. To which Irving Berlin song from the 1936 film Follow the Fleet did Torvill and Dean skate their free dance programme in the 1994 Winter Olympics? It also featured in a celebrated Morecambe and Wise sketch involving newsreader Angela Rippon. 5. What is the name of the West Indian dance in which the dancer bends backwards to pass under a horizontal bar that is progressively lowered to a position just above the ground? 6. What name is given to a person who creates and arranges ballet or dance for performance? 7. What was the name of the Scottish-born ballerina danced the leading role in the film The Red Shoes? 8. What was the stage name of the Hollywood dancer, singer and actor originally named Frederick Austerlitz? 9. Which ballroom dance, featuring frequent changes of partners, is named after a naval hero of the American War of Independence? 10. Which dance is usually associated with the music of the Infernal Gallop from Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld?
Nonagram KLM_OPEN_2009_OLAZABAL
John Wick tells the story of a legendary hitman who retires from his violent career after marrying the love of his life. When his wife suddenly dies, Wick is deep in mourning. He goes on a rampaging crusade of vengeance when a sadistic mobster steals his prized car and kills the puppy that was a final gift from his wife. Meanwhile, John’s former colleague puts a huge bounty on John’s head. Set in New York City, John Wick brings a fresh take on the ‘assassin genre.’ Stars Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist and Alfie Allen. Run time 101 minutes. Rated R.
AFFECT
10-Star Quiz
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 N) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.
TARGET: Average: 8 Good: 10 February 5, Jose Maria Olazabal, golfer. One of Spain’s top golfers, Olazabal won the Masters in 1994 and again in 1999 and captained the 2012 European Ryder Cup team to narrow victory over the USA. He famously dedicated the win to his late friend and fellow Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros.
Very good: 14
49
With such an active mind as yours, boredom is agitating and nonproductive. Spring gives you the ideal opportunity to visit others and get out in the open. Both your health and finances gain from a day somewhere new as an inspired idea comes to you. An invitation you are tempted to refuse should be accepted if possible. CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) News of someone close brings finances into your mind. Perhaps some juggling is needed to keep the balance. There is more than one way to conserve both energy and money, which will give you a head start. Getting involved with a charity, even on a small scale, can bring immense satisfaction and costs nothing.
Excellent: 18
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION elan, fail, file, flan, flea, flue, fuel, lain, lane, laze, leaf, lean, life, lien, lieu, life, line, lune, nail, ulna, zeal, alien, aline, anile, annul, elfin, final, linen, ulnae, annuli, finale, funnel, INFLUENZA
Word Ladder SOFA
BEDS BACK
Move from the start word (SOFA) to the end word (BEDS) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder. You must only change one letter at a time.
SOFA SODA SODS SUDS (BODS) BUDS BEDS
John Wick
The purpose of the Hexagram puzzle is to place the 19 six-letter 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 (STRUCK) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.
1. (Never Do A Tango With An) ESKIMO, 2. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE, 3. POLAND, 4. LET’S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE, 5. LIMBO, 6. CHOREOGRAPHER, 7. MOIRA SHEARER, 8. FRED ASTAIRE, 9. PAUL JONES, 10. CANCAN
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Crosswords
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Cryptic
Quick
Unscramble the name of a famous British children’s television programme (two words): REPEL TUBE
Across 1 County borders (4) 4 Goes in and puts one's name down (6) 8 Arranged taverns’ helper (7) 9 Change old German sovereign (5) 10 Relation seen in haunted house (4) 11 Gores emu badly, it's horrific (8) 13 Mocking South African Roman Catholic as saint in charge (9) 17 Moving could start in leaving (8) 19 Surprising name for locks (4) 21 Gather it's a church service (5) 22 Not entirely bothered if I certify large building (7) 23 Senior journalist’s in little apartment (6) 24 Appear to be in Chinese emporium (4)
Unscramble the name of a famous sweet food-product (one word): GRAB IN GREED FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: BLUE PETER, GINGERBREAD
Play on Words
DE ADE gunner for a relationship (5) 7 Overeating from meagre edible beans (5) 8 Don't leave the guy in the boat (4) 12 Demonstrations in support of experiments (8) 14 Poison, i.e. candy concoction (7)
15 Started climbing in the teenage boy’s go-kart (5) 16 Keep making a little dog (4) 18 Different aches from hunt (5) 20 Being intransigent and shaking heads, demonstrating partiality (4)
Code Breaker
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 15 represents H and 26 represents G, so fill in H every time the figure 15 appears and G every time the figure 26 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.
Across 1 Exploitative situations (3-4) 5 Indelicate (5) 8 Serious play (5) 9 Deep red (7) 10 Hostilities (3) 11 Work hard (4) 12 Misplacement (4) 14 Additional (5) 16 Desert green spot (5) 18 Prod gently (5) 19 Spicy tomato sauce (5) 21 Cleaning lady (4) 22 Final (4) 25 Weep (3) 27 Aerial (7) 28 Dripping wet (5) 29 Wait on (5) 30 Capture in a trap (7)
Down 1 Impolite (4) 2 Keyboard instrument (5) 3 Perfect (8) 4 Covert (6) 5 Flat metal disc used as money (4) 6 Run away (7) 7 Indicating evil intent (8) 13 Hides (8) 15 In-depth examination (8) 17 Disperse (7) 20 Find (6) 23 Greek letter (5) 24 Formerly (4) 26 Category (4)
English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English.
AIL Answers: Long time no see, Pale ale
Down 2 Dr earns free trips (7) 3 Stolen goods hidden in Volkswagen (4) 4 Diversion meant internet chaos (13) 5 Endeavour to cover a waistcoat, it's an absolute farce! (8) 6 Spanish uncle goes after the
Funagram
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS CRYPTIC Across: 1 Scarce, 4 Tattle, 9 Actuate, 10 Stake, 11 Drab, 12 Depress, 15 Rather, 16 Decade, 19 Uttered, 21 Cite, 24 Amber, 25 Isolate, 26 Travel, 27 Detest. Down: 1 Standard, 2 Attract, 3 Chat, 5 Asserted, 6 Traps, 7 Ever, 8 Negev, 13 Rehearse, 14 Vehement, 17 Animate, 18 Relic, 20 Tibia, 22 Bait, 23 Code. QUICK Across: 1 Arrest, 4 Rested, 9 Nap, 10 Declare, 11 Analyse, 12 Piece, 13 Dense, 15 Meets, 20 Heats, 22 Howling, 24 Useless, 25 Tie, 26 Steady, 27 Mended.
Across 1 Cenizas (5) 4 Century (5) 7 Viajero (9) 8 See 2 Down 10 Cabbage (3) 15 Sleet (9) 17 Yemas (de huevos) (5) 18 Discutir (5) Down 1 Abbot (4)
2/8 Palabras al aire (3,3) 3 Jabón (para lavar) (4) 4 Semilla (4) 5 Gulf (bay) (5) 6 Work (4) 9 In the same way (5) 11 Bebé (4) 12 Hormigas (4) 13 Eyebrow (4) 14 Pegamento (4) 16 Huevo (3)
Down: 1 Annual, 2 Replace, 3 Sadly, 5 Example, 6 Theme, 7 Danger, 8 Screw, 14 Suspend, 16 Twisted, 17 Chiefs, 18 Thief, 19 Agreed, 21 Amuse, 23 Waste. ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Lead, 3 Caves, 8 Traductor, 9 Tarde, 10 Claws, 12 Carpenter, 14 Hogar, 15 Codo. Down: 1 Lipstick, 2 After, 4 Aguacate, 5 Eat, 6 Papelera, 7 Presunto, 11 Agrio, 13 Rio.
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TOP 10 THINGS YOU THOUGHT WERE TRUE BUT REALLY AREN’T
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WE all know that we shouldn’t believe everything we read or hear, but sometimes certain facts are repeated so often that we come to believe them to be true. Here’s a list of just some of the false facts that have entered into common belief. 1. Nails and hair continue to grow after you die: While it may appear that growth continues after death, nails and hair actually only appear longer as the skin recedes from the body. 2. Dogs can’t see colour: Scientists have proven that dogs can see shades of yellow, blue and green, debunking the popular myth that your beloved family pet can only see shades of grey.
