Rtn north edition 742

FREE!

NORTH EDITION

Your English Newspaper

roundtownnews.com

Issue 742

3-9 JAN 2014

Gumtree scam alert

by Jack Troughton

John Beecham

RETIRED BUSINESSMAN John Beecham is warning of the dangers of using the online ‘small ads’ service Gumtree after being swindled out of 4,420€ by fraudsters.

He believed he was buying a bargain second hand Range Rover from a ‘Sofia Coles’ but fell victim to a “sophisticated gang” of cyber criminals.

And this week the Daily Mail reported that police in the UK were receiving 250 calls a week regarding scams on eBay owned Gumtree.

John, who lives in Orba, reported the scam to the police, Gumtree, and to Barclays Bank after a fake account was used to steal his money.

He has also joined a blog site on the free legal advice service run by Legal Beagles – and discovered a host of other scam victims.

John’s Range Rover was supposed to be a birthday present from his wife Brenda after his own car was destroyed by fire. “Someone suggested we go to Gumtree – I couldn’t believe it when I saw this car, I was looking for a Range Rover Series 2 and this one seemed a snip.”

He emailed owner Sofia Coles who said he was “lucky” because the “extremely good condition” car was still on the market after a deal fell through and explained it was being sold at “a low price” because she was going to Italy on business and need a quick sale.

She asked him to deal directly with Gumtree sales department and John later received an invoice for the sale with a Barclays Bank account details for payment. The invoice was a fake and the account quickly emptied after John transferred funds.

GANG “Sofia Coles is not a real person as such but a sophisticated gang of Romanians – they have apparently got this down to a fine art,” said John. He said the gang were described as “masters of illusion” and it was believed they were being hunted by the FBI after scamming a total of $1.8 million.

And John believes both Gumtree and the Barclays should be more active in hunting down cyber criminals.

Continued on page 3

COULD YOU SELL THIS SPACE?

If the answer is yes and you live in the Javea area email your C.V to the Managing Director: geoffgartland@roundtownnews.com

2

3-9 JAN 2014

NEWS & VIEWS

from the North & South Costa Blanca and Costa Calida.

Vall de Biar 14. 03530, La Nucia, Alicante • Monday - Thursday 10am - 6pm | Friday 10am - 2pm

Tel: 966 813 583 • Fax: 96 585 60 54 DEADLINES

Adverts, copy changes, classifieds and editorial copy: Tuesday 5pm for following Friday’s edition.

TO AIR YOUR VIEWS

Letters on any subject are welcomed by the Editor for publication and must arrive by 12 noon on Monday for consideration for the following Friday’s edition. Priority will be given to letters dealing with local issues. We reserve the right to amend or shorten letters. (RTN accepts no responsibility for readers comments). Email rtnmail@roundtownnews.com

CUSTOMER SERVICE

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service you can call 902 118 999 or write to: Vall de Biar 14, 03530 La Nucia, Alicante.

TO GET YOUR PAPER

If you any difficulty in getting Round Town News each week please call 902 118 999 or visit our website www.roundtownnews.com for the distribution list.

Edita : Round Town News Group SL Servicios De Impresion S.A.- Deposito Legal : South A-853-1999 / North: A-134-2004 / Costa Calida: A-766-2012 Vall de Biar 14, 03530 La Nucia, Alicante. Distribution: iDs Logística. info@idssl.es, Alcoycourrier.SL.

All adverts must be prepaid whether they are placed at our offices, by email or fax, or via our sales team. The advertisers full name, address and ID number must be supplied (not for publication). RTN does not accept any responsibility for claims made by advertisers, either in advertisements or advertorials, nor can it be held responsible for any inaccuracies, errors, or the non-appearance of advertisements or advertorials. This publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors as a result of poor quality artwork or logos supplied by advertisers and no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage caused by any error or inaccuracy or nonappearance of an advertisement or advertorial. Every effort will be made to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of articles and advertisements in this publication, however the publisher does not accept responsibility for claims or opinions in the same. The publisher does not accept responsibility for opinions expressed by readers in the ‘Mailbox’ section of this newspaper. Reproduction of any part of this newspaper without the consent of the publishers is prohibited.E:&O.E.

