Axarquia 8 - 14 December 2022 Issue 1953

CHRISTMAS CRACKER

THERE was a sparkling start to the Christmas celebra tions in Torrox as the town lit up more than 800,000 LED lights on Monday De cember 5. Despite earlier rainy weather, crowds showed up in force to en joy the show and live en tertainment.

Celebrations got under way all over the town as the International Christmas Market also opened on Tuesday December 6.

The market is a celebra tion of the global commu nity in Torrox, including the British community which the council highlighted is getting bigger each year. Similarly, the German com munity has a big presence in the town.

Consulate representa tives from both countries

attended the market launch on Tuesday night, marvelling at the delightful Christmas atmosphere.

The Christmas market is being held to honour inter

national influences on the town and is hosting a vari ety of different global gifts as well as Argentinian, Chilean, German, Ameri can, and Venezuelan

cuisines. Guests can also sample artisan German and Belgian beers, Spanish craft beers and other seasonal treats like mulled wine and roasted chestnuts.

Heartwarming

A HEARTWARMING Christ mas tale saw three girls from Axarquia return a pen sioner’s lost wallet in the nearby town of Nerja. The wallet contained not only money, but sentimental items, so the owner was de lighted to have them back.

Three girls, Carmen from Velez Malaga, María from Huetor Tajar, and Ángela from Torre del Mar showed their community spirit when they reunited a pen sioner with his lost wallet on November 30. The girls were walking in Granada, when they came across the wallet on a quiet street.

The wallet contained money, identification, Christmas lottery tickets and photographs, including of grandchildren and of an old wedding. The girls wrote

a Christmas message to wal let owner, Fernando, before handing it in to police.

But the story didn’t end there. Fernando, aged 80, and a former National Po

lice officer got in touch with the girls, asking to meet for a coffee, and even gave them a lottery ticket as a to ken of gratitude.

One of the girls’ proud fa

thers took to Facebook to express his pride saying, “You know you are success ful in life when your chil dren grow up to be good people.”

Prime TV stars

AXARQUIA grapes are set to reach new markets as a growers’ advertisement campaign has made it onto a prime slot on the TV. Industry experts announced the launch of an advert show casing the delectable fresh produce and gourmet cuisine that comes from the region on Friday December 2.

The new campaign, ‘Comemos Pasas de la Axarquia’ (we eat Axarquia grapes) highlights the excellent quality of the grapes and their long shelf life. The campaign also highlights Axarquia vineyards’ prestigious status, as important World Agricultural Heritage System as recognised by the United Nations’ agricul tural agency.

The television campaign is set to broadcast during Holy Week and the three weeks after, a time identified as a crucial period for grape buying. Agriculture experts explained the ad vert will also be launched at other key points in local areas in cluding at the Real Feria de San Miguel in Velez Malaga.

Vice President for the regional government, Juan Peñas said, “We wanted to start close to home, so the Malaga people know they have a local gourmet, fresh, quality product, which has been recognised worldwide for its nutritional value and taste.”

Axarquia vineyards have been recognised for their high quality produce, and will reach new audiences with a TV campaign.

Photo credit: Salvador Aznar / shutterstock.com

LIGHT SHOW: A huge Christmas display in Torrox was switched on on Tuesday December 5.

Photo credit: Óscar Medina (Via Facebook)

THANK YOU: Three girls from Axarquia returned a pensioner’s wallet to his delight.

Photo credit: Sergio Hijano Lopez (Via Facebook)

Artisanal market

A MAGICAL market in Velez Malaga is set to bring festive cheer to the town on Saturday December 10. La Chistera Market will offer guests a chance to buy unique Christmas gifts and

enjoy a fabulous festive at mosphere.

The market which will be held at the San Francisco Market in Velez Malaga from 12pm until 8pm, will offer artisan market stalls

from more than 30 local businesses, activities for the little ones and live enter tainment.

The goods on sale will mainly be sustainable arti san products including cos metics, local produce, acces sories, jewellery, crafts, plants, home décor and sus tainable clothing items.

Councillor for Culture, Cynthia García, described the event as an excellent opportunity to find unusual Christmas presents “At this market, guests will be able to find hundreds of unique presents, that are sure to surprise your loved ones since all the products are handmade, original and high quality.” García also thanked the market for pro moting local businesses from across Axarquia.

Organiser, Macarena Amo explained the market’s motto, ‘To give with love’, highlighting the importance of receiving a product made with love at Christmas.

Dog walking wonders

Betty Henderson

EACH Sunday, dog lovers from all over Axarquia gather at to meet animal chari ty APAA’s rescue dogs looking for their forever homes and to shower them with the attention and exercise they deserve. The group meets every Sunday at 10am in Nerja for walks around the local area, introducing dogs to potential future owners, as well as local dog loving vol unteers who join the walks.

Speaking about the walk on Novem ber 27, APAA volunteer, Ester Pulido ex plained that the walks are popular with people of all ages, “The dogs are very grateful to have cuddles and walks and people find it so heart warming to re ceive all the love the dogs have to give”.

She encourages more people to join the walks, emphasising that there is no

commitment required from volunteers.

Anyone wishing to join the walks can join the Facebook group ‘APAA Nerja Rescue Dog and Cat Blog’, where they can request more information about particular walk meeting points.

APAA Nerja is an animal rescue centre which aims to rescue and rehome aban doned and abused cats and dogs in the Nerja area.

MARINE sports are to take centre stage in Rincon de La Victoria as the town prepares to build better opportunities for locals and visi tors. At a conference on November 29, the council announced a new initiative as part of the town’s Blue Economy sustainability plan.

At the meeting, local athletes from the Jábegas Traditional Rowing Association, surfers, swimmers and the Sports Service at the Universidad de Malaga came together with sports clubs, businessowners and the

Sea sports

council The group discussed ways to take ad vantage of Rincon de La Victoria’s coastal lo cation and the sporting opportunities offered by the sea.

Councillor for Sports, Antonio José Martín highlighted the importance of creating op portunities, “More and more young people are interested in nautical sports.”

Photo credit: Ester Pulido (Via Facebook)

Puppy love on one of APAA Nerja’s dog walks which are every Sunday at 10am.

NIBS EXTRA

Creative bonding

A FEAT of engineering will connect two towns in Axar quia by joining together two suspension bridges. Canillas de Aceituno and Torrenueva Costa will be joined by bridge, allowing the towns to develop a stronger relation ship and provide more tourism opportunities.