Working to find the truth BOOKS books@euroweeklynews.com
For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother Alice, who mysteriously disappeared following a tragic accident. Refusing to believe she was abandoned, Jenna regularly searches online and pores over Alice’s old journals to try and discover clues to her
whereabouts. Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists the help of a psychic who is beginning to doubt her gifts and the jaded private detective who originally investigated the case. As the three work together to discover the truth, they find that asking hard questions means they have to face even harder answers.
3. Lemmings commit suicide: We’ve all seen documentary footage of cute little lemmings plunging off cliffs in throngs. But the truth is that they sometimes fall off cliffs when they lose their bearings while migrating to areas they are unfamiliar with.
5. Your fingers wrinkle due to absorbing water: When you step out of the bath or shower and the tips of your fingers are all wrinkly, it’s not because they have been absorbing water. They wrinkle as part of an evolved mechanism
Lockable Alarm Clock, Free Ever stayed up too late because you know you can set your alarm clock to a later time the next morning? Not with Lockable Alarm Clock. Set it during the day and you cannot cancel it until it rings the following morning. Perfect for night owls who have to go to work the next day! Also features different ringtones.
Just Joking A teacher is discussing natural history with her class and says: “Worker ants can carry food particles that are five times their own weight. What is to be learned from this?” A little kid raises his hand and replies: “They don’t have a union.” I was having dinner with world chess champion Gary Kasparov and the table had a check tablecloth. It took him two hours to pass the salt.
to help our ancestors get a better grip in aquatic environments. 6. Only 10 per cent of the brain is used: Poppycock! Nature would have evolved us with smaller brains if 90 per cent was just sitting there unused. The physiology of brain mapping shows that all areas of the brain have a function. One of the most common untruths out there. 7. Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis: While studies have shown that over a long period of time knucklecracking can lead to a weaker grip, there is no connection between arthritis and the annoying/satisfying (depending on your view) act of cracking your knuckles. 8. Goldfish have only a three second memory: That’s why they don’t mind swimming around in circles all day long, right? Wrong. Studies have shown that goldfish can actually remember for up to five months. They swim around in circles because, well, what else is there to do in a goldfish bowl? 9. The five-second rule: If you drop a bit of food on the floor but pick it up before five seconds it will be alright. Actually, it will be swimming with bacteria even if you somehow managed to pick it up after a millisecond.
4. Einstein failed maths at school: This was always a hard one to swallow and in fact it’s not true. By the age of 15 the mathematical genius had mastered differential and integral calculus and actually learned geometry and algebra on his own.
App of the Week
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GOLDFISH: Can remember for longer than three seconds. DOGGY VISION: They can actually see colours you know?
Sudoku 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.
10. Most body heat is lost through the head: Every part of your body loses the same amount of heat when you’re naked. This myth simply comes from the fact that people’s heads tend not to be covered as much as the rest of the body.
Boggled How many English words can you find in the Boggled grid, according to the following rules? The letters must be adjoining in a ‘chain’. They can be adjacent horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Words must contain at least four letters and may include singular and plural or other derived forms. No letter may be used more than once within a single word, unless it appears twice. No vulgarities or proper nouns are permitted.
TARGET:
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
Average: 32 Good: 41 Very good: 59 Excellent: 72
SCORING: 4 letters: 1 point • 5 letters: 2 points 6 letters: 3 points • 7 letters: 4 points 8 or more letters: 11 points
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION rant, rants, rand, rats, rams, rads, ants, tarn, tarns, tram, trams, tans, tams, tads, tart, tartan, tartans, that, than, thud, thuds, thus, this, mart, manna, manta, mans, mads, dart, darn, darns, data, dams, dust, hart, hand, hands, hams, hist, star, start, stand, stands, sham, shams, shad, shads, suds, sushi, smart
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Dealing with chewing problems David THE Dogman
Listen to David on TRE every Saturday 10 thru 11. Costa del Sol (Gibraltar/Sotogrande) 98.7fm (San Roque to Calahonda) 91.9fm (Calahonda to Motril) 88.9, Costa Calida 92.7fm Costa Blanca (Torrevieja to Elche) 105.1fm (Elche to Calpe) 88.2fm, (Calpe to Gandia & Ibiza) 104.6fm, (Denia to Valencia) 95.3fm Mallorca 103.9fm
FIRST it was your brand new socks. Then he went for the living room rug. Sometimes, he might even go for your hand. At first it was cute, but it needs to be controlled. Whether he’s manifesting anxiety or simply teething, you can prevent future problems with early training. Your puppy’s mouth is his primary learning tool. From socks to pant legs, puppies normally chew on items around the house because they are bored, energetic, teething or simply curious. Uncontrollable chewing can also signal emotional problems. Like loss of appetite or a change in barking pitch, excessive
chewing is a sign of emotional stress. To help alleviate your dog’s stress, you should keep his schedule consistent, spend quality time with him and make sure he gets exercise. Remove temptations. Until he learns to like chew toys, remove socks, furniture, plants and other favourite items from the area in which your puppy is kept. Don’t forget to tape over electrical outlets and keep cords out of reach!
Because your dog needs gum stimulation, he’ll always chew; the trick is to teach him to chew appropriate items such as a Kong filled with treats. I promise he will be interested, however, the secret is to remove it from the floor when he walks away, after all another dog would have pinched it. You can reload and give it back later or just when you’re leaving home. Modern thinking is to teach your dog to get used to a crate. Confine your
puppy. If your pup doesn’t have free access to the house, he can’t tear it to shreds. Until he knows better, keep him confined to his crate or an area like the kitchen or basement possibly with a child gate. It is important for your dog to see you, or at least hear you. Redirect his behaviour. You need to focus your puppy’s chewing. You have a wide range of items to offer him, from knotted rawhide to squeaky balls and durable teething toys. However, don’t give him items that resemble those he shouldn’t chew.
PUPPY’S MOUTH: His primary learning tool.
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OPINION & COMMENT
How are you coping with the cold spell - Are you spending more to keep warm this year? MIKE HAYNES from Coys Rent a Car said he is fortunate to have under floor heating at his home, but even with that he has still been suffering: “I’ve been really cold this winter and the longer I live here the colder I feel. I watch my son play football and I’ve got five layers on and I can’t remember ever doing that.” He adds that the under floor heating uses oil which has actually come down in price so he is hopeful not to notice an increase in bills: “That has been a godsend as it’s definitely been on more this year.” Carsten Klinksgaard from Casa Interior in Altea however thinks the weather has been rather pleasant: “We have had a lot of colds in the family but it’s not been too bad. We have a pellet stove in the house and that gives out a good heat and is quite reasonable to run.” Lianne Satterthwaite. SRS Vehicle Services. Los Carasoles, Zurgena. “I don’t feel any colder this year because we use a great log supplier that we used last year. Although last
STREET TALK
From left to right, Mike, Lianne and Carsten: Managing to stay warm. winter was long, it wasn’t that cold and it’s still nothing compared to the UK. It makes you feel cold just looking at British friends’ snow photographs. A couple of
Joyce (left): Putting on more clothes. extra jumpers and moving around a lot more keeps us warm.” Joyce, owner and hairstylist at
Curiocity, just minutes from central Fuengirola says she is keeping busy in her salon to stay warm during this cold spell. “I love that people are coming to see me to talk about getting a new hairstyle for themselves as everyone receives a warm welcome here! It is keeping me busy which is the only way to stay warm at the moment!” When asked if she was spending more to keep warm this year she said “Definitely, mostly on electricity and on more clothes so I can put more layers on!” Wally, the African Grey Parrot who supervises David Downton, the owner of Simply Bathing in Fuengirola says “It’s easy for us parrots, I am just producing more feathers to stay warm this winter! We all lived in the Canary Islands for seven years before coming here so it is definitely colder, but I am nice and toasty in my glossy feather coat!” When asked if he was spending more to stay warm Wally said “not really but maybe David is as I do like to have spare ribs for my dinner!”