Deadline for Euro elections

by Jack Troughton

EXPATS PLANNING to vote in the European Parliament elections in May have until the end of January to join their Spanish town hall’s electoral register.

Voters must be on the ‘padron’ and must declare an interest in voting in both local elections – the next are in 2015 – and the European ballot.

While British expats still eligible to vote in the UK under the 15 year rule can choose to take part in the ballot in their homeland, the local government and European Parliament are the only Spanish elections they have a right to cast a vote.

All Spanish citizens aged 18 or over whose names are on the electoral roll are entitled to a vote in the European election whether they reside in Spain or abroad – expats from European expats must declare an intention to vote at their town hall using form CERE.DFA. Town’s along Spain’s east coast have a high population of British expats; many join the town hall register – the ‘padron’ – but frequently do not register to vote. In Calpe, there are 4,200 UK citizens on the register but only 1,600 are on the electoral roll.

Eva Ortiz

The Diputacion de Alicante, responsible for the European Parliament ballot, has held a series of talks along the Costa Blanca reminding expats of the need to join the electoral register.

DEADLINE However, Calpe Councillor Carole Saunders believes people are not aware of the need to register to have a vote and the 31st January deadline.

She said many people did not appreciate they needed to separately declare an intention to vote in local elections as well as the European ballot.

“There is a terrible turn out for the European elections both here and in the UK. Everyone complains about Europe but I say you cannot complain if you don’t vote,” she said. “It is the way to change things.

“Some people will of course take up their right to vote in the UK – but if you live in Europe, surely you should take part in the European elections.”

Eva Ortiz, described as “approachable and dynamic” is the current MEP representing the Costa Blanca and is a Partido Popular politician and a member of the European People’s Party group in Brussels.

3-9 Jan 2014

Continued from front page “I don’t believe Gumtree or Barclays have shown due diligence - on the Legal Beagles site Barclays pops up again and again as supplying accounts for fraudsters, it shows just how prevalent it is,” said John.

“People might say I have been foolish but when I was in business trust was a great thing. There are now warning signs on Gumtree.

“But the bit that leaves a sour taste is I don’t think Barclays are doing their home work on people.”

He said with hindsight people should always inspect the goods – or at least get the number plate of a vehicle to allow some checks to be made. “The moral of the story is the car wants to be where you can see it, touch it, and talk to the person who is selling it.

“My money was sent to a Barclays account, it was withdrawn and the account closed – that’s it, job done.

WARN “And apart from sharing this to warn other people, I would like nothing better than getting some money back!”

Barclays told John the bank takes allegations of fraud very seriously and where confirmed or suspected accounts were closed and funds removed.

The bank letter stated: “At the time your funds were received in to this account, we had no knowledge or suspicions that this was anything other than a legitimate account.”

And it said no funds were in the account when it was closed. “For this reason Barclays is unable to return any money to you.”

Gumtree maintains the safety of its users was a “top priority” but a spokesman said: “as with any form of classifieds listing...it is impossible to prevent crime completely.”

The service told John it had a dedicated safety team monitoring its pages and had number of checks to protect users. “We take matter like this very seriously. Our priority is to insure the safety of people using Gumtree and this is something we work on continuously behind the scenes.”

However, Citizens Advice has called for Gumtree to require all users to set up accounts with verifiable names and addresses.

The charity’s Gillian Guy said: “It is not enough for these websites to say ‘It wasn’t me’ when things go wrong. Online marketplaces need to take more responsibility for what goes on in their name, by being more transparent and strengthening protections for consumers.”

04

3-9 Jan 2014

Doctor serves up ace

by Jack Troughton YOUNGSTERS AT a Denia school were thrilled to meet tennis star David Ferrer who chatted with them and signed autographs.

The Javea-born player – currently ranked number three in the world – made a private visit to the Raquel Paya special school before students enjoyed a Christmas lunch.

The visit was organised by Denia-based orthopaedic surgeon and parent Dr Miguel Banuls – a tennis fan who had tried for three years to get the tennis player to the school to help raise its profile and aid fund raising.

