Costa Calida 11 – 17 May 2023 Issue 1975

TOURIST INVASION

MORE than 5,500 tourists invaded Cartagena for a period of six hours on Thursday, May 5. Bars, shops, especially gift shops, saw their sales shoot up between 30 per cent and 70 per cent when tourists and crew members from the cruise

ships that docked flooded the local businesses.

This week saw a record number of cruise ships docking in Cartagena port. Cruise ships ‘Celebrity Re‐flection’, which is the sec‐ond of the three Celebrity ships docking this week, and the ‘Explorer of the

AVIATION giant Ryanair has an ‐nounced they will use Sustain ‐able Aviation Fuel (SAF) pro ‐duced by Repsol, the Spanish energy company. Both compa ‐nies released a statement on Thursday May 4 to announce a strategic agreement to promote the use of renewable fuels in Spain and Portugal. The renew ‐able fuel will be manufactured by Repsol in Escombreras in Cartagena for Ryanair aircraft.

SAF is key for the decarbonisa‐tion of aviation, but it only repre‐sents a small fraction of current aircraft use worldwide. With this agreement, Repsol will provide Ryanair with access to a maxi ‐mum of 155,000 tones of SAF be‐tween 2025 and 2030. This is equivalent to more than 28,000 flights from Dublin to Madrid.

The use of this amount of re ‐newable fuel will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 490,000 tons.

Seas from the Royal Caribbean shipping com ‐pany.

The tourists didn’t just spend the day shopping, the museums also noted a large influx of visitors. With the cruise ships docking from 8am, some of the tourists chose to

visit other towns in the region like Lorca and Car ‐avaca de la Cruz.

Ten ships have arrived so far this month with 13,200 passengers with 20 more expected before the month is over, bringing another 26,000 tourists to Cartagena.

Green deal

MARINA GARCIA of the Royal Navy, a 20‐year‐old from the Port of Mazarrón in Murcia formed part of the Guard of Honour for the coro ‐nation of King Charles III. Marina gave an inter ‐view with LA 7, the re ‐gional channel of Murcia, describing the excite ‐ment and pride she feels

taking part in such a mo‐mentous event, especial‐ly as only a select group was given the opportuni‐ty to take part. Marina went on to explain how they trained for three weeks for the prestigious ceremony and how she felt so honoured to be selected to take part in the celebration.

‘Celebrity Reflection’ docked in Cartagena.

IN AGREEMENT: Signing the deal.

Marina García from Mazarrón.

Free winetasting

SAN PEDRO DEL PINATAR will host a free wine ‐ tasting course for beginners on May 22, 23, 24 and 25.

It will be held at the San Pedro Leisure and Emerging Arts centre. The timetable will be from 4pm until 9pm to‐talling 20 hours.

The event has been arranged by the Em ‐ployment Council in collaboration with Pinatar Empleo and subsidised by the Min ‐istry of Water, Agricul ‐ture, Livestock, and Fisheries.

You can email emple oformacion@sanpe drodelpinatar.es for more information or to register.

Demanding action plan

President visits Murcia

THE President of the Spanish government and Secretary General of PSOE, Pedro Sánchez visited Murcia on Saturday, May 6 in support of the socialist candidates Pepe Vélez and José Antonio Ser‐rano. The event was held at the Pabellón municipal Príncipe de Asturias and it was filled with excited PSOE supporters.

During the event Pe‐dro Sánchez made a

few announcements, first, he highlighted the 50 per cent financing of an inter‐rail pro‐gramme so that ‘thou‐sands of young people between 18 and 30 years old can travel around Europe this summer from June 15 until September 15.

He continued with another by saying a ’90 per cent discount will be applied on trains and buses that depend on the State and 50

per cent on high‐speed trains.’ He explained to his crowd of support‐ers that in doing so they hope to help the tourism and cultural sector by promoting thousands of national destinations helping to develop rural Spain. The President’s last visit to the region was on December 19, 2022, when he attend‐ed the first trip on the high‐speed train from Madrid.

THE regional government of Murcia has reiterated its demands that the Minister for Ecological Transition au‐thorise the clearance of the aquifer, the underground layer of water‐bearing permeable rock (gravel, sand, or silt), of the Campo de Cartagena to tackle the nitrate pollution of the Mar Menor.

The spokesperson for the regional Minister, Marcos Ortuño said they asked “for the umpteenth time to re‐cover the Zero Dumping Plan for which there was €55 million of European funds allocated but Pedro Sánchez, the President, diverted elsewhere.’

The Zero Dumping Plan refers to the plan to pump water from the aquifer and then channel it to San Pedro del Pinatar where it will go through a deni‐trification process and after pumped in‐to the Mediterranean Sea instead of the Mar Menor. The central govern‐ment still refuses to move forward with this plan encouraging the region to ‘act at source’ by tackling nitrate degradation in agriculture. They have given the go‐ahead for the removal of massive accumulations of floating veg‐etation, known as ‘ova’ in the Mar Menor. This has a budget of €3.2 mil‐lion and will begin this month.

Daringly brave

THE young canoeist Clara González from Murcia is one of the best pad‐dlers in the country. Clara, the only contestant that doesn’t hail from Catalonia or the País Vasco, came third in the Kayak Cross and so clas‐sified to take part in the under 23s National women’s canoe team.

Clara explained how she started canoeing in Calasparra when her parents bought a summer house there. She fell in love with the sport

and when she was just 14 years old she made the national team and began competing at an internation‐al level. The youngster who is also in her third year of a psychology de‐gree says you need to be brave to excel in this sport.

Clara now has her hopes set on reaching the Olympic games in Paris. I’m sure with the region be‐hind her and such a strong mindset she will achieve her goal.

Catherine McGeer

FUNDS ALLOCATED: Plans to tackle nitrate pollution of the Mar Menor.

Photo credit: Wikipedia/Jose A

Kids run

SAN PEDRO APÓSTOL

school from San Pedro del Pinatar supported the chari‐ty Unoentrecienmil by ar‐ranging a ‘back to school run’ to raise awareness and funds for a cure for childhood leukaemia. The children, staff, and teachers took part.

Space X

STARLINK, the train of SpaceX satellites was visible in the skies of Murcia. They were launched from Florida on Thursday, May 4 by Elon Musk’s aerospace company in order to offer internet ser‐vices and connectivity to the entire world.

Final support

THE town of El Palmar, Mur‐cia, the hometown of tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz gathered together on Sun‐day, May 7 to view the final of the Madrid Open togeth‐er in support of the young athlete. Over 1,000 neigh‐bours watched the match on a big screen.

Sardine water

THE sardine fountain that appears in the waters of the Segura River near Puente de Los Peligros is once again act‐ing as a fountain with water gushing out 10 years after it was stopped. The fountain is a tribute to the ‘Burial of the Sardine’ the famous festival of the region.

Blue flagged

TWENTY EIGHT beaches and marinas along the coast of Costa Calida were awarded the prestigious Blue Flag which is a certification by the Foundation for Environmen‐tal Education. Spain has had more blue flag beaches than any other country since the awards began in 1987.

3D Printer

THE young Murcian busi‐nessman Roberto Lifante has created the biggest industrial 3D printer in the world. It de‐signs parts and spare parts from scratch in a record time of 24 hours.

Night at the Museum

THE highly anticipated 15th edition of the ‘Noche de Museos’ (Night of Muse‐ums) will take place on Saturday, May 20 in Cartagena City and in Lorca.

This event is organised to celebrate International Museum Day which has been celebrated all over the world since 1977. The Long Night of Muse ‐ums was born, under that name, in Berlin in the same year.