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My motto is, never leave for tomorrow what you can do today Erica Russell Watson: My journey – and I’m driving
28th January THE day before my chemo session was spent busily cleaning the house and getting things ready ahead of round four. You never know just quite how you are going to react to the treatment, so it is better to be prepared and have your shopping done and meals prepared ahead of time. My motto is never leave for tomorrow what you can do today. A lesson that has taken me many years to learn, but the ‘do it now policy’ works! Someone taught me that, you know who you are! I flopped into bed exhausted not having stopped all day, cooking, cleaning, revising with the children and collecting the car after its pre-MOT check. I’ve decided that life is one big MOT, both for our possessions and our bodies! I thoroughly recommend a regular service or body MOT
- prevention is better than cure! Don’t wait until you are 50 to have a mammogram. I am 42 and despite having regular check-ups, smear tests and blood tests, I was told I was too young to have a mammogram. This is obviously if you are a patient with the National Health Service. Really you should start much sooner. It is important to be selfaware and check your breasts every month around the time of your period. Noone knows your body better than you, so you will be the first to know if there are any appreciable changes in your body. Perhaps you will notice a change in skin texture or colour, an inverted or leaking nipple or a lump in either your breast or armpit. I only realised something was wrong when I noticed a thickening in the skin around my areola and a change in skin texture a bit like orange peel. One day I was fine and the next it appeared. I could not detect any lumps in the breast, so worked my way up into my armpit. I found a hard lump the size of a walnut but very deep so it took some delving. I didn’t have a temperature and the lump wasn’t painful, so I
I’ve decided, life is one big MOT, both for our possessions and our bodies.
immediately suspected something wasn’t right. I went straight to the doctor and was booked in for biopsies the following week, which came back positive for grade three cancer. Act quickly or repent at leisure! With the eldest child’s favourite belt located, I made the children’s sandwiches… they normally make their own but as I was up so early I did it for a change. Reminded me of when they were little. Where do the years go? Then time to be out the door. I was happy to get my usual spot in the hospital car park, no mean feat as parking is very limited. I was second in the queue for my blood tests and then straight up to book my oncology appointment. It is a bit of a race, but just as well I got in first as there were to be complications. Off to get some protein on board and a nice
cup of coffee. I write this as I sit waiting and listening to various conversations. Generally people are quite upbeat. Coincidently a daughter of a mother having chemo for breast cancer started talking about the best age to have a mammogram. The daughter was 37 and said that she was told by her doctor she didn’t need one. Well, it didn’t take long for the whole waiting room to get involved!! If you are familiar with Spanish hospital and doctor’s waiting rooms, then you’ll know that they speak very openly and expect you to do the same. Everyone has an opinion and they like to share it with you irrespective of whether you want to hear it or not!! In this case I was in favour as the daughter sitting next to me appeared not to realise the relevance of her mother’s situation to her. She said that as the doctor had told her she was too young for a mammogram she was going to leave it at that. The Spanish rather deify doctors in my opinion and are not accustomed to questioning them or getting second opinions. In this case though all the women in the
waiting room descended like clucking chickens and told her she had to insist or find the money to have it done privately. This wasn’t something that could be left to chance for a few years. I repeat, early detection is vital and if the outcome of the tests is negative, then you have peace of mind and if not, you have a head start on cancer. It was time to listen to some music and relax. As always it would be a threehour wait, minimum. Just one day in my life, so no need to get uptight. I would practise my breathing and ‘be in the moment,’ something Bertie has taught me. Finally I was called in to see my doctor. Everything was fine and I was good to go. The pharmacologist mixing up our chemo cocktails was ill, so they were ordering our treatments from another source, a bit like a takeaway. I would have preferred crispy duck! Four attempts to get my line in… Nothing to be done as your veins and arteries take a pasting, but in it was and I had my treatment and I was halfway through. Rather jubilant, I went home to rest and to fight another day.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
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Advertising Feature
Samaritans in Spain and the 902 number EVERY now and then someone complains that Samaritans in Spain are making money from callers who use the service. This is based on the fact that all 902 numbers are premium rate numbers. This could not be further from the truth; in fact, it costs SiS money to run this service. The problem arises from Telefonica lumping premium RATE and premium SERVICE into the one 902 range. Whether the number is premium rate or premium service depends on the fourth number. 902 followed by 1, 2, 3 or 4 are premium rates, from which the receiving company benefits financially.
SAMARITANS: A not-forprofit organisation. The 902 numbers followed by 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 are to provide a premium service, from which the receiver gains no financial benefit. For example, the charity Samaritans in Spain uses the number 902 88 35 35, the fourth digit is 8, meaning the number is not
connected to any local telephone exchange and allows the Samaritans to have phones in several locations attached to the 902 88 35 35 number. This means that whenever someone calls their number, whether they are calling from Madrid, Barcelona, Marbella or the Balearics, they are connected to the next available listener. All Samaritans in Spain calls to 902 88 numbers are charged at national call rates. From landlines the connection charge is €0.08 plus €0.04/min: Mon-Fri 20:00-08:00, weekends and public holidays, and €0.07/min: Mon-Fri 08:0020:00. Calls from mobiles are
CONSIDERABLY more. Mobile providers set their own rates ranging from 0.20 cents per minute, to over 0.80 cents per minute, plus a connection charge from 0.12 to 0.20 cents. Samaritans in Spain have no control over these charges, nor do they benefit from them. Further information about Samaritans in Spain can be found on www. samaritansinspain.com or Facebook: www.facebook. com/pages/Samaritans-inSpain/342312575891259 The Samaritans’ service in Spain is provided by Costa Blanca Samaritans, a not-for-profit organisation registered with Generalitat Valenciana: CV-01-042952A and NIF: G54341466.
Influenza home remedies to fight the virus THE sudden arrival of low temperatures has been accompanied by an influenza outbreak in many regions of Spain. According to experts, the epidemic level is still no higher than in previous years, but they predict that in the coming weeks it will increase. Here, we look at some home remedies believed to ease flu symptoms: Drink plenty of fluids. Drinking (eight to 12 glasses of water or tea) is fundamental to relieve flu symptoms, which usually lead to dehydration. Gargling with salt or baking soda. Mix the ingredients with warm water and gargle several times a day to help relieve sore throats. Honey and lemon. Either taken separately or mixed together with warm water, honey and lemon can relieve symptoms and soothe sore throats. Teas or infusions of garlic and onion. Both plants are good allies to combat flu. If the taste is too strong, sweeten with honey, but not with sugar as it inhibits their natural healing qualities. Ginger tea. Ginger has analgesic and antibacterial healing properties. Medics say the best way to avoid the flu is to be vaccinated.
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HEALTH & BEAUTY
Not many of us like being uncomfortable but it could be good for your health BEING a bit uncomfortable could actually be good for you. Not many of us like being cold or wearing uncomfortable shoes, but research suggests this may be better for your health in some cases... Loo stop A urologist in Birmingham, UK, said many bladder problems come from past habits such as emptying your bladder too often. Over time, this could lead to training your bladder to become more sensitive and being overactive. So rather than heading to the bathroom as soon as you get the first twinge, leave it a few minutes.
Cold showers also increase levels of endorphins that raise our mood and make us feel happier.
WEARING HEELS: Can increase strength and reduce the risk of problems such as stress incontinence.
Be smart Some physiotherapists suggest that when people wear slouchy, comfy clothes, they get in the
mindset of being slouchy. Wearing smart, formal clothes makes people stand straighter and engage more muscles.
Wearing heels A day wearing heels may not be the most comfortable, but a study found that wearing twoinch heels activates the pelvic floor muscles, working the muscles, helping to increase strength and reduce the risk of problems including stress incontinence.
Cold baths A warm bath is tempting to ease aching muscles, but try a cold shower or cool
bath instead as the cold is thought to be best for reducing pain and inflammation in muscles.
