Focus On Costa Blanca North June 2023

Combining a career in optometry and parenthood

CECILIA Navarro Tudela is an optometrist, business owner and mother. We spoke to her about how she is juggling her career with having a young family.

Thanks for speaking to us Cecilia, tell us a little bit about yourself.

‘I am originally from Agres, but now live and work as an optometrist and store director here in Jávea. I have worked for Specsavers Ópticas for 13 years and became a joint store director a year ago. I am also the proud mother to two beautiful children, Sara aged 5 and Hugo aged just 2 months.’

What attracted you to being an optometrist?

‘I was attracted to optometry as a profession, as I liked science and loved the idea of being able to help people see better and save sight through providing quality eye care.’

Have you found it difficult combining your career with becoming a mother?

‘I am proud to be able to combine being a business owner, professional optometrist, and a Mum to two children. There’s no doubt that working Mums have a difficult balancing act on their hands, but with the right support it is possible to pursue a career you love.

‘There are lots of good companies out there trying to support women to find a good work-life balance. I really value the fact that Specsavers Ópticas offers flexible hours, no pay gap and equal opportunities and working conditions for both men and women. Thankfully, I know there are also many other businesses that are working hard to ensure equal rights and pay.’

What would your advice be for parents when it comes to their children’s eyes?

‘Look out for signs of vision problems from a young age. These include; sitting too close to the TV, rubbing their eyes repeatedly, complaining of headaches, being clumsy or squinting.

‘Get your children’s eyes tested early – before they go to school. As 80% of the information they receive comes through their vision, poor sight can lead to issues with learning and development.

‘Help your children to reduce the risk of developing eye strain, blurred vision and dry eyes by reducing screentime and recommending regular breaks.’

Do you have any advice for the wider family?

‘Think of an eye test like a health check and book this in at least every two years. Many eye conditions such as glaucoma develop without any symptoms and only an eye test will alert you to the problem before permanent vision loss occurs. Regular eye tests build healthy lifetime habits for the whole family.’

There are three Specsavers Ópticas stores in the North of the Costa Blanca; in Calpe, Jávea and Benidorm. Visit www.specsavers.es to find your nearest store, or to make an appointment for a free eye test.

House insurance - are you properly covered?

I regularly extoll the virtues of Liberty’s fully comprehensive house policy. When asking the right questions, you will discover that many house insurance policies are inadequate. Is your building size correct? Are your outside areas correctly covered – especially including pools and terraces? Do you have enough contents cover?

What Liberty Seguros offer today is the best. A specially designed policy for the Expats, with policy documents in English. The other very important issue when discussing house insurance is the amount of contents cover, always remembering that with Spanish Home insurance the kitchen is included in the contents, not the buildings.

There are optional extras that can be added to your policy, so that it is tailor made for your requirements, which include garden protection, Home Improved, which allows you to increase the aesthetic restoration and additional cover for valuable objects, and jewellery (conditions apply) and a further extra you can add to your policy is accidental damage, which is unique to Liberty Seguros and covers many breakages and claims within the home. Therefore can I please ask you all to double check the coverage of your home policies, whether you are with Jennifer Cunningham Insurance and Liberty, or another company, to understand the cover you actually have. Finding out you have the incorrect and insufficient coverage when you want to make a claim is far too late.

If you rent out your property, there is further Landlord Protection which provides cover for acts of vandalism by the tenant and also unpaid rent covers up to 6 months once a final judgement has been made legally.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact one of my offices and we will be able to give you the advice you require and answer any questions.

Just remember that your home is probably your most expensive asset, but there are also your personal belongings, which of course, needs the right protection.

If you require any further information or a quotation, please contact one of my offices, email info@jennifercunningham.net or visit the website www.jennifercunningham.net.

Due to darling daughter's many commitments recently, I have been on lots of grandma duties. The time with them has made me appreciate all over again just how lucky we are to live here. There is so much available for everyone to enjoy and with our glorious weather we were out in the park, zooming down the zip wire (them, not me), walking along the seafront finding carvings of mermaids and a lizard, or counting flamingos and spotting ducks, herons and red legged stilts through my 'thing that looks a long way grandma' (monocular to you and me). All this with them both singing - 'We're off to see the wonderful LIZARD of Oz' and then collapsing in laughter. I felt a bit like Mary Poppins with all the things I managed to fit in my handbag.

I guess they had a good time as this was the picture I got after dropping them off back home - little man didn't even make it to the sofa.

Until next time, take care and be kind.

Lesley

To discuss your advertising needs in Focus on Costa Blanca North or QFocus Magazine (covering the southern Costa Blanca), contact your local representative:-

Finestrat to Moraira

Alan 689 358 232 alan@femalefocusonline.com

Gandía to Jávea Roddy 688 815 405 or 96 575 6833 roddy@femalefocusonline.com

Calpe

Stephen 641 249 052 stephen@femalefocusonline.com

501 055 editor@femalefocusonline.com

OUR UNSTABLE SUN - The next Carrington event

As a rule, astronomers, both professional and amateur don't go in for nasty things from space coming to Earth to do us harm. All those ugly monsters in films who for some peculiar reason want our planet, are entertaining, but that's all a complete load of dingos kidneys, to quote the late great Douglas Adams.

Unfortunately, like every rule, there is an exception, and it's not got bug eyes, it's down to pure physics, the physics of our Sun in this case. If you think that the Sun is a completely stable star, think again, it goes through a cycle of several years when it goes from calm to very active. In its active phase it produces a lot of sunspots and immense flares like bits of the Sun firing off into space. These flares are made up of plasma, a sort of super hot gas holding vast amounts of energy, much of it electrical.

The chances of one of these flares hitting the earth is quite small, we are just a tiny planet, so a flare has to be going just the right way to hit us, but it does happen. Luckily for us, the Earth, unlike the Moon or Mars has a magnetic field which can deflect most of the charged particles away from the planet's surface causing the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis in the southern hemisphere, what most of us call the northern lights.

Normally these can only be seen in the far north, but sometimes, the aurora can be seen much further south as happened just last month. This is all quite normal, the problem is that sometimes a truly gigantic flare comes our way, that breaks through to Earth's surface, in a manner of speaking, the air is filled with electrical energy.

Back in 1859 an amateur astronomer, Richard Carrington was observing the Sun when he saw a colossal flash of light. This was followed the next day with telegraph systems going haywire, operators getting huge electric shocks, and the aurora being observed right down to the tropics. There was so much electrical energy about that even a day later, the repaired telegraph systems would work without a battery. Earth's first recorded geomagnetic storm had been linked with a coronal mass ejection from the sun, and ever since then astronomers have kept a close watch on our sun.

You are probably wondering what will happen nowadays when a solar storm like that hits us, well, a lesser event in 1989 took out a large part of Canada's electrical grid plunging huge areas into darkness. Today we live in a much more interconnected society, a serious event will do an untold amount of harm. Just how much harm I'm not looking forward to finding out.