After posing for pictures and signing autographs, David said the visit was “a great experience” to spend time with the children. “They are very special people and this has been very rewarding for me.”

And he was reduced to laughter when one pupil asked: “I understand you are interested in tennis?” He replied that both he and his brother Xavier were “very keen” on the sport.

He also donated a signed racket and a shirt to the school and was pictured with all the students before leaving.

School director Maite Marti said the day was very special for all the children and their families at Raquel Paya.

“I have to thank David for making us all so happy,” she said. “It was difficult to get him here because of his busy schedule but thanks to one of the parents it was made possible.”

(from left) Maite Marti, David Ferrer and Dr Miguel Banuls

Protestors join council meeting A GROUP of protestors burst into a council meeting in Benidorm on Monday to draw attention to the plight of needy families in the city, demanding that the council set up a soup kitchen to support people currently being fed by charitable organisations. The protest was a peaceful one – the participants walked in waving a banner demanding ‘Food and Social Assistance’ before sitting down quietly while the councillors continued their meeting. However, before leaving the protestors voiced their concerns by calling for “Fewer casinos and more help for the starving” adding: “There are many people starving - necessity knows no politics!”

Stormy weather THE WIND storm that swept the province of Alicante just after Christmas prompted 60 emergency 112 calls between Boxing Day and 27th December. Winds gusting up to 93mph caused more than 130 incidents of damage, although luckily nobody was injured. Clean-up services were tasked with the removal of fallen trees, billboards and in one incident had to retrieve the roof of a car wash near La Isleta that had been blown away.

Damage was reported in Alcoy, Benidorm, La Nucia, Elda, Mutxamel, El Campello, Calpe, Benissa, San Vicente del Raspeig and Elche. A plane from Bilbao had to abort its landing at Elche Airport but was successful on its second attempt. Muro had to dismantle its Christmas tree and in Alcoy Christmas lights had to be taken down. In Dénia the ice rink had to close and a number of trees came down in Calpe, Benissa and Javea.

3-9 Jan 2014

5

Fire causes New Year chaos

by Jan Gamm A FIRE in an Iberdrola transformer all but ruined the New Year celebrations in dozens of local bars and restaurants in one of Benidorm’s most popular entertainment areas on New Year’s Eve. Shops, bars, restaurants and a 42-room hotel were left without electricity and lights for four hours in Paseo de la Carretera and also Santo Domingo, popularly known as ‘the Basque area’ in central Benidorm. The fire started in a basement that accommodates most of the transformers that power the closely packed buildings in the area.

EXTRA COSTS New Year planned festivities involved a number of extra costs for local entertainment venues that are famous for pushing the boat out for New Year, including laying on live entertainment and lavish menus. The supply

was eventually restored between 5pm and 6pm but not before dozens of cancellations had already been made, causing huge losses for proprietors looking forward to one of the most profitable nights of the year.

Restaurant worker Maria Gonzalez confirmed that some of the businesses affected by the power blackout are now considering taking legal action against Iberdrola: “Some were more affected than others – one restaurant had to close losing a table of 20 already seated. It was a disaster!”

In typical Benidorm spirit, many establishments lit dozens of candles and soldiered on regardless but others were forced to close with a fully stocked bar.

BLACKOUTS Even after power was restored there were shorter blackouts throughout the evening that caused chaos behind the scenes as restaurant managers, chefs and bar staff val-

Firemen putting out the basement fire

iantly battled to meet orders with an unreliable power supply.

And guests at the hotel situated closest to the source of the fire were suffering the acrid smell of smoke long after the fire had been ex-

Campaigner wins MBE VETERAN CAMPAIGNER Harry Shindler has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.

A leading member of the campaign group Votes For Expat Brits, the 92year-old former soldier is head of the Italy Star association of former British servicemen. He is fighting for all UK expats to retain their vote beyond the current 15-year rule and plans to petition Harry Shindler with Viviane Reding the United Nations as he believes his

disenfranchisement is in violation of the Universal Charter of Human Rights.

Last year he joined a number of expats petitioning Vivian Reding, the Vice President of the European Commission, who has given her “wholehearted support” to the vote campaign.