Get stressed Short bursts of stress can trigger positive reactions in the body and help the immune system become more efficient at fighting infection.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
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Advertising Feature
MyWebDoctor’s online service A BRITISH GP, and frequent visitor to the Costa del Sol, has set up an entrepreneurial online doctor service that can at last give thousands of people living in Spain peace of mind for their healthcare. With everyday nonemergency health needs in mind, MyWebDoctor will give you the reassurance of having a UK doctor at your fingertips literally - right on the end of your mobile phone, tablet or computer. Mirroring the NHS in its ease of access and high medical standards, Dr Helen Webberley aims to provide quality routine healthcare at a price that will suit all pockets. For only £12.99 per month, the service allows you unlimited access to advice from a GMC-registered UK GP. www.MyWebDoctor.co.uk allows its members to email their query or request a
DR HELEN WEBBERLEY: Aims to provide quality healthcare. telephone call to discuss your problem in person. If medicines are needed then the price of the private prescription is included in the subscription fee, and the British pharmacy can send out your medication to be delivered to your Spanish address. The actual price of the medication and postage is payable to the chemist, but with a box of penicillin priced
at about £1, this makes it cheaper than the NHS prescription charge! If you need any blood tests or swabs, then these can be sent out in home testing kits. The kit contains a swab or a finger-prick blood test that can be done by you at home and sent back to the UK laboratory for testing. “As well as treating routine
minor illness, this is really going to open up options for those people who are on regular medication,” says Dr Webberley. “For example those people on blood pressure or diabetic tablets can now have six months of their medication sent to them in the post for a very reasonable price, and can even have blood tests to make sure they are
WE’RE always being told of the health benefits of drinking plenty of water, but now experts say drinking too much could actually be harmful. They say not only could it lead to kidney problems, but could also trigger symptoms such as excessive sweating. One surgeon from a clinic in London said he is seeing more patients suffer from oversweating, a condition known as hyperhidrosis. He said the first thing he asks is how much water they drink and said that medically, being told to drink between two and three litres of water a
day is incorrect, as if you were in intensive care you would be given 1.5 litres of fluid every 24 hours. There is no set way of defining excessive sweating, but if sweating is interfering with daily life and normal activities, a person may be diagnosed with hyperhidrosis. Treatments such as medication to block the sweat glands and surgery can be considered by sufferers. Drinking excessive water can also lead to loss of sleep as people have to get up in the night to go to the toilet,
Aleksandr Markin
Can drinking too much water be bad for you?
Drinking water is good for you for not to excess. and other studies show it can even cause kidney damage, instead of preventing it. Too much water can also lead to a rare but potentially fatal condition called hyponatraemia, which sees the body’s salt levels drop and can lead to swelling of the brain.
being monitored properly.” Although not everything can be dealt with remotely, it is surprising how much can be. If people are worried about skin rashes or lumps or bumps, they can upload photos for the doctor to review. If a clinical examination is necessary then Dr Webberley and her team can advise people to have a face to face visit with a doctor, but even this is useful advice for those wondering whether to book an actual appointment with a doctor in Spain. Dr Webberley acknowledges that this is not an emergency service, and people with medical emergencies should call 061 as usual. However, this is going to bring NHS quality healthcare to you wherever you may be.
Dr Helen Webberley onlineGPservices@gmail.com www.MyWebDoctor.co.uk
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OPINION & COMMENT
What do you need to do, to make February fabulous for you? FEBRUARY: Consider how you can balance giving and receiving in close relationships.
Sally Trotman Based in Mallorca, Sally Trotman is a qualified Counsellor who works with Astrology, Numerology and the Tarot. Each month she will deliver the forecast as an intuitive tool to aid increased self awareness.
www.sallytrotman.com
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ANUARY gave you the opportunity to clarify your goals. With Imbolc on February 2 (bringing in the first light of spring) and the full moon in Leo on February 3 (encouraging you to be fearless) this is the perfect time to think big, be confident and move out of your comfort zone. Leo is a generous sign. Remember that you always receive back when you give, so think about where you can give more and also be more open to receiving. Do you believe you are worthy of the abundance of
opportunities awaiting you? Repeat this powerful affirmation every morning to help you manifest your desires; ‘I am attracting abundance through all channels of the universe.’ Abundance comes through others so think for a moment about who can help you to achieve your goals, and also who you can help. This month we move into the Chinese New Year of the Sheep. The influence of this animal is encouraging you to work with others, and know that you can achieve more as a group than individually. February 14 is of course another important date. The moon is ruled by earthy
relationships. In the Tarot deck the second major arcana card is the High Priestess. This gentle yet powerful archetype is reminding you to listen to your intuition. This is perhaps more important during February than at any other time as the sun moves into the sign of Pisces on February 19. The new moon in Pisces on this date is helping you with creative and spiritual pursuits of all kinds. Listen to your creative ideas, vivid dreams and hunches throughout this month.
Capricorn on this day, so take some time to pamper yourself if single, and pamper both yourself and your loved one too if in a relationship! As February is the second month of the year this brings your awareness to how you can create more balance in your life, so consider how you can balance giving and receiving in all your closest
Life can sometimes become a little confusing under the influence of Pisces, so balance your intuition with practical steps. If you feel like you are a salmon swimming upstream at times in your life, then change your direction this month. Relax and go with the flow, and know that your inner guidance will take you to exactly where you need to be. Sally guides individuals and groups working with Meditation, Astrology, and Numerology as a tool for personal development. Also a qualified Counsellor and Reiki Master, she works with clients in a unique way to help each person feel more confident about their direction in life. Sally offers sessions via Skype or in Watford, UK.
For more information visit www.sallytrotman.com or email sally.trotman@btinternet.com.
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The great illusion of free press Mike Walsh Mike, based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.
I
regularly enjoy coffee with two mainstream media editor friends. Neither will carry my articles because of my ‘proRussian leanings.’ I won’t play a part in mainstream media’s orchestrated anti-Russian rhetoric. Be proud of me; my candid nature suggests that, in the Euro Weekly News at least, you enjoy a free press. A fiction usually directed at Russia is that it doesn’t have a free Press; rhetoric without substance. Let us instead take a look at the so-called free Press in the West. William Colby, ex-director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is a man who should know Western media: “The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)
GREG DYKE: Former BBC Director-General. owns everyone of any significance in the major media.” Not long after becoming a whistle-blower Colby died in a freak canoeing accident. There is no disguising the sinister and insidious nature of CIA tentacles: “In the US 90 per cent of all TV, newspapers, radio,
magazines are owned and controlled by six mega corporations. You can’t get a word in there that connects to the real world.” So says American political analyst Mark Mason. Former BBC DirectorGeneral, Greg Dyke, wrote in his autobiography: “When it came to
discussing the war in Iraq, staff found it so difficult to find any member of the public prepared to speak in favour that they ended up planting people in the (Question Time) audience.” BBC bias is well documented: Many years ago, Roy Bramwell of Inter-City Research, disclosed: “I have heard MPs and senior political aficionados complain that if they were to say on BBC what they really think, they would never be invited again, and not to be invited again could make a quick end to an aspiring politician’s prospects.” Udo Ulfkotte, former editor of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, caused a sensation when, in his best-seller, Bought Journalists, he revealed; “We are taught to lie, to betray and not tell the truth to the public.” He went on to describe how the CIA pays German media professionals to spin stories to follow US government goals. In an interview with a Dutch
journalist, Ulfkotte says, “some media are nothing more than propaganda outlets of political parties, secret services, international think tanks, and high finance entities. I’ve been a journalist for about 25 years, and I’ve been educated to lie, to betray, and not to tell the truth to the public. The German and American media tries to bring war to the people in Europe, to bring war to Russia. “We have betrayed our readers, just to push for war. I don’t want this any more, I’m fed up with this propaganda. We live in a banana republic, and not in a democratic country where we have press freedom.” This top German journalist challenged his former employers to prove him wrong or sue him. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung refuses to do so, but banned journalists from mentioning their former editor. A word of advice. Read between the lines and you will be far better informed.