Next month I'll talk about some of the things space scientists have done to mitigate the impact of these solar storms and I'll explain a little about space weather.

● To find out more about observing and astronomy why not join our group, email us at vegabaja.astronomygroup@gmail.com to find out more.

Oates, Vega Baja Astronomy Group.

Charles

Financial Advice from our family to yours

Sustainable & Ethical

Investments

Sustainable investing has gained significant traction over the last few years for several different reasons. However, most people we speak to have little knowledge on what “sustainable” or “ethical” investing actually means.

Similar to other areas of the investment world, you also tend to find acronyms flying around which create confusion for people who are considering investment opportunities, so the purpose of this article is to give a short introduction as to what sustainable investing is.

When considering ethical portfolios for our clients, we work closely with LGT Wealth Management, one of the largest UK investment companies in the sustainable sector. LGT themselves are fully committed to making the planet a better place to live and have an integrated investment framework that helps achieve this goal. So, what is “sustainable” and “ethical” investing and is there any difference between the two?

Ethical investing is a form of investing which looks to exclude investments into companies or sectors that are unaligned with an individual's personal values, be it religiously led or simply preference. Ethical investing often leads to avoiding commonly perceived “sin” stocks, such as gambling companies or those making controversial weapons. In comparison, there is no universally agreed definition of what “sustainable” investing is, but most fund managers would suggest that a sustainable portfolio needs to be driven by an ESG assessment of companies and funds (arguably the most common acronym!).

ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance risks or factors, which are non-financial metrics that can have an impact on a company's valuation. These ESG data points are becoming increasingly scrutinised by investors, helped by the expanding transparency of business model reporting.

This momentous trend into sustainable and ethical investing is unlikely to slow down anytime soon either. With recent events such as Covid highlighting the need for companies to ensure sustainability, others such as the Ukraine invasion or the ever-worsening climate change have shown us the benefits of a greener environment and self-sufficiency. For us, this is a very exciting sector to be part of and one which we believe will see continued growth in the coming years thanks to the financial backing of governments all around the world.

For more information on our sustainable investment options, or LGT's views on how this sector is going to continue evolving, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

● Logic Financial Consultants are fully regulated & licensed financial advisers, covering the Costa Blanca, Murcia and Canary Islands. We can travel to you, or you can visit our office at Calle Andres Lambert 24, 1B, Jávea. Tel: 965 020 444. Email: info@logicfc.com Web: www.logicfinancialconsultants.com.

MENOPAUSE HAIR

50 years old is the average age women experience THE MENOPAUSE. But changes to the hair can happen before that. HORMONES play such a large part in our bodies, altering everything; estrogen is our hair hormone, this drops during the Menopause. It thins out our hair strands causing breakage as well as frizz, as the hair is weaker & dryer. Olaplex hair treatments are a great hair rescue before, during and after the Menopause. There are some home remedies that can be followed; eating more protein such as nuts can help the body to grow new hair. Introduce more iron into your diet. Aromatherapy, massaging the scalp and getting the blood circulation going helps. Pumpkin seed oil or taking saw palmetto can also help.

POSTPARTUM HAIR LOSS

Estrogen & Progesterone hormones stimulate hair growth. When I was pregnant with my first child, during the pregnancy I was producing extra levels of these hormones as well as androgen. My hair was thicker, shinier and luscious looking. This was the only good benefit in my pregnancy as I was shockingly sick every day until my son arrived. But what did shock me was 3 to 4 months after giving birth, my hormones started changing back. So, what happens is this; everybody loses on average 100 hairs a day, except when you are pregnant. So ladies this is why we all experienced luscious thick hair during our pregnancies, when we had no hair

loss. Maybe Mother Nature thought, let's give these ladies extra warmth? But, once baby is born! Oh wow, the hair falls constantly, playing catch up from pregnancy hair. I was finding handfuls of hair in my hand or my hair brush. Around my hair line new hair started to appear, but it seemed to take ages to restore itself back to normal. Personally my hair has never quite returned to its normal state. Can hairdressers know when your pregnant? Yes, only if you are a regular client, as we would see the hair growth pattern change.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR HORMONAL HAIR during menopause.

- Lifestyle changes, such as a healthier diet, exercise and less stress.

- Vitamins E and biotin, B vitamins, zinc and folic acid, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables should be part of your diet as well as Olive oil or sesame oil and plenty of water.

- Estrogen replacement therapy, this does help to get your hormones back on track. Equilibrium needs to be restored back into your hormones, once it is, your hormone problem should slow or cease. Hair can then return with new growth.

SCALP DROPS are another solution containing a combination of anti-androgenic hormones, as well as a follicle stimulant. Most cases clients see a difference in hair density within 3-6 months. These can be purchased in the Philip Kingsley clinics. For more help and advice on hormonal hair book a consultation with MIMISKRU JAVEA. Article by Jo Black.

● Local 12, Edificio Caribe, Av del Pla 129, Jávea - near to Specsavers. Tel 965 793 584. www.mimiskruhairandbeauty.comFacebook Mimiskru. See our advert on the Horoscopes page.

MORAIRA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2023!!

We are delighted to announce that this year, after a 3 year absence, the 16th Moraira International Music Festival will take place on Sunday June 11, on the stage by the castle in Moraira, starting at 6 pm.

The Festival is part of the Moraira - Moors and Christians Fiesta Celebrations and we thank the Town Hall and the Junta for allowing us to participate in these celebrations.

The last time we ran the festival was 2019, pre Covid and around 5,000 people attended the concert...please remember seating by the stage is very limited. The bars and restaurants that surround the castle, that have outside terraces will have reserved seating, so contact them direct. The Moraira - Moors and Christians Fiesta Committee will be running a bar near to the stage and we ask you all to support this bar, as the money raised goes towards the Moors and Christians Fiesta Funds. This event alone is an expensive night for them.

La Roxx will be kicking the show off at 6pm, followed by many other fantastic entertainers right up until midnight. We look forward to welcoming you all to a fabulous evening of music. Grateful thanks also to our sponsors Hamiltons of London and BB80 Restaurant and SR Print.

LOOK AFTER YOUR BED AND YOUR BED WILL LOOK AFTER YOU!

Our bed is probably the most important purchase in the bedroom so it makes sense to look after it.

We stock competitively priced summer/winter Beryl mattresses that you can transport yourself as they are vacuum rolled. One side of the mattress is made up of a thick high resiliency foam core plus a memory foam padding which provides warmth in winter and on the other side a layer of hypoallergenic fibres for breathability and freshness for those warm to hot summer nights. Both sides offer optimal support.