Since then many other European cities have joined this initiative pro ‐moted by the Council of Europe on In‐ternational Museum Day.

The Night of the Museums has be ‐come one of the most important cul ‐tural events in the region. During this event, the museums will open from 7pm until 1am and the entrance is free.

There will also be concerts, dances, children’s workshops, and many more activities to enjoy as part of the cele ‐bration.

Cabo de Palos reforms Another bus fire

ANOTHER bus fire in the Murcia Region. Several weeks ago a bus burst into flames on the Gran Vía in Murcia City centre fol ‐lowed by another in Lorca.

On Friday May 5 yet an‐other bus caught fire, this time the fire was at the gates of IES Francisco Cas‐cales school.

The bus caught fire at approximately 9pm and

the emergency services were notified. The Nation‐al Police and the Fire and Rescue Service of Murcia arrived on the scene short‐ly after and the fire was extinguished. Luckily all passengers had been evac‐uated from the vehicle and so no one was injured dur‐ing the incident. At pre ‐sent, the cause of the fire has not been announced.

REFORMS for the har ‐bour are already under contract. The planned work will convert the space of more than 1,400 metres at the end of the Muelle de la Sal (the Salt Wall) into an open ‐ air square for holding events.

The budget is €316,348 and the aim is to convert this aban ‐doned area into a walk ‐

Cruz Roja

MARÍA TERESA SÁNCHEZ has been ap‐pointed as the new president of the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) for the Region of Murcia. María Teresa Sánchez is a doc‐tor specialising in Anaesthesiology and resuscitation and she has participated in numerous programmes and projects for the humanitarian organisation.

Sánchez will be the president for the

next four years after being unanimous‐ly elected as a candidate by the Au ‐tonomous Committee. Sánchez began as a volunteer and has been the re ‐gional vice president since 2015.

The Cruz Roja teams assist more than 52,000 people throughout the re‐gion thanks to the invaluable work of more than 4,300 volunteers.

ing and leisure area. It will be integrated into the rest of the port envi ‐ronment making it com ‐patible with fishing use.

Once completed the large square will also have a four ‐ level grand ‐stand which is intended to become a great view ‐point overlooking the sea and the town.

LOS ALCAZARES is proba‐bly the town along the Mar Menor most affected by flooding and has seen the town destroyed over and over again when heavy rain like those brought on by a DANA hits the coastal area.

The people of Los Al‐cazares have demonstrat‐ed continually to the gov‐ernment for an investment to be made to help protect the town from such flooding.

For this reason, the town hall of Los Alcazares has awarded the compa‐ny Jose Díaz a contract for €600,000 to adapt build‐ings such as the town hall and the car park to min‐imise the risk of flooding. Other buildings such as the nursery school, the in‐door swimming pool, and the Bienvenido Conejero Requiel school will also be part of the project.

The project is planned to take approximately four and a half months.

Even

and in print is FREE and we promise to always keep it that way.

Night of Museums Cartagena.

New Mercadona

MERCADONA opened a new supermarket in Lorca on Monday, May 8. They have closed the store on Avenida Fuerzas and opened its new efficient shop model on Aveni‐da Juan Carlos I.

The new efficient shop model reinforces service excel‐lence and optimises the act of shopping with improve‐ments that benefit customers, workers, suppliers, and so‐ciety.

The new supermarket has new features in all its sections like the new delicatessen, a freshly squeezed orange juice section, a ready‐to‐eat section with sushi specialties, and even an oven section with a bread slicer.

The supermarket will open from 9am until 9.30pm Mon‐day to Saturday and has 103 parking spaces, three of which are for electric cars. It is an energy saving eco‐effi‐cient shop reducing energy consumption by up to 40 per cent compared to the conventional shop model.

As part of these sustainable measures, the company in‐vested more than €27 million in the region of Murcia.

PROVERB OF THE WEEK

Chocka Costa Calida

REAL ESTATE AGENCIES

are saying the holiday homes for rent in Cabo de Palos and La Manga are already rented for this summer. Two of the most popular towns on the Cos‐ta Calida will be busy this summer stating that for anyone who has yet to or‐ganise their holiday along the coast, it will be like ‘mission impossible’ to get a property.

The rentals started to fill up at Easter and now they are almost fully booked right up to the end of Au ‐gust. The agencies report‐

ed they have seen an in ‐crease in interest in the re‐gion from tourists from Belgium, Germany, and

Luxemburg. If you have yet to book they have ad‐vised you to look out for last‐minute cancellations.

Double Click

THE well‐known photographer Domingo J Casas unveiled his re‐cent photography exhibition called ‘Double Click’ in the Museo Barón de Benifayó in San Pedro del Pinatar on Friday, May 5, and can be visited until May 23. The event was attended by the coun‐cillor for Culture Mari Carmen Guirao. Casas has been a photogra‐pher since 1979 and has photographed everything from small rock and pop stars to both national and international music stars. He has worked for advertising, press, fashion, and cinema and has been the chief photographer for the music magazine LHMagazin.

Goodbye Lagomar

THE San Javier Town Council has announced that they will spend €1 million to demolish the Lagomar building in La Manga in October. The neighbours describe this building as the ‘ghost building’, it was built in 1974 and never finished. After many years and unsuccessful attempts, the building will finally be demolished next au‐tumn in order to avoid the inconvenience it would create during the busy summer months. The town council has had to assume the cost ‘due to the inaction of the owners.’ The work will take approximately three months as there are limitations imposed to protect Mar Menor.

Run for Lorca

THE 13th anniversary of the solidarity race ‘Run for Lorca’ will be held on Sat‐urday, May 13 in aid of the Parkinson’s Disease Association. It is organised by the town council of Lorca and the newspaper La Verdad. The event also coincides with the an‐niversary of the 2011 earthquakes when it was created to raise funds for the victims. The event be‐gins at 9.30am at Avenida Juan Carlos I. Register at www.alcanzatumeta.com

BUSY SUMMER: Mission impossible to find a rental.

“It’s all Greek to me.”

Means that something is difficult to understand due to its complexity. This expression was coined by Shakespeare who used it literally in Julius Caesar.

1st ever novel was written in Spanish.

SPAIN is one of the countries with the most Michelin‐starred restaurants in the world with 281 restaurants with at least one Michelin star. Spain has more Michelin‐starred restaurants than the United States and the UK with only France (758), Japan (544), Italy (432), and Germany (388) with more. Four of these Michelin‐starred restau‐rants can be found in the Re‐gion of Murcia.

Michelin-starred Café Asiático

The Cabaña Buenavista with two Michelin stars and three Repsol Suns is just 30 minutes from the coast in the town of El Palmar. Pablo González opened this special restaurant in 2004

and it is a culinary experience set in beautiful grounds.

Magoga in Cartagena opened its doors in 2014 ,they have one Michelin star and two Repsol Suns. They create contemporary cuisine led by

Fiestas Roldan

THE town of Roldan will be holding its popular ‘fiestas’ on Satur‐day, May 20, Sunday, May 21, Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28. There will be a futsal championship, the traditional horse‐riding ribbon race, and dressage arranged as part of the festivities and the popular ‘Tomorrowldan’ music festival along with other concerts and activities for all of the family. The festivities have been arranged by the town hall of Torre Pacheco.

Canoeing Regatta

THE University Rey Juan Car‐los from Madrid came to Santiago de La Ribera on Sat‐urday, May 6 to participate in the Inter‐University Canoeing Regatta. It began at 9am on Barnuevo Beach.

