Axarquia 17 - 23 November 2022 Issue 1950

WELL-WISHERS in Nerja came together for two special Remembrance events to mark Armistice Day over the weekend.

The Nerja branch of the Royal British Legion held a commemorative Poppy Ball on November 11, fol lowed by a memorial ser vice on November 13.

During the Poppy Ball, the group raised more than €1,100 for the Poppy Appeal. More than 70 guests danced and partied the night away after tuck ing into a delicious dinner and drinks.

The memorial service on Sunday November 13 was a moving event, held at the Al Andalus Hotel in Maro. The event was well attended, including by the

The group are set to continue their inspiring awareness raising work with a quiz on Tuesday November 22 which will

be held at Lew’s Restau rant in Torrox from 6.30pm. Next year’s calen dar is also filling up with a Burns Supper on January 25 and their annual Mas querade Ball on May 27. Anyone interested in at

If you would like to vol unteer and support this wonderful cause please visit https://rblnerja.com for further information.

Walk for a cure

A HEART­WARMING initiative will see walkers from across Axarquia come together to raise awareness and funds for the Asociación la Esperanza, ‘Hope As sociation’ which supports women suffering from cancer and their families.

The first ‘Solidarity Walk Against Cancer’ will take place on Sunday November 27 in Almachar and El Borge. The race is of a medium difficulty, covering around seven kilometres. The initiative has been or ganised by a collaboration of local groups and the councils of Almachar and El Borge.

The walk costs just €3 to enter and all proceeds will go towards the Asociación la Esperanza charity, to allow them to continue providing assistance to women with cancer and their families in the Axar quia area.

TORROX delighted in London with a leading British economic newspa per describing the town as the perfect ‘all­in­one’ destination for British tourists. Experts from the town’s tourism industry were in the British capital for the World Travel Mar ket tourism fair from November 7­ 9.

Torrox made the British national news after the town’s delegation im pressed at the tourism fair.

As well as canvassing at the event and around London, authorities from Torrox visited the Miguel Cervantes retirement cen

tre in London, where they promoted the destination among retired people.

Town mayor, Óscar Medina spoke with more than 200 members of the social club, which is also attended by English peo ple with a love for Span ish culture. He spoke of the importance of the event saying “Who better to promote Torrox in Lon don than Spaniards who live there and spend time with Brits that love Span ish culture.”

Promotional material at the event highlighted the pleasant winter climate, and a whole host of activ ities for retired people.

Participants from Almachar will set off on a route from the Paseo de la Axarquia, while participants from El Borge will set off from El Arco de la Pasa. Af ter setting off at 10am, both groups will pass each other along the route.

Betty Henderson

Officer Commanding Per sonnel Recovery Centre Major del Hamilton.

tending the events should contact Kim by email at: kim_bowe1@hotmail.com

Walkers across Axarquia will participate in a solidarity walk to raise funds for a local women’s cancer charity.

Photo credit: LightField Studios/ shutterstock.com

Photo credit: Nerja Royal British Legion (by email)

MARVELLOUS

Concert crowdfunding

AN electrifying rock music event in Vélez­Malaga is nearly upon us! The ‘Axarkia Rocking’ charity concert will take place this Friday November 19.

More than 100 musi cians from a range of gen res and styles will perform in the town in aid of the Red Cross. The musicians are from different groups including the Municipal Band, the Stella Maris

Choir from Torre del Mar and some local rock bands.

Several of the groups are used to playing classical styles and will step up to the challenge to put on an entertaining rock show. This mega rock band is set to be conducted by the head of the Municipal Band, José Antonio Lagos.

Performers expressed their excitement saying “It’s probably inevitable

that someone will be out of tune in a band so big, but it’s part of the show. Even Brian May from Queen has been out of tune at some point in his life.”

The concert will be held in the María Zambrano Park in Velez­Malaga from 5pm onwards. Tickets for the concert cost just €10 and all proceeds go to the Red Cross.

Overwhelming response

STRIKING statistics as more than 15,000 sea son tickets were sold on the first release for Torre del Mar’s summer Weekend Beach Festival on November 8. Music lovers rushed to buy tickets, even though the line­up for the festival taking place from July 5 to 8 next year, hasn’t even been announced.

The Weekend Beach

Festival is set to cele brate its ninth edition in Torre del Mar next sum mer. Four intense days will be packed with the most popular current tracks in European mu sic.

The festival plays a wide variety of genres including pop, hip­hop, Latin, urban, rap and rock music.

Although next year’s

line­up is yet to be an nounced, it is sure to be packed full of huge names in the music in dustry including Bastille, Nicky Jam, David Guetta, The Black Eyed Peas, Ozuna, Becky G, and Jim my Cliff.

As well as the fabulous musical line­up, guests are often drawn to Torre del Mar for its tourism credentials.

Educational activism

Betty Henderson

THERE has been a major show of support from people across Axarquia at a solidarity event held in Malaga to coincide with COP27 on Sun day November 13.

More than 300 people from across Axarquia got stuck into an exciting programme of sus tainability activities to mark the international climate conference in Egypt and show solidari ty with environmental activists across the world.

The Regional Day Against Climate Change was held in Malaga and saw participants try sustainable activities like making ecological soap, building bird nest boxes, homes for in sects, learning how to work with esparto grass and making compost for crops. Participants al so heard about biodiversity from experts, an is sue which is particularly important in agricultur al communities in Axarquia.

More than 300 people from Axarquia took part in a

A member of the organising committee, Cristóbal Ortega, expressed his gratitude at the involvement of so many people saying “We’re so happy to see so many people from Malaga Province at this event. It shows the dedication that residents have to fight climate change.”

Pride at new playground

AN inclusive children’s play ground opening in Nerja is set to appeal to children of all ages and abilities. Authorities declared the brand new Vera no Azul playground right in the heart of Nerja’s residential area on Friday November 11.

The playground which cov ers a huge 700 square metres boasts five different areas with a whopping 225 activi ties for children of all ages. Of the 225 activities that the equipment offers, 165 are in clusive for children with learn

ing difficulties or disabilities.

Mayor, José Alberto Armi jo, thanked council workers for their hard work in trans forming the park. The major upgrade used an investment of more than €295,000 to re store the existing park.

Photo credit: Diputación de Málaga

solidarity event against climate change in Malaga.

NIBS EXTRA

Shining solidarity

ALMUÑECAR Council has lit up various buildings with lu minous blue lights to show their support for the Interna tional Day of Children’s Rights. The lighting display will take place each day in the town until Friday Decem ber 2.

Active tourism

BIG names in the local tourism industry are set to visit Valladolid to promote active and agricultural tourism opportunities in Axarquia. Organisations are set to travel for Intur Val ladolid 2022 which is being held November 17 to 20.

Pet park

A HUGE new park has been opened in Torre del Mar with a large space that has been designated for animal lovers to walk their pets. The park also features a children’s playground, fountains, brand new lighting and spaces to walk in.

Road refurbished

THE Andalucian government will invest more than €300,000 in a project to reno vate roads between agricul tural sites between Riogordo and Velez­Malaga. The im provement project aims to improve access for landown ers and farmers, improving rural connectivity in the re gion.

