Costa Blanca South 13 - 19 October 2022 Issue 1945

REACH FOR THE STARS

Linda Hall

ELCHE is joining the race to secure the prize plum of the Spanish Space Agen cy’s headquarters.

The Local Government Board has approved a mo tion to put forward Elche’s name, city mayor Carlos Gonzalez announced on Friday October 7.

The same motion also called on the Generalitat to make an official state ment backing Elche’s can didacy. This, Gonzalez ex plained, was one of the central government’s specifications included in its list of requirements for candidate cities.

Confirmation of regional president Ximo Puig’s backing should not be long in coming. Responding on Thursday October 6 to the regional media, Puig de clared that the city and the surrounding area were the best possible option for Spain’s Space Agency.

“They meet all the con

ditions for selecting the centre,” Puig said.

“There might be a simi lar city but it would be dif ficult to find a more fitting candidate than Elche, with an international airport, a leading space technology company like PLD and three state universities and a private university within reach.”

Meanwhile, Carlos Gon zalez said that the city was approaching its candidacy with the utmost realism.

Credit: Shuttertstock.com/FrameStockFootage.

SPACE STATION: Elche is hoping to be in the running for the Space Agency HQ.

Tech let-down for port

Linda Hall

ALICANTE port’s storage facility for bulk cargoes is unlikely to open yet.

Eiffage, the company that will run the warehouse, ran into problems during the trial period last spring and has not yet announced when it expects to begin operations.

The Alicante Port Authority explained that there have been delays in receiving high­tech components for the depot, owing to manufacturing and distribution holdups.

“The complex infrastructure depends on artificial intelligence,” port sources said.

Once the warehouse is up and run ning, the Port Authority will rescind the

PLANS to remodel the Playa de Los Locos promenade and Avenida Doctor Mariano Ruiz Canovas in Torrevieja are fi nally making headway.

Local Government Board (JGL) has now awarded a €73,221 contract for drawing up plans which should be ready in four months’ time, 31 months after the project was first discussed. Owing to this delay it is unlikely that the

existing concession that has permitted movement of bulk cargoes in the open air.

Residents living in seafront apart ments near the port, as well as environ mentalist groups, have complained for years about pollution and the health hazards linked to the powdery and sometimes toxic substances.

Between January and August this year, more than one million tons of bulk solids were moved through Alicante port, 29 per cent more than in 2021.

Wheat accounted for only 15 per cent of the products reaching the port, while the remaining 85 per cent should, ac cording to regulations, have been han dled under cover.

Late start

contract to carry out the con struction work can be fi nalised before the May 2023 municipal elections, town hall sources said.

Revamping the promenade and road was originally an nounced in 2011 during Torre vieja mayor Eduardo Dolon’s first term in office.

According to the JGL state ment the project will make this section of the coastline more user­friendly, “incorpo rating pedestrian areas and spacious leisure areas,” while complying with urban accessi bility regulations.

The plans are also required to include a bike lane as well as access for both public and private transport, plus parking areas and access for residents.

Sieving sand to save beach

Promises promisesRail links

CARLOS MAZON, president of the Diputacion provincial council, has made bringing the Tram from Alicante City to Elche one of his principal elec tion promises. Should the Par tido Popular control the Diputacion again after the municipal elections next May, he would also prioritise a De nia­Gandia rail link, Mazon declared.

Give us time

THE regional Health depart ment has received 12 bids to build a €70 million extension to the Vega Baja hospital but has not had enough time to analyse the documents re ceived. Plans to publish an evaluation of all the technical proposals have been tem porarily shelved, the Health department said.

Burning issue

ELCHE City Hall confirmed that the ban on lighting bon fires to dispose of agricultural waste has been temporarily lifted following the repeal of Article Three of Spain’s Waste Disposal Law. Being able to burn stubble and weeds was essential for Elche’s agricultur al sector, city mayor Carlos Gonzalez said.

Squatter app

CALLOSA is the Valencian Community’s first municipali ty to introduce an app dealing specifically with squatters. Thanks to Alerta Okupa, resi dents now have an anony mous and direct means of contacting the town hall to re port any type of activity con nected to illegal entry, an nounced Callosa mayor Manuel Martinez Sirvent.

Eat up

SEA LETTUCE could soon ap pear on local menus, courtesy of Mediterranean Algae, a start­up company linked to Al icante University’s Science Park. The company has begun distributing this edible sea weed to a dozen Alicante restaurants whose chefs are currently experimenting with ways of incorporating it into their repertoires.

Linda Hall

SANTA POLA has begun re generating the Playa Lisa beach, using sand obtained from the town’s own beaches.

The Institute of Coastal Ecology (IEL) is overseeing this pilot scheme, intro duced to halt further deteri oration.

Playa Lisa has suffered from erosion ‘for decades’ owing to changes in the shoreline, which have also affected the section be tween the Gran Playa and Tamarit beaches, the town

Going postal

THE Correos postal service in Elche needs another 22 employees, according to CSIF, the union that represents them.

“CSIF wishes to draw attention to the fact that staff are most needed in the deliveries section and most especially those working in the Special Services Unit,” a union statement announced.

“Each Monday, they are faced with trolleys containing on aver age 600 items which the Unit’s four employees cannot cope with.”

The CSIF members are now carrying out 20­minute stoppages at 8.45am on weekdays in Elche, outside the Number 3 delivery sec tion and the Special Services Unit.

Meanwhile, Correos has denied that more staff are required. In response, the CSIF alleged that the postal service’s reluctance to in crease its Elche personnel is increasing the workload for the existing employees, who are consequently under great pressure.

“This is leading to sick leave for anxiety and depression which un dermines their health and also affects the service that Correos gives,” the union said.

Cancer awareness

OCTOBER is Breast Cancer Awareness month and World Breast Cancer Day is on Wednesday October 19, an international campaign to raise awareness for the detection and treatment of breast cancer, raise funds for research, treatment and survival. To mark the occasion, we found some facts and figures about breast cancer in Spain and the UK.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in wom en in both Spain and the UK. In Spain, there are 35,000 new cases of breast cancer a year, in the UK the figure stands at around 55,000. Breast cancer rates have risen by around 18 per cent since the ear ly 1990s.

However, breast cancer has higher overall survival rates than some other cancers. In Spain 87 per cent of women survive breast cancer for more than five years after diagnosis, in the UK 88 per cent of wom en survive for five years.

Breast cancer can also be prevented, in up to 23 per cent of cases in the UK. Breast Cancer Aware ness month is crucial in raising awareness about early detection.

hall said.

The town hall is taking steps to reverse the situa tion, making a start by bringing in 350 cubic metres of local sand obtained by sieving the piles of seaweed that accumulate on Santa Pola’s beaches.

The IEL and town hall will keep a close watch on the sand’s ‘behaviour’, evaluat ing the effectiveness of the measure, municipal sources

explained, while continuing Santa Pola’s beach-moni toring project, GESTAR, which began in 2017.

“Various schemes have been used in this zone in an attempt to solve the problem,” the town hall said. “These have in volved replenishing the beach with more sand and building the breakwaters that were introduced dur ing the 1980s.”

First rate suggestion

A MIGUEL DE SALINAS resi dents association is calling for a reduction in IBI rates.

The San Miguel Arcangel As sociation recently presented a proposal for a future motion to the town hall and all political groups, maintaining that reduc tions would reduce fiscal pres sure in general and assist the neediest families.

They also suggested a modest increase in rates for rustic land and a 50 per cent penalisation for empty prop erties, which would bring in an extra €74,000 on this year’s rates.

According to an economic breakdown included with the proposal, the San Miguel Ar cangel proposition would not result in a loss of income for the town hall.

“Quite the opposite,” the as sociation pointed out.

The association members would also like to see a 100 per cent discount in rates for fami

lies where no­one was earning, with a 50 per cent cut for those whose income was lower than the minimum wage.

There should also be reduc tions of between 15 and 60 per cent, depending on the num ber of children in a family and the value of the habitual resi dence, they said.

SOUTHERN ALICANTE’S agri cultural growers have waited two years for a practical solu tion to the reduction in their Tajo­Segura irrigation water.

The central government’s Environment Ministry has in creased the Tajo’s ecological flow while reducing the wa ter which reaches the province via the pipeline, and growers maintain that this is endangering their livelihood.

Madrid has countered with promises to increase the output from the Torre vieja desalination plant.

These promises will pre sumably take some time to materialise, as the proposals for next year’s Budget makes clear that publicly­owned Acuamed will not be invest ing any of the project’s €61.2 million allocation in 2023.

Instead, this will be split in to €20 million for 2024, an other €20 million for 2025 and €21.2 million in 2026.

Next year Acuamed will be administering only €680,000, of which €500,000 is to be used on a regulating tank for desalinated water produced at the Muchamiel plant.

Acuamed also plans to in vest €80,000 on beginning the paperwork involved in building a pipeline to chan nel treated wastewater from the Orgegia plant to the Huerta de Alicante agri cultural area for crop irriga tion.

The Euro Weekly News

PLAYA

Gastro VegabajaClaro replies

ROBERT HOULISTON from the CLARO party commented recently on the invitation to join forces with the Orihuela Costa Independence Party (PI OC).

“This new political party be lieves that independence for Orihuela Costa is possible,” Robert said. “While indepen dence for part of an existing municipality is legally possible, the conditions forOrihuela Costa make it impossible.”

He explained that an inde pendence petition must be signed by at least 50 per cent of the residents registered on the municipal Padron.

“Each signature must be val idated by a notary - or the city hall secretary in faraway Ori huela - costing perhaps €10 per signature,” he said.

“In Orihuela Costa’s case, 15,000 signatures would be re

quired to support a petition.”

He pointed out that the to tal Orihuela Costa vote in mu nicipal elections is less than 2,300. Even assuming that all were in favour of indepen dence, this would require an other 12,700 signatures from a less-than-politically-active pop ulation, often absent for part of the year in the case of nonSpanish.

“And the time allowed would not be unlimited. This alone is virtually impossible,” Robert declared.

“Whatever their frustration and the temptation for resi dents to think there is an easy solution to our problems it is not independence, which is impossible. It is also a toxic no tion for Orihuela-based politi cal parties who will in future continue to dominate the mu nicipal government,” he said.

THE Gastro Vegbaja seventh festival will be held from Fri day, October 28, until Sunday, October 30, and for the first time will be held at the Torre vieja International Auditori um.

Councillor for Tourism, Rosario Martínez, confirmed: “Gastro Vegabaja is an oppor tunity to enjoy the gastronomy of our city and the region with your family. It is an event that has been growing little by little and this year we can enjoy it in the unique International Audi torium,” she added.

The president of the Associ ation of Hospitality Companies of Torrevieja and Comarca (AEHTC), Jose Ignacio Pastor, has invited all the residents of Torrevieja and the region to visit the festival to enjoy the best gastronomy and the best

local products.

The General Director of Tourism, Herick Campos, con gratulated both the associa tion and Torrevieja Town Hall

for continuing to put on events that have the hospitality sector as a protagonist, one of the most important in the Valen cian Community.

JOOP students

SEVERAL young people from Pinoso’s JOOP employment pro gramme visited the Mobile Ecopark in Pinoso as part of the ac tivities carried out in the scheme.

During the visit on Wednesday, October 5, Antonio Martínez, environmental educator, explained to them how the different types of waste are separated, which waste can be taken to the Mobile Ecopark, the importance of managing waste correctly and the problems that waste generates, etc.

He also explained how to get a job in the company that man ages the VAERSA Mobile Ecoparks, as well as how to work as an Environmental Educator.

The JOOP programme has been running since 2017 and pro vides different tools related to skills development, career guid ance, courses in study techniques and improving employability, visits to companies and leisure outings.

It is a perfect alternative to inaction, and in some activities, ex periences will be shared with young people from other munici palities where this programme is also being developed.

Going going gone

AN Elche development company has been giv en four hours to de molish a railway bridge.

The existing two­lane bridge needs to be re placed with a 22­me tre, four­lane viaduct that will link a future residential complex of 1,200 properties with the N­340 road.

National rail opera tor, Renfe, and infras tructure administrator, Adif, finally authorised the demolition after months of formalities but specified that the demolition must be carried out between 1.30am and 5.30am.

Neither passengers nor goods trains will be using the AlicanteMurcia line at this time, although a Renfe employee will ensure that the track is entire ly clear before work begins.

Most of the old bridge has already been dismantled apart from the section over the railway line, which the construction com pany hopes to remove later this month.

The girders support ing the new €700,000 bridge will be installed at the same time while the remaining work, which does not affect the track below, can be carried out during the daytime.

The urbanisation promoters hope to car ry out the demolition later this month, ready to start work on the new bridge which will take approximately six months to complete.

Rosario Martinez, Jose Ignacio Pastor and Herick Campos.

Image: Torrevieja Town Hall

Cat sterilisation campaign

THE Health Department of the Orihuela Town Hall has sterilised 85 feral cats since mid-September as part of the campaign ‘Sterilisation of ownerless cats’.

The councillor for Health, Luis Quesa da, explained: “The aim of the campaign is to sterilise ownerless cats to avoid the uncontrolled reproduction of these ani mals. Due to their unsocial behaviour, they cannot adapt to living with families in closed environments in the home.”

The presence of cats without owners in different parts of the municipality, es

pecially around feeding points, has been increasing in recent years.

The councillor added: “Thanks to this campaign we can complete a large num ber of sterilisations in a short period of time, so we can make better progress in controlling colonies.

“These measures, together with the municipality’s future feline colonial plan which we hope to put into operation, will help us to achieve the desired ob jective, which is to keep these animals in suitable conditions from the point of view of health and welfare,” he added.

Tourism convention

DEPUTY MAYOR and head of the Alicante City & Beach Tourist Board, Mari Carmen Sanchez, attended the con vention, which began on Monday, October 3.

The Alicante City & Beach Municipal Tourist Board took part in the second Turespana Convention which ran until Wednesday, October 5, in Barcelona. This year the convention was dedicated to the ‘Gover

nance of Tourism’.

Mari Carmen Sanchez held meetings with Tures pana advisors from Ger many, Sweden, the Nether lands and Japan. Sanchez confirmed that “these meet ings are important for the planning of the promotion of Alicante abroad. Turespana is the one who coordinates the national action of the dif ferent Spanish destinations”.

Different Turespana advi

sors also gave presentations on markets in Europe, Amer ica and Asia.

Prior to this convention, the Alicante City & Beach Tourist Board has already held meetings with Turisme Comunitat Valenciana to prepare the Operational Plan for next year in terms of foreign promotion, and this forum will help both admin istrations to finalise the pro posals.

Women’s football

WOMEN’S football is mak ing headway and consoli dating in El Poble Nou de Benitachell and the Munici pal School of Basic Football has created a team made up entirely of girls aged 12 and 13.

The director of the Foot ball School, Celso Alcazar, confirmed the initiative came from several girls from the school. “They were the ones who started to look for more interested girls to complement the team,” he said.

“We thought it was a great idea and we started to contact the schools in the municipality and the surrounding area so that they could inform families about the project.”

The Sports Council is ap pealing for more players. “We encourage all girls with a passion for football and team sport to join this wonderful project,” said the councillor for Sports, Toni Colomer.

Valencia Day

ON Sunday October 9, Spain celebrated Valencia Day, the of ficial holiday of Spain’s Valencian community.

The day is celebrated in Spain in commemoration of the 1238 reconquest of Valencia from the Moors by King James I of Aragon.

Celebrations for Valencia Day began late at night on Satur day October 8 with an awe‐inspiring firework display in true Spanish fashion. The events which took place on Sunday in cluded a colourful procession in the provincial capital. As part of this ceremony, flowers were laid around the statue of King James I, who founded the Kingdom of Valencia.

Like any good Spanish festival, there were also local street parties and other festivities enjoyed throughout the day of celebration. As well as Valencia Day, October 9 is also the date of the feast day of Saint Denis of Paris, who is widely praised as the patron saint of lovers in Valencia. It is tradition al on this day to gift marzipan pastries wrapped in a silk scarf to one’s loved one on this day.

GREAT IDEA: Girls with a passion for football.

Image: El Poble Nou de Benitatxell Town Hall

Gold Medal

ORIHUELA Town Hall cele brated on Friday, October 6, with the presentation of the Gold Medal of the City to the Polytechnic School of Orihuela for its 50th an niversary.

Antonio Sanchez, coun cillor for Festivities, high lighted “the immense priv ilege that I have had as councillor for Festivities to give this award of the Gold Medal of the City to this very important academic institution.

“Something that will re main forever engraved in the history of this munici pality and our beloved Polytechnic School of Ori huela.”