The event was organised by the Club Escuela de Pi ‐raguismo Mar Menor and the San Javier Town Council and was broadcast world‐

wide on the YouTube chan‐nel of the Canoe Federation. The event was attended by the mayor of San Javier José Miguel Luengo and the Colonel‐Director from San Javier Air base Pascual Soria. The air base supplied a fight‐er plane cockpit simulator which was open to the public and a giant paella was pre‐pared for the participants.

Chef María Gomez, who de‐signs the dishes using products from the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean.

El Odeón de Odiseo in Mur‐cia on Avenida Juan de Borbón has a restaurant with one Michelin star and two Repsol Suns. There is also a casino, a chill‐out terrace, and an area where you can watch live mu‐sic or cabaret‐style shows.

And finally, we have Alma‐Mater on Calle Madre de Dios in Murcia by head chef Juan Guillamón with one Michelin Star and one Repsol Sun. They create Murcian dishes with a modern and traditional touch.

Protected peaches

THE European Union has granted the definitive approval of the Protected Geographical Indi‐cation (PGI) to the ‘Meloco ton de Cieza’ (the peach es from Cieza).

This means that this product can now also be la ‐belled with the quality seal on the international mar‐ket. Cieza is consid‐ered to be the town with the highest peach production in Europe pro ducing approximately 180 million kilos per year.

There are two varieties of peach included in the PGI the Baby Gold 6 and the Romea. The PGI also includes farmers from Abarán, Calas‐parra, and Jumilla.

Metal Detecting Club

THE Adapt Metal Detecting Club in San Pedro del Pinatar is looking for new members. All are welcome regardless of your experi ‐ence.

They are supporters of the ‘hippocampus group’ and ‘save the seahorse project’ and so they charge €20 an‐nually as a membership fee. You will receive a valid photo ID with your details and you will need to provide a valid NIE.

They were recently filmed having metal‐detecting fun on channel 5 ‘Brits in the Sun’. If you are an early riser that would like to join this charity club, go to their web‐site for more information www.adapttheatregroup.w ordpress.com.

SOME people say the best coffee is found in Italy, and some prefer their coffee from Star‐bucks, but I think the best coffee can be found in Murcia, more specifi‐cally Cartagena. Have you ever tried a Café Asiático or seen locals drink an unusual‐looking coffee from a glass and wondered what it was?

Café Asiático is a cof‐fee with a long tradition, inspired by sailors who arrived at the port of Cartagena from Asia at the beginning of the 20th century and or ‐dered coffee with con‐densed milk and brandy.

This combination soon merged with the personality of Cartagena creating the recipe now used.

Café Asiático contains many layers, the first is condensed milk fol ‐lowed by brandy then Licor 43, the coffee is added next topped with foamed milk, a touch of lemon peel, some grains of coffee, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

The use of condensed milk in coffee spread to the rest of the Murcia region so if Café Asiático is not for you try a ‘Bom‐bon’ which is condensed milk with an expresso on top usually served in a small glass.

Or a ‘canario’ which is condensed milk coffee and foamed milk.

Whatever you choose you won’t regret it, the only problem is return‐ing to a flat white when you are not in Murcia!

CULINARY DELIGHTS: Murcia has five Michelin Stars.

Photo credit: El Odiseo’s official Facebook page

Cieza highest peach production in Europe.

Photo credit: melocotondecieza.es

Keep it in the family

AS a foreigner, moving to a village in rural northern Spain means you are a curiosity. Neighbours will begin circling, not unlike sharks. Peeking through your gate like you’re an animal in the local zoo.

Of course, they are cu‐rious about your strange ways. How you venture out of the confines of your home in outfits in which they wouldn’t be caught dead, as you sweep your front porch without wearing the requisite apron of all women sweeping front porches. I can hear their thoughts. ‘Has she no shame?’

After two years, we had begun to rack up an

impressive stack of so ‐cial faux pas. Erecting a fence to keep our dog in might impede hunters from crossing our land toting shot ‐guns while chasing a pack of baying dogs. There were many more. We were given a wide berth when we would walk down to the vil ‐lage to order a coffee or a glass of wine. They took our money and handed over the bever ‐ages, but they didn’t look happy about it. But then, it all changed.

I needed a house ‐keeper. I called local businesses and asked everyone I met. No one would respond. So, I cleaned my own home without wearing an

apron. Heresy. Then, one day there was a knock at the door. A small woman stood there. She spoke only Gallego but, apparent ‐ly, was here to clean my house.

Her apron was my first clue. Where she had come from, I didn’t know. But I hired her on the spot. And it turns out she’s the cousin of the people who own the café in the village. Suddenly, my lack of an apron doesn’t seem to matter anymore. The hunters totally understand why we have a fence for our dog. And, while we are no longer exotic zoo an‐imals, my house has never been cleaner.

Coronation a roaring success Royal guests

FOLLOWING the coronation ceremony, the focus then turned to Buckingham Palace where the new King and Queen appeared, to the de‐light of the multitude that had gathered there.

Saturday, May 6 was the day Britons celebrated their newly crowned King and Queen, a historic event watched by millions world‐wide.

Despite the rain, family squabbles and the threat of disruption from anti‐monar‐chists the day was a complete success.

The King and Queen took their places on the balcony to welcome the royal flypast and as they waved to crowds be‐low a huge roar went up in cel‐ebration.

However, due to the weath‐er, the Ministry of Defence had to send a slimmed‐down ver‐sion of the six‐minute flypast, trimmed to just two and a half minutes instead.

The original plan was for over 60 aircraft, which includ‐ed some vintage bombers, to

THE surrounding area of Buckingham Palace was left littered with soggy tents and other dis‐carded belongings on May 7, after heavy rains at the weekend’s coronation event.

The Buckingham Palace Mall was left a ‘right royal mess’ after revellers left the site after the coronation. With some supporters of the newly crowned king having camped there for up to a week and the weather being, well, terribly British, there will be plenty of clearing up to do.

Chris Ship, the ITV News Royal Editor, posted a video of the aftermath of the Coronation of King Charles III saying:

“A few short hours ago, there were crowds and carriages and crowns. Now the Mall re‐sembles an abandoned campsite after a wet

make an appearance, but ulti‐mately some helicopters and the Red Arrows were the only ones to take part.

The procession from West‐minster Abbey to Buckingham Palace was accompanied by 4,000 troops from the army, navy and RAF.

The first recorded monarch ever to appear before crowds on the famous balcony was Queen Victoria, when she stepped out for the opening of the Great Exhibition in 1851.

Clearing up

weekend at Glastonbury #Coronation.”

Carrie McInnis posted an image of the mess on Twitter, saying: “Buckingham Palace Mall littered with tents in coronation aftermath and News #GreenEnergy #SustainableEnergy #CleanEnergy #Energy [Video] Buckingham Palace Mall could be seen littered with rubbish including tents and flags in the aftermath of King Charles.”

No doubt the surrounding of Buckingham Palace will get back to its former glory and despite the debris, there is no doubt the Coronation of King Charles III was done on a grand scale and thoroughly enjoyed by many.

WELCOME guests at the Coronation of King Charles III were Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.

The kings are distant cousins and prior to the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II, Felipe was 567th in line to the British throne.

The visit was short as His Majesty had to be back to present the Copa del Rey on the evening of Sunday May 7 but the royal couple attended a reception hosted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace on May 5.

The following day when attending the Coronation, they looked resplendent, the King in formal military uni‐form and the Queen appearing graceful and refined in a pink dress with a large pink accented hat.

