Costa Blanca North 1 - 7 December 2022 Issue 1952

MAKING SMILES

SINCE 2008 Make a Smile’s Christmas bag appeal has brought so much joy and Christmas love to so many children in care homes on the Costa Blanca.

Christmas can be a really difficult time for children in lo cal care homes, and with over 130 children in care this year, it is so important to support their carers and help the chil dren have a fabulous Christ mas. The Christmas bag ap peal has been set up so you can help these children in a number of ways.

During the pandemic, the children were able to choose their own gift from Amazon using Amazon vouchers. These can be purchased through Amazon by choosing ‘E Cheque Regalo’ and adding info@makeasmile.es for the email. You al so have the option to write the children a message which we will pass on.

Or you can make a cash do nation by transferring a dona tion to Make a Smile (Bank details Caixaltea, Av. Madrid, 12, 03710 Calpe ES28 3045 2664 3127 2000 4924

CCRIES2A045) or to the Pay Pal account ( info@makea smile.es).

If you would prefer to do nate physical gifts, you can take them to one of these Drop Off points: The Bed Cen tre, Calpe, Amigos de Make A Smile, Teulada, Cafe Cortados, Javea, or Telitec, Moraira. Par ticularly welcome are school

PJs and slippers, toothbrushes and toothpaste and anything else that may be useful.

If you haven’t visited the Make A Smile charity shop yet, it’s packed with new and nearly new clothes, books, brick a brac, and household items and are open from 10am to 1pm Monday to Sat urday, so go and grab a bar gain.

Make a Smile are always looking for help, so why not donate a few hours a week

and join their team of over 30 volunteers. For more informa tion contact Barbara on 634 307 385.

A very merry Christmas from all the children, carers and everyone at Make A Smile.

Image: Make a smile charity facebook

MAKE A SMILE: Charity shop team of volunteers lead by fantastic couple Dennis and Barbara.

Night before Christmas

McLaren Kennedy

FLOWER lovers were treat ed to a stunning display of flower arranging titled T’was the night before Christmas.

The workshop, which was organised by the Mari na Alta Costa Blanca Floral Club in Moraira on Thurs day, November 24, saw renowned florist Christine Brazier show attendees how to create floral decora tions for Christmas.

Those that attended were treated to a bit of hu mour along the way with Christine’s gold outfit and elf shoes setting the tone. But what really took their breath away was her cre ativity and ability to turn simple everyday items in the most stunning displays.

Among her wonderful creations was a coal bucket that had been turned into a floor piece and produce tins that were turned into Christmas drummers. She

also showed how you can take foliage from your gar den, trim it and add a little colour using spray paint to turn ivy, palm and other leaves into bows and Christ mas displays.

Christine received a standing ovation, especially when she added the 15 or so creations to the table full of goodies that had been raffled off. For a €2 dona tion some walked away with displays worth at least €100.

Around €600 was raised from the event with the money going to the local ambulance service.

The floral club are keen to attract new members, so if you are interested in learning how to prepare flower displays and decora tions the visit www.mari naaltafloralclub.com or call Pat Bramah on 622 921 812. Membership is open to everyone and the club is affiliated to the London and Overseas Area of NAFAS.

Peter

Credit Peter McLaren-Kennedy

FLORAL DECORATIONS: Christine Brazier at work.

Due to the National Holiday on December 8, next week’s Euro Weekly newspaper will be available

Sinterklaas Party

AN annual Christmas custom makes a return in Alfaz del Pi with the local Lions group’s Sinterklaas party on Friday December 2. Traditional Christmas figure, Saint Nicholas will take to the streets of the town to wel come in the festive season by spreading some festive cheer.

The local Lions group promises an entertaining pro cession with the good holy man distributing sweets to all the local children in the town.

NIBS EXTRA

24-hour library.

TEULADA-MORAIRA Town Council will set up a 24 hour library service for students. The automated system re quires registration and an app. There will be one pick up point in Teulada and an other in Moraira. A total of €15,000 will be invested in the system.

Local teachers

ALMOST 80 teachers from schools in Denia, Teulada Moraira, Benitachell and Calpe were trained in ma rine biodiversity by experts from the Oceanogràfic as part of its ‘Posidonia Project’ to allow students to work on research projects in 2022 23.,

Love Valencia

MORE and more Italians are choosing to study and live in Valencia, finding it ‘less stressful’ and ‘cheaper’, ac cording to an article in the local press. In the last 20 years, the number of Ital ians choosing to relocate to Valencia has increased ten fold.

Autism-friendly

TEULADA Town Council will be installing pictograms and other simple signs in the town to help people with autism and other disabilities to get about more independently. The signs will be installed in parks, schools and public buildings, among others.

The procession is set to leave from the Casa de Cul tura in Alfaz del Pi at 5.15pm,

LOS AMIGOS DEL CANTOS

CHOIR in Javea is carrying on the good work done by the De Shuimkoppen Choir in Denia.

For years they held concerts and gave Christmas gifts to 90 elderly residents and 30 outpa tients at the Santa Lucia care home in Denia.

Now, with a donation of €1,000 from The Original Chari ty Shop and Library, the Los

Amigos del Canto Choir bring not only music, but a whole lot of Christmas presents to resi dents.

The Original Charity Shop and Library has donated funds to many deserving causes this

year, with more to come.

If you have time, you could volunteer in the shop in Carrer de Nancy in the Arenal or the library/bookshop in Javea Park. Pop in from Monday to Saturday (10.00 to 1.00), and

ceive tangerines and sweets according to the historical tra dition about Saint Nicholas. The event is one of the most important annual events on the local Lions Club’s calen dar.

The Lions Club in Alfaz del Pi is part of the largest service organisation in the world, with more than 1.4 million members throughout the world. The group was found ed in 1983 and has served the local community and partici pated in global fundraising and awareness raising cam paigns for a variety of causes.

the day manager will show you around and answer ques tions to make it easy to start. Christmas shopping? Browse women’s and men’s clothing, jewellery, shoes, handbags, bric a brac, kitchen ware, pictures, furniture, tools, bedding, curtains and more! And if you don’t find the ideal gift, consider a €10 gift vouch er.

Fascinating finds In the spotlight

A LOCAL apple variety the Perelló was the star of a show at a gastronomic event in Valencia on Saturday November 26. Unlike other apple varieties, the fruit is harvested while still green and then stored for 15 to 20 days in boxes with its natural vapour, swathed in blankets. This is when the colour changes from green to a mottled brownish­yellow hue. It is used as a table apple but is also suitable for cooking. Vall d’Ebo is in the throes of obtaining a designation of origin for this unique fruit to encourage public consumption, and there are plans to produce artisan products and pastries to make it a winter favourite.

Around 100,000 kilos of these exclusive apples are harvested in Valls d’Ebo y d’Alcalà, Castells de Castells, Comptat, Alcoy, Cocen taina, Muro... in the Guadalest valley from October every year.

We hope you never need it, but this Christmas the Euro Weekly News would like to remind all readers of Spain’s emergency services number for police, fire, ambulance and coastguard.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL advances in Denia have revealed an in teresting link with the Moorish Islamic civilisation. The findings of a project in La Glorieta were announced on November 25, showing the area was a presti gious urban hub of activity.

The archaeological initiative is part of a larger redevelop ment scheme in La Glorieta, where the council is replacing a network of pipes, and organ ised a parallel project to inves tigate the history of the area. It is the latest project in a series of archaeological digs in the area, dating back to 1994.

Lead archaeologist on the project, Noemí Daniel Asensio, explained that their discoveries point towards a town of care fully constructed buildings dur ing the Moorish civilisation.

nating architecture including tiled patios, wall decorations, and water features.

Archaeologists have made a whole host of other interesting discoveries during the project including Majorcan, Italian, and Catalan ceramics.

Car share

CLIMATE friendly coun cils are looking for ways to reduce car emissions and Alicante City Coun cil are looking at a pilot scheme to do just that.

The city will encour age car sharing by desig nating a car park solely reserved for cars shared by three or more people who commute to work.

The councillor for Mo bility, Jose Ramon Gon zalez, explained that the aim of this initiative is to “lower private car use as an environmentally friendly measure that reduces pollution,” and also pointed out that it is “a way of helping with parking for all those people who com mute to work and who have already been ap plying this measure to encourage more sus tainable mobility in their daily journeys.

“The project will be implemented in the Las Atalayas industrial es tate, a very busy area where most of the peo ple use it are in private vehicles. Currently, there are parking spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility and for lorries, and with this ‘Car Sharing’ project it is proposed to allo cate parking spaces for those people who access Las Atalayas by car sharing.”

OFFICERS speak English, as well as many other European languages, and are your first port of call in an emergency.

The buildings featured intri cate tilework and extravagant interior design, as well as fasci

ANNUAL EVENT: St Nicholas is set to make an appearance at a Christmas party with the Lions in Alfaz del Pi.

Photo credit: Robert Hoetink / shutterstock.com

Gents club

THE Moraira contingent of Calpe’s Gents Dining club hosted a group of discerning diners in November at Le Molinet Restaurant in Moraira. Twelve gentlemen came along and a good time was had by all.

The restaurant lived up to its long time repu tation and provided a very good meal with a friendly service. We may return in the New Year when the weather im proves and we can eat outside.

The group are happy for new members to be included and interested parties are asked to con tact arthurandfreda@ gmail.com

Festive fundraising

TIS the season for giving!

CHUMS charity organisa tion got into the spirit of seasonal generosity with a food bank collection drive.

Volunteers from CHUMS joined members from the Social Department at Alfaz del Pi Council for a shop ping trip in aid of a local foodbank. The volunteers spend almost €600 on a huge haul of seasonal es sentials for the food bank to continue its vital work in the local community.

CHUMS is a small charity group that works mainly in Benidorm, Alfaz del Pi and Albir, as well as the sur rounding areas. The group regularly holds fundraising and giving events to help local social organisations.

The group is also set to host a delightful Christmas party on Friday December 9 at Godoy restaurant in Alfaz del Pi. The event promises to be a great af ternoon of fun and socialis

ing with new people. Guests will enjoy a deli cious lunch, followed by dancing!

To book a space at the party, call Marilyn on: 613 140 697.

A hard day’s fishing

THE Teulada Moraira Fishing Club visited Section C of the River Jucar in neighbouring Valencia for their lat est match. The day started with a reasonable tem perature of 20 degrees at 9am, eventually reaching 24 degrees.

“These were nice temperatures for fishing and the water was still warm, but we had strong winds which made things a little difficult,” said club secretary Jeff Richards. “The water wasn’t clear and the flow not too bad.”

Jeff added that Section C was always difficult and it was a hard day’s fishing, but at least there were no dry nets for any of the 11 contestants who between them caught 26 fish, all carp, weighing 48 kilos.

Graham Sewell had the best total weight of the day with 17.4 kilos while best fish of the day went to Lawrie Drain’s 4.8 kilo carp.

Frank Povey (6.9 kilos) and Steve Hartwell (5.9 ki los) took second and third place respectively.

“We are a very friendly club and always happy to welcome new members,” Jeff said.

For further information about the Teulada Moraira Fishing Club, contact Frank Povey on 966 490 338 or frankpovey1@gmail.com

Linda Hall

FESTIVE SPIRIT: Generous volunteers from CHUMS in Alfaz del Pi did a trolley dash of essentials for a local food bank.

Photo credit: CHUMS

Most beautiful

JAVEA has been named one of the most beautiful towns in Alicante Province by the renowned magazine Na tional Geographic . The prestigious publication chose just five towns in Alicante and Javea is the only one in the Marina Alta to have been recog nised. The lovely coast line with its coves and its wonderful gastronomy, as well as its monu ments, were among the factors that prompted the magazine to bestow this honour on the town.

In fact, Javea came top of the list. Among the at tractions that make it such an attractive desti nation to visit are the Cabo de San Antonio, the Portitxol and Cala Blanca coves and the fascinating old town with the Church Fortress of San Bartolomé, the Archaeo logical and Ethnographic Museum and the Mar ket.

As well as drawing at tention to the natural beauty and cultural as sets to be found in this popular resort, the maga zine also recommends that visitors take a look at the port area to visit the bars and restaurants and try out the many de licious local specialities.

Wellness days

THE SHA Wellness Clinic, in collaboration with the coun cil of L’Alfas del Pi, have or ganised the ‘SHA Healthy Fest’, sharing health and wellness with our communi ty event, offering various ac tivities and workshops where professional experts will give key advice to improving our health and wellness.

The event will be held on Friday, December 2, and Sat urday 3 at the Playa de l’Al bir Social Centre. Admission is free, though you must reg ister in advance via What sApp by messaging on Tel: 664 500 945, as places are limited.

Luis Morant, the council lor for Tourism and Environ ment of the L’Alfas del Pi

Council explained. “It is a luxury to have the support of SHA Wellness Clinic to de velop these healthy days, lo cated in one of the most privileged corners of our town, the Bataller family owned company enjoys in ternational recognition for merging the best natural therapies, combining an

cient oriental knowledge and the most advanced western techniques.”

SHA Wellness Clinic is an exclusive integral wellness complex located in the heart of Serra Gelada, in the Ali cante municipality of l’Alfàs del Pi. It is a pioneer in the field of genetics, anti ageing, and preventive medicine.

Sustainable scheme

THERE have been sustainable strides in Altea as the local council introduced its environmentally friendly tourism plan on November 23. Through the plan local authorities are aiming to make Altea a more appealing tourism destination for environmentally conscious travellers and a more sustainable place to live.

The council has put three contracts out to tender for local and regional com panies to make a difference in the area. Each contract will cover a different pro ject as part of the sustainability plan.

The first phase of the project has a budget of more than €500,000, and cov ers technological needs including a ‘Data

Intelligence Panel’ to collect information about the town’s accommodation provi sion and overall capacity of tourists, while remaining sustainable.

The second phase of the project will see an app launched, ‘Altea Ciudad Turística’, which will offer both residents and visitors regularly updated informa tion about local attractions, cultural events and council services available to them.

The third phase of the project consists of a data collection system using a net work of sensors to investigate noise levels, air quality and CO2 emissions in the town.

SHA CLINIC: Sharing health and wellness with the community.

Credit: Google maps - SHA Wellness Clinic

U3A Christmas Market

THE U3A in Oliva got Christ mas off to a fantastic start with their Christmas market selling handmade goods.

Held on Thursday, November 24 at the Pen sionista, the event saw

around 15 people selling goods they had made with most of the proceeds going to local charities.

Goods that were available to buy ranged from very rea sonably priced jewellery to

cards to Christmas decora tions to knitted, stitched and wooden goods. The well supported event saw steady trade throughout the two hours of the market.

Yolanda Balaguer, Oliva’s mayor popped by to see the goods on display. Thor oughly impressed she said the town didn’t have any thing like this and that she would talk to other council lors to see whether there was scope for a larger coun cil supported event next year.

Barry Purvis, Chair of Oli va’s U3A, said: “We had a good turnout this year de

spite many people being away at the moment.

“The quality of what was offered for sale was excel lent and if anyone didn’t make the market and want ed to make contact with those who were on hand to sell their goods, they could contact the U3A for their de tails.”

The U3A in Oliva can be contacted at u3aoliva.org or via Facebook, alternatively members meet for an infor mal social every second Thursday at 11am at the pensionista. New members are welcome to sign up for an annual fee of €10.

Their future

DENIA Red Cross is holding its annual flag day to raise funds for the children in need in the immediate area. On Saturday, December 3, the organisation will hold its traditional ‘Dia de la Banderita’ to raise funds in more than 30 towns in the Va lencian Community.

The money collected will go towards children in vulnerable situations because, as the campaign’s motto says, the future is theirs.

The funds will be allocated to the projects ‘Promoting school success’ and ‘Educational Toys’, among others. These initiatives are designed to help the most vulnerable and har ness their potential. The activities include food distribution, homework support, books, school supplies, educational toys etc.

This year they are incorporating new technologies, includ ing the option to donate via BIZUM, which will allow people who are not physically present or cannot go to one of the 12 collection points to participate. The procedure is simple: Bizum number: 01406, Concept: Denia.