Ricardo Abadia, Direc tor of the Polytechnic School of Orihuela, ex pressed his gratitude for the honour, “the city council has been linked to the school since its incep tion, and continues to be so with the numerous col laborations we are cur rently working on and which I hope will continue for many more years.”

Abadia also stressed that “with this Gold Medal, we have achieved the full consolidation of university activity in our city, and I hope that this is felt by all Orihuela resi dents.”

Santa Claus’ new home

NOVELDA will have a new Santa Claus house for the upcoming Christmas holidays.

The house is a new part of the Christmas dec orations designed and created by the SuperArte craft workshop. SuperArte craft is a recently es tablished studio in Novelda specialising in the creation of bonfires, fallas and ornamentation for festivals.

The new house, which has a budget of €5,170 will be unveiled at Christmas and, as the council lor for Fiestas, Jose Maria Chacon, pointed out,

“will add a touch of colour to the Christmas sea son.”

The Fiestas delegate thanked the “involve ment and enthusiasm” that the SuperArte craft workshop has shown to achieve “a decorative element that we will be able to use for many years to come, making it the star of the Christ mas season.”

The managers of the SuperAlicante Fallas craft workshop, Fatima Garaballu and Jose Manuel Feliu, thanked the council for their trust.

Replacement appliances

COUNCILLOR for Energy Ef ficiency and Trade, Felip Sanchez, announced the launch of a campaign of vouchers aimed at the re newal of household appli ances for more energy­effi cient appliances.

This comes with the dual purpose of helping families in their domestic economy and contributing to sustain ability.

Elche Council gave the green light to this initiative which will commence on Friday, October 14, when consumers will be able to pre­register on the website elxelectrorenova.es.

The vouchers can be used from October 17 until November 7.

Felip Sanchez confirmed: “The Energy Efficiency De partment has earmarked €1,050,000 to carry out this new campaign after the one we already launched for professionals."

There are two types of

vouchers: one of €250 for which the consumer must pay €50, and another of €360 for which the con sumer must pay €60. The grants are €200 or €300.

The councillor confirmed: “The appliances must be purchased in an establish ment with a physical shop in Elche and the purchasers must also reside in Elche.”

Farewell party

THE expat community in Tor revieja held a special farewell event for a friend, Mandy Ket tlewell, who is heading back to England after three decades of living in Spain.

A farewell party was held in Marina Bar on Calle de las Rosas on October 4 to send Mandy off in style.

The afternoon was filled with fun as Mandy’s favourite singer, Adam Slater per formed, friends performed a costume act and Torrevieja residents packed into the bar to wish Mandy the best of luck as she leaves to live with her son in the UK.

Partygoers at the farewell

Reactiva 22

THE Governing Board of the Alicante City and Beach Tourist Board has unanimously approved the award ing of grants to 25 associations and non­profit organi sations that presented their projects to promote Ali cante as a destination as part of the Reactiva 22 Plan.

Plan Reactiva 22 is divided into five separate bud gets. The first includes holiday accommodation asso ciations and entities, ie hotels and tourist flat blocks, which have opted for a maximum subsidy of €200,000.

The largest budget, with a maximum of €90,000, in cludes associations and organisations promoting cruise tourism, active tourism and official guides, lan guage tourism, LGTBIQ+, residential tourism, as well as festivals and film and music cycles.

event formed a conga, ending the afternoon with a real splash as several people end ed up in a swimming pool, ful ly clothed!

Event organisers said “Her big personality and sense of humour will be sadly missed by all who knew her,” adding that the event was an emo tional goodbye. They thanked Rita, Dave and all of the staff for making it a memorable goodbye party.

Though everyone is sad for her to leave, the group wish Mandy the best of luck in her new life in Leicester, UK.

Photo credit: David Whitney

Members of the local community gathered for Mandy’s farewell bash.

THE Medieval Festival returns to Elche after the restrictions of the pandemic.

‘Return to Life’ is the motto of the 27th Medieval Festival of Elche which will run from Thursday, October 20 until Tuesday, November 1.

Medieval culture will come to the city’s squares and cul tural spaces as a framework for the extraordinary perfor

Medieval Festival

mances of the Misteri, which will take place on Friday, Octo ber 28, Saturday, October 29 and Tuesday, November 1, in the Basilica of Santa María.

The councillor for Culture of Elche City Council, Marga An ton, presented the pro

gramme of activities that will begin on the afternoon of Thursday, October 20 with the opening of the Medieval Mar ket. The market will have the participation of some 15 top national and international companies.

The councillor confirmed: “The return to life is an ex pression that reflects a change, a rebirth, after these two years of great uncertain ty. The festival is reborn with strength. It will occupy streets, squares, chapels, cloisters and theatres of our city and flood them with the power of mu sic, performing arts and dance.”

Salt Church harvest celebration

VISITORS and regulars gathered for a special harvest celebration at Salt Church in Mar Menor on Sunday October 9. Churchgoers gave praise and celebrated the harvest during the special mass.

Cash donations of more than €350 and a carload of supplies were donated to a local foodbank which is run by Yo Encuentro charity in Los Belones. Supplies will feed local families and fruit pickers.

Yo Encuentro founder, Bob Barham explained the need for provisions at this time saying,

“These hard­working people pro vide our harvest but they, them selves, are often a forgotten link in the food chain.”

Salt Church Mar Menor is an English­speaking evangelical group who meet at The Hub in San Javier at 10:45am to worship. New members are always wel come to the church and can look up the church on Facebook: saltchurchmarmenor or YouTube: Salt Church Mar Menor You Tube.

Alternatively, Pastor Andy Neale can be contacted by tele phone: +34 622 416 793.

Hilarious theatre production

ACTORS COMMUNITY THEATRE group are holding an entertaining show ‘Sex Please We’re Sixty’, from November 17 to 19 at the Casa de Cultura in Benijofar.

The action takes place in a Brighton B&B during the summer where two gen tleman neighbours attempt to seduce the owner and her female friend with the aid of certain clandestine pills, to stop the onset of menopause and to ‘keep the gentlemen’s engines running’! The hilarious results remain to be seen!

The theatre group are selling tickets for €10 each in locations around Benijo far and surrounding areas: Cards & More ­ La Marina, The Post Box ­ Doña Pepa, The Card Place ­ Benimar, The Post Room ­ Benijofar; Bargain BooksSan Miguel, The Card & Gift ShopCuidad Quesada, The Post Shop ­ Villa martin and Quentine’s ­ Algorfa.

Tickets can also be purchased by emailing actstheatre@icloud.com, call ing 602 683 925 or by contacting the Facebook page: ACTS Actors Community Theatre.

Help for Ukraine

SPAIN’S Defence Min istry is sending a new convoy to Ukraine with light all­terrain vehicles, ambulances and medi cal equipment.

The shipment will cov

er logistical and medical needs of the highest priority for the Ukraini an Ministry of Defence.

A further 12 heavy vehi cles will be shipped by sea in the coming days.

The Minister of De fence, Margarita Rob les, attended the depar ture from Alcala de Henares on Thursday, October 6, of a land convoy transporting eight light vehicles, two ambulances and five tonnes of various medi cal equipment to Poland.

The vehicles and med

Higher education

ON Wednesday, October 5, Spain and Germany signed an agreement to intensify relations in higher education.

The Minister for Universities, Joan Subirats, met with his counterpart, the Minister for Education and Research of the Federal Government of Germany, Bettina Stark­Watzinger, during the German­Spanish Summit.

During the meeting, the two ministers agreed to sign a Dec laration to raise the profile of the commitment to strengthen ties in the field of higher education, recognising training as a ba sic pillar for the advancement of both countries.

Joan Subirats confirmed: “We welcome the fact that the Declaration of Intent we are signing today will allow us to learn in situ about Germany’s policies, programmes and actions on common challenges.”

Germany has extensive experience and a proven track record in areas that are of great interest to Spain, such as the retraining of the working population, dual university education and the university model at the service of social needs.

ical equipment were provided by the Army, the Navy and the Span ish Emergency Military Unit and were prepared for transport by the Projection Support Group (GAPRO), a unit that provides logistical support for operations and exercises both on national territory and in operations abroad.

Robles explained that “these are the priorities that Ukraine has at the moment and this is what they are asking us for, the war is being very cruel, there are many wounded people and they urgently need medical material.”

Repsol promotion

AN offer to get one gas cylin der free was announced on Tuesday, October 4 by Repsol and is available to anyone who buys at least 10 units (12.5 kgs) using the company’s website or mobile application.

The offer is limited to one per person and is valid on the main land and in the Balearics until the end of the year.

Respol currently offers an ad ditional discount to anyone who buys petrol through its mobile payment app, which al so needs to be used to get the benefit of the gas cylinder offer.

Once the order is placed, the cylinder will be made available. In addition, anyone who pur chases more than 10 cylinders will receive a coupon that is valid in­store for three months.

The offer comes ahead of winter and at a time when gas prices have fallen from their earlier highs this year of €19.95.

Although the free butane gas cylinders offer can be seen as a gimmick, for those hardpressed to pay for gas supplies the offer does have value.

Margarita Robles and the departure of logistical vehicles.

Image: Spanish Government/Ministry of Defence

Sophisticated fakes

ON September 21, Europol lead a joint operation with the Spanish National Police and the Catalonian Mossos d’Esquadra to dismantle an organised crime group in volved in printing and dis tributing counterfeit €500 notes.

During the operation a clandestine print shop was dismantled and 12 people were arrested. Nine loca tions were searched in Ali

BUSINESSES and schools closed in order to join in the celebrations for Spain’s National Day on Wednesday October 12.

Spain’s National Day commemorates the ar rival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas and is also sometimes known as Dia de la His panidad (Hispanic Day).

Italian‐born Christopher Columbus set off from Pa los de la Frontera in south west Spain in 1492 on Au

cante, Barcelona, Malaga and Valencia. €4.3 million in fake €500 banknotes were seized and a large amount of equipment (several printing presses, an insulation ma chine, a hot stamping ma chine, a paper guillotine and raw materials).

Investigators identified the main suspect behind the print shop as an individual al ready known by authorities detained for similar criminal

activities in 2009. These counterfeits were of better quality but had similarities to the 2009 counterfeits, which lead to the same suspect.

The investigators estimate that in as little as three months, the criminal net work printed more than €8 million.

The fake money was used for different criminal activi ties including drug traffick ing.

Spain’s National Day

gust 3. Just over two months later he arrived in the ‘New World’.

Columbus, who was sponsored by the Spanish monarch, Ferdinand of Aragon, was actually look ing for a western route to India, but instead stum bled upon the Americas, a continent that had been largely unknown to Euro peans.

The discovery led to a period of rapid explo ration of the continent.

Día de la Hispanidad was first celebrated in Madrid in 1935 and was made an official public holiday in 1981. In 1987, its name was changed to Fiesta Nacional (Spain’s National Day), removing any reference to Spanish colonialism.

THE Spanish government approved another landmark historic memory law on Wednesday October 5. The legislation builds on laws origi nally created from 2007 and aim to bring jus tice for the victims of the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship under Franco.

Measures contained in the law include a na tional DNA bank and a purpose‐made census

New historical memory law

to facilitate easier location and identification of victims’ remains. The ‘Valley of the Fallen’ area where Franco’s body lay for 44 years prior to its exhumation in 2019 will also be ‘redefined’ to provide a more comprehensive historical ac

count of the Civil War and dictatorship. The law also bans any glorification of the Franco regime or the dictator himself.

President, Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE, who praised the move on Twitter saying, “we have

taken another step towards justice, reparation and dignity for all the victims.” The Spanish Civil War and its commemoration remains a polar ising topic in Spain due to differing accounts of historical memory and political opinion.

Trees in Barcelona

MORE than 8,000 trees are to be planted around Barcelona’s city districts between now and the end of 2023.

The planting campaign began on Thursday, October 6, with teams from Parks and Gardens to get support as part of the city’s maintenance plan Cuidem Barcelona.

The campaign comes in addition to an exer cise to plant over 55,000 plants and flowers in the spring earlier in the year.

Citywide checks were carried out in the last quarter of 2021 with a view to reducing the number of empty tree beds. The exercise counted 8,911 empty beds, 465 of which will be paved over due to services running underneath

PLANTING: Around the city’s streets.

them or other impediments making it unfeasi ble to plant trees in them. Planting campaigns are organised according to the time of year and type of tree and factor in the removal, replant ing and availability of specific trees.

Rare literature auction

A RARE collection of 17th century work by Spanish literary great, Miguel de Cervantes will go to auction later this year where stories could fetch more than €900,000 combined. The collector’s edition books will go to the auction hall in December in Paris, 400 years after being printed.

A unique third edition of literature classic, Don Quixote, is set to fetch an impressive €500,000‐ €600,000. It is made particularly unusual due to manuscript‐style notes made by Cervantes as he revised tales from the first and second editions of the book.

Another item by Cervantes up for auction is a first edition collection of stories, Novelas ejemplares, also from the 17th century.

The books also have a fascinating story of their own, having been sought out by Boli vian diplomat, Jorge Ortiz Linares in the 1930s. One antique book dealer described it as the “rarest and best example to have reached the market in decades” and a “mira cle find.”

Cervantes’ classical works have inspired generations of Spanish literature lovers. And for collectors, the works are priceless.

Betty Henderson

Image: Barcelona City Council/Parks and Gardens

Face-to-face banking

A MEETING between the First Vice‐President of the government, Nadia Calvi no, and the banking associ ations was held on Friday, October 7, in which a roadmap was agreed up

on. The roadmap comes with the aim of ensuring that credit institutions guarantee access to face‐to‐face financial services for all citizens of Spain. This commitment comes

in the hope that it will favour the fight against de population and contribute to an appropriate territori al structuring.

The agreement estab lishes a framework for ac tion that will be articulated with full respect for com petition regulations to guarantee at least one point of access to face‐to‐face banking services through different modali ties for the more than 660,000 people residing in the 3,230 municipalities that do not have this ser vice. Measures are also in cluded to ensure the main tenance of face‐to‐face banking services in those municipalities that current ly have only one access point.

The associated entities will have a period of six months, extendable by a further six months, to en sure the implementation of at least one access point.

Top retirement destination

Betty Henderson

SPAIN ranked in the top 10 best countries to retire in 2022 in a report released by a lifestyle magazine this October. The report ranked Spain at number nine globally due to its warm climate, high level of security and beautiful coastal regions.

Retirement is a universally popular concept, but that doesn’t mean everywhere is an ideal retirement destination. The report used a ‘glob al retirement index’ to rank countries, consider ing aspects of quality of life thought to be key to retirement living.

Other countries in the top 10 included Pana ma at number one, Portugal at number four and France at number seven.

Spain ranked as number nine on the list due to its 300‐plus days of sunshine annually, af

fordability of property, excellent healthcare fa cilities and healthy Mediterranean eating op tions. The report also cited historical and cultur al heritage throughout the country as a factor in its high ranking. Other services that con tributed to the top 10 ranking include reliable and affordable public transportation options, internet stability, having potable tap water, de cent electricity and good council services.

Sports budget increase

THE government will allocate €1,804 million to Culture and Sports policies in 2023, the Spanish government confirmed on Friday, October 7.

This allocation compared to the budget for 2022, is an in crease of 13.5 per cent. The Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta, who presented

the accounts at a press confer ence confirmed that “these are budgets designed to strengthen the cultural industries.

“They are designed to con tribute to the creation of new audiences and to protect the workers in the cultural sector.

This is in line with the aim of this government to protect the so

cial majority in the face of the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.”

Iceta said “the budgets ear marked for Culture and Sports are, for the first time, consid ered to be public goods of a preferential nature, due to their nature as the backbone of soci ety, as Health and Education.”

Spanish inflation controlled

NEW figures have revealed that inflation in Spain slowed during September to 9 per cent. This follows August’s inflation rate of 10.5 per cent and inflation increases for four succes sive months. Statistics re leased by the INE at the end of September were con firmed last week.

The September figure is the lowest inflation rate since May this year, infla tion in the country had reached double‐digit fig ures not seen since the 1980s in June.

The fall in inflation is be ing attributed to falls in electricity, gas and trans port prices, some of it due to government subsidies.

Core inflation also fell slightly to 6.4 per cent, a decrease of 0.2 per cent, notable due to previous 14 month consecutive increas es in the indicator, since June 2021.

News of falling inflation rates comes as a relief for consumers, particularly as we head towards winter.

SPAIN: One of the world’s top destinations for retirees.

Photo credit: Daniel Myjones / shutterstock.com

The Spanish government has introduced measures to combat spiralling inflation.

Photo credit: rnl / shutterstock.com

A DESPERATE DAN has tak en to advertising on a mo torway billboard in an effort to get himself his first date after all previous attempts didn’t work out.