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COMMUNITY
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Members of the Monday afternoon dance class with Gilly Elliott-Binns and F.A.C.E President, Adele Wrigglesworth.
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A basket of money FOR the sixth year running, Eleanor and Gilly’s Monday Afternoon Line Dance Class, recently made their Annual Charity donation. The group presented the President of F.A.C.E. (Fundraising in Arboleas, Caring for Everyone), Adele Wrigglesworth, with a basket of money. The money had been raised over the last 12 months by donations, including one in lieu of Christmas cards, and several raffles at the group’s various social occasions. The total amount of cash raised by this small group was €381. Right from its inception, the class has always supported F.A.C.E. and this small group of dancers have raised nearly €2,000 from its fundraising activities. Although Monday afternoons are primarily dedicated to Line Dancing, the
group does hold several social functions a year, which is when most of the money is raised. Eleanor Tolman and Gilly Elliott-Binns, the class leaders, believe that Line Dancing should be fun, and they try to make every Monday afternoon fun. They also believe that Line Dancing can try to help others that are less fortunate than most, and in their own small way the group tries hard to raise as much cash as it can every year. On receiving the cash, Adele Wrigglesworth said: “it is unbelievable that such a small group of people, have over the years, managed to raise so much money.” She also thanked the class for being such dedicated F.A.C.E. supporters. For further details of Eleanor and Gilly’s Line Dance class and its activities ring Eleanor on 950 439 003.
We want to hear you DO you have any club, charity or community news you would like included on our community page? If so we want to hear from you. Please send
any news to editorial@euroweeklyn ews.com and we will do our best to fit you in. Please include times, dates and locations and contact details.
Keep dogs warm ALBOX animal charity APSA is appealing for bedding for their dogs to help keep them warm. A spokesperson said: “The kennels are short of warm bedding as the weather turns colder. We need anything to keep them warm - old blankets, bedding, fleeces, old but warm clothing. There are a lot of dogs to keep warm.” People can make donations at their shop in Avenida Lepanto, Monday to Saturday 10 - 2pm, just tell the staff that the items are for the kennels.
Photos should be good quality, minimum resolution oneMeg and include a caption with the names of people pictured where possible.
Monthly rastro FEBRUARY 8 is the date for Bedar’s monthly rastro with a variety of stalls available for you to browse. If you would like to have a stall, €1 goes to Audrey’s cats. From 9am until 2pm.
editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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OPINION & COMMENT
Virgin Media asks Ofcom to pause Premier League rights auction Richard Shanley
DISHING THE DIRT OF EUROPA DIGITAL
VIRGIN Media has asked Ofcom to pause the auction of TV rights for Premier League football. The telecoms firm has asked for a temporary halt while Ofcom continues its investigation of the auction process, which Virgin claims is in breach of competition law in the UK and EU. Virgin Media’s chief corporate affairs officer Brigitte Trafford said: “The Premier League has pushed ahead with its early sale of TV rights despite Ofcom’s investigation.” With 18 months until those deals begin, there is plenty of time for Ofcom to pause the auction process while it completes its inquiries. Failure to
TOP GEAR: Has been at the centre of numerous flashpoints. do so will leave fans, who already pay the most to see the least amount of football in Europe, facing yet another big rise in the cost of watching live football on TV. Virgin claims that Ofcom is empowered to take such measures under the Competition Act 1998 to ‘prevent significant damage to a particular person or
category of person,’ suggesting that football fans are the ‘category of person’ in this instance. Virgin Media asked Ofcom in September 2014 to tackle the rising cost of watching televised Premier League football matches in the UK, citing the 1998 legislation. Ofcom opened up its investigation in November. Last month, it emerged that the
Premier League had offered a small number of matches to be broadcast live on Friday evenings from 2016. BBC director-general Tony Hall has defended Top Gear after a string of controversies. Speaking to Radio Times, he said it is “important that the BBC doesn’t have just one voice.” He explained: “It’s a programme loads of people love and it’s important that the BBC doesn’t have just one voice... and I feel this about Top Gear... it’s a different voice... why wouldn’t the BBC represent it on its output and be pleased to have it there?” Over the last 12 months, the motoring show has been at the centre of numerous flashpoints. The cast and crew were recently forced to abandon filming in Argentina after igniting political tensions over the Falklands. Meanwhile, Jeremy Clarkson was also issued a warning by bosses after he was accused of using racist language.
Ofcom later found him guilty of ‘deliberately’ using a ‘pejorative racial term’ on a separate occasion. Hall continued: “My life and the BBC’s life is not to be constantly out of trouble. In a way, we should be awkward, push boundaries with our journalism, our drama, our current affairs, our comedy, our entertainment… having things to say. It’s really important, that’s what people expect of the BBC.” If you would like me to answer any questions you may have on satellite TV or to expand on anything I have written about please call me on 678 332 815 or email richard@europadigital.com. I look forward to your comments and questions. Don’t forget to listen to my radio show every weekday from 10am on Spectrum 96.1 & 106.8FM, now covering over 2000sq kms of Costa Almeria and Calida or listen online at costaalmeria.spectrumfm.net.
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Crafty Barrel for furniture CRAFTY BARREL distributes Spanish and Italian wines by the case. They also make furniture from Crianza barrels. They distribute quality wines from small to medium bodegas, not usually seen in the supermarkets. With more than 300 wines available they can find one to suit most tastes and budget. Distribution is to Mojacar, Turre, Bedar, Albox, Aguilas, Puerto Lumbreras and Los Velez. They also deliver wines by the case or pallet to the UK, Customs and transport costs
about €1 per bottle depending CRAFTY BARREL: Unique style for your home. on quantities, so ensuring excellent value. The barrel craft began when Chloe, their Boxer dog, chewed their wicker outside chairs. Having seen some old barrels at one of the bodegas they decided to use them to replace the chairs. One thing led to another and they now have an extensive range of wine barrel items. The used Crianza CHLOE: She has her own wine barrels have come to the end of their barrel dog bed she can’t destroy. life, so are recycled and made into a variety of items. They distribute from or in Velez Rubio. www.craftybarrel.com Alicante to Almeria and can arrange www.facebook.com/craftybarrel delivery further afield. These can be Tlf: 678 027 462 viewed on the website, at craft fairs
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FOOD & DRINK
Are you a bar or restaurant that advertises with EWN? AT EWN we have our clients’ best interests at heart. Getting your news out to the public can sometimes be a struggle, but we here at EWN want to help. Have you changed your menu,
recently renovated or won an award? Do you have an upcoming charity event you’d like to publicise? Do you have a new member of staff? Maybe you’d like to take part in our ‘Restaurant’ experience?
Your establishment provides a meal for two which we will review and publish - with pictures - in your local edition. If you have any news of interest that you would like to get out to local
readers, then please let us know. We cannot promise to publish everything, but we will do our best.
Please send your news and photos to whatson@euroweeklynews.com
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By Iain Dempsey
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Expat advice:
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Explore your local supermarket! Co pyr igh tC hri stia nJ un g
OVING to a new country can often be a daunting experience. There is a whole new and different culture and lifestyle to acclimatise to and of course – the biggie – a new language to try and come to grips with. Expats who settle in Spain may often find themselves feeling a little out of their depths as they try to come to grips with a whole new world, even though often it is not that different. The littlest differences can sometimes leave people feeling alienated and getting used to how things are done can take some time. Food often plays a part in that acclimatising phase. If you’re British, you may find yourself yearning for a Sunday roast or a packet of pork scratchings – so easily available back home but harder to source abroad (although Spain caters fantastically for British tastes, especially on the Costas). The Irish may find themselves craving a packet of Tayto crisps and the Germans might miss the taste of brockwurst. In Spain there are many supermarkets that cater for international tastes given the large amount of foreigners who call Spain their home, but – and this is key – it isn’t home and things are different. There are plenty of Spanish products, however, that you can add to your shopping cart during a trip to the local supermarket that you’ll find may soon become a staple and help kick that niggling feeling of homesickness out of your mind. During the hot summer months in Spain, an extremely popular drink that helps Spaniards cool down is the pleasingly refreshing ‘tinto de verano’ (summer wine). A simple combination of red wine and lemonade, its flavour and colour brings a tropical tang to any mealtime
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or sojourn to the beach, and there are a number of brands that sell tinto de verano ready-made. Among the best is ‘Sandevid’. Dirt cheap and low in alcohol, it often sells out quickly when the weather is baking. Spanish beer is – like Sandevid – dirt cheap and much tastier than the usual brews sold in Britain and Ireland. Brands like Mahou, Cruzcampo or Alhambra are sold in most Spanish bars and expats will soon develop a taste for the Iberian golden nectar. It is of course possible to buy more familiar brands like Heineken or Carlsberg, but they are often much more expensive and a little more difficult to find.
