Costa del Sol 24 - 30 November 2022 Issue 1951

ONE of the most popular fes tive events in the calendar of most expatriates and locals alike on the Costa del Sol is the switching on of the Mala ga Christmas lights, which takes place on Saturday, November 26 at 6.30pm.

Thousands of people make their way to Malaga just to

Lions roar Christmas will glow

see the Christmas lights, the 3D Video mapping and the light and sound show, that projects images onto the sides of buildings. This year, world famous Calle Larios will have a

new decorative display de signed exclusively for the city’s main street. The theme is heavenly angels, each mea suring four metres tall with 12­metre trains, effervescent in the night sky.

The councillor for Festivi ties, Teresa Porras, explained that the big switch­on will take place on Saturday this year, a day later than is cus tomary. In Malaga, the switching on is usually held on the last Friday in November, coinciding with Black Friday.

Speaking about the new decoration that will be in stalled in Calle Larios, Porras said that it will be “more emo tional, elegant and Christ masy.” He also recalled that the light and sound shows have placed the city among

the top European cities to visit at this time of year, as con firmed last year by the plat form The European best desti nation.

In the midst of the debate on energy saving, the Fiestas Department has decided to reduce the time the lights will be on in the city by two hours every day.

This year the Christmas lights will be switched on from 6.30pm until midnight (weekends until 2.00am). The reduction will save €7,000 in electricity consumption com pared to 2021 (from €21,000 to €14,000).

The council has also con firmed that this measure will reduce four tonnes of CO2 that will no longer be emitted into the atmosphere.

ON Thursday, November 17 the La Cala Lions held their gala dinner at the Connoisseur restaurant in Riviera, attracting 40 people to enjoy ‘a taste of India.’

Tucking into delicious Indian fare while enjoy ing the sounds of live sitar music, the fundraising group cele brated their year’s achievements while catching up with fellow volunteers.

Sarah Montalbano, the La Cala Lions vice president, told the Euro Weekly News : “We wanted to do something quite different for our social event this time.

“We wanted to get people together to en joy themselves before we roll into the Christ mas festivities.”

She also spoke about the work the Lions do: “Our main purpose is to raise money for chari

ties and help the com munity. It’s a very pre cious community to us and we want to do our utmost to help them in any capacity we can.”

Volunteer Mark Ridler added: “It’s just great to support the people of La Cala and local charities. Lions are the nucleus of all the charities and they give everything back to great local causes.”

Anne Bowles, Mark Ridler, Sarah Montalbano and Anita Humphries all enjoy the event.

NEW DECORATIONS: Will be installed in Calle Larios.

Credit: EWN

Shutterstock.com/ elRoce

Reunion relief

THERE was delight in a Mar bella hospital after a Sene galese father was reunited with his terminally­ill son at the Costa del Sol hospital. Au thorities fast­tracked a visa for Ablaye to fly in from Dakar and say goodbye to his son, Cheick.

Energy supply

MEMBERS of Marbella’s con struction industry discussed the transition to sustainable energy at a meeting on Mon day November 21. The sec tors now use more renewable energy than ever before due to energy supply shortages partially caused the war in Ukraine.

Baggage deal

IBERIA is tipped for success by airport operator Aena’s bag gage handling contest after re cently striking a deal between unions and bosses. Iberia will still have to compete with handling masters Swissport, Atlántica and Aviapartner for the prize of €500 million.

Income source

LANGUAGE tourism is a large source of income on the Costa del Sol according to a new re port which found that around 19,000 language students spend extended periods in the region every year, thanks to lesson quality and leisure opportunities.

Mafia bust

A STRIKING international po lice operation helped to de tain a member of the Italian mafia on November 18. Police acted fast to arrest wanted criminal Davide Pasquali be tween Fuengirola and Malaga after a search and arrest war rant was issued by Rome.

Tourism trends!

PRELIMINARY data released by regional tourism organisa tion Aehcos has revealed that Mijas and Malaga City have been the most popular desti nations in the first portion of November. Aehcos expects Mijas to record better hotel occupancy than 2019 this month..

Betty Henderson

GLOBAL golf lovers arrived in Mijas for a important ama teur competition, the Inter national Golf Pairs which was held between Novem ber 14 and 18. Golfers from 35 nations and four different continents enjoyed a week of golf and tourism in Mijas’ excellent winter climate.

Mijas golf course, La Cala Resort played host for the five­day international meet which also attracted golfing legends such as Manuel

Piñero, Costantino Rocca, Ronan Rafferty and Eddie Polland to lead teams.

The four star golf resort impressed visiting golfers

and spectators with its three greens, golf academy, luxury spa and top class facilities.

Mijas’ local mayor, José Carlos Martín highlighted

the benefits of hosting the tournament for the town saying, “This is part of a ven ture we have been working on for a while now to stimu late and promote golf tourism in our town.”

Director of the Interna tional Golf Pairs competition also highlighted the excel lent quality of the facilities in Mijas saying, “This is one of the best golf greens in all of Spain. We were captivated by Mijas’ bid to host in such a beautiful place during a crucial competition year.”

Festive market

A UNIQUE Christmas mar ket experience is set to ar rive in Mijas this weekend.

Donkey Dreamland Don key Sanctuary is offering an exciting event on Sun day November 27 to help shoppers get a head start on gift buying with an ani mal­themed twist.

Donkey Dreamland’s Christmas Market will take place from 1pm until 8pm on Sunday with a varied array of stalls, as well as other entertaining activi ties.

THE mayor of Benalmadena, Víctor Navas, has celebrated the fact that the Alliance for Excellency in Tourism (EXCEL TUR) has placed the town in the top 20 most profitable tourist destinations in Spain, a list which only includes two other towns in the region, Estepona and Marbella.

“The reason why we are at number 15 in this top 20 most profitable destinations comes from our RevPar (prof itability per room) which has increased by 17 per cent compared to 2021, being one of the highest of the entire Costa del Sol,” confirmed the mayor.

“While Marbella and Estepona have a high concentra tion of five­star hotels, Benalmadena has a high concentra tion of four­star establishments, which is why it is even more remarkable that we have such a high profitability rate per room. This means that we must offer tourists a quality and excellence that other nearby municipalities cannot offer.

“Benalmadena is one of the pearls of the Costa del Sol and we have to continue working to maintain a high level of excellence,” the mayor concluded.

Station green light

THERE has been a break through in the develop ment of a new train stop on the Cercanías trainline in Benalmadena. Local author ities met to discuss a new train stop on the line which runs from Malaga City to the metropolitan area at a press conference on Thurs day November 17.

Authorities have pro posed the development of a new station in the Nueva Torrequebrada area to im prove access to public transport for local resi dents. Repeated surveys of local residents have also revealed the popularity of

Perfectly profitable Canine convention

THERE was doggy delight in Torremolinos at a dog show that was hosted at the Palacio de Congresos in the town on November 19 and 20. The exhibition saw dog lovers get involved in a whole host of competitions and interactive activities.

Speaking before the event, town mayor, Margarita del Cid said “Over the weekend, more than 15,000 people, 1,500 dogs and 200 different breeds will gather at the exhibition centre.”

She highlighted the economic impact of the exhibition, saying it could bring more than €1.5

million to the town, which is crucial for the win ter tourism industry as it continues its pandem ic recovery.

President of the Costa del Sol Canine Society, Manuel Ramírez, thanked the council for their support in organising the Expocan event.

Guests got stuck into fun activities including workshops, educational training, agility compe titions and demonstrations from guide dogs.

Entry to the event was free for the general public and guests were also allowed to bring their dogs, as long as they brought their vacci nation and microchip record.

the project.

During the meeting, the council announced project updates, including a meet ing with the regional gov ernment and train provider Adif. Regional authorities agree with the demand for the station, and Adif are looking into three possible locations for a stop.

Speaking at the press conference local mayor, Victor Ruiz said “We have never been so close to get ting the new train stop in Nueva Torrequebrada, dur ing this administration we have taken several steps forward with this project.”

The event promises great fun for all the family with children’s activities and delicious food and drink options, including the Christmas essential, mulled wine. Entry to the market costs €5, which will be used by the sanctuary to care for the donkeys.

The sanctuary is also of fering a special price of €28 for Donkey Walks booked for November 27, so why not make a whole day out of the event. During Don key Walks guests enjoy a guided tour of the sanctu ary, nestled in the Andalu cian countryside with glori ous views of the sea and olive groves.

On the walk, guests also get to interact with res cued donkeys living in the sanctuary before an An dalucian brunch of fresh lo cal produce.

PLAYING HOST: A Mijas golf course attracted golfers from 35 countries for an international competition.

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Mijas

ON November 19, Ma puchi Boutique was offi cially launched on the boulevard in La Cala de Mijas. With the sun shin ing, spirits high, and the bubbles from the prosec co flowing, it was the per fect day to welcome Ma puchi to the Boulevard.

Fabulous clothing, ac cessories, shapewear, and lingerie, Mapuchi is a breath of fresh air to La Cala bringing a place for women of all shapes and

Boutique’s grand opening

sizes to shop at an afford able price and purchase stylish items of clothing that are bespoke for them after being person ally and professionally styled by the icon of it all, Sara Haley.

Sara is renowned for her service and experi ence in modelling, profes

sional horse training, lun cheons, fashion shows, and commendable charity work.

The inspiration for Ma puchi came from her his tory in the fashion indus try and how she wanted to combine what she knows and loves into a business and help other women find the right clothing for them.

With the great success of her fashion shows in various hotels and restau rants throughout the Cos ta del Sol, the demand for Sara’s vision, style, and eye for fashion is rising, Mapuchi is needed in La Cala now more than ever.

When talking to Sara about this incredibly ex

citing new chapter she said, “Ladies can come here for a relaxed envi ronment, a place for a coffee, a chat, and a real styling session. This is

what I do and love, it is the right thing for me, my ladies are my advert, they have to look fabulous, and my job is to bring out the best in you.”

Beach ready

THE councillor for Beaches, Encarnacion Cortes has announced the imminent start of the works for creating a new access to Carvajal beach for people with reduced mobility.

The mayor of Benal madena, Victor Navas Perez, confirmed: “Until now the only direct ac cess to the beach has been via stairs or the un derpass that runs under Avenida del Sol, which has no pedestrian space: both options are very complicated or inacces sible for people with re duced mobility. The pro ject has an approximate investment of €260,000.”

Cortes confirmed: “With this new pedestri an access, Carvajal will be consolidated as one of the most attractive beaches in Benalmade na, and it will be an im provement that will al low us to opt for a new Blue Flag for the Benal madena coastline, as we will include it in our ap plication for next sea son.”

OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED: Sara Haley at the grand opening of Mapuchi Boutique in La Cala de Mijas.

Credit: EWN

Spain’s 2023 budget and tax plans

THE Spanish state and au tonomous community regional governments have been busy plan ning their budgets for 2023. There have been various statements over recent weeks, so here we sum marise the key tax elements.

Solidarity tax on large fortunes

The biggest development is the proposed introduction of the new impuesto de solidaridad a las grandes fortunas. Initially announced on 29 September, the Spanish government has finally published the proposed text for this new tax. The key points are:

• It will be a temporary measure for two years and then reviewed. It will either apply for 2022-2023, or 2023-2024, depending on whether the bill is passed this year.

• It will only be imposed on those with a net wealth over €3 million.

• Spanish tax residents can benefit from a €700,000 general allowance, plus a €300,000 main home deduc tion.

By Chris McCann, Partner, Blevins Franks

• Progressive tax rates will range from 1.7% (for wealth over €3,000,000) to 3.5%.

• A taxpayer’s combined solidarity, wealth and income tax liability can not exceed 60% of the sum of the personal income taxable bases. If nec essary, the liability will be reduced until the 60% threshold is reached.

• This tax is being imposed at state level.

It purpose is to collect more rev enue from taxpayers with greater eco nomic capacity, to help the govern ment tackle the energy and inflationary crisis. It will also har monise wealth taxation between the different autonomous communities.

The solidarity tax still needs to be debated and passed by parliament, so these proposals may change (or not get approved).

Savings tax to be increased

Another key proposal to improve tax revenue is to increase the rate ap plied to high levels of savings income. This covers interest, dividends, capi tal gains on the sale or transfer of as sets, income from life assurance con tracts and purchased annuities.

If approved, the progressive rates applied to savings income above €200,000 will increase from 26% to 27%, and income over €300,000 will be taxed at 28%.

This measure is included in the General State Budget Act for 2023 which will be debated, amended and

approved by Parliament.

Tax cuts at state level

The Budget includes reductions in personal income tax rates for low earners for 2023 and 2024.

If approved, the reduced rate of in come tax will apply to individuals earning under €21,000 a year, an in crease €18,000. Those earning less than €15,000 will be exempt from income tax (currently €14,000).

Corporate income tax will reduce from 25% to 23% for businesses with net annual turnover under €1 million.

Andalucía

On 20 September the Andalucía government announced that it will immediately apply a 100% relief for wealth tax. Therefore taxpayers living in the region do not have a wealth tax liability in 2022 or going for ward.

If, however, their wealth amounts to over €3 million, they may need to pay the new state solidarity tax for

the next two years.

Andalucía modified the general in come tax scale rates, so most taxpay ers earning over €12,450 should see a small improvement in their tax bill. The “mínimo personal y familiar” was increased in order to reduce the tax burden for residents with less eco nomic resources.

Budgets are a good prompt to re view your tax planning each year. Consider what rules have changed, bearing in mind that you may not be aware of all of them, and check whether you are making the most of all the available allowances and taxefficient opportunities. For the best results, and to make sure you have not missed anything, take specialist, personalised advice.

Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning tax ation are based upon our understand ing of current taxation laws and prac tices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; in dividuals should seek personalised ad vice.

Legendary line-up

Betty Henderson

RENOWNED international performers are set to per form at the Cala Mijas festival which will take place in August next year.

After enjoying a tri umphant first edition ear lier this year, the festival announced a thrilling line­up for 2023 ahead of first release tickets going on sale on November 28.

Headliners include indie favourites Florence and the Machine, The Strokes, Arcade Fire, and Foals. The international line­up of world­renowned artists will attract a wide range of musical tourists next August. Tourists can enjoy Mijas’ excellent at tractions, while respect ing the natural environ ment, which is a key aim of organisers.

Announcing the head liners at a Madrid press conference on Wednes day November 16, Mijas mayor, Josele González expressed excitement saying “After having such a successful first edition, including winning a Rev elación festival award, the bar has been set very high. We are determined

to bring the best of the national and internation al music scene back to Mijas for the second edi tion and this line­up does exactly that.”

He added “Being here in Madrid shows the grav ity of this festival. This is a unique opportunity to showcase the best of Mi jas.”

Festive fun

FUENGIROLA will welcome Christmas on Friday, November 25, with the switching on of the lights.

The fun will begin at 5.45pm, with the blessing of the Municipal Nativity Scene in the Plaza Reyes Catolicos, fol lowed by the inauguration of the exhi bition The Magic of Christmas in the City Museum, the switching on of lights in the Plaza de Espana and final ly, the Christmas Market in the Plaza de la Constitucion.

The councillor for Fiestas, Isabel Moreno, confirmed: “On the last weekend of November, Christmas will arrive and Fuengirola will light up to be even more beautiful.