She believes denying expats a voice meant they were “effectively being punished for exercising their rights of free movement.”

tinguished. Other establishments were also forced to close for business after being without power for hours. One hairdresser lost his entire day’s custom as clients anxious to secure a New Year coiffure went elsewhere.

Harry, who fought in the Battle of Anzio, also works tirelessly to find the graves of British servicemen killed or listed as missing in action in the Second World War. Recently he helped rock band Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters discover the battlefield scene where his father was killed near Anzio when the musician was still an infant. The vote campaign now has 3,378 supporters based in 67 countries around the world. For more information about the campaign and its associated electronic petitions visit www.votes-for-expat-brits.com

JAN,

N332 finally to be widened through Torrevieja

Expansion of the N332 through Torrevieja to be completed in 2016

by Keith Nicol IT’S NOT often that Torrevieja lags behind other local coastal regions, however when it comes to the bottlenecks created by the N332 during vacation periods the main protagonist is the City of Salt. With the N332 having been widened from Pilar de la Horadada to Punta Prima, and again from La Mata to Guadamar, drivers have long wondered when the road would be widened through Torrevieja. The city does have a few engineering issues, in that some of the highway sections are raised and there are large over and underpasses to contend with but the main factor goes back to the previous PSOE Government, who although provided with the land and zoning requirements to widen the section of road through the city, announced that they did not have the required funding to do so, and thus the project has remained unfinished.

Better late than never may be the issue now as approval and funding protocols are underway from the central PP Government, for the road to be widened. The tender process starts this month with work expected to begin in late 2014 or early 2015, for completion in 2016.

Meanwhile, other traffic issues regarding the N332 have been announced and work on new access points onto and off the N332 at Los Balcones, for the Hospital and beside the Pet-

rol Station at the Park of Nations, have been announced, to help with traffic flow. Work on developing these areas will start almost immediately and is expected to finish before June 2014.

The Regional Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Isabel Bonig, along with Torrevieja’s Mayor Eduardo Dolon announced a ‘ protocol agreement’ to allow tendering for the N332 work, once the final draft implementation is approved by the Ministry, “with the idea that during 2015 the works are tendered.”

Dolon said “that the date of the signature of this protocol will take place in early 2014.”

The Government has allocated 400,000€ in the general state budget for 2014 to carry out the work that will cost an estimated 34 million to complete.

According to Torrevieja’s PP government team “this agreement has been possible thanks to constant collaborations with Madrid since November 2011, the date when Mariano Rajoy took over Government, which has allowed the Ministry and the City Council to resume and accelerate the project, after years of neglect by the socialist government.”

Although referenced more than a decade ago by the PSOE, there still has been no further development on, when and if, the N332 will be further expanded to complete the dual carriageway from Horadada to Alicante City.

Sick EU employees on easy money IN THE UK, Eurosceptic Tory MP Peter Bone has slammed the EU working conditions that allow EU employees to take an average of 14.6 working days off ‘sick’ each year: one in seven staff are absent for more than 20 days on sick leave. British workers in the private sector take only five days’ sick leave on average per year according to the Confederation of British Industry – and British civil servants are off sick for around ten days during the same period. EU employees are increasingly under the microscope as it is revealed that they enjoy a number of other perks such as annual holidays of 24 days; seven days off for public holidays and this year eight ‘non-working’ days as Brussels institutions closed in summer and at Christmas. Furthermore, Commission employees are also eligible for a ‘flexi-scheme’- 24 extra days off work every year for those who put in an extra 45 minutes per day in the office! After entitlements are deducted, there are very few days left to fit in some work! Oh and 16% of admin employees at the commission earn more than 95,000€ a year…

3-9OCT Jan2013 2014 11-17

7

8

3-9 Jan 2014

Hugo’s happy New Year FRIENDLY BOXER dog Hugo is looking forward to being adopted by his ‘forever family’ after being rescued from cruel owners.

Feeding the hungry

by Jack Troughton The New Year will mean a new start for the young dog after undergoing complicated surgery for a broken femur.

Hugo was seized from his previous owner by officers of the local police and Guardia Civil in El Vergel and taken to animal charity SCAN, the Society for the Care of Animals in Need.