The organisation now uses new recyclable coin banks made with 100 per cent recyclable cardboard from sustain able sources following its commitment to minimise the use of plastics and comply with the SDG (Sustainable Develop ment goals).

Environmental extension

BENIDORM City Council members have tabled an urgent motion to delay the implementation of Low Emission Zones coming in

from January 1, 2023. Councillors from the Par tido Popular and Ciu dadanos political parties have launched a motion to create a grace period be fore the implementation of the policy.

The new law bans cer tain vehicles in urban areas with more than 50,000 res idents and puts restrictions on the movements of oth ers including parking bans. The law will also apply to towns with more than 20,000 residents that have high levels of pollution.

Councillors are express ing concern that they are unprepared to comply with legislation since it has been developed too quickly. The motion is set to request the national government to delay the creation of Low Emission Zones, stat ing that more data analysis should be completed and towns should have the au tonomy to decide whether or not to adopt the policy.

Councillors also ex pressed dismay at the deci sion in the current eco nomic climate, saying it forces families, small busi nesses and economically vulnerable individuals to replace their vehicles or radically change their daily routines which is unafford able.

Handmade goods on sale.

Credit Peter McLaren-Kennedy

Transnational teamwork

PARISIAN praise for Gan dia’s tourism industry as representatives visited the French capital on November 17 for a Spanish tourism in dustry conference. Gandia was among 15 Spanish des tinations handpicked for their unique qualities and at tractions for tourists.

During the day, tourism industry representatives vis ited the Spanish Embassy in Paris, where they had a re ception with the Ambas sador, before a presentation to 30 French companies about the current state of the French tourism market and interest in Spanish desti nations.

Following the conference, the destinations got the op portunity to showcase some of their distinctive opportu nities for tourists, as well as a wine tasting featuring wines from each of the au tonomous communities rep resented at the workshop.

After the workshops, the French companies inter viewed representatives from the Spanish destina tions, which was a highly valuable opportunity to net work with international in dustry figures and investi gate potential collaborations.

Gandia Council released a statement expressing pride at being selected for the op portunity, which is the first of its kind between France and Spain.

Food for thought

LA NUCIA has launched the ‘Great Food Drive 2022’ with the motto ‘eat ing must not be a luxury’. This campaign, organised for the Spanish Federation of Food Banks (FESBAL) aims to collect as many ki los of non perishable food as possible for distribution to families in need.

Donations are being ac cepted at five supermar kets in La Nucia, namely Dialprix La Nucia (Urb. Mi ramar), Aldi La Nucia, Más and Más La Nucia, Spar and Economy Cash.

A total of 40 volunteers will be on the sites at dif ferent types to provide information and encour age shoppers to partici pate in this charitable campaign.

This is the 10th time that the ‘Great Food Drive’

Eating must not be a luxury.

has been organised in La Nucia by the Federation of Food banks to collect basic foodstuffs such as canned meat and fish, milk, baby food, oil, dried and canned pulses and vegeta bles, rice and pasta.

FESBAL was founded in 2014 and has 56 food banks in Spain that serve 1.5 million people each year through over 8,800 non governmental organi sations and 3,200 regular volunteers.

‘Half Year’ Festival

IT’S all happening on Saturday, December 3, in Moraira, with the celebration of its traditional ‘Half Year’ Moors and Christians festival bringing some life and colour to the streets in the run up to Christmas. The fun will start with a parade through the streets starting at 12.00, ending in a marquee in the church square. At around 2pm, the participants will sit down to eat together to the sounds of Charanga El Bataclán.

The participants in their costumes will be back in the streets again at 4pm with another parade with Chararanga El Bataclán from the church square. This will be followed by a performance of Dúo Ibiza in the marquee at 5pm. Last but not least, there will be a meal to the sounds of DJ Javi Mas. The event is organ ised by the ‘capitanías’ who will lead the festivities in 2023: Filá Almorach y Filá Muladies.

• Diagnostic imaging and ultrasound Rx

• Clinical tests and serological tests, internal medicine, parasitology

• Soft Tissue Surgery and Traumatology

• Ethology, behavioural disorders and animal behaviour

• Physiotherapy, acupuncture, custom recovery and Healing touch

• Ophthalmology

• Dentistry and dental surgery & more

• Import - Export

Photo by FESBAL

Vouchers extended

A REQUEST from the city’s hotel and catering associa tions has led to an exten sion for the Gastronomy Vouchers campaign.

The deadline for pur chasing and redeeming the vouchers has been extend ed to Sunday, December 4, until 23.59pm instead of ending on November 30 as originally planned.

Deputy mayor and head of the Alicante City &

Beach Tourist Board, Mari Carmen Sanchez, ex plained that “we are re sponding to the needs of the hotel and catering sec tor to support the estab lishments during a difficult financial situation.

“The ‘Bono Gastronomi co’ has once again been a success and will mean a minimum return of €1 mil lion for the hotel and catering industry and the

opportunity for the public to enjoy the best gastrono my at a very good price. It’s a win win initiative,” the mayor added.

The Tourist Board has subsidised this ‘Bono Gas tronomico’ campaign with €500,000, which is €150,000 more than last year’s campaign.

The vouchers can be purchased online at bono gastronomicoalicante.es

Each voucher has a value of €50, of which the user will pay €25. A maximum of 15 vouchers can be re quested per person, ie a value of €750, and the user pays €375.

Beneficiaries must be of legal age and registered in Alicante to be able to pur chase the vouchers. The establishments must also be located in the munici pality.

Between castles

DENIA’S educational excel lence was on display during a visit from international participants in the Eras mus+ programme. Eigh teen international visitors from Estonia, Turkey, the UK and Sweden arrived in Denia to check out the town’s educational oppor tunities at the end of November.

The international visitors included teachers and coor dinators from the Euro

Educational exchange

pean Union funded project who visited the town to in vestigate opportunities for students to take part in an international exchange. De nia Council gave the visitors a warm welcome at the start of their trip which lasted until November 25.

The council offered the visitors a varied pro

gramme of activities to help them get to know the local schools involved in the programme, under stand teaching models, and to experience Spanish cul ture. Teachers received a guided tour of the town hall as well as visits to cul tural monuments and par ticipating schools, including

the Xara School.

Following their visit, the teachers and coordinators will feed back information to students interested in studying abroad as part of an Erasmus exchange. In return, Denia teachers will be invited to visit the par ticipating schools in the coming months.

THE start of work on the modernisation of Calle Sargento Vaillo and Calle Campos Vasallo, in December, will allow the mod ernisation of the route that links the city centre with the slopes of the castle of San Fernando, creating a road that will assist tourism and give pedestrians easy access.

The budget for the work is €215,490 with an expected com pletion period of four months.

This is the preliminary stage of a project that plans to widen pavements to a minimum of 1.80 metres, with a one way road and a parking strip that will be adorned with trees and new lighting.

The councillor for Urban Planning and Heritage, Adrian San tos, explained: “These improvements aim to promote pedes trian use of the street, sustainable mobility and local com merce. The project is the first of the six approved in the area of the two castles and is marked by an approach based on social and environmental sustainability.

“This work will connect neighbourhoods, promote energy efficiency and pedestrian mobility, attending to vulnerable groups of people, invigorating the cultural and historical her itage and boosting economic activity.”

MODERNISATION WORKS: Will begin in December.

Image: Alicante City Council

LOOKING for somewhere to take your furry friend for a walk? A new pet park has just been completed by Alicante City Council in Cabo de la Huer ta, between Calles Palangre and Redes costing €43,493.

Alicante’s mayor, Luis Bar cala, commented that “with the addition of this new space for the walking of pets we

Pet park

have now reached a grand to tal of 16 pet parks throughout the city.”

The mayor explained that the work undertaken in the pet park includes new grass, ir

rigation and fences, the gar dens have been renewed, benches and drinking foun tains have been installed, and signs erected noting the rules of use. Barcala also announced that the city council is in the process of developing a unique project for pets in the Parque Sergio Melgare with a budget of €1.3 million. The pet park will include the creation of two pet walking areas for dogs of different sizes, along with an agility track and a large park with games for families who come with children and pets.

Tourism Masterplan

Betty Henderson

THERE have been advances in Intelligent tourism in Teulada as the council moves to create and implement an Intelligent Tourist Destination Master plan. The council held a meet ing on November 24 to review progress after launching sever al campaigns during the month to make Teulada an Intelligent Tourist Destination.

Intelligent tourist policy in volves making destinations more sustainable, creating a ro bust online and digital image of the destination and promoting technological innovation with in the town. In Teulada’s plan,

FOOTBALL fans will be pleased to hear that Alicante City Council plans to re model and renovate the three football fields of Garbinet, Tombola and La Ciguena and sports facilities with a bud get of €1,184,984. These works are part of the ‘Plan for Improvement and Mod ernisation of Sports Facilities in Alicante’ and are in addition to the three munici pal football fields in the Sports City An tonio Solana, San Blas and Florida Babel

authorities are seeking to iden tify the challenges of attracting tourists to the destination and coming up with solutions to overcome them. The council has already begun a project with local technical organisa tions to develop a digital strate gy as well as a project with local businesspeople. Councillor for

Tourism, Susanne Katzgrau thanked local residents for their contributions, “Develop ing an excellent tourism strate gy for our town wouldn’t be possible without the collabora tion of the public and local busi nesses. Their knowledge and experience are key to creating successful strategies.”

Sporting spruce up

that have already been renovated. The councillor for Sports, Jose Luis Berenguer, confirmed: “The works will improve the quality of the turf and re place the goals so that it is in the best condition for football players. The work also includes replacing benches, and im proving the surrounding areas. This has

been much sought after and and long awaited by the football clubs that use them.” The councillor for Sports also highlighted the great effort being made by this government team “in mod ernising and updating the city’s sports infrastructures with a total budget of nearly €10 million.”

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Teulada-Moraira

ADVANCES: Teulada Council has developed a comprehensive ‘Intelligent Tourism Masterplan’ to generate more tourism.

HELPFUL TRAVEL HINTS

AS a disabled traveller I hope these tips prove use ful:

For many Age Concern clients and others this is the time we plan to visit family in the UK.

So please don’t get caught out, as a friend did on a recent visit.

Do remember to check the size and weight of your luggage check your airline guide.

Are you taking a lot of medication with you most of us do!

Print off a copy of your medications from the list provided by your GP.

This saves any unneces sary explanations at Securi ty should you be ques tioned.

Do remember that you cannot take bottles of wa ter through Security.

You can however take an empty bottle and refill it when you are air side.

Or buy a bottle of water when you pass Security for just €1.

Are you disabled or have mobility issues?

Then you should consider Special Assistance. They are at the airport to help you.

Just make sure you com plete the necessary section when booking your ticket online.

Go to their designated area on arrival and leave the rest to them brilliant service.

Age Concern providing Help where Help is Need ed.

Call us on 652 537 615 (24/7) or email info@age concernfym.com.

Ship stowaways

SPAIN’S Maritime Rescue Service has reported the rescue of three stow aways travelling on a ship’s rudder in the Ca nary Islands after its jour ney from Nigeria.

The oil and chemical tanker Althini II arrived in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria on Monday November 28 after an 11 day voy age from Lagos in Nigeria, according to MarineTraf fic, a website that tracks the journeys of ships.

The coastguard con

firmed their rescue and said that the migrants were taken into the port and attended to by health services.

It is not the first time stowaways have been found on the rudder of commercial ships to the Canary Islands.

In October 2020, an other four people were found by police at Las Palmas after stowing away on the rudder of an oil tanker from Lagos for 10 days.

Peter McLaren Kennedy

NOW’S the time to go see Spain with some 42 long dis tance bus routes to provide free travel in 2023 after the government agreed to in crease the state concession from 50 to 100 per cent.

According to a national news site on Saturday, November 26 the legislation was to go through the Senate in the next few days after it was approved by the Congress of Deputies.

Snowy season

Betty Henderson

THE first snowfall of the season has finally arrived. After a slow start to the winter season, snow fell in mountainous regions in the country in mid November, signalling re lief for meteorologists and environmentalists.

The first snowfall of the winter appeared in mountainous regions across the country includ ing the Pyrenees on the

northern border, where snow fell above 1,200 metres. Snow also fell in national parks including the Sierra de Guadarra ma, Puerto de Navacerra da, and Rascafría in Madrid and the Sierra Nevada in Granada.

The snowfall is due to a polar stream, bringing freezing temperatures to the highest altitudes in the country. The arrival of colder air from across the

Atlantic brought cooler temperatures and rainfall to much of the country, with mountainous re gions seeing the biggest drop in temperatures.

Throughout the last week, snow continued to fall in these locations, jump starting the winter ski season. The Pyrenees received the most intense snowfall, with up to half a metre of snow falling in some locations.

A DEDICATED team of re searchers has cracked an an cient writing code that was used by Spanish king and Holy Roman emperor, Carlos V. Cryptographers in a French lab spent six months deci phering the code before an nouncing their discovery on Thursday November 24.

The letter which was writ ten almost 500 years ago, in 1547, reveals Carlos V’s fears

See Spain

The original concession of 50 per cent came into force on September 1 as part of the government’s efforts to pro mote public transport in light of the energy crisis. That con cession will now rise to 100 per cent from January 1, 2023, on all state owned bus lines, of which there are 42 and which provide services to

nearly 2,400 towns and vil lages. To benefit from the free service, you need to buy a 10, 20 or 30 trip ticket as well as pay a refundable deposit.

If you have completed the required number of trips then you will be repaid your de posit, however, the qualifying number of trips is yet to be announced.

Ancient encryption

of assassination in the corre spondence with Jean de Saint Mauris. The fascinating letter was discovered in 2019 but only handed over to cryp tographers in 2021.

The emperor was one of the world’s most powerful men during the 1500s, reign ing over a vast empire which

extended throughout Europe and the Americas for more than 40 years. On immediate glance, the letter is “utterly incomprehensible” according to cryptologist, Cécile Pierrot, who cracked the code.

Pierrot worked tirelessly for six months using a com puter system and key like notes in the margins of some other surviving correspon dence to understand the en crypted letter system.

Luxurious

SPAIN’S luxury market is booming as a Barcelona high street joins the likes of New York’s Fifth Av enue and Parisian Champs Elysees on a list of the world’s most ex pensive high streets.

Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona made the 18th place on the global list. A new report also re vealed the locations in Spain with the highest rental prices for shops.

Passeig de Gràcia occu pied first place with rent costing an annual aver age of €2,677 per square metre. The high street is home to luxury brands including Swarowski, Dior, and Versace.

Two other Barcelona streets were on the na tional list, Portal de l’An gel and Serrano, before top high streets in the capital, Gran Via and Preciados. The streets’ large concentration of designer stores helped them to recover their pre pandemic revenue levels.

WHITE OUT: The first snowfall was reported on November 18 in the Sierra Nevada.

Photo credit: MeteoSN (Via Twitter)

Photo credit: NancyCryptoTeam (Via Twitter)

A coded letter written by Spanish King Carlos V in 1547 revealed his fears of assassination.

Climate ranking climb

SPAIN’S climate action is paying off as the country climbed a whopping 11 places in the 2023 Climate Change Performance In dex. The ranking jump is being credited to Spain’s Climate Change and Eco logical Transition Law brought in this year.

The index which classi fies the 60 countries re sponsible for 92 per cent of emissions causing global warming, placed

Spain in 23rd place. Al though Spain remains midway through the rankings, classified as an ‘average’ polluter, the country has experienced a meteoric rise com

pared to last year.

This year’s ranking was topped by Denmark with an impressive score of 79.61 out of 100, with Norway as the closest contender with a score of 73.28. Spain obtained a score of 58.59, beating nations including the USA which scored below 50.

The index is compiled each year by NGOs Cli mate Action Network Eu rope and GermanWatch.

2 into space Art escapade

A RETURN to the space age in Spain as the country announced a bid to send two astro nauts into space. Thirty years after last being in space, Spanish astronauts Pablo Álvarez and Sara García Alonso are set to be sent into space by the European Space Agency.