Reservoir news

REGIONAL weather agencies announced their forecast for the next week, saying that 50 litres of water could fall in places. The news caused relief at La Viñuela reservoir, sitting at only 9.2 per cent of capacity following drought.

Tasty cuisine

LOCAL businesses from all over Axarquia have been in Malaga for the week long Gran Feria Sabor a Málaga food festival. Producers showed off seasonal produce from the region, including roasted chestnuts, rice dish es, Iberian jamón and tradi tional dish, ‘migas’.

Dazzling display

CHRISTMAS lights have gone on all over Axarquia during the last week, including Tor rox with a display featuring more than 800,000 LED lights. Nerja and Velez Mala ga both switched on their Xmas lights on December 6.

Sustainable spirit

ONE Axarquia town is set for a green Christmas after locals decided to create unique dec orations using recycled mate rials. For the second year, lo cals in Canillas de Aceituna have designed more than 50 sustainable decorations, to make their town stand out!

Constitution Day

TOWNS across Axarquia marked the Day of the Con stitution bank holiday with commitments to democracy, remembering Spain’s cre ation of the constitution in 1978. Some mayors read the constitution in public or to politicians to commemorate the event 44 years ago.

Rallying ‘round

THERE has been a show of solidarity in Axarquia as many towns prepare to host a fundraising motorcycle rally to raise funds for a four year old from Mijas with a rare genetic condi tion. Rutacing Gas Gas’ Christmas ‘Pa panoelada’ is set to get underway from Velez Malaga at 9am on Sunday December 18.

The group motorcycle ride will pass through 10 towns in Axarquia includ ing Competa, Sayalonga, Algarrobo, Canillas de Aceituna and Almachar, raising awareness for the Todos con Adán cause.

Riders will enjoy a scenic tour throughout Axarquia while decked out in festive costumes and will stop

A BUMPER programme of festive fun in Nerja and Maro was announced by the local council on November 30. Residents can enjoy the Christmas season with more than 60 entertaining activi ties in the two towns.

Events began on Friday December 2 with the launch of Nerja’s annual nativity scene which features more than 50 handmade figurines.

in every town to give out sweets to children spectating. Riders will also be offered a warming hot chocolate in Salares before tucking into paella at the final stop in Almachar.

Four year old Adán from Mijas suf fers from etymalonic encephalopa thy, a rare genetic condition which affects only 30 people worldwide and only two other people in Spain. To dos con Adán was created in 2020 for research into the condition, since lit tle is currently known about it.

Entry to the rally costs just €3, but donations are also welcome to do nate to the account: ES61 0237 0624 3191 7312 1521.

Christmas celebrations

The nativity opening cere mony was also accompanied by a performance of Christ mas carols to kick off the town’s festive schedule.

The town’s Christmas pro gramme continued on De cember 6 as the festive lights display was also switched on from the Balcón de Europa,

to crowds of excited locals.

Nerja will continue to cele brate Christmas with varied events including workshops, festive food tastings, and live musical performances and shows for children. Several exciting events are also set to take place including the launch of the Christmas Park

in the Plaza de España on Fri day December 16, a live na tivity re enactment on De cember 18, a Santa Claus parade on December 23, and a New Year’s Eve celebration at the Balcón de Europa on December 31, before the Three Kings’ Parades on Jan uary 5 and 6.

Curious caves Pickleball players

RINCON DE LA VICTORIA is gearing up to host the first pickleball tournament in Malaga Province on Saturday December 10. Players will compete in the men’s, women’s and mixed disciplines at Pa bellón Cubierto Municipal Rubén Ruzafa de Torre de Benagalbon. The current national champion in the elite men’s and men’s doubles, Antonio Casquero, is set to compete in the competition, in his hometown. The competition will start at 10am.

Pickleball is an international sport, first played in 1965 in the USA. It is a racket sport similar to tennis, table tennis and bad minton, though is less physically and technically demanding. Anyone interested in participating can register online at: https://forms.gle/TRcivKKEharCbRZA9 or by calling: 651 616 262 The tournament is also free for spectators to attend.

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.

THERE has been yet more pre historic prestige for Rincon de La Victoria as the town has again been recognised as a pio neer in Palaeolithic history.

A conference held in the town on December 2 attracted more than 1,500 international archaeologists, historians, and academics interested in learn ing more about the distinctive local caves. The conference was part of the International Congress of Knowledge and Blue Economy (InnovAzul), held in Cádiz last week.

The conference revealed fascinating new research about the Gravettian period and the relationship between the town’s caves and the sea.

tlement in the Malaga region up to 100,000 years ago.”

Rincon de La Victoria has be come the epicentre of scientific and archaeological research on the subject thanks to its 30,000 year old sea caves, thought to be the only ones of their kind on the continent.

Lux Mundi gets festive

LUX MUNDI Ecumenical group is getting into the festive spirit with a daz zling programme of activi ties to help residents get ready for the big day.

A Christmas carol ser vice will be held on De cember 17 at San Andrés church in Torre del Mar. ‘Amigos de Lux Mundi’ and German ‘Con Los Can tores’ choirs will put on an impressive carol perfor mance from 5.30pm.

A festive excursion to Malaga is set to follow on December 20, allowing guests to check out the impressive ‘La Mosca’ Be len nativity which is built into the hillside. At 20 me tres long, the nativity is one of the most fascinat ing seasonal tourist attrac tions. The visit will also go to Malaga’s iconic Christ mas lights. Tickets cost €12 for members and €14 for non members.

Lux Mundi will also wel come in the new year, one day early on Friday De cember 30, giving all an opportunity to attend.

The group will get into the Spanish spirit at its ‘Lucky Grapes’ party on December 30 from 12pm at the centre in Torre del Mar. Tickets cost €3 and include a celebratory glass of cava. Call 951 576 155 to book a place.

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

Archaeologist, Pedro Can talejo and a research team pre sented their research at the conference, explaining that the caves at Rincon de La Victoria could be “key to understand ing the history of human set

Betty Henderson

A motorcycle rally will raise funds for a young boy with a rare condition.

Photo credit: Todos con Adán (Via Facebook)

Welcoming Christmas

THE festive season got off to a dazzling start in Velez Malaga on Friday, December 2 as the town opened its nativity dis play to the public.