Changing times

THE agricultural industry in Axarquia has been celebrat ing increased rainfall as we reach the end of autumn. Now more rainfall and cloudy weather is forecast for the region with a passage of cooler Atlantic Fronts setting in from November 16.

Bins boosted

RINCON DE LA VICTORIA’S recycling system is set to get a major upgrade as recycling container space is upped by 60 per cent. A new brown container will be introduced for bio­waste, while the grey container will be used for other waste.

Henderson ALMUÑECAR Tourism is to make a thrilling return to the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia in 2023. The local tourism board will sponsor Basque rally racer, Asier Duarte and his local co­pilot from La Herradura, Luis Barbero will race through desert terrain in Saudi Arabia during the race from December 31 until January 15 next year.

Racers rejoice

get more than 48 million television views.”

Battle of the wines

The local tourism industry will promote itself in a new market as it sponsors Duarte and Barbero’s Nissan Patrol car. Sponsors presented the racing car to the drivers at a ceremony outside Almuñecar Town Hall, where it caught the attention of passing crowds.

Local councillors highlighted the impor tance of the publicity saying “we could

Luis Barbero expressed his gratitude at the sponsorship saying “Last year we tried and even managed to qualify, but without sponsorship at the most impor tant rally race internationally, we had no chance. But this year, we have achieved our goal. The car is ready to go and we’ve picked up good results in practice races. Now we want to have a great race at Dakar and get publicity coverage for Al muñecar!”

Stand against violence Cave art contest

TORROX launched an engaging programme of events to mark the International Day Against Gender­Based Violence which will be held on Friday November 25. Under the cam paign slogan, ‘You can count on us’, local organisations will focus on education to stop gendered violence at the very beginning.

The council have chosen to work with new generations by designing activities for local schools, including a story telling show. Events will also include workshops on crucial topics such as reducing stress and dealing with difficult feel ings. There will also be a dance performance, a tour of Granada focusing on the city’s most notable women, and an awards ceremony where authorities will also pay tribute to women victims of violence.

Authorities have also designed a QR code which will be distributed around Torrox to raise awareness on equality is sues as well as help for women victims of violence.

The local councillor for Equality, Verónica Muñoz de scribed the programme of events as “focused and interest ing.” Mayor of Torrox, Óscar Medina, added that the initia tive is the result of collaboration between the national government, regional authorities and local organisations.

Alzheimer’s awareness

A MOVING exhibition has been launched in Torrox to coin cide with the council’s healthy living programme monthly theme of ‘Care and Dependence’, which is running through out November. The exhibition is on show in the Almedina Hall until Friday December 9.

The photography exhibition, entitled ‘Alzheimer’s, the journey of the memory’, will take both an artistic and scien tific approach, displaying information panels written by re searchers from the University of Malaga and photographs portraying life with Alzheimer’s.

Alongside the exhibition, local authorities are also organis ing workshops and meetings aimed at supporting carers and family members of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

The first of the talks will happen on November 24, entitled ‘SOS Carers we can help you’, aimed at giving carers support. The second of the talks on November 27 will cover ‘What is Alzheimer’s’ and preventative lifestyle advice.

November’s events are part of an initiative launched on World Health Day, earlier this year in April. During Decem ber, the council are set to focus on alcoholism as a health is sue, with events and activities to deal with the issue.

A UNIQUE contest in Rin con de La Victoria will allow a lucky winner to decorate the complex where the town’s iconic Cueva del Tesoro is located.

Judges in the ‘Prehistoric Urban Design’ competition will judge dozens of cre ative proposals in the com petition to create an un usual interior design in the site of the prehistoric cave.

The competition winner will receive €3,000 to im plement their design, while the second and third places will receive €500 each and their work will be publi cised.

The first edition of the competition seeks to find a creative design for the cave archaeological complex that highlights the archaeo logical and historical wealth of the area. It is one of just three known under water caves in the world, sculpted by the sea.

The competition is an ex cellent opportunity for lo cal artists and interior de

signers to promote their work in an area which re ceives thousands of tourists. It is open to de signers of any nationality, but the design must consid er the history and local folklore of the site.

Those wishing to enter the competition can do so online until January 8 at: https://www.aedashomes. com/arteurbanoprehistori co.

THE countdown is on for one of Torrox’s most ea gerly awaited events on the local calendar. The 41st edition of the Festival de las Migas will take place on Thursday November 24.

Launching the event, the council also announced that the prize for the wine contest has been increased to reflect the hard work of local wine artisans. Au thorities have also raised the prize money due to weather conditions in the region, including drought, which has made wine pro duction in the town much more difficult.

Traditional Muscatel wines will be showcased during the event, alongside traditional dishes and local food pairings. Wine pro ducers have until Wednes day November 23 to regis ter their wines if they want a chance of winning the renowned contest.

Announcing the prize money boost, town mayor, Óscar Medina explained “We want to encourage our local wine producers to participate in this presti gious contest which will generate so much publicity for them.

“The Día de las Migas festival has become an in ternational event because people from all over the world want to try our deli cious local dishes, paired with traditional Muscatel wines.”

Betty

Rally car drivers, including Luis Barbero are presented with their car for the rally.

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Rincón de La Victoria

LUCKY WINNER: Will get to display their art at the entrance to an iconic cave in Rincon de La Victoria.

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Almuñécar

Family day out

FAMILY fun in Almuñecar with a walking event to al low residents and visitors to discover more of the area. The walk which will take place on Saturday Novem ber 19 has been organised to coincide with Interna tional Children’s Rights Day.

Local groups have organ ised a wide variety of events and activities to celebrate the occasion, including ac

tivities at school.

Local councillor for Social Services, Maria del Carmen Reinoso, said “We have launched this family walk to promote healthy lifestyles.”

The trail is accessible and the route at a distance of around 4.5 kms is of an easy level. Participants must wear sensible walking shoes and children must be ac companied by an adult.

Passion for plants

AN engaging eco­friendly scheme will see locals and visitors come together in Rincon de La Victoria to plant trees and share a passion for the environ ment. The first edition of the ‘Sustainable Green cana’ is set to take place on Sunday November 20.

The event will take place at the La Marina de Torre de Benagalbon edu cational centre from 10am, next to the Bena galbon stream, which is crucial for the local ecosystem. As well as tree planting, a wide variety of free activities will be on offer including competi tions with exciting prizes, workshops and live musi cal entertainment.

Councillor for Environ

mental Sustainability, Borja Ortiz explained the logic behind the event saying “We invite all lo cals, especially families to learn more about native trees in our community, including olive groves,

mulberries, poplars and elm trees.”

Those interested in the event can register online at: https://malagarespi ra.org/greencana­planta cion­arboles­malaga­res pira­rincon­de­la­victoria.

Flamenco figure

TRIBUTE to iconic local flamenco per former during Velez­Malaga’s cel ebrations for the International Day of Flamenco.

A tribute to local singer, Gitanillo de Vélez is set to take place on Saturday November 19 in the Francisco Hernández Con temporary Art Cen tre.

