Gala Fundraising Evening

YOU won’t find it now, as it was corrected later, but the US author James Michener, writing about Pamplona, had people sleeping inside banks during the July bullrunning.

It appeared, I believe, in The Drifters but was forgivable because some people do sleep ON benches between July 7 and 14. However, they don’t sleep IN banks although Spanish translates both as banco. There’s still a connection, as some sources tell you that bank originates from the banca ­ or a bench that is also a tablewhere Lombard moneymen exchanged money and bills in the marketplace. If one defaulted, his bench was broken up, giving us bancarotta, which is very close to a Spanish bancarrota or bankrupt. Breaking up its computer system is the worst thing that could happen to any bank now, because most people do their banking online. As English is always an online option, language should not be a problem, but sometimes you’ll want to see a person and not a computer screen. So first things first:

I’d like to make an appointment… ..quiero hacer una cita previa (this can be done online although some banks provide

I’d like to open an account/close my account…..quiero abrir una cuenta/cerrar mi cuenta

I’d like to open/close a current account….quiero abrir/ cerrar una cuenta corriente

I’d like to open/close a deposit account…..quiero abrir/cerrar una cuenta de déposito

I’d like to make a standing order… ..quiero domiciliar un pago

I’d like to cancel a standing order… ..quiero anular una domiciliación

I want to authorise a payment… ..quiero dar una orden de pago

I want to make a transfer….quiero hacer una transferencia

I’d like a mortgage…..quiero una hipoteca

And, because disaster sometimes strikes:

I’ve lost my debit/credit card…..he perdido mi tarjeta de débito/crédito

I’ve had my debit/credit card stolen….. me han robado mi tarjeta de débito/crédito

And to change the subject entirely, remember not to translate broad beans as judías anchas, as this will get you runner beans instead.

THE British Benevolent Fund was founded over a century ago to act as the ‘charity of last resort’ for Britons who face extreme financial hardship in Spain.

The BBF works with charity partners across the country as well as the UK consular network to help.

The British Ambassador to Spain is the honorary patron. The British community in Spain has grown enormously since its inception and the needs of Britons grown with it.

We help those who have nowhere else to turn and who face the worst that life can throw at them many times exasperated by illness and incapacity.

We can only help people with your help.

The BBF is part of the British community in Spain and works 365 days a year for it with an all­volunteer membership of people from all walks of life and all parts of Spain. There is no office and there are no salaried staff.

To help raise funds and awareness the BBF has joined forces with the Fundacion Cudeca for a flagship fundraising gala to be held at the Uppery Club in Malaga on Saturday May 20.

Guests will be treated to a VIP night at Malaga’s newest and most sought after locations for a glittering evening including welcome reception, three­course dinner with all wines, star raf­ fle with thousands of euros worth of prizes and late bar.

Tickets are €125 with both the BBF and Cudeca as the beneficiaries of the evening. If you would like to support our work and cause we would be delighted to welcome you. For ticket enquiries please contact olaf.clayton@ britishbenevolentfund.org.

David Worboys Thinking Aloud

MUSIC is the art of sound that expresses ideas and emotions through elements of rhythm, melody, harmony and colour. Yehudi Menuhin said: “I can only think of music as something inherent in every human being ­ a birth­right. Music coordinates mind, body and spirit.” According to Anton Bruckner: “it is better to listen to music and not understand it than to understand it and not listen to it.”

Like many people I was first exposed to music through nursery rhyme jingles sung by my parents or played on the radio. At school I was a fan of Doris Day and Bing Crosby before becoming aware of some of my father’s classical music.

From the mid ­ 50s for me it was all New Orleans and traditional jazz, from the records of Jelly ­ Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong to Chris Barber and Humphrey Lyttleton, and jiving