Locals and visitors crowded into the town hall in Velez Malaga to view the incredible nativity scene containing unique artisan crafted mod els. During the event, local groups also performed tradi tional live musical entertain ment for guests marvelling at the nativity.

The next festive event held in the programme was a Con

stitution Day party on the Tuesday December 6 bank holiday which saw a parade in the Plaza de La Constitucion during the morning, where councillors commemorated the creation of the Spanish Constitution in 1978, before a

concert by music star, Séfora. The packed calendar fea tures events in the town on every single day of the festive period until January 5, includ ing galas, shows for children, comedy shows, competitions, a Flamenco show, parades, and workshops.

Events in the town during this weekend include a charity gala on Saturday December 10 and the Zamboná Navideña musical perfor mance on Sunday December 11, both at the at the Carpa Transparente de Pozancón.

Car thieves busted

Betty Henderson

CRIMINAL car thieves were intercepted by Lo cal Police officers in Rincon de La Victoria. After noticing a catalytic converter theft on Thursday, December 1, police acted quickly to arrest five people on suspicion of robbery.

Police officers caught the criminals in the act of stealing a third catalytic converter at around 4am on December 1. All five passengers in a car in the El Cantal area of the town were arrested. Councillor for Local Security, Borja Ortiz ex plained that the five thieves all had prior crimi nal records.

A police search of their vehicle found an arse

nal of tools used in the burglaries including gloves, an electric drill, a hydraulic jack, and oth er tools. Police also found two catalytic convert ers that the group had already stolen, and were planning to sell on.

The driver admitted the robberies to the po lice, showing them the vehicles they had al ready stolen from and confirmed they had planned to steal more catalytic converters be fore the police arrived on the scene.

Town mayor, Francisco Salado expressed his gratitude to the police saying, “We are grateful for the hard work and professionalism of our Local Police.”

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Vélez-Málaga (Via Facebook)

The handcrafted nativity display in Velez-Malaga.

Female first

Betty Henderson SPAIN are pioneers in gender equality as the country registered the fourth largest propor tion of female inventors in Europe, setting an im pressive precedent.

Figures released on November 30 revealed almost 24 per cent of people registering new patents in Spain are women, soaring ahead of most European coun tries.

In data collected by

the European Patent Of fice, women register just 13.2 per cent of patents on products, but Spain stood apart with a rate of 23.2 per cent. Data revealed that Lithuania topped the list of female inventors, with more than 30 per cent of new patents registered by women. Portugal came second with 27 per cent, followed by Croatia with 25 per cent, before Spain in fourth place.

Analysts explained

that although this is good news for gender equality in Spain, there is still a remarkable gen der disparity in patent registrations throughout the continent. There has been a significant growth in women regis tering patents since 1978, when just 2 per cent were requested by women.

The organisation say more must be done to ‘promote inclusion’ in invention.

Pope’s physio

POPE FRANCIS is currently receiving care from a top physiotherapist from Atlético Madrid’s medical team. The head of the Roman Catholic church reportedly sought help from the football medic for an arthritic knee at the end of November.

The Pope’s knee had been causing him increasingly se vere mobility issues during the last few months, which caused him to cancel a trip to Africa. Pope Francis has opt ed to use a wheelchair or

LOOKING for like minded campers to share tips and have fun? If you have a motorhome, caravan or tent and enjoy meeting new friends, you may be inter ested in joining the ACE group.

Dotted about Spain, the group is made up of mostly British expatriates, but all nationalities are welcomed with open arms.

The best part is that there are no joining or membership fees whatsoev

walk with a stick since the is sues intensified in June.

Speaking about the treat ment, Atlético Madrid head

medic, José María Villalón de scribed the Pope as “very nice” but also “stubborn”, as he refused to have knee surgery.

Villalón has an extensive history of treating footballers’ injuries as he has been with the club since 1995, and ex pressed his optimism that the Pope’s knee condition will improve.

The Argentinian Pope is fa mously a big football fan, but for his home team of San Lorenzo, from Buenos Aires.

Hello campers

er and to join the group all you have to do is attend a rally, which they try to have on a monthly basis.

After being with the group for a year it is requested that you volunteer to host a rally, which can be done jointly

with other members.

If you are interested in receiving more details about the group, please contact Pauline by email on aceral lies@gmail.com or by mobile /What sApp on (+34) 617 114 933.

Photo credit: neneo / shutterstock.com

POPE FRANCIS: The football fan enlisted the help of an Atlético Madrid doctor for his arthritic knee.

Suspicious packages

THREE more suspicious let ters containing animal eyes were intercepted in Spain on Monday, December 5. Police sources confirmed that they were detected by the security systems of Post Offices, who subsequently informed the National Police.

The shipments were re portedly addressed to the Ukrainian Consulate in Mala ga, along with the Ukrainian embassies in the cities of

Barcelona and Madrid.

It was verified by the police that each envelope contained animal eyes, but they ruled out the presence of explosive or explosive substances. These packages bore similar characteristics to those re ceived on Friday December 2 they added.

Other envelopes intercept ed and containing gunpowder and small shrapnel balls were sent to Pedro Sanchez, the

president of the government; Margarita Robles, the De fence Minister; the embassies of Ukraine and the US, Torre jon de Ardoz air base, and to the arms manufacturing com pany in Zaragoza Instalaza.

Sources indicated at the weekend that these six en velopes came from Valladolid and from the same author, al though he has not yet been identified, as reported by the Spanish news.

Antibiotic shortage

THE Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products has announced on the online drug in formation centre CIMA that there are 22 short ages of different amoxicillin drugs in tablets, powder, and hard capsules.

Amoxicillin oral suspension has arrived at pharmacies in Alicante such as Malluguiza, while amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid in suspen sion, also for children, has been out of stock for two days, reported local Spanish press.

The antibiotic is one of the 627 medicines that are suffering from supply problems in pharmacies amid a wave of respiratory viruses,

especially among children, with shortages also reported in Portugal and France. Amoxicillin is a broad spectrum antibiotic medication widely used to treat bacterial infections, such as sore throat, sinusitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, and pneumonia in children.

Laboratories are beginning to release batch es, especially for children, although it will still take time for the situation to normalise after weeks of shortages of the drug in pharmacies, this has coincided with the wave of bronchioli tis in Spain, which is collapsing hospital emer gencies.

Glittering business event

THE Euro Weekly News is marking the end of another busy year with a sparkling business event in collaboration with the British Cham ber of Commerce in Spain at Puente Romano, Marbella, on Friday December 16.