According to a news out let, Ed Chapman, 23, from Leeds, West Yorks, has been single all his life. Having failed to secure himself any dates by traditional meth ods or from dating apps he decided to step outside of the box and try something different in his bid to find love.

The plan has apparently worked for Chapman who has received an influx of messages from people aged between 18 and 48. He is now busy arranging his first‐ever date, which he hopes will go to plan.

He said: “I had tried some dating apps, but it didn’t go well for me at all, so I decid ed I needed to try some thing different and thought having my own billboard would be a good way of meeting people.”

Chapman designed the billboard and it can be seen on the M621 on the way in to Leeds.

Dating apps didn’t work.

Billboard dating More costs

REBEKAH VARDY has received another blow as she was or dered to pay Coleen Rooney’s legal costs which could amount to as much as £1.5 million (€1.722 million).

The order handed down on Tuesday, October 4 follows the court’s finding that she had ‘deliberately deleted or destroyed evidence’.

Judge Justice Steyn said Vardy must pay 90 per cent of Rooney’s costs, adding that a down payment of £800,000 (€918,000) must be paid by 4pm on November 15.

Vardy has also been ordered to pay a portion of the costs of seven journalists. They were potential witnesses but did not ac tually give evidence.

The affair in which Rooney posted claims on social media that Vardy was leaking stories to the press about her, led to the court case and the judge ruling in her favour. Vardy’s evidence was la belled ‘manifestly inconsistent... evasive or implausible’.

Bill Diamond’s first novel

AUTHOR, Bill Diamond, left school at 15 with little formal education and served a full ap prenticeship as a bricklayer. Af ter educating himself he learned most facets of the building industry and property development. He started a property management compa ny in 1979 which is still going strong.

During the early months of Covid, with no golf to occupy him, Bill started to write his first novel on an iPhone as he had no laptop or tablet to use.

He lives in Javea, Costa Blanca and has had a long‐time love af fair with Spain and lived in De nia for many years before mov ing to an apartment on the Arenal in Javea four years ago.

His writing is carried out in Javea on the balcony of his apartment overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and it is the sound of the waves and the

beautiful ambience of Javea which gives him so much inspi ration for his books.

Bill has a passion for horses and has ridden the Badminton and Gatcombe Park courses on his competition horses, many of whom he bred himself.

Bill also has a passion for golf and through practice and dedi cation has managed to achieve a single figure handicap.

Recently he had the privilege of flying in a Spitfire over the white cliffs of Dover which re mains one of his most memo rable experiences.

As an avid reader of spy/ thriller novels, Bill has often criticised books that have too much “padding out,” even though the storyline may be strong and entertaining so with this in mind Bill has created a gripping novel packed with ad venture, intrigue, danger and romance on every page.

His first novel due to be re leased shortly, Max Catt ‐ The Beginning, is the first in a hoped series. The novel follows Max‐Catt who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth but broke away from the easy life of the landed gentry.

He became a one‐man killing machine whose skills and rouge modus operandi attracted MI5, the anti‐terrorist unit and MI6 who all wanted to recruit Max, but it was the SAS that he chose.

An expert with a sniper rifle coupled with his animal in stinct, he caused havoc within terrorist groups so much so that a huge bounty was put on his head by the newly formed and dangerous Islamic Republican Front

From a young age danger and death have followed Max from a family hostage crisis to black mail and murder!

Author, Bill Diamond.

Image: Bill Diamond

Mortgage rate high

THE average mortgage rate in the UK has risen above 2008 levels following the market turmoil caused by the ‘growth’ mini‐budget presented by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

According to financial data firm Mon eyfacts on Wednesday, October 5 the average mortgage rate has risen above 6 per cent to 6.07 per cent. Fixed inter est rates have seen a similar rise hitting 5.97 per cent and the average mort gaged household is now shelling out as much as 27 per cent of their income on repayments.

That is the highest‐burden since 2009 following the credit crises and the col lapse of the housing market.

Experts have expressed concern that the sharp rise in rates from around 2.5 per cent to over 6 per cent will see many unable to afford their repay ments. That they say could result in a market correction and the reduction in the average price of homes by as much as 10 per cent.

They are also concerned that the fast rise and continuing turmoil in markets will see rates rise even further.

THE closing speech by Liz Truss has managed to upset more than just the voters, the Tory faithful and the markets.

Her closing message on Wednesday, October 5 made use of the M Peo ple song ‘Moving on up’ without the band’s per mission.

In another spectacular own goal that emulates the mistake of other prime ministers and presidents, the song gen erated much discussion but for all the wrong rea sons.

Liz Truss error.

explain her policies. These include ‘You’ve done me wrong’, and ‘Move right out of here, baby, go on pack your bags’.

Pickering said the band had contacted their lawyers but been advised there was little that could be done.

No permission UK negotiations Christmas carnage

SPEAKING on Wednesday, October 5, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that the ‘mood music’ from the British govern ment had changed ahead of talks to resolve issues around Northern Ireland.

With talks set to resume after seven months, Coveney told reporters: “Both sides have agreed to

engage this week” al though “It remains to be seen whether this new look British government is will ing to make compromises to get a deal done, but cer tainly the mood music has changed quite fundamen tally.”

Earlier reports had sug gested that the new For eign Minister James Clever

ly, who took up his post last month under new Prime Minister Liz Truss, had a more pragmatic ap proach to international re lations.

Sources say that he is less about headline‐grab bing figures than he is about achieving practical results that work for the UK and its partners.

M People founder Mike Pickering has ex pressed outrage at the use of their song at the Tory party conference without the band’s per mission and that “They (the band) are livid.”

Tony Blair and Labour used the same song in the 1990s, which con tains some interesting lyrics that perhaps best

THE National Farmers Union (NFU) said on Monday, October 3 that more than three million birds have had to be culled so far with Avian Influenza Prevention Zones introduced in Norfolk, Suffolk, parts of Essex and the whole of the south west of Eng land.

So far the disease has been detected at more than 155 sites across the UK and is now at risk of infecting the country’s turkey population, with the wild bird population severely affected.

James Mottershead, Chair of the NFU Poultry Board, told a news outlet: “It is a risk.

“If bird flu, for example, gets into turkeys that could cause holy carnage; that could cause real supply chain issues in the run‐up to Christmas time.”

Bird farmers with populations of more than 500 in the areas affected are required to restrict access for non‐essential people on site, whilst in some areas, farmers have had to cull their popu lations as a preventative measure.

Open Art Festival 2022

RUNNING until Saturday October 15, Alicante’s Open Art Festival was created to give visibility to current art trends that question and provide a creative vision about what is happening in our global environment in the 21st century.

The festival is about con necting the artists with the walking population to pro voke a participatory dialogue between them and the cre ators. It is a space where people can reflect physically and virtually about bio‐art, art and nature, art and sus tainability and new digital forms of art.

The festival is sponsored

by the Consorcio de Museos de la Comunitat Valenciana, Alicante’s city council, EDUSI, the Cultural Centre of Cigar rers, the University of Ali cante, the Juan Gil‐Albert in stitution of culture, the University of Alicante MUA and the Cultural Centre of

Planas de Baleares.

As well as fascinating art, there is also a series of talks, workshops, exhibitions and playful activities being held throughout the festival.

The Open Art Festival is taking place in the Centro Cultural Las Cigarreras.

Street food market

THE Food Trucks Fair (old ve hicles transformed into mo bile kitchens) is arriving in Torrevieja in October.

Music and food can be en joyed free of charge from Friday, October 21, until Sunday, October 23, in the Parque de la Estasión.

You can also enjoy con certs including a Beatles Tribute Band and a Rolling Stones Tribute Band.

The event is offering free entry to the park to watch the concerts and great prices on food with meals be tween just €2 and €10.

The concert programme is as follows:‐

Friday, October 21

9.30pm ‐ Pablo Carbonell Saturday, October 22

Midday ‐ Clown Edy 1.30pm ‐ Days of Radio, music from the 80s and 90s 7.30pm ‐ Epi Epi (chil dren’s music group) 10.00pm ‐ Control Stone (Rolling Stones Tribute Band)

Sunday, October 23 12.30pm ‐ Alberto Cel dran 1.30pm ‐ The Liverpool Band (Beatles Tribute Band)

Arts and Crafts Fair

AN Arts & Crafts Fair with craft demonstra tions will be set up in Plaza Encarnacion Pu chol in La Mata, over the weekend of Octo ber 14, 15 and 16. The fair will offer diverse and original products and also various craft demonstrations. A pottery display with the possibility of making your own cup or bowl, a sculptor will be carving stone and a ce ramist will show you how large ceramic fig ures are made. There will also be a painter and mosaic artist. Other artisans will be making macrame jewellery, blowing glass and lots more. For the youngest visitors, there will be stalls with juggling toys and hobby horses, board games to play, a merry‐go‐round and workshops to make their own little piece of art and take it home.

On Friday and Saturday afternoon the En rique Simón Trio, a group of international

standing, will enliven the fair with live Jazz.

The fair opens on Friday, October 14 at 5.00pm. Opening times for Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16, are from 11.00am to 2.00pm and in the afternoons from 5.00pm to 9.00pm.

For more information about the fair call (+34) 639 979 678.

ENJOY a night of swing and classic jazz full of en ergy and rhythm with ‘The Swing Notes’.

The free entry event is taking place on Saturday, October 15, at 8.00pm at the Capitol Theatre in Ro jales, Calle Malecon de la

Swing and jazz

Encanta 1.

The musical group is made up of Nacho Luri on vocals, Joan Saldana on sax, Luis Suria on piano, Andres Lizon on double

bass and Curro García on drums.

Organised by: Depart ment of Culture, Equality, Historical and Natural Heritage of Rojales.

Glitz and Glam Ball

COSTA BLANCA based char ity Help at Home are hosting a Glitz and Glam Ball on Fri day October 14 at the Castle in San Miguel, and they’d love it if you could attend.

The evening will begin with reception drinks and a selection of canapes, which will be followed by a three‐course sit down dinner.

Wine and beer will be available throughout the evening and are all included throughout the duration of dinner up until the main course has been cleared away. Soft drinks and water will also be available as an alcohol‐free option.

After dinner guests can enjoy dessert with tea or coffee.

At the ball, an Art Auction will take place where guests can bid on their favourite pieces, with all proceeds go ing towards Help at Home and the amazing charity work that they do. There will also be another auction and a raffle, with some fabu lous prizes up for grabs!

Tickets are €45 per person.

Help at Home offer respite care, help with trans port needs, translation and shopping services, compan

ionship, and advice and guidance on Spanish Social Services and on UK Welfare Benefits to those who need it.

Night on Broadway

STUDIO 32 is well into rehearsals for its most challenging pro duction so far.

A Night on Broadway will consist of nine mini productions with 27 musical numbers from shows that they have put on over the past 13 years.

In that time Studio32 has donated over €40,000 to local charities.

A great cast has been assembled to bring you an extrava ganza of musical numbers and dance.

The show will run at the Cardenal Beluga Theatre in San Fulgencio, on November 10, 11 and 12.

For more information or to book tickets:‐

Email: tickets@studiothirtytwo.org

Call: (+34) 679 062 272

Website: www.studiothirtytwo.org

Studio32 is always looking for people to join their group (especially men) who can, or have aspirations to sing, dance and act. Or anyone who has experience working in the the atre backstage, in lighting, sound etc and in particular who has experience working with costumes.

If you are that person and would like further information on the theatre company and rehearsal times, go to the web site: www.studiothirtytwo.org

Workshops to make your own art.

Image: AMATA

UK satellite launch

THE UK is set to be the first country to launch satellites into orbit from Europe marking a new era in the UK’s space his tory.

The first launch will take place from Space port Cornwall in the southwest of England and will be what is known as a ‘horizontal launch’.

A specially modified Boeing 747 from Virgin Orbit called Cosmic Girl, with a rocket attached under its wing, will take off from a runway. In flight, the LauncherOne rocket will launch from the wing, taking multiple small satellites into orbit.

The plane will then re turn to the Spaceport, able to launch more satellites in future.

Spaceport Cornwall is situated at Newquay Air port and the 747 will fly out over the sea and launch its rocket far

away from populated ar eas.

The UK has a growing space sector, which em ploys 47,000 people.

UK space companies have a strong track

record in satellite manu facturing, spacecraft de sign and data applica tions. In fact, Glasgow builds more satellites than anywhere outside the United States.

Blackout plan

THE UK has been warned by the National Grid’s Electrici ty System Operator (ESO) that planned three­hour pow er blackouts could be imposed in some areas, due to the chances of gas shortages this winter. In the ‘unlikely’ event supplies of gas fall short of demand the ESO has revealed preventative measures that could be taken in readiness for the cold months ahead.

The risk of temporary power cuts could be avoided with help from the public and the ESO urged households to help manage that balance by signing up to an energysaving scheme through their supplier, in a bid to help ease the risk of the lights going out. The ‘demand flexibil ity service’, due to start next in November, will see billpayers be paid to save energy during peak hours.

The prospect of rolling power outages has caused alarm among some health groups, with particular con cerns for the thousands of vulnerable patients who rely on electrical devices to keep themselves alive and healthy.

Vaccine cash injection

THE UK has granted £10.65 million additional funding to support the launch of an RNA vaccine innovation centre. The funding is to boost the

development of RNA technol ogy, the vaccine innovation that protected millions around the world from Covid19.

Clothing rental service

BRITISH retailer John Lewis launched a clothing rental ser vice on Saturday October 1. The scheme has been created through a partnership with clothing rental platform, Hurr, and will allow shoppers access to premium brands for a fraction of the cost of buying new.

Shoppers can browse the catalogue of participating brands online, then have the option to rent items for four, eight, 10 or 20 days. Items ordered arrive with a return label and packaging for dry cleaning. Online rental specialist, Hurr, then deals with dry cleaning before returning the items to John Lewis.

The scheme allows shoppers to fight the environmental impact of fast fashion while staying on trend! Announcing the scheme, John Lewis Executive Director, Pippa Wicks said, “John Lewis Rental allows our customers to experiment with fashion they love without it having to cost the earth.”

It follows the department store’s flagship rental scheme for children’s clothing and furniture rental which launched earlier this year.

The funding will support the launch of a new innova tion centre by CPI in Darling ton, advancing the technolo gy that is currently under development for the treat ment of various cancers, flu vaccines and personalised medicines including gene therapy, the UK government confirmed on Friday, October 7.

The Vaccine Taskforce granted the funding ­ adminis tered by Innovate UK ­ for CPI’s RNA Centre of Excel lence, which has the potential to make homegrown break throughs in the fight against a number of diseases, produc ing RNA material for clinical trials which will be crucial to future vaccine development.

Minister for Science and In vestment Security Nusrat Ghani said: “This is why we are making this significant in vestment in CPI’s brilliant RNA facility in Darlington, a site with the potential to make enormous homegrown breakthroughs in the fight against the disease.”

Fury at alcohol ban

Betty Henderson

A PROPOSAL to ban French hunters from drinking while out in the fields provoked a fu rious response from the coun try’s hunting lobby. Legislation proposed on Monday October 3 aims to reduce hunting acci dents which resulted in seven deaths last year.

The proposal was drafted based on the findings of an in quiry. The inquiry was held in response to petitions de manding tighter hunting regu lations after 25-year-old British Morgan Keane was ac cidentally killed by a hunter in 2020.

Legislation would subject hunters in France to the same rules as drivers on blood alco hol levels. Penalties for intoxi cated hunters would be the same as for motorists.

But hunting organisations

criticised the report and lamented its ‘stigmatisation’ and ‘caricaturing’ of hunters.” The French hunting lobby is powerful and counts on Presi dent, Emmanuel Macron as a vocal supporter.

Festival of Lights

BERLIN has staged a light festival despite telling its citizens there is an energy crisis and being told that people should take shorter showers, the Berlin Senate is not supporting Christmas lights this year, and an emergency budget to finance rapidly rising energy prices is being drawn up.

Nevertheless, Berlin’s mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) is promoting the ‘Festival of Lights’, which began on Friday, October 7. Well-known Berlin

buildings are illuminated in bright colours. Giffey who is the patron of the festival has publicly de fended herself against criticism: “We are careful with our energy resources, the private organiser is called upon to reduce the electricity require ment by at least 75 per cent compared to previ ous years.” The festival is a highlight for Berliners and tourists. “Reducing consumption wisely does not mean that the city has to go dark.”

Microchip man

TV presenter 44‐year‐old Busuttil Naudi has a chip that uses the same technology which is found in bank cards and smartphones implanted in his left hand. The hand now acts as a contactless card so he can simply swipe his hand over card machines when he is shopping.