The International Day of Flamenco is typically celebrat ed on November 16, to coincide with the United Nations body for cultural heritage, UNESCO, declaring flamenco a form of intangible cultural heritage.

The event in Velez­Malaga will focus on the uses of flamenco for thera peutic purposes, in cluding for people with special needs and people with memory issues.

Local councillor for Culture, Cyn thia García ex plained “This event is mainly dedicated to the figure of Luis Melchor Santiago Amador, known in the flamenco world as Gitanillo de Vélez, for acting as a pillar of flamenco singing and this art during the 20th century.”

During the event, there will be three talks on the iconic figure, followed by a flamenco perfor mance by perform ers from the ‘Anto nio de Canillas’ Flamenco School.

Plant lovers can get stuck in to a day of tree planting and sustainable events in Rincon de La Victoria.

Photo credit: Rawpixel.com / shutterstock.com

Classical concert

Betty Henderson

A BEAUTIFUL classical concert is set to take place on Friday November 18 in Velez­Mala ga. Local classical pair, the Axarquía Duo will play a thought­provoking bill of songs throughout the evening.

Formed in 2020, in Malaga, the duo is made up of harpist, Tibor Tejeda del Río, and cellist, David Lastre Castillo. Despite their short history of playing together, the Axar quía Duo each bring a wealth of musical ex perience and talent to the table.

Tibor Tejeda began his harp journey at the age of just eight years old, in the Superior Conservatory of Music in Malaga. Tibor has since played in several orchestras across Eu

QUICK­THINKING authorities stepped in to rescue a dog in Velez­Malaga, sending it to a rescue centre in Granada for immediate medical attention.

The National Police authori ty, rescued an American Bull dog that was so malnourished it would have only lived an other one to three weeks.

The dog was suffering from multiple health conditions when police arrived on the scene, including extreme mal

rope, as well as in solo performances in vari ous countries.

David Lastre similarly began his musical journey aged eight, at the ‘José Hidalgo’ Con servatory in Torre del Mar.

The event will get underway from 8pm on November 18. Tickets cost just €10 and are available for purchase on 667 389 530.

Animal rescue

nutrition, and parasitic dis eases. The National Police ar rested the dog’s owner, a 43year­old woman, on animal abuse and neglect charges when they found the dog on a local farm. The dog was im mediately transferred to a veterinary centre for it to be treated, where the abuse was confirmed, allowing police to

arrest the woman.

Police issued a statement reminding dog owners are re quired by law to feed their dogs, provide healthy living conditions and keep up to date with veterinary appoint ments. Since its rescue the dog is expected to make a full recovery and will hopefully find a new, loving home.

The Axarquía Duo performed at a recent concert in Rincon de la Victoria.

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Rincón de La Victoria

My Blue Badge

THE Euro Weekly News is still championing the Blue Badge petition, with the issue being as important as ever as we begin to enter the winter months and looking after the vul nerable members of our society becomes even more crucial.

The My Blue Badge = My Freedom campaign aims to push the UK and Spanish govern ments to work together to allow disabled UK tourists to be able to use their Blue Badges while on holiday in Spain.

The campaign is also pushing for a compas sionate solution to help UK residents in Spain who may have left it too late to apply for their Spanish disabled badge and are now un able to park accessibly after many areas of

Spain stopped recognis ing UK badges last year. Spain is one of the few EU countries to not allow UK Blue Badges, making getting around harder for disabled UK nationals living in Spain for up to 180 days a year, for those who did not apply for the Span ish disabled badge in time before Brexit, and those visiting the coun try.

We are still cam paigning for this impor tant cause, sign the pe tition via this link: https://euroweekly news.com/2022/06/16 /blue­badges / or use the QR code.

Getting all digital

THE Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, participated in the Forum for the Promotion of Digital Transformation in the Agri­Food Sector on Thurs day, November 10.

He stressed that the appli cation of digital technologies is essential for the economic and environmental competi tiveness of the agri­food sec tor, not just in the future, but now.

The minister assured that: “Innovation and digitalisa tion are fundamental for the development of the agrifood sector, a sector that is already a leader in terms of the quantity and quality of its products and is recog nised for this in world mar kets.”

He expressed his “pride and recognition for the workers of this sector” and stressed the need to contin ue working together to con solidate its growth in the in terests of all .

REALITY superstar, Eva Longoria received an in credible honour in Oviedo on Saturday November 5. The American actress re ceived the Dama del Real Cuerpo de la Nobleza de Asturias medal of nobility. She received the award as a tribute to her ancestors from the region and to honour her heritage.

Dame Eva Longoria Constant support

Though Eva’s father couldn’t be with her to see her receive the prestigious medal, her husband, José Bastón and her friend, María Bravo were there to share the special moment. Eva dressed to impress for the occasion in a stunning

nude dress covered with a cape feature.

Reports suggested that the American actress could have been sponsored in re ceiving the honour by a dis tant cousin of King Felipe VI.

The actress couldn’t con tain her delight at the cere mony and took to Insta gram saying “My dad couldn’t be here but he would have been a very proud LLongoria! (That’s how it used to be spelled here) Congrats to all the honorees from this region tonight.”

ON Thursday, November 10, Spain’s Minister of Defence, Mar garita Robles, confirmed that: “Since February 24, Spain has not stopped helping Ukraine for a single minute. The Spanish Armed Forces have and are working tirelessly in a peace mission. By de fending Ukraine, we are defending peace.”

The Minister emphasised that “everyone is well aware of Spain’s commitment in its support for Ukraine in a war in which Putin is the only one to blame. It is a war in which Ukraine is exer cising its legitimate right to defence, protecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Robles reiterated her gratitude to the Spanish Armed Forces for all the humanitarian aid and defence material they have provided (a total of 50 logistical and humanitarian transport operations) and for the training programme for the Ukrainian military.

Finally, she added: “It is a harsh winter that the Ukrainians are facing. With power cuts and lack of heating, it’s going to be a dark country, especially for the civilian population to whom we feel very close.”

MBE Honour

ON Tuesday November 15, David Fernández Jiménez, Deputy Director of the FCDO’s Consular Contact Centre, which is based in Malaga, re ceived the Honorary Member of the Order of the British Em pire (MBE) for his services to British citizens abroad.

The ceremony took place in Madrid at the residence of the British ambassador, Hugh El liott.

HMA Hugh Elliott said: “David is a first­class public servant, with a very clear ob jective: to improve consular services for British citizens.

“Since joining the FCDO 10 years ago, he has shown inno vation in service delivery, led the consular response to nu

merous crises (such as during the Arab Spring, hurricanes in the Caribbean and airline bankruptcy) and has devel oped new channels of com munication with British citi zens. I am lucky to work with him and to be able to give him this well­deserved medal.”

David Jiménez said: “I am

immensely grateful to the UK for this distinction, which I embrace with pride. This recognition symbolises the dedication and commitment of an entire department to be always at the vanguard of the provision of high­quality con sular services for British peo ple overseas.”

Eva Longoria received a royal honour recognising her family heritage in Oviedo.

Photo credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / shutterstock.com

DAVID JIMÉNEZ: Embraces the recognition with pride.