Bringing together their clients from across Spain, the Andalucia business event will see guests served canapes and cocktails alongside live entertainment, a rare moment for the business community to come together and simply celebrate the year’s achievements.

The Euro Weekly News is a proud member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain, an organisation which works tirelessly to pro mote vital trade links between Spain and the UK.

Founded in 1908 as an initiative of the British Embassy, the British Chamber of Com merce in Spain is one of the largest chambers of commerce in the world.

It is the only independent British Spanish business organisation in Spain, and still works with the British Embassy, holding regular meetings with British Ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliott, as well as British commercial ser vices (UK Trade and Investment) and Spanish comercial abroad (ICEX).

The chamber has offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Marbella, and most recently Bilbao, and a total of 300 members, including multi national companies as well as SMEs.

Its work includes organising business events, publishing research studies,creating

committees to support the interests of mem bers, and promoting the business activity of its members through media platforms and communication channels.

British Chamber of Commerce Regional Vice President Derek A Langley said: “We greatly look forward to welcoming you to our very enjoyable event, where you can meet old and new business contacts and friends from across the Costa del Sol business com munity, and have a chance to mingle, net work, and celebrate the end of a successful business year at one of Spain’s most glam orous locations.”

DEREK LANGLEY: The regional vice president works to promote business across Andalucia.

BREXIT had repercussions for all Brits in Spain, from holidaymak ers to residents and business owners to snow birds.

This is why Anne Hernandez MBE, founder of Brexpats in Spain (now Brexpats in Spain Interna tional) wanted to create a place to tackle some of that misinforma tion and help those whose lives and livelihoods had been affected by Brexit.

The Euro Weekly News sat down with Anne to discuss the inspira tion behind the group which now has more than 40,000 members what it does, and its plans for the future.

Anne explained: “I came here in 1999 with my mum and daughter.

“My mum used to go to a local social group in Mijas and over time she would pass queries people had in the group about living in Spain on to me. I ended up with so many I created a Facebook group to help people.

“After my mum died, Brexit hap pened. I was never political, but I wanted to do something to help and I went to speak to former Mi jas mayor Juan Carlos Maldonado, who said we should set up a local

group, which became Brexpats in Mijas. Within a month, we had 1,000 enquiries from across the country, so we made it Brexpats in Spain.

“When we first started, we sought experts in different fields including taxation, insurance, med ical, legal, education, to help tackle misinformation and give people the help they needed.”

After helping expats with issues with everything from driving li cences to residencia, Brexpats has for the last year been campaigning

hard on local voting rights for for eigners.

She explained: “For many of us, if we’ve been out of the country for 15 years we can’t vote in UK, EU, Spanish national elections. For many this will be the only election they can vote in.”

While British residents in Spain will now be able to vote in next year’s local elections, Anne warned: “You had to have proof of residency at the time of register ing. If you don’t, we know that some people are being sent away

and told to go to the National Po lice station to get extra documen tation. We have forms to prove you are a permanent resident.

“The problem is the window to register is only until January 15. Keep an eye on the group for up dates as the window is short.”

The group is also now joining to gether with other international ex pat groups to push to get the UK’s Votes for Life bill through to secure life long voting rights for expats.

Alongside voting rights, Brexpats is continually innovating and find

ing ways to bring the expat com munity together; as well as to tack le some of the biggest issues facing Britons in Spain.

She told the EWN: “Many peo ple can find themselves isolated here, which is why we now have seven groups overall for all sorts of different issues, including a sup port group.”

The organisation also now has Brexpats Buddies following the tragic death of an elderly expat who was not found for several days.

The WhatsApp group asks mem bers to check in every day before 12pm just with a simple emoji or hello. If not, a local represenata tive will be sent to check if they are in need of help. The initiative has even spawned an offshoot group in Nerja, where locals are now meeting regularly as a social group.

Speaking about the work of Br expats in Spain, Anne said: “There are groups to help with all kinds of things. We’re also in regular con tact with the British Embassy and can pass on your concerns for you.

“If you’re looking for support or information, join us.”

EXCLUSIVE

Anne Hernandez of Brexpats in Spain International

FINANCE

BUSINESS EXTRA

More jobs

SPAIN’S unemployment fell by 33,512 people in Novem ber to 2,881,380, the lowest figure in a month of Novem ber since 2007 and the main beneficiaries of the drop have been women and young peo ple who have been the two sectors most affected by un employment.

Inflation slows

THE news that Germany, Spain and Belgium reported that inflation in November appeared to be slowing down could be good news for con sumers in the eurozone as apart from anything else, it may well encourage the Euro pean Central Bank to recon sider new interest rate hikes.

Lorry drivers

THE Spanish Ministry of Transport has approved the National Road Transport In spection Plan for 2023, which confirms that carriers work at a fair price, that the driver does not carry out, in general, the loading and unloading of merchandise and receive prompt payment.

HSBC closures

EUROPE’S largest bank by as sets, HSBC, has announced that it will close another 114 branches in the UK starting next April, as customers using them have fallen significantly since the pandemic and whilst it will try to redeploy staff, some 100 will lose their jobs.

Digital success

DIGITAL restaurant Vicio, which was founded in Barcelona by a former Mas terChef winner during the pandemic, offers a range of gourmet burgers with side dishes delivered to cus tomer’s doors and in its first year has generated a turnover of €4 million.

STAT OF WEEK €5 billion

Brexit food bill

BREXIT cost UK households an extra £5.8 billion for food ac cording to a report issued by the Centre for Economic Perfor mance (CEP) at the London School of Economics on Thurs day December 1.

This only covers the period from January 1, 2020 until the end of 2021 and according to the report, this was the equiva lent of £210 per British house hold.

It goes on to say that because low income households spend a greater share of their finances on food than richer families, these Brexit driven price rises had a proportionately greater impact on the poorest people.

The latest study confirms that food prices increased by 6 per cent and finds that for the poor est households, this equates to a Brexit induced rise in the overall cost of living of 1.1 per cent, which is 52 per cent more than the 0.7 per cent rise felt in the top 10 per cent of house holds.

While the Trade and Coopera

tion Agreement, which came in to force in January 2021, en sures that trade between the UK and the EU remains tariff free, post Brexit, there are more non tariff barriers (NTBs) be tween the UK and the EU which include new comprehensive cus toms checks, rules of origin re quirements and sanitary and phytosanitary measures for trade in animals and plants.