SCAN’s Barry Caulfield said Hugo was still recovering from the operation. “When he was a puppy he was kicked down three flights of stairs and broke his femur.

“The police heard about it and went and rescued him, the owner was threatening to slit his throat. He has had a very serious operation and the head of the femur needed to be removed.

“He has been labelled as a big boxer dog – but he is as daft as a brush and just wants some loving.”

Jose Luis (second from left) accepts the Masons’ cheque

DAMAGE Speaking at SCAN’s New Year’s Day barbecue, Barry said: “He has been six weeks with us after being rescued. We spent the first two weeks settling him down because he was so frightened but we realised his leg was badly damaged.”

He said the vets had agreed a large discount for the operation.

“His story has helped us raise an amazing amount of money.”

Hugo is now undergoing physiotherapy to help his leg heal and he is already allowed in the exercise yard with the charity’s less boisterous animals.

“Animal Express, the transport company offered to take him to the UK and waive all the charges, and the vets halved their fee – the actual operation was worse than first thought – but they were amazing,” said Barry.

“He has already got an adoption family in Vergel and will soon be going to live with them once the home checks have been made.”

Hugo with Barry

By Jack Troughton CASH-STRAPPED MARINA Alta families have enjoyed a little seasonal goodwill thanks to a 2,000€ donation from Freemasons.

The Gran Logia Simbolica de Espana y Iberia visited the Red Cross in Javea to discuss how to help people suffering in the recession and overcome ongoing austerity measures imposed by Madrid.

The lodge promised further assistance as the Red Cross’ Jose Luis Domenach outlined plans to open another food bank in Pedregeur this month – sparing families a trip to the coastal town.

Jose Luis explained the “ever growing crisis” meant the Red Cross was not only supplying food but help with essential fuel bills and essential schoolbooks for youngsters.

The charity currently runs two sessions per week for 27 children to help with homework – and to provide an evening snack.

The Masons pledged further support for the Red Cross and help towards the charity’s appeal to purchase new ambulances to replace its aging vehicles.

10

3-9 Jan 2014

Sport shows their caring side

by Keith Nicol MORE THAN three tons of food was collected during Saturday morning in Torrevieja when more than 3,000 athletes participated in their sport of choice to raise awareness and food stocks for the city’s food bank, Alimentos Solidarios.

Torrevieja’s sports city was a hive of activity from 9.00am, buzzing with people of all ages, as almost all the city’s sports schools took part in the first day of solidarity for the city’s needy. It was a morning that turned out to be one of the largest days of torrevejense sport solidarity imaginable. All the different facilities of the Sports Palace, the Pavilion Cecilio Gallego, Athletic Tracks, Football Fields, Pool and Deck Area and racket courts were busy as about 3,000 athletes, supported by their friends and families from the 16 municipal schools, took part in friendly games and exhibitions of Handball, Futsal, Canoeing, Hockey, Volleyball, a fun new game, Cachibol, Paddle, Tennis, Racquetball, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Body Combat, Zumba, Pilates, Judo and even the Gym users participated.

Each participant donated an item of non-perishable food, which at then end

Good news and bad news for consumers 2014 BEGINS with light and transport becoming more expensive yet the minimum wage of 645.30€ per month frozen.

The electricity tariff will rise by 2.3% on average. The good news is that small gas cylinders, used by 8 million householders in Spain, will begin 2014 at the same price of 17.5€.

City commuter fares are to increase at an average of 1.9%. However, AVE fares are to be frozen for the time being to improve occupancy in 2014. Telefónica is also freezing its monthly line rental fee, to remain at 14.38€ per month but with no guarantee that this amount will remain throughout the year.

Airport charges, passed on via airline tickets, are to rise by an average of 0.9% in 2014 following an agreement between AENA and airline employers in the summer of 2013.

Massive counterfeit bust over Christmas of the morning’s activities accounted for 700 litres of milk plus 350 litres of various mixed products amounting to more than 3,000 kilos, including 1,500 kilos of pasta and vegetable juice, 120 kilos of biscuits and 400 kilos of other non-perishable products, such as prepared meals, fried tomato, etc.