A Soul Empowerment Coach

DUTCH Soul Empowerment

Coach Birgitta Visser lives in the UK and has a new book re leased entitled ‘BE­com­ing Au thentically Me.’

In today’s world, there are coaches for almost every as pect of life, but for those who don’t know what a Soul Em powerment Coach is, Birgitta explained the concept to Euro Weekly News

“My role is to help align the inner spiritual essence of life with the outer life.”

In Birgitta’s case, her outer life has seen difficult days and has often been a turbulent journey, having served as a steep learning curve. She’s been a model, bartender, pro mo girl, dog walker, healer, web designer, created her own organic soap line, de signed jewellery, taught holis tic workshops and worked many jobs in the corporate world.

“Being a nomad and a seek er, I have travelled the globe extensively, leaving an indeli ble impression on all those I met, while making a home wherever I roamed.”

In her new book, ‘BE­coming Authentically Me’, Birgitta hopes that by sharing her many life experiences she may provide a guiding light to those who’ve had their own chal lenges in life.

“I keep telling anyone who’ll listen, the most important in gredient to success is to always be you, not what the world wants you to be.

“Life is really about being your authentic self, and not be ing led by the opinions and the judgement of others. Society conditions us and labels us that we are supposed to be a cer tain type of person.

“I’m here to tell you, you can be the person you want to be despite what society might be telling you. It doesn’t matter what people think of you or if they even understand you. It matters what you think of you. It matters that you understand you.

“We’re in this dot.com world,” she said, “and people don’t even understand what ‘dot.com’ means. Believe it or not, ‘dot.com’ is actually de rived from Latin, meaning ‘be

ing together’. “The idea of ‘be ing’ in turn leads back to be coming the person you truly are. It’s not easy for most of us to be true to ourselves. But I’m hoping I can inspire people to take a breath and re­examine the person they are, and give them the tools to become the person they want to be.”

Birgitta has transformed her own life experiences of being abused, both as a child and as an adult, to become a better version of herself. And rather than let it destroy her life, she wrote ‘BE­com­ing Authenti cally Me’, to help educate peo ple on how to deal with life’s traumas.

“I hope my book helps peo ple. There’s no better feeling than when you're able to give inspiration and guidance to someone and it actually helps them improve their lives. And it all begins with loving your

self. Your ‘authentic’ self. And then you need to live life to the fullest. And not just exist. And you need to live NOW.

“Life is like the sound of mu sic,” she has concluded.

“You’ve got to dance before the music stops.”

If you want to make a New Year resolution to be true to yourself, search out her new book on Amazon.

Community with heart

THE community’s paper, the Euro Weekly News, has always at its heart been about serving its English­speaking readers in Spain.

Now, the EWN has teamed up with another communityfocused organisation, the British Benevolent Fund (BBF), to bring some of the issues most important to expats into sharp focus and spread aware ness about this amazing group in their new column every week.

The EWN sat down with the British Benevolent Fund’s chair, Olaf Clayton, to discuss their upcoming column, what they do, and how they can help British expats in Spain.

Olaf explained: “The BBF has been going for at least 100 years. We originally thought we had started in the 1930s but we’ve discovered it was earlier and we’ve been helping Britons in Spain since then.”

The organisation, entirely funded by donations, gives one­off payments to Britons in need in Spain to help with is

sues like those who are be tween jobs or other hardship.

Olaf said: “We don’t and can’t provide regular stipends as we’re not a government or ganisation.

“What we do is provide funding when people desper ately need it. We do it because it’s important that there is somebody there as a last re sort when people have ex hausted all options, including family or friends.”

He added: “We look at things impartially and sympa thetically as these are often is sues that could happen to any one. With Brexit there are a large number of people who were caught in a difficult posi tion and we want to help.”

In the BBF’s upcoming col

umn, Olaf will be dis cussing how some of the most common is sues facing Brits in Spain arise, how to pre vent them, and how the BBF can help when needed. Olaf will also be discussing some of the difficult decisions the organisation has to make when it comes to funding dif ferent issues.

The chair is also encouraging members of the community to get involved to spread the word about the BFF and help those in need. He said: “We are looking for people with great British common sense and time to dedicate to this.

“We need volunteers, dona tions, members, and we’re looking for people who are happy to host and organise events.”

The first column will be pub lished in the EWN on Thurs day, November 24. To learn more about the BBF visit britishbenevolentfund.org or contact olaf.clayton@british benevolentfund.org

Olaf Clayton of BBF.

FINANCE

BUSINESS EXTRA

Whopper truck

LOOKING to outdo competi tors, Burger King Spain has created the Whopper Truck, which is staffed by 20 people and can offer a whole range of food at open air festivals. Its first outing was at the Co ca­Cola Music Experience festival where it reportedly earned €30,000.

Inflation stable

WITH just six weeks left until the end of the year, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calviño has indicated that she expects the country’s in flation rate to continue at around 9 per cent, adding that fourth quarter econom ic growth is relatively good.

WH Smith

BACK to travel, back to profit is the mantra for ‘newsagent’ WH Smith which has reported a head line pre­tax profit of £61 mil lion for the year to the end of August compared to last year’s loss of £104 million, thanks to the freedom to travel.

Sustainable Xmas

FIVE sustainable stuffed hedgehogs known as Los Grinpins will be an ideal Xmas gift for the very young. On sale at El Corte Inglés, for every one sold, the depart ment store will add €1 to its existing commitment to plant 2,500 trees near the town of Ejulve (Teruel).

Trade deal

DESPITE the fact that the US government has indicated that a trade agreement with the UK is unlikely until the Northern Ireland border situ ation is resolved, Trade Sec retary Kemi Badenoch left for Washington DC on Mon day November 14 to try to promote UK­US trade.

STAT OF WEEK €3.7 million

Microchip design centre

CHIP manufacturer Cisco is to create a new design centre in Spain following a meeting be tween Pressident Pedro Sánchez and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins in Madrid on Thursday November 10.

The digital revolution cannot proceed without chips and the European Union Chips Act lays the foundation for an innovation ecosystem in the EU, connecting world­class research, design and testing capacities, creating knowledge jobs and fostering economic growth.

As part of its global strategy to enable a reliable, scalable and sustainable global semiconduc tor supply chain, Cisco plans to set up an engineering design centre to design and prototype next generation semiconductor devices in its existing Barcelona facility.

The commitment has been made following a number of ear lier meetings between the two parties, both in Madrid and at the last Davos Forum in May of this year.

“Spain is on the way to be come a key player in achieving

the EU objective of reaching 20 per cent of the world chip mar ket by 2030.

“We have approved the pro gram PERTE Microchip and have the roadmap, reforms and incen tives in place to attract talent and strengthen the current Span ish ecosystem,” said Sánchez.

“Technology has the ability to help countries further their social and economic development and move even closer to an inclusive

future for all. Today’s announce ment reinforces Cisco’s commit ment to support the digital ecosys tem in Spain and across Europe,” observed Chuck Robbins.

The Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Trans formation (PERTE) of microelec tronics and semiconductors will have access to more than €12 billion from European funds made available as part of the Spanish Recovery Plan.