KING CHARLES III: A historic event watched by millions.

DISTANT COUSINS: King Felipe VI with Queen Letizia.

Sunak calls Sanchez

THE Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak spent time on a call with Spanish President, Pedro Sanchez.

The call took place on Thursday 4 May. The pair wel‐comed the strong and grow‐ing economic, security and cultural ties between the UK and Spain, as well as wider co‐operation with European partners.

Mr Sunak highlighted the importance of cooperation be‐tween Spain and the UK on is‐sues such as illegal immigra‐tion and energy security.

He also acknowledged the opportunity both men will have when they address these shared challenges when the UK and Spain host future

A PHOTOGRAPHER in London was shocked to see the results in a photo clicked during King Charles’ Coronation ceremony after he noticed a mysterious object on one of them.

Simon Balson was photographing the aerial spectacle during the Red Arrows fly‐past when he noticed something he claimed to have ‘no idea’ about.

In a quote cited by a news source, Balson said, “I was shooting some photos from the 13th floor of my apartment building in Lime‐house while the red arrows did their fly ‐over.”

Due to the bad weather, Balson said that

meetings of the European Po‐litical Community.

The two leaders also spoke about Gibraltar. They both agreed that progressing with negotiations on a UK‐EU Treaty was of importance, es‐pecially in concluding an agree‐ment as soon as possible.

The war in Ukraine was also discussed. Both Sunak Rishi and Pedro Sanchez agreed on the UK and Spain’s enduring support for Ukraine’s defence against the illegal invasion by Russia and President Zelen‐sky’s plan for peace.

Royal UFO

he did not check the images at the time.

He said, “When I did, though, I spotted this weird object and just thought what the hell is that.

“All I could get is that it had a little bit of a red top, but I have no idea what it could be.”

He said “There have been lots of strange ‘UFO’ sightings recently, so I thought other people might be able to guess what it was.”

The German tv crew filming in Vila Museu.

‘Total’ misunderstanding

Betty Henderson TOTALENERGIES, the French oil giant, is making headlines as it takes on environmental group Greenpeace in court over a report claiming that the company massively underestimated its greenhouse gas emissions. The oil company announced its decision to sue on Wednesday, May 3. The report, which was published last November, accused TotalEnergies of emitting around 1.64 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2019, compared to the 455 million

TotalEnergies is accused of underreporting emmissions.

tonnes that the company disclosed in public statements. However, TotalEnergies says that the report is filled with false and misleading information, and that the calculations were based on dubious methodologies. Greenpeace and Factor-X, the climate consulting firm behind the report,

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise appearance in the Netherlands on Wednesday, May 3. Announcing his appear‐ance, sources said he would speak at The Hague and visit the International Criminal Court which is in the process of investigating alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine. In the meantime, explo‐sions were reported in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, just a day after Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on the Kremlin. Za‐porizhzhia and Odessa in the south were also re‐ported to have been attacked. Russian officials claimed Ukraine attempted to assassinate Presi‐dent Vladimir Putin, but Zelensky firmly denied

say that the lawsuit is an attempt to muzzle the environmental group before the TotalEnergies general assembly on Friday, May 26, where activist shareholders will push for stricter climate commitments. Environmental groups are calling for entry to be blocked at the company’s global oil and petroleum projects in protest. Meanwhile, the court hearing on Thursday, September 7 is eagerly awaited by onlookers, as the case promises to be a significant one, given the high stakes involved.

Hague help

these allegations. Instead, he stated that Ukraine is “defending our villages and cities” and de‐manded more military support, including long‐range weapons and fighter jets from Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Some commenta‐tors have argued that the alleged drone strike on the Kremlin was internally conducted and pur‐posefully staged by Russia, while others dis‐agree, stating that it would make Russia look “weak” and vulnerable. The situation remains tense as Russia threatens to retaliate when and where it considers necessary.

PRESS EUROPEAN

DENMARK

Going home

DENMARK will reduce its military presence in Iraq in early 2024 in order to focus on Baltic countries. “We must prepare for a long-term Danish presence in the Baltic to establish a balance between soldiers on the ground and readiness to deploy them from Denmark,” Poulsen said.

THE NETHERLANDS

Hot stuff

THE meteorological office in De Bilt, (Utrecht) in the centre of the country, registered the Netherlands’ first warm day on May 4 when the temperature rose briefly to 20 degrees for the first time this year. Weather is deemed officially warm once the temperature rises above 20 degrees.

BELGIUM

Party time

MORE than 10,000 people attended an unauthorised rave at a disused airbase in Sint-Truiden at the end of April after the organisers broke into the base. Police set up roadblocks to stem the flow of revellers but admitted they were powerless to evacuate so many people from the site.

GERMANY

Fax and figures

EIGHTY-TWO per cent of German companies still use fax machines, according to a survey of firms with at least 20 employees carried out by digital association Bitkom. A third of those taking part in the survey said they continued to use the fax machines “frequently or very frequently.”

FRANCE

Nuclear pact

FRANCE and Japan signed a nuclear cooperation agreement in Paris on May 3 which pledged to ‘deepen and accelerate ties’ in researching and developing next-generation fast reactors, while continuing to work on the safe life extension of existing reactors and the decommissioning of nuclear plants.

NORWAY

High hopes

NORWEGIAN Kristin Harila, 37, the fastest female to climb the world’s 14 highest mountains, now aims to beat a male climber’s 2019 record. She successfully scaled Mount Cho Oyu and Mount Shishapangma in China and has arrived in Kathmandu (Nepal) where she will begin climbing this month.

FINLAND

Big noise

RUSSIA complained to Finland that a group of people threw “an explosive noise device” and broke a window at their consulate in the Aland Islands in the Baltic. The case was “regrettable”, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said, and police were “clarifying and investigating” the incident.

IRELAND

Badger jabs

FIVE thousand badgers were culled in Ireland in 2022 and a further 7,000 were vaccinated for tuberculosis under a Department of Agriculture prevention programme. The department explained that it now plans to phase out the culling programme as this was not a sustainable long-term solution.

ITALY

New claim

THE abbey of San Claudio in Macerata is described as 11th century, although locals insist it is two centuries older. They also believe Macerata was the headquarters of Charlemagne, the ‘Father of Europe’, between wars and that the town, not Aachen in Germany, is also his final resting place.

PORTUGAL

Going down

PORTUGAL fell from seventh to ninth place in Reporters with Borders’ Press Freedom rankings, classing it as ‘satisfactory’ this year, compared with 2022’s verdict of ‘very good’. The NGO placed Norway at the top of its list, followed by Ireland, Denmark and Sweden in second, third and fourth places.

UKRAINE

Old tech

UKRAINE'S 28th Brigade has begun using an antiquated wind-up field telephone for vital communications. Russia’s electronic warfare systems can detect and intercept mobile phones and radios, but the men said that although the ancient field telephone’s technology was very old “it works really well.”

SWEDEN

Job losses

VOLVO will cut 1,300 office posts, approximately 6 per cent of its employees in Sweden, in an attempt to reduce costs. Volvo’s CEO Jim Rowan explained in a statement that last year’s cost-cutting measures had started to get results “but it’s clear that we need to do more.”

FINANCE

Things to come

is the amount of a government contract awarded to Hispasat to close the digital gap by providing Spain’s rural areas with a broadband internet connection until December 2027. STAT OF WEEK

€76 million

Telepizza restructuring shakeup

Linda Hall

BUSINESS EXTRA Keep right on

BRITAIN’S Foreign Secretary

James Cleverly warned that armed conflict between China and Taiwan would destroy world trade, dealing a catastrophic blow to the global economy. Discussing Britain’s relations with Beijing, Cleverly said no country could shield itself from the repercussions of a war in Taiwan.