A mattress protector is a worthwhile investment for keeping your mattress clean and in good condition. We can highly recommend our waterproof and breathable protectors, especially during the summer season. The same goes for pillow protectors, protecting pillows from stains.

We also stock mattress toppers which are a great way to transform an older bed or break in a new mattress that may be a bit too firm for now. They can also have a cooling effect depending on which brand you purchase.

Our bamboo Belledrom range of fitted sheets, flat sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases are soft, silky and hypoallergenic. Bamboo is an eco friendly and sustainable fibre that grows very quickly and often requires no pesticides. Naturally breathable by regulating your body temperature, they will keep you cool in summer and warm in the winter.

Visit either our shop in Jávea or Altea and see for yourself the huge selection of fabrics, colours and patterns from bedding to towels, pillows, cushions, curtains and more.

We have everything you need from indoors to outdoors to make small or big changes to your home or rental and our multi-lingual staff are always available to help you in any way they can.

Come and get inspired!

www.yorkshirelinencostablanca.com

SLEEP APNOEA TEST

If you snore, wake up feeling tired or with pre-occurring headaches then contact us at Clinica Britannia as you could be suffering with a condition called sleep apnoea which if left untreated could be fatal.

Sleep Apnoea can cause you to stop breathing for up to a minute at a time, until your brain wakes you up briefly so that you start breathing again, leaving you feeling tired in the morning and drowsy throughout the day. It can weaken your immune system and can lead to frequent headaches and insomnia.

Sleep Apnoea can also increase your risk of heart disease, elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance, and diabetes, depression, memory loss, liver problems, elevated cholesterol, decreased sexual desire along with erectile dysfunction in men if left untreated.

Now available is a unique sleep test sensor which measures a range of information while taped to the tip of your finger, including body movement, heart rate, and the amount of oxygen in your blood. This non-invasive test can be done in the comfort of your own home, giving a detailed report about your sleep.

With the results, our Specialist here at Clinica Britannia can confirm if you are suffering with Sleep Apnoea and give treatment and advice to have you sleeping better in no time at all.

● Clinica Britannia, Ejércitos Españoles 16, 1st Floor, Calpe. Tel 965 837 553 or 607 255 755 - 24 hours a day - 365 days a year.

Antiques and Collectors Fair

The next Antiques and Collectors Fair is on Sunday 25 June in our usual, beautiful venue of Salones Canor, Calle Assegador, Teulada O3725 from 9am to 3pm.

We have a full house of vendors selling a very diverse selection of antiques, vintage, retro and collectable items. Come and support several local charities who will be there selling donated items.

Our Plant man will be in the

entrance with his super plants and the lovely Gemma from Telitec will be there to greet you. The bar is open all day with bar snacks available. Entrance and parking are free of charge. You can call Paul on 626 795 587 for further information.

DON’T FEEL THE NEED TO COVER UP THIS SUMMER!

BANISH FINE CHEST LINES AND WRINKLES AT ZEN SMILE SPA!

While we’ve become pretty good about applying sun protection to our faces, we often forget the rest of our body, and the delicate skin on our chest has been suffering from sun exposure for many years.

Sun damage from early life appears with redness and crepey skin from the age of 40. There is also the additional impact of sidesleeping, and the weight of our breasts, which pulling down on the thinner skin on the chest, combined with loss of elasticity and collagen under the skin as we get older, makes the chest, the area that more and more women want to treat.

Biostimulators are a breakthrough in aesthetic medicine. They naturally encourage the production of collagen. Elastin and collagen are the ‘scaffolding’ of the skin and as they diminish with age, we lose structure and elasticity.

Biostimulatory fillers (Profhilo, Fidia) injected across a wide region of the chest using a fanning technique stimulate the growth of new collagen and help to smooth, and firm the entire décolletage region.

These agents can be used alone or in combination with lasers, ultrasound, IPL or radiofrequency devices to further boost the results of wrinkle reduction. Improvement begins within a few weeks, steadily improves over a period of months, and results are long-lasting.

What to know before having Biostimulator injections…

 Invisible – only little papules for 24 hours and then they disappear.

 There is zero recovery time.

 The treatment is quick and can be achieved in a short time over just 2 appointments 1 month apart.

 Your body is the one producing the collagen so they are completely natural.

Please contact Zen Smile Spa for a consultation or more information on our biostimulator injections and methods.

Why volunteer?

With busy lives, it can be hard to find time to volunteer. However, the benefits of volunteering can be enormous. Volunteering at Cancer Care Javea offers vital help to those people whose lives have been affected by cancer in anyway at all, but the benefits can be even greater for you, the volunteer. The right match can help you to find friends, connect with the community and learn new skills.

Giving to others can also help protect your mental and physical health. It can reduce stress, combat depression, keep you mentally stimulated, and provide a sense of purpose. While it’s true that the more you volunteer, the more benefits you’ll experience, volunteering doesn’t have to involve a long-term commitment or take a huge amount of time out of your busy day. Giving in even simple ways can help those in need and improve your health and happiness.

We always need volunteers to work in our busy upcycling shops in Jávea, we are also looking at developing volunteers in other areas like hospital visiting and sitting with people in their own homes to give their family carers a much needed break.

If you are interested in joining us then feel free to contact Jeannette our secretary either in person in the shop on a Weds or a Friday morning or by phone on 965 796 846.

MOONSHINE and CAPRICE

Bring your own picnic. A bar will be provided. For reservations call 711 075 065.

Celebrating the start of summer in Alicante

Enjoy a sizzling start to the summer with the hogueras fiesta in Alicante. Thousands of people will be heading to the city to see spectacular displays of enormous works of art, fireworks and music.

Traditionally, people living on the Costa Blanca have celebrated the arrival of summer by lighting bonfires on the beach on June 23. At midnight they would dance around the fires - or jump over them - throw firecrackers and go for a swim. Now, the tradition has grown into the marvellous Hogueras de San Juan fiesta. For several days, giant tongue-in-cheek statues are put up in the street - similar to the fallas fiesta in the Valencia region - and then burnt on the night of June 24.

All this is accompanied by live music and dancing as well as

Pick & Mix, is the Denia U3A guitar group who, along with the Jamming Ukuleles of El Verger, the Jukes combine to perform free of charge at many local venues in aid of local charities and are always well received providing a mix of old and new contemporary music from all genres.

The residents of Bon Retir care home in Jávea were no exception, when the group preformed an open air concert, with some residents eager to dance and sing along to well known classics. If you would like any further information please contact guitar@u3adenia.com.

the mascletàs in the elegant Plaza de los Luceros - a fabulously-noisy pyrotechnic show at 2pm from Monday June 19 to Saturday June 24.

The main events are:

● The giant figures going up in various Alicante streets on Sunday June 18 and Monday June 19.