“In addition, this year, we will have a parade of stilt walkers who will ac company us, after the switching on of the lights, on the route from the Plaza de Espana to the Plaza de la Constitu cion. This year we will have 17 Christ

Bargain car boot

CLUB NARANJA in Cala honda, Mijas Costa, will be holding a car boot sale on Saturday December 3.

There will be also be various independent stalls, selling clothing,

jewellery, books, fancy goods and bric­a­brac, so go along if you want to grab yourself a bargain.

Hot food, sandwiches and drinks will also be avail able on the day.

Club La Naranja are al ways looking for new members, so why not pop in to this unique club on Calle de Malaga, just off Ave España in Calahonda and sign up.

mas huts selling goods from local businesses. We have a magnificent opportunity to get to know establish ments in the town and to be able to buy some Christmas gifts and typical products for this time of year.”

Photo credit: Cala Mijas Festival (via Facebook) Cala Mijas Festival announced its 2023 line-up after a first edition with more than 100,000 attendees!

Image: Shutterstock.com/ Ekaterina Chuyko

SWITCH ON: Fuengirola will be lit up.

Proud Association

SALA SUPER LEAGUE is an exclusive golf competition, held at the most prestigious golf courses on the coast throughout the year and along with it being a fantas tic day out and bringing to gether a great community of local players, one of the main objectives of this com petition is raising funds and awareness for local charities and worthy causes.

Since Sala Super League was created in 2012, it has raised over €350,000 for a variety of charitable organi sations.

As times change, the world seems to be facing one catastrophe after an other and it is becoming ex tremely difficult to raise the funds needed for all the worthwhile causes.

We want to do all we can to keep supporting these organisations in these diffi cult times and we are look ing to fellow businesses to

help us do so!

Sala Group is proud to be associated with the Fun dación Elena Gaite.

Set up as a tribute by fam ily and friends to honour Ele na, a devoted mother, wife, friend and colleague, who sadly lost her long battle with cancer in 2020. Elena was a big part of Sala Group since day one and was greatly loved by all. We want to continue her legacy by doing all we can to help others.

The foundation raises funds for local charities and

worthy causes such as Cude ca, Debra, Avoi and more...

This December we are raising money for Avoi, (As sociation of Children’s On cology Volunteers) based in Malaga. Avoi was set up to support terminally ill chil dren with a goal of making hospitalised children happy, especially cancer patients and their families.

They have also arranged incredible trips to places such as Euro Disney!

This is where YOU can HELP!

We are not asking for

money but items and vouch ers that we can use in either our raffles or auctions. The more kindly donated prizes we have, the more funds we can raise for this incredible cause! Every cent raised goes directly to the month’s selected charity.

Anything donated, big or small, is greatly appreciated!

Help us to help others!

If you have anything to donate or would like to find out more, please contact: John Frutos on +34 645 082 656 , jf@fundacionelena gaite.org.

AVOI: Helping to make hospitalised children happy.

FOR CHARITY: The foundation is constantly raising funds.

Supporting ill children.

La Bandera Open

A SPORTING spectacular is set to take place next week end in Fuengirola as more than 100 golfers arrive for the La Bandera Open golf tourna ment. The 13th edition of the prestigious golfing event will be held on the El Chaparral course on Saturday Novem ber 26. The golf tournament is expected to be highly popu lar, with a waiting list already in place for places in the com petition. The event has been

organised by La Bandera Golf Club and El Chaparral Golf Course with support from Fuengirola Council.

Launching the event on Fri day November 18, councillor for Sports, María Hernández, explained the significance of the competition, “This event has become one of the most important competitions on the golfing calendar during autumn.”

President of La Bandera

THE mayor of Estepona, Jose Maria Garcia Urbano, has received the Third Quality Award from the Spanish Network of Healthy Cities (RECS), in the category ‘Pro motion of Healthy and Sustainable Urban Development’, thanks to the Estepona, Garden of the Costa del Sol project.

This project has been developed over the last decade in the core of the city for the pedestrianisation and restriction of road traffic in more than 130 streets, which at the same time have been renovated and redesigned to highlight their Andalucian surroundings.

The work is currently being comple mented by the pioneering Urban Sustain ability Project that is opening up the city to the sea, creating one of the best prome nades on the Spanish coast. With the pedestrianisation of the central Avenida de Espana, this strategic enclave has become

3% up

EMPLOYMENT excellence in Torremolinos as new figures for the month of October re veal a boost in employment in the town. Despite uncertainty in financial markets and eco nomic turmoil, employment in Torremolinos is up by more than 3 per cent.

Data released by the region al Junta de Andalucia govern ment on November 18 showed that employment in Torremolinos had improved compared with the same month last year. Around 1,000 more local residents have found employment, bringing the town’s unemployment fig ures to 5,595 compared with 6,564 last October.

The report also highlighted an increase in the number of people actively seeking em ployment, with 1,292 further people joining the social securi ty register, bringing the total social security figure to 21,581.

club, Christian Far explained the details of the event, say ing there will be three cate gories on the day with prizes for the winners of each, as well as a participation gift, courtesy of the event’s spon sors.

Competition will get under way from 9am on Saturday morning with a break for re freshments and lunch before the winners are announced in a prizegiving ceremony.

Quality joy

a place of transition between the embel lished Garden of the Costa del Sol and the Mediterranean coast, with a newly revi talised space, more pleasant and full of na ture.

Legal leap

A SPARKLING new court building to improve legal services in Torremolinos, is planned to be built. The re gional government an nounced a further €475,000 investment to boost total funding in the building of the Palacio de Justicia court to a huge €15 million.

Visiting the site of the new Palacio de Justicia on Friday November 18, the regional Minister for Jus tice, José Antonio Nieto, announced the funding supplement from the re gional Junta de Andalucía government. Building is set to get underway on the site at Camino del Pinillo short ly, allowing the project to be complete during 2023.

During the visit, Nieto praised the development while lamenting past facili

ties, “For many years scat tered legal venues, poor quality facilities and tech nology has deprived Torre molinos of the justice ser vices it deserves and needs.”

Local mayor, Margarita del Cid thanked the region al government for their commitment in improving legal infrastructure, saying that the court will serve the entire community.

Quality Award for Costa del Sol project.

Image: Estepona City Council

Justice services that Torremolinos deserves and needs.

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com/ Zolnierek

Bridging the gap

ESTEPONA Town Hall has confirmed that the con struction of the new wood en bridge over over the En medio has been completed and now connects the ex isting promenades in the

Arroyo Vaquero and Costa Natura urbanisations.

The deputy mayor for Development, Infrastruc tures and Tourism (FIT), Ana Velasco, explained that the installation of the

bridge, 32 metres long and three metres wide, is part of the works on the coastal corridor being built in the Arroyo Enmedio area.

She also indicated that the area will be 221 square metres with wooden pedestrian walkways on each side of the bridge.

The work will be com plemented in the coming weeks with the installation of street furniture, drink ing fountains, litter bins and bollards.

Once the work is com pleted, 20 of the 23 kilo metres of Estepona’s coastline will be linked.

MARBELLA is standing out in the golfing industry as it hosted the Greenkeepers’ Congress from November 21 to 23. Marbella was the venue for the second con secutive year for the interna tional conference about the management of golf course greens.

Irrigation experts came to

Win Win initiative

Betty Henderson

A SMART initiative from Marbella City Coun cil will see a boost in youth employment while helping foreign residents to register in the city. The council launched a campaign on Friday November 18 which will use European funds to create employment.

Young employees are set to work in the lo cal department of the Foreign Office to regis ter local foreign people as residents. Expats will benefit from the programme, as the in creased workforce is set to improve the effi ciency of the ‘empadronamiento’ resident registration system.

Announcing the scheme, Marbella mayor Ángeles Muñoz explained the need for more employees saying “This campaign will have sweeping benefits for the whole city, espe cially considering our large expatriate com munity. More than 30 per cent of people reg

istered as residing in the city, or 49,283 peo ple are expatriates.”

Muñoz added “We want to encourage for eign residents to continue registering their residence using this service and highlight the importance of this for the council.”

The scheme which is funded using money from the European ‘Youth Now’ project will also create employment for young people in other sectors, including security, rubbish col lection and cleaning services.

More green grooming

gether at the conference to present the latest innovation in golf green management, to keep greens in optimal condition for golfers. Events were set to take place in Be nahavis and at Atalaya Golf Course in Estepona, while

Marbella was also be a base for conference attendees.

Launching the event on Thursday November 17, the local councillor for Sports, Manuel Cardeña, highlight ed the importance of host ing the conference. “The

conference taking place in Marbella places us at the vanguard of a crucial change in the industry,” he added “more and more golf cours es here are using recycled water to irrigate their greens.”

Marbella’s Foreign Office set to be bolstered by a wave of new youth employees.

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Marbella

Sweet escape

MARBELLA Council is offer ing a total of 144 free places to those wanting to participate in the escape room based and set around the story of Hansel and Gretel, which will take place in the Arkham facili ties, located at Calle Jacinto Benavente.

Councillor for Youth, En rique Rodriguez, explained that the activity, which will run from December 2 until December 18, is aimed at people aged between 16 and 30 years old and regis tration must be made on the website of the town hall which will remain open until full capacity is reached.

One of the founding part ners of Arkham, Maria Gar cia, said: “It is about solving a series of conundrums and it is very important to work together in teams to get out of the escape room. It is the challenge of trying to overcome physically and intellectually.”

Tremendous turnout €1 a day

MARBELLA threw itself into the fight against cancer on Sunday, November 20, during the 10th edition of the Mara Rosa Solidarity Run, or ganised by the Spanish Association Against Can cer (AECC). Supporters turned up in their droves for a tremendous turnout of more than 3,000 participants.

At the start of the walk which covered four kilo metres from the Avenida del Mar to the Adolfo Suarez Conference and Exhibition Centre, the mayor, Angeles Munoz,

highlighted the work of the AECC “in its work both in prevention and in care once the disease is detected.”

The mayor added: “To day we must congratu late the president of the AECC in Marbella, Santia go Gomez­Villares, his

board of directors and all the volunteers for the success of this event to raise awareness of this disease.

“The organisation are always there when they are needed, just like our citizens who have once again come up to the mark at an important event.”

The head of the associ ation, Eduardo Ceballos Fernandez, said he was “happy and moved by the response of the town and its residents, on whom the success of this initiative depends.”

Girl power World Cup creations

ON Friday, November 18, nearly 20 women met for the first time at The Town House Marbella for the in augural meeting of a new women’s networking group.

Attendees movingly shared their stories of how they came to Spain and the businesses they’ve set up.

Business owner and sexologist Dana Verdier (@ss bydana), told the Euro Weekly News: “When women support women amazing things happen. There is no jealousy, only empowering each other.”

Patrycja Piwko, manager of The Town House Mar bella, said: “I’m very proud of all the ladies who open up. It’s lovely.”

Co­organiser Tam Nguyen added: “It’s beautiful. What I love most is the beginnings of a beautiful community. After the pandemic community that is so important.”

TANTALISING treats are on offer this week at the San Pedro Restaurant Week in San Pedro Alcantara. The fifth edition of the food festival has been taking place from November 21 and will finish on the 27th, with 20 local restaurants on board.

The festival has been organised by Marbella City Council and Apymespa business organisation. Launching the event on November 16, local deputy mayor Javier García announced that this year’s event will be World Cup themed, as it coincides with the international football tournament in Qatar.

García praised the variety in businesses taking part, both from different regions of the country and the world, “This event undoubtedly enriches San Pedro Alcantara’s cuisine.”

Member of Apymespa’s Board of Directors, Laura Alonso shared her excitement for the World Cup theme. “In our restaurant, we’ve created three tapas options from the coun tries Spain is facing in the first round, as well as a takeaway op tion so people can enjoy our food while watching the match es.”

Another local restaurant owner, Alberto Leal said his restau rant will offer specialised menus featuring dishes from coun tries competing on each day of the week.

BARGAIN parking is almost a reality for residents and visitors to Marbella.

The underground car park in Calle Doha, in the Divina Pastora neighbourhood, is al ready 50 per cent complete, according to the Mayor, Angeles Munoz, who visited the site on Sunday, November 20, and re called that the 167 parking spaces that will be created with the new infrastruc ture, which will cost €1 a day, will help to address “one of the main demands of the area.”

The mayor reiterat ed: “The aim of the fu ture facility, with which we have added more than 1,200 park ing spaces in the area so far, is to provide a service for the resi dents in the neigh bourhood and at the same time encourage visitors and shopping, in favour of the sur rounding businesses.

“It will have exclu sive parking spaces for people with re duced mobility and motorbikes, as well as pre­installation for charging electric vehi cles.”

SOLIDARITY RUN: People turned out in their droves.

Image: Marbella City Council

Announcing the event.

Credit: Marbella Council

Educational excellence

Betty Henderson EDUCATION in Marbella shines in a new international partnership with Turkey. The city’s Art and Culture educa tional centre has been select ed by the Turkish Ministry of Education for an adult educa tion exchange programme.

Representatives from the country’s Department for Ed ucation visited educational fa cilities in Miraflores in Marbel la on November 16, and were impressed with learning op

portunities at the Art and Cul ture centre. The educational partnership is part of the Eu ropean exchange programme Erasmus deal with non­mem ber countries such as Turkey.

The visiting delegation were satisfied with many as pects of the courses including the teaching hours, class con tent, and structure of the stu dent groups. They also re ceived a tour of Marbella Art and Culture’s centre where they were also impressed by

the wide range of facilities on offer for exchange students, including photography equip ment, IT services, dressmak ing and craft facilities, as well as the versatility of courses which accommodate stu dents of different levels.

Marbella Art and Culture centre offers immersive courses which include cultural and historical site visits, work shops, multicultural learning sessions, and subject­specific talks and exhibitions.

Multicultural music

RENOWNED Swedish pi anist, Helge Antoni, gave an impressive concert in Fuen girola on Tuesday November 22. The concert was aimed at improving integration of Swedish students to Spanish society.

The ‘Concert for Educa tion’ took place at the Pala cio de la Paz in Fuengirola, as part of a partnership be

tween the Swedish pianist and the local Swedish school. Fuengirola Council also pro vided crucial assistance in or ganising the concert.

Local councillor for Educa tion, Carmen Díaz, an nounced the concert last week saying “We have the honour of having Helge An toni, a world­renowned pi anist here in Fuengirola.

Helge has been kind enough to offer a concert for local young people, we encourage all who are interested to at tend, we already have more than 350 students signed up”.

After the performance, lo cal young people got the chance to speak with the musician in a discussion about music and culture.

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Coffee & cake

ALTHOUGH Age Concern Fuengirola, Mijas and Benalmadena has decided to postpone its Gala Dinner from Fri day December 2 this year until next February, it will still be celebrating Christmas with clients.

The decision to postpone was made due to the number of charity dinners taking place in December and therefore as February is always much quieter, it should attract many supporters who will enjoy a good night out. In the meantime, the char ity invites everyone to drop in for cof fee and cupcakes between 4pm and 8pm at 56b Calle Francisco Cano, Los Boliches, Fuengirola (by the charity shop) on Wednesday December 14.

Santa lunch

MARBELLA charity Collec tive Calling is hosting its annual Lunch with Santa running from 1pm to 5pm on Saturday December 17. Adults can enjoy a two­course meal with half a bottle of wine and there will be plenty for the chil dren to enjoy as well at the Divot Gastro Grill at Banus Golf Marbella.