Busuttil Naudi, who hosts the technology television pro

gramme Gadgets, is among one of the first people in Mal ta to implant a credit card chip for purchasing items.

”I love technology, I feel that this is the future, and I want to be part of it as it starts,” he said.

“I’ve been interested in the technology since 2008, but now it’s become useful enough for me to use it. The

chips will become more pop ular in the medical industry,” Busuttil confirmed.

Busuttil paid more than €199 for the chip, plus a little extra to have the procedure carried out under a local anaesthetic. The surgeon made a small incision on his hand and placed the chip be tween the bones connecting his little finger and ring finger.

Danish cull controversy

DENMARK will hold a general election on November 1, seven months before the sched uled end of Mette Frederikson’s term as Prime Minister. Frederikson called the elec tion on October 6 after facing mounting criti cism for a controversial mink cull policy.

Frederikson is under fire for a Covid‐19 poli cy which saw the government order a cull of the country’s entire captive mink population over fears of Covid‐19 mutation which could have rendered vaccines ineffective. The policy has harmed Denmark’s previously world‐leading furs industry.

A commission found although the cull was illegal, he did not mean to break the law.

The election was triggered when opposi tion party, the Social Liberal party issued an ul timatum demanding elections. Frederikson, who previously became Denmark’s youngest Prime Minister, aged 41, responded by calling elections for November, avoiding an increas ingly likely vote of no confidence.

Pollsters anticipate a tie between Frederik son’s left‐leaning Social Democrats and a right‐wing bloc made up of Liberal, Conserva tive and nationalist parties.

NO DRINKING: The proposal would see the same rules apply to hunters and motorists.

Russia sanctions

THE EU’s Council tasked with responding to the war in Ukraine announced its latest package of sanctions on Octo ber 6. The package consists of EU import bans on Russian products worth up to €7 bil lion, export restrictions and further financial restrictions on individuals and state‐owned companies. The sanc tions are designed to stifle Russian industrial production for military projects by depriv ing Russian factories of Euro pean materials and expertise.

Import bans similarly aim to isolate the Russian econo my by depriving it of Euro pean investment. Import bans will apply to products in cluding machinery, textiles, steel, plastics and vehicles.

Announcing the package of sanctions, the European Com mission said that it collaborat ed with international partners to develop targeted mea sures. The EU said the pack age “responds to Russia’s con tinued escalation and illegal war against Ukraine.”

The EU continues to moni tor the effects of sanctions on Russia.

Happy homes

THE home is directly con nected to the happiness of Finnish people, accord ing to Asuntosaatio’s Hap piness at Home survey. Home was brought up as the second most im portant source of happi ness, right after health. The importance of health has decreased slightly from last year as the coro navirus pandemic subsid ed.

According to the recent survey, the general happi ness of Finns is on the de cline, and the feelings ex perienced at home have undergone a change.

The barometer measur ing general happiness is still high, as almost three out of four respondents say that they are happy with their lives. However, compared to last year’s Happiness at Home sur vey, the happiness of Finns is on the decline.

Feelings of peace, hap

piness and joy are experi enced the most at home.

Compared to last year, positive feelings are expe rienced slightly less, and feelings of anxiety, de pression and insecurity have become more com mon. The experience of loneliness has also in creased.

Although a clear majori ty of Finns (71 per cent) report that they are most comfortable by them selves or with their family, the Happiness at Home survey shows that com munities are also an im portant source of happi ness.

Digital nomads

A DIGITAL nomad is a professional who works remotely and who takes advantage of the situa tion to live in several dif ferent places.

The lifestyle has be come increasingly popu lar. Even more so with the increase in remote work opportunities in the world, there are many professions in which it is possible to live as a digital nomad.

A new ‘digital nomad visa’ in Portugal comes in to action on Sunday Octo ber 30 and Portugal is ex pecting an influx of remote workers to take advantage of it.

To be able to live and work in the country, you must have a visa for digi tal nomads in Portugal, unless you have European citizenship.

The digital nomad visa has been approved and is now part of the Foreign ers Law.

It is a visa specifically intended for foreign pro fessionals who provide their services remotely, either as a subordinate worker or as an indepen

dent worker.

Any foreign profession al who fits into this situa tion and wants to live in Portugal can apply for a digital nomad visa.

Neutral names

THE European storm‐naming group was first launched by Met Eireann and Britain’s Met Office in 2015 to raise awareness about severe weather and avoid confusion caused by storms being given different names in each country.

Head of Forecasting at Met Eireann, Evelyn Cusack, confirmed the move is an attempt to reflect the chang ing attitudes towards gender in society, the British press confirmed on Friday, October 7.

Evelyn confirmed: “Hurricanes used to only have fe male names up until the late 1970s and have swapped between boys’ and girls’ names since then.”

Evelyn confirmed that altering the storm names to ac commodate gender neutrality made no difference to the storm or the weather, it just reflects the changing attitudes in society towards gender.

The European storm‐naming group announced its list of names for the upcoming winter season last month, as voted by members of the public. It included three gen der‐neutral names: Sam, Val, and Elliot.

Finnish home happiness.

Sustainable dairy farming

EUROPEAN dairy coopera tive, Arla, announced pay ment bonuses for farmers that comply with its new sustainability targets on milk production.

More than 8,900 mem bers of the cooperative will be eligible for bonuses of €0.003 per kilogram of milk produced in a sustainable way. Farmers produce around 1.2 million tonnes of milk per year. Farmers can meet targets by using sustainable animal feed and renewable energy among other criteria an nounced in Arla’s ‘sustain ability initiative’.

The programme aims to help the dairy cooperative reach its targets of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and reducing emissions on farms by 30 per cent per kilogram of milk produced.

Announcing the initia tive, Arla’s chair, Jan Toft Nørgaard, said “The milk price Arla farmers will re ceive for their milk will not only depend on fat, protein

and quality, it will also de pend on their activities on sustainability.”

This adds to Arla’s grow ing list of sustainability

measures in recent years.

The move represents a step towards sustainability be ing a focus of Europe’s food and agriculture industries.

Fendi sister passes away

ITALIAN fashion house heiress, Franca Fendi, died aged 87 on Wednesday October 5 in Rome. Fendi along with her four sisters transformed their parents’ small family‐run leather and fur business to a globally coveted fashion house, Fendi.

A lucrative deal signed between the sisters and Ger man designer Karl Lagerfield in 1965 became the longest‐running collaboration between a designer and a fashion house in the industry’s history, lasting 54 years.

Franca worked as purchasing manager for Fendi, and latterly in Fendi’s boutiques in Rome until the company was sold in 1991. The fashion house was acquired by French LVMH in 2001, but one member of the Fendi fam ily still works at the luxury brand.

Figures in the fashion industry paid tribute to Franca Fendi, and her achievements in propelling the family business to become one of the most iconic fashion hous es in the world. Franca Fendi is survived by her four chil dren.

Low key celebration

VLADIMIR PUTIN turned 70 on Friday October 7 but there was little fanfare or celebration in Russia, an uncharacteristical ly quiet event for the leader, according to a news outlet on October 8 the media in Russia tiptoed past the event.

By all accounts, orders came from above that nothing was to be made of the president’s birthday and that publicity

should be avoided.

Putin turning 70 prompted some to say that is the reason for downplaying his birthday, with one telling the Russian media: “Why draw attention to the fact our president has been of retirement age for a long time?”

But with many other coun tries having presidents of the same age or older it would

seem there is more to the sto ry, but no one is saying. Putin certainly likes to be seen as a strong man, and it may be the image he seeks to maintain has resulted in the decision.

However, after 22 years in power and in danger of losing a grip on Russia and its people given the disastrous foray into Ukraine, there may well be other reasons.

Railway sabotage

GERMAN police have not ruled out the pos sibility that the act of sabotage that brought rail services in the north to a standstill on Saturday October 8, was perpetrated by a state actor.

Fingers on Sunday, October 9 were point ed at Russia as the possible state behind the sabotage according to a German news out let.

Underpinning the theory that sabotage by an organised and large player is the fact that the service interruption took place symmet rically in two different parts of the network. The two areas affected were some 540 kms

apart which makes it extremely unlikely that it was an act of vandalism.

In terms of the German train disruption, investigators believe that those involved had internal knowledge of the workings of the rail system.

For now, police are keeping an open mind as they conduct their investigations, howev er, many voices within the political scene are openly accusing Russia of sabotaging the train lines in retaliation for the country’s sup port for Ukraine. All trains are once again running as normal although some delays have been experienced.

Judicial reforms

THE European Commission and MEPs have increased pressure on the Romanian government to explain their controversial recent reforms of the Romanian judicial system, reported a national news outlet.

During a debate in Stras bourg with Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă on Wednesday Oc tober 3, the European Commission requested specific answers on the re form of the penal code and the dismissal of judges, which have been initiated by the Romanian government.

The moves were widely seen as an attempt to weaken anti­corruption in vestigations.

Following Poland and Hungary, which are both subject to a European pro cedure querying the rule of law, Romania could be come the third country to be threatened with Article 7, which can suspend a

country’s voting rights in the European Council if it flouts the EU’s fundamen tal rights.

Three laws setting out the rights of judges and

the high judicial council were amended at the end of 2017, leaving the Min istry of Justice with the power to appoint and re move judges as it sees fit.

Search and rescue

MORE than 90 refugees have been rescued from the Aegean Sea after two migrant boats sank within hours of each other on Wednesday October 5.

In both incidents, dinghies were travelling from Turkey to wards Europe carrying refugees. The boats capsized due to weather conditions and overcrowding. At least 16 women and one boy lost their lives off the coast of Lesbos and a fur ther boat capsized off the coast of Kythira with at least five ca sualties and 15 more feared dead.

Spokesman for the Greek coastguard, Nikos Kokkalas, ex plained the complexity of the operations saying strong winds “raging relentlessly” were disruptive to rescue work.

Greek authorities lamented the loss of life with migration minister, Notis Mitarachi, urging the EU to act.

PRESSEUROPEAN

DENMARK

Bargain capital

ACCORDING to a survey carried out by UK price comparison site Confused.com, Copenhagen is the best city in Europe for those seeking bargains, be they antiques, collector’s items, food or clothes from street and flea markets, as well as antique and specialist shops.

THE NETHERLANDS

Stowaway

A WOMAN, said to be Russian, outwitted security controls at Rotterdam airport and managed to board a Transavia flight headed for Malaga as a stowaway, although when flight crew discovered her presence, the plane was diverted to Madrid where she was removed and arrested.

BELGIUM

Short temper

A COACH for Futsal team Herental, is in trouble with the Belgian Football Association when, in a fit of temper over decisions made by the referee he pulled the ref’s shorts down, resulting in the game being abandoned and his team losing.

GERMANY

Dreary Munich

DESPITE the fact that it was cancelled for two years due to the pandemic, Munich’s Oktoberfest (which actually runs for two weeks in September) didn’t attract the expected high numbers with a reported 5.7 million people downing just 5.6 million litres of beer due to bad weather.

FRANCE

Football protest

THE City Fathers in Paris have decided they will not allow the broadcasting of World Cup matches on giant public screens due to perceived violations of foreign workers’ rights in Qatar and as a protest about the environmental impact of the tournament with air-conditioned stadiums.

NORWAY

Bhangra style

A NORWEGIAN dance group Quick Style has taken the internet by storm as a video of the members dancing to a 2018 Bollywood hit song Kala Chashma at a wedding has received millions of views and spawned numerous versions by dance groups around the world.

FINLAND

Lenin removed

FOLLOWING the Russian invasion of Ukraine, local residents in the city of Kotka called for a statue of Vladimir Lenin (the last on public display in Finland) to be removed and on Tuesday October 4, it was taken to a warehouse.

IRELAND

Epic voyage

FORMER rugby player Damian Browne became the first Irishman to row from New York to Galway, but after 112 days at sea and just short of his final destination, he ran aground on some rocks just outside of the port and was helped ashore.

ITALY

Iran protests

TWO art institutions based in Milan and Rome have invited visitors to cut off and tie up a small lock of hair to place in containers as a symbolic mark of respect following the death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini and the demonstrations in Tehran.

PORTUGAL

Motor homes

AS more people take advantage of vehicle tax reductions on gas guzzling motor homes, the Portuguese government has proposed that the 30 per cent reduction on new vehicles and the zero rate on those built before 1970 should be scrapped from January 1, 2023.

UKRAINE

Gift for Putin

SET up in the Czech Republic, a website called 'A Gift for Putin' has reportedly raised more than $1.2 million through crowd funding which will allow it to purchase for Ukraine a number of upgraded T-72 battle tanks originally supplied by the Russians to the Czech Army.

SWEDEN

IKEA House

SUPERGROUP, the Swedish House Mafia have worked with designers at IKEA to create and market OBEGRÄNSAD, a limited edition of furniture designed to appeal to and help inspire those starting off in music and digital arts, allowing them to build the perfect home studio on a budget.

More money

THE Spanish government’s 2023 budget looks to in crease the amount spent on the Tax Agency to €1.4 billion which is an overall growth in funding of 15.2 per cent when compared to the 2021 figures and takes into ac count cost of collecting the temporary wealth tax.

Mortgages up

THE cost‐of‐living crisis in Spain is now hitting mort gages and although Euribor rates (to which three quar ters of Spanish mortgagees are linked) are comparatively low when compared to the UK, it will now rise from 2.363 per cent to 2.47 per cent.

Pension fragility

THE Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Sir Jon Cun liffe has told Parliament that without the Bank stepping in to buy long term bonds fol lowing the mini‐budget it is perfectly likely that a number of Britain’s pension funds could have gone under.

Building woes

DESPITE protestations that they were unable to obtain sufficient numbers of skilled workers to meet the demand in the UK and with excep tional order books, the over all feeling from Britain’s con struction sector according to a report by S&P is that reces sion is just around the cor ner.

Most customers

NOW that the merger be tween CaixaBank and Bankia has been completed it can claim to have almost five mil lion more customers than nearest rival Santander de spite the fact that it may have lost as many as one mil lion accounts who banked with both organisations

2.33 billion

forecast profit to be made by Spanish Government owned organisations such as the State Lotteries

Musk moves FINANCE

Fishing restrictions

THE ‘will he, won’t he’ conundrum over Tesla Boss Elon Musk and his takeover of Twitter for $44 billion has taken a new turn as after back ing out and being hit with a $1 bil lion lawsuit he has now confirmed that he wants to go ahead at the original price.

Twitter shares jumped some 25 per cent on the US stock exchange and at the same time, the billion aire has been dumping Bitcoin (al though a single piece is still valued at around $20,000 compared to its record high of $68,000).

He is now supporting crypto cur rency newcomer Marscoin which has been issued to help fund a mis sion to Mars and currently a single piece is valued at around 5c.

Shoppers down

FISHING is an important aspect of the Spanish economy as well as play ing a part in the menu of the average household.

For this reason, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Luis Planas confirmed on October 5 that Spain will appeal to the European Court of Justice over new restrictions concerning fishing rights.

The European Commission has put a stop to fishing in 87 areas con sidered vulnerable marine ecosys tems, which the minister says “is ab solutely disproportionate and unfair” as he believes that data used

in making the decision is out of date and the decision should comply with economic, social and environmental points of view.

No sooner had he had made this announcement but he returned the following day, Thursday October 6, to confirm that following discussions with the European Commission, Spanish fishermen were to be per mitted continued access to 41 of the 87 fishing areas in question.

The minister said “this is good news,” although he made it clear that Spain will still go ahead with the presentation of the appeal to the Eu

ropean Court of Justice concerning the entire edict as previously an nounced.

Commenting on the way forward, he added “The government under stands that we all must protect the seas and oceans, but we have to do it in such a way that fishing activity can continue to be carried out, re spectfully and selectively.”

He also announced that at the be ginning of July 2023, the Spanish Presidency of the European Union will organise an informal Fisheries Council in Vigo to promote the coun try’s leadership role in fishing.

Reason for financial turmoil

UNDER‐FIRE Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng blamed the Queen’s death for the bud get shambles as he tried to shift the blame for the finan cial turmoil.

PM Truss has signalled she still wants to scrap the higher rate, while rumours continue to circle that she intends to cut benefits and pensions by extending the retirement age.

Explaining the run‐up to his September 23 statement, Mr Kwarteng claimed: “It was a very quick time that we did it, and you have got to remember the context.

“What was extraordinary about that month was that

we had a new government and also we had the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, so we had a nation in mourning

and then literally four days, I think, after the funeral, we had the mini‐budget.

“It was a high‐speed, high‐pressure environment.”

So, for the time being, the decision to reverse the cut of the top level of income tax in the UK from 45p to 40p has been reversed, although time will tell whether the Conservative government manages to slip it in to the next financial statement due on November 23 (or possibly earlier as he tries to save face).