Fair shares

SPAIN’S capital gains tax charged at a maximum of 26 per cent when selling shares is 6.45 percentage points higher than the EU’s 19.55 per cent. The Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Slovenia charge nothing at all, while Belgium charges 0.15 per cent on transactions over €1 million.

Off the menu

PREZZO, affected by soaring energy and food costs, will close 46 loss ­ making Italian restaurants in the UK and where the post­Covid recovery proved harder than the private equity­owned chain had anticipated. Approximately 810 workers were at risk of redundancy due to the overhaul, Prezzo said.

Fast lanes

SPANISH toll road company

Albertis is bidding a total of €6 billion for three contracts to manage the Attica motorway in Athens, four motorways in Puerto Rico and the 16.5­kilometre State Highway 288 in Houston. With two lanes in each direction this is one of the busiest roads in Texas.

Downsizing

JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP will halve the size of its central London headquarters now that thousands of employees work from home. The offices occupy 220,000 square feet (approximately 2,044 square metres) but only half of that is being used and some floors have been completely closed off.

TELEPIZZA has survived and can live to deliver pizzas another day.

Bondholders and Santander, the fast­food company’s largest creditor signed an agreement on May 2 that has saved the Spanish multinational chain. Sources close to the operation told financial daily, Cinco Dias, that the private equity investors and the bank agreed to a write­down of around half of Telepizza’s liabilities, estimated at approximately €400 million, in exchange for 100 per cent of the company. As a result,

the bondholders headed by the Oak Hill, Blantyre, HIG, Fortress and Treo are now majority shareholders in the company, renamed Food Delivery Brands, and own 75 per cent of the capital.

Santander lent Telepizza €40 million that was guaranteed by Spain’s Official Credit Institute (ICO) during the

pandemic. A Telepizza statement had announced at the time that it needed between €95 and €115 million to cope with its problems and that the situation created by the Covid restrictions had endangered the company’s ability to meet its liquidity needs.

Santander and ICO itself,

together with other financial bodies which have yet to be named, will now share the remaining 25 per cent between them.

Shareholders including KKR, Arta, Torreal, J Safra Group and Altamar, who lose their entire stake, have come off worst in the deal.

Telepizza, was originally founded in Madrid as Pizza Phone by Leopoldo Fernandez Pujaz, a Cuban­born US businessman, in 1987.

There are now more than 1,600 Telepizza outlets worldwide, of which 694 Telepizza are located in Spain.

Dyson goes abroad again

DYSON will open a new battery factory in Singapore while investing in technology centres for Bristol and Santo Tomas (Philippines).

Although the Singapore outlay will be ‘significantly larger’, the UK and Philippines investments will involve a respective £100 million (€113.4 million) and £166 million (€118.2 million).

This latest announcement confirms billionaire Sir James Dyson’s policy of basing manufacturing operations outside Britain while retaining research and development functions in the UK. These includes research and robotics facilities in Malmesbury and Hullavington in Wiltshire.

Great news

SPAIN’S Paradores continues to benefit from the tourism boom following the pandemic years. The state­owned chain of 100 hotels announced a turnover of €310 million last year, the first time that this has risen above €300 million in its 95 years of existence.

The good results continued during the first four months of 2023, with earnings between January and April rising by 1.4 per cent to €80 million, an unprecedented amount for that time of the year.

“These figures are formidable,” said Pedro Saura, the Paradores’ president. “They are better than we expected and promise very positive prospects for all of 2023.”

James Dyson, whose company is habitually linked to vacuum cleaners, was a prominent Brexit supporter, maintaining that the UK would gain more by leaving Europe than it would lose. Inevitably, he faced strong criticism in 2019 for relocating the company’s headquarters to Singapore, where it already owned factories.

Cold

call ban

THE UK will ban all cold calls selling financial products.

The crackdown is being introduced to prevent fraudsters from selling sham insurance or cryptocurrency schemes.

A new fraud squad will be created with a staff of 500 compared to the existing 120, although Labour and the Liberal Democrat MPs described the plan as “too little, too late.”

Consumer group Which? welcomed the strategy, but also criticised the government for not acting sooner.

Fraud is now the UK’s most common crime, with one in 15 people falling victim to scams. Media regulator Ofcom revealed that 41 million people were targeted by calls and texts last summer, with an online element present in most fraud.

The ban will be introduced this summer, with the financial products to be covered decided after consultations.

UK employees are likely to be working into their 70s, according to findings that were released on International Workers’ Day, May 1.

Rest Less, an online community for the over­50s which provides advice for older workers, concluded that many people had little choice but to continue working owing to the cost­of­living crisis.

There were 446,601 over­70s still in employment last year, a 61 per cent increase compared with 277,926 in 2012, Rest Less, said. While most were male, the rise has been more marked among women as a result of the gradual equalisation of pension ages between 2010 and 2020.

New boss

The new Singapore plant will be its biggest ever investment in “advanced manufacturing,” Dyson said. The Philippines technology centre, which will engage 400 new engineers, will double the amount of factory space devoted to advanced technologies. The Bristol site will hire more software, AI and connectivity engineers, revealed Jake Dyson, the founder’s son and chief engineer.

The Singapore plant will produce batteries using proprietary new technology but Dyson preferred not to give more details, citing ‘commercial sensitivities’. Nevertheless, it appears the company believes it can make smaller, lighter and more energy­dense batteries.

Good earners

POTTERY, flags, t­shirts, Westminister Abbey­shaped biscuits and tins to put them in have been produced round the clock for the Coronation.

The UK is spending around £250 million (€284 million) on souvenirs and memorabilia, the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) said.

This could mount up to far more, as the CRR believes the final figure will top £1.6 billion (€2.8 billion) once tourist cash, plus spending on parties and going out is included.

Bridgewater Pottery, for instance, have sold more than £1 million (€1.1 million) worth of items emblazoned ‘Three Cheers for King Charles’, although normal sales were currently a struggle, owner Emma Bridgewater said.

VODAFONE appointed interim boss Margherita Della Valle as its permanent chief executive.

Bringing to an end almost five months of uncertainty, the British multinational telecommunications company said that Della ValleVodafone’s former chief financial officer ­ was hired after a “rigorous internal and external search.”

She occupied the CEO role on an interim basis after Vodafone sacked predecessor Nick Reid last December after four years, amid concerns over the company’s performance.

Della Valla will take on the job parallel to her role as Vodafone’s finance chief while a replacement is sought.

Sweet notion

LEFTIES, part of the Inditex group, will start selling sweets in their principal stores.

The affordable fashion chain, launched as a Primark competitor, has come to an agreement with the Murcia confectionary company, Golosinas Fini.

This takes Inditex a step further in its plans for Digital Stores incorporating technological advances that integrate the digital and inperson channels.

These will offer music booths, make­up services, retro­type video and basketball games, drinking fountains for pets, as well as persons and a customised clothes service creating unique items.

MULTINATIONAL: A Telepizza branch in Santiago de Chile.

DYSON HEADQUARTERS: Moved to Singapore in 2019.

Photo credit: CC/Carlosyo

Photo credit: CC/Westliche

DOW JONES

Power play

ITALY’S government, a major shareholder in Enel, recently dismissed Francesco Strarace, the power company’s longstanding CEO. Enel, the parent company of Spain’s Endesa in which it has a 70 per cent holding, is now rumoured to be seeking a substitute for the latter company’s CEO Jose Bogas, to the disquiet of the Spanish government.