The home of exception al entertainment, Sam Woodrow International will be responsible in en suring that guests will en

joy some special acts and there will be a visit from Santa and his elf with a special gift for each child attending. There will be other things to keep the children occupied and proceeds will go to Collec tive Calling to help fund their work in Spain and Tanzania.

Tickets cost €65 for adults and €25 for chil dren and may be ob tained by email info@div ot.es or by calling 622 611 084.

TIMS, The International Musical Society choir is delighted to be back af ter recruiting new members and rehears ing at St Andrews, Los Boliches.

December is going to be a busy month with several appearances which in date order see the choir at: Salon Varietés The atre in Fuengirola on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 performing a selec tion of carols and Christmas classics along with the TAPAS choir and the Coro LGTBI Tor remolinos with special guests Sarah Coombes, Owain Griffiths, Elsa Rose and Violet Wetherall with tickets costing €14 per person.

• November 24, 7pm, Zac and Bruno, Fluid, Marbella

• November 25, 8:15pm, Radiant Rubi, Drag Show, Minnelli’s, Benalmadena

• November 26, 8:15pm, Sparkling Saphire, Drag Show, Minnelli’s Benalmadena

• December 17, Mel’s Beach Band, Sala Premiere Marbella

• December 24, 10pm, Ed Sheeran Tribute and Xmas Show, Bonanza Bar Benalmadena

• December 25, 10pm, Soul Note and Xmas Show, Bonanza Bar Benalmadena

TIMS choir

Las Lagunas Theatre Mijas on Wednesday December 14 at 6pm with free entry and tick

ets may be obtained from the theatre.

St Andrews Church Los Boliches Christmas Carol Service at 11.30am on Sunday De cember 18 with free ad mission and all are wel come.

Los Boliches Parish Church from 5pm also on December 18 as part of a special service of nine lessons with car ols.

Malaga Cathedral on Saturday December 26 at 12.30pm.

Rockabilly returns

ROCKABILLY

2 to February 5, 2023.

With all of the recent musical activity across the Costa del Sol, this homage to original Rock and Roll has survived for three decades (includ ing the recent pandemic) and marks Torremoli nos out as the capital for this style of American music.

It’s not just American bands taking part as this coming festival will welcome no less than 42 dif ferent artists, a festival record, with the majority coming from America, Spain and the UK and at tracting visitors from all over Europe.

One of the main musical attractions will be the appearance of The Delta Bombers who were formed in Las Vegas in 2008 and this festival will

also see Nashville band The Planet Rockers who have chosen the Rockin’Race Jamboree for their last ever performance before they disband.

This year, the festival will continue to be cen tred on the Prince of Asturias Auditorium and the Hotel La Barracuda, but in order to make life even better for festival goers, the organisers have obtained a special tent that they will bring from Holland to be able to expand the festival’s capacity.

During the four days of the event there will be a classic car show, food trucks and plenty of vin tage stalls, DJs and the odd pool party.

There are lots of ticket options, but a four­day pass with free CD currently costs just €99 and can be obtained online from https://rockinrace.com/.

A BUSY MONTH: Three members of the TIMS choir.

Credit: TIMS

HEADLINERS: The Delta Bombers will be one of the main attractions.

Credit: The Delta Bombers

returns to Torremolinos for the 29th year as the Rockin’Race Jamboree will be held from February

Busy TAPAS choir

A BUSY choir this holi day season will be TAPAS, The Andalucia Performing Arts Society, which will be perform ing at a number of spe cial events, many in volved with fundraising.

On Saturday Novem ber 26, they will be holding their Christmas Bazaar at La Risa Bistro at Laura Golf in Alhau rín de la Torre from 11am to 2pm and apart from the choir perform ing Christmas songs, there will be several stalls selling cakes, crafts, books and much more.

On Saturday Decem ber 3, it’s time for the association’s Christmas show at the Alhaurin Golf Club featuring not just the TAPAS Choir, but also music from TOPS, the LGTBI Torre molinos Choir and pop ular trio Boogie Won

derland.

On Tuesday Decem ber 6, they team up with the TOPS singers from 7pm at the Sierra Restaurant in Cerrado del Águila Golf Mijas for mulled wine, mince pies and Christmas car ols with stalls and an appearance from Santa in support of the British

Benevolent Fund.

Then at 7pm on the night of Friday Decem ber 9, the choir will ap pear at the Casa de la Cultura in Alhaurin el Grande as part of their support for local charity Fahala Centre with free admission, although do nations for the charity will be appreciated.

Brothers in Band

HAVING seen an earlier show postponed due to the pandemic, Brothers In Band will appear at the Fe lipe VI Auditorium in Es tepona on Saturday De cember 17.

They will be presenting their Very Best of Dire Straits show which faith fully reproduces the sounds of one of Britain’s most successful bands. The nine Spanish musi

cians in Brothers in Band are always in much de mand and are recognised as one of the most profes sional sound alike Dire Straits cover groups and if you check out their web site https://brothersin band.net / you’ll see why they are so popular.

The music still sounds great but the original band is unlikely to ever play to gether again, so this is the

perfect chance to get to enjoy a note perfect rendi tion of some of the band’s greatest hits like Sultans of Swing, Love over Gold, Romeo and Juliet and Money for Nothing.

Tickets cost €35 plus booking fee online via https://tafestepona.en tradas but be prepared for a late night as the concert starts at 9pm and lasts for two and a half hours.

Triple A Gala night

TO celebrate 30 years of the Triple A animal rescue centre in Marbella, there will be a Gala Night held at the prestigious Puente Romano Hotel.

It takes place in the Andalucia Room from 8pm on Saturday Decem ber 3 and guests will enjoy compli mentary drinks during the event as well as a three­course meal.

There will be live entertainment on the theme of Cirque du Triple A so expect some acrobatics, jugglers and much more as well as a swing band and DJ for those who love to dance.

The dress code is red and black and

don’t forget to bring money or card with you to take part in the fantastic auction.

Tickets cost €150 per person and can be obtained by emailing info@tripleamarbella.org

Asociación de Amigos de Animales Abandonados ‘Triple A’ is an official ly registered, non­profit animal char ity dedicated to the care of aban doned and abused animals on the Costa del Sol in the Marbella to San Pedro area, which is supported by the Marbella Council.

Find out more by visiting https://www.tripleamarbella.org/.

Saint Cecilia

THE Magnum Mysterium Choir will commemorate the festival of Saint Cecilia (pa tron saint of music) with a concert in the Church of Our Lady of Carmen in Estepona on Saturday November 26 from 8pm.

Originally called Villa de Es tepona, the Magnum Mys

terium Choir was founded in 1987 and although initially concentrating on Baroque music, expanded to cover choral works from around the world, especially Eastern Eu rope and Sephardic composi tions.

This concert will consist of six diverse and different num

bers and entrance will be free until capacity of the church is reached.

The choir’s principal con ductor who will wield the ba ton at this concert is Miguel Ángel Garrido Sánchez, pro fessor at the Manuel Carra Professional Conservatory, in Malaga.

SHOW TIME: Enjoy the sound of the TAPAS choir.

Credit: T.A.P.A.S. choir

GREAT MUSIC: Brothers in Band deliver an exceptional show.

Credit: Brothers in Band

IN a major boost for the Costa del Sol’s luxury travel market, Puente Romano hosted the launch of its brand new Sier ra Nevada­based sister hotel at a sparkling ski­themed event on Friday, November 18.

Proving that Andalucia is Europe’s pre mier destination for sun, sea and snow, Maribel is nestled next to the world famous El Lodge Ski & Spa in the exclusive ski resort and opens at the end of December.

In total, around 500 people turned out in their chicest apres ski ensem bles at Puente Romano’s Plaza to mark the new launch amid sounds from Puente Romano’s DJs, alpine­themed canapes and stunning decorations.

Kate Chesney, Puente Romano’s Mar keting and Projects Manager, said: “We’re so lucky in Marbella to have stunning beaches during the summer and breathtaking ski opportunities with in easy reach in winter.

“Maribel will really put the Sierra Nevada on the map as a luxury ski desti nation for ski and apres ski.”

Puente Romano’s Kenza Carlson said: “Tonight we are here celebrating the launch of Maribel, our new sister hotel to El Lodge. It opens at the end of De cember and today we’re celebrating the launch of the new ski season.”

Among guests from across the Costa del Sol community, an incredible 50 top influencers came out for this prestigious launch, including Madrid­based Isabel Marin with 183,000 Instagram follow ers, told the EWN: “We've come for four days from Madrid to see the launch of Maribel. We can’t wait to go and see the new hotel.”

She added: “We’re part of the Puente Romano family because we’re always here and it’s always an honour.

“The best place on the Costa del Sol is Puente Romano for its food, ser vice, the atmo sphere, its amazing facilities, and the great food.

“We now can’t wait to see Mari bel, enjoy some skiing, and its amazing fa cilities.”

Serious ski chic

MARIBEL LAUNCH: Among guests from across the Costa del Sol, an incredible 50 top influencers came out for this prestigious event.

A Glamorous New Year’s Eve

2023 is fast approaching; so make sure you have one of the hottest tables in town this coming New Year’s Eve, by reserving yours at Nobu Marbella. Celebrate the countdown to 2023 in sparkling Nobu style with our chef’s curated Omakase feast, including an exquisite welcome cocktail. This sensational eight-course tasting menu, with optional sommelier-selected Champagne and wine pairing, is a unique culinary celebration!

Begin your glamorous evening with Caviar with Blinis and handcrafted dishes of Akami tuna with Yuzu Miso, King Crab Avocado with creamy Tosazu, and Kohlrabi salad with a langoustine and truffle miso. Relish the legendary Chef Sushi selection, then savour Eel Foie with Apple and Palo Cortado Teriyaki, and the deeply flavourful Japanese A5 Wagyu with

Jerusalem Artichoke Purée, before the sophisticated delight of a Yuzu Champagne Cream Sphere.

Better still, book a room at Nobu Hotel Marbella and enjoy New Year’s Eve to the max. With no worries about transport home, after dinner you can join the party in La Plaza with live music and the best DJs as everyone waits for the countdown to the moment the clock strikes midnight and 2023 begins. You can dance the night away, or retreat to the tranquillity of your contemporary, zen-inspired room.

Make new memories on the night of 31st December 2022 by dining with us, and staying with us.

Everyone needs a Marie Carmen

BUYING a home in Spain is different from the US. Here, it is nor mal for the house to come completely fur nished. Great, if you are moving from overseas and have nothing but suitcases.

Not so great if you have lived here and fur nished an apartment before buying your for ever home.

When we moved to our house, we were un aware that when our moving vans arrived from our apartment in Valencia that they would be unloading our personal furniture into a fully furnished home. Surprise! There was no room for it in the house. Luckily, a superhero would arrive at the

scene in the nick of time.

Our new neighbour, Marie Carmen, popped over to welcome us with a wheelbarrow full of vegetables from her garden.

She swiftly diagnosed the problem and got on her mobile phone. A man arrived in a lorry pulling a trailer. Then she worked magic, or ganising the movers, the trailer guy, and me.

Via sign language, Google translate and my broken español, Marie Carmen, with whom we had been acquainted for less than an hour, whipped us all into shape, extracting the furniture we didn’t want into the trailer, while marshalling the movers to unload our furniture into the house

and the overflow into the barn.

It took a few hours. Afterwards, Marie Car men smiled then left. As we sat on our sofa, Jeff shook his head.

“How did all that just happen?” he asked, amazed.

I had no answer. All I know is that everyone needs a Marie Carmen. Do you know a Marie Carmen?

Has someone in Spain done you a good turn?

Say thank you by nominating them for Age in Spain’s Good Neighbour Award.

The winner will re ceive a formal letter of recognition from the UK Ambassador to Spain... and enjoy a celebration dinner for two. To nomi nate someone, click on www.ageinspain.org

Celebrity round up

AFTER two weeks in the jungle the contestants are just coming to terms with their new way of life, and as things settle down the evictions start with the

viewers deciding who they want to stay in camp. Three celebrities have already been evict ed with Loose Women presenter and journalist

Charlene White the first to go. It came to light that secretly, the campmates were all terrified of being the first to leave. This was not because of the shame

of going first, but due to the fact that nobody could stand the humilia tion of leaving before Matt Hancock.

The public had voted Matt to do six consecu tive trials as the show en tered its second week. He was so successful though that eventually the view ers stopped choosing him.

The prize for the biggest failure so far must surely go to DJ Chris Moyles. He came out of the ‘Boiling Point’ trial with only one star, al

though he had collected two but dropped one of them and lost it.

Mike and Jill totally smashed the show’s fa mous disgusting drinking challenge, collecting all the stars by downing ev

erything that was served to them. Mike even said one of the mixtures tast ed nice!

Sleeping in the comfort able beds inside the RV has caused a lot of headaches. Firstly, Char lene refused to share with Matt, claiming that a big spider had scared her. It was later revealed that she felt it went against her principles to sleep in the same space as the politician.

Sue and Mike were next to be given the luxu ry accommodation. After one night, Sue could not stand Mike’s snoring and chose to sleep outside in stead.

Television presenter Scarlette was the second celeb to be evicted from the jungle. She was fol lowed out on Monday, November 21, by Corona tion Street actress Sue. When Ant and Dec in formed her that she was leaving, she was delight ed.

I’M A CELEBRITY: At the ‘Speak Uneasy Trial’.

Credit: ITV

Thankful for Thanksgiving

POPULAR American holiday Thanksgiving is becoming increasingly fashionable across Europe too, both with US expats and those who just want to get involved in the festive fun.

This year it is celebrated on Thursday, November 24 and the day has a fascinat ing history.

In the United States, Thanksgiving his tory is almost always traced back to 1621 and the event is commonly known as the First Thanksgiving. It was cele brated by the Pilgrim Fathers, a group of European settlers of the Plymouth Colony, which is today part of the state of Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims were celebrating their first har vest in the New World and marked the occa sion with a lavish three­day feast, which was attended by both Pilgrims and Native Ameri cans. It is believed that the Pilgrims were influ enced by similar practices in Europe.

In the aftermath, many other colonies set aside specific days for giving thanks to God for their blessings. A proclamation from George Washington in 1789 led to Thanksgiving be coming a national celebration and it was made into a federal holiday, on the fourth Thursday of November, by Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

Today, in the United States, the Thanksgiv ing celebration largely centres around eating a large meal, which almost always includes

turkey. Other traditional foods eaten on Thanksgiving include pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.

Typically, Americans will spend the day with their family or a group of friends and give thanks for the things they feel fortunate to have in their lives.

This sometimes has a religious element, with many people attending religious services or saying a prayer before eating their meal.

While Spain itself does not celebrate Thanksgiving, there are an incredible 38,812 American expats living in the country, spark ing a rise in the number of businesses and in dividuals finding their own way to mark this special day.

Roast turkey is traditional for the meal.

PRESS EUROPEAN

DENMARK

World Cup

EVEN though Denmark is taking part in the World Cup Finals in Qatar, there will be no official Danish presence as the politicians are still trying to form a government and the Royal Family has decided to watch the matches at home.