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If you’re a fan of hot chocolate then you can do no better than Cola Cao. Spanish kids go nuts for a glass of the frothy chocolate liquid, and while chocolate milk is more of a traditional continental European drink, expats soon find that it’s a must for the shopping trolley. A spoonful in a café con leche is divine. The Brits and Irish love nothing more than munching on a packet of crisps as a quick snack, and it has to be conceded that this may be one item that you will miss living in Spain. The brands
available in supermarkets tend to be of the ready-salted variety and there isn’t the array of flavours that you find back home. However, there are alternatives. Pistachio nuts, pipas and quicos make a tasty alternative to a packet of crisps, and if you’re a chocoholic, you’ll find most of the familiar brands, from Twix to Twirl. Cheeses and cold cuts are again a more continental European staple, while back
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SPANISH SUPERMARKETS: A little different, but full of tasty delights.
in the cold north a typical helping of cheese might consist of some cheddar and a mini Babybel. Spain has a wonderful variety of different cheeses such as Manchego and La Mancha, readily available in every supermarket and corner store. When it comes to cold meats, there is a huge variety on offer and they’re a lot tastier than luncheon meat or spam. Jamon Serrano, chorizo, morcilla and butifarra are just a few of the cold cuts you’ll find, and visit any Spaniard in their home for a meal and there will undoubtedly be a ham stand somewhere in the kitchen, propping up a leg of patanegra or bellota, just ready to be sliced into delicious servings. So don’t allow yourself to be bewildered behind your shopping cart at the array of unfamiliar products on the shelves. A little careful searching will reveal a world of new and tasty items, as well as delicious Spanish equivalents of your favourite treats back home.
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OLULA DEL RIO has hosted the first meeting aimed at finding the Wise Women of Andalucia. The initiative, headed up by journalist Elena Caballero, is devised to publicise feminine values. About 30 women attended this first meeting to find out and understand the wisdom that Wise Women can impart to help and motivate others. Caballero, speaking to the attendees, explained that things could become a reality rather than merely a conversation. She said: “It’s about 12 personalities serving as guidance and inspiration to all ages.”
ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS
The wise women of Andalucia The initiative draws upon the wisdom of women such as Margarita an Indian grandmother, Jean Shinoda and her women’s circles, the environmentalist Wanghari Maathai and spiritual leader Amma, as well as
ancient goddesses like Aphrodite. Caballero is passionate about communication. She said: “The goal is to retrieve feminine values in the present moment, inspire self-esteem and creativity through original, evocative text and beautiful
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PHOTO INFORMATION: Elena Caballero.
ELENA CABALLERO: The journalist headed up the initiative. illustrations.” She has created a guide that will be shared
among women in sessions held in different regions.
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Albox natural gas ALBOX Town Council has granted the licence for natural gas supply to homes and businesses in 2015 for immediate action. The mayor, Rogelio Mena, said the gas supply will benefit all and added: “This means job creation, investments and energy savings of up to 30 per cent for Albox families and business people.” Albox is one of the first towns in the province to get the natural gas now that the permit has been signed. Redexis Gas will begin the work during 2015 to drive the natural gas from the Huercal-Overa Guadix Baza pipeline to Albox. Work is expected to start in March 2015 and will complete later in the year with families and businesses requesting connection
TOWN COUNCIL: Has now granted the licence. soon afterwards. Councillor for Planning in Albox, Sonia Cerdan, who met with the heads of the company responsible for gas supply to the province, said: “The future has come to Albox thanks to this management and advances given in recent months on basic goods such as water and energy.”
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Burns hash in Ogarite THE latest hashers’ outing was Burns themed as the walkers and runners set off from Ogarite in Oria. Thanks were given to the hares despite the chorus of howling and woofing by the many dogs assembled, as excited as their owners to be going for a long walk. After the introductory meeting, the hashers set off. They were assured that all would be fine, but the hare went on to say: “I don’t know the route so if you get lost then you’re best to make your way back to the pub.” Everyone managed, although one hasher kept choosing the wrong direction. Order of the day was: “Don’t follow her!”
SCOTTISH TUNE: Hashers enjoying a song in the closing circle at Ogarite. Back in the safety of the closing circle the hashers were gathered to order by the temporary replacement RA, who thanked the hares for a rubbish hash and dished out various punishments for
misdemeanours. The proceedings were concluded with a rousing rendition of a Scottish tune before everyone headed to the bar for drinks and tapas.
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omes&gardens
H Harvesting your olives
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Gardening Corner By Spain’s best known expatriate gardening author living in Spain for 25 years.
Harvesting THE three main objectives of harvesting olives are: Pick when ready for preparing eating olives or making olive oil, to cause as little bruising as possible and cause as little damage to the trees as possible. Olives for eating need to be picked while still firm. Olives for oil can be picked at the same stage or left to fully swell to maximise the overall yields. Some high quality producers still pick by hand. However most olives are allowed to fall naturally or racked, knocked off with long canes, or shaken off with mechanical tree shakers onto nets and then transferred to plastic boxes. In some areas, to reduce harvesting costs, the ground under trees is laid bare by using weed killers two weeks before shaking the olives onto the ground when they are blown or brushed into heaps for sacking. Yields can vary from 10 to 110 kilos or more per tree depending on the age, health and pruning of the tree, and the summer and autumn sunshine and rainfalls. Pickling olives to eat See chapter 78 of ‘Growing Healthy Fruit in Spain’ for our favourite methods and recipes. Producing olive oil To extract high quality oil from olives they need to be processed as soon after their harvesting as possible to minimise the onset of fermentation that
OLIVE OIL: Good quality oil can be stored for many years. can spoil the taste of the product. The process follows the following process. Riddling to remove leaves and stones, washing if allowed to fall on the ground before harvesting, the picking out of obviously bad olives, milling/ mashing the olives to create a paste, pressing of the paste to extract the oil and water and then the separation of the oil from the oil/water mix and pouring into storage vessels. These days quality plastic bottles or storage tanks are used. There are four ways to process olive to oil. 1. Purchase a manually or power operated mill/masher and press yourself or with a group of friends. 2. Arrange for a friend
or local villager to do the pressing for you on in a historic or new old style press. 3. Arrange for a larger agricultural cooperative mill to process your olives mixed in with those of other growers. Old mills will still use a cold process and you will get good quality extra virgin olive oil. Commercially olive oils are classified in descending quality order as Extra Virgin, Virgin, Ordinary Virgin Olive Oil, Olive Oil, Refined Olive oil, Lamp Oil. The standard maximum acceptable acidity levels are 1.0 per cent for extra virgin, 2.0 per cent for virgin and 3.3 per cent for ordinary virgin. A good yield is a litre of oil from five kilos of olives. A poor
yield from poor olives can be as little as a litre from seven or eight kilos. Bottled olive oil is best stored in a cool dark place. Good quality oil can be stored for many years. It is not usual or desirable to add preservatives. Coastal harvesting will now be complete but it will continue in colder inland and northern areas.
(c) Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com February 2015.