The news marks a new precedent for Spain with its first ever female astronaut, with Sara García Alonso, who is set to join the reserve space team for the time being. The astro nauts were announced by the European Space Agency in a graduation ceremony at the Grand Palais Éphémère de París on Wednesday November 23.

Álvarez is an aerospace engineer, having studied in his home city of León, before spe cialising his skills with a Master’s degree in Warsaw. Meanwhile, García Alonso is a biotechnologist who has worked for several years researching cancer at the National Can cer Research Centre.

The last Spanish astronaut with the Euro pean Space Agency was Pablo Duque, back in 1992.

THERE was a a major event in Madrid as a unique art exhibition arrived from Kyiv unscathed, despite the threat of Russian bombs. The 51 piece rare art collection left the Ukrainian capital in a secret con voy on Tuesday November 15, just hours before Russian missiles rained down across the country.

The collection arrived in Spain on Sun day November 20 after five days on the road, travelling more than 3,000 kilome tres across the continent. The collection came under threat several times after a nail biting journey through Ukraine, as the country suffered power outages and the stray missile incident in the Polish bor der town of Przewodów.

The artwork was exhibited on Tuesday November 29 at the Museo Nacional Thyssen Bornemisza in Madrid, along with several other fascinating Ukrainian cultural objects and pieces of art.

The exhibition will be a powerful expression of cultural solidarity with Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Indicators used to cre ate the ranking include greenhouse gas emis sions, energy consump tion, renewable energy in frastructure, and national climate change policies.

Spain’s climate action is now paying off.

Photo credit: Holli / shutterstock.com

MARRIAGE between two peo ple is undoubtedly one of the most important moments in life. Its consequences, in the personal sphere, are clear. A partnership based on cohabita tion, respect, fidelity, acting in the family interest, etc. Howev er, the effects of the marriage on the patrimonial sphere of the spouses are often over looked. We are talking about

Matrimonial regime in Spain. Different types. Joint Property. Separation of assets. Participation. Family law. Spanish Civil Code. Legal advice.

the so called ‘matrimonial regime’. In today’s article we analyse some of these issues.

What exactly is a matrimoni al property regime?

It is the set of rules that regu late the economic relations of

the spouses. Between them selves and in front of third par ties. These rules are of great importance since the income, the ownership of the proper ties they may acquire while married, etc will be treated dif ferently depending on their matrimonial regime. And not only that. When a couple gets divorced, the financial conse quences will be very different depending on the applicable regime that has governed the marriage.

What role do the so called prenuptial agreements play in this respect?

A prenuptial agreement is a document in which the spous es, by mutual agreement, choose the financial regime to be applied to their marriage. They are also known as pre or post nuptial agreements, or marriage contracts, etc de pending on the country. How ever, for this agreement to be

valid in Spain, it must be signed before a notary and must be registered in the Spanish Civil Registry. In Spain, if the spous es get married without previ ously granting a prenuptial agreement, the matrimonial property regime that will be applied, by default, is the joint property system. If the agree ments are signed in other countries, the requirements for validity may be different.

Matrimonial financial regimes in Spain.

The matrimonial property regimes established in the Spanish Civil Code are:

Joint property (Art. 1344): In come and profits obtained by either of the spouses, during

their marriage, will be owned by both. In other words, the in come from their salaries, the property they may acquire (even if only one of them signs the deed of purchase at the Notary’s office), etc will belong to both. This regime also ap plies in countries such as France, Belgium, etc.

Separation of property (Art. 1437): This system allows the assets of the spouses to be sep arated. The income or gains ac quired during the marriage will belong exclusively to each one of them. In other words, there is no confusion between their assets. The English system is in terpreted in Spain to be of this kind. This regime applies, by defect, in Catalonia.

Participation System (Art.1411): It is a kind of combi nation between the joint prop erty regime and the separation system. While the couple is married, the spouses keep

their assets separate. However, in case of divorce, each spouse is entitled to a share of the ac quisitions made by the other spouse during the marriage.

Conclusion

The consequences of choos ing one matrimonial regime or another are very important, and must be carefully analysed, depending on each case. It is important to get legal advice in this respect before the mar riage. And also, after the mar riage, in order to know what rights you have in case of di vorce, separation, etc. At White Baos Abogados we are experts in Family Law, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will study your case and of fer expert advice on the sub ject.

The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, but merely con veys information related to le gal issues.

Baos (Lawyer) - White&Baos Tel: +34 966 426 185 • info@white-baos.com White & Baos 2022

All Rights Reserved.

Carlos

AN ingenious police operation has busted a criminal gang manufacturing drugs for elite sportspeople to cheat. A crim inal ring was busted by Guardia Civil Spanish police officers on Thursday Novem ber 24 after they were discov ered creating and distributing banned substances to profes sional athletes.

The Guardia Civil created Operation ILEX in 2021 Cáceres, which is where the ring was uncovered, and ar rests were made. The police originally acted on a tip which claimed that a licensed physi cian was distributing banned substances to athletes, and

Ring busted

viduals posing as medical pro fessionals.

Athletes using the drugs risk fines of up to €3,000 depend ing on quantity consumed and sports discipline.

conducted an investigation for one year before making arrests.

The substances, which are banned by the World Anti Doping Agency, were dis tributed to athletes via indi

Guardia Civil forces arrest ed two people on a catalogue of charges including drug traf ficking, doping within the sports industry, membership of a criminal organisation and money laundering.

A further six individuals re main under investigation for the same charges.

Michelin marvels

THE lauded list of Spanish restaurants receiving Michelin stars was announced on November 22 at an awards gala in Toledo with 29 restaurants joining the list for the first time. The Michelin Guide Spain 2023 recognised a total of 1,229 Spanish restaurants for various distinctions for their unique creations.

The Michelin Guide recognises the best in restauration in countries worldwide, awarding ratings of one, two or three stars according to the quality of meals in selected restaurants.

The 2023 guide includes 20 restaurants in An dalucia, 13 in the Balearic Islands, 24 in Madrid, and 22 in the Valencian Community. Catalonia did however achieve the greatest acclaim on the list with an enormous 53 restaurants receiving recognition in the guide.

Thirteen Spanish restaurants received the highest award of three Michelin stars, with two new additions to the list. Thirty four restaurants received two Michelin stars, and others received honours including green sustainability stars.

Officers uncovered a drug trafficking ring in Cáceres .

Photo credit: Guardia Civil (via email)

Queen of the jungle

THE third and final week in the ‘I’m A Celebrity’ jungle is always fast and furious, with one celeb leaving each night. Gogglebox star and comedian Babatunde left on Wednesday, November 23 after the public voted.

Former Radio One Breakfast Show host Chris Moyles had a good run, but his time was up on Thursday, November 24.

Comedian Seann Walsh became the seventh to leave on Friday 25.

The moment every con testant dreams of tackling on the show is the iconic ‘Celebrity Cyclone’. Mike, Matt, Jill, and Owen, donned their individual coloured lycra pants for the legendary trial and off they marched to try and win those meals for camp.

Jill went first, followed by Matt, then Mike, with Owen taking the last stage. They overcame the crazy water cannons and

bouncing balls to win all four stars. England rugby star Mike Tindall was eventually evicted, nar rowly missing out on the final.

On Sunday, November 27, just three contestants remained in the jungle as the finalists on this year’s ‘I’m A Celebrity’. One out of politician Matt Hancock, soap star Owen Warner, or England Lioness Jill Scott, would end up wearing the iconic ‘jungle crown’.

Matt was the first of the three to be voted out,

leaving Jill and Owen as this year’s contenders. It was all down to the great British public now to choose the winner after watching three weeks of trials and tribulations in the Australian jungle.

Ana and Dec had the re sults on their card, with more than 12 million votes made. They announced that the winner, and new ‘Queen of the Jungle’ for 2022, was England football star, Jill Scott. Hollyoaks actor Owen was a very worthy runner up.

JUNGLE WINNER: The queen and worthy runners up.

Credit: ITV

Concerns raised

THE death of a migrant at the Manston processing centre could have been caused by diphtheria, the Home Office has said.

It is reported that the number of diphtheria infec tions has risen to about 50, after an outbreak of the highly contagious bacterial infection has hit the centre.

This is amid concerns about the spread of the dis ease in the centre, which has struggled with over crowding, as migrants were moved from the Kent facili ty to hotels around the country.

The UK government con firmed that a PCR test on

the man who died after be ing held at the centre for a week indicates that “diph theria may be the cause of the illness.”

The man, who is believed to have entered the UK on a small boat across the En glish Channel, died in hospi tal on November 19 seven days after he arrived.

Initial tests at a hospital near the centre in Kent came back negative but a follow up PCR was positive.

Public health officials have raised concerns about the spread of the highly contagious disease as peo ple were moved from the facility to hotels.

MIKE TINDALL and Zara Phillips have been tipped to replace Harry and Meghan in the Royal Fam ily, picking up the royal roles that were ‘aban doned’ by the power cou ple before their move to America.

Celebrity agent Mayah Riaz believes that Mike, who was voted out of the I’m a Celeb jungle on Sat urday November 26 will be offered to present roles on TV shows such as BBC’s The One Show.

Mike, who received a sweet message from Princess Beatrice follow ing his jungle exit, has been married to King Charles III’s niece Zara

Royal limelight

Phillips since 2011.

“Mike has clearly had to have all sorts of per mission to get on I’m A Celebrity. There’s no denying his celebrity ca reer will propel from here,” Riaz said.

According to celebrity expert Greg Double, he said: “Not since the 2003 World Cup has Mike Tin dall performed so well in Australia. He may be off limits to commercial brands, but his popularity could be hugely helpful to the royal brand.”

More support

THE UK is providing Ukraine with helicopters for the first time accord ing to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

Announcing the supply on Wednesday Novem ber 23, Wallace said that the first Sea King has al ready been delivered and was in active duty. He added a further two are being readied and will be delivered shortly.

The delivery of the heli copters sees an escala tion in the support being provided to Ukraine with the Sea King, a workhorse since the 50s, having proved effective in many combat situa ­

tions including Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wallace added that an extra 10,000 artillery rounds were also being provided to help Ukraine secure territory recap tured.

Speaking on a visit to Norway he said: “Our support for Ukraine is un wavering.”

The announcement of more support comes on the same day that the EU declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, and on the same day Russia proved that it is by bombing more civilian fa cilities including a hospi tal.

MIKE AND ZARA: The new royal power couple.

Photo Agency

Furious prince

PRINCE ANDREW is report ed to be ‘furious’ after he was informed by ministers that he will lose his British taxpayer funded police pro tection next month, accord ing to a national news out let, on Sunday, November 27.

It is believed that the Duke of York could try to launch an appeal against the decision. The security detail currently accompanies him whenever he leaves the Windsor royal estate. His bodyguards cost the British taxpayers around £3 million annually and the report said that Andrew allegedly be lieves this should continue to be funded by the public.

King Charles recently made it clear that he intends to distance himself from his disgraced younger brother, with claims that Charles in formed him he would never be allowed to return to Roy al duties.

Following the legal action brought against Andrew, he was stripped of his royal du ties by the Queen.

White Christmas

THE Met Office has revealed its first Christmas Day fore cast for the UK including predictions as to whether snow is on its way.

With less than one month to go until December 25, the Met Office has looked into the possibility of whether Brits can expect a white Christmas.

Weather forecasters have offered their predictions for the festive period as heavy rain and strong winds bat tered parts of the UK on the last weekend of November,

reported a national news outlet.

But while November has brought an abundance of rain, the Met Office predicts that December will be a little more settled, with tempera tures normal for the time of year.

Those who are holding out for a white Christmas will be disappointed to hear that so far there is no mention of snow just overnight frost and fog, a chance of rain and a possibility that tempera tures will plummet.

Student crackdown

THE UK is set to crack down on foreign students with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said to be looking at reduc ing numbers in an effort to slow down net immigration as reported by major news sites on Friday, November 25.

The news follows an in terview with Suella Braver man and a Commons com mittee, where it was clear that she did not have a grasp on the immigration situation, including why ille gal immigration takes place in many cases.

This also follows the re lease of statistics by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) that reflect migra tion numbers for 2022 are higher than normal due to a number of factors including the conflict in Ukraine and Hong Kong and the lifting of Covid 19 restrictions.

Sources have said that among the measures being considered by the prime minister is by limiting ad

missions only to the top ranked universities and lim iting the number of relatives that can accompany a stu dent.

The idea is unlikely to be well received by universities many of whom today enjoy significant additional in come from foreign students.

Take responsibility

THE UK’s energy watchdog OFGEM has been accused of abdicating its responsibility after it dropped plans to stop energy companies from spending the deposits paid by their customers.

Chris O’Shea, Chief Executive of Centrica, told a na tional newspaper on Saturday, November 26 that: “En ergy companies must be adequately capitalised by their shareholders so that if they fail, the shareholders feel the pain, not UK consumers.

“This feels like an abdication of responsibility by a reg ulator not focusing on the right things.”

The comments follow criticism of OFGEM on Friday November 25 when it announced that it was abandon ing proposals that would require companies to ring fence customer credit balances.

O’Shea and others have said that OFGEM has not learned the lessons of the energy crisis which saw the government having to bail out suppliers, with the bill ul timately being picked up by taxpayers and energy users.

Currently there are no rules in place that dictate what energy companies can or can’t do with the credit bal ances they hold on customer’s accounts.

WEATHER FORECAST: No mention of snow.

THE Eurovision Song Contest has announced major changes to the voting for mat ahead of Liverpool 2023.

International fans will be delighted as for the first time the new system will al low viewers in non partici pating countries to vote. The change will allow votes to be counted from non partic ipating countries, with their semi final and grand final votes being added together and converted to points that will have the same weight as one participating country.

Voting delight

ers and the jury would de termine the successful semi finalists who would go through to the final.

Limits soon scrapped

Rest of the world can vote.

Additionally, organisers have said that they plan to remove the power from the jury in the selection of final ists for the grand final. Since 2009, votes from both view

The news was announced by event organisers, the Eu ropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) in late November, de scribing them as ‘major changes’.

The UK will host the 2023 contest in Liverpool on be half of 2022 winners Ukraine.

Referendum denied

THE UK Supreme Court on Wednesday November 23, determined that the draft Scot tish Independence Referendum Bill is outside the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

The Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, said that the UK government was com mitted to working with the Scottish govern ment on the ‘issues that matter most to people in Scotland such as restoring economic stability and helping with energy bills’ as opposed to a second vote on Scottish independence.

Mr Jack said: “We note and respect the

unanimous ruling from the Supreme Court to day.

“People in Scotland want both their govern ments to be concentrating all attention and re sources on the issues that matter most to them like restoring economic stability, getting people the help they need with their energy bills, and supporting the NHS.

Jack added “As the Prime Minister has made clear, we will continue to work constructively with the Scottish government in tackling all the challenges we share and face.”

THE roll out of 3D scanning technology in airports in the UK and elsewhere could see the limits on liquids being replaced or scrapped completely before too long.

John Holland Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow, told a national news source that the technology is being introduced across all airports and once in place will allow the lim its to be removed safely.

The lifting of the limit and the need to take the items out of your hand luggage

could go by as soon as 2024, along with the need to remove technology such as laptops.

The limits were brought in 18 years ago after police foiled the UK’s largest terror plot that involved smuggling explosives through airport security in soft drink bottles.

The news that 3D scanning technology will replace liquid limits on airlines will be widely welcomed by the airlines, airports and passengers, with security controls being one of the most stressful aspects of flying.

THE British government has told all departments and local authorities to stop installing Chinese made surveillance cam eras at ‘sensitive sites’.

Reported by a national tech site on Friday, November 25, this comes as the UK grows increas ingly concerned at China’s intentions. In particular the government has asked public bodies to stop in stalling CCTV cameras pro duced by Hikvision or Dahua who they believe

Eye spy

to have close links with the Chinese government.

Although the call is more of a request than an order, the government hopes that the warning will be heeded and that public authorities will re view their existing con tracts and intended future installations.