THE NETHERLANDS

Not funny

LAUGHING GAS (Nitrous Oxide) has become the high of choice of young Dutch partygoers, but it will become much more difficult to obtain from the start of 2023 as possession, trade and production of the drug (except for medical reasons) will become illegal.

BELGIUM

Robot treatment

STUDENTS at the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels have designed a prototype robot to help treat patients who need physiotherapy. With a shortage of technicians and a tireless robot that can adjust to patients’ needs, this could be a major breakthrough in recovery treatment.

GERMANY

Gassed up

THE European gas storage association GIE said that natural gas storage facilities in Germany have reached full capacity as the country has been building its reserves in order to ensure that there is sufficient to see it through the winter after Russia cut deliveries.

FRANCE

Bullfighting ban

SPAIN is not the only European country that allows fatal bullfighting and on Thursday November 24, French MPs will for the first time consider a total ban on bullfighting, although followers and young matadors in the south are campaigning against any ban.

NORWAY

Rainy days

HEAVY rain is heralding good news for Norwegian consumers and business as reservoirs are filling up much more quickly than expected and as the bulk of Norway’s electricity comes from hydro-electric plants, prices this winter are likely to be much lower than expected.

FINLAND

No entry

A GERMAN man riding a bicycle and without a passport or visa was stopped trying to cycle into Russia by Finnish border officials, but he was so determined that he jettisoned his bike and tried to walk though a forest before being caught and arrested.

IRELAND

Trade deal

THE much-heralded trade deal between the European Union and Canada may not be ratified as the Republic’s Supreme Court has ruled in support of Green Party politician Patrick Costello that it breaches the Irish constitution, although there may be a loophole to allow it.

ITALY

Tree saved

A 200-YEAR-OLD tree which was due to be sent to the Vatican for Christmas had a reprieve as no environmental impact study had been carried out and it wasn’t actually situated within the boundary of the council that wanted to chop it down.

PORTUGAL

Cheap gas

WITH Spain about to cut the cost of bottled gas, there will be even more reason for Portuguese residents who live near the border to cross over to buy their gas, which is currently approximately half the price of that charged in Portugal.

UKRAINE

Banksy surprise

SECRETATIVE Street Artist Banksy who is believed to originate from Bristol has not only never revealed his identity, and rarely admits to where he is working, has now admitted that seven murals in Ukraine are his work with one possibly showing Putin.

SWEDEN

Grammy awards

THE decision by Sweden’s most successful pop group ABBA to reform and release a set of songs, 40 years after their last studio album, has not only topped up their bank balances, but has seen them nominated for three Grammy Awards including Best Single and Album.

Zara strike FINANCE

BUSINESS EXTRA

Exchange approved

EVEN though there has been something of a hiatus in the val ue and trading in cryptocurren cy recently, Bitstamp, a Luxem bourg­based cryptocurrency exchange, has gained a virtual asset service provider registra tion in Spain and can now offer crypto­to­fiat and electronic wallet custody services here.

Great value

TRAVEL website Omio has ranked the hundred best desti nations in Europe for travellers on a budget based on number of free attractions, affordability of local transport, food and drink prices, free WiFi and even water fountains. The city of Granada with its large student population was Spain’s winner.

Excise duty

CAR manufacturers were disap pointed with the announce ment that with effect from 2025, British drivers who pur chase electric vehicles will have to pay vehicle excise duty which they believe will discourage drivers to go electric, even though the government wants to phase out petrol and diesel.

Football benefit

THE Spanish economy could re ceive a massive boost if the na tional football team does well at the World Cup Finals in Qatar. Reports suggest that many Spaniards, male and fe male, who support the team enjoy doing this in company, so bars and restaurants will bene fit.

Retail sales

ACCORDING to the Office for National Statistics, retail sales volumes in the UK are estimat ed to have risen by 0.6 per cent in October 2022 following a fall of 1.5 per cent in September, but are still lower than both last year and 2019 pre pandemic.

STAT OF WEEK £1.8 billion

In sports money talks

THE British government recog nises in sports money talks and is therefore taking action to try to protect fans’ access to the biggest global attractions.

As technology expands, so it is having to review its policy con cerning free­to­air ‘listed events’ rules as they affect public ser vice broadcasters (PSBs), includ ing the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

They are currently protected as far as broadcast TV is con cerned, so that viewers may have access to the biggest sport ing events which include 13 dif ferent tournaments including Football, Olympics, Paralympics, Horse Racing, Wimbledon and Rugby.

As more people tune in via catch­up and streaming services to watch sport, the review will assess whether including digital rights can ensure as many peo ple as possible can continue to access events.

Currently if, for example, the Olympic 100m final was broad cast live in the middle of the

night on the BBC, but all stream ing and catch­up rights were sold to a different broadcaster and kept behind a paywall, a wide audience may not be able to watch this important event.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez said: “As we saw during the Women’s Euros and with the FIFA World Cup just around the corner, we know that enjoying blockbuster sporting events together means

so much to many people.

“Everyone should be able to watch these incredible moments of national unity, no matter how they choose to tune in.

“As viewing habits shift on line, it is right that we review our rules and consider whether updates are needed to ensure our brilliant public service broadcasters can continue to bring major events to the public at no extra cost.”

South Korea charm offensive

SPANISH President Pe dro Sánchez held a sec ond meeting this year with Samsung execu tives, this time during his official visit to South Ko rea on Thursday Novem ber 17.

This follows a meeting held in Madrid on August 31 as Sánchez wants help to grow the new tech in dustry in Spain, whilst Samsung has not only the technology, but looks to receive a sizeable chunk of the European Recov ery Funds allocated to technology.

After visiting the facto ry in Pyeongtaek with Minister for Industry and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, he held a meeting with

Samsung executives be fore getting ready for an other meeting the fol lowing day, this time with the CEO of the com pany, Lee Jae­Yong.

During the meeting, Sánchez highlighted the government’s “ambitious strategy” to turn Spain into a relevant player in

the semiconductor value chain through: a wide range of incentives and aid, attractive financing mechanisms, an ecosys tem in rapid growth, and the ability to attract tal ent and highly qualified personnel.

He dangled the carrot that Spain is going to al

locate €12 billion which includes €9 billion of pub lic money for manufac turing facilities and re minded his hosts that some large companies such as Cisco have al ready announced their investment plans in Spain, with new chip de sign centres.

Later during his first day in South Korea he paid a visit to the facili ties of the future Cer vantes Institute in Seoul, which is intended to facil itate closer links between the two countries and closed the 14th meeting of the Spain­Korea Tri bune, an event organised by Casa Asia and the Ko rea Foundation.

FOR years Spain’s international fashion giant Inditex appears to have had good industrial relations with its employees, but this is likely to change, with one union calling for a Black Friday strike.

There are actually three unions in negotiations over pay and all want to see shop workers gain substantial increases in order to bring them on par with those working in Inditex’s offices and dis tribution centres.

On November 17, the unions confirmed no agreement had been reached, and the smallest, the CIG which represents the 1,000 shop assistants who work in A Coruna is calling for the Black Friday strike.

No Deliveroo

THE sudden closure of Deliveroo in Australia saw around 120 staff and 15,000 riders out of work and an estimated 12,000 restaurants unable to make deliveries.

Although one of the reasons for closure was due to new federal laws concerning the rights of workers, many fear that the cur rent financial crisis worldwide will see other food and grocery deliv ery companies closing down in Europe.

In addition, as competition re duces, so global organisations such as Uber Eats may be tempt ed to up their prices which will in turn have a financial impact upon restaurants and consumers.

Prison dragons

SEVERAL local entrepreneurs and ex­offenders with their own busi nesses stood in as ‘Dragons’ at HMP Thorn Cross, in Cheshire where prisoners were invited to pitch for start ­up funding once re leased.

Proposals that were put before the attendees included a graphic design consultancy and personal fitness business and the en trepreneurs chose which business should receive the first prize of £400, with runners up receiving £300.

The money will be transferred to the prisoners by Entrepreneurs Unlocked, an organisation that is dedicated to help prisoners to stay on the straight and narrow following release.

is the amount that 27 million households in the UK shared in October in the first month of the government’s reduction of energy bills.

Credit: Andrew Parsons No 10 Downing Street flickr

WATCHING SPORT: The thrill of international football.

Credit: Pedro Sánchez Twitter

NEW TECH: A less than informal meeting with Samsung.

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Berkeley 3.751,0 3.751,0 3.692,0 17,64K

BHP Group Ltd 2.418,50 2.435,00 2.395,50 259,71K

BP 469,95 477,60 468,85 8,07M

British American Tobacco 3.342,0 3.343,5 3.296,0 185,42K

British Land Company 412,80 412,90 405,20 406,46K

BT Group 122,91 123,20 120,70 1,38M

Bunzl 3.045,0 3.048,0 3.007,0 182,45K

Burberry Group 2.099,0 2.113,0 2.075,0 48,46K

Carnival 700,8 711,6 697,6 132,46K

Centrica 94,20 94,52 93,12 2,12M

Coca Cola HBC AG 1.990,0 1.990,0 1.974,0 37,99K

Compass 1.824,00 1.831,00 1.769,00 546,35K

CRH 3.302,0 3.325,5 3.283,0 57,08K

Croda Intl 6.810,0 6.916,0 6.768,0 32,07K

DCC 4.315,0 4.339,0 4.299,0 16,29K

Diageo 3.690,5 3.692,0 3.669,5 267,00K

DS Smith 303,40 307,70 301,70 583,99K

EasyJet 375,20 385,30 371,40 871,22K

Experian 2.880,0 2.890,2 2.859,0 17,97K

Ferguson 9.684,0 9.794,0 9.630,0 85,02K

Flutter Entertainment 11.450,0 11.535,0 11.350,0 0,56K

Fresnillo 867,80 871,00 857,20 113,90K

Glencore 499,95 500,40 491,80 7,52M

GSK plc 1.386,40 1.387,20 1.368,60 668,75K

Halma 2.185,0 2.207,0 2.162,0 114,33K

Hargreaves Lansdown 826,80 837,80 814,60 234,69K

Hikma Pharma 1.428,00 1.438,00 1.427,00 4,07K

HSBC 485,40 485,55 478,10 2,65M

IAG 129,62 130,84 129,22 3,02M

Imperial Brands 2.149,50 2.151,00 2.116,00 271,53K

Informa 593,60 595,40 591,40 264,15K

InterContinental 4.763,0 4.787,0 4.685,0 65,36K

Intermediate Capital 1.191,00 1.206,00 1.177,00 225,58K

Intertek 3.894,0 3.911,0 3.863,0 28,97K

ITV 73,80 74,40 73,10 1,31M

J Sainsbury 215,80 217,10 215,10 507,49K

Johnson Matthey 2.001,0 2.052,0 1.996,5 32,23K

Land Securities 630,40 631,60 619,60 173,05K

Legal & General 260,80 261,30 258,50 1,91M

Lloyds Banking 45,66 45,81 45,32 17,72M

London Stock Exchange 8.056,0 8.108,0 8.048,0 43,29K

Melrose Industries 127,00 130,40 127,40 187,72K

Mondi 1.554,50 1.568,50 1.541,50 101,03K

National Grid 1.025,00 1.030,00 1.015,00 558,97K

NatWest Group 258,40 259,40 257,50 1,38M

Next 5.654,0 5.676,0 5.622,0 41,45K

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

Ocado 623,78 671,40 620,20 555,74K

Persimmon 1.295,5 1.306,5 1.283,0 184,13K

Phoenix 598,20 598,40 590,40 250,13K

Prudential 957,60 967,00 947,80 674,60K

Reckitt Benckiser 5.846,7 5.852,5 5.824,9 17,29K

Relx 2.309,82 2.310,00 2.272,00 421,16K

Rentokil 538,40 538,80 531,40 338,50K

Rightmove 539,20 543,20 534,60 369,60K

Rio Tinto PLC 5.319,0 5.328,0 5.263,0 342,12K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 84,39 85,90 83,45 5,17M

Sage 808,20 809,00 796,80 345,62K

Samsung Electronics DRC 1.120,50 1.128,00 1.115,00 2,73K

Schroders 458,9 462,0 455,3 293,22K

Scottish Mortgage 782,18 792,20 782,40 439,68K

Segro 831,40 835,80 822,80 378,96K

Severn Trent 2.738,0 2.756,0 2.721,0 85,04K

Shell 2.328,0 2.351,0 2.310,5 1,43M

Smith & Nephew 1.065,50 1.067,50 1.061,00 139,61K

Smiths Group 1.584,50 1.584,50 1.567,50 196,32K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 11.315,0 11.400,0 11.165,0 14,10K SSE 1.691,50 1.717,24 1.681,50 45,22K

St. James’s Place 1.180,50 1.186,00 1.169,50 76,71K

Standard Chartered 583,00 584,40 577,60 511,42K

Taylor Wimpey 103,55 104,05 102,40 2,77M

Tesco 230,60 231,60 229,70 1,27M

Tui 139,25 142,50 138,00 941,88K

Unilever 4.085,0 4.085,0 4.034,0 362,18K

United Utilities 1.030,50 1.035,00 1.014,00 167,56K

Vodafone Group PLC 97,43 97,98 96,88 12,47M

Whitbread 2.514,0 2.524,0 2.483,0 48,35K WPP 864,60 868,40 861,60 627,10K

3M 126,76 128,34 3,15M

American Express 152,50 153,76 150,94 2,63M

Amgen 287,29 288,73 284,43 2,37M

Apple 151,29 152,70 149,97 74,33M

Boeing 173,89 175,19 171,53 4,68M

Caterpillar 231,43 231,84 227,63 2,80M

Chevron 182,99 183,41 179,65 7,64M

Cisco 47,79 48,04 46,86 30,76M

Coca-Cola 61,14 61,37 60,80 10,38M

Dow 50,07 50,52 49,36 3,75M

Goldman Sachs 379,20 382,83 377,39 2,37M

Home Depot 313,18 316,00 310,26 3,55M

Honeywell 214,53 217,35 213,16 2,97M

IBM 147,64 148,31 145,94 4,66M

Intel 29,87 30,26 29,61 26,84M

J&J 176,20 176,64 174,62 6,47M

JPMorgan 133,84 134,67 132,28 9,42M

McDonald’s 273,37 275,10 272,12 2,69M

Merck&Co 104,23 104,60 102,63 11,55M

Microsoft 241,22 243,74 239,03 27,49M

Nike 105,42 107,72 104,17 5,37M

Procter&Gamble 142,57 142,76 141,27 5,63M

Salesforce Inc 148,04 152,32 145,65 7,50M

The Travelers 184,56 185,87 183,24 1,47M

UnitedHealth 530,00 532,99 519,46 3,52M

Verizon 38,55 38,77 38,29 17,55M

Visa A 210,80 214,17 209,74 5,52M

Walgreens Boots 39,75 40,95 39,26 6,94M

Walmart 150,23 150,24 148,77 6,30M

Walt Disney 91,80 93,16 90,91 9,82M

Most Advanced

Most Declined

Farfetch Limited -11.27% 31.601M

Vertex, Inc. -10.12% 902,388

BellRing Brands, Inc. -9.55% 2.866M

Weibo Corporation -9.43% 934,625

360 DigiTech, Inc. -8.74% 1.224M

Trupanion, Inc. -8.41% 818,062

GDS Holdings Limited -8.19% 1.558M

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. -7.85% 15.283M

Tencent Holdings Limited -7.46% 4.215M

BUSINESS EXTRA

Recovery Fund

THE Spanish government has formally requested the third tranche of the Recov ery and Resilience Fund to talling €6 billion from the European Union thanks, it says, to the fact that it has fulfilled 23 milestones and six objectives set by the EU earlier this year.