Listen up

AT Unilever’s annual general meeting, 58 per cent of participating shareholders voted against the consumer goods group’s pay report for 2022. Unilever said it was disappointed by the outcome, while stressing that the vote was advisory rather than binding. “We are committed to shareholder engagement and will listen carefully to feedback,” the company added.

Tips to be protected

WITHHOLDING tips from staff will be unlawful in the UK.

More than two million workers will have their tips protected and they will also be able to view an employer’s tipping record.

An estimated £200 million (€227 million) a year will now return to staff pockets as employers are banned from withholding tips under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023. Hospitality workers rely on tips but are often powerless if businesses fail to

Reluctant scientists

THE Spanish Space Agency recently held its first board meeting in Sevilla.

This was chaired by the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, who announced that with its annual budget of €700 million the agency should begin drafting the National Space Plan as soon as possible.

Its staff of 75 should be operational by the next quarter, Morant added.

This could be problematic, however.

Twenty employees from the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI), whose functions were assumed by the agency, have not yet made arrangements to leave Madrid.

They have been promised transfers with identical conditions but are still negotiating the move with the Ministry of Science and the Administration.

pass on customers’ service charges to staff.

The new measures are due to come into force in 2024.

This overhaul of tipping practices will benefit at least two million workers in the UK across the hospitality, leisure and services sectors, helping to ease cost of living pressures and giving them peace of mind, knowing that they will keep their hardearned money.

“As people face rising living costs, it is not right for employers to withhold tips from employees,” Business and Trade Minister Kevin Hollinrake said.

“Whether you are pulling pints or delivering a pizza, this new law will ensure that staff receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and customers can be confident their money is going to those who deserve it.”

Team spirit

SPAIN’S First and Second Divisions are in profit again after their losses during the pandemic. According to the estimate announced on May 4 by LaLiga, to which the 42 clubs belong, they will have made a net profit of €27 million by the end of the season, compared with the €1.039 billion losses incurred in 2020 and 2021.

No net

ONE in four people aged between 25 and 49 save nothing and would have no safety net in an emergency, a YouGov survey for wealth manager True Potential found. Forty per cent have slashed the amount they save each month owing to the cost of living, while those who save put aside less than £50 (€57.13) a month.

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: Tips will go to staff by law.

Photo credit: Pixabay/Arttabel

Pay up

A VISIT to Hampton Court gardens, open to the public since Queen Victoria’s reign, was once free, but now costs up to £29 (€33). Hampton Court, owned by the royal family, blamed financial difficulties after the Covid pandemic for locking its gates for the first time in 185 years.

Different label

TONI RUIZ, Mango’s chief executive since March 2020, told a La Vanguardia interviewer that the fashion chain wished to lose its “fast fashion” label. “We have a team of 500 people designing 100 per cent of our clothes in Barcelona, working with best­quality, sustainable fabrics,” Ruiz said.

Fast work

RESTAURANT GROUP , which owns Wagamama, Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquitos, will close 23 outlets by the end of May. The group, which currently runs 410 venues, intends to speed up closures after announcing earlier that it would shut 35 of its loss­making casual dining restaurants.

Top earners

BANCO SANTANDER’s millionaire executives increased by 37.62 per cent last year from 202 to 278 employees on more than €1 million annually, according to its Prudential Relevance Report 2022. BBVA’s millionaire employees also increased, although by 5.66 per cent to just 56 executives.

Not quite

HEALTHCARE company Haleon’s profits fell slightly short of expectations in the first quarter as the consumer giant’s margins were affected by higher costs.

The GlaxoSmithKline spinoff behind brands including Sensodyne toothpaste posted revenues of about £3 billion (€3.4 billion) for this year’s first quarter.

Inflation or ‘greedflation’

Linda Hall

THE UK’S Competition and Markets Authority should investigate whether supermarkets were profiteering, Liberal Democrat Ed Davey said.

Industry statistics revealed that food price inflation shot up to a record high of 15.7 per cent in April, adding to pressure on households countrywide, Davey claimed.

According to government figures, food and drink prices rose by almost 20 per cent in the 12 months ending in March, the fastest annual rate since 1977. Lib Dem analysis also showed that a typical shop had risen by almost £12 (€13.6) a week in the last year.

Supermarkets have raked in bil ­

lions of pounds in profits, Davey maintained, and although the biggest grocers recently reported falling profits, experts said more could be done to help struggling shoppers.

Adif quandary

Union leaders also maintained that supermarket bosses were squeezing customers to benefit from ‘greedflation’ where firms exploit high inflation to create excessive profits.

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s announced £690 million (€782.3 million) profits for the year until March, with profit margins slipping from 3.4 to 2.99 per cent, as chief executive Simon Roberts insisted that the chain was determined to fight inflation.

Tesco’s profits of £753 million (€854 million) were half those of the previous year, while chief executive Ken Murphy declared that the retailer was “robustly challenging every cost increase” with suppliers and had not passed on all of its additional costs to customers.

Look back with nostalgia

CAR sales remained buoyant as April ended.

Registrations grew by 8.2 per cent with a total of 74,749 vehicles sold, consolidating the industry’s recovery during the first four months of the year with sales of 312,314 units, an increase of 33.7 per cent.

This was due to improvements both in production and deliveries, announced car manufacturers’ association Anfac and distributors Faconauto and Ganvam.

In contrast, 2022 was catastrophic, owing to the microchip crisis and bottlenecks when transporting vehicles, they said.

Despite the increase, registrations are a long way from the pace and volume of pre ­ pandemic transactions when April 2019 saw sales of more than 100,000 vehicles, 28.4 per cent more than in April 2023.

“April’s figures make us look back with nostalgia to before the pandemic when, as summer approached, the market had no trouble in exceeding 100,000 registrations,” Raul Morales, Faconauto’s Communications director.

Sales of cars and SUVs to companies and rental firms were 8.9 per cent up

SKY is allegedly planning hundreds of job cuts as it gets to grips with a move to streaming.

According to reports in the UK media, cuts are likely to affect customer services staff and the engineers who install satellite dishes.

The broadcaster experienced an 11.5 per cent fall in revenues to £14.3 billion (€16.2 billion) in 2022, al­

on last year, with sales of 30,615 units, with rent­acar registrations improving by 30.6 per cent to 15,753 units. Sales to private individuals fell by 1.9 per cent with 28,381 registrations last month, although light commercial vehicle sales rose by 12.9 per cent compared with April 2022.

Outlook cloudy

though profits and the number of customers increased.

US media giant Comcast bought Sky for £30 billion (€34 billion) in 2018 but took a £6.8 billion (€7.7 billion) write­down on the value of the business last October, which it attributed to “challenging eco ­

ADIF, Spain’s publicly­ owned rail infrastructure company, is scrutinising bids for a €621 million tender (€513.3 excluding IVA) for its largest project in recent years.

This involves putting below ground Barcelona’s R2 track as it crosses Montcada i Reixac.

So far, Ferrovial’s €446.6 million bid (excluding IVA) is apparently the most viable, although the multinational’s decision to relocate its headquarters to the Netherlands still rankles with the Spanish government.

So much so that Adif is taking the unusual step of bringing in an external engineering consultancy to analyse all the bids competing for the contract, possibly in hopes of finding a valid reason for eliminating Ferrovial.