Civil liberties groups like

Big Brother Watch, believe that most British public bodies use CCTV cameras made by Chinese compa nies. Whilst they do not openly accuse all the com panies of having subver sive intentions, they say that the potential exists for these facilities to be ac cessed by Chinese authori ties.

Shutterstock.com/

THIS week we remember the bravery of Rosa Parks. On Thursday, December 1, 1955, the world changed forever. The then 42 year old Rosa Parks was commuting back home from work and refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Al abama bus.

Rosa was an ordinary woman on her journey home from work, but little did she know that this would be a

Rosa Parks

momentous moment in his tory that would then proceed to start what would be known as the Montgomery bus boycott.

Due to Rosa refusing to give up her seat she was fined $14 including court fees and was released on a $100

bond after being arrested.

From then the bus boycott began and came to the with drawal of 40,000 black bus riders on public transport.

Over 75 per cent of Mont gomery’s ridership was gone. Black carpools were organ ised by leaders at the time,

Sky high calling

GOODBYE airplane mode and hello air communications as the European Union (EU) gives airlines the go a head to install the latest 5G technology.

According to a national news outlet on Friday, November 25, the change will see passengers being able to use their smart phones during flights just as they do normal ly.

The European Commission is said to have adapted mobile legislation to bring it in line with the latest in communication technolo gy. EU Commissioner for the Internal Mar ket Thierry Breton said: “The sky is no longer

THE government in Spain is talking about the possi bility of dual nationality for the 1.1 million Roma nians that reside in the country.

According to a national news site on Wednesday, November 23, President Pedro Sánchez supported the integration of Romania into the Schengen area. They add that he has also committed to work to wards the recognition of

the limit when it comes to high speed, high capacity connections.

25G will enable innovative services for people and growth opportunities for Euro pean companies.”

So called ‘pico cells’ will be installed in planes which allows safe 5G coverage and connection with satellite transmitters worldwide. The ‘pico cell’ allows telephone calls, text messages and data transfer via a satellite to mobile receivers on the ground.

EU countries have been given until June 30, 2023 to make the 5G bands accessible in their respective countries.

Dual nationality

dual nationality for the largest group of foreigners living in the Mediterranean country.

Sánchez said that he wanted to thank Romani ans for their contribution to the development of Spain. Many of them are already into their second and third generation, and

the decision to create a working group to consider the question of dual na tionality will be of great in terest to them.

Currently Spain requires anyone who applies for cit izenship to renounce their current nationality, the exceptions to this rule being France and Portugal.

such as Martin Luther King Jr, with African American taxi drivers offering their services for the same price as the bus fare 10 cents to those that were African American.

After 386 days and approval of the Supreme Court, on De cember 20, 1956, Mont gomery’s buses were then in tegrated on December 21, 1956.

PARKS: My Story.

ImageRosa Parks

Carols in Benitachell

THE Costa Blanca Male

Voice Choir will give a carol concert in Beni tachell church, Plaça de l’Església, 03726 El Poble Nou de Benitacdell, Ali cante on Wednesday De cember 14 at 7pm. Entry is free, although there will be a collection on ex it in aid of the Make a Smile children’s charity.

The Costa Blanca Male

Voice Choir was the first expatriate male voice choir in the area and has about 40 members. This time they will be per forming festive music, but they have a reper toire of popular, classi cal, traditional and reli gious pieces.

For more information, visit www.costablanca malevoicechoir.com.

Meet the artists

THE Shack Jalon pre sents a selection of orig inal works of art by lo cal artists Chris Sinclair, David James, Dee Brown, Elaine Phillips, Jean Bunn, Natalie Atkins, Rayne van Sing and Steffi White at the Shack Jalon from 7pm on Friday, December 2.

Visitors will be greet ed with a glass of cava, and it will be an oppor tunity to purchase a Christmas gift that will last forever.

The Shack Jalon is at Colònia Llíber, 03727 Jalon, Alicante, phone 693 365 099 for more details.

Kids car boot

IF your kids’ rooms are cluttered, this Sunday mar ket could be just what you are looking for. A car boot sale and artisan market will take place in Parque Les Fonts (Benitachell) on Sunday, 4 December, where youngsters can of fload toys they no longer use in exchange for cash.

The site is a local au thority green area mea suring 30,000 square me tres with a 1,000 square metre wooden play

Offload toys for cash.

ground where kids can let off some steam. A chil dren’s pottery workshop is also available.

There’s no charge for kids to sell their wares. The charge for adult car boot spots is €10. The

market starts at 9am and ends at 2pm.

Teach your children about entrepreneurship and make space for their Christmas presents by con tacting Dennis van der Hei jden on Facebook, Insta gram @mercado.les.fonts or WhatsApp +34 865 789 830 or in Cafe Aroma in the park (open Monday, Thursdays, and Fridays from 4pm to 10pm and Saturdays 2pm to 10pm, and Sunday all day).

Songs by candlelight

AKIRA DOG SANCTU ARY would be delighted if you would join them for a fun festive evening under the Pepe la Sal Supermarket at Car retera Teulada Moraira 56 for a carol singing event with mulled wine

and mince pies. The event will take place on Sunday, Decem ber 18 at 5pm at the El Martillo restaurant, now under new management. Places are limited, so you are kindly asked to call or send a WhatsApp to

Nathalie at 711 034 901 to confirm your atten dance or drop a line to secretary@akira ani mals.com

A donation of €4.50 is requested, but children are free and very wel come.

Festive XIC

XABIA INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE is holding a Christmas Fair on the XIC Secondary Site in Calle de Catallops, Javea on Sun day, December 11. There will be Christmas activities, food and drink, musical performances and festive fun for all the family. Every one is welcome. To book a stall or for more informa tion, contact family@xabia internationalcollege.com.

Fun event

IF you are 65 or over, the Association of Retired Peo ple and Pensioners of Teu lada cordially invites you to join them for a bite to eat and an evening of music, dance and much, much more on Sunday Decem ber 4. The event is being held as a tribute to Juanito Valderrama at the Social Centre in Teulada. The evening will start at 7pm. A great opportunity to inte grate with the local com munity and have some fun.

Shutterstock.com/ Billion Photos

THE Javea Players will have you on the edge of your seat with their production of Agatha Christies ‘The Mouse trap’.

Set in a snowed in guest house, you’ll be confused and surprised as you try to determine just who is the murderer. The atmosphere of shuddering suspense will be even more thrilling than the plot.

One of the suspects, Major Metcalf, (who would proba bly have access to a gun so could be the murderer) is played by Yorkshireman

Last chance

playing a donkey in the school nativity play to work ing as a businessman giving presentations to varying au dience numbers throughout the world “that also counts as acting” according to Neville.

Neville Green who left the UK 30 years ago and has had various acting roles from

BENITACHELL has been well and truly entertained by the Music Band, Llebet ja Choir, the Parish Choir and the Mor ro Falqui Dance Troupe with a special programme for the festival of St Cecil ia.

The first events started on Friday November 25, but the programme’s fi nale will be a performance of the Agru pación Músicomunicipal Santa María Magdalena of the Santa Cecilia concert on Saturday December 3 at 7.30pm at the auditorium of the Lady Elizabeth School. A bus service will run from the cemetery car park from 6.30pm.

Your last chance to see this thrilling production of The Mousetrap is on December 1 at 7.30pm in Javea Players’ Studio Theatre. For details see: www.javeaplayers.com

Musical treats

The mayor Miguel Ángel García ap preciates the musicians’ contribution to life in the town and wants to sup port them, “Our people appreciate and love them. They bring music into our lives and touch our hearts with their concerts. They are also great connec tors and bring life to the municipality, encouraging and inspiring future gen erations to study music,” Gracia said. For more information contact Mar on 636 177 544.

• December 1, 7pm - 1.30am, Stevie Spit, cabaret show, Benidorm Palace

• December 5, 10pm, Kenny Rodgers tribute, Peter Warke, The Pub, Benidorm

• December 5, 11.00pm, Kenny Rodgers tribute, Peter Warke, Tommy’s Bar

• December 6, 9pm, Show Waddy Waddy Gold, Calypso Hotel Benidorm

• December 8, 1-4pm, Christmas Fayre, Stray Sod Irish Bar, Centro Commercial La Fuente

• December 14, 7pm Costa Blanca Male Voice Choir, Christmas Carol Concert, Benitachell Church. Free en try - collection on exit

• December 31, Stevie Spit, Welcome to 2023, The Picton House

THE MOUSETRAP: Neville playing Major Metcalf.

Image: Javea Platers

Love of dogs

THERE are two interesting social events coming to Pego.

Firstly, on Sunday, December 11 at 9.30am there will be a charity dog walk to support Jenny Screen, an unsung hero of the dog rescue world who never turns away a dog in need. She provides them with medical care, a home and love. Donate €10 and turn up at the Parc Pub lic Segaria to support her work. For more information contact Faye Brophy on 607 050 452.

Next, on Thursday, December 15 at 7.30pm there will be a Christmas Quiz Night at the Tennis Club in Pego in aid of the APROP Animal Shelter. Teams of up to six people are invited to enter, and you must book a table in advance. The organisers are asking for a €5 donation, all of which will go to support the animal shelter. Food and drinks are available. To book your place contact WhatsApp 621 267 128

Trio of delights

THE singing groups directed by Philip Ashley are prepar ing to entertain you this Christmas. Cantãmus, Canto Mundial and Adagio all have concerts lined up during De cember.

Cantãmus will start with Advent of Christmas, uplift ing, inspiring music and Christmas songs to get you in the spirit. Advent of Christ mas will take place at Ermita de San Josep, La Fustera, Benissa coast on Saturday, December 3, at 3.30pm with

tickets priced at €10. Mean while, Canto Mundial from Alfaz del Pi and Adagio from Benissa will join forces for a

concert entitled Welcome Christmas at the Centro So cial Playa del Albir (Social Centre next to Mercadona) on Thursday, 15 December, at 7.30pm. Canto Mundial choir will sing a selection of light, film and easy listening pieces and finish with some Christmas music.

Finally, Adagio will sing a selection from recent con certs and festive tunes. A do nation of €5 is requested for the Alfas Food Bank. For tick ets, call 965 581 483.

Fairy dust magic

ENJOY a musical adventure with Tinkerbell and friends. Tinkerbell and her friends, Fania, Iris and Dilia, are weakening and losing their pow ers. The fairy dust is disappearing and they don’t have the strength to build spring in time. The magic Saucum tree, which provided the fairy dust, is completely dried up and the chil dren have stopped believing in them.

Tinkerbell and her friends, together with Master Oifrag and his assistant Benshee, will

have to find a solution to travel to the real world and find the humans so that they will be lieve again. Tinkerbell is on Thursday, Decem ber 8, at midday at the Teatro Principal Ali cante, Plaza Chapi, s/n 03001. Tickets are available from the box office between midday and 2pm and 5pm until 9pm daily.

For more information go to the website www.teatroprincipaldealicante.com or call (+34) 965 203 100.

WHAT better way to spend a Monday after noon than meeting up with some good friends to enjoy some great mu sic and companionship? If that sounds good to you, then go along to the Forum Mare Nostrum in dependent senior life centre in Camino del Pin cho, 2 in L’Alfaz del Pi on Monday, December 5 from 4.30 to 6.30pm and enjoy the sounds of Vince Tracy and friends.

The ticket price is €5, all of which is donated to a good cause Alicante for the Fight Against Can cer or AACC, an associa tion created by a group of enthusiasts with long experience in the treat ment of oncological dis eases who want to pro vide patients with complementary care.

For more information, write pamalfaz@hot mail.com

Cantãmus choir will get you in the festive spirit.

Image: Philip Ashley

DOG RESCUE: Raising money for the shelter.

Image Shutterstock.com/ thka

Strike over salaries

STRIKES have taken place in Portugal as public sector workers grapple with the increasing cost of living. Thousands of workers across the country includ ing doctors, teachers, and civil servants walked out of the workplace on Novem ber 18 to demand wage in creases in the 2023 budget.

A strike was called by Portuguese union, The Common Front of the Pub

THERE is anger in Aus tralia over a European Union decision, on Tues day November 22, to ban winemakers from using the name ‘Prosecco’ to sell wine in the country. Winemakers including an Italian immigrant, Otto Dal Zotto, who is from the Italian birthplace of prosecco and who began growing the grape variety in Victoria in 1999, have vocally criticised the EU’s decision.

lic Administration Union, which represents around 50 per cent of the country’s 730,000 government em ployees. Civil servants in the country have received a pay rise of 0.9 per cent during 2022, but inflation during October passed 10 per cent in year on year fig ures.

Union coordinator, Se bastiao Santana explained the reasons for the strike,

“This year all workers have already lost one month’s salary due to inflation. We are getting poorer.”

The union is calling on the government to adjust wages in line with inflation, and establishing a mini mum monthly salary.

The industrial action fol lows similar strikes in many European countries as in flation spirals and the cost of energy continues to rise.

Wine anger

He explained “It makes me very sad and a bit an gry because we’re not do ing anything but just trying to share prosecco with the Australian public.”

Other industry profes sionals say the decision could be a terrible blow to the Australian prosec co industry which has been growing immensely

during the last decade.

The EU is seeking to ban the name for wines made in Australia as it continues to negotiate a free trade agreement with the nation. EU offi cials want to protect the term prosecco as a geo graphical indication to where the sparkling wine was made.

Information wars

FRANCE has accused Russia of nefarious mis information projects in Africa during a confer ence on November 19. President Emmanuel Macron described Russia as having a ‘preda tory project’ in several African nations.

Macron made the statement in an inter view following a conference of French speak ing African countries in Tunisia. He accused Russia of trying to spread its influence using immoral means, “We must only look at what’s going on in the Central African Repub lic to see the Russian predatory project is un derway there.”

He said, “A number of powers, who want to spread their influence in Africa, are doing this to hurt France, its language, sow doubts, but above all pursue certain interests.”

A SHOCKING heist in Ger many saw thieves steal a unique collection of Celtic coins reportedly worth sever al million euros from a Bavari an museum. The robbery of the collection, totalling more than 450 pieces, was discov ered on November 22, when museum employees found an exhibition case broken.

Brazen thieves cut cable

France recently withdrew troops from an eight year counter terrorism project in Mali after the coup in 2020 damaged relations be tween the two countries. Meanwhile, Rus sian interest in the region has been increasing with several companies expressing concern.

Ancient artefacts stolen

telecommunications to carry out the heist in the early hours, with police confirming that systems went down at around 4am. Police noted the system breach, but sent their resources to protect their sus pected target, local banks.

The gold coins which date back to the third century BC

were first found in 1999, and had been a central feature of a Roman and Celtic coins col lection at the museum in Manching, Bavaria. The town is well known for its rich ar chaeology, and the loss of the collection from the Roman and Celtic museum has struck the community hard.

French President, Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of meddling.

Photo credit: Alexandros Michailidis / shutterstock.com

Number plates

A PRECARIOUS situation has been resolved in Kosovo as ministers from Serbia and Kosovo reached an agreement about a long running dispute over number plates.

The EU announced, on November 23, that the countries will normalise relations after Kosovo dropped an inflamma tory policy that would have fined ethnic Serbs €150 for using Serbian issued number plates in the country.

The decision by Kosovan Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, to suspend the law from coming in for a further 48 hours bought officials some time and an agreement was made on Wednesday November 23 to scrap the registration policy.

The incident was the most serious recent flashpoint in a decades long regional conflict. Kosovo was formerly a Ser bian province before declaring independence in 2008.

A substantial percentage of around 150,000 ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo remain committed to Serbia and reject the sovereignty of Kosovo, choosing to use Serbian currency and the Serbian flag.

‘Empty Nesters’

A BRAND new recruitment drive from airline giant easyJet, as it moves to target over 45s for cabin crew positions. Cabin crew shortages have hit the airline hard in recent months, and its latest recruitment cam paign targets a different audi ence of employees, over 45s.