● An incredible firework display of a monumental palm tree from Mount Benacantil composed of 1,200 rockets and with a radius of 300 metres on Saturday June 24 at midnight. This is followed by the cremà or burning of the hoguera in the Plaza de Ayuntamiento followed by each of the other statues in turn.

● Fireworks competitions on Alicante’s El Postiguet beach from Sunday June 25 to Thursday June 29.

Who makes the best burger in Spain?

Seventeen of Spain’s best burger joints have been competing across the country in a bid to be crowned The Champions Burger 2023. The final stage is being held in Valencia from Thursday June 22 until Sunday July 9 with these votes being key to who will win the grand title.

What goes into creating the perfect burger? The right bread, perfectly-cooked meat, ingredients which work well together, the presentation and original ideas. All these elements have been put to the test to determine the best burger in Spain.

Heats have already been held in Castellón, Alicante, Madrid, Zaragoza, Sevilla and Málaga where people have been getting their teeth into the competing burgers and voting for their favourite. Now the final round takes place in the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia (Estadi Ciutat de València in valenciano and its official name), home to Levante UD.

This is a fun, family event where you can taste top burgers from food trucks competing for The Champions Burger 2023 title. You can vote for each burger you try, according to various criteria set by the organisers. Your vote will also be entered in a draw with the chance of winning a trip to New York.

Benidorm hosts

Europe's biggest urban beach festival

This year’s Reggaeton Festival - dubbed the biggest urban beach festival in Europe - is being held in Benidorm on the weekend of July 8 and 9 with about 15 international artistes. The line-up includes Arcángel, Myke Towers, Justin Quiles, Young Miko, and Jowell & Randy.

About 15,000 spectators are expected to flock to the Estadio Municipal Guillermo Amor stadium for the weekend of top-class music, food trucks, activities and workshops including zumba and bachata classes.

The Benidorm Reggaeton Beach Festival is seeking to attract spectators of all ages. Tickets for the two days are selling quickly, with the cheapest ones already sold out. You can still book your place for €105 for general access to both days or €135 for premium access from https://reggaetonbeachfestival. com/es/festivales/summer/benidorm/tickets.

Articles by Sarah Farrell - www.sarahswritestuff.com

The Costa Blanca Business Association (CBBA), is a group of professional, reliable and legal businesses in your area. The CBBA members represent a variety of services and trades and all work hard to ensure they offer excellent products, customer service and value for money.

If you are a small business owner, you might be interested in joining the CBBA or attending one of their meetings as a visitor. The CBBA meetings are held every two weeks at Restaurant Los Arcos in Pedreguer. The meetings start at 8am and last for about 90 minutes.

At a CBBA meeting, you will have the opportunity to network with other business owners, promote your products or services, learn from guest speakers or workshops, and get support from the CBBA team. You will also be able to enjoy a delicious breakfast and coffee at the restaurant.

The CBBA meetings are friendly, informal and fun. You will be welcomed by the CBBA president and introduced to the other members. You will then have a chance to give a 60-second presentation about your business and what you are looking for. You will also hear from other members who will share their latest news, offers and testimonials.

After a short break, a selected member will give an extended presentation on their business, highlighting ways in which other members can refer them.

Referrals are the thing that sets the CBBA apart from other networking groups. Members are on the lookout for business for other members and due to management and provenance of the group, members can refer fellow members with confidence. An example might be that our architect member is called in to start the process of a refurbishment. This is an ideal opportunity to refer other members for work such as: plumbing, building, legal work, kitchens, doors & windows and so much more.

The CBBA meetings are a great way to grow your business, make new contacts and friends, and stay updated on the latest trends and opportunities in your area. If you want to attend a meeting as a visitor, you should make an appointment by emailing info@cbba.es. You will then be able to experience first hand the power of the group and understand why more than 50% of visitors go on to become long term members.

For a full list of members, visit www.cbba.es or see our advert in the Focus on Professional Services magazine.

CBBA CostaBlanca BusinessAssociation BusinessesYouCanTrust

SUDOKU

Here are two Sudoku puzzles of different skill levels for you to try. It is not a math game at all - it is a pure logic game.

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3 x 3 grid contains the digits 1 through to 9 with no repeats, which means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

CROSSWORD

Across

1 "Tales from the --- woods"

(Strauss waltz) (6)

5 Moony (6)

8 Chopped up tree fern is complimentary, property-wise (4-4)

9 Leave out (4)

10 Pond flower (4)

11 Christmas tradition (4,3)

12 Cargo platform (4)

14 Not hers (3)

15 Rotate (4)

17 Stomach-related (7)

19 Salt away (4)

20 Heroic narrative (4)

21 Too much (8)

22 Programme of political violence (6)

23 Inhuman human (6) Down

2 Climber's tool (3-4)

3 Bananas (5)

4 Marshal (5)

5 Support for climbers (7)

6 Not much water (7)

7 Not being straight (5)

13 All at sea, aspired to give up (7)

14 Conceal (7)

16 Examines and corrects (7)

17 Brilliant reflection (5)

18 Ships' companies (5)

19 Got into bed (5)

See back pages for answers

SARAGESSED - local Latin Hip Hop music artist presents EL MILLION

SARAGESSED is excited to present "EL MILLÓN", her new single before releasing her upcoming EP. She presents a "social critique" about ambition, materialism, and lack of authenticity in society, and embodies a fresh identity as a woman within the Spanish Urban Hip Hop scene!

Her participation, at the age of 14, in the TV program 'La Voz Kids España' had a great impact. In addition, she was among the last 40 artists out of 10,000 applicants to enter OT 2020. Thanks to both events, she has been invited to numerous media outlets and concerts. She was selected as the "Emerging Artist 2022" representing BIME Spain for the international congress in Bogotá, Colombia. After the release of "EL MILLÓN", this summer she will launch the main single of her new EP "PERJURIO", inspired by a betrayal and based on experimentation, innovating on genres such as Hip Hop and Latin influences.

SARAGESSED is committed to ensuring that her music reaches the hearts of her audience. Stay tuned to her social media to discover the promising future in music! Find links to your favourite social media by visiting https://linktr.ee/saragessed.

Don’t just put more water on it!

Things are starting to warm up at this time of year and I know my poor weed lawn has only got a matter of a couple of weeks before it frazzles and turns brown and that will be that, my green weed lawn will turn to dust and won't return until September or so when we have the first rains and temperatures start to drop.