The study concludes that it is

these NTBs that have affected prices. The rise in consumer prices was driven only by prod ucts with high NTBs and there was no significant rise in prices for products with low NTBs.

The changes have benefited domestic producers of food, who now have less competition from European imports, but un like regular tariffs, NTBs do not generate any revenue for the government.

Competition for Amazon

WATCH out Amazon, Mi ravia is out to beat you in Spain as the Alibaba sub sidiary opened its website on Thursday December 1.

The unveiling ceremony took place in the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid the pre vious day and was a mix ture of hard sell and musical entertainment.

Alibaba is one of China’s biggest online presences and was set up in 1999 to offer a huge range of goods initially to the Chinese mar ket.

Since then, it has gone from strength to strength and is now said to be one of the largest companies in China, but it has fallen foul of US regulations and in or

der to operate in Europe, it needed to be more trans parent and also offer an effi cient speedy service.

Thus, Miravia was born and chose Spain as the first country in which it will oper ate and CEO Yann Fontaine, when speaking at the launch (according to Mar

keting4Commerce), said “Spain is one of the Euro pean markets with the greatest potential in the e commerce sector.

“It has great penetration on the internet and in mo bile technology, which means enormous potential for a platform like Miravia.

“We hope to cover all the needs of Spanish con sumers, while offering local and international brands greater tools to sell and en gage with their customers.”

Apparently, what makes it different to Amazon and other online shopping out lets, is that Miravia will not only be working closely with influencers and Artificial In telligence to create exclu sive content, but will also al low brands to design their own virtual stores and even operate affiliate pro grammes.

Time will tell, but to en courage customers to visit the new site, there will be introductory discounts for new clients.

Diversification

THE John Lewis Partnership has agreed a £500 million multi decade joint venture with global investment company abrdn to de liver around 1,000 new homes across three UK communities.

It will use part of its existing port folio of properties which are no longer in use to provide 1,000 new homes in Bromley and West Ealing where stores will be redeveloped to allow for housing and in Reading it will convert a disused ware house. The build to rent sector has a key role to play in addressing the shortfall in rental homes, which is set to increase further with the government’s help to buy scheme now coming to end and in London alone there is a shortfall of 75,000 rental properties.

Fewer iPhones

WITH consumers around the world gearing up for Christmas and other holidays, Apple Inc continues to appeal to many looking to either buy phones as gifts or hoping to use money given to them to make a purchase. It rather looks howev er that there will be a shortage of iPhones this year as workers at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhouin, China who produce these products have been protesting about their conditions and walking out.

Whilst they have now reported ly been offered a better deal, there is still likely to be a holiday shortfall which consulting firm UBS suggests could total 16 million phones.

ITALIAN energy company Plenti tude is looking to invest €1 billion in Spanish renewable projects over the next four years, according to recently appointed CEO Stefano Goberti.

The first step has been to ac quire 100 per cent of PLT (PLT Ener gia Srl and SEF Srl), another Italian company subject to approval from the relevant authorities which is al ready installing wind farms on the Spanish mainland.

The existence of the European Recovery Fund has seen both Italy and Spain receiving the lion’s share of funding either as direct grants or low cost loans which is allowing ac celerated investment in renewable energy in both countries.

is the amount that energy company Cepsa will be spending using Spanish government Recovery Fund Money to finance a huge hydrogen production project in Andalucia.

SPENDING UP: Food price rises hit every UK household.