Arena saved

FOLLOWING the collapse of the WASPS Rugby Union Club which moved to Coventry in 2014, the via bility of the Coventry Build ing Society Arena which is also home to Coventry City Football Club came into question, but it has now been purchased by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.

Bulgaria beckons

SOME 80 Spanish compa nies have created bases in Bulgaria, investing €800 million and employing 3,000 staff according to Economy and Industry Minister Nikola Stoyanov, who chaired a special breakfast meeting and briefing for Spanish fi nanciers in Bulgarian capi tal Sofia on November 17.

No Saturday delivery

HAVING recorded a £219 million operating loss in the first six months of 2022, the Royal Mail which created the concept of the penny post with almost same day delivery, now wants to save money by stopping Saturday postal deliveries. It still intends to deliver parcels six days a week, but has to obtain government permission to change its delivery sched ules. With strikes on the horizon and likely opposi tion to the change from publishers who aim to have many of their maga zine subscriptions arriving on a Saturday, the priva tised Royal Mail may find losses increasing.

UK autumn statement

JEREMY HUNT is going to hit the British public in the pocket as he announced his cuts and increases in tax for many, on Thursday November 17.

As first glance, it doesn’t seem to be quite as drastic as first anticipated and for pension ers the good news is that the triple lock will remain in place for next year, meaning that state pensions will rise by 10.1 per cent in April 2023.

He admitted that the UK has entered into recession and vows that his actions will help to make this as short and painless as possible, although many will still find themselves hit where it hurts most, in their pockets.

He announced a freeze on income tax thresholds, meaning millions of people will pay more in tax as their wages rise and Labour declared this a stealth tax as it doesn’t hurt immediately, but will affect tax payers in the coming years.

Unlike the previous, short­lived Chancellor, he is not going to protect the general public completely from rises in energy bills although there will still be some support, but expect to pay an additional £500 per year from April.

Highest earners who had earlier this year expected the 45 per cent top rate of tax to be scrapped, will not only have pay it, but at a new threshold of £125,140 rather than £150,000, although bankers will be able to benefit from big bonusses.

Benefits and tax credits will stay in line with inflation at 10.1 per cent and there will

be extra payments of £900 for those on means­tested benefits, £300 for pensioner households and £150 for those on disability benefits.

The windfall tax on the big energy compa nies will increase from 25 to 35 per cent, al though it seems likely that if they plough their profits back in to new energy or new ex ploration, they will be able to avoid some or all of that tax.

Generally speaking, the majority of budgets previously agreed with government depart ments will remain, but as inflation will dra matically increase their costs, there is effec tively a reduction in the value of the budgets and in the case of overseas aid, this will re

Raising prices

TELEFONICA has announced that it will increase Movistar prices with effect from Jan uary 1 following an earlier announcement by Avatel and Vodafone.

There will be no change in the special offer rates that consumers may have been signed up for until the agreed period ends, nor will there be an increase on O2 tariffs.

Basically, it is using the op portunity allowed to in crease prices due to the cost­of­living crisis which has meant that overall operat ing costs have risen sharply, so its action are not in breach of any Spanish regu lations.

Indeed, it argues that the average price increase of 6.8 per cent is less than the cur rent inflation rate and de spite the fact that clients will not be receiving any addi

tional benefits on services to offset the cost, the company insists that it offers good val ue for money.

Each package will poten tially see a different rise, with some as low as 5.6 per cent and some will be much higher than the average, so the company has undertak en to contact each customer over the coming weeks to outline the new charges.

Many customers of the

two largest internet and mo bile telephony suppliers be lieve that a price rise would be much more acceptable if the companies involved of fered a better service and as communications companies made it easier, especially for expats, to communicate.

As technology takes great leaps and bounds forwards, these giant organisations still seem unable to cut through their endemic bureaucracy.

main reduced until such time as the country can afford to pay more.

One area that he continues to support, (against the wishes of some members of the Tory Party) is the HS2 high speed rail project which has already cost £100 billion and con tinues to be a drain on the country’s re sources with an estimated £7 billion a year until the end of the decade being spent on it.

Following his statement, the Office for Bud get Responsibility (OBR) (which had been ig nored under the Truss administration) re leased its latest forecasts for the UK economy and government spending.

It believes that continued soaring prices will reduce consumer’s disposable income and taking into account inflation it will be the most significant drop since official records be gan.

In summary, the OBR expects hard times ahead, suggesting that GDP will continue to shrink by around 1.4 per cent next year which will see the national debt climbing by an un expected £400 billion boosted by the need to support up to 500,000 newly unemployed.

Things are expected to get worse before they get better with increased reduction in GDP in 2024 and 2025.

Only time will tell how effective the Chancel lor’s plans may be, but all could change dra matically if the Russian invasion of Ukraine ei ther intensifies and brings in NATO or if an acceptable settlement is found which helps to bring down energy and basic food prices.

Clucked off

CAUSED in part by Avian Flu and also because some farmers are finding it too expensive to continue, there appears to be a short age of fresh eggs in the UK.

Already Asda and Lidl are said to be rationing the number of boxes of eggs customers can buy and Sainsbury’s which normal ly only sells British eggs has confirmed that it is currently import ing some from Italy and they are labelled as such.

Therese Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told the BBC that some supply chains get eggs from particular farmers, “But across the country we still have nearly 40 million roosting hens. As a consequence, I’m not concerned about the overall supply.”

Buyoyant tourism

THE

Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, said on Thursday November 17 “this data is very positive, since one in three new jobs in October was generated in the tourism sector, which demonstrates the decisive contribution of this in dustry to the recovery of the economy and employment in our country.”

In addition, there are 22,441 more foreign workers than the previous month, bringing the increase in this group across all industries to 155,445 and the total to 2,462,109.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt leaves for Parliament.

Credit: HM Treasury flickr

Spanish tourism sector closed October with 2,543,749 workers registered with the government which was the best month ever and almost 110,000 more than in October 2019 before the pandemic caused lockdowns.

NEW CHARGES: Supporting sport at customer cost.

Credit: Movistar Spain Twitter

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

OTHERS THINK IT

SOMETIMES I think I’ve lost track of the plot. (I can hear a number of readers chortling with glee!) Most of you will know only too well what my opinions are regarding the face less committee of individuals who in my opinion run the planet from their secret domains of power.

What I actually fail to understand is why they are allowing a minority in the UK to run slipshod over the public arena under allegations that they are not given the same impor tance as the majority, a ridiculous summation.

All the power happy leaders re quire, is to keep the citizens perma nently worried and on edge. This of course maintains them rushing about and fearful as to their actual survival, which categorically holds them under control.

I have always actually maintained the Saudis are very highly placed in the world hierarchy scheme of things.

The eight years I spent there was certainly an eye opener in my opin ions as to who actually runs world

On the edge

affairs. One rumour that abounded was that when slavery was out lawed in 1962 they built a large town in the middle of the desert to accommodate the relinquished slaves. A few years later they bombed it out of existence; prob lem solved.

Could never prove it of course, but I was very friendly with a Saudi pilot who enjoyed a drink!

I was also proven exactly correct when I wrote that the murder of Ja mal Khashoggi in Turkey’s Saudi embassy would result in so­called perpetrators standing private trial and disappearing into a mid­east haze; which is precisely what oc curred.

It was publically announced that five were sentenced to death (later pardoned of course) the Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, professed to know nothing about it (ha).

All the so­called perps were im prisoned and, when all the scandal died down, were secretly released and now live lives of luxury with

the promised millions they subse quently discovered in their bank ac counts.

And that my friends is how our world is governed today. Those who have more money than they ever dreamed of have won that race. The only success left for them to achieve is power and the faceless mob knows exactly how to attain it.

If anyone gets too close, assassi nation awaits, even if it doesn’t look like it. Dr Kelly, Stephen Ward are cases in point.

Even I occasionaly glance over my shoulder!

Keep the Faith. Love bLeapy. Leapylee2002@gmail.com. Expatradioscotland.com Mon Fri. 1pm till 4.

NOT SO BEAUTIFUL OUR VIEW

ALTHOUGH football is probably the most popular sport in the world, not everyone will be glued to the TV over the next few weeks as the World Cup Finals unfold in Qatar.

What used to be referred to as the ‘beautiful game’ has be come tarnished over the past couple of decades with money gushing into the sport and top officials accused of either giv ing or taking bribes.

Rather than alternate between Europe and South America as was the case in the past, it makes sense to ensure that the finals do take place in different parts of the world and the suc cess of South Africa as well as Japan and South Korea speak for themselves.

There is a real interest in football in the Middle East as well as huge amounts of money from there sunk into clubs around Europe, but the decision to choose Qatar for this year’s finals is questionable. It is already clear that the country just can’t cope physically or emotionally with the World Cup and is already breaking its agreements with, for example, the decision to ban sponsor Budweiser from selling beer at matches. Accommodation for fans in overpriced, noisy con tainers is also not helping to highlight the positive aspect of attending the matches.

Whilst figures such as David Beckham and Robbie Williams are criticised for taking Qatari money, it should be noted that organisations such as the BBC and Sky have no obvious com punction about sending teams of commentators there and broadcasting the matches.

Hopefully England, Spain and Wales do well as the hospi tality industry in particular will benefit from showing their team’s matches.

The good, the bad and the bonkers

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

more profound in sectors including the NHS, HMRC, DWP, local govern ment, banks etc, where the failure to do your job results in a very poor or non­existent service to the public.

THE latest social media trend is ‘quiet quitting’, or doing the bare minimum in your job.

Two different view points seem to exist: those who believe quiet quitting is taking a step back from burnout (in which case it’s a posi tive thing) and those who think it’s checking out from your employ ment responsibilities (in which case, it’s, well, skiving).

Nothing new. There’s always been a mix of hard workers and shirk ers. Only now we have social media to make it a ‘trend’.

I get it completely when you’re in market ing or similar roles. However, the con sequences of quiet quitting are much

When your failure to do a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay has a signifi cant impact on others, that’s unfair on colleagues and makes life even harder for those need ing those services. Lit tle wonder things are so bad in the UK.

Everything is blamed on understaffing and underfunding (which both exist) but nobody accepts the creeping lack of application which also affects those services...

Nora Johnson’s 11 critically acclaimed psychological crime thrillers (www.norajohnson. net) all avail able online including eBooks (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, paper backs, audiobooks at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.

LeapyLee’sopinionsarehisownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Noraistheauthorofpopularpsychological suspenseandcrimethrillersandafreelancejournalist.

Nora’s latest thriller.

WE, THE PEOPLE

PEOPLE have lost faith in their politicians. Maybe they have never had much faith in them resulting in often pathetic levels of voting. As the only foreigner ever to serve as a councillor in Mijas, I sometimes get frustrated by the glaring inconstancies in political rhetoric. We have a moderately ‘woke’ culture in Spain, or at least in Mijas, where we have a Socialist led govern ment. One of the War Cries is all about ‘in clusive’ language, whether this relates to sexual preferences, gender identity, or lev el of ability (physical or mental). We are even using the Spanish form of the term which I struggled with in the UK many years ago: ‘differently abled’.

Now. I don’t have a problem with any of this, really. People can call themselves whatever they want and I won’t argue the toss. It does irk somewhat on occasions, however, that this inclusive language doesn’t extend to the International Com munity who make up one third of the pop ulation, but are still referred to as the ‘for eigners’. Apparently, inclusivity only applies to select groups. In principle, it doesn’t bother me as I am a foreigner, but there is an implicit implication that whilst the Spaniards are all equal regardless of

their situation, the foreigners are not part of this club.

So, where am I going? Whilst the local government may see us as different, I want to argue that what we as immigrants to this country want is no different to what any ‘normal’ Spanish family wants. We want to live in an environment which is clean, well maintained , easy on the eye, and which makes us feel a little sense of pride when we show our visitors where we live.

We want to feel safe in our homes and on the street, feel that the security ser vices are taking our concerns seriously, and respond quickly to incidents dealing with them efficiently and sensitively.

We want to know that if we have a property here we can happily go on holi day without worrying if our homes have been occupied by squatters while we were away. We want the extremely ex pensive bureaucracy we pay for to work on our behalf and not against us. In Mijas

it costs us almost 50 per cent of our bud get, around €50 million a year. We have a right to expect that it is here to help us and not to hinder.

We want a community which is not overrun by feral animals which may make a mess or which may pose any form of danger. Sure, we want a happy place with things going on that we can go to and en joy whether they be traditional events, special events, cultural meetings or regu lar pastimes.

If we are working, we want to have the opportunity to make an honest living where entrepreneurship is valued and from which we can keep a roof over our heads and put food on the table.

I don’t believe that we Internationals liv ing here are really looking for anything dif ferent than any Mijas born Spaniard living here, so why make us different by identi fying us as ‘the foreigners’? Maybe be cause so many of us Internationals don’t speak Spanish? Well, that’s something that can be resolved more easily than changing our passports. Politicians, take note.

CHINA HOME (China Home de Cancelada), in Estepona, stocks thousands of household goods at a great price to decorate your home, as well as 38 aisles worth of gifts, toys, essential items and more!

The assorted items at China Home can solve any problem you have in your property. Their hard ware section stocks a range of es sential items including hardware and plumbing, paint, cleaning products, household appliances, plastic prod ucts and electronics ­ so you can fix any issues around your home. Look ing for storage solutions for your home or food items? China Home stocks all kinds of products to store clothes and essential items, includ ing hooks for coats, shoe racks, clothes storage items, multipurpose trays to organise your toiletries and beauty products, plastic trunks for children’s toys, and a huge range of boxes for the fridge and kitchen.

You will find a huge range of prod ucts to make your house into a cosy and personalised home including

textiles such as blankets, throws and towels, rugs, colourful cushions, bedding, curtains, bathroom prod ucts, candles, paint, decorations and prints for your walls ­ and even beds and products for your pets!

Decorate your garden with China Home’s range of outdoor products such as deckchair cushions, decora tive pots for your plants, flowers, and hundreds of other items to make your garden a beautiful space

to enjoy the Spanish sunshine!

China Home also has lots of prod ucts for children including arts and crafts to keep them busy, stationery for school and homework, items for decorating their bedroom, a variety of toys and all of the storage options you can imagine to keep everything clean and tidy.

With Christmas just around the corner, China Home invites you to see all of their seasonal and party

products. Deck your halls with their range of festive decorations or make your party look the best with their variety of balloons, banners, candles and accessories. Not quite ready to celebrate Christmas and still spend ing time at the pool or on the beach? China Home has got you covered with all kinds of inflatables, beach chairs and umbrellas, snorkel sets and beach games.

With a great variety of products in

this huge store, China Home is the best place to get all of your house hold essentials, decorative items, seasonal products and hardware.

Visit the friendly team now, who are always ready to help you find what you need in store ­ and if they don’t have it in stock, they will order it for you!

Get 10 per cent off your next purchase at China Home, as long as it is over €5!!