Windfall tax expanded

UNIMPRESSED by ECB criti cism of planned bank wind fall tax, Spain not only in tends to proceed with it, but is actually amending the draft bill in order to in clude more organisations.

The government hopes to earn some €3 billion from charging those Span ish banks which have made more than €800 million profit a special 4.8 per cent tax and this is planned to run for two years.

There is little doubt that the merger of some Span ish banks has created very profitable organisations which have been able to reduce operating costs by closing branches and

shedding staff.

Many have also benefit ed from access to very gen erous loans from official or ganisations such as the European Development Bank as well as having ac cess to cheap Spanish gov ernment funds during the pandemic.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has issued a non­binding opinion that the decision to introduce such a windfall tax could be damaging to the banks’ long term liquidity and could also discourage them from granting loans.

The government re

sponse is that the larger banks are making record profits so can easily afford the temporary tax which will be used to benefit those suffering from the cost­of­living crisis.

Also, since the ECB itself is raising interest rates in order to slow down infla tion as fewer loans will be affordable, the windfall tax would support the ECB if its observations are correct.

Prior to pushing the bill through parliament, the government has realised that it only applied to Span ish banks, so the amend ment will include local units of foreign lenders super vised by the ECB.

Deal scuppered

IN early October, one prime minis ter ago, the British government an nounced that it was planning to strike a 20­year long­term bulk buy deal for gas.

The plan was to ensure that the country secured a safe, reliable and reasonably priced supply from Norway which creates most of its electricity through renewable sources and has North Sea gas ga lore.

Now just over a month later it seems the deal has been cancelled, reportedly due to the proposed fixed price which has shot up and Treasury analysts believe open market gas could become much cheaper in the foreseeable future.

New revenue

IN its Autumn Financial Stability Re port issued on November 11, the Bank of Spain is encouraging Span ish banks to make provisions to en sure that they have sufficient funds to face a possibly uncertain future. Whilst acknowledging that many banks have seen high profits and will benefit in the short term from the increase in interest rates, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the spi ralling cost of living could see many countries continue to suffer from recession with defaults on loans.

The Bank also considers that the Spanish windfall tax on those banks which have made the greatest profits could reduce the sector’s ability to generate new revenue.

Oxfam funding

FOR more than a year, the British government refused to allow char ity Oxfam the right to bid for UK funding as an external investiga tion was carried out into safe guarding allegations in the Demo cratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Minister for Development An drew Mitchell finally announced on Thursday November 10 that this pause had now been reversed and the charity may once again bid for UK aid funding to carry out life saving work around the world.

This follows confirmation that Oxfam has made significant im provements to its safeguarding systems in DRC, although why the DRC problem stopped it from ob taining funds to assist in other countries is obscure.

is the threshold that must be reached before Spain’s richest residents will have to pay the temporary wealth tax at the end of this year.

Credit: Pedro Sánchez twitter

COMMITMENT: Meeting between the two in Madrid on November 10.

Credit: Creative Commons

3I Group 1.267,00 1.308,50 1.262,00 128,82K

Abrdn 204,90 207,10 203,00 1,45M

Admiral Group 2.070,1 2.075,0 2.037,0 58,04K

Anglo American 3.351,0 3.414,5 3.334,5 479,81K

Antofagasta 1.435,00 1.451,00 1.430,50 140,30K

Ashtead Group 4.966,0 5.114,0 4.962,0 80,01K

Associated British Foods 1.547,0 1.569,0 1.543,5 69,85K

AstraZeneca 10.776,0 10.860,0 10.542,0 251,92K

Auto Trader Group Plc 572,80 576,80 570,40 333,86K

Aveva 3.173,0 3.203,0 3.170,0 1,07M

Aviva 437,48 441,53 436,40 87,77K

B&M European Value Retail SA389,60 394,30 381,30 403,63K

BAE Systems 729,70 731,20 702,20 1,53M

Barclays 156,28 158,74 155,22 4,52M

Barratt Developments 403,60 413,40 402,10 709,71K

Berkeley 3.775,0 3.900,0 3.768,0 40,33K

BHP Group Ltd 2.493,50 2.510,00 2.483,00 280,03K

BP 477,80 483,20 476,50 4,44M

British American Tobacco 3.249,0 3.261,5 3.207,0 291,64K

British Land Company 399,10 405,10 397,90 137,82K

BT Group 122,15 122,20 120,30 1,76M

Bunzl 2.936,0 2.954,0 2.930,0 43,90K

Burberry Group 2.009,0 2.025,0 2.004,0 70,85K

Carnival 776,8 792,8 777,6 167,69K

Centrica 82,82 82,86 81,30 901,31K

Coca Cola HBC AG 2.011,0 2.032,0 2.007,0 36,15K

Compass 1.795,50 1.818,00 1.785,50 284,13K

CRH 3.343,5 3.399,0 3.342,0 93,35K

Croda Intl 7.118,0 7.200,0 7.084,0 53,32K

DCC 4.474,0 4.512,0 4.462,0 14,42K

Diageo 3.640,0 3.660,5 3.608,5 199,04K

DS Smith 316,40 320,30 314,50 364,04K

EasyJet 411,90 414,89 407,20 192,98K

Experian 2.861,0 2.885,0 2.835,0 168,72K

Ferguson 10.245,0 10.325,0 10.195,0 40,97K

Flutter Entertainment 11.595,0 11.775,0 11.580,0 60,87K

Fresnillo 866,60 878,20 863,20 95,99K

Glencore 510,30 515,22 506,70 964,73K

GSK plc 1.340,20 1.343,20 1.315,20 157,91K

Halma 2.361,0 2.382,0 2.347,0 66,72K

Hargreaves Lansdown 935,60 945,60 930,00 171,40K

Hikma Pharma 1.399,00 1.404,00 1.375,50 80,21K

HSBC 474,80 476,70 471,30 2,30M

IAG 135,98 138,26 135,42 3,39M

Imperial Brands 2.047,00 2.052,00 1.993,00 366,48K

Informa 581,20 601,00 563,60 898,19K

InterContinental 4.753,0 4.805,0 4.745,0 30,31K

Intermediate Capital 1.255,00 1.298,00 1.254,50 132,00K

Intertek 4.042,0 4.068,0 4.023,0 27,04K

ITV 76,91 78,16 76,38 550,67K

J Sainsbury 218,75 220,00 217,70 449,64K

Johnson Matthey 2.132,0 2.199,0 2.121,0 23,46K

Land Securities 623,60 630,60 620,80 84,35K

Legal & General 247,00 251,40 246,60 1,18M

Lloyds Banking 43,27 43,97 42,97 10,97M

London Stock Exchange 8.204,0 8.266,0 8.186,0 25,49K

Melrose Industries 124,95 127,70 124,50 419,06K

Mondi 1.577,00 1.598,00 1.571,00 107,20K

National Grid 1.001,50 1.010,00 992,60 470,52K

NatWest Group 247,60 251,60 246,10 986,78K

Next 5.684,0 5.752,0 5.668,0 27,01K

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

Ocado 808,60 824,40 771,80 581,77K

Persimmon 1.325,5 1.365,0 1.324,0 143,73K

Phoenix 564,60 570,60 563,50 42,47K

Prudential 998,40 1.012,00 996,40 426,02K

Reckitt Benckiser 5.640,0 5.642,0 5.544,0 154,10K

Relx 2.243,00 2.264,00 2.230,00 322,36K

Rentokil 535,80 542,80 535,00 428,24K

Rightmove 552,60 563,00 550,80 249,78K

Rio Tinto PLC 5.366,0 5.453,0 5.354,0 230,36K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 89,48 90,72 88,97 4,65M