There was little mention of the economic problems triggered by the mini‐budget during the recent Conserva tive Party Conference but Liz Truss, slipping into Tony Blair language said that her target was “Growth, growth, growth.”

UK shops continue to see a reduc tion in footfall with September fig ures just 6.8 per cent up on the same month in 2021, but this has been dropping since July blamed mainly on the cost‐of‐living crisis.

These figures were released by retail analysts Springboard who note that up to 50 per cent of em ployees still work from home at least part of the time, so that they are not then commuting or visiting shops during lunch hours or after work.

Even though Christmas buying should act as a fillip to the econo my, it is feared that continued in flation, higher interest rates as well as energy costs will mean less visits to high streets and a subsequent reduction in spending.

AMERICAN Fintech company Square which has had some suc cess in Spain with its easy to access payment systems and credit card readers is using its Spanish experi ence to target Hispanic businesses and consumers in the USA.

Last month it bit the bullet and translated all of its documentation and websites into Spanish to offer a seamless and understandable service within Iberia and has now transferred all that information to its targeted marketing campaign.

Para Tu Proximo Paso (For your next step) is being run on TV, YouTube and social media in Dal las, Houston and Miami and if suc cessful will be rolled out further.

MINI-BUDGET: PM Truss and Chancellor Kwarteng finalised their plans on September 22.

PROMOTING

Minister Planas at Conxemar

Vigo.

3I Group 1.129,00 1.147,50 1.128,50 1,72M

Abrdn 136,55 138,45 135,75 1,48M

Admiral Group 2.011,0 2.039,0 1.999,0 106,50K

Anglo American 2.763,0 2.880,0 2.752,0 786,26K

Antofagasta 1.117,75 1.157,00 1.115,50 757,05K

Ashtead Group 4.378,0 4.417,0 4.340,0 531,51K

Associated British Foods 1.266,0 1.298,0 1.263,5 217,84K

AstraZeneca 9.802,0 10.000,0 9.789,0 585,71K

Auto Trader Group Plc 541,00 549,60 539,40 824,99K

Aveva 3.160,0 3.171,0 3.148,0 255,51K

Aviva 404,20 409,50 403,00 2,01M

B&M European Value Retail SA316,00 323,66 314,30 88,23K

BAE Systems 820,00 830,60 816,40 4,70M

Barclays 144,80 149,20 144,54 12,47M

Barratt Developments 352,67 360,90 350,75 527,87K

Berkeley 3.391,0 3.436,0 3.361,0 391,82K

BHP Group Ltd 2.303,04 2.340,00 2.298,00 220,26K

BP 452,10 460,80 450,57 14,43M

British American Tobacco 3.260,0 3.333,0 3.262,6 1,38M

British Land Company 341,90 347,00 338,90 764,99K

BT Group 125,78 127,47 125,15 751,68K

Bunzl 2.751,0 2.812,0 2.748,0 177,63K

Burberry Group 1.906,5 1.940,0 1.906,0 372,15K

Carnival 567,2 573,6 553,4 527,21K

Centrica 68,91 71,28 68,82 8,44M

Coca Cola HBC AG 1.912,5 1.931,5 1.900,0 27,24K

Compass 1.818,00 1.848,50 1.816,00 1,95M

CRH 2.977,0 3.060,0 2.977,0 457,92K

Croda Intl 6.720,0 6.776,0 6.694,0 62,92K

DCC 4.773,0 4.827,0 4.773,0 46,54K

Diageo 3.747,9 3.817,0 3.746,7 107,93K

DS Smith 249,00 251,70 246,90 1,87M

EasyJet 295,00 298,40 289,30 1,63M

Experian 2.745,0 2.779,0 2.742,0 2,28M

Ferguson 9.994,0 10.095,0 9.914,0 274,52K

Flutter Entertainment 10.520,0 10.602,2 10.459,0 7,76K

Fresnillo 815,80 829,00 808,80 144,68K

Glencore 490,72 506,70 487,95 17,32M

GSK plc 1.317,40 1.335,80 1.316,00 4,69M

Halma 2.152,0 2.174,0 2.150,0 107,02K

Hargreaves Lansdown 899,20 925,20 897,40 407,85K

Hikma Pharma 1.275,50 1.311,50 1.273,00 200,13K

HSBC 469,95 478,45 469,75 25,88M

IAG 99,91 102,20 99,64 1,29M

Imperial Brands 1.938,00 1.987,00 1.930,50 883,43K

Informa 541,40 544,20 532,60 1,27M

InterContinental 4.459,0 4.527,0 4.459,0 345,10K

Intermediate Capital 1.085,50 1.097,50 1.067,00 679,18K

Intertek 3.791,0 3.817,0 3.790,0 104,46K

ITV 58,80 59,44 58,42 2,00M

J Sainsbury 170,90 174,90 170,70 2,10M

Johnson Matthey 1.898,0 1.922,5 1.887,5 61,89K

Land Securities 514,00 518,80 510,60 702,55K

Legal & General 225,50 229,80 224,30 9,17M

Lloyds Banking 42,40 43,54 42,37 60,64M

London Stock Exchange 7.710,0 7.850,0 7.706,0 340,75K

Melrose Industries 102,45 105,20 102,45 6,18M

Mondi 1.374,50 1.395,50 1.373,50 259,67K

National Grid 919,00 927,37 917,73 239,21K

NatWest Group 228,40 231,50 227,70 4,09M

Next 4.712,0 4.867,0 4.709,0 101,54K

Norilskiy Nikel ADR 9,10 9,10 9,10 0

Ocado 457,90 471,70 456,70 814,51K

Persimmon 1.261,0 1.296,0 1.251,5 534,08K

Phoenix 536,20 548,60 536,20 3,17M

Prudential 945,00 952,40 929,65 209,13K

Reckitt Benckiser 5.932,0 6.032,0 5.914,0 796,81K

Relx 2.268,40 2.305,00 2.268,00 1,14M

Rentokil 492,80 501,80 492,20 31,49M

Rightmove 483,00 489,65 481,15 47,11K

Rio Tinto PLC 5.026,0 5.145,0 5.016,0 955,72K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 71,49 75,23 71,44 2,85M

Rosneft DRC 0,20 0,20 0,20 0

Sage 719,40 724,00 716,20 325,94K

Samsung Electronics DRC 995,20 1.005,00 990,20 4,20K

Schroders 388,5 397,2 388,5 674,55K

Scottish Mortgage 788,19 793,60 784,80 506,91K

Segro 745,60 751,20 731,80 4,44M

Severn Trent 2.357,0 2.394,0 2.354,0 105,06K

Shell 2.270,0 2.323,0 2.259,0 8,19M

Smith & Nephew 1.043,00 1.049,50 1.033,50 652,94K

Smiths Group 1.552,50 1.579,50 1.551,50 371,79K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 10.830,0 10.935,0 10.760,0 161,57K

SSE 1.513,00 1.545,00 1.511,50 699,24K

St. James’s Place 1.008,00 1.040,00 1.004,00 418,60K

Standard Chartered 570,60 591,80 570,40 3,79M

Taylor Wimpey 93,22 95,00 92,26 5,12M

Tesco 200,30 205,10 200,20 5,90M

Tui 113,10 116,75 110,70 2,01M

Unilever 3.932,0 3.989,5 3.929,5 685,69K

United Utilities 875,00 889,20 874,40 303,11K

Vodafone Group PLC 102,28 102,78 101,46 46,62M

Whitbread 2.501,0 2.534,0 2.474,0 467,70K

WPP 776,80 782,60 774,00 725,11K

DOW JONES

3M 114,58 114,92 138,95K

American Express 144,33 145,04 142,40 149,83K

Amgen 232,64 233,14 231,24 82,37K

Apple 147,08 147,36 145,81 6,92M

Boeing 132,49 133,30 130,66 509,20K

Caterpillar 179,75 180,98 176,89 248,01K

Chevron 160,22 161,12 157,28 961,47K

Cisco 41,97 42,06 41,58 1,03M

Coca-Cola 55,86 56,10 55,84 916,40K

Dow 45,86 46,10 45,58 255,33K

Goldman Sachs 307,48 309,08 305,47 80,82K

Home Depot 289,15 289,97 287,85 191,20K

Honeywell 176,43 177,69 176,29 155,23K

IBM 124,98 125,25 124,55 308,04K

Intel 27,59 27,76 27,29 2,69M

J&J 163,63 165,00 163,63 358,16K

JPMorgan 109,24 110,19 108,96 787,83K

McDonald’s 238,76 239,88 238,15 139,37K

Merck&Co 87,69 87,94 87,49 499,84K

Microsoft 249,40 250,34 247,99 1,95M

Nike 91,75 92,62 90,58 1,11M

Procter&Gamble 128,29 129,06 127,97 306,60K

Salesforce Inc 156,85 158,23 155,60 507,12K

The Travelers 159,48 159,84 158,73 42,28K

UnitedHealth 526,62 528,33 523,90 107,07K

Verizon 39,36 39,66 39,15 4,02M

Visa A 187,38 188,05 186,51 391,27K

Walgreens Boots 33,20 33,25 32,93 354,54K

Walmart 134,31 134,46 133,14 418,09K

Walt Disney 101,08 101,45 100,14 465,93K

Most Advanced

Code Chain New Continent Ltd +119.45% 32.36M

Statera Biopharma +106.78% 33.06M

Motus GI Holdings +44.18% 4.38M

Pineapple Holdings +37.68% 26.41M

Revelation Biosciences +31.72% 4.36M

Heartbeam +31.02% 19.35M

Provention Bio +28.48% 3.15M

Green Giant +27.78% 2.87M

Healthcare Triangle +16.67% 31.23K

Wisekey International Holding AG +19.11% 3.52M

Clever Leaves Holdings +22.39% 0.13K

Most Declined

Avanti Acquisition -85.00% 480.75K

Cyclerion Therapeutics -32.68% 415.40K

Chardan Nextech Acquisition 2 -29.63% 157.13K

UWM Holdings -22.53% 1.37K

Top Ships -21.26% 1.52M

Crown Electrokinetics -21.05% 1.19M

FingerMotion -17.74% 1.43M

Applied Therapeutics -17.81% 205.95K

Chardan Nextech Acquisition 2 -16.15% 0.49K

Gold Royalty -15.55% 639.48K

Gold Royalty Wnt -14.73% 2.70K

2023 budget

ADDRESSING the House of Deputies on October 5, Spanish President Pe dro Sánchez explained that the 2023 budget in creases social spending by 35 per cent compared to 2018, reinforces the sustainability of the pub lic pension system and raises regional financing to an all‐time high.

Best bars

THIS year’s World’s 50 Best Bars list was an nounced at a live awards ceremony held in Barcelona on October 5 with the host city not only winning Europe’s best bar and coming first with Par adiso, but had two more bars placed in the top 10.

Libyan problems

THE Governor of the Cen tral Bank of Libya, Al Sidiq Omar Al Kabir, for mally received the Am bassador of Spain to Libya, Javier Qarsa Larac ci to discuss a number of matters including the dif ficulties facing Spanish companies who want to resume their operations in Libya.

Deliveroo HOP

FOOD delivery company

Deliveroo seems to have turned the tables upon it self by opening a store in partnership with Morrisons situated in London’s New Oxford Street.

Although it will employ some 19 staff dedicated to preparing groceries to be delivered, it will also wel come members of the pub lic to browse its shelves but on Monday October 3, just two people were waiting for the Deliveroo HOP store to open its doors for the first time.

Deliveroo say that situat ed where it is, those visiting other nearby shops and de partment stores will be able to pop in and pick up groceries to go.

Bad debt provisions

BANK OF SPAIN Governor encour ages new bad debt provisions by commercial banks in order to en sure that they are not caught out if economy falters.

Although not quite as dramatic as the apparent rift between the Bank of England and the UK Gov ernment, there appear to be signs of disagreement between Spain’s economy minister Nadia Calviño and Bank of Spain Gover nor Pablo Hernandez de Cos.

He delivered a long speech at the El Economista Forum on Tues day October 4 in which he warned banks against the possi bility of defaulting loans due to high energy costs and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On the same day Minister Calviño suggested that there were currently no signs of an eco nomic slowdown even though on

the previous day, the forecast for 2023 growth had been reduced from 2.7 per cent to 2.1 per cent.

One of the highlights of the

Governor’s speech was this state ment “We find ourselves in a highly complex macro‐financial situation, characterised by high

Greenwashing in the UK

inflation, tightening of financial conditions, and increased uncer tainty, which has already led to a slowdown of economic activity.”

He highlighted the fact that there would be a downturn in economic growth, later forecast ing a 2023 growth of just 1.4 per cent due to the cost‐of‐living cri sis and the unresolved situation with Russia and Ukraine.

Although he accepted that the current debt situation in Spain is good, he anticipates the situation deteriorating should there be higher inflation, as well as soaring interest rates since the majority of mortgages are at variable rates.

Some Spanish banks have strengthened through mergers, but could still be vulnerable to in creasing bad debts and significant increases in operating costs.

Dearer fuel

AS the world economy enjoyed some respite from the rising cost of living thanks to a drop in the price of crude oil, members of the main oil producing nations group OPEC+, which includes Russia, have announced that they will reduce production.

With two million less barrels being produced each day, this decision has been made in order to push the price back up again and is of course of spe cial interest to the Russian Govern ment.

This is the largest cut in production since 2020 and comes despite the knowledge that most of the world is facing economic crisis fuelled in part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

GREENWASHING is a viable mar keting plan for businesses who want to persuade the public that their product is environmentally friendly.

As consumers become more alert to the need to preserve the environment, many companies have come up with PR strategies which range from ‘varnishing the truth’ to simple fabrication and this process is known as green washing.

In late September 2022, Envi ronmental Social and Governance (ESG) communications agency, Clearly PR polled 1,500 senior UK executives asking whether they

understood their sustainability aims and whether they were achieving them.

Astonishingly almost half (44 per cent) of these UK businesses admitted that they are failing to deliver on their sustainable com mitments, with nearly one in five (18 per cent) admitting to publicly exaggerating their green creden tials.

A further one in four (24 per cent) admit they do not know if their sustainability efforts are making any positive difference at all, and 20 per cent were even un aware as to whether their busi ness had any system in place to

measure the effectiveness of their environmental initiatives in the first place.

To put this into perspective, just 19 per cent of respondents be lieved that their business was making genuine progress on its sustainable initiatives.

The findings of the poll could suggest that the rise in businesses guilty of greenwashing may partly be the result of a lack of under standing among businesses of how to measure the impact of their sustainability initiatives in the first place but equally a good num ber cynically distort the truth in or der to benefit their companies.

Tesco figures

BRITAIN’S largest supermarket chain Tesco has seen an increase in turnover, but a significant drop in profit in the first half of 2022.

It has announced that profit before tax plummeted by 64 per cent to £413 million during that period, but still ex pects to hit the low end of forecast for the year at around £2.4 billion thanks to recent innovations.

In addition, it is to increase staff hourly rates for the second time this year from November to help staff cope with the rising cost of living, bringing their annual pay rise to 8 per cent and increasing club card discounts.

GOVERNOR PABLO HERNANDEZ DE COS.

GREENWASH DEMONSTRATION: Many companies fabricate the truth.

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MANY moons ago, when I began writ ing for this wholly unique, free think ing publication, I often wrote of the impending national disaster should the UK continue to allow immigra tion, particularly from countries out side of Europe, to continue virtually unchecked. This resulted in the emer gence of the phrase ‘Another Leapy Rant,’ which became one of the most oft uttered observations in a whole multitude of derisory mail that subse quently found its way into the EWN postbag.

Although many agreed with my sentiments, laughter and derision was, at that time, very much the or der of the day. Well, they’re not laughing now are they? I can quite categorically state that Great Britain as we knew it has changed ‐ forever. Sure, the country areas are, for the time being, reminiscent of our great culture and heritage, but in the cities, particularly parts of London, British values are virtually non‐existent. Don’t take my word for it. These are a few observations from an article recently published by a female jour

Prophecies proved right

nalist who has, for 17 years lived in Acton Vale, London, one of the areas most affected by immigration.

She writes. “So many Muslims in the area insist on their separateness there are not even any attempts to in tegrate into British society.” She goes on to say that her neighbours ‘flap by’ in full niqab, so heavily veiled she can’t see their eyes. When she smiles and tries to communicate, they won’t even look her in the eye.

She claims most of the shops have been taken over by Muslims and even her fish and chip shop has become Halal. A nearby shop, which advertis es ‘no alcohol’, has recently added that alcohol is also banned in streets near the shop!