Pub facelift

BREWING giant Heineken is planning a £40 million (€45.5m) cash injection into UK pubs. Upgrading 570 pubs, practically a quarter of Heineken’s UK premises, will create approximately 600 jobs this year.

The company runs 2,400 pubs in the UK via Star Pubs & Bars and Lawson Mountstevens, the operation’s managing director, stressed the importance of continued investment in Heineken’s venues despite the “uncertain” consumer panorama.

nomic conditions.”

Sales of the company’s much­proclaimed Sky Glass ­ a TV that has built­in Sky and streaming apps which eliminate the need for a satellite dish ­ have not so far been impressive.

“It’s in a really tough place,” a source said.

On the scent

SPAIN exported €6.515 billion in perfumes, cosmetics and essential oils last year, 21 per cent more than in 2021.

These figures were the highest since it first began carrying out surveys in 2017, announced Spain’s National Association of Perfumes and Cosmetics (Stanpa).

Cosmetics are now one of Spain’s principal exports, ahead of wine and footwear, each of which registered international sales of approximately €3

billion in 2022. They also outstripped olive oil exports of €4.2 billion, Stanpa pointed out.

The industry now exports to more than 175 countries, compared to 150 in 2021 when Europe accounted for 82 per cent of Stanpa members’ foreign sales.

These fell to 51 per cent in 2022, with the remaining 49 per cent destined for the US, UK, Mexico, China and United Arab Emirates.

The group revealed that 100 pubs are in line for full revamps which will cost around £200,000 (€227,445) each as part of its investment programme.

Slowdown

JOB vacancies grew rapidly in the north during 2022, but 2023 is now preparing for a slowdown.

Professional vacancies in the north grew faster than in the rest of England and Wales in 2022, with over 81,500 new jobs registered, a 16 per cent year­on­year increase, according to the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), the trade association for the professional recruitment sector.

However, year­to­date vacancies in 2023 have not kept up with last year’s numbers, although forecasts show that northern vacancies could reach over 74,300 by the end of 2023.

FOOD PRICES: Shot up to a record high in April.

Photo credit: Pixabay/Volzi

CAR REGISTRATIONS: Improvement on 2022.

THE Left wing propaganda machine, which is relentlessly eating into the UK’s very subsistence, has become absolutely staggering. Just how are the wokes and their fellow conspirators able to get away with it? Their political activities and media indoctrination presents a constant barrage of animosity against any who would embody alternative ideals. They firmly support the unions, who are quite happy to encourage the workforce with strikes, particularly industrial actions that spread misery and chaos among the general public.

They have managed to completely obliterate freedom of speech and frighten the white population to the core, citing accusations of racism involving almost any remark or observation they may even accidently express concerning non­white society. This attitude is of course totally reversed should it concern black citizen’s actions or comments appertaining to any white member. A prime example of this was the black male who imitated a sex act on a white policewoman at the Notting Hill Carnival. He eventu­

Propaganda

ally received no more than a slap on the wrist from the local police. Had it been a white man committing this disgraceful act against a black policewoman he would, after the protests, still be serving his time in prison.

With the advent of the Coronation, they are naturally pulling out all the stops with their fellow conspirators to decry the monarchy. This is of course an institution they are utterly committed to destroying and holds no place in the plans they have for a ‘democratic’ society run by a single authority, along the lines of those depicted by George Orwell. As far as their media indoctrination is concerned it has now passed all bounds.

They have announced two comedy shows. One entitled ‘No more Monarchy,’ (which seems to have somewhat oddly disappeared). The other the return of the satirical anti royal series

‘The Windsors’; a snip being shown actually depicts Camilla telling Charles they will all gather on the balcony to ‘wave at the idiots out front.’ Eighty per cent of ads now feature a veritable dominance of black actors in all man­

THE FIRM OUR VIEW

ner of situations, including mixed marriages among elderly couples; giving the impression that this particular practice has been prevalent for many years, which is of course ridiculous , but not of course to the young, which is the inexperienced innocent population they are actually endeavouring to influence. Popular TV series show whole neighbourhoods existing as mixed cultures enjoying similar lives together, giving a wide berth to the degradation and run down areas that exist in many of the big cities.

Actually, according to some of my colleagues, many intelligent non­white members of society are actually irritated and angered by the whole hypothetical and abstract representations. Racism is on the rise all over the country, which is exactly what the brainwashing instigators desire. They will then have every excuse to form a coordinated army of riot police that will ultimately control all of its citizens. Welcome to 1984 in its entire horrific eventuality.

AT the time of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II she was recognised as Head of State by a selection of countries, some of which were considered Dominions and others Colonies and during her reign there was a total of 32 independent countries.

In addition, there were several small Colonies such as Bermuda, Falkland Islands and Gibraltar who became known as Overseas Territories and they alongside Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man also recognised her position.

Over the years, as Independence took place a number of new countries declared themselves Republics and whilst remaining as part of the Commonwealth of Nations no longer acknowledged the Monarch as Head of State.

Now 70 years later, that figure has dropped to just 15 (including the UK) plus the Overseas Territories and already it looks as if the next to go will be Belize, followed almost certainly by Jamaica, New Zealand and possibly Australia.

There is no doubt that the British Royal Family is no longer viewed as being above reproach, with family feuds, infidelity, marriage breakdowns, paper bags full of cash and more which means there is something of a divide between the young and old over the relevance of the ‘family firm’. What has become clear from the scenes leading up to the Coronation of King Charles III is that not just the British but many nations, both home and abroad do still have affection for the pomp and circumstance of a well organised event and one can be pretty certain that the majority of even the most cynical would jump at the chance of having tea at Buckingham Palace.

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Dear Leapy LETTERS

I love your articles and eagerly look forward to reading your columns.

If only more people were like you and I and had the balls to speak their mind!

I’m definitely not PC and don’t intend to start at age 67. I’m constantly in trouble with my wife and my three daughters and just about everyone who listens to me banging on about why we are expected to pander to our foreign friends when in our own country/cul ‐ture. ♂

Keep up your great work Leapy, we must not let the b******s grind us down.

All the best Jim

Hello Maureen

My husband told me he had sent you an email about me and I was truly de ‐lighted ‐ and surprised ‐ to see my face on your front page (edition 1969)!

I’m sorry it has taken me a while to reply and say thank you but Tony, my husband, hasn’t been too well lately (another heart attack) so I’ve rather had my hands full. He even turned out to be allergic to Heparin! We see the cardiologist on Wednesday so I’m hope‐ful of some good news.

I shared your front page on my Face ‐book page and received many lovely comments that have helped me tremendously during this difficult time.

Thank you again and kind regards.

Tricia Gabbitas.

Dear Sirs

Can you please ask your readers if any of them suffer from awful adminis ‐trators. For nearly 30 years I let mine use my bank account, until I realised that there were irregular transactions. When he was confronted, all I got was the Spanish shrug. Needless to say I put a stop to it.

The problem now is he keeps coming up with all sorts of jobs that need more and more money. He is well paid from all the owners. In fact he put his fee up again three months ago. We are intimi ‐dated by him.

He is very arrogant. He never explains who these people are that he has to pay extra money to. Most of us are se ‐nior citizens. We have talked to solici ‐tors who have taken our money, lis ‐tened, but done nothing.

Please ask your readers for their ad ‐vice.

Best regards Margaret, Benalmadena

Same problem

Hi,

We too had Gwendolyn Ottley’s Travel Insurance problem but we have found an Insurance Brokers called Mena Cotos Y Tejada in San Pedro Alcantara who ar ‐ranged Travel Insurance for us with ARAG and NO age limit !