I don't have artificial grass at the moment for one reason, I can't afford it yet as I have a big space to fill. But the main point is if you have a real lawn, the only thing stopping it going brown and frazzling in the summer sun is water, and lots of it. But the key to a good natural lawn isn't just about throwing huge quantities of water on it. Your natural lawn has to be on top of well prepped and good quality ground, and this is the number one problem I see with real lawns. Most natural lawns have been shoved in by someone who doesn't care and it is put in as quickly and as cheaply as possible meaning the ground itself that the lawn sits on is rubbish, and sometimes I quite literally mean rubbish, builders rubble and all sorts, the worst I have ever seen is approx. 5cm of soil on top of hard packed white soil with no nutrient goodness or anything. How anyone expects a lawn to work or be good under those circumstances is ridiculous. So, if you have a bad lawn, be aware that more often than not, throwing extra water on it is often not the go to fix, as the ground itself underneath is shot. It will have no natural organic vegetation or compost in it and it will just have nothing left to give. You can go throwing some feeds onto it, that may perk it up, but you also have to think about the impact that chemical feeds, even if based from natural products, have on the environment and marine life when it washes through and leeches into the water system and eventually out to sea. Now a lot of people often like to put artificial grass down, saying it leeches toxins into the ground. The truth is it's hard to do that if the grass is 100% non toxic, like ours (I cannot say that for all artificial grasses). The truth is that your badly made and maintained natural lawn is probably doing more damage to the environment than artificial grass. So stop trying to brush water up hill and understand that sometimes to get the best results, and to make a space usable, green and friendly you have to just go with our artificial grass. More details can be found on our website. Let's turn your summer green with Artificial Grass Spain.

Kenny Corris brings you

OUR OROSCOPE

Aries: The Full Moon in the ninth house suggests travel plans are in focus. You need to see things from a distance right now, to know what is your next move, and who’s going with you?

Exciting times ahead!

Taurus: Venus, your planetary leader, in cahoots with Mars; takes on the fourth house. This is a harmonious time when peace and tranquillity offer you some respite from any conflict. Romance is on the cards too.

Gemini: The New Moon in your sign this month heralds a boost to your energies. Time to be uplifted and to focus on you and your own well being. Check out your diet and an exercise plan that you can stick to.

Cancer: With both the Sun and Mercury in your sign this month you are very much the star of the show. Your needs are a priority right now, so tap into that magnetic personality and have fun in all that you do.

Leo: The dynamic combination of Mercury and the Sun in your eleventh house sees your dreams and wishes becoming realities. And why not? Finally you meet someone who is on your wavelength and can facilitate.

Virgo: The fourth house is prevalent at the time of the Full Moon this month. Focus is on the home, as renovations are triggered and you are ready to embrace your family and all who really do matter to you now.

Libra: Pluto’s retrograde in the fourth house allows you to finally shed your skin and put your talents to good use. The only person that holds you back right now is you. Moving on is not running away, and it’s an option.

Scorpio: Mercury and the Sun tryst in the eighth house. You are needing answers and appear not to be getting them. Aspects are good for you now, so free yourself from doubt and fear and know who you really are!

Sagittarius: The retrograde of Pluto in the second house lasts until the end of this year. Dig deep if you have to, but the past is over and the actions of an ebullient Pluto bring abundance on all levels straight to your door.

Capricorn: Pluto retrogrades in your sign until the end of the year. Now you will experience a transformation as the Cosmos unites to restore your self respect and your innate powers of reasoning. Keep growing!

Aquarius: Be proactive amidst current changes. You above all are resourceful and highly motivated. What’s next? Venus and Mars in the seventh house bring a renewal to a relationship and put colour back in your cheek!

Pisces: Your dreams not only become realities this month but you discover that you are beginning to express yourself in a different way. The New Moon in your fourth house shines a light on caring and sharing.

As an Astrologer, Kenny has worked tirelessly for over forty years to produce quality Horoscopes Worldwide. He has received a major Award for his contribution to the Astrological Arts by being voted into the Top Twenty World’s Best Astrologers by the American Federation of Certified Psychics. He is awarded five stars as a Lightworker, and Psychic Medium. For personal readings/castings please call Kenny on: 686 361 594. kennycorris@hotmail.com www.kennycorris.com. Confidential and Personal Reply Guaranteed! Online Readings: by Zoom, Skype,WhatsApp, Viber, FaceTime.

WORD SEARCH

Find all the Spanish words from the word list in the puzzle grid. Words may be found going forwards, backwards, up, down or diagonally. Answers can be found in the back of the magazine. Good Luck.

AT THE MARKET

ALBARICOQUE - APRICOT

ALCACHOFA - ARTICHOKE

BRÓCOLI - BROCCOLI

CEREZA - CHERRY

CHAMPIÑÓN - MUSHROOM

COLIFLOR - CAULIFLOWER

DESCUENTO - DISCOUNT

DOCENA - DOZEN

FRESA - STRAWBERRY

KILO - KILO

KIWI - KIWI

LECHUGA - LETTUCE

LIMÓN - LEMON

MANZANA - APPLE

MELÓN - MELON

NARANJA - ORANGE

NÍSPERO - LOQUAT

OFERTA - OFFER

PATATA - POTATO

PEPINO - CUCUMBER

PERA - PEAR

PESO - WEIGHT

PIÑA - PINEAPPLE

PLÁTANO - BANANA

POMELO - GRAPEFRUIT

RÁBANO - RADISH

SANDÍA - WATERMELON

TOMATE - TOMATO

See back pages for answers

Cantamus: The choir is looking for new members, in all voice groups, to join them. The choir sings a selection of spiritual or uplifting songs. Members are provided with all the music and tracks to learn to, so you can practice at home between rehearsals. Now would be a great time to contact Philip on 638 734 285 and he will be happy to give you all the details about the choir. They rehearse on a Monday morning 10:45 to 13:00 and will be happy to welcome you.

Caprice ladies choir are enjoying learning the new repertoire for their next concerts - they will be appearing at a charity event in Calpe on 24th June, and their main concerts will be at La Fustera church on 14th October and in Jávea on 11th October. For more information contact musical director Aileen on 696 514 613.

Careline Theatre: Thank you to all those that attended Mary Poppins last month. Our next production will be in October. A Night of Music, Comedy and Dance with Careline doing what they do best, entertaining you, the public. Careline wishes everyone a very happy and healthy Summer. Call 686 320 435 to join our group.

Costa Blanca Male Voice

Choir: The Box Office is now open for the Concert at the Cave in Benidoleig on 16 & 17 June and over 100 tickets have already been sold, so you are advised to book early via our online Box Office at www.costablancamalevoicechoir.com. You can watch videos of past concerts by searching for @cbmvc on www.youtube.com

Jávea Players: Love is in the air: 16 of Shakespeare’s Sonnets presented in a fun way. Boring? No! “Never understood him at school and you expect me to get choked up, and bleed, over

Sonnets?” This will change your mind, with many laughs along the way – and no blood. An al fresco tapas dinner followed by Will & Whimsy in the Casa de Cultura, 26th June-1st July. See www.javeaplayers.com

The Phoenix Dancers have an exciting couple of months ahead, having just participated in the FiraCalp in May and an upcoming summer of fun! So, if you have a charity event, contact them as soon as possible!! New routines are being learnt and the dancers are always happy to be “show ready” on request. Why not join them on stage or behind the scenes, it’s a great way to make new friends and be involved in local community events. Contact Phaedra on 607 290 896 for more information.