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

Sage 754,00 762,60 753,90 8,85K

Samsung Electronics DRC 1.165,00 1.171,50 1.162,00 2,68K

Schroders 469,4 479,2 468,3 201,32K

Scottish Mortgage 804,00 827,80 803,28 219,73K

Segro 838,40 861,40 835,80 348,59K

Severn Trent 2.690,4 2.728,0 2.670,0 54,38K

Shell 2.354,5 2.368,5 2.344,5 873,51K

Smith & Nephew 1.066,00 1.069,00 1.059,00 195,73K

Smiths Group 1.581,50 1.593,00 1.573,50 38,26K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 11.765,0 11.945,0 11.750,0 6,25K SSE 1.625,50 1.633,00 1.618,50 507,69K

St. James’s Place 1.185,00 1.215,00 1.183,50 37,10K

Standard Chartered 568,00 574,00 564,20 640,25K

Taylor Wimpey 102,00 104,80 101,80 2,11M

Tesco 227,80 230,10 227,50 867,46K

Tui 151,45 158,50 151,40 588,89K

Unilever 4.001,5 4.011,0 3.963,5 777,99K

United Utilities 1.012,50 1.015,00 1.003,00 82,03K

Vodafone Group PLC 105,26 105,28 103,72 6,82M

Whitbread 2.551,0 2.594,0 2.549,0 26,01K WPP 868,40 877,20 865,40 487,35K

3M 132,98 133,49 3,42M

American Express 154,89 158,88 154,70 3,71M

Amgen 285,02 289,36 279,62 3,25M

Apple 149,70 150,01 144,37 93,63M

Boeing 177,49 178,03 172,99 8,87M

Caterpillar 236,49 238,40 232,00 3,58M

Chevron 186,46 187,10 183,89 8,41M

Cisco 44,79 45,32 43,92 25,95M

Coca-Cola 61,32 61,45 60,21 18,93M

Dow 53,14 53,44 50,90 9,00M

Goldman Sachs 385,17 387,00 378,75 3,39M

Home Depot 314,94 317,68 310,24 4,92M

Honeywell 212,73 214,96 211,45 4,22M

IBM 143,17 144,13 140,96 5,85M

Intel 30,43 30,63 28,87 49,22M

J&J 169,25 173,11 166,82 11,06M

JPMorgan 135,30 136,17 133,78 10,64M

McDonald’s 271,39 277,00 269,18 4,74M

Merck&Co 97,96 100,81 97,33 13,34M

Microsoft 247,11 247,99 241,93 33,80M

Nike 106,09 107,21 100,14 12,37M

Procter&Gamble 140,97 141,63 139,11 7,17M

Salesforce Inc 157,73 159,92 155,58 6,44M

The Travelers 181,73 185,58 180,21 1,39M

UnitedHealth 522,08 546,28 509,65 7,00M

Verizon 38,30 38,69 37,81 22,91M

Visa A 205,00 206,43 202,15 8,74M

Walgreens Boots 41,26 41,56 39,40 13,06M

Walmart 142,58 143,12 139,99 6,42M

Walt Disney 95,01 95,58 91,10 22,01M

Most Advanced

Most Declined

12.655M

Duolingo, Inc. -13.36% 1.093M

Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. -10.89% 465,835

Cricut, Inc. -9.67% 256,765

ShockWave Medical, Inc. -8.81% 731,361

Flowers Foods, Inc. -8.53% 3.555M

Udemy, Inc. -8.39% 601,297

Teleperformance SE -8.07% 26,783

Luckin Coffee Inc. -7.99% 2.416M

Global Business Travel Group, Inc. -7.46% 380,852

BUSINESS EXTRA

Dominoooos

DESPITE the rather irritating Domino’s Pizza Group yo delling adverts in the UK, the company expects to have a strong fourth quar ter especially as sporting events such as the World Cup Finals which takes place in the latter part of November always see a spike in home deliveries.

Sluggish sales

THE latest report from retail association Acotex reveals that the October sale of clothing items in Spain whilst 4.2 per cent up when compared to 2021, shows a slow down following a 7.9 per cent growth in Septem ber due to the rising cost of living.

Taxi charity

FREE NOW is a mobility ser vice provider which decid ed to match any tips given to black cab drivers through its app in the UK on Re membrance Sunday, November 13 with all such funds being donated to The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans.

Closer ties

SPAIN and the Latin Ameri can development bank CAF will host a meeting be tween the 27 European Union Ministers of Finance and their 33 counterparts from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Santia go de Compostela next year.

As Spain takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union it aims to align interests and strengthen trade relations between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.

CAF has set itself the goal of becoming the green bank in the region, promot ing green growth through greater financing of envi ronmental, forestry, ener gy, agricultural, climate and water projects with an ini tial budget of US$25 billion.

Brexit champion unhappy

‘NOT the Brexit I wanted’, according to Brexi teer Lord Wolfson the Chairman of Next in an interview with the BBC about immigration.

He believes that the UK’s current immigra tion policy was a major deterrent to econom ic growth as there are simply insufficient workers available to undertake a number of different jobs and employers are desperate for staff.

Whilst recognising that one of the strong arguments for Brexit was to ensure that British workers were able to find employ ment, he can see that there is shortage of staff in some important areas.

In the interview he told the BBC: “We have got people queuing up to come to this coun try to pick crops that are rotting in fields, to

Aldi buys British

work in warehouses that otherwise wouldn’t be operable, and we’re not letting them in.

“And we have to take a different approach to economically productive migration.”

In order to grow the economy, he believes that Britain’s leaders need to decide whether the UK believed and practised free trade or wanted to become ‘fortress Britain,’ allowing only professionals such as doctors and nurses into the country.

Lord Wolfson’s suggestion is that that busi nesses who need foreign workers should be able to pay a tax of 10 per cent to the gov ernment on foreign workers’ salaries to en sure that only the businesses that really couldn’t find UK workers would recruit over seas.

AN Aldi

4’s Next Big Thing and

Charlie Fermor, 35, and his wife Laurie, 34, landed the contract of a lifetime and their dried fruit snacks for kids named Freddie’s Farm made with only British produce, as much as possible from their own or chards and fields in Kent, are now in stores nation wide.

Hearts melted as the na tion was given an insight in to Charlie and Laurie’s life

at Bramley Mount Farm and their son Freddie, six, after whom the snacks are named and his sister, Ottie aged three.

Freddie’s Farm fought off tough competition from manufacturers of fava bean snacks, kimchi, and even camel milk, to secure a space on Aldi’s UK store shelves.