It is not cheap, but our minds were/are at ease ……

We are in our 80s and travelling again fully Insured ! Good luck,

Margaret Hayes

Extra payment

We live in Orihuela Costa and like many others we pay our SUMA in May each year. Approx four/six weeks before the payment date we receive from the SUMA office an email detailing the amount that we owe. We always pay by Direct Debit. This year without any no ‐tice the Suma office took an extra pay ‐ment.

We were told this was to cover street cleaning and bin emptying. We never set up a direct debit with our bank for the new amount and have been told that as the Suma office is responsible for tax collection they can set up the payment without our prior agreement.!!!!

We have tried to phone and visit the office but they don’t answer the phone and at our last visit there was over 25 people waiting for an appointment!!

We are more than happy to pay our taxes but really wonder why the Suma office bother to send us details of the re‐quired payment if they then add to it.

The extra payment is supposed to cover the street cleaning etc. We just hope that it will be spent for that purpose as the streets and bins of OC are in a disgusting state and have been for years. and no doubt will stay like that until OC has its in‐dependence from Orihuela town.

Terry and Shirley

Still trying

Hi all,

Thank you for your reply to my letter re travel insurance.

I rang Stay Sure travel and was told their age limit was 85 years, so no help there as I am 86 years old.

I tried to get travel insurance from Eng‐land, but they will not do it as I am a Spanish resident.

I am now at a loss as to what to do.

Kind regards

Gwendoline Ottley

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UK dog food may harm pets

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DOG food sold in the UK may harm your pet after some have been found to contain high levels of toxic lead according to campaigners at Wild Justice.

According to the organisation, more than three quarters of samples from three raw pheasant ­ based dog foods tested for lead exceeded the maximum level recommended for animal feed.

They contend therefore that the use of lead shot in shooting means pet owners are unwittingly feeding their dogs levels of lead that may

harm their health.

Chris Packham said “That people might be unwittingly poisoning their beloved companion animals is outrageous.

“It’s clearly a failure of our regulatory systems when products like raw pheasant ­ based dog foods can be sold containing such high lead levels.

“No animals should be exposed to these levels of lead in their food. Wild Justice is taking legal advice on these shocking findings.”

New research published in the journal Am­

bio stated that tests were undertaken on samples from raw, airdried and wet dog food products purchased in the UK that contained pheasant meat.

They found that about three quarters of samples from raw pheasantbased dog food packs exceeded the EU maximum lead levels permitted in animal feed.

Wild Justice believe that raw meat diets for pets are on the increase in the UK, and products containing raw pheasant are widely available online.

New UK legislation

NEW legislation in the UK will affect dog owners which will end a practice many call ‘cruel and unnecessary.’

From February 2024 the UK will bring into force a ban on electric shock dog collars, according to a news source on Saturday, April 29.

The move has been praised by the charity, Dogs Trust. Dr Rachel Casey commented, “we welcome this announcement from Defra that hand ­ held electric shock collars are to be banned in England. It is both unnecessary and cruel to use these collars on dogs.

“Research has shown that electric shock collars negatively impact dog welfare and instead of improving behaviour, risk causing

further behaviour problems. Worse still, they can be a mechanism for abuse if used in anger.”

The collars are activated by a radio ­ controlled device which can be used from a distance of about two miles, which are capable of giving painful electrical shocks for up to 11 seconds at a time

Figures indicate that one in 20 British dog owners

have used the controversial collars on their dogs, which are cited as a training device.

Mark Beazley CEO of Charity The Club Kennel said, “There is simply no excuse for using these devices.”

, which cause physical and psychological harm, especially given the vast array of positive training methods available.’

The three founders of Wild Justice.

Credit: Wild Justice Twitter

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Alcaraz defends title

CARLOS ALCARAZ defeat ed the German tennis player Jan ­ Lennard

Struff by 6 ­ 4 3 ­ 6 6 ­ 3 to retain his Madrid Open title making it his fourth Masters 1000. The world’s number 2 hailing from El Palmar in Murcia celebrated his 20th birthday at the Madrid Open on Friday, May 5 making him one of the youngest tennis players to win four Masters 1000.

Alcaraz’s victory in Madrid means he has won back ­ to ­ back ti tles after he won the Conde de Godó just last month putting him only five points behind Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings.

It wasn’t a straightfor ward win for Alcaraz against the ‘lucky loser’ Struff losing the second

set and Carlitos was ‘super emotional’ to have won. He confirmed he will be at the Rome Masters 1000 which will allow him to regain the world number one ranking.

Alcaraz said “These are very nice achievements. Winning my fourth Masters 1000, defending my title here, and being almost at the doorstep of regaining the number one ranking, these are great things that I’m doing and I’m very proud of the work and these achievements.”

Derby Day Held to a draw

THE two teams from Murcia in the Segunda RFEF league group 4 Mar Menor CF and UCAM Murcia faced off on Sunday, May 7 in the Nueva Condomina Stadium. UCAM needed to win to stay in the playoff positions and win they did with a decisive 3­0 victory. Midfielder Manuel Ramirez Hurtado scored just before half time and then forward Javier Moreno Sanchez scored in the 55th minute. Finally, Mario Abenza scored in the additional time to make it 3­0. Mar Menor stays in eighth and UCAM in fifth hanging on to their playoff position. UCAM faces second place Huelva on Sunday, May 14.

Out of the playoff

REAL MURCIA faced top ­ of ­ the ­ table Sociedad Deportiva Amorebieta Saturday, May 6 away from home. They travelled to the Campo de Futbol Municipal Nuevo Urritxe in the País Vasco hoping for a win to stay in the playoff positions. Murcia managed to get through the first half without conceding but Amorebieta’s forward Mikel Pradera scored just after half ­ time in the 47th minute and in the 61st minute defender Jorge Mier scored from outside the area to make it 2 ­ 0.

Murcia’s Dani Vega scored soon after in the 66th minute giving the team hope but it wasn’t to be. Murcia drops to sixth and are out of the playoff positions with just three games left to play this season.

They face third ­ place Castellon on Sunday, May 14.

Local superstar defends Murcia

TENNIS superstar Carlos Alcaraz defended Murcia after the region went viral on TikTok. The region was voted as the ‘most hated’ of all the Spanish regions on the social media platform. During a recent interview, Carlitos Alcaraz spoke about all the memes and jokes related to Murcia saying “There is a lot of meme, a lot of nonsense about Murcia. People have this conception of Murcia and I wish people had the opportunity to spend a weekend in Murcia because they would freak out. I have always said that Murcia is very underrated. We have beaches, mountains, good food, and spectacular places.”

Their hopes of an important win were dashed when their defender Toni Datkovic was sent off in the 26th minute, shown a straight red for a dangerous two­footed tackle. It ended goalless leaving Cartagena in seventh four points off the playoff positions. They face Zaragoza on Saturday, May 13.

Carlos Alcaraz is the promotional image of the region of Murcia and he is from El Palmar in Murcia. He returns to his hometown between competitions as it is his main residence. He is passionate about the region and because of this, you can hear his many fans chant ‘Murcia, Murcia’ when he plays in Spain.

FC CARTAGENA played Burgos CF at home in the Cartagonova Stadium on Sunday, May 7. Cartagena needed to win to keep the pressure up on Albacete and those playoff positions.

Alcaraz wins Madrid open.

Murcia defeated by Amorebieta.

Cartagena’s Datkovic was sent off.

Photo credit: Real Murcia’s official Facebook

UCAM hang on to playoffs.

Photo credit: UCAM Murcia CF twitter