The airline launched the re cruitment campaign in the UK on November 23, for cabin crew to staff its European flights. easyJet is aiming to tar get ‘empty nesters’, parents whose children have left home, or people who want a challenge in later life. The move coincides with

Woolly lawnmowers

AN unconventional gardening strategy is set to be used to tackle overgrown vineyards near to Pompeii. Italian au thorities have enlisted the help of a flock of sheep to tidy up the area near to the ruins of the ancient town.

A total of 150 sheep arrived in Pompeii on Thursday November 24, ready to tackle the issue of overgrown grass as part of an experiment to revive the ancient vineyards which were covered up for hundreds of years after the volcanic eruption in AD79. The pilot scheme will last nine months as park authorities look to at tract tourism and investment

beyond the ancient ruins.

Director of Pompeii Archae ological Park, Gabriel Zuchtrie gal welcomed the new arrivals saying, “The sheep entered the fields with great enthusiasm and got to work straight away.” He added that the sheep are also an investment since they provide free lawn mowing and fertiliser. Mainte nance bills are usually a drain on the park’s annual budget.

Using sheep instead of lawnmowers is becoming in creasingly popular across the world as agriculturalists seek environmentally­friendly solutions and look to cut back on maintenance costs.

changes in the make up of the airline’s cabin crew, with a 27

per cent increase in cabin crew aged 45 and above in the last four years and 30 per cent in crease in cabin crew aged 60 and above this year.

easyJet has faced successive cabin crew shortages through out the year due to pandemic losses when the airline cut its flights. Airport chaos earlier this year caused further prob lems, with chief executive, Jo han Lundgren, criticising the UK government for not mak ing visas easier to obtain for EU cabin crew and other airport staff.

Statement scarf

THE Hungarian Prime Minister’s nationalist neckwear has prompted outrage from the Ukraine and Romania. Victor Orbán posted a video of himself at a football match wearing a scarf bearing an image of historical Hungary, which caused offence in neighbouring countries. The gesture was interpreted as Orbán refuting neighbouring countries’ sovereignty, including Ukraine, amid Russia’s land grabbing invasion.

Orbán’s scarf featured an image of the country, but showing its pre First World War territory, when it was a regional power as the Austria Hungarian empire. Ukrainian representatives de manded an apology, accusing him of revisionism, and suggesting that the Hungarian ambassador to Ukraine would be sum moned over the decision.

The map of ‘Greater Hungary’ featured territory that now be longs to a whole host of countries including Austria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Croatia and Serbia.

Though he did not directly address the controversy, Victor Or bán took to Facebook with a statement saying “Football is not politics. Let’s not see things that aren’t really there. The Hungarian team belongs to all its supporters, wherever they live!”

RECRUITMENT DRIVE: Major European airline, easyJet is targeting the over 45s.

Photo credit: Sorbis / shutterstock.com

Exclusive Interview with Jacky Trevane

JACKY TREVANE, author of ‘Fatwa: Living with a death threat’, has been living in Spain for more than 15 years.

Aged just 23, on holiday in Egypt, she fell head over heels in love with a local man, converted to Islam and mar ried him, having two daugh ters, but life was not good and as a western woman she found it impossible to cope with non stop physical and emotional abuse.

After eight years she man aged to escape back to the UK with her children, but

even now, more than 40 years later, she lives under her assumed name and be lieves that if her whereabouts were made known, she could be in danger.

Her book, published in 2004 by Hodder & Stoughton sold 800,000 copies world wide and she was amazed by the response it received.

“The publishers received some 300,000 emails from women who identified with my position and felt that they too were treated as being in visible,” she explained.

“From those emails and with the permission and co operation of eight of the women who contacted me, I told their stories in a follow up book published a year lat er and entitled ‘Invisible Women’.”

Life goes on and with two children to bring up, a new partner and the need to work and keep busy, Jacky was in volved in setting up a school in Catalonia and is devoted to music, playing the violin with orchestras and groups.

Then in 2018, she pub

lished her third book, ‘My Life’ which attempts to pro vide a small window for you to sit, reflect and ask yourself at times pretty tough person al questions.

“Your experiences are unique and ought not to be lost to future generations. Why not record them here for posterity and enjoy a stroll down Memory Lane in the process?

“Whether you are looking for a template for a DIY auto biography or just want to pass on valuable insights and family history to your grand children this is a remarkably helpful book,” according to Jacky.

Next came the pandemic and it happened that one of her daughters was visiting from the UK and the other had been laid off by Ryanair so thought it would be great to be with mum near Grana da when suddenly they were in lockdown.

Looking for something to do, the girls said that they were going to join online dat ing site Tinder and persuaded Jacky to join them even though she suggested that “no one would be interested in an oldie like me.”

Tinder had a bit of a nega tive reputation at the time but the pandemic changed all that as people were desper

ate to make new friends and they did so in safety as they couldn’t meet, but could get to know each other over Zoom and Facetime.

Thus, was born Jacky’s lat est book ‘Tinderella’ (pub lished by Vanguard Press) which tells the story of a 60 something woman and her adventures on three dating sites where she learns to be wary and wise as most of the men she meets (but not all) fall into the categories of Frogs, Frauds, Perverts or (Po

tential) Princes.

She hasn’t found that one special person yet, but she is still looking and the book is not only an amusing insight into what happened, but is an ideal guide on how to nav igate these dating sites to those thinking of dipping their toe in the water.

Tinderella is now available to buy at Amazon in paper back or Kindle format and al though only recently re leased, has received nothing but five star reviews.

AMUSING INSIGHT: Jacky Trevane with her new book Tinderella.

Credit: Jacky Trevane

PRESS EUROPEAN

DENMARK

Conker surprise

IN a world-shattering event, not only was the winner of the 10th Copenhagen Conker Championship (which always takes place at Charlie’s bar in Copenhagen) Swedish, but she was also a woman going by the name of Elin ‘nihilation’ Giese who outplayed everyone.

THE NETHERLANDS

Critic’s award

FOR the last 12 years, lobby group Foodwatch has run a competition to name the most misleading food product and this year is no exception. Front runners are an Iced Tea brand with misleading names, a potato salad and a Kellogg’s breakfast cereal.

BELGIUM

No adverts

BRUSSELS’ Irish pub Kitty O'Shea's wanted to take a stance against Qatar but still allow sports fans to enjoy the World Cup. It decided not to turn the TVs on until kick off and turn them off at half time so no-one sees the sponsored adverts.

GERMANY

One Love

THE German Football Association (DFB) is taking advice as to whether FIFA's threat to impose a yellow card or ban on any team captain wearing the One Love rainbow armband (supporting sexual diversity) at the Qatar World Cup Finals is legal or can be overturned.

FRANCE

Mais non

THE Phyrgian red cap is a symbol of the French Revolution, but France’s Olympic Committee having chosen the cap as the Paris 2024 mascot have admitted that only 8 per cent of the souvenirs will be made in France and the rest will come from China.

NORWAY

Top tree

IN this the 75th anniversary of the supply of a Norwegian Christmas tree to London and still smarting from criticism that last year’s was tatty, Oslo Council is going all out to ensure that this year’s tree which will be in Trafalgar Square in December is top notch.

FINLAND

Keep cool

MANY cars in Finland have two electric heaters, one to warm the engine and the other the interior because the weather is so cold. Electricity company Fingrid is asking drivers not to plug in the interior heater to ensure there are no morning power cuts.

IRELAND

Craicing news

AMAZON’S Alexa can speak English with British, American, Canadian, Australian and Indian accents, but until now she hasn’t kissed the Blarney Stone and hasn’t spoken with an Irish lilt. In theory, this has all changed but whilst some Echo units can manage brogue, older versions still can’t.

ITALY

Bright idea

ON Wednesday December 7, the lights that make up the world's largest Christmas tree will be switched on to light up the slopes of Monte Ingino. Made up of 700 lights and a star, each bulb is dedicated by a local family to their loved ones.

PORTUGAL

Football fan

AS Cristiano Ronaldo captain’s Portugal in what will be his last World Cup Finals and Portuguese councils decide not to put up giant screens due to cost, the Portuguese Parliament voted to allow President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to fly to Qatar for the team’s opening match.

UKRAINE

Added art

ONE of Banksy’s seven murals painted on bomb damaged walls in Ukraine has been subject to changes by a local graffiti artist who has added an image of a Cossack and a condom. There has been a mixed reception to this addition with some Ukrainians calling it desecration.

SWEDEN

Fit gamers

WORRIED about the physical fitness and mental health of gamers, the city fathers of Helsingborg have opened FUZED, a facility of over 3,000 square metres where e-sports meets physical activity. Gamers can still play computer games, but can also play basketball or football and meet others.

FINANCE

BUSINESS EXTRA

Canaries expansion

SPANISH energy companies Naturgy and Equinor have signed an agreement with El Cluster Marítimo de Canarias (Canary Islands) to promote and develop actions that boost the competitiveness of the archipelago’s maritime sector and plan to participate in future offshore wind projects around the islands.

Fatally flawed

FORMER minister responsible for the Royal Mail Stephen By ers has told a public enquiry in to the prosecution of 700 sub postmasters for alleged theft that although he was not per sonally aware of the prosecu tions, he recognises that the contract for the software that accused them was “fatally flawed.”

Budget approved

THANKS to a deal done with Catalan Independence MPS, the Spanish parliament voted 187 to 156 to approve the pro posed 2023 budget which re flects the current Spanish gov ernment’s desire to assist those who are unable to cope with the mounting cost of living.

Paltry payment

AFTER staff, HMRC, bankers and administrators are paid, un secured creditors of furniture company Made.com which went bust owing a reported £187 million will receive just 1.6p in the pound and this in cludes some 12,000 customers who had paid for but never re ceived their goods.

Christmas gift

THERE is good news for 10,000 employees of Spanish insur ance company MAPFRE as after giving them a €350 bonus in Ju ly, it now plans to pay them a further €400 in time for Christ mas in order to help them cope with the extra costs of inflation.

STAT OF WEEK €900 million

Russian oil dilemma

THE West wants to set a price cap on the importation of Rus sian oil, but no one can agree on what that price should be.

The invasion of Ukraine has seen energy cost of all sorts soar but because Russia has such huge oil reserves and the West needs oil, it continues to export crude oil, currently at prices which are often lower than Brent.

The problem for the G7, EU and others such as the UK is that if they set the cap too high it won’t actually have any ma jor effect on the Russian econo my, but if set too low, then Russia could simply restrict production and force world prices up.

Russia still has friends around the world and could simply ex port its higher priced crude to them and benefit from the in creased price.

Whilst the proposed cap is somewhere between $60 and $70 a barrel, the current aver age price is $85 a barrel for Brent, but Russia is selling

cheaper than that and it is now reported that Putin is consider ing passing a new law whereby Russian oil exporters will be banned from supplying any country that signs up for the price cap!

To add to this, Russia is cur rently purchasing second hand tankers (reportedly 70 so far according to ship broker BRS) in order to get round any ban

on Western owned tankers from carrying Russian crude oil.

Effectively, whilst leaders dither, Russia continues in this area at least to ‘rule the roost’.

What is also sometimes over looked is that Russia is the world’s third largest producer of gold and with 2,300 tons in reserve, worth around $55 mil lion per ton, finance is possibly the least of Putin’s worries.

Gibraltar border agreement

THE Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, met with mayors from the Cam po de Gibraltar on Friday November 25 and told them that Spain and the Eu ropean Commission have sent the United Kingdom a proposal to make this area a zone of shared prosperity.

Albares, who had con vened the meeting to re port on negotiations with the United Kingdom over Gibraltar, reviewed the ob jectives and interests that Spain has been defending in this negotiating process, particularly for the benefit of the residents and eco nomic operators in the Campo.

During the meeting, the minister reported that Spain, together with the Eu ropean Commission, has put on the table a global proposal, which aims to es tablish a new legal frame work that lays the founda tions for a stable relationship between Spain and the EU, on the one hand, and the territory of

Gibraltar, through the Unit ed Kingdom, on the other.

This requires that Spain control, on behalf of Schen gen, the external borders of Gibraltar and that, for this, it can exercise certain func tions and powers, necessary to protect the integrity and security of the Schengen area.

If accepted by Gibraltar

and the UK, this would lead to the removal of fences along the border and free passage for visitors and workers as well as goods al though tobacco would need to be monitored due to dif ferences in price.

Despite this, Spain still maintains its claim on sovereignty and jurisdiction in relation to Gibraltar.

BRITISH company HLP Klearfold has made the bold statement that plastic packaging can be more sus tainable than paper and card board.

They argue that if you consider the lifetime of packaging and recog nise that paper is difficult to recycle if contaminated with food or other waste, there is a lot to consider.

Cardboard production requires a high amount of water, generates emissions and can encourage de forestation if not sourced sustain ably so it should be accepted that it isn’t as environmentally friendly as one first thinks.

Plastic requires around 40 per cent less energy than cardboard while also producing less waste.

Netflix expands

NETFLIX has expanded its studios in Madrid to become its largest in Europe.

The global streaming giant re cently unveiled its expanded stu dios, located in Ciudad de la Tele (Television City) in the municipality of Tres Cantos, which is located northeast of the Spanish capital.

With a total area of more than 22,000 m2 the studio boasts not only sets, but also offices for pro duction, make up, hairdressing, and costumes.

Netflix opened its first Spanish language studio in 2019, shortly af ter the Madrid filmed La Casa de Papel became its first global hit in a language other than English.

Fishing deal

THE UK fishing industry will benefit from increased fishing opportuni ties worth nearly £5 million in 2023 after reaching an agreement with Norway to secure access to key fishing stocks for UK vessels.

The deal secures quota of valu able North Sea whitefish stocks worth nearly £3 million and in arc tic stocks worth nearly £2 million for 2023 and ensures UK vessels have access to Norwegian waters to fish their own approved quota.

Most significant is the extension of arrangements agreed last year on mutual access, with the UK fish ing industry having access to 30,000 tonnes of whitefish stocks such as cod, haddock and hake in the North Sea.

is the amount that Barcelona FC expects to spend to completely remodel their Nou Camp stadium using funding from Goldman Sachs.

HUGE RESERVES: Vladimir Putin at the opening of Tuapse Oil Refinery.

SHARED PROSPERITY: The meeting in Madrid between Minister Albares and mayors.