3I Group 1.320,50 1.324,50 1.306,50 112,65K

Abrdn 205,31 206,20 201,40 1,97M

Admiral Group 2.031,0 2.037,0 2.018,0 66,12K

Anglo American 3.396,5 3.401,7 3.313,5 81,64K

Antofagasta 1.456,50 1.463,50 1.439,00 177,14K

Ashtead Group 5.034,0 5.044,0 5.006,0 51,38K

Associated British Foods 1.660,0 1.676,0 1.650,5 155,72K

AstraZeneca 11.174,0 11.232,0 11.162,0 190,67K

Auto Trader Group Plc 581,00 581,60 574,00 268,63K

Aveva 3.185,0 3.188,0 3.183,0 50,32K

Aviva 446,25 448,80 442,30 467,68K

B&M European Value Retail SA420,90 422,90 418,30 216,21K

BAE Systems 812,00 815,40 806,00 673,07K

Barclays 158,38 158,42 156,06 4,71M

Barratt Developments 411,80 413,20 405,80 374,45K

Berkeley 3.858,0 3.864,0 3.832,0 41,01K

BHP Group Ltd 2.611,00 2.619,00 2.577,50 340,30K

BP 481,85 482,00 477,40 5,51M

British American Tobacco 3.414,4 3.434,5 3.401,5 257,58K

British Land Company 405,40 406,30 399,00 171,21K

BT Group 121,38 121,65 120,60 1,43M

Bunzl 3.044,0 3.050,0 3.022,0 25,63K

Burberry Group 2.141,0 2.161,0 2.135,0 188,88K

Carnival 713,4 714,2 701,2 210,97K

Centrica 95,58 95,84 94,70 1,36M

Coca Cola HBC AG 1.997,7 2.035,0 1.996,5 77,48K

Compass 1.870,00 1.877,50 1.854,00 223,24K

CRH 3.295,5 3.299,0 3.260,5 65,63K

Croda Intl 6.920,0 6.998,0 6.910,0 15,56K

DCC 4.413,0 4.421,0 4.376,0 14,12K

Diageo 3.810,0 3.850,5 3.809,5 214,13K

DS Smith 308,60 309,20 305,70 386,64K

EasyJet 392,30 399,40 391,50 290,16K

Experian 2.960,0 2.966,7 2.944,0 22,63K

Ferguson 9.590,0 9.620,0 9.501,5 10,24K

Flutter Entertainment 12.105,0 12.125,0 11.985,0 52,23K

Fresnillo 931,47 933,20 900,80 245,39K

Glencore 570,20 571,80 561,70 7,20M

GSK plc 1.405,94 1.413,80 1.403,80 109,63K

Halma 2.244,0 2.258,0 2.221,0 81,56K

Hargreaves Lansdown 867,20 871,20 858,00 216,07K

Hikma Pharma 1.542,00 1.543,00 1.518,00 78,32K

HSBC 499,79 500,49 494,85 328,57K

IAG 133,22 134,30 132,78 1,59M

Imperial Brands 2.108,00 2.117,00 2.090,00 220,19K

Informa 621,60 623,40 619,80 247,52K

InterContinental 4.767,0 4.783,0 4.744,0 35,04K

Intermediate Capital 1.255,50 1.262,50 1.240,00 80,30K

Intertek 4.131,0 4.152,0 4.109,0 42,65K

ITV 77,50 77,58 75,66 1,75M

J Sainsbury 224,40 224,60 220,80 370,25K

Johnson Matthey 2.130,8 2.134,0 2.097,0 30,55K

Land Securities 630,00 630,20 620,00 109,51K

Legal & General 258,70 259,20 253,60 1,34M

Lloyds Banking 46,72 46,84 46,31 8,20M

London Stock Exchange 8.122,0 8.268,0 8.120,0 94,37K

Melrose Industries 126,95 128,55 126,05 1,71M

Mondi 1.555,50 1.560,00 1.542,50 110,28K

National Grid 1.025,27 1.025,50 1.018,00 632,70K

NatWest Group 262,30 262,70 260,30 2,24M

Next 5.877,6 5.886,0 5.824,0 13,16K

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

Ocado 683,80 685,60 663,40 231,25K

Persimmon 1.289,0 1.293,0 1.245,0 229,44K

Phoenix 602,00 602,60 593,40 218,63K

Prudential 1.099,50 1.109,50 1.048,50 2,88M

Reckitt Benckiser 5.976,0 6.040,0 5.970,0 116,68K

Relx 2.329,00 2.335,00 2.313,00 385,77K

Rentokil 540,20 543,40 539,40 570,64K

Rightmove 568,00 568,60 560,74 23,19K

Rio Tinto PLC 5.784,0 5.790,0 5.651,0 497,75K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 89,24 91,07 89,22 4,10M

Sage 796,20 800,40 793,40 168,76K

Samsung Electronics DRC 1.158,00 1.163,50 1.154,00 3,28K Schroders 466,2 467,9 459,9 163,09K

Scottish Mortgage 792,79 796,60 786,00 340,85K

Segro 831,00 832,20 817,00 381,72K

Severn Trent 2.745,0 2.748,0 2.720,0 30,27K

Shell 2.377,0 2.378,5 2.344,0 1,50M

Smith & Nephew 1.086,23 1.093,50 1.079,00 234,07K

Smiths Group 1.592,00 1.594,00 1.582,00 97,58K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 11.420,0 11.435,9 11.357,8 1,21K SSE 1.729,00 1.730,50 1.718,75 25,74K

St. James’s Place 1.183,50 1.194,00 1.181,00 84,06K

Standard Chartered 596,60 597,20 588,40 545,37K

Taylor Wimpey 105,75 105,90 104,20 1,38M

Tesco 229,95 230,00 227,00 280,77K

Tui 145,51 146,75 144,95 431,47K

Unilever 4.138,0 4.177,0 4.138,0 423,73K

United Utilities 1.053,00 1.053,50 1.048,50 203,67K

Vodafone Group PLC 91,68 93,18 91,04 17,06M Whitbread 2.608,0 2.622,0 2.599,0 47,96K WPP 877,80 879,40 869,40 345,82K

3M 126,99 127,25 1,82M

American Express 156,75 157,28 155,00 2,28M

Amgen 285,51 286,12 283,19 2,25M

Apple 147,81 148,00 145,65 65,30M

Boeing 182,87 183,45 172,85 10,50M

Caterpillar 236,13 238,47 233,59 2,21M

Chevron 181,03 183,63 179,93 6,78M

Cisco 49,70 49,84 48,92 12,31M

Coca-Cola 64,35 64,52 63,40 13,56M

Dow 51,55 51,70 50,43 4,85M

Goldman Sachs 380,58 382,52 378,40 1,92M

Home Depot 327,99 328,48 320,33 3,63M

Honeywell 219,08 219,86 214,72 2,18M

IBM 148,67 149,16 147,73 2,87M

Intel 29,41 29,43 28,71 31,49M

J&J 178,88 178,96 176,96 5,79M

JPMorgan 135,16 135,35 133,34 8,92M

McDonald’s 273,40 273,45 269,62 2,79M

Merck&Co 110,04 110,09 108,71 6,89M

Microsoft 255,02 256,06 249,69 21,33M

Nike 112,20 112,71 108,34 5,87M

Procter&Gamble 150,61 150,77 148,08 4,90M

Salesforce Inc 144,56 145,21 142,78 15,04M

The Travelers 189,54 189,94 187,79 1,28M

UnitedHealth 536,16 538,61 532,44 2,33M

Verizon 38,18 38,30 37,70 21,57M

Visa A 217,66 218,48 214,24 5,13M

Walgreens Boots 41,48 41,63 40,85 4,85M

Walmart 153,22 153,24 151,48 6,88M

Walt Disney 99,43 99,69 97,01 12,60M

Most Advanced

Most Declined

Cracker

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. -11.58% 915,309

Zscaler, Inc. -10.73% 9.665M

Asana, Inc. -10.45% 12.786M

Veeva Systems Inc. -8.63% 2.551M

HF Sinclair Corporation -7.26% 4.431M

PBF Energy Inc. -7.08% 5.982M

CVR Energy, Inc. -7.00% 868,001

CyberArk Software Ltd. -6.96% 446,395

Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC -6.51% 4.155M

Graham Holdings Company -6.42% 73,694

BUSINESS EXTRA

Genuine leeks

WELSH leeks have become the latest addition to the UK Geographical Indication (GI) Scheme, which protects the name, authenticity and characteristics of regional products. Shoppers will be able to clearly see a logo on the label showing they are buying the real thing,

Dearer mortgages

ALTHOUGH the Spanish government has indicated that it will make the cost of mortgages affordable, de spite increase in base rates, CaixaBank has raised the in terest rate on its 30 year fixed mortgage from 4.31 per cent to 4.79 per cent making it the most expen sive Spanish lender.

New law

MONEY from fines handed out to water companies in the UK that pollute rivers and seas will now be re in vested in schemes that ben efit the natural environ ment. Since 2015, the Environment Agency has concluded 56 prosecutions against companies, gener ating fines of over £141 mil lion.

Primark expands

PRIMARK, the international fashion retailer, has con firmed its commitment to Spain by announcing a capi tal investment of €100 mil lion in its Spanish business. The investment includes €80 million in eight new stores and one store exten sion and €20 million invest ment in upgrades and refur bishments in stores.