Muslim patrols are also allegedly in creasing, with white ‘normally clad’ Western girls, being admonished for ‘exposing themselves’ near a mosque. The members of these ‘patrols’ have also been heard shouting ‘this is a Muslim area’ at other white Britons. Openly gay men have reportedly been attacked on the streets. The list simply goes on and on.

So, despite wishful thinking from multi culturists, wilful segregation has

resulted in, among other unaccept able practices, the term ‘White Flight’. Nearly two million white Britons have left London over the last 10 years.

Furthermore, police have apparent ly been ordered not to enter certain areas in uniform and advised it is also considered unwise to wear any part of their uniform (ie blue trousers) anywhere at all when off duty.

Most of the old Leaper’s ‘rantings’ have been realised. So, all you snowflakes out there, despite your well‐intentioned, but unbelievably naïve aspirations for us all to all live side by side as one big happy family, the unforgivable fault is mass uncon trolled, alien immigration. An error of judgement that unfortunately is mak ing reluctant cynics of just about ev eryone.

Keep the faith.

Love Leapy leapyee2002 @ gmail.com

For

Four ways to instantly feel more put together

Betty Henderson

ALTHOUGH feeling good comes from with in, knowing you look great can be the per fect confidence boost, especially when go ing out. Looking more elegant doesn’t have to be so difficult or time­consuming, simply adding a couple of extras can entirely ele vate a look. Here we share some simple tips to make us feel more put together instantly.

1. Add some jewellery

Simply putting on a pair of earrings or necklace can bring together your whole out fit. Jewellery can be a great way to express your sense of style, so opt for a design that means something to you.

2. Use a spritz of perfume

We often associate smells with memo ries, spray a perfume that reminds you of a good time and feel empowered.

3. Use skincare products

Caring for your skin is a guaranteed way to look radiant. Having bright, fresh skin can make us feel more confident instantly. Sim ply hydrating your skin with a moisturiser can make a difference to your whole ap pearance.

4. Add some lipstick

A touch of lipstick immediately makes someone look more put together. A classic red lipstick livens up any look, but if that’s too bold for you, use a lip balm instead to look effortlessly chic.

Simply adding a pair of earrings can bring a look together.

Future of diabetes

THE bionic pancreas, which is currently under trial, uses next­generation technology and maintains blood glucose levels by automatical ly delivering insulin.

Automated insulin delivery systems, also called artificial pancreas or closed­loop control systems, track a person’s blood glucose levels using a continuous glucose monitor and auto matically deliver the hormone insulin when needed using an insulin pump.

These systems replace reliance on testing glucose levels by fingerstick, continuous glu cose monitor with separate insulin delivery through multiple daily injections, or a pump without automation.

Compared to other available artificial pan creas technologies, the bionic pancreas re quires less user input and provides more au tomation because the device’s algorithms continually adjust insulin doses automatically based on users’ needs.

Users initialise the bionic pancreas by enter ing their body weight into the device’s dosing software at the time of first use.

Users of the bionic pancreas do not have to count carbohydrates, nor initiate doses of in sulin to correct for high blood glucose. In addi tion, health care providers do not need to make periodic adjustments to device settings.

Ocean-bound labels

LUSH’S cult face scrub, Ocean Salt, has a new la bel made from ocean­

bound plastic which is the first of its kind in the UK.

The new label is creat ed using plastic waste salvaged from Malaysian shores and can be recy cled alongside the iconic black pots in Lush’s inhouse recycling system.

Ocean Salt face scrub cleans up ecosystems as the sea salt inside is re sponsibly sourced from Portuguese and Bulgari an salt pans that provide essential shelter for mi grating birds and pro mote biodiversity.

The company are also gradually introducing la bels composed of oceanbound plastic salvaged from Malaysian shores which is an innovation that’s helping to clear waste before it reaches the ocean.

As well as its proper ties for humans, when sourced responsibly, us ing sea salt can have a positive impact on the environment, supporting biodiversity and helping protect salt marshes and salt pans which play an important role in Earth’s ecosystems, and provid ing a natural alternative to synthetic preserva tives; which can damage aquatic ecosystems.

UNDER TRIAL: Is a bionic pancreas the future of diabetes?

Stopping the habit

MOST people who bite their nails don’t even realise that they are doing it or why.

For most the thought of having beautiful nails doesn’t come easy and breaking the habit is even more difficult. Here are a few ways to help you kick the habit.

Apply bitter­tasting nail polish to your nails. Available over­the­counter, this safe, but awful­tasting varnish can discourage you from taking another bite.

Keep your nails trimmed, having less nail can provide less to bite and is less tempt ing therefore try to keep your nails trimmed. If it’s not there you can’t bite it.

Have a manicure, pamper ing yourself and spending money to keep your nails looking attractive may put you off biting them and wast ing the money that you have spent.

Replace the nail­biting habit with a good habit, if you feel like you are going to bite your nails, grab a fidget spin

ner or stress ball and keep your hands busy until the urge passes.

By establishing what caus es you to bite your nails (boredom, anxiety or stress)

you can figure out how to avoid these situations and de velop a plan to stop. Just knowing when you’re in clined to bite may help solve the problem.

Health benefits of turmeric

THE main active ingredient of turmeric is curcumin, which has been acclaimed for many years for its health benefits, especially its anti­inflammatory effects as long term inflammation can lead to some chronic diseases which include heart disease, cancer and even Alzheimer’s. It also has strong antioxidant properties and can be a great source of pain relief for arthritis sufferers and people who experience digestive and intestinal problems.

However due to the poor absorption of curcumin into the bloodstream, the jar we might find in our kitchen cupboard provides very little benefit, therefore it is ad vised to use a high quality turmeric supplement from a health food store.

There are different ways of taking turmeric, stirred in to drinks, soups or stews or even dabbed onto the skin (mixed with a little honey), it also comes in varying forms from tablets to tea bags, so an option for everyone.

Tips for mental well-being

WITH World Mental Health Day being cele brated on October 10, UNICEF have highlight ed the importance of looking after mental health even if you don’t have a problem. We share some guidance on how to maintain good mental well­being with just a few simple steps.

• Eat healthily

Food and drink affect our bodies and minds, a balanced diet containing lots of fruit and veg etables is essential. Spain has plenty of fresh seasonal produce you can enjoy that can boost vitamin intake, particularly at this time of year.

• Learn new skills

Learning something new is an excellent way to engage the brain and can make daily rou

tines more exciting. Learning new skills can al so be a great way to socialise, especially by joining a club. From baking to gardening, there are plenty of options!

• Make plans

Having something to look forward to can im prove mood and decrease stress. Plan to visit a new place or spend time with friends or family. Studies showed people were 12 times happier when they spent a day with friends or family.

• Spend time outdoors

Experts have found links between good mental well­being and spending time outside. It can improve mood, self­esteem, reduce feel ings of loneliness, help with relaxation and connect you to your local community.

Learning a new skill is a great way to engage your brain and take care of mental health.

Photo credit:

YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION

Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: euroweeklynews.com

Views expressed and opinions given are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements.

CLOCKS CHANGE

WE will soon have to turn the clocks back an hour, on October 29/30.

It is time to say enough is enough and say “No more changing of our clocks.”

Let us at least have one thing in this troubled world stay as it was meant to be .

I don’t know who con trols these clocks, but we should let them know that there are many out here who do not agree with them.

Inga Mojacar

Thank you

Hello, yet again EWN we would like to thank you for getting the FULL answers to the Nonogram into your solutions page. I know we’ve been asking for a while and you have always told us that you’d try and you have eventually man aged to do it.

Many thanks from us (and maybe a ‘few’ others that may have wanted the same).

It’s nice to know that you do actually take notice of your reader’s comments and also take action when you can.

Again, many thanks for providing that extra bit of information. We obviously will continue to collect and enjoy your paper each week, as we have done for many years.

J & S & Friends

UK’s choice

I still find it difficult to

comprehend why some people still don’t under stand Brexit, Susan Han nah’s letter complaining about the ridiculous 90day rule.

I wholeheartedly agree with her except one thing, it was the UK that insisted

and introduced it not Spain, we are a third country now totally our choice, maybe English ex ceptionalism is still alive and kicking.

Alan Robinson Moraira

OUR VIEW

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

ALTHOUGH there was some talk of cancelling this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Awards, due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and other smaller yet still deadly conflicts taking place, this was soon discounted.

The actual shortlist for those nominated is a closely kept secret which is not revealed until 50 years after the event but perhaps unsurprisingly, the 2022 Awards are associat ed with the Ukraine but not as directly as might have been expected.

One of the three recipients is the Ukrainian Centre for Civil Liberties which was established in 2007 to promote human rights values and has played an important part in trying to gather support for Ukraine and the rights of its citi zens following the invasion.

As an interesting side line, the team governing the or ganisation is almost exclusively made up of women, although this may be because so many male members have been conscripted or volunteered to fight.

Next on the list of recipients is a Russian organisation Memorial also dedicated to the support of human rights which was founded some 30 years ago in memory of the millions of Russians who suffered during the Soviet era.

Last of the Peace Prize winners is Ales Bialiatski, a hu man rights advocate from Belarus, an outspoken supporter of democracy and was for many years associated with the now banned Minsk based Viasna Human Rights Cen tre.

Bialiatski has been in jail since July 2021 having been found guilty of ‘tax evasion’.

Hopefully by the time next year’s Peace Prize is awarded the Ukrainian situation will be resolved and the current winners will have a greater measure of freedom.

Good times run dry on avocado plantations

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

A SPANISH Stonehenge has been discov ered in Andalucia on farmland near the border with Portugal after the owners presented plans to convert potentially one of the largest me galithic sites in Europe in to an avocado plantation.

The site, dating back at least 7,000 years, contains more than 500 standing stones and two stone cir cles similar to the one on Salisbury Plain. Nonethe less, should Spain allow these avocado plantations given that every kilo of av ocado fruit requires 2,000+ litres of water?

But with water shortages exacerbated by drought, it’s no stretch of the imagina tion to foresee they’ll soon be fighting, literally, over water supplies.

Orange trees have already been ripped out in Valencia, replaced by pomegranate trees. Now farmers there want avocados, too, but are currently be ing refused, presumably because of wa ter usage costs.

A final thought: if you look at what’s happening in Australia due to over production, prices have crashed. Maybe that’ll happen here, too. And they’ll start putting all those traditional, lessthirsty orange trees back. Result!

When others see people Mícheál Walsh sees books

WRITING and publishing your book seems a daunting task but scores succeed with the help of book editor Mícheál Walsh.

Retired actress Jill Curzon lives in Mar bella: “Having played scores of roles in British and Hollywood movies after build ing my career with British television I re alised it was time to mark the occasion with a biography. Mícheál was recom mended. We got together and doing so was one of the best decisions ever.”

Irish writer Mickey Finn lives in Benidorm: “Mícheál. I never really thought it possible for anyone to bring to life my life story as you did. You far ex ceeded my already high expectations.”

NEED HELP?: Get in touch now.

ing style that entices and captures the reader. I like it 100 per cent and I’m very much excited to work with you. I’m more motivated than ever before,” writes Betty in Gibraltar.

With avocados viewed as ‘green gold’, farmers in Andalucia and many other parts of Spain will be sorely tempted to rip out orange trees to plant this ‘lucra tive’ fruit.

Nora’s latest thriller.

Nora Johnson’s critical ly acclaimed psychologi cal crime thrillers (www.nora­johnson.net) all available online in cluding eBooks (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, audiobooks, paper backs at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity. NoraJohnson’sopinionsareherownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Zambian­born Gibraltar resident Betty Musole is a firm favourite of Mícheál’s book editing skills which include adding di alogue, flair, flow and drama:

“After reading my story, tears are rolling down my face. I cannot believe how it’s turned out. You’ve got a wonderful writ

Fijian Chris Nand enjoys life in the UK, Miami and Fuengirola: “This is absolutely amazing. I can’t thank you enough. Your name is mentioned when people ask me about my book.”

If you have a story or need help in writing content do get in touch: website: www.writingservicesandtranslations.wordpress.com or you can email Mícheál Walsh at keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com. Telephone +34 662 067 490.

Personalised products and great offers to meet customers’ real needs!

WHEN it comes to choosing an insurance policy, price will (of course) be a significant factor, but you really need to consider what you’re going to get for your money.

Are you paying for what you actually need? Will you have the backing of a reputable company that really understands your re quirements ­ and can they offer the right advice on the right product(s) for you?

The insurance market is now more competitive than ever be fore, so it’s not surprising that consumers are increasingly look ing for more competitive pack ages that can be tailored to their own circumstances. Liberty Se guros understands this, which is why it continues to innovate its range to be able to offer prod

ucts that can be personalised to suit customers’ real needs.

Furthermore, it regularly offers fantastic deals not only to new customers, but also existing cus tomers to reward their continual loyalty.

For example, from now up un

til November 24, 2022, Liberty Seguros existing clients will re ceive €60 Cashback on each new policy that they take out.

New clients can make great savings too, with €30 Cashback on their first Life, Home or Car policies and €60 Cashback on

subsequent new policies there after*.

Best of all though, their com petitive products now come with more benefits and advantages than ever before!

As an example, all your car’s extras are covered as standard,

for free, if they have been fitted by the vehicle’s manufacturer.

When it comes to Home poli cies, for example, you can get compensation for additional wa ter costs due to a broken pipe up to the value of €1,000; and up to €600 per claim/year to help with the unblocking of pipes.

With regard to Life policies, you have the option of taking out Level Term Life Insurance with no premium increase for 10 years, guaranteeing the same death benefit and the same level of payments for the full length of the term.

Liberty Seguros really does have you covered and always has your real needs in mind, so it’s not surprising that it is still the expat’s preferred insurer in Spain.

LIBERTY SEGUROS: The expat’s preferred insurer in Spain.

Transform your home with sparkling floors

MIKE BUTLER of Simply Pro Floor

Care has been restoring and pol ishing marble and other stone surfaces in Spain for just over 15 years. Working mainly in the Ali cante and Murcia regions, Mike has experienced many different problems with stone floors other than just a lack of shine, such as acid etchings, seepage, large cracks and holes. Also, marble tiles that have been left with sharp edges (lippage) can be ground down and fully restored!

Simply Pro Floor Care can clean, repair, polish and restore your marble, limestone, granite, travertine and terrazzo, specialis ing in:

• Full restoration of all stone floors

• Repairs on floors, bathroom furniture and kitchen worktops

• Cleaning and polishing to an exceptionally high and long‐last ing sheen

• Indoor and outdoor ‐ no job too small

Simply Pro Floor Care are fully qualified in stone restoration, re pairs, cleaning and polishing, and uses only the most up‐to‐date machinery, tools and products.

Mike uses the crystallisation system that restores an excellent shine to the marble and then fin

ishes off with a high‐speed buff that leaves your floors with a mirror‐like sheen. The same process is used on marble and composite stairs, furniture, kitchen and bathroom tops, mantles and ledges. If there are deep marks made by acid

burns (chemical or natural) or scratches, these can be ground down and polished; when fin ished, you wouldn't even know they had been there!

During the crystallisation pro cess, Mike uses a rotary machine equipped with steel wool, and sprays small amounts of crystallis ing solution on the floor, working the solution with the rotary ma

This type of work is carried out over small sections of the floor to ensure that the solution works before it dries.

Many people get used to dull marble and forget how amazing this natural stone can look. Take the plunge and give him a call, you have nothing to lose, but could gain amazing shiny floors that you will be proud of.

spun under the machine’s weight and the solution is crystallised due to the friction and the corre sponding temperature generated.

Mike is happy to come out and give you a no‐obligation quote, but you can also have a chat with him and he will give you an idea of costs or is happy to just give you some advice. Transform your home by letting Simply Pro Floor Care restore your floors and other stone wear!

Animal Rights Law in Spain 2022

be required after a study of the sociability of each pet if it shows signs of aggressive behaviour.

REGULAR readers will know that I have two res cue dogs, Tara the Galga (greyhound) and Troya the Podenco (Spanish hunting dog) and animal welfare is something that is close to my heart. I am not alone as here in Spain as eight out of 10 homes in Spain have a pet

The Animal Rights Law tries to put an end to the mistreatment, abandonment and sacrifice of animals and introduces one of the biggest changes in this legislation: preventing pet animals from being put down or sacrificed except for sani tary and euthanasia reasons.

The law toughens the penalties for animal abuse that includes all vertebrate animals. In cases of mistreatment with the death of the animal, the sentence can be up to 36 months, with prison sentences and fines that can reach €200,000, in addition to being disqualified for possession and for activities related to animals (breeding, market ing, veterinary assistance, etc) between five and 10 years if the infraction is very serious.