INTERNATIONALS: Why make us different by identifying us as ‘the foreigners’.

shutterstock.com/

gcpics

Luscious lips Staying active

WINTER is right around the corner which means some changes to our health and beauty routines. The winter months can cause problems for our lips including dry and flaky skin and painful cuts. Our lips are the softest parts of our faces, which also means they are vulnerable to damage from colder weather. Here we share some of our top tips on how to keep your lips in good condition during winter.

1. Stay hydrated

The first tip for glossy, hy drated lips is taking care of your own hydration. It is cru cial to drink enough water during the winter to avoid dry, chapped lips.

2. Ditch matte lipsticks

Matte lipsticks are perfect for adding a splash of colour in a classy way, but during the winter they can dry out our lips and draw attention

to flaky skin. Switch your matte lipstick for a lip balm or lip gloss that can still add colour while keeping mois ture locked in.

3. Treat damage immedi ately If you notice damage to

your lips from weather such as dryness or cuts, don’t ignore it. Treat lip issues immediately by visiting the pharmacy or treat ing them at home. If you leave lips damaged they can be come even more painful and cause bleeding.

Betty Henderson

WITH the approach of winter, it can be tempting to curl up inside in front of the TV, but it is crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle, even when it is colder. Here we share three top tips from health experts on how you can stay active, even when you feel like staying in.

1.

Take walks

In Spain we are fortunate enough to be surrounded with natural beauty spots in many parts of the country. With 16 national parks and more than 8,000 kilometres of coastline, there are plenty of beauty spots where you can take a walk.

2.

Plan for the season

If you plan your exercise ahead of time, you may find it more motivating to actually get out there and go! Plan to exercise during light, warm hours, and dress appropriately.

3.

Try indoor exercise

If exercising outdoors doesn’t appeal to you at this time of year, try an indoor exer cise class at a gym or an online workout to stay motivated and healthy throughout the winter, while staying cosy indoors.

DRY LIPS: Keep your lips hydrated during the winter by using a moisturising lip balm.

Photo credit: Alliance Images / shutterstock.com

Take advantage of Spain’s natural beauty spots to stay fit this winter.

Photo credit: Monkey Business Images / shutterstock.com

Winter hair woes

WINTER affords our hair some respite from summer humidity and beach trips, but that doesn’t mean that this season is without its own hair troubles. Here we walk you through some of the most common hair problems dur ing winter and how to com bat them.

• Dry scalp

During winter there tends to be less moisture in the air, which can translate to dry and flaky skin on your scalp. Com bat it by switching to a mois turising shampoo or trying a deep conditioning treatment. A creamier shampoo can keep your scalp moisturised and also keep dandruff at bay.

• Static hair

The lack of moisture in the air combined with winter clothing like woolly jackets, scarves, collars can make hairs stand up on end. Hairdressers recommend using moisturis

ing products throughout your hair to fight fly­aways. Use a conditioner on the ends of your hair, but also on the mid dle section.

• Hat hair

Hats are needed during the winter to stop heat escaping from our heads. But they can

crush your hairstyle and sap the moisture from your hair. Experts recommend waiting until your hair is completely cool from blow­drying before putting on your hat. You can also flip your hair upside down when you take off your hat to revive it.

Defining mature eyes

THE beauty industry often talks about anti­age ing products for your face and skin, but what about your eyes? After eye creams, not much is said about how we can define our eyes using skincare products and make­up. But fear no more! We consulted some expert advice from a make­up artist specialising in mature makeup styles.

As we get older, our eyes can sometimes seem more sunken with darker circles or wrin kles as well as weaker eyelashes, which means you may need to adjust your make­up style to

highlight your natural beauty.

Firstly, experts recommend choosing a creamier product as a base for eye make­up. This way product won’t settle in wrinkles or stick to thinner patches of skin, which can make it look cakey. Secondly, blending is your best friend! While sharp eyeliner lines can look stun ning, using a pencil and blending the eyeliner along your eye line highlights mature eyes. Skin loses some of its colour over time, so using a bold colour from time to time can really make your eyes pop!

Boost energy levels

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables in winter to keep your energy levels high.

Betty Henderson

THE winter can bring a drop in our usual energy levels. Lower temperatures and shorter days can affect our daily rou tine, making us feel more tired than at other times of the year. Here we consulted some expert advice to find out how you can boost your energy during the winter.

1. Eat a balanced diet

The busy Christmas season with lots of parties can some times cause us to abandon our healthy diets, but it is crucial to eat a balanced diet to give our bodies the energy they need. Proteins, carbohydrates and fats are especially important during this season.

2. Boost your vitamin intake Vitamins are crucial for our well­being. Try to boost your intake of vitamins, particularly Vitamin C which is essential for the immune system and

warding away winter colds. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables to naturally increase your vita min intake, or take a supple

Photo credit: marilyn barbone / shutterstock.com

HAIR PROBLEMS: Don’t let winter hair woes get the best of you, follow these tips.

Photo credit: Andrey_Popov / shutterstock.com

MARBELLA MOMENTS

BY NICOLE KING

IF you missed the recent Marbella Design & Art Fair in Marbella, I highly recom mend you check out my show #MN373 to see just

By design

how great it was! I took my camera to do a quick ‘once around’ but spent far longer there than anticipated; it was just that good. The quality of the

overall layout was worthy of any major capital city with every stand innovative and to the highest of standards.

Well renowned interior de signer Susana Urbano invited me to the pre­opening cock tail. I first met Susana through CIT Marbella as a guest on my show, welcom ing her to El Gaucho de Banus for the interview. We immediately hit it off; she’s so natural, so personable and she left me quite impressed with how well connected she had become within our com munity in such a short time since moving here. (By the way, El Gaucho de Banus and all their other restaurants are Zero Hero partners and I’m so grateful to Noelia and Humberto for always being so supportive that I just felt like giving them a ‘shout out’). #bettertogether

Whilst at the fair I bumped

God speed

THE British Benevolent Fund receives many applications for financial help from British na tionals in Spain. Many in des perate situations.

A life in the sun for some, be comes a nightmare trap with seemingly no way out for all too many. This is particularly so for the many Britons who retire to Spain in the hope of exchanging the damp cold north for the warm balms of the Med.

For those who come unpre pared for the many hidden as pects of day to day living this can be a rude awakening.

We were alerted to a couple in their early 70s. He had worked in the Post Office and she in a school. They had known Spain from many family holidays over the years and had decided that this would be the perfect place to settle down af ter a long life of daily grind ­ in addition their children and grandchildren could visit in the holidays ­ it all made sense.

They sold their house and with the proceeds bought a property in Alicante Province and planned to live off their

modest pension and some savings.

On arrival in 2017 they did their paper work and registered for both NIE and padron.

Within a short time however things started to go wrongwith the first heavy rain they discovered the roof was unfit for purpose and had to re placed.

In 2019 she slipped and broke her hip. The replacement surgery caused additional trau ma in addition to the expense.

Both their medical situations deteriorated and they entered lockdown in March 2020 in an overwhelming sense of isola tion and vulnerability.

Their electricity was cut off in June 2021.

A house in the sun was now a house without light to see, nor warmth in the winter or cool air in the summer ­ and no hot food.

One day he went to the bank to draw some money.

To his horror his bank had without his knowledge paid the

Clayton of BBF.

year’s house insurance causing the account to be overdrawn and demands for repayment.

Neither utilities nor bank lis tened to plea for a repayment plan.

In June of this year, they made the decision to leavehowever difficult that would be ­ and that’s when the BBF got involved.

We were able to put them in touch with a partner charity, one of many that are listed in https://www.supportinspain.in fo/ a vital resource supported the British Embassy.

We cleared their utility ar rears. The lights went back on in June ­ one year in the dark.

They are in the process of selling their house and return ing to the UK.

God speed.

For more information about the British Benevolent Fund contact olaf.clayton@british benevolentfund.org

into many other well­known faces in the design and art world; so nice to see them in their element, sharing their visions. Amongst those were Massimo and Giuseppe from Excellence Art Gallery and Ni na Nolte whose enthusiasm and exuberance is always contagious. In fact the whole feel of the place was electric and abuzz with an impressive number of exhibitors and visi tors. With properties in such high demand right now and

all of us taking more interest in our homes since you know what, I suppose it’s not sur prising that over 17,000 peo ple visited the Exhibition Cen tre during the 11 days of the event.

One of my favourite ex hibits was a very large pine wooden table, covered in what was supposed to be em ulate spilt white paint. I was lit erally drawn to it and felt the need to touch the smooth, shiny surface, again and again.

The glossy mess was mes merising. This particular work of art was by Juda of Juda Art Gallery from Madrid I think. He also displayed an equally compelling painting, which to my eyes is a joyous fusion of ‘paint­blobs’ in jubilant colours. ‘Right up my street’ as they say.

I was also impressed with Thibault Van Renne who makes his own rugs and car pets, to his own designs. His father sold rugs and Thibault had grown up ‘in the indus try’ but wanted to take it a step further. He’s certainly done that thanks to his pas sion, which you can clearly see from the end result.

I finished off my visit with a quick can­can with Oti from the town hall Foreigners De partment and a few other ‘gals’ on our way out (includ ed in my show). It really was a perfect reflection of the overall happy vibe and the timing was so spot­on, any one could think it was re hearsed or dare I say… by de sign?

The richness of bird life

PETER JONES has spent his whole life de veloping his love for nature and after study ing biology turned this into a career as a Wild Life Guide.

Peter worked mainly in the UK, but also did work as a guide in oth er parts of the world: in China, Africa, and South America. Life in retirement continues to be busy for Peter from his countryside home on the outskirts of Ronda.

He talked about the challenges of getting his Spanish up to scratch in an area which needs a level of Spanish to get by on a day to day basis. Peter explained the differ ence between Twitch ers and Birders and he is very much in the Birders camp.

He explained the richness and variety of

birdlife in Spain not least for being so close to Africa, the spectacu lar flamingo event at Fuente de Piedra, and the stunning range of raptors which we have in Spain.

He has a special love for the Bee­eater, an extremely attractive and colourful little bird which actually made its way to the UK this year. It is not all good, though, as the water shortages which we regularly experience here in Andalucia has meant that water is being extracted from

traditional wetlands puting the whole eco system at risk and the heavy water demands from olive growers and even more demanding avocado trees is a cause for concern.

Peter also wished to plug the Andalucia Bird Society which is a great way for people to learn more about our wildlife.

Membership is very competitive, with some great opportuni ties for those interest ed in the world of birds. www.andalucia birdsociety.org /

Some of my favourite exhibits by Juda_Art_Gallery.

Olaf

Efficient,

OVER many years Neater Heaters have be come the first choice of many expats living in Spain.

Behind our stylish Scandinavian designs are a modern state­of­the­art convector heater that can match any on the market for economy and efficiency, and beats all the serious competition hands down on price.

The real secret of these heaters is the computer­age technology in the form of extruded aluminium in the construction of the heating element. This material and the design creates a huge surface area for heat transfer, which means more air can be heated for less cost.

Neater Heaters use convection principles and are designed so that the electricity you put into the heater is converted to heat as cheaply as possible. When you turn on the heater the element warms up rapidly and heats the air around it, this air rises and draws more cold air into the heater. Be cause the element is extremely efficient

and is designed to have a huge surface area, a large quantity of air is heated very quickly. If your room has the correct sized heater it will take about 20 minutes to warm up from cold, after which the heater eases off and works at about two thirds ca

Our heaters are not only efficient, effec tive, and economical, but as you would ex pect from a Scandinavian product, they are extremely stylish and practical. There is a

model that will suit anyone, from the BE HA, (Bluetooth option or Wi­Fi option) and the NEO Wi­Fi, so that you can control your heaters easily via a Wi­Fi app but still being able to control them manually if preferred, or the trendy original style Neo with digital controls and a choice of colours and if you are limited for wall space, then available for purchase are factory designed feet to enable the heater to be freestanding.

However, a few years ago we went one stage further and added the Turkish made Vigo heater. This heater shares the design technology and ethos of the current Neater Heaters, but it has two differences: The Vi go comes with a carrying handle, wall bracket, and feet included in the price; The larger Vigo models take up less wall space and go up to 2.5kw. They also have a digital display that indicates the reduced wattage that the heater regulates once the room has reached desired temperature, thus sav ing more money through reduced running costs.

LETTERS EWN 24 - 30 November 2022 euroweeklynews.com LETTERS 44

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.

TROUBLED , confused, clueless are just three words associated with dis orientated. Has your columnist Loopy Lee com pletely lost the plot? The current chaos in the UK that everyone knows is down to the mismanage ment of the Tory Party over 12 years of austerity with no economic growth, not to mention the dam age done by Johnson’s dis astrous Brexit deal and the recent Truss bombshell, yet his misguided ideology it is all the fault of the Labour Party and just re cently according to his lat est rants it is also down to the BBC, god help us.

Ramon Osborne Los Alcazares

Spot on

Just read your article in this week’s EWN which was abso lutely spot on as usual .

Best wishes, Brian

Supporter speaks out

You should be ashamed of yourselves for printing the ar ticle about Celtic supporters. They have a fantastic reputa tion throughout the world. Ask the city of Sevilla, 80,000 fans were there for the UEFA Cup final. Yes they left trash but not one arrest. I am not condoning leaving rubbish, but come on it is hardly trash ing the place. Celtic fans have an amazing reputation!

G McPhillips

Blue badge petition

Thank you Euro Weekly News for your petition relating to the issue of blue badges. I appreciate that this is another tan gled mess relating to Brexit and it may not be simple to resolve, but once again it is the UK expat community suffer ing. Many people with poor mobility are living a restricted life, parking close to hospitals and shops can be near on im possible. The beach is a no go, especially on weekends as it is so busy all the parking spaces are taken, although there al ways seems to be blue badge bays available and when you cannot walk far, the idea of a day at the beach is just a dream. I totally under stand why expats are moving back to the UK.

B Byrnes

Still ranting

Having picked up your paper whilst staying here for a month, I was im pressed to see how infor mative and interesting it was and the insight it af fords into the local expat culture. And then I read the rant by Loopy, sorry, Leapy Lee. I found his ar ticle chilling and it made me question what type of narrow­minded bigots live here. Please remove such politically extreme

commentary from your paper. He is clearly uned ucated and taints your otherwise useful and helpful paper, which should surely aim to be inclusive to unite all ex pats.

Diana Harrington

Voicing how I feel

I am 75 years young and have been coming to the Costa del Sol for over 30 years. I have read your newspaper for sev eral years while visiting Spain and online and I cannot help but agree with the comments made by Mr Lee. I live in Bat tersea and have seen my community change so much over the last few years, unfortunately not in a good way. The Na tional Health system is totally overstretched, my wife has been waiting for knee surgery for over 15 months and after having a fall waited for an am bulance for eight hours.

The police take hours, if not days, to respond when you report a crime and when they do come they make you feel like you are wasting their time. Our community is growing with immigrants who stretch the re sources, which I have paid into the system for over 50 years for. Thank you Leapy for voicing how I feel.

N Harman

Keeping snug

WINTER is nearly upon us, and that means making some changes for our pets too, to keep them warm. Pets feel the cold too, and it is crucial to keep them feeling comfortable as your home is their home too. Here we share some advice from pet lovers on how to keep your pets cosy during the winter.