Over 1,000 jobs will be created over the next two years as part of the compa ny’s ambitious growth plans in the market.

Primark opened its first store in Spain 16 years ago in May 2006, in Plenilunio, Madrid and today has 56 stores across the country which makes it the second largest market for the Irish group.

Spanish State Deficit

THE Spanish State Deficit contin ues to head in the right direction after being a major bone of con tention with the European Union for many years.

In essence, prudent fiscal poli cy should see a country earn more than it spends on an annu al basis, but this has been a real problem for successive Spanish governments since the 2008 eco nomic crisis.

Clearly the pandemic didn’t help the current position as so much money was spent on sup porting business and families in need, but since 2021, Spain has seen a downwards turn as indus try started to recover after strict lockdown and isolation rules were relaxed.

According to Minister of Fi nance Maria Jesus Montero, in October 2021, the deficit stood at 4.93 per cent of Gross Domes tic Product (GDP) and totalled €59.468 billion, but at the end of October 2022 this had dropped

Comparing the inflation impact

INFLATION, Covid 19, and the Ukraine war have affected consumer behaviour in Eu rope, according to new data.

But there’s good news for people living in Spain, where people are spending less, and saving more, despite record inflation.

To mark World Savings Day, online bank N26 sur veyed customers to find out how Europeans are dealing with the impact of inflation.

The data shows which countries are still spending big on vacations and restau rants, whose incomes are growing, and the changes to spending habits.

Spending data and saving data of over 380,000 con sumers in five European mar kets (Spain, Germany, Aus tria, France, and Italy) were surveyed between January and August 2022.

Despite record inflation, customers in Spain saved the

most between March and August this year. Of all the countries studied, Spain ex perienced the highest infla tion rates overall.

Despite this, customers in Spain increased their savings, on average, from 4.6 per cent (of their average income) in January and February to 7.2 per cent from March on wards a relative increase of 57.2 per cent.

Following the overall EU trend, Spanish users were al so able to save the most in March 11.1 per cent of their

income, or €177.89 on aver age.

Of all the markets studied, customers in Spain have the highest savings ratio overall, setting aside, on average, 6.6 per cent of their income be tween January and August.

Elsewhere in Europe, signs of inflation were especially noticeable in the ‘food and groceries’ and ‘transport and cars’ categories but Spain saw a downward trend with Spaniards spending 1 per cent less of their average in come in this category.

by a significant 69.7 per cent to a much healthier €18.016 billion, equivalent to 1.37 per cent of GDP.

This has mainly been achieved by a combination of a 25 per cent increase in sales of non fi nancial products and a much smaller growth in expenditure of just under 2 per cent.

Tax collections on both pro duction and imports have helped considerably with VAT collec tions rising by 18 per cent in the period under review and Income Tax for both residents and non residents shooting up with tax on dividends making a big contri bution.

As companies earn more, so they pay more and the sale of shares and other assets has added to the amount of Capital Gains Tax being collected as well.

The payments to Spain from the European Recovery Fund have also helped the country to invest for the future.

Toy story

IN 2020, the Spanish government undertook a study into the way that children’s toys were advertised and whether they promoted gender stereotypes.

The conclusion was sufficient for the government to introduce strict new rules, effective December 1 this year, in time for Christmas and Three Kings.

The intention is that adverts should not target girls with traditional toys such as dolls, make up and cook ing, whilst there should be little use of the colour pink which is also associated with young females.

Equally, blue should not be used when promoting traditional boy’s toys, such as cars and similar ‘ma cho’ goods, as the intention is to ensure that young sters feel equal and not directed down one particular road.

Stop bullying

TUC figures show that nearly a third of people (29 per cent) in the UK believe that they have been bullied at work, with more than one in three (36 per cent) leaving their job because of it.

Research by employment and partnership law spe cialists Fox & Partners, reveals the number of cases heard by the Employment Tribunal which contain alle gations of bullying has increased 44 per cent from 581 in 2020/21 to a record high of 835 in 2021/22.

Some of those who claim to have suffered from such bullying are now lobbying MPs and Parliament to have workplace bullying recognised as a crime in UK law as is the case in countries such as Sweden.

President Sánchez with Minister Montero following 2023 Budget approval.

Credit: La Moncloa flickr

SURVEY: Euros real value continues to shrink.

Credit: Alexandra Koch CC

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

OTHERS THINK IT

DELIGHTED to not be mentioned in the recent Diana Dors TV documen tary. I knew her extremely well for many years, probably better than anyone. We were very close during her difficult times, when she was struggling to keep her financial head above water, including the upkeep of her two young sons she had organ ised for her ex husband Richard Dawson; also an out of regular work actor, to look after in America.

This was of course later rectified, when in 1965 he obtained a starring role in the highly successful series Hogan’s Heroes, but his was also a terrible struggle before he clinched the role. She had engaged a new, fairly low key agent who began to book her in cabaret dates, mainly in the north of England.

This was some years before this ol’ boy cracked it with Little Arrows, so I was free to accompany her to many of these venues, which were spring ing up all over the country. After she had completed the appearance, we would leave for the hotel which she always booked for one! I would sub

Friend and foe

sequently then sneak in and share the room for the night. She was earning £100 to £150 an appearance, out of which my share would be around 15 quid. Although that does n’t sound particularly copious, in those far off days it meant I could at least provide my own family with some security.

As a struggling actor myself, I was also discovering showbiz optimisms fraught with difficulty. She would then send most of what she could af ford to her husband in America. This went on for a number of years, dur ing which she occasionally managed to pick up a cameo role in a movie or TV appearance.

We shared some great times, until one day she told me she had been offered a starring role in a new West End play entitled ‘Three months Gone.’ Apparently, she wasn’t sure whether to accept it as she hadn’t been offered a wage, but only a per centage of the door. It was only after I had almost twisted her arm up her back with the insistence that she simply had to take on the role due to

the amount of publicity that could ensue, that she finally accepted.

The show was a resounding suc cess and suddenly she was back, earning really well. Life was good again and our friendship and social life grew even stronger. One day she told me she had met a ‘wonderful man’ named Alan Lake, who was al so appearing in the production, and thought she could be falling in love. She introduced me and frankly, I did n’t like him at all.

A few years later she conspired with him in an injustice, which ulti mately cost me my freedom and al most my career. It’s all in the books. Available on Amazon.