3I Group 1.347,00 1.364,50 1.344,50 135,44K

Abrdn 207,70 211,70 205,05 627,72K

Admiral Group 2.104,0 2.126,0 2.096,0 36,69K

Anglo American 3.174,5 3.179,0 3.138,5 173,40K

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Ashtead Group 5.082,0 5.126,0 5.040,0 41,26K

Associated British Foods 1.579,0 1.588,5 1.568,5 84,40K

AstraZeneca 10.956,0 11.000,0 10.876,0 108,22K

Auto Trader Group Plc 574,40 578,60 570,60 204,19K

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Aviva 454,00 456,60 450,00 385,70K

B&M European Value Retail SA406,30 413,40 405,60 199,19K

BAE Systems 806,80 809,80 801,00 857,80K

Barclays 160,28 160,40 157,88 3,53M

Barratt Developments 400,80 406,80 399,65 67,89K

Berkeley 3.798,0 3.841,0 3.783,0 19,58K

BHP Group Ltd 2.443,00 2.449,00 2.419,00 170,05K

BP 481,65 481,85 475,05 6,42M

British American Tobacco 3.327,0 3.329,5 3.261,5 449,26K

British Land Company 405,90 409,10 402,70 176,85K

BT Group 125,85 127,80 125,35 1,68M

Bunzl 3.090,0 3.116,0 3.077,0 34,24K

Burberry Group 2.113,0 2.115,0 2.077,0 119,35K

Carnival 716,4 730,2 714,6 55,69K

Centrica 95,26 95,26 92,70 2,85M

Coca Cola HBC AG 2.047,0 2.047,0 2.023,0 53,71K

Compass 1.844,50 1.845,00 1.829,50 209,18K

CRH 3.318,5 3.336,0 3.303,0 70,20K

Croda Intl 6.854,0 6.952,0 6.840,0 14,40K

DCC 4.408,0 4.435,0 4.395,0 36,11K

Diageo 3.760,0 3.775,5 3.739,0 187,48K

DS Smith 305,80 308,70 304,40 516,74K

EasyJet 399,70 410,57 398,70 207,94K

Experian 2.938,9 2.981,0 2.919,0 156,36K

Ferguson 9.790,0 9.876,0 9.782,0 63,01K

Flutter Entertainment 11.865,0 11.910,0 11.720,0 32,31K

Fresnillo 895,20 899,00 886,80 53,75K

Glencore 531,30 532,40 524,70 4,75M

GSK plc 1.390,40 1.399,80 1.384,40 375,68K

Halma 2.256,0 2.279,0 2.244,0 55,82K

Hargreaves Lansdown 858,60 863,80 853,00 92,54K

Hikma Pharma 1.508,00 1.518,00 1.496,00 35,32K

HSBC 487,60 487,60 481,20 2,46M

IAG 134,16 135,40 132,00 1,84M

Imperial Brands 2.114,00 2.114,00 2.080,00 349,26K

Informa 609,00 612,40 605,80 177,22K

InterContinental

Intermediate Capital 1.217,50 1.232,00 1.204,50 199,14K

Intertek 4.017,0 4.039,0 4.003,0 20,83K

ITV 77,74 78,46 77,14 1,00M

J Sainsbury 224,80 226,30 223,10 543,24K

Johnson Matthey 2.114,0 2.123,0 2.067,0 32,95K

Land Securities 625,60 638,00 624,80 107,08K

Legal & General 259,60 261,00 258,00 913,48K

Lloyds Banking 46,24 46,28 45,73 8,55M

London Stock Exchange 8.074,0 8.156,0 8.046,0 25,27K

Melrose Industries 133,65 134,65 132,85 357,66K

Mondi 1.559,50 1.564,00 1.551,50 55,75K

National Grid 1.018,11 1.023,50 1.014,00 554,81K

NatWest Group 255,60 255,80 253,20 996,89K

Next 5.722,4 5.760,0 5.644,0 35,40K

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

Ocado 641,91 659,40 634,00 335,98K

Persimmon 1.290,0 1.308,0 1.273,8 47,09K

Phoenix 606,60 609,80 603,60 183,16K

Prudential 938,60 942,80 920,20 469,83K

Reckitt Benckiser 5.928,0 5.946,0 5.854,0 128,03K

Relx 2.318,00 2.335,00 2.305,00 180,30K

Rentokil 543,40 548,40 541,00 373,69K

Rightmove 556,40 563,00 552,80 304,48K

Rio Tinto PLC 5.341,0 5.345,0 5.277,0 216,53K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 90,74 91,56 89,64 3,95M

Sage 811,04 816,80 806,80 63,56K

Samsung Electronics DRC 1.122,00 1.124,50 1.116,00 0,98K

Schroders 460,0 465,7 454,3 139,72K

Scottish Mortgage 757,59 764,80 753,80 295,28K

Segro 815,30 838,20 814,00 174,84K

Severn Trent 2.794,0 2.837,0 2.785,0 47,28K

Shell 2.338,5 2.339,5 2.291,0 1,35M

Smith & Nephew 1.085,50 1.093,00 1.077,00 584,09K

Smiths Group 1.616,50 1.620,00 1.605,00 39,96K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 11.305,0 11.450,0 11.265,0 5,42K

SSE 1.719,15 1.733,00 1.712,00 159,52K

St. James’s Place 1.164,00 1.174,00 1.159,00 6,11K

Standard Chartered 587,00 587,20 577,60 438,16K

Taylor Wimpey 102,70 104,15 102,05 1,08M

Tesco 233,80 235,30 232,90 1,34M

Tui 146,85 149,35 146,15 301,03K

Unilever 4.118,5 4.126,0 4.100,5 251,33K

United Utilities 1.056,50 1.079,50 1.054,50 148,68K

3M 129,04 129,82 881,74K

American Express 154,15 154,47 153,17 665,77K

Amgen 283,74 285,57 281,41 1,22M

Apple 148,11 148,88 147,12 35,17M

Boeing 178,36 178,46 174,03 3,47M

Caterpillar 235,70 237,49 235,19 1,03M

Chevron 183,70 185,30 183,31 2,80M

Cisco 48,40 49,05 48,35 8,49M

Coca-Cola 62,69 62,81 62,38 5,17M

Dow 51,56 51,82 51,42 1,65M

Goldman Sachs 388,86 389,44 385,18 1,13M

Home Depot 326,38 329,08 321,90 3,39M

Honeywell 220,05 220,96 217,74 1,12M

IBM 148,37 149,49 148,10 2,08M

Intel 29,34 29,68 29,33 11,31M

J&J 177,24 178,12 176,86 3,06M

JPMorgan 136,74 137,14 136,05 3,22M

McDonald’s 275,00 275,32 272,86 1,60M

Merck&Co 107,50 107,50 106,56 3,16M

Microsoft 247,49 248,70 246,73 9,20M

Nike 105,96 107,18 105,56 3,43M

Procter&Gamble 146,72 147,20 146,40 2,41M

Salesforce Inc 153,35 154,04 151,38 3,02M

The Travelers 188,91 189,53 187,68 514,68K

UnitedHealth 537,62 540,85 532,52 1,42M

Verizon 39,02 39,36 38,97 7,72M

Visa A 213,79 214,00 211,38 1,99M

Walgreens Boots 41,66 41,97 41,42 2,23M

Walmart 153,07 153,09 151,86 2,93M

Walt Disney 98,87 99,81 98,08 6,66M

Vodafone Group PLC 92,95 93,33 92,49 8,71M Whitbread 2.622,0 2.652,0 2.604,0 24,81K WPP 876,20 879,80 871,80 128,86K Most

Fairfax

Telecom

Most Declined

Lufax

COSCO

Co., Ltd. -11.56% 100,000

Pilbara Minerals Limited -10.32% 381,581

Livent Corporation -8.81% 5.625M

Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. -8.20% 5.408M

Bilibili Inc. -7.15% 6.2M

Lithium Americas Corp. -7.05% 3.155M

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. -6.80% 2.448M

Luckin Coffee Inc. -6.74% 1.902M

Bank of Ireland Group plc -6.71% 34,151

Futu Holdings Limited -6.51% 1.413M

Peter Loveday

Currency outlook: Pound volatile following BoE’s recession warning, US dollar falls in tandem with Fed rate hike bets

Euro

EUR/GBP: Down from £0.87 to £0.86

EUR/USD: Up from $0.98 to $1.03

The euro fluctuated over the last month, amid a mix of concerns over the war in Ukraine and bets for more aggressive interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank (ECB). At the end of October EUR exchange rates were buoyed by forecasts for a 75bps rate hike from the ECB. While the bank matched these expectations, its dovish forward guidance swiftly reversed these gains. The euro then found its feet again in the first half of November. The single currency’s neg ative correlation with the US dollar allowing it to rally as the latter weakened. However EUR’s as cent then ran out of steam amid fears Russia’s war with Ukraine might be spilling over into the rest of Europe, after a stray missile killed two in Poland. It seems safe to assume that the euro will remain sensitive to Ukraine developments over the coming month, with the ECB’s next in terest rate decision also likely to influence the di rection of the single currency.

Pound

GBP/EUR: Up from €1.14 to €1.15

GBP/USD: Up from $1.13 to $1.18

BUSINESS

EXTRA

Relax rules

THE UK should use immigra tion to solve worker short ages and boost economic growth according to Tony Danker, CEO of the Confed eration of British Industry (CBI). He wants the govern ment to help companies re cruit qualified British staff.

IMF forecast

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its forecast for 2022 Spanish GDP to 4.6 per cent but has warned that growth will be weak over coming months due to a slowdown in exter nal demand.

Animal magic

THE pandemic saw a signifi cant growth in UK business Pets at Home as customers flocked to obtain pets and although there has been a reduction in owners now, there is still a strong market despite rising costs.

Trade in the pound has been choppy over the past four weeks. Sterling initially soared as Rishi Sunak was appointed as the UK’s new Prime Minister. GBP investors were optimistic his tenure will be less tumultuous than his predeces sor, Liz Truss.

However, these gains were reversed almost immediately as a result of some particularly bleak forecasts from the Bank of England (BoE). The BoE warned the UK is facing its longest re cession on record. An improving market mood helped Sterling to recoup some of these losses in the weeks that followed, although Sterling’s as cent did not come without its hurdles.

These came in the form of some mixed UK data as well as the government’s Autumn State ment. While Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s tax and spending plans helped to restore the UK’s finan cial credibility, his confirmation that the UK is in a recession spooked investors. Looking ahead, the pound may face some headwinds in the month to come if UK data continues to point to a slow down in domestic growth.

US Dollar

USD/GBP: Down from $0.88 to $0.83 USD/EUR: Down from €1.01 to €0.96

The US dollar has trended broadly lower over

Fears over merger

THE UK Competition and Market Authority, the CMA, fears a merger could in crease UK oil and gas costs as with less competition production costs could rise.

Well intervention services are essential services used by oil and gas operators to manage well production, provide well diagnostics and modify a well’s state or con figuration.

Two of three of the largest companies, Baker Hughes and Altus supply various well intervention services in the UK, including to opera tors active on the UK conti nental shelf.

An investigation by the CMA has found that Baker Hughes and Altus are the two largest providers of both coiled tubing and pumping services in the UK and compete very closely in the supply of these services currently.

After any merger, Baker Hughes would face competi tion from only one other major supplier Halliburton

and a small number of other suppliers that are much weaker competitors in the UK.

The CMA is therefore con cerned that the loss of rival ry between the merging companies could lead to higher prices, reduced choice and lower quality ser vices for businesses in the UK that purchase coiled tub ing and pumping services.

Colin Raftery, Senior Di rector of Mergers at the CMA, said: “Our investiga

tion showed that Baker Hughes’ purchase of Altus would take out an impor tant supplier and few re maining competitors would be left in the market. We will move to an in depth in vestigation unless the com panies can address our con cerns.”

The two parties are now required to submit mitiga tion to the CMA explaining why the takeover should not be examined more thor oughly.

the past month. The sudden reversal in the ‘greenback’s fortunes being driven by USD in vestors scaling back their expectations for future Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

This repricing of expectations was primarily at tributed to signs that US inflation may have peaked. The US reported a larger-than-expected fall in its consumer price index and producer price index in October.

An improving market mood also weakened demand for the safe-haven currency through the first half of November. Although a subse quent souring of risk appetite in response to Ukraine concerns and a spike in Chinese Covid cases has offered some support to USD ex change rates.

The Fed’s December interest rate decision will no doubt be the highlight for USD investors in the coming month. If the US central bank sur prises by delivering another 75bps rate hike we could see the US dollar surge.

Currencies Direct have helped over 430,000 customers save on their currency transfers since 1996. Just pop into your local Currencies Direct branch or give us a call to find out more about how you can save money on your currency trans fers.

Building safety

THERE is to be major change in the rules concerning re sponsibility for the obligations to fix unsafe residential buildings in Britain as the government intends for it to be come the responsibility of the builder rather than the leaseholder.

Proposals for how developers would pay to fix unsafe buildings have been set out by the government as it moves a step closer to imposing its new Building Safety Levy.

The government has now begun consulting developers and other interested parties on the plans, which will see an estimated £3 billion collected over the next 10 years.

Under the plan, developers of residential buildings, re gardless of their height, will have to pay the levy contri bution as part of the building control process.

Subsidised mortgages

THE Council of Ministers in Spain has adopted a package of measures aimed at the families most af fected by the rise in Euribor which influences vari able rate mortgages which has been caused by the war in Ukraine.

More than a million Spanish households will be able to benefit from this protection, approximately a third of those with variable rate mortgages, ac cording to Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño.

Whilst she suggested that the Euribor rate is still low compared to pre pandemic rates, she recog nised that many vulnerable families were worried about the additional cost of mortgages which is why the government will help them.

NORTH SEA OIL: Well intervention services are used.

Credit: NAC CC

MIX OF CONCERNS: The euro has fluctuated over the last month.

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

OTHERS THINK IT

STRANGE to receive occasional letters accusing me of always supporting the Conservative Party; misconceived balderdash of course. Mind you, frankly I would rather support any party than the Labour movement.

Some of us really do have to declare opposition to the utter conspiracy, now being indoctrinated by the left support ing media and its offshoots of anti right activists. Even ‘Celebrity Get Me Out’ was crammed with supporters of the left. To vie Matt Hancock no doubt! The first voted out was Ms White, and she was probably the worst of all. She posi tively hates right wingers and even seems to consider them racist.

Labour, and its raggle taggle bunch of so called politicians, has frankly come up with nothing at all likely to solve the country’s problems. In their pathetic bumbling efforts to gain popularity, they just recently actually stood up in the house and stated that were they elected they would get rid of the House of Lords.

Wow, what a great idea to solve problems that are at this time strangling the country and its citizens. To be hon

Gees a job!

est even I would like to see something take the place of the House of Lords, but not to even be contemplating changes in that direction at this mo ment, when every fibre in the UK politi cal bodies should be concentrating on emerging from the swamp of despair the country is drowning in.

This ludicrous party actually sat around a table and discussed announc ing this ridiculous scheme, during yet another time wasting meet of specious thinking. What an utter misconception and example of the ends this lot will in duce to receive votes. (Gees a job!)

Labour were also, under Blair, the ex ponents of mass immigration. To attain even more votes, Starmer is now en deavouring to attain more popularity by cutting the numbers down! You couldn’t make it up.

I do recall some years ago Qatar be gan advertising its airline on British TV. (Paying a fortune no doubt!) When it was learned that Qatar is actually pro nounced as rhyming with catarrh; the tongue twisted convulsions the media got into trying to pronounce it different ly was so ridiculous I do actually re

member mentioning it in a column. Well, now they’ve attained the World Cup, nothing’s changed. Only its citizens and Arabic fraternities announce it cor rectly, everyone else calls it Katah!

Another endeavour that has earned a money avalanche for some specific time consuming numbskull somewhere. May I repeat once again gees a job. I really would be quite good at it ya know.

Keep those letters coming; just be cause I only reply to the occasional in put, I do read and appreciate every one. Oh, and by the way. Thousands on so cial media objecting to ‘the World Cup knee!’ 100 per cent correct. Anyone lis tening? No chance.

Keep the faith.

Love Leapy leapylee2002@hotmail.com expatradioscotland.com Mon and Fri. 1pm till 4.

For more from our columnists please

OUR VIEW

CIRCULAR ECONOMY CHRISTMAS

WITH less than a month to Christmas, many charities are do ing their best to raise funds in order to be able to continue with their important work.

The problem of course is that with the continuing rise in the cost of living it becomes more important that those in need (two or four legged) are helped, but equally fewer peo ple can afford to spare money as they face their own Christ mas costs.

In some parts of Spain where expatriates are known for digging deep, there have been so many charity lunches and dinners planned that they are overlapping and more than one organisation has decided to postpone their Christmas event until February where there will be less competition.

Some charities are inviting people to gift wrap toys which will then be distributed to those families which are unable to afford to buy gifts for their children and as more youngsters expect something at Christmas and then a few days later Three Kings’ Day, the cost becomes even greater.

Many children have more toys than they can ever play with and in a lot of cases as they grow, they lose interest in them, so perhaps some enterprising charity could think of ap pealing to parents and children to donate good quality, no longer wanted toys and games for those in need as an old toy for one child is a new toy for another.

The world is coming round to the concept of the circular economy where all sorts of goods are either repurposed or recycled and this is a great opportunity to let children help other children and learn from their own example.

Seen and unseen

LINDA HALL

DECADES ago you still saw young girls riding a Vespa sidesaddle.

My neighbour Presentacion, a com fortably off widow, proudly bought her daughter, Presentacion II, a Vespa when she started work, to a combina tion of admiration, criticism and envy.

Naturally, she was instructed to ride sidesaddle, which looked ladylike and Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday al though the principle was not elegance but remaining chastely intact.

What Presentacion didn’t realise but everyone else knew, was that once Pre sentacion II was safely out of sight she sat astride the gleaming Vespa with as far as she and her boyfriend were con cerned no untoward consequences.