• Blankets

Blankets are an excellent option to keep your dog or cat warm during the colder months. Lots of pet compa nies offer blankets in plenty of shapes and sizes, so you’re sure to find some thing that is perfect for your dog or cat’s size. Blan kets can protect your up holstery from claw marks

and fur as well as keeping your four­legged friend cosy.

• Sleeping arrangements

If your pet normally sleeps outdoors, or if you have a pet like a rabbit, en sure that its pen is protect ed from wind and has extra bedding to keep their paws warm. During the coldest weather, bringing your pet’s enclosure into a con servatory or porch could be perfect to keep them warm.

• Insulation Check for draughts in the area where your pet sleeps. It is easy to miss draughts from the bottom of doorframes and win dows in the rooms we don’t sleep in. Protect your pet by keeping them away from cold draughts.

WE often hear that hav ing a pet has lots of bene fits for owners. It is cer tainly true that pets are an immediate source of joy in our lives, making us laugh, cheering us up when we are upset, and always being there for us. Here we share some sci entifically proven ways that pets improve our lives.

• Mental health Pets, particularly cats and dogs are known to boost our mood and wellbeing. Having a furry friend to cuddle can ease feelings of stress. Re search has found that playing with a dog or cat raises levels of dopamine and serotonin, helping to

reduce stress.

• Pets and children

Growing up with pets also has several benefits for children. Pets are great companions for chil dren to play with and talk to. Having a pet can also encourage children to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Having a pet can also give children more responsibility to care for its wellbeing and essential needs.

• Health benefits

Having a pet can also keep us healthy. A pet like a dog needs lots of exercise and walks, while even the most domestic pets enjoy time outside, which gets us outdoors. Taking your dog for a walk can also help you to take a break from a busy lifestyle.

Photo credit: Prystai / shutterstock.com

STAY WARM: Stock up on extra blankets to keep your pet cosy during winter nights.

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VINYL WRAP

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BLACK

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BONES

THE

LYLE,

STRANGE

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UKRANIAN lady tall, slim, pas sionate & relaxing massage. Mar bella. No rush. 613 229 769 (MI 538)

FUENGIROLA. Carolina, blonde, elegant, relaxing and tantric mas sage. Phone 634 797 230 (FU 2772)

CASSIE. Mature English lady. Dis creet and clean. 667 914 732 (FU 02794)

MASSAGE ! Outcalls everywhere in Costa del Sol! Gentlemen, ladies, couples are welcome! 604 256 336 (FU 2781)

PHILIPINA, Thai, indulge relax ing massage. Private Elviria 679 126 231 (MI 541)

ORIENTAL masseur tantric, mas sage relieving service, villa. Elviria, Marbella. 604 428 812 (MI 545)

ASIAN authentic therapist re lieves pain stress, satisfaction guaranteed. Villa luxury atmo phere. Elviria. 633 705 558 (MI 544)

MARBELLA Experienced mobile Masseuse. Therapeutic & Relaxing massage for your body and mind. Call Monik 686 740 661 (302461)

RIVIERA DEL SOL . Treat your self to an Excellent Massage! Iri na, Cuban masseuse, fun and spontaneous. Only when a mas sage is something more than a massage, and becomes a unique experience, with a mixture of smells, sounds, sensations, only then is when you enjoy the per fection of the exclusive massage. Ask for more information without obligation 951 274 723, 650 237 145 (302347)

TANTRIC masseuse in Calahon da. Cristal, expert in the art of se duction and tantric massage. Au thentic masseuse who manages to transmit the physical and emo tional pleasure with the 5 senses. Sensual tantric massage or body to body to perfection. Make an ap pointment. 650237145 (302347)

BUTTERFLY - Massage, is a space designed for people with high sensitivity, with a taste for body to body interaction, who en joy the sensuality and magical trantric, to feel the warm hands of an attractive masseuse running through your body. Our masseuses have been chosen not only for their physical attractive ness, but also for their sensuality and massage skills. Only by ap pointment 951 274 723, 650 237 145 (302347)

CALA DE MIJAS . Excellent pro fessional masseuse with exclusive attention for people who want to change their routine and want to relax and live a relaxing experi ence. If you are looking for discre tion and good treatment, here I am. I’m Noa and I hope you make your appointment as soon as pos sible because I am very request ed. 650 237 145 (302347)

MY HANDS can transmit a very important message and make us feel connected. I will create a suit able atmosphere for relaxation and sensuality without noise, can dlelight, soft music, nothing should disturb that moment. Be fore we start, all you have to do is relax, breathe slowly to free your body and mind... I’ll take care of the rest. Irina, qualified masseuse with many years of experience. Book your appoint ment. 650 237 145 (302347)

RIVIERA DEL SOL . I am Noa a simple and natural girl who hides among her shy appearance the best kept secrets of relaxing, de scontracturante and stimulating massage. I am a specialist in elim inating your worries, muscular tension thanks to a depurative massage technique that I combine

with a sensory capacity out of the ordinary. I massage both men and couples. 650 237 145. by appoint ment only (302347)

CALAHONDA . I am your ideal masseuse if you want to enjoy a massage, relaxing and sensual and want to try the sensations that this generates. I will use my hands and body with techniques of relaxation and mutual connec tion. Carla - 650237145 (302347)

THE BEST RELAXING MAS SAGE CLOSE TO ELVIRIA Tantric massages. Come and en joy today with us. Latin masseuses for men. Come and re lax. Outcall, too 650 237 145 (302347)

NEAR ELVIRIA . Masseuse, ele gant with a high dose of implica tion. Very special tantric sensory massages. I will make you feel very relaxed with a good mas sage. 951 274 723, 650 237 145 (302347)

MARBELLA CENTRE - the ideal place for relaxing massage in the city centre. Available 24h and prices from €50. For reservations and information call 620 366 817. (295192)

PROFESSIONAL MALE muscled masseur. Full-body relaxing, deep tissue and therapeutic massage. In/outcalls. WhatsApp me 607 595 906 (301288)

VICKY full body massage great satisfaction and good results. I wait for you to call me and make an appoint ment. Torremolinos 621 395 221 (302094)

FUENGIROLA - Johanna Brazil ian Mature Masseur. Relaxing Mas sages. Best relax guaranteed. Tel: 617.818.615 (302421)

ASIAN MASSEUR Massage re laxing & therapeutic, to release tension and stress. Fuengirola. Call 634 103 607 (301171)

LOS BOLICHES - Carolina Pretty Masseur, Relaxing Massage, Guar anteed relax - 634.703.111 (302421)

BENALMADENA lovely lady, of fering you a very relaxing body massage. Call for an appointment 634 209 427 (302454)

FUENGIROLA. Japanese Shiat su & Zen Ki relaxing and ther apeutic massage. Excellent service guaranteed. Home Visits. WhatsApp for appoint ment 693 988 340 (302511)

BENALMADENA, Natalia, smart Russian, blond, good massage /tantric. In calls /out calls +34 611 377 558 (301432)

FUENGIROLA . Mia Just arrived Fuengirola, beautiful young masseuse. 603 366 841 ( FU 2803)

WWW.LAILALYNCH1.COM Heated pool, Jacuzzi and private bar. Inland private retreat with a full massage service. 662 913 428 (FU 2810)

3 ORIENTAL friendly beautiful passionate & sensual massage, private, comfort, relaxation, luxury atmosphere, villa discreet. Elviria. Marbella. 679 126 231 (MI 539)

FUENGIROLA. Amazing full body massage by spectacular blonde la dy. 657 697 397 (FU 2776)

ESTEPONA . Susana, Latin Girl sculptural body, trained for deep relaxing massage. 697 705 304 (FU 2786)

ESTEPONA . Laura majestic masseuse, very friendly, deep body massage and stress relief. 600 213 967 (FU 2801)

FUENGIROLA. Amazing full body massage by spectacular blonde la dy. 657 697 397 (FU 2790)

BENALMADENA Costa by the windmill roundabout. Massage if you feel low, massage to make you feel young and strong. Call for info at 658 336 295 Sabrina 7 days 7am onwards. 50% off Se niors. (FU 2813)

OLGA, Mature Masseure relaxing & sensitive. Outcalls & incalls. 24 hrs. Marbella - Tel: 632 467 580

FUENGIROLA . Centre Private place, 5 young beautiful masseuses. 603 366 841 ( FU 2803)

SAN PEDRO BEACH. RELAXING AND SENSITIVE MASSEUSES WELCOME YOU IN A PRIVATE AND DISCREET PLACE. YOUNG AND PLEASANT. WITH APPOINT MENT. EASY, PRIVATE PARKING. TEL. 677 678 757 - 666 194 079

ASIAN wellness massage Nice area west Marbella. Guaran teed results. 623 554 233 or 623 594 698 (301500)

JESSICA 28, Estepona. Full tantric massage. High class ser vice. Private apartment. 711 030 670 (302323)

NEW FUENGIROLA. Isabela 19 years, beautiful masseuse. 603 366 841 ( FU 2803)

MARBELLA – Alexia professional and oriental masseur. Stress re lease with good hands – Tel 613 804 322 (302524)

THAI Benalmádena Costa. Bodybody full massages. Hotels. Visits. Whatsapp 689 387 448 (MI 546)

MARBELLA CENTRE – Carmen mature masseure. Street Fragua, Edif La Marina 1 – Tel 642 867 799 (302524)

ESTEPONA next to Cancelada, Kannika, Asian masseuse, complete relaxation, makes you contented and more. 602 427 095 (FU2798)

VANESSA Benalmadena excel lent massage services. Relaxing & theraputic. Home premises. Call me 624 811 098 (302489)

LAURA , RELAXING, TANTRIC, MASSAGE, PROFESSIONAL, 30, WORKS ALONE, DISCREET. SAN PEDRO - NUEVA ANDALUCIA. 641 346 278 (303005)

SAN PEDRO, TANTRIC MASSEUSES. DISCREET, PRIVATE VILLA, 24HRS AVAILABILITY 635 024 765 (303006)

PROFESSIONAL UK TANTRIC MASSAGE specialist. Easy access & parking Mijas Open Mon-Fri 9am-7pm Call for appointment 711 063 797 (302490)

LATINA masseuse, brunette, ex pert in stress relieve, unwind with deep massage relaxing tech niques. 631 925 759 (FU 2815)

ESTEPONA . Laura majestic masseuse, very friendly, Deep body massage and stress relieve. 600 213 967 (FU 2812)

JADE BRITISH lady relaxing massage service for gentlmen & couples. Private premises. Es tepona area. Call 665 896 519

FUENGIROLA Paula 30 years old beautiful, soft sensitive massages, deep body relaxation techniques 641 244 707 (FU 2908)

FUENGIROLA. Relaxing massage made by alternative gender masseuse. Violeta Chiropractor. 660 867 374 (FU 2811)

BENALMADENA. FRIENDLY at tractive masseuse, relieve muscle tension. From 50€. 612 503 055 (FU 2817)

MASSAGE and fun!! Genuine trained male tantric masseur. 602 098 606. Marbella (FU 2816)

TORREMOLINOS . 2 latina masseuses, stress relieve, private, peaceful environment. 645 245 490 (fu 2818)

FUENGIROLA . Russian blonde lady, professional Tantric mas sage. Telephone: 613 818 042 (fu 2819)

MISCELLANEOUS MOBILITY FOR SALE

GOLD & SILVER Bought & Sold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel - 678 716 693 (288662)

FOR SALE Nearly new Wheelchair. Cost €185. Selling for €100. 699 980 371 (302509)

MOSQUITO SCREENS

ACE OF SHADES - Don’t let the bugs get you! Available in en rollable, slider and pleated. Large choice of colours in cluding wood effect. Tel: 951 273 254 / 671 732 204 / info@aceofshades.design (101730)

MOSQUITO Screens for win dows, doors and a high-qual ity sliding patio door screen. All finishes available. Quick service. All areas covered. Call Julian 655 825 931 (301104)

MOSQUITO screens, sliding, pulldown, pleated, colours, call Mosquito Nick 647 072 861 www.mosquitonick.ws (295855)

MOTORING

FOR SALE –

ROBERTSON CARS... would like to thank all of my past, present & future clients for their continued support over the last 35 years here in Spain. Stay safe and outdrive every one. If contacting Samantha in the afternoons, please only Whatsapp on 608 658 785 or Email therobertsonclan@ gmail.com as I am driving mostly & unable to take your calls.

ROBERTSON CARS RANGE

ROVER SPORT 4X4 DIESEL

/AUTOMATIC 2011.Looks right in White, only 130,000 kms (ap prox 80,000miles) Private Lady Owner, parking sensors, reverse camera, sat nav, ITV till june 2023. turns heads good looks and quality because your worth it. 18,995€....Samantha. See photos on my web page – robertsoncarsspain.com text or whats app. 608 658 785. email therobertson clan@gmail.com

ROBERTSON CARS AUTOMAT IC / DIESEL MERCEDES B200

2015. My Golfing Girlfriends car, Rich Wine Red, 5 door, always garaged and low kilometres, ev erything you want. Outdrive ev eryone in this beauty. See photos on my web page – www.robert soncars-spain,com or whats app me 608 658 785 email. the robertsonclan@gmail.com

ROBERTSON CARS AUTO MATIC / CABRIO MERCEDES

SLK 2006 Stunning Silver only used as holiday car with 55,000KMS (Approx 35,000miles) 2 Seater Convert ible have fun in the sun. New ITV. Just Passed July till 2023, Electric Roof folds into boot. Sell ing Under Book Price. Classy Great Shape Mercedes Say No More.......11,500€ See photos on my web page – www.robertson cars-spain,com or text me what sapp 608 658 785 Email: the robertsonclan@gmail.com

ROBERTSON CARS CABRIO

FORD FOCUS 2007 ONLY 32,000kms approx 20,000miles. Manual, great 4 Seater convert ible, striking sea blue, air-condi tion, cd player, electric hood folds into the boot. Private gentleman owner returning to UK. Excellent condition be quick....7,995€. See photos on my web page –www.robertsoncars-spain,com or text me whatsapp 608 658 785 Email: therobertsonclan@gmail. com

WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance. Since we started out in 1995, our philoso phy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 952 147 834. (200726)

CAR SERVICES

MOBILE MECHANIC will come to your home or work. Servicing, repairs, ITVs & diagnostics. Call Mick on 617 553 072 (301275)

ENGLISH bodyshop, fully equipped, Mijas Costa. No Job Too Small. 952 667 074 (296043)

WANTED

ALL CARS / Commercials wanted, runners or non-runners. Cash. Buyer collects. Transfer included. 605 109 796 (301158)

WANTED, wanted, wanted!! All cars, all years, all models… from exotic to classic. Spanish, En glish, Dutch plated. Call us on 951 977 329 or 606 647 597. (301127)

PAINTERS / Decorators - Mar bella, Estepona, Coin Area. Please call Albert 663 681 012 (302057)

SOLUCIONES RAPIDAS - We will Paint your apartment in maxi mum 2 days. 640 350 479

haurin el Grande and Coin in Comm. de Viña Borrego behind Venta Miral monte. For more information and di rections see our website www.horserescuespain.org, our Facebook page Centro Andalusi de Rescate de Caballos or tel. 610 845 491 or 656 935 613 (93322)

UK & IRISH Passport renewals including photos. Complete Ser vice. Cath’s Cards. 952 885 759. www.cathscards.es (295683)

COCKROACHES , ANTS, insects, fleas, mice, rats, wasps, termite specialists. Fumigations, bars, restaurants, houses, etc. Sanitary department officially registered certificates. Serving the coast since 1985. Only legal English owned pest control company on the coast. If you want the best then phone N.P.S. Paul 676 700 370 (1296213)

SEPE the horse and donkey charity is open to the public at weekends from 10.00 to 5.00. Volunteers are much needed in all departments and are welcome at any time. For our riding for the disabled classes, we are also in need of extra helpers. We are nationally registered by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior (164640) but only with your support can we give the equine a voice. If you can just commit to 2 or 3 euros a month it will really help make a difference. You can find us at Lauro Golf Equestrian Centre, Alqueria, Al haurin de la Torre. Tel. 608 258 950 info@sepeonline.net www.sepeon line.net (93321)

MALE/Female Viagra, cialis, ka magra jelly all areas. Mixed trial packs available. Delivery or mail order available 604 385 476. viagra4you19@gmail.com

WELL-established and thriv ing pet transport business for sale For more info, please contact rsim7445@yahoo.es

KENNELS

CAT & DOG World Kennels and Cattery. 952 112 978 / 630 197 435. www.catanddogworld.com

ACE CHARITY ‘El Refugio’ in La Cala de Mijas is a registered charity. We have on average 275 dogs in our care and we receive no help from the town hall or the Andalucian government. We desperately need foster homes and adoptants for our many dogs, especially the small ones and puppies who do not do well in a big shelter. We are grateful for any help offered, including dona tions of food and blankets. Visiting times are from 13.00 to 15.00 and you can always turn up or make an appointment by calling Denise on 669 018 736. Our website is www.ace-charity.org where you can view all the dogs in our care.