Keep the Faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com expatradioscotland.com Mon, Wed, Fri. 1pm.

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OIL OR ELECTRIC OUR VIEW

IN order to combat climate change, the perceived view is that the world should ban diesel and petrol engines and re ly on electricity. In theory this seems like a sensible idea, but there are a few problems with this, the foremost currently being the West’s ability to generate electricity and the prob lems that may occur in creating and later disposing of bat teries that will be strong enough to power vehicles.

With the European Union and other countries deciding to place a cap on the value of Russian oil that can be import ed and Russia’s indication that it just won’t supply those countries that implement such a ban, it immediately focus es our attention on how it will affect us.

The USA still has huge underground reserves and allows fracking which rightly or wrongly means it can generate even more oil so it won’t be hurt by the ban.

Some Scandinavian countries generate huge amounts of power using hydroelectrics and Norway of course has both oil and natural gas in abundance, but what of the others?

Already Switzerland has indicated that if it is short of elec tricity then it will seriously consider banning electric vehicles from its roads and other countries are advising owners of electric cars to stagger charging for fear of overloading their electric grids. This is hardly an encouraging start to the ush ering in of a new age of transport, especially when currently the costs of electric cars are higher than petrol or diesel and the vehicles themselves still don’t have the same range and take longer to charge.

At the moment, it seems that the safest way to proceed is with a hybrid vehicle which hopefully gives the best of both worlds.

LeapyLee’sopinionsarehisownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

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.

FOUL PLAY

I WAS stopped on the week end by the police for walking my dog along the beach. They said that they could see that I was a responsible dog owner as I had my bottle filled with water and washing up liquid and poo bags so I was sent on my way without any penalty. I do not have a problem with this and applaud them, it is just a shame that there aren’t more areas along the beach which are dog friendly.

David, Costa Blanca

Another con

I’M a long time reader and lover of your column and have emailed you in the past. Might I suggest a commen tary about the fraud that is the man made global warm ing con? Please see https://cli matediscussionnexus.com / for some down to earth facts. Either way, keep up the great work!!

Your fan

Not a supporter

SO Lee is not a supporter of the Conservative party but would support any others apart from Labour. I find this very strange that anyone who is not a supporter of a Tory government chooses to attack week after week the only credible opposition and not the party he purports not to support who are in government, and has never once condemned them.

try is drowning in, these anti Labour rants should be aimed in a different direc tion.

Ramon Osborne, Los Alcázares

Freedom of speech

Kite

His obsession of hate for the left is currently very much in the minority as Labour are miles ahead in the polls. His latest pathetic comment that their new idea of scrapping the House of Lords is a bumbling effort to gain popularity shows how completely out of touch he is as Labour promised this proposal 12 years ago if they ever got back into govern ment. Perhaps as he says the swamp of despair the coun

FULL marks to your newspa per for giving Leapy Lee the freedom to express opinions with which, I believe, most open minded people would agree. It takes courage these days of woke to tell it as it is when, according to the so called rules of today, you should avoid upsetting any one at all costs! Reading the bleeding heart criticism from some of your respondents, I truly wonder which fairy tale planet they presently occupy! Please keep telling it as it re ally is, and is likely to be come, Leapy.

Ken, San Fulgencio

Max

DOG FRIENDLY: It’s just a shame there are not more dog friendly beaches.

BAKERLOO LINE

THINKING ALOUD

THE Conservative Party in England is very unpopular at present, but let me digress.

Living in London in the early 60s I had to travel every weekday between Maida Vale and Lambeth. That meant using the Baker loo line in the rush hour. This stretch of the line served several of London’s busiest un derground stations Paddington, Baker Street, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Char ing Cross and Waterloo. Hence, the passen gers were packed into the coaches like sar dines. Our bodies were forcibly pressed against our fellow passengers. No fresh air, no room to move.

Meanwhile, the legacy of this Conserva tive government is disastrous. Brexiteers were promised by Boris Johnson £350 mil lion for the NHS. In fact, owing to under funding, the very future of the NHS is now under threat, not least because its EU per sonnel have left in droves, resulting in the loss of 165,000 staff. The remaining doctors, nurses and medical workers are now forced into a strike.

Furthermore, Brexit is the cause of severe job shortages in education, policing and agriculture. We were also offered a better economic future with special trading rela tionships with the USA, India and other non European countries. This has not hap pened and consequently the economy is in a precarious state, with millions unable to afford to enjoy normal lives.

Many Brexiteers voted for more effective control over our borders. Immigrants con tinue to arrive in their thousands every week. The handling of Immigration and the treatment of immigrants are out of control.

Others voted for independence from Brussels legislation. The success of this move depends on the degree of compe tence and judgement of the respective courts and politicians. The Conservatives have not displayed these qualities during or since Johnson’s premiership.

As far as I am concerned the continuation of Tory government from 2024 is about as welcome as a fart on the Bakerloo line.

Here to help

THE British Benevolent Fund tries to help British nationals in Spain who have found themselves in very difficult financial sit uations.

Often this is compound ed by difficulties with a challenging social security and health system.

One such case was John.

John lives in rural Spain. He moved there af ter his wife died and en joyed the tranquillity.

He quickly settled in, made friends, learned the language and found part time work.

He also registered as an official resident and had a modest income freelanc ing.

On a routine medical check up, they discovered a suspected tumour and needed to do more tests.

As a legal resident he was covered, but he had n’t reckoned with the bu reaucracy and the long

waiting list.

The doc tors ad vised surgery to re move a malignant tumour close to his spine.

Within weeks the dam age caused to the spine left him with debilitating back pain and mobility is sues. He was soon finding it very difficult to walk.

As an official Spanish resident, he was entitled to healthcare and disabili ty payments.

However, he had to wait nearly six months for the surgery and was un able to work.

His savings were soon depleted.

Local social services contacted the local British Consulate who referred the case to us.

The BBF was able to pay for mobility and a

modest sum to cover liv ing and travel expenses to and from the hospital.

The surgery was a suc cess and John was able to receive disability pay ments.

He wrote to us after ward to say he was back to living a full life and to thank us.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the help you have offered me. After having fallen ill with cancer I was in a very dark place. I now have help from social se curity after a long wait. The BBF lifted a heavy weight.”

John is now working again and, in every sense back on his feet.

DavidWorboys’sopinionsarehisownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors

Olaf Clayton of BBF.

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