Co­founder, Laurie Fer mor explained how the healthy snacks came about: “When Freddie was little, we didn’t like the snacks that were out there in the market so we came up with Freddie’s Farm. The drying

process has been perfected over a long time so it’s quite special.

“We try to keep the flavours you get in raw fruit and veg. As a result, we have lower free sugars, which help prevent kids getting sugar highs and crashes, which we certainly like to avoid with our two at all costs.”

With everything grown, dried and packed within metres of the couple’s home, the carbon footprint also appealed to Aldi, which has tough sustainability tar gets and has been a carbon neutral business since 2019.

THE Spanish subsidiary of businesses insurer His cox has introduced a new form of cyber insur ance aimed at small and medium sized (SME) businesses.

According to its research, some 44 per cent of Spanish SMEs suffered at least one cyberattack last year, so they say it is essential that compa nies also take measures both for its prevention and for better management if it occurs.

The same report highlights that only one in four SMEs plan to increase their investment in the coming years, despite the cost that a cyberattack may entail, with an average of around €16,300 for an SME with up to between 49 em ployees and €22,950 for companies employing between 50 and 249 staff.

New cyber insurance Green shoots

GREEN energy is an integral part of Spain’s re covery plan using funds from the European Union and President Pedro Sánchez takes ev ery opportunity to be seen to promote the con cept.

On Wednesday November 9, he was in Grana da Province inaugurating the Caparace­Baza electrical axis which is to be built at a cost of €3 billion, creating some 8,700 jobs and ensuring a reliable power supply in an area which has suf fered from depopulation.

He claims that not only will the power pro duced be renewable as part of the government’s green programme but will have the added bene fit of encouraging industry to invest in the area.

TV show looked for fledgling suppliers to stock their shelves through Chan nel

received hundreds of en tries.

BREXITEER: Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise.

Credit: Next Media Centre

FREDDIE’S FARM: The winning products comprise dred fruit snacks.

Credit: Freddie’s Farm

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT Sad state of affairs

OTHERS THINK IT

SOME of the things that render me deeply suspicious of the UK politicians and media programmes are because their decisions and reports often com pletely disagree with thousands of so cial media followers. The latest is a glaring example.

The opinions the left and media have conveyed to the public regarding the recent statement of the Home Sec retary, are probably one of the biggest examples of their anti­right wing rhetoric ever. Ms Braverman stated in the House that the UK was ‘under an invasion from mass immigration’. The dictionary tells us that the word inva sion, describes ‘the arrival of large numbers of people or things at one time’. Sounds about right to me; not however to those trying to use the statement to damage their rivals!

The outcry that issued from the am bitious leftie majority was a positive disgrace; yet another attempt to dis rupt the opposition in their endeav ours to find answers. On social outlets, thousands of people have agreed with the Home Secretary’s description and views. The majority of the country are

becoming desperate to find a solution to something they are fully aware can destroy everything they have ever val ued or stood for. The left and media are using it as a weapon to win the next election.

Even Fiona Bruce recently caused a vast number of viewers to clamour for her dismissal because of her ‘continu ing Conservative biases on the BBC’s Question Time. Over 40,000 immi grants have now arrived, many from Albania of all places. Does that mean that residents from any country not achieving too much success, can send their citizens for succour in the UK?

Probably. It’s costing a financially be leaguered UK a fortune. Its people are dreading the winter.

Britain is hurtling into recession. Large numbers are living on the streets and obtaining food from charity organ isations. Thousands of immigrants however, are obtaining money, food and hotel accommodation from gov ernment sources ­ and still complain ing! The left love it. The despairing vot ers, desperate to solve the predicament, will they hope vote in another party to take care of their

grievances and problems. They don’t want the present government to solve the crisis in any way, it’s one of the greatest weapons they hold for the next election. The dilemma is, that if immigrants keep arriving before it takes place, it will be impossible for any party to fix.

Recently I read a letter written to a colleague. It described their whole street being taken over by a ‘different culture’. Residents were now littering up the place with cans and bottles and even peeing by their dustbins. The price of their house had plummeted and they can’t even find a buyer from the indigenous population. So if the authorities manage to rehouse these thousands of immigrants, the demise of UK society, once held near and dear, is ultimately relegated to the dustbin. Good luck.

Keep the Faith. Leapy Lee. Leapylee2002@gmail.com

For more from our columnists please scan this

SALLY UNDERWOOD POLITICAL ANIMAL

WELL in the ever­surprising world of politics, I can honestly say last week was a first for me; watching my former employer eat a camel’s penis on national television (‘just the tip!’).

Yes, Matt Hancock is in the I’m a Celebrity jungle and the wider world seems thrilled about it. Err, perhaps not.

Despite being in the camp with an ex­con vict pop star and a comedian whose ex­girl friend has publicly accused him of toxic ‘daily pain’, judging by his seemingly endless stream of publicly­voted trials, Matt still seems to be far and away the least popular member of camp.

A large part of that anger, understandably, comes from the overall UK government’s handling ­ or at least perceived handling ­ of the pandemic. Those who were unable to see dying loved ones in hospital or hug griev ing relatives at funerals will also doubtless have felt a visceral pain at seeing Hancock locked in embrace with a woman he later left his wife for during Covid restrictions.

The adultery and taking time off while the House is sitting probably haven’t helped ei ther.

So yes, overall there’s a lot, as the politician accepted in the camp, that he wants ‘forgive ness’ for.

Jungle cry

But yet even the most hardened member of the Matt Hancock hate club may over the last week have been forced to admit the tini est respect for the person he is in the camp; quite a distance apart from the public per ception of him.

Amid scorpion stings, snake attacks and animal genitalia, Matt seems to maintain a cheerful enthusiasm. Even Boy George seems to be growing a grudging respect for him.

Which sort of begs the question; how close is our perception of politicians to their reality? Is Hancock the person the public saw him as during and after the pandemic, or is the alto gether more human person we’re now see ing the real him?

Certainly, the Matt I remember from my stint working for him eight years ago is closer to the one the public are now seeing.

And if it turns out our elected figures really are just average, occasionally even likeable, people, why doesn’t it translate to the elec torate more often?

Perhaps the answer is just to send all po tential political candidates to the other side of the world surrounded by poisonous beasties and televise the whole thing.

At a minimum it would be compulsive viewing.

Weathering the economic storm

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

WITH $4,000­a­night hotels opening to much fanfare in Manhattan, and May fair restaurants serving £3,000 steaks wrapped in gold leaf reporting record profits, it’s safe to say the super­rich are weathering the current economic storm just fine.

But should we get worked up about this sort of thing? There are count less ridiculously over priced restaurants intend ed to separate the super­rich from their money, just as there are countless ridiculously overpriced cars, yachts, clothes etc. But as long as the staff and suppliers get paid, should we concern ourselves how obscenely willing idiots get ripped off?

tasting menus with ‘pear poached in sap’ and ‘fragments of yeast’ would keep you hostage for hours, offering endless edible gold leaf and inter minable pauses, and leaving you hungri er when you leave than when you ar rived.