ADANA THE ANIMAL SHELTER IN ESTEPONA. We always need volunteers to walk and socialise with our dogs and help with cleaning. We also need good homes for our ani mals that you can see on www.adana.es. Kennels open every day 10-1.30, Camino de Casares, near Parque de los Pedregales, Es tepona. (5 minutes from the Poligono) For more information call 952 113 467, available from 10.00am until 2.00pm. (93319)

ANIMEX Foundation offers free will upgrading when leaving something for abandoned animals. Contact animexfoundation@gmail. com or call 692 166 434 now for this absolutely free service (288287)

ARCH - The Andalucian Rescue Centre for Horses, registered charity 8448, the Centre is open to visitors every Sunday from 9am until 2pm. Working closely with the Spanish au thorities, we rescue, rehabilitate and rehome abused and abandoned horses and donkeys. Come and meet our current rescues, learn about our work and how you may be able to help. Run solely by a small team of dedicated volunteers, the Centre is located between Al

SOS ANIMAL REFUGE we have dogs, young and old looking for homes. Some of our dogs have been with us for some time and would love to find a cosy spot to curl up in and a knee on which to rest their heads. If you have room in your heart and home we would love to hear from you. We do not put our dogs to sleep - no matter how old, they are safe with us. For day to day needs and to pay for veterinary care, we much appreciate the sup port we receive. We desperately need items to sell on our market stall to help raise funds and are hap py to come and collect. So, if you are having a clear-out, please con tact us on 605 227 155. If you would like to know more about re homing, please call 653 257 875. Visit our website www.sos -animals.org or please phone Sandy on 952 385 923 or 666 814 056 if you would like to make a donation or help in any way. (93317)

THINKING of selling your property or interested in a current valuation? We have clients actively looking for properties from Torremolinos to Calahonda. List with us and let us sell your property. Call Joe 626 864 683 (301427)

WWW.INTERMARBELLA.COM Costa del Sol Property Sales & Long term rentals wanted. All areas / All budgets / All types. Spain +34 951 708 422. UK +44 208 144 5008. Email info@intermarbella.com

LOS ARQUEROS Golf, Benahavis (near San Pedro), Modern studio, kitchenette bathroom, cloakroom, 600€, electricity water included. 644 132 738 (302488)

15 CUBIC metre van returning to the UK 15th December 2022. Space available each way. Tel. 639 928 090

MAN AND VAN

MAN & VAN , 20€ ph. Removals, Rubbish & House Clearances. Paul 634 112 677 (291430)

2 MEN, Van €30 p hour. House Clearances & Storage. 651 081 610 (301134)

moveit-storeit.com Tel David 696 810 618 (293101)

STORAGE, Storage, Storage. Man & Van Services. Call/Whatsapp 690 155 340 (302418)

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL

PROFESSIONAL LOCAL RE MOVALS AT AFFORDABLE RATES. 1/2 DAY FROM €90. FULL DAY FROM €175. WE AL SO PROVIDE A FORTNIGHTLY DOOR TO DOOR SERVICE TO UK AND EUROPE (INCL SCOT LAND). WORLDWIDE SHIP PING TO USA, AUSTRALIA, ETC AND FULL STORAGE FA CILITIES. TEL (0034) 952 578 507 OR (0034) 637 892 278 / EMAIL garymoveit@yahoo. co.uk (301295)

SOLAR Hot Water heating: FREE HOT WATER. 26 years installation history in Spain. Envirocare. All areas covered. Quality guaranteed. 952 663 141/ 670 409 759 info@envi rocarespain.com www.enviro carespain.com (301178)

SOLAR BLINDS ES Ideal for Large Glazed Areas to Reflect Heat / Glare And Stop Furniture Fading And Still Keep The View. Save Heat in The Winter to Im prove Your Living Environment. ian@solarshadetinting.com Tel Ian 958 496 571 / 644 546 176

CURTAINS, blinds, cushions and much more. Free estimates and home visits. Tel 657 369 343 or rosannacarmella8@gmail.com

POOL MAINTENANCE , & Re pairs, including heaters & re grouts. Friendly & reliable service. Malaga to Estepona & inland ar eas. 678 791 495 / 951 536 389 www.sparklenripple.net (291440)

PLUMBING . Leak detection & blocked drains. Tel 952 568 414 / 661 910 772 / drainspain.com

WWW.INMOANDALUZ.COM. Bargain inland properties for all budgets, fincas, village homes, apartments and villas. Legal building plots. 952 491 609 / 685 514 835 (295954)

WWW.INTERMARBELLA.COM Costa del Sol Property for sale. All areas / all budgets / all types. Spain +34 951 708 422. UK +44 208 144 5008 Email info@inter marbella.com (295509)

JDS EURO TRANSPORT & RE MOVALS - Regular trips throughout Europe. Call or WhatsApp Julian 0044 7884 908 929. See Facebook Page for recommendations (301271)

moveit-storeit.com Tel David 696 810 618 (293101)

STORAGE moveit-storeit.com Tel David 696 810 618 (293101)

SWIMMING Pool Heating Pumps, Pool Covers, Rollers, Filtration Systems. 26 years installation history in Spain. Envirocare. All areas covered. Quality Guaran teed. 952 663 141/ 670 409 759 info@envirocarespain. com www.envirocarespain.com

OFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS All Languages. 952 789 204 Mobile 654 613 094 sanpedrotransla tions@gmail.com (301426)

CARPETS AND SOFAS cleaned. Reliable, fast service. Family run. Cleansol 952 930 861 / 607 610 578. 10am - 10pm 7 days, all ar eas Discount Code: EWN 1 CLEAN

STARLIGHT PROPERTY. All Ar eas. Residential & Holiday Lets. 689 819 592 www.star light-spain.com (301262)

LONG TERM RENTALS AVAIL ABLE and also wanted. Super prices. Apartments, townhous es, villas, fincas, shops, offices, bars, restaurants. Coast & in land. Tlf 679 111 522

WWW.INTERMARBELLA.COM Costa del Sol Property Long Term Rentals All areas / All budgets / All types. Spain +34 951 708 422 UK +44 208 144 5008. Email info@intermarbella.com (295509)

FUENGIROLA CENTRE APART

MENT for 1 person, 1 bedroom beautifully furnished long-term for senior citizen or a very responsible retired pensioner - min 1 year contract - 550€ per month - Tel. 667 655 648 or 608 337 300

BANUS 3 bedrooms, long/short term, south facing, by marina, pri vate garden, pools. Photographs available: bravoelezovic@gmail. com Owner 34 637 439 222

ACE OF SHADES - PERSIANA (security shutter) electric and manual, various colours avail able including wood effect, we also offer a repair service. Make your home more secure! Tel: 951 273 254 / 671 732 204 / info@aceofshades.design

ROLLER shutter repairs, 7 days a week, conversion from manual to motorised, new in stallations. All areas covered. Coast and inland. 655 825 931

FURNITURE

FRENCH POLISHING REPAIRS, restoration etc. restore your valu able furniture to its former glory. Tel 647 579 519 / 952 499 944

Electric & Gas Water Heaters. Quality Installations. 26 years installation history in Spain. EnviroCare. All Areas Covered. 952 663 141/670 409 759 info@envirocare spain.com www.envirocare spain.com (301178)

DREAM Windows & Building Services UPVC windows & doors. High quality at great prices 15yrs on the coast. All work guaranteed. Also offer Aluminium windows, Mosquito screens, Persianas, Glass replacements, shower screens & much more. Call us on 619 604 562 dreamwindow1@outlook.com (301215)

WINDOW TINTING

WE ARE looking for dedicated professionals who are pas sionate about telesales and building relationships. Basic plus commission Please apply at admin@horizoncurrency. com (302495)

MOBILE SERVICE. ITV Legal. Solar Reflective tint for glass cur tains, balconies, yachts. Stop fad ing, heat & glare. 958 496 571644 546 176 ian@solarshadetint ing.com (292919)

ROAD TEST

byMarkSlack

WITH so many marques owned by single corporate entities it’s perhaps no surprise that eco nomics dictate a cer tain commonality.

So Skoda’s Enyaq shares it’s under pinnings with the VW ID range and in particular the ID.4. Howev er, there are some subtle but noticeable differ ences that set the two apart on the style front.

The all­electric Enyaq is big, very big, so one of the first proper all­electric, allconsuming family vehicles. With even the entry level model claiming up to 246 miles of range, and from my week it’s pretty close to achievable given the right circumstances, this is one of the most useable EVs I have tried. It’s also one of the more affordable, albeit elec

Skoda Enyaq - a star EV

and Wi­Fi hotspot through to keyless stop/start, cruise control, dual zone climate control and both light and rain sensors.

Facts at a Glance

Model: Skoda Enyaq iV60 Loft

tric cars are still expensive compared to petrol pow ered equivalents.

With five trim levels, two power options and allwheel­drive on offer, there’s no shortage of choice. Prices start from €44,819/£38,970, other battery options and trims can push the final price

north of €56k/£50k for the vRS Coupe model that is eye catching without the usual aggressive style that seems to abound these days.

The entry level Loft spec comes with 58kwh battery, that 246­mile range and a decent array of standard kit from Bluetooth, navigation

The Enyaq is an imposing vehicle that lacks some of the styling oddities that have previously beset EV de signs. It also has an impressive interior, with my test car having swathes of cloth across the facia rather than the usual plastic. Quite how durable this would prove I don’t know but it makes an im pact. One of the first things you notice about the interi or is the space, the sheer amount of it, from legroom to height to load area.

On the road the Enyaq is typically EV quiet with wind and tyre noise very well in

Engine: 58 kwh electric developing 179PS

Gears: Automatic Price: €44,819/£38,970

Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 8.4 seconds/Maxi mum Speed 159 kph (99 mph)

Economy: 395km/246 miles combined range6.4km/4 miles per kwh - WLTP

Emissions: 0 g/km

Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

sulated. It’s comfortable too and on a 200 mile journey we emerged with range to spare (no charging re quired), quite comfortable and relaxed. It also rides well, soaking up the worst excesses of our potholed tarmac, and the handling is decent rather than excep

tional. To be fair it’s not the type of car you would buy for excitement.

The Enyaq is genuinely useable in range terms alone, as a whole package it’s a winning EV choice. It’s only let down only by the still poor EV infrastructure in the UK.

THE ENYAQ: As a package, it’s a winning EV choice.

Lions comfortable win

ENGLAND comfortably started their World Cup campaign on Monday November 21, with an easy win against Iran, beating them 6­2.

England’s win saw Jude Bellingham, aged just 19, kicking the team’s cam paign off with their first

goal, while Raheem Ster ling scored his first­ever World Cup goal.

Bukayo Saka was on fire as he scored two goals, while Marcus Rashford found the back of the net seconds after he was subbed onto the pitch.

Bellingham scored in the

Huge relief

NOVAK DJOKOVIC has won his sixth ATP tour final in Turin, Italy on Sunday November 20, without dropping a set, beating Norwegian Casper Raud 7­5, 6­3.

Djokovic said winning a record­equalling sixth ATP Tour Fi nals title was a “deeply satisfying” ending to his troubled year.

Djokovic has now matched Roger Federer’s record of six ti tles in the year­ending tournament for the top ranked players. He picked up a staggering $4,740,300 (€4,614,516) in prize money the biggest ever prize in tennis.

The 35­year­old Serb, the oldest player to win the finals, ended in style after a season in which he missed two majors because of his vaccine status.

“It feels deeply satisfying and, at the same time, a huge relief because of the circumstances that I have been through this year, situations earlier this year, of course, with Australia,” he said adding “We don’t need to go back. We know what hap pened.”

35th minute, followed by Saka, who hit the back of the net at 43 minutes, be fore Raheem Sterling nipped a third in just be fore stoppage time.

In the second half, Saka netted a second goal at 62 minutes, while Iran bagged their first after Mehdi Taremi got the ball past keeper Jordan Pickford just three minutes later.

England didn’t flinch as Rashford scored the team’s fifth at minute 71 after just three touches of the ball after he came on the pitch.

But that wasn’t enough for the hungry side ­ Jack Greelish made it six in the 90th minute, as 10 min utes of stoppage time loomed, which brought a VAR review and successful penalty for Iran ­ a second for Taremi.

The England team are now preparing for their next match against the USA on Friday November 25.

A cooler game

A COOL morning in Ben havis soon heated up when AC Benahavis Over 60s took to the the field against Torrox. Their last outing had been a draw, due in most part to splendid goalkeeping by the Tor rox keeper. But it was a different Benahavis who took to the turf. Two quick fire goals from Be

nahavis saw Torrox hav ing to chase the game throughout. Final score 9 ­ 3 Benahavis. Benahavis Captain Peter ‘Popeye’ Madden said of his team “ the players did what I

asked and more, very proud. A result which keeps Benahavis mid table and in contention with the top two.”

Torrox Manager Steve Lynton said that “the

small pitch at Benahavis didn’t suit them, but that wasn’t an excuse.”

The Walking Dead be gan their defence of the Baha Irish Whiskey Cup with a 4­2 win at Finca Naundrup. Manager Martin Tigue said that he was delight ed with the result

against a very good side. In the Euro Weekly 60s League, Malaga beat Nerja 5­1 at Estadio el Cañadon and in the 50 League El Cañadon lost 2­3 in a fiercely contest ed game against Nerja. For all walking footy news, go to walking footy.com on Facebook.

Credit: Walking football

AC Benahavis won against Torrox keeping them mid table.

The Walking Dead team won in their Baha Irish Whiskey Cup game.