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Almeria Property Agency: Exciting changes, but still the same great service ALMERIA PROPERTY AGENCY is a wellrespected company, set up for the 21st century with progressive marketing. We go the extra mile to provide the best level of service possible for our clients. We are available at the end of the telephone virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Due to a very successful 2014, we require new sales listings in the Arboleas area. We have many clients booked to come out in the spring who are seeking quality properties at realistic prices so, if you are thinking of selling, please contact us. We have exciting news to share with readers of Euro Weekly News. Carly Flitney is joining the team while I, Gemma Macintyre, am heading off for a new phase of
SPECIAL AGENTS: From left to right, Gemma, Bill and new team member Carly.
IN ARBOLEAS: Professionalism with a friendly ear.
my life. I am going to the UK to start a new challenge and to continue my studies. I would just like to say it has been lovely working with all of our
pleasure working with you all. Obviously I will still be closely involved with the business and Bill will still be providing an excellent level of service to clients old and new. Of course because Bill is family and Arboleas is still my real home, I will be back often to visit. I wish Carly all of the best in taking over my role alongside Bill in the office. I am 100 per cent positive that she will be a great asset to the business. I will of course miss everyone but I
past and present clients who have chosen to trust us with finding them their new dream home. We would also like to thank all of our collaborators (a big hug
to Lucy at the Global Currency Exchange Network in Mojacar) as well as the other estate agencies who we work closely with on a day-today basis. It has been a
hope to see you all when I come back for a visit. Thank you again for all of your continued support. Love from Gemma Macintyre, Office Manager at Almeria Property Agency.
Almeria Property Agency Next to Cajamar bank. Plaza Constitucion, 3 Arboleas Tlf: 850 993 099 www.almeriaproperty agency.com info@almeriaproperty agency.com
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Longtail makes a come-back for McLaren FANS of supercars will be waiting for the Geneva Motor Show (March 5 to 15) with bated breath to catch a glimpse of
McLaren’s latest offering. The Surrey, UK, based manufacturer is looking to its heritage as it revives the legendary ‘Longtail’ name given to one of the purest GT sportscars of all time, the McLaren F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ for the
Tony Harrison / Wikipedia.
The original McLaren F1 GTR Longtail in racing livery.
launch of the new McLaren 675LT. This road legal supercar will embody the ‘Longtail’ ethos with a focus on performance optimised aerodynamics, increased downforce, driver engagement, power and reduced weight. The 675LT will join the core range of McLaren supercars alongside the existing 650S and Asia-only 625C to form the newly named McLaren Super Series which sits above the recently announced Sports Series in the range hierarchy. In line with the convention begun with the 650S, the number 675 denotes
the power produced by the 675LT’s engine in PS - the output equating to a devilish 666bhp. This figure makes the 675LT the most powerful offering in the Super Series. It will be offered in coupé body style only when deliveries start later this year. The iconic Longtail name made its debut during the 1997 season of sportscar racing, and saw a legendary model from McLaren on the grids around the world evolve into the most efficient racefocused version seen to-date. Rather than rest on the laurels of the highlysuccessful examples from the previous two seasons, which included a win on its debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995, McLaren moved the
benchmark on further - an approach that echoes through the company to this very day. Formula 1™ knowledge and experience, and the knowhow gained from the pinnacle of the sport created the purest version of a true world-beater. The distinctive stretched silhouette of the McLaren F1 GTR became known during the season as the ‘Longtail.’ The nickname stuck, and the model demonstrated the ultimate example of one of motorsport’s most successful GT cars. More details of the 675LT, including its startling performance figures, will be announced in the weeks running up to the Geneva Show.
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Performance and low running costs AS a plug-in hybrid, the new Mercedes-Benz C 350e combines an extraordinary level of efficiency, dynamism and comfort, according to the German manufacturer. In both its Saloon and its Estate guise, Mercedes says the car is ‘convincingly’ sporty, but frugal as well, with certified consumption figures of just 2.1 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres and a range of up to 31 kilometres in all-electric mode. Both the Saloon and the Estate model are equipped with air suspension and a pre-entry climate control system as standard. It is thought prices will start from around €51,000 for the Saloon and €52,600 for the Estate. Both vehicles will be at dealerships from March 2015. As a plug-in hybrid, the C 350e combines a combustion engine with an electric drive system and a high-voltage lithium-ion battery with a capacity of
NEW C350E: Convincingly sporty, but frugal as well.
INTELLIGENT: On board charging system. 6.38 kWh, which can be charged from an external power source. Thanks to an intelligent on board charging system, this takes approximately one hour and 30 minutes at a wallbox. A charging time of around two hours is achievable via a socket. In practical use, this advanced hybrid technology impresses with low consumption and emission figures, but high performance: the electric motor is able to replace or support the combustion engine and makes use of energy generated while
Spain wants lorries off problem roads SPAIN wants to get heavy vehicles off single-lane and busy roads and force them to use toll roads instead. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport plans to force transport lorries to use toll roads instead of conventional roads across the country in an aim to improve road safety and traffic flow in busy areas. A €10 million budget will give lorry drivers a 50 per cent discount on toll roads they are forced to take and a 35 per cent discount on stretches they continue to use voluntarily.
Once brought into effect, the measure will affect an estimated 8.7 million lorries, which will be banned from 16 roads and a total of 1,350 kilometres across the country, including stretches of the N-340 coastal road. Spanish traffic authorities reported a total of 29,447 accidents involving lorries between 2004 and 2009, resulting in 3,265 deaths, 8,425 serious injuries and 32,925 minor injuries, meaning the measure could have a big effect on road safety.
braking by converting it into electric energy, storing it and reusing it. From a displacement of just under two litres, the four-cylinder petrol engine in the C 350e produces 155 kW (211 hp) and maximum torque of 350 newton metres. The electric motor has an output of up to 60 kW and delivers torque of 340 newton metres.
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Alfa Romeo unveils latest open top THE latest open top Alfa Romeo Spider has been revealed, The production version of the 4C Spider features a unique carbon fibre windscreen frame and to save weight in the ultralight model. New design points feature an Akrapovic dual-mode exhaust system, new alloy wheel designs and a new colour, with the car due to be released onto the European market this summer. Prices have not been announced yet. Like its Coupé sibling, the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider is built around an exotic, ultra-lightweight monocoque chassis using layered carbon fibre that is three-times stronger and seven-times lighter than steel. Because of its inherent rigidity, Alfa Romeo engineers were able to minimise structural differences between the 4C Spider and 4C Coupé. As with the Coupé, the bodywork is made entirely from SMC (sheet moulded compound), a low-density, high-strength composite
OPEN TOP: 552 DK Alfa Romeo 4c Spider. material that is 20 per cent lighter and dimensionally more rigid than steel, and even the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider’s windscreen and side windows have been optimised for lightness, using 10 per cent thinner glass to reduce weight by up to 15 per cent. While European specifications for the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider have yet to be announced, the weight difference between the Coupé and Spider versions of the US-
market models is just 10kg. The Alfa Romeo 4C Spider shares much of its exterior design with its award-winning Coupé sibling - the changes are focused purely on the metamorphosis from fixed- to open-top. The Coupé’s glazed engine cover and flowing coupé shape gives way to a more traditional spider form, with pronounced buttresses and a body-coloured engine deck-lid with three functional heat extractors and an aero-
dynamically tuned spoiler. The rollover structure is housed in a black (or optional carbon fibre) ‘halo,’ creating visual harmony with the carbon fibre windscreen frame, where the attachment points for the removable, stowable cloth roof (or optional carbon fibre hardtop) can also be found. Other new features to debut on the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Concept include an all-new, titanium exhaust system, mounted centrally with switchable modes which can be altered depending on the driving environment and driver’s mood. Developed by worldrenowned exhaust specialists Akrapovic, this beautifully crafted system consists of two centrally-mounted tailpipes and computer-optimised asymmetrical mufflers with a dualmode exhaust valve system and link pipe with resonator to eliminate in-cabin droning. This optional system is finished with carbon fibre bezels on the exhaust tips. Like
the 4C Coupe, the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider will also be available with the standard and the Racing exhaust system. In addition to the existing colours available on the Alfa Romeo 4C a new Giallo (yellow) paint scheme is also offered (with matching accent stitching for the seating, steering wheel and doors available), while a new Tobacco leather interior option is also planned for later in the year. Powered by the same, allaluminium, 240hp, 258 lb.-ft., 1750 TBi engine as the Coupé, performance for the US model is on a par with the hardtop model, with a top speed of 160 MPH and a 0-to-60 MPH time estimated at 4.1-seconds. For the North American market, the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider is designed with stiffer springs, larger front- and rearanti-roll bars, and retuned shock absorbers. The technical specification of European models will be announced closer to its launch later in the year.