Presentacion madre also went through a phase of encouraging Pre sentacion hija and the younger girl, Asuncion, to greet family members and friends with the words, ‘Ave Maria Purisima’.

This, amongst the devout, prompted the response, ‘Sin pecado concebida’, but reciting the opening lines of the

Hail Mary merely labelled the girls as rather too devout.

As a rule they were met with an old fashioned look, silence or, if the duo were really unlucky, a guffaw. To general relief, Presentacion eventually dropped her ostentatious piety, and I wasn’t surprised. As a lapsed and reso lutely non churchgoing Catholic even I was shocked at the overt anticlerical ism I encountered more than 50 years ago.

No one that I knew not necessarily representative of polite Spanish soci ety, I admit went to Mass. Funnily enough, they were still married in church, had their children christened in church and then, the high spot of every childhood, saw that they made their first Communion.

Little boys enjoyed the event, but were usually dressed in a sailor suit or, worse still, a monk’s habit, which was nowhere as near as exciting as dressing up as a mini bride as girls could. Fortu nately the religious ceremony was dis posed of by mid morning, allowing the adults to get down to the serious busi ness of eating, drinking, making merry and slagging off the clergy. As they still do, incidentally.

LeapyLee’sopinionsarehisownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Healthy habits

DURING the winter months, seasonal sickness es can strike and ruin your plans, but luckily there are ways to reduce your chances of catching any thing. Here we share three top tips from medical pro fessionals on how you can protect yourself against seasonal bugs.

1. Get a flu vaccine

If you are able to get a flu vaccine, take the opportu nity. In Spain, a government campaign aims to vaccinate 75 per cent of over 65s and people with health condi tions, as well as through pri vate healthcare providers. Colds and flus are constant ly evolving, so doctors rec ommend taking the annual flu vaccine as it targets cur rent strains of sickness.

2. Practise good hygiene

If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s

that good hygiene is crucial. Wash your hands before and after eating and after sneezing or coughing, avoid touching your mouth and nose often, and avoid close contact with other people that are sick.

3. Boost your immune system

Try to eat a balanced diet

containing lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the winter months.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle by exercising fre quently and getting at least seven hours of sleep per night.

You can also consider tak ing vitamin supplements if you have any deficiencies.

By Clinica Britannia

Time

to

look and feel your best

WE all want to look and feel our best espe cially around Christmas. So why not make an appointment with an Aesthetic Doctor who can have you looking and feeling fabu lous within no time at all, no matter your age.

As we age facial wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and the formation of fine lines start to ap pear. Unfortunately, even the best skincare routine cannot turn back the clock and make someone’s skin look as good as it did a decade ago.

However, there are many new treat ments available, which when used in con junction with each other, give amazing re sults. Botox, Hyaluronic acid fillers and specialised peeling treatments can allow people to enjoy the glowing, youthful skin they have been wishing for.

The benefits include:

• Restoring a youthful looking appearance by filling lines and wrinkles or adding vol ume.

• Enhancing facial balance and harmony to the face.

It’s never too late to look radiant.

• Smoothing wrinkles in areas, such as the cheeks, mouth, and nose folds.

• Refreshing and improving the smoothness, elasticity, and appearance of the skin for a radiant looking glow.

• Enhancing the volume of the lips, giving them a natural fuller look, for that perfect pout. Wrinkles around the mouth area can also be smoothed.

Remember it’s never too late to get back that radiant look.

Calpe

WORLD CUP fever is officially here as the matches kicked off in Qatar. And if you want to feel even more involved with the tournament, keep read ing! Here we share some health tips and tricks that World Cup stars swear by!

• Enjoy your hobbies

World Cup wellness

England star Phil Foden loves to fish during his down time, while Harry Kane and Wales captain Gareth Bale en joy a game of golf. Nutritionist, Jess Hilliard agrees “They can

combat stress and anxiety and improve concentration and patience.”

• Eat vitamin rich foods

Argentinian legend Lionel Messi and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo both love seaweed. Seaweed has the nutritional stamp of approval, as a vitamin, mineral, and pro tein rich food which also con tains vital antioxidants and io dine which maintains a healthy metabolism.

• Keep your mind sharp

England defender, Trent Alexander Arnold swears by activities including advanced augmented reality games and chess to improve reactions, memory and depth percep tion. Talking about chess he said “It’s similar to football, all about strategy, tactics and dif ferent ways of playing.”

• Take a power nap

England legend Eric Dier says that napping gives him an edge, “I love napping straight after training. It makes me feel better for the rest of the day.”

Clinica la Ermita: Your specialist clinic in Javea

CLINICA LA ERMITA offers vari ous specialist medical treatments in a relaxing and comforting at mosphere, where you will find all of your health needs addressed under one roof in a language that you can understand. A spacious and modern villa perfectly locat ed next to Montgo, the clinic strives to give patients the best care and service while making them feel at ease.

Offering a holistic approach to medical care, Dr Frederic Hesters has been an independent family doctor since 2004, treating pa tients in Belgium before returning to Spain in 2021. As a family physi cian, Dr Hesters addresses the bio logical, physical and social dimen sions of a problem, giving you peace of mind that you and your loved ones are getting the best possible medical care.

From your first contact with the clinic, you will be met with opera

tions director and co owner Peter Van den Bergh, who can assist you in English, Spanish, Dutch and French. Thanks to his extensive knowledge of the sector, Peter will be happy to make appointments for you and answer your ques tions on all kinds of topics such as exams, administrative matters, specialists, insurance and much more.

Clinica la Ermita specialises in acupuncture, audiology, home

care, physiotherapy, traumatolo gy, foot reflexology, urology and orthopaedic surgery, making it the best place for all medical issues and problems. The patient fo cused approach at the clinic means the specialists and doctors here have excellent patient doctor communication, giving each pa tient enough time and involve ment as well as organising good continuity of care.

Noting early symptoms, Dr Hes

ters uses an integrated approach and uses specific tools such as physical examinations, the pa tient’s health history and technical examinations, working on preven tive, curative and palliative aspects of care.

Patients can undergo a range of tests and processes at the clinic in cluding dietary, minor surgery, paediatric development evalua tion, pre operative laboratory, co agulation test, medical review,

and vaccines.

For emergency call outs, your call will be forwarded to Dr Hester.

Clinica la Ermita work together with ASSSA, Cosalud and Sanitas (COGESA and Health Plan Classic) health insurances to look after your medical care.

With a range of different disci plines under one roof and a multi lingual team, patients benefit from quick cooperation, excellent ser vice and a calming atmosphere.

By Clinica Britannia

Caring for dentures

I HAVE a denture and having just moved to the area, worry what will happen if it becomes loose or breaks, as in the past I have been left 48 hours without them, unable to eat.

Like natural teeth, dentures are an in tegral part of our everyday life, they aid us in chewing our food, affect the way we look and talk, and can also help give us back our self confidence that we may have lost after past dental problems may have caused us to lose our teeth.

When the denture does not fit cor rectly or an accident happens and our dentures break or fracture and we can no longer use them, it can be over whelming and embarrassing.

After all, we need them, just as the same as anyone with natural teeth, to carry on life as normal. For most den ture wearers, broken or ill fitting den tures are cause for an emergency and need to be treated by your Dentist as just that, ‘An Emergency’.

Don’t wait, find a Dental practice in your area that can offer an Express Dental Service, often being able to fix dentures within the hour or while you wait without compromising on the quality of the work done.

A perfectly located spacious and modern villa. Treatment in a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. You will be made to feel at ease.

TURNING UP THE HEAT ON CONUNDRUMS

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

REMEMBER the recent health warn ings about high temperatures in the UK? One day I planned a 10k run at 2pm in a fancy dress bear suit, with battery powered hair dryers inside for added warmth, while drinking gallons of hot coffee. Thank goodness the ‘authorities’ advised otherwise. Phew, who’d have thought it’d be hot in July of all months... Which reminded me of this similar conun drum:

There was a daddy camel and a baby camel who asks, “Daddy, why have I got such large eye lashes?” Daddy camel replies, “Well, son, in desert sand storms they stop the sand being blown in your eyes.” Baby camel

frowns. “Daddy, why have I got such big feet?” “Well,” replies daddy, “in the desert after sandstorms, they stop you sinking into the soft sand.” Baby camel frowns again. “Daddy, why have I got such a big hump on my back?” “Well, son, it lets you go for days in the desert without stop ping for water.” Baby camel frowns again. “Daddy, I’ve got just one more ques tion... Why am I in Blackpool Zoo?”

How to tackle conun drums like these?

Nurse, the screens please! That’s better, now we’re back on the meds. And bring that big syringe!

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

Colourful pallet

calm. These minimalist colours are perfect for an of fice as they can help with fo cus and concentration.

White and beige White and beige are great classic options, their simplicity can help us to relax and feel

Yellow and gold These happy colours bring a sense of well being into a space. A great option for din ing and living rooms because they bring vitality which is perfect for encouraging con versations and a social atmo sphere.

Blue Light blue is ideal for a bed room as it brings a sense of to tal calm. Light green and turquoise are also great op tions as they offer a feeling of freedom that is perfect for re laxing.

Red

Red and earthy tones are ideal for a kitchen because they add a rustic, cosy and heart of the home feel.

NoraJohnson’sopinionsareherownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Noraistheauthorofpopularpsychological suspenseandcrimethrillersandafreelancejournalist.

Nora’s latest thriller.

A LOT can be said for the colours that we use to deco rate our houses. Colours can affect how we feel and inter act with others. Here we share some top tips by interi or design experts on which colours are best for which spaces in our homes.

CALMING: Marine colours in a bedroom can make it a relaxing space that is ideal for sleeping.

Photo credit: Ground Picture / shutterstock.com

Pets into Spain

CONSULAR MATTERS

AS a lawyer here in Spain it’s easy for me to take my two dogs on holiday within the EU but after Brexit it’s a lot harder for nationals of a third country like the United Kingdom and the United States to move to Spain with their dog or cat.

If you want to bring your pet to Spain, you need to comply with some conditions. First of all, the number of animals transported should not be more than five and their age should be more than 12 weeks, this is due to mandatory rabies vaccination.

No later than 26 days before their entry in to Spain, the animal must be chipped and vaccinated, as well as have an international veterinary passport. This document contains basic information about the owner, the ani mal, his availability of mandatory vaccina tions, the date of chipping and the individual microchip number.

The microchip must meet international quality standards ISO 11784/11785. The chip must have then data of all the animals being

transferred passed to the International Ani mal ID database.

The next step, 21 days after the rabies vac cination and no later than five days before expected entry into Spain, is to obtain a vet erinary certificate No.1. This document is is sued only at state animal disease control sta tions with print and signature. It is impossible to obtain this document in private veterinary clinics. The document contains the same in formation as in the vet passport, but further indicates the region where the animal lives and the well being of the region regarding particularly dangerous animal diseases.

This document is then changed to the European Animal Health Certificate, which is issued at veterinary control points prior to departure. To do this, at the veterinary checkpoint, you must bring the Form No 1, a pet for clinical examination and an inter national vet passport and pay the duty. The certificate will be completed in English and the language of the destination coun try, in this case Spanish. The validity of the European Certificate is 10 days, during which it is necessary to cross the EU border with your pet. This way, your pet can al ways be with you.

Born to power?

SALLY UNDERWOOD POLITICAL ANIMAL

A LOT is said about how politics is a play ground for those born to privilege, as well as a hotbed for nepotism.

Certainly, there do seem to be a dispropor tionately high number of husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and others who are somehow related to each other in parliament.

Let’s take Boris Johnson MP and Lord Jo Johnson of Marylebone (brothers), Maria and Angela Eagle MP (sisters), and Ellie and Rachel Reeves MP (sisters).

Former MP Nicholas Soames, as well as be ing Winston Churchill’s grandson, was related to no fewer than five former MPs. Hilary Benn MP is related to three former politicos.

If you take into account school and universi ty alumni, (five of the last 15 prime ministers went to Eton and 12 of them to Oxford) the proportion increases even more dramatically.

Is this a case then of like minded people all being drawn to the same career or evidence of a self selecting carousel of elite all keeping each other in jobs?

The overwhelming majority would proba

bly say there is some truth in it being the latter.

Common sense would certainly say that a body of people put in place to represent soci ety should at the very least come close to rep resenting the various different sections of it. But how do you begin improving access to a broader cross section of the public?

It strikes me that one of the biggest barriers in encouraging more people to get involved in politics is that the inner working of politics seems to be, almost deliberately, opaque. For a lot of people, the thought of entering into the whole sphere seems to be too remote to even be worth considering.

Why, for example, don’t we have an educa tion system that teaches children the differ ence between what a local council does com pared to a local MP, and why any of it even matters? If knowledge really is power, how could this hurt?

It would almost certainly help too if parties instead of just contacting the public to collect their votes, also actually got in touch with them to encourage them to get involved in party level decisions.

Once people feel the whole process is a little less smoke and mirrors, you never know, we might end up with fewer Eton school mates. That really would be democracy at work.

Sally’sopinionsareherownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Marisa Moreno Castillo Consul for Denmark and Senior Lawyer at Just Law Solicitors. www.justlawsolicitors.com • contact@justlawsolicitors.com

LETTERS

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.

SMACK IN THE FACE

I’M so angry to read that Britain’s MPs can now also claim expens es for the cost of food, should they wish to hold any Christmas celebrations.

What a selfish, greedy, parlia ment we have! This ‘allowance’ is a blatant smack in the face for the workers on low incomes; for those who have to go through hoops to receive benefits; for those who have to take strike ac tion to receive salary increases, and for the thousands of pen sioners who, having paid tax all of their working lives, now have to exist on a totally inadequate, well below minimum wage pen sion.

The greedy MPs should hold their heads in shame. They should open their eyes to the real world and stop thinking of them selves.

They should be made to live, for at least one month, on a basic pension, from which every single household bill has to be paid. Without access to their no doubt healthy bank accounts, they wouldn’t last a week!

They clearly have no idea of the struggle low income families have, day to day. They are content to enjoy their privileged lives, with out a thought for the people who have to make a choice; whether to eat or to heat?

When will someone in the po sition to do so, take responsibili ty, and put in the effort to give EVERYONE a decent standard of living?

Maureen Gallifant

Hello Leapy

Thought I would mention yet another example of the BBC be ing out of touch with the public.

In spite of all the hours they have devoted to Party Gate on TV, radio news and especially the Today Programme, Matt Han cock has reached the final of I’m a Celebrity... on ITV.

This was the result of daily public voting.

Party Gate was bad of course but this highlights again BBC bias. I wonder if the same number of hours would be spent if there was a Labour government.

Never miss your column in EWN, thanks.

Too much time

I have read the stories in the newspaper over the last couple of weeks about the protesters defacing works of art and statues and quite frankly I think that these people have too much time on their hands to plan out these attacks. You have had your 15minutes of fame, get a job or volunteer at a charity shop.

Arthur Mancs

Way too early

Am I the only one to think that putting your Christmas decora tions up in November is just way too early. Sorry to be the Grinch of Christmas, but tradition is that you put your tree up 12 days be fore and take it down 12 days af ter. If nothing else you might save some pennies on your electricity bill.

Ethel Daniels

Be kind

My mother used to say to me if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. Why can’t we be more like that now, these social media groups with the bitchy and nasty com ments, no one is forcing you to comment, so if you don’t like the posts please feel free to scroll past.

Please be kind.

Graham

Sally Harris

BRITAIN’S MPs: What a greedy parliament we have!

Credit: Shutterstock.com/zjtmath

Helping the homeless

THERE are an estimated 30,000 homeless people living rough in Spain.

At least half of those accord ing to the official government figures are foreigners of which British nationals represent a significant and increasing part.

The British Benevolent Fund works closely with the UK con sular network to find local so lutions or in many cases help in repatriation to the UK.

Some live in cars, others in street doorways, underground passages, and even caves.

Some have been in Spain for years. They survive from day to day by the coins given by passers by, food banks and lo cal charities, some of whom provide temporary accommo dation for cold nights, a hot shower and a meal.