The law changes and considers that no animal is automatically dangerous because of its breed, so dogs must be assessed individually. For this rea son, the list of dangerous dogs, which until now existed, is eliminated, but specific training could

Those who wish to adopt or acquire a pet must first undergo training that guarantees the welfare of the animal. The law also provides that the ac commodation must meet the conditions so that they can adequately develop their needs accord ing to their nature.

All pets must be identified, and the breeding of animals can only be done by registered breeders. The transfer of animals between individuals must be, in any case, free and be reflected by contract.

Circuses with wild animals and participating in horseback riding or on stage are prohibited. Dogs, cats, and ferrets are also prohibited from being sold in pet stores, displayed, and exposed to the public for commercial purposes.

Zoos and dolphinariums will be converted into centres for the recovery of native species, and the use of animals in activities and shows in which they may suffer harm or death will be prohibited.

The new law has caused some contradictions since hunting dogs have not been included in this law, and because bullfights are not covered by this law.

‘Working’ dogs, such as guide or police dogs, will be regulated separately.

The existence of feline colonies is recognised. Also, the responsibility of caring for community cats, whose ‘ethical’ management is under the ju risdiction of the municipalities.

Marisa Moreno Castillo Consul for Denmark and Senior Lawyer at Just Law Solicitors.

The grand old party

“ONE of the things that made this coun try great is our freedom to go around killing each other. We can thank the Gun Lobby; thank Republicans; thank Texas.” A perhaps not unreasonable as sessment of his country by a disillu sioned American Democrat?

I don’t know whether it’s possible to teach a penguin to play the piano, but I imagine it would be extremely difficult. It would surely be incapable of tackling the final movement of Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto. But probably not as hard as trying to persuade certain Re publican congressmen and Trump fanat ics that global warming is a human­cre ated threat, that immigrants have human rights, there needs to be gun control and their idol is unfit to be Presi dent. That really is impossible. It’s more like trying to teach a lawn mower to play the banjo.

The ‘Grand Old Party’ formed 62 years after the Democrats, was the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Eisenhow er and Reagan. Look at it now!

Under Trump, the United States gov ernment was hardly a true democracy

any more than Russia. It was saved by the Speaker and the intervention of common sense among a narrow majori ty of the electorate. But the danger has not gone away. Even today there is the vague possibility of a mentally unfit, dis honest egoist running again for office. A proven liar who allegedly incited a re bellion against Capitol Hill and removed official state documents, many classified as top secret, to his private home.

How could this happen? Even if 10 million Americans vote for Trump, it suggests a serious malaise in the coun try. In any Western European country,

he would be at least on trial by now and probably in jail.

The problem with racism must lie in the inherent nationalist nature of indi vidual Americans, including many Democrats. This is borne out in media reporting and interviews which suggest that, despite the presence of 23 million non­Americans resident in the country, only Americans matter. For example, CNN announced: “Almost a million Americans have died of CV.” What of the non­Americans living in the USA who have died? Are foreigners not hu mans? Chief Medical Officer, Dr Pritesh

Gandhi, declared: “We have 90 million Americans infected! We can get all Americans vaccinated.” On another theme: “We will get every American out of Afghanistan.” “It is so that all Ameri cans may benefit.” “American families have suffered enough already.” And so it goes on.

I met one American who said “English has always been the international lan guage. If it was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.” It’s a mystery to me that a country that has achieved so much and produced so many wise, talented and successful people should harbour so much ignorance among its voters.

To persuade millions of diehard Re publicans to look at alternatives to Trump would be like trying to beat Us ain Bolt while wearing Wellingtons.

For more from our columnists please scan this QR Code

Republican voters idolise Trump while their congressmen defer to the NRA.

David Worboys’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors

Photo credits: celebrityinsider.org and www.gulftoday.ae

Holidays for eco-tourists

Camping for a special occasion

IF you are looking for a unique way to celebrate a special occasion, why not try camping? What better way to spend a birthday or occa sion like a wedding anniver sary than connecting with nature, while surrounded by friends and family.

activities such as white water rafting and watersports on Spain’s Atlantic coast, cliff jumping in Malaga Province and mountaineering along the Costa Blanca. Adventur ers will relish the opportunity to wake up in a cave.

Lots of campsites through

out Spain are also in prime locations to be able to visit beaches, mountains and new cities. Many campsites also offer special experiences like vineyard tours and wine tasting so you can enjoy your occasion in style.

Happy camping!

WITH the rise of ‘ecotourism’, holidaymak ers are increasingly seeking out sustainable accommodation options, like camping. Eco tourists aim to support wildlife and conser vation efforts and reduce the damaging ef fects of traditional tourism on the environment.

Spain is rapidly becoming one of Europe’s top ecotourism destinations due to its envi ronmental diversity, from the oceanic cli mate in Galicia to the extensive Mediter ranean coast in the east to the sub­alpine climate in the Sierra Nevada.

Sustainable campsites appeal to eco tourists, particularly sites which offer facili ties like toilets and showers that use recycled rainwater, green power, solar water heaters or recycling points for campers. Other sites

offer special sustainable practices and ser vices such as natural mountain spring water on a site in Asturias, homegrown produce on sites in the countryside or site­provided communal transport on a site in Girona.

Activity options for tourists in Spain are just as diverse as the climate and terrain. Tourists interested in wildlife can observe impressive bird species like in Matarranya on the Ebro River, or a nature walk discover ing wild mushrooms and edible plants in Alá jar in Huelva. Tourists can also enjoy sustain able activities such as hiking in many regions across the whole country or outdoor activi ties like kayaking.

With the climate crisis becoming increas ingly pressing, eco­tourism is only growing in popularity.

Spending time outdoors without the distractions and hustle and bustle of every day life can be the perfect way to reconnect with peo ple that mean the most to you.

With more and more luxu rious ‘glamping’ experiences available, you don’t have to cut corners on comfort on camping anymore either.

You can use specialist websites including glamping search engines to find the perfect getaway for your oc casion. Glamping sites often equipped with luxurious fa cilities including hot tubs, comfortable bedding and kitchenettes.

Camping is the perfect way to spend a special occa sion for adventurers who can enjoy adrenaline boosting

Four essentials to take

IF you’re thinking of going camping, the equipment you take is fundamental to your experience. Pleasant tempera tures in Spain mean camping is still an enjoyable break dur ing autumn. Some simple additions can be a game­changer to your whole camping experience.

A warm sleeping bag

Autumn brings cooler temperatures. Stay warm with a thicker sleeping bag than you normally camp with during the summer.

A flask

With a flask, you can stay warm with minimal effort. Bring a hot drink or snack in a flask to stay warm while cooking dinner, or setting up your camping area.

A rechargeable lamp

With shorter days and longer nights setting in during Oc tober, a lamp is a practical addition that can improve any autumn camping experience. Modern rechargeable LED lights can provide more than 48 hours of light.

A comfortable camping chair

Take advantage of pleasant October weather by sitting outdoors while camping. Investing in a good­quality camp ing chair can make all the difference to a camping trip.

Raising awareness of glaucoma

EXPERTS are urging people to learn about glaucoma and have regular eye checks to help protect their vision from glaucoma - one of the leading causes of blindness in the world .

According to the World Health Organisation glaucoma is the second cause of blindness glob ally, and cases are increasing. Alarmingly, new research conducted to mark World Sight Day (October 13) by Specsavers shows that almost half of the people surveyed (48 per cent) don’t know what glaucoma is, 42 per cent of respon dents think ‘it’s rare’ and 40 per cent of respon dents wrongly believed that it can be cured.

This lack of awareness and knowledge is compounded, as due to its gradual onset, many people don’t realise they have the condition be fore it is too late. That is why this World Sight Day Specsavers Ópticas is sharing information about glaucoma and urging people to get their eyes tested.

What is glaucoma?

Francisco Jurado, Director of Specsavers Óp ticas in La Zenia, Torrevieja and Guardamar, said: “Glaucoma is a common eye condition where the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, becomes damaged. It’s usually caused by fluid building up in the front part of the eye, which increases pressure inside the eye.

“Glaucoma can lead to permanent loss of vi sion if it’s not diagnosed and treated early, as a customer at our La Zenia store sadly found out.”

Douglas Addison, who had a family history of glaucoma and was diagnosed with it 10 years ago, noticed he was losing his peripheral vision last year - a common sign that the glaucoma is permanently damaging sight.

He booked an eye test at Specsavers Ópticas in La Zenia and the optometrist found that his eye pressure was extremely high. They urgently referred Mr Addison to hospital where they performed a surgical procedure to stop the glaucoma getting worse, but unfortunately, he lost 75 per cent of the vision in his right eye.

Mr Addison commented, “I would say to anyone who hasn’t had their eyes tested be fore, or hasn’t had their eyes tested for a while, please do it. It is very, very important. Vision loss can happen to anyone, so don’t take your sight for granted.

“I’d also like to say a big thank you to the team at Specsavers Ópticas in La Zenia. If their optometrist hadn’t sent me to A&E, I would be blind. While I did lose sight in one eye, I can lead a full life and am so grateful that with the opera tion and treatment my vision won’t get worse.”

Mr Jurado said, “Come in for regular eye ex aminations every two years, every year if you have a family history of glaucoma. A full eye ex amination only takes approximately half an hour and could save your sight.’

To book an appointment visit: www.specsavers.es.

New trend, eco-tourism and camping go hand in hand.

Photo credit: Jesus Paluzo

How

HEART-BREAKING figures released this summer re vealed that Spain has the most abandoned pets in Eu rope, at nearly 300,000. As shelters encourage people in Spain to rescue a pet rather than buying a new one, we share three top tips on how to welcome a res cue animal into your home.

1. Prepare in advance

If you are prepared for your new pet, this can avoid issues if anything un expected comes up later. Decide where your pet will be sleeping, eating and playing and prepare these areas ahead of time. Stock up on food only once you know what your pet likes to eat.

2. Be patient

Rescue animals often have experienced lots in their lives, including trau ma, and it can take them time to adjust to a new home. Introduce friends and family slowly, to avoid overwhelming your pet.

3. Prioritise exercise It can be difficult to

recognise signs of anxiety or depression in pets, but ensuring they get enough exercise can help them to let off steam. If you are adopting a dog, consult

your vet to find out how much to walk it, if you choose a cat, make sure it has access to an outdoor space or somewhere to ex ercise.

How to check your pet for lumps and bumps

IT is possible for pets to get tumours, particularly as they age, so it’s important for pet parents to know how to identify lumps and bumps and what to do should you find one.

Monthly checks

Each month, feel around your pet’s entire body for any new lumps. Run your fingers through their fur and check their whole body.

Don’t forget their mouth!

Although this may be a difficult task for some, ani mals can get growths in their oral cavity. If you can’t manage to look inside, watch out for signs such as your pet not wanting to eat or bad breath.

What if I find a lump?

If you find a new lump or bump then it is extremely important to schedule an appointment with the vet. There, the veterinarian can take cells from the lump and check whether your pet needs surgery or not and any further action that may be needed.

THE Spanish government an nounced legislation to make pet microchipping a legal re quirement, but many people still have questions about how the process works. Here we explain the process to ease any anxieties or doubts for pet owners.

Microchipping has multi ple benefits, namely to in crease the likelihood of be ing reunited if your pet gets lost, but also to help vets keep up­to­date with your pets’ details and vaccina tions.

But what actually happens during the process?

Pets can only be mi crochipped by a trained pro fessional, so speak to your vet to book an appointment to ensure that the chip will be officially registered. Pets need to be older than four months old in Spain to be microchipped. You will need to take your pet’s health record (cartilla sanitaria) with you and proof of rabies vaccination.

At your pet’s microchip appointment, the vet will use a special implanter to place a tiny chip under your pet’s skin with a needle.

Chips contain a unique 15 digit number that can be identified by vets when scanned. The procedure may be uncomfortable for your pet, but doesn’t last long.

In most cases, your pet won’t need to recover after the appointment, but con

tact a vet immediately if you believe your pet is having an allergic reaction to the chip.

Urinary problems in dogs and cats

HERE are some signs that may lead you to think that your dog or cat has a urinary tract problem:

Change in urine colour and increased turbidity

Presence of blood in urine

Strong smell of urine

Straining or pain when urinating

He urinates at home or in the case of the cat out side the litter box

Needs to be let out more often (Increased amount or frequency of urination)

Licking the vulva or pe nis Fever

Lethargy

Higher water consump tion.

Vomiting Changes in appetite

Weight loss

What Causes Urinary Tract Problems in Dogs?

There are many causes of lower urinary tract problems, such as:

Inflammation or infec tion of the bladder or

kidneys

Presence of stones, crystals, or cellular debris in the bladder or urethra

Trauma, congenital anomalies or cancer in the kidneys, ureter, blad der or urethra.

Prostate disease

Spinal cord abnormali ties

Diagnosing urinary tract problems requires your veterinarian to do a physical exam that in cludes checking the kid neys and bladder. They will also likely perform a urinalysis. A urine cul ture, blood tests, ultra sound, or X­rays may also be necessary, depending on findings. Sometimes it is even necessary to per form a CT scan for more complex pathologies.

Microchipping your pet is now a legal requirement in Spain.

Photo credit: Evgeniy

LOCKSMITHS

GRILLS PAINTERS/DECORATORS

MOTORING

HAIR & BEAUTY

WINDOW TINTING

CLASSIFIEDS

J & J PAINTERS. Insideoutside - clean - fast - low cost. Torrevieja - Orihuela Costa and surrounding ar eas. Tel: 650 363 159 (294244)

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS IS ALCOHOL COSTING YOU MORE THAN MONEY? Drinking to excess not only affects your health it can spill over into ev ery other aspect of your life –damaging everything that is important to you. Englishspeaking AA meetings are held throughout the Costa Blanca from Valencia City to Murcia. Anyone wishing to at tend a meeting or discuss a possible drinking problem con tact Costa Blanca North: 648 169 045 or Costa Blanca South: 625 912 078 or Costa Calida 679 385 105 All calls are treated in the strictest confidence. AA in German: 645 456 075; Spanish: 679 212 535; Flemish: 635 047 053; and Scandinavian: 659 779 222. www.aa-costablan ca.org (93323)

PRIVATE collector will buy your Gold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)

CAMPELLO CONTRA CANCER in conjunction with AECC As sociation Español Contra Can cer. Please support your local Cancer charity and if you wish to obtain literature or simply talk to someone. Please con tact Mina or Trisha. Tel 650 071 278 or 610 921 413 e-mail aecc_campello@ hotmail.com (95475)

CANCER SUPPORT GROUP (MABS) MURCIA/MAR MENOR Help and support is just a phone call away, Avda Rio Nalón, Tel: 693 275 779 (95462)

CHURCH SERVICE IN EN GLISH Tel: 950 617 549 www.givinglight.com.(10006)

FREEMASONRY . Are you aware that Freemasonry is thriving on the Costa Blanca? There are various Lodges meetings up throughout the Valencia region. If you already are a Mason or simply wish to know more about Freemason ry in Spain please contact sec@glpvalencia. com Tel 600 841 064 (95477)

and also on Facebook. You can email the San Miguel Cen tre at office@helpvegabaja. com. We also have a 24hour Emergency helpline which is available to both members and non-mem bers on 966 723 733 (95456)

INTERNATIONAL CHRIS TIAN ASSEMBLY, TORREVIEJA

Calle Beniajan 16, Torrevieja 03185, Alicante Evangelical non-denominational church. Sunday morning Services at 11.00am. All nationalities wel come - Contact 966 752 543 / 966 799 273. For other church matters phone: 966 799 273 / /617 215 463 www.icatorre vieja.org (95476)

LA SIESTA EVANGELICAL CHURCH on Urbanisation La Siesta, Torrevieja is a friendly, English speaking church. For more information, including details of our services, see our website www.lasiestaevangeli calchurch.org (10005)

PHILIP SCOTT LODGE No 10671 of the RAOB. Please call the secretary, Colin Bird on 693 287 614 for further in formation. (95459)

PILAR CHRISTIAN COMMU NITY CHURCH. All welcome from any church background or none. For further informa tion, www.pilarchurch.org Reg No: 2009-SG/A (95463)

ROYAL Air Force Association Costa Blanca Registered Mem bers Group: The RAFA Costa Blanca RMG replaces the RAFA Costa Blanca Branch 1359 which is now closed. The RMG is a social group of caring peo ple and remains affiliated to the parent Association. Con tact with the Royal Air Force Association and the RMG can be made via the RAFA website rafa.org. uk Tel:0044 800 018 2361. (238593)

to be. If you would like to go to a branch meeting then find your nearest one at, http://branches.britishlegion.o rg.uk/branches/orihuela-costa - covering from Punta Prima to San Javier. More info can be found on branch website www.orihuelacostarbl.co.uk. (95457)