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International Sports 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.
Costa de Almeria
HAVING travelled over 25,000 miles by land, sea and air, I am now back in sunny Spain with my first weekly sport bulletin since early January and over last weekend there was some terrific action. * Andy Murray lost to world number one Novak Djokovic in the final of the men’s singles final in Melbourne. After three great sets the Scot lost 6-0 in the fourth as the Serb collected his eighth Grand Slam title. The majestic Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the women’s final. * Also ‘down under’ England were thumped by Australia in the final of the Tri-Nations cricket competition. After twice beating India comfortably, they were no match for the Maxwell-inspired Aussies in the final, losing by 112 runs. Remaining with the hard-ball game, Perth Scorchers retained their 20/20 Big Bash title, beating Sydney Sixers by four wickets in the final game. * England’s Moeen Ali has been named Wisden’s 2014 Cricketer of the Year. * Chelsea remain four points clear of reigning champions Manchester City after the top two drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge. Manchester United are third (after beating Leicester City 3-1), while Arsenal walloped hapless Aston Villa 5-0 at The Emirates. The pressure is now certainly on Villa’s boss Paul Lambert. QPR lost their 10th away game on the trot, going down 3-1 at Stoke for whom Jonathan
Walters hit his first-ever hat-trick. * AFC Bournemouth lead the Championship by a point from Derby County; Bristol City and Shrewsbury Town stand top of Leagues One and Two while Celtic are in pole position in the SPL. In fact, the Bhoys beat Glasgow rivals Rangers 2-0 in Sunday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final and will now play Dundee United (2-1 conquerors of thee holders Aberdeen) in the final. * Barcelona came back twice to beat Villarreal 32 at the Nou Camp, Lionel Messi scoring a brilliant winning goal. Barcá remain a point behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid. * Nottingham Forest sacked manager Stuart Pearce last weekend and replaced him with Dougie Freedman. * AC Milan are hoping to build a new 48,000 capacity stadium. * Congratulations to Walsall who have reached their first-ever Cup final in the club’s 127-year history. They will meet Bristol City in the Johnstone Paints Trophy at Wembley. Also at Wembley next month we have Chelsea v Tottenham in the League Cup final. * England will stage a football tournament in 2018... the UEFA U17 Championship. * Sheikh Mansour has invested £1.2 billion in Manchester City since 2008 while across the way at Old Trafford, United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward earned a record £2.52 million last year. * Former Portugal and Real Madrid star Luis Figo is to stand for the Presidency of FIFA. * Football’s January 2015 transfer deadline ended on Monday and I will list all the top signings/deals next week. It was expected that the billion euro barrier would be smashed with all
CO RDO NP RES S
Tony Matthews
CORDON PRESS
Disappointment Down Under for Andy Murray and the England cricket team
AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams won the singles. the top Premiership clubs involved in the signing (and selling) of several players. * World champion sprinter Richard Kilty has rejoined Linford Christie’s training camp in a bid to break the 10-second barrier for the 100m. * Scotland’s Elise Christie
is the new European shorttrack speed skating champion. * Big-time boxing will make a return to British TV screen on February 28 when Carl Frampton defends his IBF superbantamweight title against Chris Avalos at the Odyssey
Arena in Belfast. The fight is on ITV. * South African Brooks Koepka has won his first ever PGA title, claiming the Phoenix Open in The USA. * Jockey Tony McCoy is close to the 200-mark for NH winners this season, while trainer Paul Nicholls
has so far saddled over 75 winners this season, earning £1.8 million in prize money. * Hurricane Fly has created NH horse racing history by winning the Irish Champion hurdle for the 5th time. * New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in the 2015 Super Bowl in Arizona. * F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has yet to sign a new contract with Mercedes. Ferrari are keeping an eye on the situation. * Tomorrow in Cardiff, the 2015 Six Nations tournament gets under way when Wales take on England. Italy v Ireland and France v Scotland follow on Saturday. * In football, this weekend’s top Premiership games are Tottenham v Arsenal and Everton v Liverpool; Chelsea visit Aston Villa, Manchester City take on Hull and Manchester United visit West Ham. * In Spain we have the Madrid derby between Atletico and Real, while inform Barcelona go to Athletic Bilbao.
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Sport
A good turnout for Cortijo Golf CORTIJO GOLF is pleased to report there was another good turnout for its Sunday stableford. More players each week are joining in to enjoy the lovely old golf course. It is also one of the few actual Golf Clubs recognised by the Spanish Federation. If
Costa de Almería’s best guide to local sport
Captain in first place
TUESDAY was a beautiful golfing day at Valle del Este. It saw the start of the monthly white medal tee competition, which was won by Malcolm Nicholls with 29 points - good going off the white tees. Others played a two out of three team game, won by Michael Hill, Bill Gill and Alan Townsend with 39 points. The Thursday stableford competition saw new captain, Sue Hull, get her first win of the year with 36 points, second was Michael Hill on 30 points. Nearest the pins were Alan Townsend and Nick Nicholas. There was one two, scored by, Richard Hull on the 12th. The Costa Coches Order of Merit 2015 has Sue Hull in first place with 89 points at the end of January.
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you wish to play with a Golf Club not a society then this is the place to go. Winner was Mike Picken with second David Bezer and third Frank McGovern. There were no ball sweep winners so there is a big prize waiting for someone who gets a two on the right hole. TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Sandra takes the honours
CABRERA Lawn Bowling Club hosted the Ladies Singles Club Championship. There were some excellent rounds, one of them seeing Lyn Stoyles knocking out last year’s ladies champion Judy Abel. The final, however, was contested by two ladies, Sandra Marriott and Sylvia Byrne, who had both played the more consistent bowls throughout the competition. The many spectators who had come to watch the final were not disappointed as Sandra and Sylvia both bowled beautifully. Sandra took an early lead and was four ahead after four ends, but then Sylvia got into her stride and after 15 ends the score was level at 13 all. It is the first to 21 shots and after 25 ends Sandra was leading by one shot at 20-19. On the next end
Sylvia Byrne and Sandra Marriott. Sandra managed to win the shot and the final score was 21-19. A thrilling final enjoyed by everyone.
Dreaded round MARINA PHOENIX played the ‘dreaded’ medal round where Alan Morris came to the fore of a 36 strong field, with a two under par 69, to win the men’s division. John Meagher (72) was second, followed by Jim Budd (74) in third. Isobel Jones was the best lady scoring a net 76 to win her division. Penny Craig (80) was second and June Nicol (81) third. There were two’s prizes for June Nicol (9th) and Eddie Vaughan (14th). Thursday’s team game, played in fourballs, was best two to count on par 3’s and two on the rest. The
winning total of 99, 17 points better than par, was returned by Kathy Morrris, Isobel Jones, Marcos Caparros and Jim Budd. Five points behind were June Nicol, Jackie Dale, Keith James and Alan Cook (94) followed in third by John Meagher, Rod Ambrose, Derick Dale and Linda King (91). There were nearest the pin prizes for Jackie Dale and John Meagher (2). Marina Phoenix play Mondays (individual) and Thursdays (team game). To join them for a €25 green fee. Ring Jim on 950 162 727 / 600 353 670 or Rosalie 950 397 117 / 697 512 882.