Sounds Familiar are looking for new members to join them for their next project. Sounds Familiar have been producing musical shows since 2009. If you are interested in singing musical theatre and would like to join the group, please come along and give it a try. For more information, please see our website at www.soundsfamiliar.es or contact Philip on 965 581 483, or philip@soundsfamiliar.es

The Vall del Pop Singers are currently inviting new singers to join them on Tuesday afternoons in Alcalalí. There is no requirement to read music and the group sing a selection of popular songs. This is a friendly group who welcome new singers and it is open to anybody of any age. Please contact the group for more information at valldelpopsingers@gmail.com

If you would like to be part of this band of charitable entertainers, please email editor@femalefocusonline.com. Deadline for copy is the 15th of the month prior to publication.

Full details of all Stage Diary entertainment groups are available online at www.femalefocusonline.com

THE AIRCREW ASSOCIATION COSTA BLANCA

This association, formed in 1988, exists to foster comradeship amongst those who, having been awarded an official flying badge, have qualified to operate military aircraft and are serving or have served, as military aircrew in the armed forces of the United Kingdom or those nations which are allies of the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth.

If you are interested in joining this popular association or would like to know more, please call the Secretary on 96 649 5228.

Founded by Benny Davis in 2007

Walk Your Way Well with

Niamh O'Sheehan

I spend my life jumping from mum-mode to worker-mode to wife-mode to walker-mode on this crazily fast paced journey. Sometimes all four of these states are blended into one simultaneously! Our world is crowded with sensory stimulation, weighted with job demands and decisions, bursting with lifestyle choices, chock-full of extracurricular activities, packed and stacked with social commitments, crammed with needs and requests and demands. And all this can lead to OVERWHELM. Some people would say that overwhelm is a modern day disorder exacerbated by the pace at which we live? Is it a “first world problem” caused by the extravagant amount of choice we have on offer? From restaurant menus to clothes shops to social media platforms to books to TV channels to career paths and hobbies. Our world is literally overflowing with options. Does this mean we are fortunate? Or were things simpler and less stressful before?

Another cause of overwhelm can be attributed to traumatic events, relationship issues, grief or other emotionally charged and challenging life experiences. Even when sitting quietly, away from the turmoil of day to day living, we can be drowning in overwhelm if we are emotionally struggling. I believe it's important to understand that overwhelm is not really caused by the amount of “stuff” going on. It is caused by our ability, or lack thereof, to manage the sensory/ emotional/ physical/ social/ mental/ environmental stimulation we are faced with. That would explain why some people appear to be able to easily juggle 1000 balls while others can't face getting up in the morning to complete the simplest tasks.

There are so many ways in which we can manage overwhelm and I have implemented several of these tools to help me live an active, busy, productive yet internally calm existence. As a life-coach I deal with clients overwhelm regularly. We practise meditation. We discuss time management. We implement early morning routines, We learn to SAY NO. We delegate! We love to carry out “brain-dumps” and prioritise tasks. But one key survival tactic I always, always come back when it comes to overwhelm is: WALK AWAY!

What? Seems impossible right!? If you are feeling frazzled or overwhelmed why not drop everything and go for a walk. Walking quickly reduces the stress hormone cortisol, which helps you feel less stressed and more relaxed. Walking will help improve cognition, memory, attention and processing speed. Walking improves your mood, reduces anxiety, increases energy levels, boosts sleep quality and enhances resilience.

If you’d like to know more then please reach out. I’m here to help you find peace, calm, happiness and fitness through my coaching @Walk Your Way Well. Drop me a WhatsApp +34 676 507 791.

Concert in the Cave

The Cueva de las Calaveres in Benidoleig will be filled once again on the 16 and 17 June with the wonderful sound of the Costa Blanca Male Voice Choir, featuring new songs and some musical surprises, according to Marketing and Publicity Officer Vernon Pearce.

“The choir have been rehearsing hard during the winter and are hoping to impress the audience with some new, very different songs and we also have several young guest singers and surprise accompanists lined up. In addition to supporting Proteccion Civil Benidoleig, who help us with the organisation of this concert, we have decided to donate our profits to ‘SOS Ukraine’, a charity based in Jávea, which is supporting refugees from the continuing conflict in their country.” This is the sixth year that the choir have performed at the cave and the two evenings are always sold out weeks in advance for this popular event. The box office is now open and tickets price 12.50€ can be bought online at www.costablancamalevoicechoir.com.

U3A Vall del Pop

The association covers both the Xalo and Orba Valleys. It offers over 30 various groups and welcomes all members to be actively involved. It has an active social side with trips and social events at which members are fully supportive. We hold monthly General Assemblies on the first Thursday of the month, held at the Polivalent, Murla. Monthly meeting are always varied with a guest speaker and Pre Loved Table. We also hold regular Ladies at Lunch and Coffee mornings. The new Cinema Group will be starting on Monday 12th June at the Social Centre in Lliber. Everyone is welcome. For further information please take a look at the website. www.u3avalldelpop.com or contact by email secretaryu3avalldelpop@gmail.com.

Spot the 13 differences

in the classified pages)

The Weary Warriors is a friendly and free support group for carers of loved ones with Dementia or Alzheimers, from the North Costa Blanca area including Jalón, Dénia, Jávea and Moraira.

The group meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, at the Jávea Golf Club from 10.30am to 11.30am, to enable all carers - wives, husbands and partners - to relax, chat, exchange ideas and information, and generally give support to each other.

They also have invited guests from time to time, who can give up-to-date information on dementia-related topics, and how best to cope with it on a day-to-day basis.

On Saturday mornings they meet, with their partners, at 11.30am at the Montgo Verd Garden Centre in Jávea. This has proved to be a total success and a source of much enjoyment. The group also organises the occasional lunch in the Jávea region, again with their partners.

If you are feeling overwhelmed with caring for your loved one, do come and join the Weary Warriors, rest assured you will be made very welcome. No money is ever involved with the WW group, no photos taken and discretion is paramount.

For more details, contact me, Lyn Baerfuss on 692 059 257 or email lynbaerfuss@gmail.com.

A member remarked: “The Weary Warriors is somewhere to let off steam with people who understand, without burdening other friends, to rediscover laughter and leave with your shoulders lighter”.

SUCCESS in SUITOPIA!

CELEBRATIONS & CONGRATULATIONS IN CALPE for the 12th edition annual Homes Gardens & Lifestyle Show. We did it again! THANK YOU to everyone involved it was so good to stage another incredibly successful Show!