So, why can’t I take this seriously? It certainly puts the Ukraine war, cost­ofliving crisis and NHS waiting lists into perspective. Does it have anything to do with the current levels of inflation and people trying hard to balance eating (and drinking) with heating this winter? Pondering this, though, will at least be a distraction from talk of increased interest rates and recession...

Nora’s latest thriller.

Just think how those hugely expensive

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LeapyLee’sopinionsarehisownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

NoraJohnson’sopinionsareherownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Noraistheauthorofpopularpsychological suspenseandcrimethrillersandafreelancejournalist.

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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.

POLICING APPLAUDED

I REFER to the article in issue 1947, Oct 27 to Nov 2, headed ‘fined for feed ing’.

Three cheers for Benidorm police who will fine people for feeding stray cats.

I wish Teulada Moraira police would do the same! I have lived here for 26 years and am heartily sick ened by so­called animal lovers who visit Spain for a short while, feed any stray cats they can find and then b****r off back to the UK

By so doing, my nights are ruined by squealing cats and my garden be comes a cat toilet.

Before I am labelled a misery, I have spent many years working with animal charities and have respon sibly had pets.

Ken Langridge

Grumpy old man missed

A FEW weeks ago I read of Mike Senker’s piece saying he was retiring his col umn.

His Grumpy Old Man col umn was a great respite from the usual news and his view on life very re freshing. The dry sense of humour shone through.

I miss turning to his col umn. Have a well earned rest Mike.

Adrian Woodward

Utter rubbish

I HAVE never heard such rubbish uttered from any one ­ why do you give

Leapy such space in your paper ­ surely there should be someone to counter his party political broadcast on behalf of the Conservative party which is ill­informed, narrow minded ­ and sometimes racist ­ I often wonder

why some people like him who probably voted for Brexit and do not want to remain in Europe. wish to remain in this lovely area of Spain?

D Debbage

OUR VIEW

LIVING in Spain, many British passport holders might be uninterested in what is going on in British politics but today, Thursday November 17 may well be one that affects us all in one form or another.

Having seen the fiasco of the short-lived Truss government and the incredible naivety of the planned tax cuts which brought her down, reality is going to hit with a bang as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presents his own mini budget with promises that everyone in the UK will have to pay more tax.

Supposedly he will be making cuts in expenditure and has indicated that he is looking to plug loop holes rather than raise income tax directly, but looking back to the 1970s, Labour Chancellor Denis Healy said about taxation that he would ‘squeeze the pips until they squeak’ and this could well be the mantra behind the current Chancellor’s think ing.

So how does that affect us here in Spain?

Firstly, many of us receive UK state pensions and having lost out on the triple lock promise because of the pandemic, it could well be that he will decide that he can only afford the minimum pension in crease of 2.5 per cent rather than the 10 per cent that the triple lock promises.

Secondly, some 3.5 million female pensioners, many of whom are living in Spain, continue to fight for recompense for the losses incurred with the rise in pension age, so they are an easy target to ig nore.

Thirdly, the Spanish hospitality industry relies on tourism to a great extent and if money is even tighter in the UK, then fewer Brits will be able to af ford to take holidays here thus hurting the economy.

DAVID WORBOYS THINKING ALOUD

…. AND music through life.

Assuming you are over 95 years old, you may remember Ray Noble’s beautiful megahit of 1937, ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’. It’s before my time too, but as a teenager I had a cherished collection of 78 rpm records of dance music from the late 20s and 30s.

Since 1937 there have been other hugely successful recordings as dance music gave way to swing, crooning, pop, rock, skiffle, soul, and other forms of ‘popular’ music.

Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ of 1942 became the biggest selling single in history. Other top­selling singles during my lifetime include Bill Haley’s ‘Rock around the clock’, Elvis’s ‘It’s now or never’ and ‘Bridge over troubled water’ by Simon and Garfunkel.

We have had diverse superhits ranging from Glenn Miller’s ‘Moonlight Serenade’ to Doris Day’s ‘Que Sera’ and from Ray Charles’s ‘Take these chains from my heart’ to the Three Tenors’ ‘Nessun Dorma’. And two of my own very different favourites, Nana Mouskouri’s ‘White rose of Athens’ and Nina Simone’s version of ‘The times they are a­changing’.

Life through music

change. Cohen discussed religion, politics, anxiety and sexuality.

Music, of course, acts as an important an chor to people, situations and events. My fa ther introduced me to classical music through the intermezzo of Mascagni’s ‘Caval leria Rusticana’. Listening to it brings to mind my parents and a happy childhood. ‘It’s all over now’ by the Rolling Stones reminds me of a youthful holiday in Guernsey where I saw them perform it live in 1964. A happy re lationship is invoked by Haydn’s Symphonies 98 and 100, a past love by ‘Pepito’ of Los Machucambos, and a sad break­up by Nana Mouskouri’s ‘My friend the sea’.

Over the years pop has become more ad venturous and, in some respects, more ma ture since the days of ‘How much is that dog gie in the window?’, but so has life itself. It has also become much less innocent, as demonstrated by the lyrics of Ray Noble’s ‘Goodnight Sweetheart, (till we meet tomor row)’. The implication was that until a court ing couple were married they did not sleep together.

Then came the 60s and free love. The Rolling Stones made a different assumption

in ‘Let’s spend the night together’. In a way, this sudden instant gratification may have devalued the mystery of romantic love. If you had lobster or foie gras every day, you would gradually appreciate them less and less. Is that a fair comparison?

Then there are the poetic and intellectual compositions and interpretations of Bob Dy lan and Leonard Cohen. Dylan broke free of pop traditions and introduced political, so cial, philosophical, and literary themes to a public raising questions and pushing for

While seeking a maisonette in Provence, I frequently listened to Dean Martin while driving around. Whenever I hear his voice I am taken back to the excitement of seeking and buying a holiday home in that wonderful part of the world.

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

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Walking football reflects

ALL teams on the Costa del Sol will pause and reflect this week as we remember Gordon Powell. Five years ago he sadly collapsed and died at a tournament in Portugal where he was playing with WFS Spain.

Gordon was a well liked and respected member of the walking football com munity here in Spain, and his unfortunate passing was the spur to encourage all walking football teams here to have their own difi brulator.

It’s now a rule here that one should be available at every game. Gordon would have loved the progress that we have made with his beloved sport.

It’s a busy week coming up in both the Euro Weekly News walking football leagues and the Baha Irish

the

perb start to the season.

Torrox Tornadoes travel to Benahavis in the 60s league. Steve Lynton will be in a confident mood as Torrox have made big strides in the last few weeks.

Big night at Estadio el Cañadon this week. El Cañadon take on Nerja United in only their second league outing of the season in the over 50 league, and Malaga 60 take on Nerja United 60 in a league match.

New team Mollina WFC cancelled their game against El Cañadon last week due to a family issue. We hope the game will be rearranged in the near fu ture.

For all walking football news visit walkingfooty. com on Facebook.

Whiskey Cup. The 50s league leaders, the Walking Dead host AC Benahavis in

Baha Cup. This should be a good measure for Be nahavis who have had a su

GORDON POWELL: Was a well-liked, respected member.

RESULTS: The Walking Football League table so far.