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Gran Alacant & La Marina Branch. For info, contact the branch Secretary at granala cant.secretary@rbl.community

ROYAL MARINES ASSOCIA TION (Costa Blanca) The aim of the Association is to bring together not just ex Royal Marines, but ex Service per sonnel with an affinity to the Royal Marines. For further de tails contact Hon Sec P S Wilkins Tel: 966 194 158 email: inkinspain@yahoo. co.uk (10004)

ROYAL NAVAL ASSOCIATION

For information please contact Chairman Anthony Jenk ins +34693866709, Vice Chairman Dusty Miller +34 711 006 670, Secretary Mike Cockman +34 670224822, Treasurer Carl Louden +34 678 518 202, email rnatorre vieja@aol.com (95455)

STROKE ASSOCIATION Spain (formally known as Torrevieja stroke support) Our aim is to help and sup- port stroke sur vivors and their carers, with rehabilitation, speech therapy, OC therapy and a very active social group. For info please contact 653 588 475 English and 620 907 474 Spanish or email strokesupportgroup@ hotmail.com , website: torre viejastrokesupport.org. We are always looking for volunteers who have the skills and knowl edge to support. (95473)

Hamilton´s Bake House, 62 Calle Vicente, Blasco Ibañez, Benijofar 03178. We hold a Sunday Sevrice at 11.30am. For further information: www.spiritualidtcentrebenijofar.com . Telephone 711060171. Email martin droute66@hotmail.com. Fiscal G54713789

ELECTRICIAN

MR FIXIT . For all your elec trical, plumbing, general & ap pliance & boiler repairs. No call out charge. 698 320 434 (290228)

FOR SALE/WANTED

WANTED Gold, Silver, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel –678 716 693 (288662)

GOLD WANTED

FED UP OF NOT BEING SENT YOUR RENEWAL? CUT YOUR INSURANCE COSTS AND STILL HAVE 100% COVER. YOU HAVE TRIED THE REST NOW TRY THE BEST WITH SOS IN SURANCE. WE CAN EVEN INSURE YOU FOR UP TO A €1,000 OF WATERLOSS. CALL 686 116 297 (WHAT SAPP TO) OR VISIT www.sosinsurancein spain.com or email tracey@sosinsurancein spain.com (301159)

BENEFICIAL INSURANCE SERVICES. Car, Home, Busi ness, Travel, Life, Funeral, all insurances available. Policies in English. BEST rates, covers & service. Immediate quotes. Tel 961 129 215 / 622 275 561, (WhatsApp) info@benefi cialinsuranceinspain.com or visit www.beneficialinsuran ceinspain.com for online quote. (301135)

STAY SAFE! Abbeygate In surance Call 971 277 455 For your security www.abbey gateinsure.com

HEALTH & BEAUTY

PERSONAL TRAINER, WEIGHT LOSS, TONING, RESULTS GUARANTEED. CERTIFIED WITH 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE. FORMER US KICKBOX CHAM PION. CALL 747 438 225 (301319)

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

FRENCH, ELÉGANTE , slim, Sophie, 3 languages spoken. Experienced in a large variety of full body massages. Villamartin apartment or can travel to all areas. 693 357 526 (295405)

TORREVIEJA - Norma masseuse, Russian, tall, at tractive, gentle discreet 627 101 792 (302063)

WE buy, sell & transport all makes of static caravans for more information contact 630 055 418 or Elsyd7@hotmail. com (294686)

CARE home in Torrevieja, full care, full board from €800 per month. Call 747 438 225 (295552)

HELP VEGA BAJA. We are a non-profit making organisation that helps and supports any one, without prejudice, in times of need or crisis within the Vega Baja area. Our of fices are based in San Miguel at Calle Lope de Vega 46 (Tel 966 723 733), Torrevieja at Rambla Juan Mateo Garcia 4 (Tel 965 704 282). We are on line at www.helpvegabaja.com

ROYAL BRITISH LEGIONWhy not make this year the year you volunteer? See how you can help either as a case worker (with full training) or as a Telephone Buddy. We al so visit beneficiaries who are housebound or in hospital. If you feel you could support us here in Spain, and you have a Spanish phone number then why not email us for more info tbuddyhhvisits@gmail.com. If you or your partner served or are serving, and you feel you need help or support then contact us using the details on the card, we are here for the small things as well as the big, sometimes talking to someone is the first step to feeling more in control. It can be a personal need or some help with your home or information on what or who to speak to on a medi cal issue, we help with sign posting if we cannot help di rectly, just call and have a chat with Pam who will try to guide you to where you need

THE AIRCREW ASSOCIA TION COSTA BLANCA BRANCH. Former & serving aircrews of the UK or Allied Armed Forces are welcome to join this convivial & friendly organisation, now in its 21st year. www.acacostablanca.org or call the Secretary on: 966 495 042 (95465)

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, La Fustera. For more info: con tact Frank Bentley on 966 495 188. (95461)

THE BAKER Foundation Spiri tual Centre Playa Flamenca. Calle Luis Gordillo, 1 Playa Fla menca Alicante 03189. You can join us on Facebook, The Baker Foundation spiritual centre. Or contact Linda Schug Tel. 606 990 665 for more details (95458)

THE PATIENCE LODGE No 2177 of the R.A.O.B Please call Secretary Dave Tonge on 688 704 091 for further infor mation. (253807)

THE SPIRITUALIST CEN TRE, Benijofar meets at

BATHROOM & KITCHEN Conversions Costa Blanca, contact 698 320 434.

CLASSIC SPANISH LADY, Playa Flamenca area, private premis es, all massage services from 40€. Ana 657 603 495 (295475)

EXPERIENCE the best with a 1hr unique massage with Veronica. Shaving or perma nent hair removal available. For appointments call 679 292 678 (295446)

ATTRACTIVE, Girlfriend, Pro fessional Masseuse relaxing and therapeutic Masseuse.. Tel: 693 357 526 (295448)

RELAXING MASSAGE FOR MEN - Mario qualified masseur in Alicante - Spe cial Massage for Men - 7 days 10AM to 10PMAPPOINTMENTS visit : www.masajeyrelax.es/en or WHATSAPP 649 761 607 (296490)

LA ZENIA AREA English Masseuse offering relaxing & theraputic massage. Home Premises and visits within 20kms of La Zenia. Call 711 041 330 (301279)

DIANA from Greece. Masseur. Call for relaxing & therapeutic massage. Torrevieja. Call 663 817 943 (302072)

LA ZENIA Professional Sen sual Massage service for men by either an English Male or a Male/ Female couple. Home premises and visits within 20km of La Zenia area. Call or Whatsapp 711 059 849 (301279)

GOLD & SILVER Bought & Sold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)

MISCELLANEOUS MOTORING

WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet in surance. Since we started out in 1995, our philosophy has always been to offer an exce llent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 952 147 834. (200726)

MOTORHOMES

MOTORHOME / Campervan wanted. Left or right hand drive. Cash waiting for right van. Tlf 650 722 905

If you can read it, so can your clients. Contact us and have your businessgrowat + 34 951 386 161

PIANO , Keyboard, Organ, Qualified Teacher. Please call 606 984 535 (294805)

MUSIC TUITION OTHERS

KAMAGRA Gold 100mg plus Kamagra Jellies. Collection or Delivery. ROY HAS A NEW TEL. – 613 584 915 (295447) tp

Male /Female viagra, cialis, kamagra jelly, mixed trial packs available, all areas mail order. 604 385 476. viagra4you19@gmail.com

PERGOLAS

TAILOR-MADE in durable canvas, pergola covers, sails, umbrella, spa and CAR COV ERS. 10% off Cushions. Mazarron to Costa Blanca. RE TIRING SOON DON’T MISS OUT Google: Kruger Canopies.com WhatsApp: 667 879 399 krugercanopies@ yahoo.co.uk (293100)

PET CHARITY

EASYHORSE CARE RESCUE CENTRE. We aim to rescue HORSES. If you would like to DONATE please call 965 967 033 or sales@easyhorse care.net www.easyhorseca re.net or call Sue 652 021 980 (95706)

GATAMI ORGANISATION, to help kittens and cats, looking for good homes, also spaying wild cats in the community. Kittens require adoption, fully vaccinated, de-wormed, deflead. volunteers to Tel Anna: 966 806 976 / 654 729 977 (95709)

P.E.P.A. VOLUNTEERS & FOSTER HOMES URGENTLY NEEDED. By fostering an abandoned dog or spending a few hours each week on our telephone helpline, you could help save the lives of many animals. Please call: 650 304 746. For more information browse our website: www.pepaspain.com (95708)

SPAMA GANDIA SHELTER.

Dog and cat rescue registered charity, La Safor area. 500 ani mals awaiting re-homing. Phone Gail 962 896 118. Visit our website for directions. www.spama.org and view our new blog at www.spama -safor.blog.com.es PLEASE HELP US TO HELP THEM (95707)

PLUMBERS

MR FIXIT. For all your elec trical, plumbing, general & ap pliance & boiler repairs. No call out charge. 698 320 434 (290228)

If you can read it, so can your clients. Con tact us and have your businessgrowat + 34 951 386 161

POOL MAINTENANCE Re pairs, Spares and Leak Test ing. Call 965 725 565 / 676 945 360 www.pooltechspain. com (289147)

POOL MAINTENANCE REMOVALS/STORAGE

CLUDING MOBILES. CALLS TO UK 5.3C PER MINUTE. NO MONTHLY FEES, NO CON TRACT. WWW.TELITEC.COM TEL: 902 889 070 (2001)

SPAS / JACUZZIS

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FED UP PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR MOBILE PHONE CALLS? THEN CONTACT TELITEC TODAY. CALLS TO SPAIN 7C PER MINUTE IN

Subaru Outback - the thinking drivers’ choice

lead­in model more than ac ceptable.

byMarkSlack

SUBARU have not had much luck with sales of late despite arguably having one of the most interesting range of cars. Having reinvented them selves as an SUV brand their sales have improved consider ably with new dealers also added to the network.

In addition to a new all­EV shortly, Subaru have two well established self­charging hy brids with XV and Forester.

My particular focus is on the Outback that is essentially a large estate car with raised ride height and all­wheeldrive. Even the lead­in model of the three trims on offer is loaded with standard equip ment and prices start from €41,037/£35,995.

Power comes from a 2.5litre, four­cylinder petrol box er engine that is a wellknown Subaru powertrain

and delivers good perfor mance via a CVT automatic transmission. While, as with all CVT gearboxes, the char acteristic high revs while the gearbox and speed catch up is present, the Subaru box is one of the best of this type that I have driven.

The Outback’s premium

build quality means you are well insulated from the out side world but nonetheless the CVT characteristic engine revs are still heard.

The equipment levels, even for a car at this price point, puts many others to shame with everything you might ex pect, from keyless entry and

start and dual zone air condi tioning, through to things you might not expect, such as heated rear seats and steering adaptive lighting.

Three trim levels ­ Limited, Field and Touring ­ offer an increasing range of features as standard but in all honesty most people would find the

Apart from an excellent load space the biggest plus point of the Outback is practi cality. With increased ride height, and protection on the wheel arches and bumpers, it is capable of much more than rutted tracks and fields.

Space is plentiful inside the car and fold the rear seats and it becomes a mobile dance hall. There are plenty of nooks and crannies to store your incar detritus and the smart

phone integration is quick and easy, something that isn’t al ways the case.

Subaru have always been a sophisticated, thinking drivers’ choice, in a similar manner to that which applied to Saab, but they have started gaining back some of the mass market appeal they had when the Impreza ruled the rally stages. Long may it con tinue because Subaru is a brand with real character in an automotive landscape that seems all too similar.

Facts at a Glance

Model: Subaru Outback Touring

Price: €47,304/£41,495

Engine: 2.5-litre, 4-cylinder, Boxer, petrol

Gears: CVT automatic

Performance: 0-100 kmh (62 mph) 10.2 seconds/Maximum Speed 193 kmh (120 mph)

Economy: 7.17l/100km (32.8mpg) Combined driving (WLTP)

Emissions: 193 g/km (WLTP)

Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

PRACTICAL OUTBACK: Even the lead-in model is loaded with standard equipment.

The 20th anniversary of the Porsche Cayenne is approaching

AS reported by the Porsche Newsroom, the iconic Cayenne is turning 20 and its influence has been great. It has helped to define the brand as well as combining comfort and off­road qualities with sportiness. As an allrounder, it has also been met with enthusiasm by Porsche customers.

It’s not very often that 20year­olds change the world. At the very least, the Cayenne has managed to turn the Porsche world upside down. The sports car manufacturer had high hopes for the ‘third Porsche’ ­ after the Boxster and 911 (type 996) ­ when it launched in 2002.

The Cayenne was designed to tap into new markets and thus secure the company’s fu ture over the long term. Twenty years later, we now know that the Cayenne far ex ceeded these high expecta tions. The Porsche SUV helped shape the segment of ultrasporty off­roaders that was still young at the time, and its impressive success has opened up new options for

Electric vehicle slump

DEMAND for electric vehicles has reportedly slumped due to rising electricity prices, de spite still being cheaper to run that diesel cars.

A three­year study found that elctricity price concerns have overtaken ‘range anxiety’ in people’s hesitancy to switch to electric as there are now significantly more charging points.

One EV driver said: “There has been huge investment into EV charging, and the infras tructure has improved massively over the last few years. Today I have no concerns about taking the car from Exeter up to Lancaster or Nottingham, and have even used it on a couple of European trips to Paris and also Poznan in Poland. There are far less concerns about finding a suitable charger, they are popping up everywhere, and many are the lat est fast chargers, so once connected it doesn’t take long.”

According to the study, there has been significant growth in the EV charging network and reliable fast chargers haven taken away the ‘range anxiety’ which prevented many people from switching to electric.

the market itself.

In addition to two­door sports cars, there’s now also a range of highly dynamic fourdoor vehicles to choose from: the Cayenne was followed by the Panamera, the Macan, and the all­electric Taycan.

With the third generation

launched in 2017, the Cayenne is available in a vari ety of variants and has proven itself to be a family­friendly travel vehicle, robust off­road er, and spacious sports car.

And it can do so much more.

The sky’s the limit. See for yourself!

Credit: Porsche Newsroom

Porsche Cayenne.

FORMENTERA TO THE FORE

THE Costa Blanca Walking Football League (CBWFL)

will get under way this week with Formentera hosting new club the Red Lions of Fortuna today Thursday, October 13, re sults to follow next week.

Formentera will be look ing to get off to a good start having finished bot tom last season while the Red Lions will want to show they will not be a push over.

In a friendly match on October 7, Formentera hosted Pinoso WFC, recent winners of the Hondon Tournament. This was an end to end game played with enthusiasm and the fi nal score reflected this 4‐4 result. Formentera went ahead before the visitors equalised. Pinoso then took a 3‐1 lead. Undaunted the home side fought back

to level the scores at 3‐3 before Pinoso went ahead 4‐3. Formentera pressed as full time neared and scored an equaliser. It was agreed a draw was a fair result.

Thanks go to Rumours, a Formentera club sponsor, who provided the after match hospitality.

Hondon Valley Flyers

WFC are looking to recruit players as they build a squad to compete in friendly matches, tourna

ments and next season’s CBWFL.

Founded in 2017 they are situated between Aspe and Macisvenda and hold sessions on Mondays and Thursdays, 9.15am to 11.30am at the Polide portivo Hondon de la Nieves.

The club have been suc cessful during the past five years winning several tro phies and are putting a squad together with the

aim of getting back to win ning trophies again.

While football is the pri ority, the club organise var ied social events which are

enjoyed by British, Spanish, Dutch and German mem bers.

If you are 50+ , love play ing football or just want to keep fit, go along and you will receive a warm wel come and are sure to make new friends.

Check out the club on Facebook, Hondon Valley Flyers WFC.

Portobello Campoverde

WFC Open Day will take place on Saturday October

22 at the Polideportivo, Pi lar de la Horadada be tween 11am and 1 pm.

The club aim is to intro duce Walking Football to the community. It is the fastest growing sport in Eu rope and there will be fun skills sessions, all inclusive games and a demonstra tion match from the cur rent CBWFL Champions. Ladies 40+, Men 50+ will receive a warm welcome.

So make a note of the date and time and go along and see how you can enjoy playing football at a relax ing pace with minimal physical contact, have fun and make new friends.

Thanks go to Pilar Town Hall, Pilar Tourist Board and Pinar Properties for their support.

Many thanks to the Euro Weekly News for their sup port of walking football.

FRIENDLY MATCH: Formentera v Pinoso.

PLAYERS WANTED: Hondon Valley Flyers WFC.

Portobello Campoverde Open Day - October 22.