Post Show praise, fantastic reviews and feeling super proud of what was achieved by everyone involved at the spring 2023 Homes Gardens and Lifestyle event at our new venue, the Suitopia Hotel Calpe, staged back on 5th & 6th May. Eight months in the making the buzz was incredible with this year’s cast of exhibitors, sponsors, show chefs, speakers, local artists, and our tapa trailing caterers they were all outstanding, putting in time, love and energy to deliver another informative, creative and inspiring event showcasing products and services for our international community. Give it up for them all with a huge round of applause! And to all the visitors who came out in their droves to support the event with our local businesses.

GM Promotions Show Director Gina Marks said 'I was delighted with how many people really love and value this event. The buzz was electric and seeing the joy it brings to everyone knowing how much it helps and supports the local businesses and economy is very important to GM Promotions core values, great satisfaction again that the exhibitors did so well and how everyone made many more new connections to generate future business'.

The Friday was a higher-than-average foot fall of visitors, and Saturday was just as wonderful with the Coronation atmosphere and celebrations going on with in the Show. Thousands of visitors come to enjoy this impressive community event and the sunshine checked in to for Showtime!

Time for praise and thank yous to this year’s Show team Fred, Gary, Sarah and Mike Hawes, Justine Rowlinson, Loraine Putney, Sue and Chris Nutbrown, to all our main Media sponsor Focus On Publications and all our supporting medias, our feature sponsors Avalon, Lifewave and Telitec. All our exhibitors, Lady Jazz and especially big thanks to the Suitopia Hotel management and staff, our chefs and speakers, the tapa trailing caterers, our charity helpers the Lions, Cancer Care and also praise and thanks to our 14 participating local artists who featured in the Art Gallery feature.

The Lions raised 195€ on the lucky dip, the Cats protection Calpe raised much awareness, the Arte Bien Estar Association spread their word and the Guardian angels raised 230€ from the art entries and painting sales commissions are also being added. The visitors chose their most popular artworks in the Art Competition to be 1st place by Lizzy Forrester with ‘ Floating on the Blue’ and 2nd place for Wenche Kunst Wergeland with ‘Ladies on the Beach’

Inspiring joy, fun and sun was had by all once again at this our 12th edition and we are feeling so grateful to be able to hold this annual event for the community with FREE ENTRY thank you to everyone that supports it. Watch this space for our future events! More news coming soon. Meanwhile if you visited us …. THANK YOU. If you could not make it this time hope to see you at one of our future events. For more information see www.gmpromotions.es Tel 695 399 841 and FB Homes Gardens and Lifestyle Show.

ANOTHER DINING OUT TREAT

Fifty-eight U3A members and guests attended the May Dining Out evening at the beautiful Restaurante Cumbre, enjoying not only the spectacular views but a delicious meal. With bread and alioli, five tasty starters, a palate-cleansing sorbet, main course and dessert, nobody went away hungry! Well done to group leaders Linda Coughlin and Alan Guest for organising yet another successful Dining Out event - and special thanks to restaurant staff, led by boss Eloy and manager Alex, for their excellent service. Pictured, centre, are Dining Out group leaders Alan and Linda flanked by Restaurante Cumbre staff Alex and Eloy. For more information on the U3A Jávea please visit: https://u3ajavea.com/

Denia Marriott La Sella Golf Resort & Spa, Denia Cava reception from 7pm with music from Paco Loco Steel Band 3 course meal - wine, beer or soft drink during the meal 60€

Live Music from The Entertainers

Special guest from the West End musical Jersey

Boys - Michael Watson

MC for the evening is the charismatic Ian Bennett

Raffle & auction with lots of amazing prizes to raise funds for the many single parent members that we help.

For Bookings: Michelle Lawrence-Sinko: michelle@guardian-angels.es (Jalon Valley area)

Sue Nutbrown: sue@guardian-angels.es (Jávea / Moraira area)

www.guardian-angels.es

Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008) Palestine Author and writer.

The Costa Blanca North is home to – if not the biggest – one of the biggest olive trees in the world, with the absolute title a hotly disputed topic between Spain, Lebanon and the Greek island of Crete. With a girth of 10.2 metres, our own giant specimen can be found near Traiguera, in the Valencian community. Botanists say a circumference of 10 metres indicates a tree is over a thousand years old – which means our tree would have been around when the area was still under Muslim rule.

Once largely ignored as being just part of the overall landscape, a new awareness of the importance of protecting ancient olive trees is gaining traction, not least since the extent of a lucrative trade in digging up our ancient treasures and selling them on, often to the oil rich countries of the Middle East came to light. These impressive Spanish trees are dug up and sold to foreign developers hoping to create an atmosphere of timeless tranquillity in multi-billion dollar ‘greening the desert’ projects in places like Qatar and Abu Dhabi. A campaign “against the plundering of old olive trees” has been launched on Change.org. The idea is to regulate the traffic of ancient olive trees that have been recognised as heritage treasures. In 2006, the Valencia region banned the practice of tearing out trees with a girth of more than six metres. Various towns and cities in Valencia, Catalonia and Aragon have since inventoried nearly 5,000 of the oldest trees with a view to protecting them. This makes the Valenciano region one with the ‘highest concentration of ancient olive trees in the world’. An agronomist at the University of Cordoba, Concepcion Munoz, has catalogued 260 different varieties of olive trees in Spain but reveals that sadly, in some instances, only one specimen of the genre still is in existence.

We are incredibly lucky that our area boasts several majestic trees that can be admired at close quarters.

With the steep cliffs of Montgó dominating to the north, one walk

visits the celebrated most ancient olive tree, which is estimated to be roughly 1000 years old, planted by the Arabs who used to dwell in the valley. This remarkable old tree still bears three types of olive annually and is thankfully, protected.

Located about five kilometres to the west of Xàbia, another ancient olive sits just a few metres to the left of the old route between the town and Pedreguer which now forms part of the Camino del Alba, which links Xàbia to the legendary Camino de Santiago. Standing seven metres high and extending nine metres at its widest, the tree is a wonderful piece of living art. The trunk has split and so now twists in many directions, offering smaller visitors the opportunity to climb inside. It stands separate from other olives but is accompanied by a single carob tree. It is situated in a quiet area, best visited in the early morning as the rising sun strikes the tall southern cliffs of Montgó. The tree sits on land that is privately owned so there is no information panel, no bench from which to admire it, no litter bins. Enjoy visiting it but respect it for its history and for what it has seen over the centuries. And ponder just what stories it might reveal if only trees could talk … More details of ancient olives and their locations can be found at javeamigos.com.

By Rhona Wells - rhonawells@hotmail.com

‘If the olive trees knew the hands that planted them, their oil would become tears.’