Many suffer from mental is sues, depression, and despair. One such man was in his mid 70s when we were alert ed to his case. Neighbours in a rural area in northern Spain had reported a man seen at night time. The Guardia Civil followed through and discov ered that he was a British na

tional and had been living in a cave some distance from a local village. To their very great credit the villagers collected money for him for food and a sleeping bag. Someone who spoke English drove him to the nearest large town where there was a homeless charity who gave him addition al items and called the con sulate to report the case.

It turned out that the man had been living in England and had been recently widowed he had come to Spain to find their estranged son whom he believed lived in Spain.

He had run out of money al most on arrival, lost his phone and passport and been living rough for over a month. By the time a UK consular officer was able to contact him he was in considerable distress.

The British Benevolent Fund was able to fund emergency accommodation in a local hostal while the consulate was able to establish his identity and contact his local authority in England. They discovered

the man was known to social services in his area and through the consulate we were able to pay for the emer gency travel document and his repatriation back home. Some months later we received a hand written letter it was from the son.

He was writing to say thank you and to say that he was now reconciled with his father and was in regular contact. He went on to say that his father had little recollection of the time he was found living rough in Spain and just wanted to say thank you for the kindness of strangers and to the BBF for getting him home.

The BBF works tirelessly be hind the scenes to provide the financial help for people in dire financial situations.

We can only help with your generosity.

www.britishbenevolent fund.org

Yes and no

CASSANDRA NASH

THE new Ley de Libertad Sexual is popu larly known as the ‘Only yes means yes’ law.

It states that a woman’s silence or pas sivity cannot be interpreted as consent ing to sex. The absurdity of this premise was made clear in 2016 when five men gang raped an 18 year old girl.

A tribunal initially convicted them of sexual abuse, with nine year sentences because their lordships and one lady ship saw via a 96 second video that the girl was immobile, with closed eyes, sug gesting she was okay with the situation. The sentences were revised, but the law wasn’t modified until six years later.

Unfortunately, the Ley de Libertad Sexual is benefiting abusers, attackers and rapists, as Spanish jurisprudence al lows a new law to be retroactively ap plied if this benefits the defendant.

Because it redefines sexual offences and their sentences, some offenders have successfully applied for reductions and Equality minister Irene Montero’s critics are revelling in her discomfort.

They cited with glee a Murcia man whose prison term for attempted sexual aggression was cut and two others who walked free in Baleares.

Meanwhile, they forget that La Rioja High Court rejected 54 applications for reductions.

Irene Montero is the former partner of the Podemos party’s principal founder, Pablo Iglesias who left active politics in May 2021 and resigned as vice president of the Spanish government.

He was replaced by Yolanda Diaz, who represents Izquierda Unida in the uneasy Unidas Podemos alliance and is minister of Labour.

Asked to break her silence regarding Montero’s law, she recommended “pru dence” and avoiding “social alarm.”

Still lurking in the political background, Iglesias never turns down a chance to snipe at Diaz. “Not only is it mean spirit ed and cowardly to turn aside when a colleague is crushed, but it is also politi cally stupid,” he declared.

He did not name Diaz, nor did he need to, because what Iglesias cannot digest, and what sticks in his throat, is that she is more popular than he ever was.

Olaf Clayton of BBF.

Getting it right

Betty Henderson

WITH multiple bank holidays coming up during December, many people in Spain are thinking about taking a trip. Camping in December might not be the conventional plan, but this year’s unusually warm weather means that this could be the perfect time to enjoy a December camping trip. Here we share some top tips on how to get the most out of a winter camping trip.

Pack some warmth

Staying warm is fundamen tal to your happiness during winter camping trips, take a warm sleeping bag and extra blankets as well as enough changes of clothes for unex pected rain.

Research your site

The campsite you choose is more important during the winter than the summer. Hav ing facilities like warm showers or an indoor space can take your December camping expe rience to the next level. It is al

so worth checking out the rules of your chosen campsite, to check whether you can get cosy with a campfire.

Have a back up plan

Weather can be unpre dictable at this time of year, and nobody wants to spend their bank holiday freezing or soaked. Having a back up plan can save you this trouble. When planning your trip, find a nearby place you can go to warm up or an indoor activity for if the weather takes a turn.

DURING the winter months, tradi tional camping isn’t always for the fainthearted. But you can still get your outdoor fix while staying warm and cosy with a glamping experi ence.

With more and more glamping destinations opening all the time across Spain, you can find the perfect winter getaway. Here we share some of the most exciting glamping experiences on offer in Spain, so you can design your perfect break.

Vineyard glamping Spain’s many vineyards across the country make for an exquisite glamp ing experience. At a glamping site near Barcelona, guests can enjoy comfortable accommodation in yurts, watch the winemaking process

MAJOR players in the Spanish and European camping market came to gether at the National Camping Congress which was held from November 14 to 16 in Gijón.

More than 250 industry figures in cluding campsite owners and camping lovers shared their views on the cur rent state of the market and goals for the next year, amid a post pandemic boom in interest. Several exciting new projects and networks were also launched during the event.

Cycling tourism

Industry leaders highlighted a boom in the ‘cyclo tourism’ element of the

Winter glamping

dwelling, a yurt, just a stone’s throw from the beach. While at the site you can rest assured that all energy used to heat your shower or cook your food has been generated using re newable wind or solar sources.

Active glamping

and sample local wines.

Eco friendly glamping

Sustainable glamping experiences are hugely in demand currently. At an eco friendly escape in Tarifa you can also sleep in a traditional nomad

Huge success

camping industry and discussed a mar keting strategy to attract more cyclist campers. Techniques include having bike maintenance equipment on site and route suggestions on hand.

Sustainable solutions

A key focus of this year’s conference was dealing with resource manage ment due to the climate crisis and en

If you are seeking a glamping expe rience while enjoying some wellness and activities, a site on the Costa Blanca has got you covered. Guests can sleep in unique ‘safari tents’ and even a cave villa! Activities include yoga, hiking and swimming, while surrounded by unspoiled nature.

ergy shortages. Campsite owners shared their sustainable solutions to current issues such as installing electric car charging points to attract electric vehicle owners, solar panels on camp sites and hi tech water management systems.

Amazing accessibility

Nationally, campsite owners shared a desire to make their sites more ac cessible to wider audiences. Although campsites must meet legal require ments to cater to disabled users, but many campsites want to offer addi tional services to welcome disabled campers on site.

Guests can enjoy a more comfortable stay in Mongolian-style yurts.

MANY animal lovers go for a rabbit as a pet. Their calm but playful nature, low mess lifestyle and cud dly features make them an excellent pet choice. But how easy is it to keep a pet rabbit? Here we share some advice from vets on how you can have the hap piest rabbit possible!

• Breed choice

Vets in Spain recom mend researching rabbit breeds before purchasing one, but advise choosing either the Mini Lop rabbit or the Dutch rabbit breeds.

Mini Lops are small,

weighing less than 1.5 kilo grams, so are a good choice for owners with less space. Dutch rabbits adjust well to being domestic pets, but males are recom mended for their calmer nature.

• Consider lifestyle

Both breeds of rabbit al so require daily exercise and some time out of their cage, so be prepared to ex ercise your rabbit for opti mal happiness. Rabbits al so enjoy independence sometimes, cuddling them too much can be over whelming. Rabbits live for an average of eight years, so it is important to also consider whether you can commit to looking after it.

• Rabbit health

Rabbits thrive on a diet of grass and hay with two cups of vegetables such as leafy greens per day. Keep your rabbit in a warm, dry enclosure for a great quali ty of life.

The benefits of canine physiotherapy

PHYSIOTHERAPY can help a variety of problems includ ing spine and other neuro logic problems, arthritis, strains and sprains and post operative rehabilitation.

The life expectancy of ani mals is increasing a lot, which mainly leads to more os teoarthritis and joint and mo bility problems.

Osteoarthritis is the most frequent cause of lameness in dogs, estimating that 20 per cent of dogs older than one year are affected. Physio therapy, included in a multi disciplinary programme, is where it can bring us the greatest benefit.

A variety of soft tissue techniques (eg massage), joint techniques (eg mobilisa tions and stretching), and electrotherapy treatments (eg TENS) , lasertherapy, Ul trasound, hydrotherapy and

Treating problems.

shockwaves are incorporated into animal physiotherapy treatments. Exercise rehabili tation is also a very important part.

Neat and tidy

WELCOMING a pet into your home can be one of the most joyful decisions ever, but how can you keep your home just how you like it at the same time?

Muddy pawprints, little acci dents or scratch marks are just some of the issues pet owners face, but worry no more! Here we share pet owners’ favourite buys to help you pro tect your favourite furniture while having fun with your fur ry friend.

1. Invest in a doormat

Choosing a durable door mat can save you a lot of stress when trying to clean your floors. There are plenty of pet friendly doormats available that are super absorbent, wa terproof and wipe clean. Door mats or pet mats are great choices on wooden floors if you have a pet that scratches.

2. Buy furniture covers

If your pet has a favourite place to sit or lie, cover it with a washable cover or throw. This will protect your furniture against moulting fur or other pet related mess. It’s much easier to machine wash sofa covers than cleaning your sofa every other day!

3. Choose a comfortable pet bed

The easiest way to keep your pet off your furniture is by giving them a warm and com fortable bed and teaching them to use it.

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DECORATORS

AUTO

OTHERS

ROAD TEST

byMarkSlack

IT’S rare these days to have a completely new marque launch, let alone one that isn’t part of an existing car company. Not too long ago we saw In eos and their Grenadier and now we have ORA, or to be more precise the ORA Funky Cat First Edition. I know! Move on from the name though and this Chinese built all elec tric car might be about to make inroads into the EV market in the UK. It’s not a price sharpened budget conscious model either, it’s very much aimed at those looking for some thing a cut above and competes with the likes of VW’s ID3 and Hyundai’s Kona EV.

ORA are not new to the car game, being part of Great Wall Motors that used to sell pick up trucks in the UK, having five

Impressive, premium & loaded

It is very tech orientat ed, some of it too much when the navigation sys tem gives you about eight direc tions just to negotiate a round about.

Facts at a Glance

Model: ORA Funky Cat First Edition

Engine: 171 PS EV powertrain with 48kwh battery Gears: automatic Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 8.3 seconds/Maxi mum Speed 159kph (99 mph)

Economy: 310 km/193 miles Combined driving (WLTP)

Emissions: 0 g/km (WLTP) Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

brands under their corpo rate umbrella. Apart from the ORA Cat, the company is already showing con cepts for its second car, the Next Cat, which looks very sophisticated with Al fa echoes in the frontal styling and panamarian rear flanks.

The First Edition model is, as the name suggests, the first of a planned line of models and prices for the launch car start from €37,215/£31,995 which in cludes a profusion of stan dard equipment and a dis tinctly premium feel throughout the interior.

the systems on the press

The drive is smooth and quiet with a decent amount of power when required, although the one foot driving/regenera tion doesn’t offer quite as much braking as one might have thought, so two foot driving is some times needed. Rough roads don’t phase the Cat and although the steering

is a little lifeless, there’s enough to safely quicken the pace on cross country roads.

Based on 15 per cent to 80 per cent, a 6.6kW home charge will take five to six hours. This time reduces when moving up to 11kW charging to around three to four hours. Additional ly, 80kW rapid charging will take around 40 min

utes. The Cat First Edition has a range of 193 miles. Although subjective, the Cat looks different without being odd, has a premium feel, lots of standard equipment and, despite a small boot, is a bigger car than you might think.

Good value for its admit tedly not cheap price, it nonetheless makes a most impressive start.

Howev er, engi neers were still tweaking

ORA FUNKY CAT: The First Edition, although not cheap, makes a most impressive start.

Keeping its value

Betty Henderson

STRUGGLING to choose your next car? A new re port could make that deci sion much easier. The brand new report from a used car marketplace has revealed the cars that lose the least value over the years. Here we share the fascinating results of the research.

• Cars losing the least value

The Jeep Wrangler leads the list of cars losing the least value over five years in Spain, with its value de preciating four times slow er than the average rate.

The Wrangler is closely followed by several sports car models including the Porsche 911, Chevrolet Ca maro, Ford Mustang, and Subaru BRZ, which all saw demand increase during the pandemic.

Other conventionally popular cars including the Honda Civic, the Nissan Versa, and Toyota Corolla

also retained significant value over a five year peri od, largely due to their reputations as reliable cars, efficient fuel con sumption, and compact styles.

the highest value deprecia tion rate in Spain. Luxury and large models suffered faster depreciation rates due to higher fuel con sumption rates.

Emission zone rules

NEW legislation to tackle cli mate change in Europe is set to transform the future of driving in the continent, and Spain is no exception. In fact, from next year, new legisla tion from the Spanish Driving Authority, the DGT, will ban the most polluting vehicles from urban areas in the coun try.

What is the new law?

The Climate Change and Energy Transition Law obliges Spanish cities with more than 50,000 residents to take ac tion to improve air quality through Low Emission Zones, known as ZBE’.

How many places will be affected?

A total of 149 large towns and cities in Spain will be re quired to comply with the Low Emission Zone policy.

fected?

Up to 30 per cent of vehi cles on the roads could be re stricted in their urban move ments. Vehicles have been classified into a colour code by the DGT for which they

will receive a coloured sticker. Most vehicles will still be al lowed in urban areas, but some diesel and petrol fu elled cars will not be allowed or may enter but are not per mitted to park.

•

Cars

losing the most value

At the other end of the scale, the report found that the BMW 7 Series has

The report also noted that poorer treatment of luxury cars premium fea tures also harmed their value retention five years after being bought.

Similar rules have previously affected the biggest cities in the country including Madrid and Barcelona, but this is the first time a sweeping mea sure will be applied.

Which vehicles will be af

Photo credit: lendy16/ shutterstock.com

JEEP WRANGLER: Lost the least value in the Spanish car market over the past five years.

THE entire board of direc tors resigned from Italian giants Juventus, including the club’s president of 17 years, Andrea Agnelli.

In an incredible turn of events in Italy on Monday morning, November 28, the entire board of directors of Serie A football club Juven tus resigned, according to a local news site. After 17 years at the helm of the Italian giants, Andrea Ag nelli quit as president, and Pavel Nedved stepped down as vice chairman.

Total chaos now sur rounds the future of the club with Maurizio Arriv abene also resigning as

Board less club

managing director of the Turin side. It is believed that the remaining board mem bers will leave as well.

These would reportedly include, Massimo Della Ra gione, Francesco Roncaglio, Suzanne Heywood, Giorgio Tacchia, Laurence Debroux, and Daniela Marilungo.

In the 2121 22 season, the Turin giants recorded losses of £220 million in 2021 22.

The 36 times Serie A win

DODDIE WEIR , the legendary Scot land and British Lions rugby star passed away on, Saturday, Novem ber 26. The iconic player was 52 years of age and had been battling motor neurone disease (MND) for the last five years.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved husband and father, Doddie,” read a statement from his family, released by Scottish Rugby.

They continued: “Doddie was an in spirational force of nature. His un

Tributes paid

ending energy and drive, and his strength of character powered him through his rugby and business ca reers and, we believe, enabled him to fight the effects of MND for so many years.”

Playing as a lock forward, Doddie won 61 international caps for Scot land. He holds the record of being the only Scot to even score two tries in the same game against the legendary

ners are in disarray after being knocked out of this season’s Champions League competition in the group stages. They currently sit third in the table after a poor start to the campaign.

Juventus now faces the daunting task of appointing a completely new board of directors. Last Wednesday, a scheduled shareholders’ meeting was postponed and moved to December 27.

All Blacks team from New Zealand.

During a home match with New Zealand just two weeks ago, Doddie made an emotional appearance in a wheelchair at Murrayfield Stadium. He received rapturous applause from the players and fans in what was to be his last time on the hallowed turf of Scottish rugby.

More than £8 million has been raised for good causes by the ‘My Name’s Doddie Foundation’ set up in his name after he was diagnosed with MND.

The club’s president of 17 years, Andrea Agnelli.

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