How Can I Help Jalon Valley Help

Part 3 of 3 - Article written by Peter Sockett

Over the last months I have described what Jalon Valley Help does to support people in need in the ‘Valley’, actually the Jalon & Orba valleys, and how it goes about funding these services. This week I am addressing:

How we can help JVH, as without our help no charity can continue its operations. You will hopefully recall that in my previous articles I have identified the following tasks which require personnel:

Article 1: What JVH Does - Drivers, translators, delivering/collecting equipment, collecting/distributing donated items of furniture, personnel at Drop-In centre, financial and operational administration.

Article 2: How is JVH Funded - Personnel in the shops, personnel to organise fundraising events and financial administration.

To undertake these tasks, Jalon Valley Help relies on volunteers, who each give some of their time to fulfil these jobs on a rotational basis, usually one day (or part day) each week. Most of the tasks are self-explanatory. However, others have several different aspects which are not often understood, such as:

- Sorting donations in the store area, moving them to the appropriate shop for sale and weekly refreshing of on-rail items in each shop.

- Arranging displays at the shops, to entice customers, pro-active sales support, to encourage customers to complete purchases, and to provide cheerful encouraging word to those in need of a pickme-up.

- Events management involves identification of the type of event, the venue, the date and the entertainers (be-it a quiz compere, a group or a demonstrator etc) and then organising ticket sales up to management of the actual event.

- Support at the Animo Drop-In centre requires people to meet and greet, make tea and coffee or just to offer someone a chance to talk, when they are on their own or in distress.

- People with special skills in charity management, offering care to the community, managing shops and accounts, people with special skills in management, social care, computer skills, or specialist knowledge of antiques, jewellery, art, furniture etc are always welcome.

I BUY RECORDS LPs, EPs, SINGLES. 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s years. Good prices paid. Tel. 962 851 809 - 622 750 117.

Now we are here in Spain, with many of us retired, isn’t it time we gave something back in life by supporting a charity structured to provide help locally to anybody who is in need, irrespective of colour, creed or gender.

We all have skills of one sort or another and we all could have time to give, once we make the decision and organise ourselves. Volunteering for this Charity can be hugely rewarding whatever role we choose. By helping us once a week or fortnight you will be working with some fantastic people and making new friends. It can embed you more into your local community enabling you to mix with people of all nationalities living here.

Many of our volunteers working in the shops say it is a great place to practice your Spanish in a natural environment. So why not volunteer some of your time to this worthwhile cause and in return become part of this friendly locally based charity, whilst making new friends and having fun whilst making a difference?

So let’s not put off volunteering until a friend / family member actually needs JVH’s help. Let’s volunteer our services today. See our website www.jalonvalleyhelp.com for details of the amazing things JVH do within our communities and call Pam Brooks, JVH President, on 634 310 415 to discuss how you can help with time or donations.

Feral Cats: Love them or hate them

Neutering is essential

When Liz Trafford moved here in 1999, the state of the feral cat population in Jávea was very poor. There were thousands of feral cats roaming the streets, many were not neutered, and many were sick.

Wanting to make a difference and to reduce the cat population in a humane way, Liz and June Harris set up the Jávea Feral Cat Association (JFCA) Reg. No. G54439013 - Charity No CV-01-044866-A, a legal entity in 2009. The organisation’s aim is to lower the number of kittens born to feral and abandoned cats. Over 5000 cats have been neutered thanks to the organisation and its volunteers.

With a Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) policy the breeding cycle is broken, populations are gradually reduced and the annoying behaviours of breeding cats – fighting, yowling and spraying – stop. This ongoing care creates a better environment for both the community and the cats. Above all it is a humane and civilised way to tackle the feral cat population and one that has worked effectively all over Spain.

Liz comments “We are very grateful for all the donations we receive and our volunteers, without them we simply could not run a TNR programme. Last year we invested over 18,000€ and this year already over 10,000€, so you can see demand for funds is growing. Sadly, the pandemic had a negative impact, for which we are still catching up.

“Occasionally, the Government provides funding and vets can apply for the cost of neutering, but as we write this there has been no provision for funds since 2022 and JFCA is likely to run out of money, so we will have to suspend neutering. This will be very disappointing as it will set back the work we have achieved to date.

“Sadly we get calls from the police about newly born kittens being put in bins. This is not the solution and when we can, our volunteers step in to try and save them. This is just as distressing for the mother cat as it is for us!

“We have an amazing group of supporters, from individuals to charity shops and charity organisations. We run our own events too. But love them or hate them, feral cats are here to stay, and the population will grow unless we can get more support for TNR. If you can donate, please visit www.javeaferalcats.com or scan the QR code on this page.”

Adopt a Pet

If you have spare time on your hands please contact your local pet charity to see how you can help out. They are always in need of more volunteers to walk the dogs, stroke the cats, meet the horses or help with cleaning out the kennels and stables. If you have an idea for fund raising they would love to hear from you.

Charlie arrived at Akira in a terrible condition. He has relaxed and is less shy and affectionate when you have his trust. He loves playing and his walks with the volunteers. If you can give Charlie the home he so deserves please contact Akira on 657 689 567 or email akirashelter@aol.com.

Bruno, born 08.2015 is a very handsome labrador mix. He adores his kennel mate Pita and together they are very playful. Bruno walks well on a lead although he would benefit from more training and time to adapt to new experiences. Please call 618 754 635 or visit www.apasa.eu.

Cagney is happy with a gentle nature, active, playful and full of fun. Lacey is a lovely longtailed and confident cat, she is playful and very brave. Their mother was blood tested and clear. They were born in July 2022 and will be sterilised before adoption. For more info on one or both please call PEPA on 650 304 746 or email p.e.p.a.animalcharity@gmail.com.

Meet Our Horses! Join us on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings at APAC Rescue Horses to see the horses and help support us. Everyone Welcome. For more information email apacprotectora@gmail.com, visit www.apac-cv.com or Facebook: Apac Rescue Horses.

Sunny is one of our many lovely cats. Shelter open every Sunday 10am - 12pm, whatsapp Luisa 669 376 113 for more information. Denia Cat Protection League –Aldea Felina, please visit www.aldeafelina.es

Simón is just amazing. He has been through so many bad things in his life, but still loves people! His body is scarred, but somehow he is healthy and strong. He needs a good home to compensate for the first years in hell. Want to know more about our Simón or our other dogs? Contact us on Facebook 'Tanamera Rescue' or by email stichtingtanamera@gmail.com.

This is Trini, she is around 4 years old, she is a medium to large dog. She walks well on a lead and has basic training. Please if you are interested you can visit her in Benidorm Animal Shelter between 10am1pm Mon - Fri, Tel: 965 856 268. Website: www.protectorabenidorm.org

Dali is a sweet natured castrated pod needing a quiet home without too much activity. He is an independent character, not a big affection seeker & comfortable with people. Another dog is essential. No health issues apart from a sensitive tummy. Please email apropego@gmail.com or call 654 616 043.

•

• Professional photos

•

•

surroundings, Aguila Villas is the best choice.