The festive morning was completed with sales of chocolate, bouncy castles, balloon twisting and face painting for the little ones and several workshops plus in-

formation kiosks from new groups such as the Aloha School of Surfing in La Mata.

Torrevieja’s Mayor, Eduardo Dolon, turned back the clock and jumped at the chance to relive old times, playing handball for a team of Torrevieja Veterans against Municipal sports staff that included the Councillor for Sports, Luis María Pizana.

Such was the success of this first morning of sport solidarity that the event is already being looked upon as a permanent addition to the annual calendar.

POLICE HAVE made 99 arrests in connection with one of the largest counterfeit operations ever. More than one million counterfeit articles were seized when more than a hundred police officers took part in dismantling a massive network dealing in fake products in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Malaga, Alicante, Valencia and Portugal. The items included clothing, footwear, sunglasses, thousands of CDs and DVDs and a number of computers. Several of those arrested were illegal immigrants.

Among the 99 arrested were 34 Portuguese, 19 Moroccans, 37 Senegalese and 9 Spanish.

The first Valencian baby of 2014 born in Torrevieja THE FIRST baby of 2014 in the Valencian Community and the Province of Alicante is a girl, born at 1.26 am in Torrevieja’s Hospital.

Mara, with her proud parents, Beatriz and Gustavo (courtesy F.Reyes)

by Keith Nicol AS REPORTED by the Ministry of Health, the newborn weighed 3.3 kilos, to parents Beatriz and Gustavo and has been called Mara.

Four minutes later, at 1.30 am, the second birth occurred, this time the first in Valencia Province, when another Spanish mother gave birth in the Hospital La Fe, to a girl, who also weighed 3.3 kilos and is called Sara. A few hours later, the first birth occurred in the province of Castellón at 9.11 am in the General Hospital, yet another girl, weighing 3.6

kilos, which their parents named Marta.

According to the latest available data on births in the hospitals of the public health network of Valencia in 2013, until November of this year there have been a total of 30,271 births throughout the Region, of which 3,820 were in the Castellón province, 14,084 in Valencia and 12,387 in Alicante. These data reflect a decrease of 6.06% in the number of births in public hospitals, as in 2012 there were 32,223 children born of which 15,146 where in the province of Valencia, Alicante had 13,080 and 3,997 registered in Castellón.

Gata a target for thieves

THE AREA around the River Gorgos in Gata was plunged into darkness for the second time in two months last weekend when thieves stole the street lighting wiring yet again. The access covers to maintenance units are not sealed and therefore are an easy target for thieves who sell the wiring for scrap. Also, rural Gata has become an increasingly popular winter target for thieves: the area is well populated with empty holiday homes.

New Railway feasibility study

By Keith Nicol THE MINISTRY of Development has awarded Torrevieja with 689,193 euros for an Information and Feasibility Study regarding linking the city with the Valencia- Alicante railway line, the ‘Tren de la Costa’.

The feasibility study includes a full analysis of the pros and cons, costs and implications of linking the city directly to Alicante. Torrevieja mayor, Eduardo Dolon, recalled that the Official State Gazette (BOE) published a tender for the feasibility study on August 20th, 2013, which has already been awarded. The contract includes studying the feasibility of a new rail link from the town of Torrevieja, the

future Intermodal Station and the railway network in general.

The development of a study is to look at the different solutions and plotting possible location of where stations will be needed and also considers the feasibility of using the platform, station and route of the old railway line from the RENFE Station, in Torrevieja that runs along the Green Route beside the Natural Park of the Lagunas de La Mata and Torrevieja. The mayor also specified that they will conduct a study of current transport demands, exploring different options of operating scenarios from Torrevieja to connect with the rail network: to define the number of services required, frequencies, travel times, etc.

3-9 JAN 2014

11

12

mail

3-9 JAN 2014

talk to us

rtnmail@roundtownnews.com with your full name and address

Email letters to

letter of the week

Time flies...

IS IT just my imagination, or did this past year go by quicker than the year before?

When I was a little girl, a whole year seemed to go on forever and anyone over twenty seemed ever so old. Now it seems the years are going by like a runner, with each year going faster than the one before.

For the New Year of 2014, my only New Year’s resolution is to not make any New Year’s resolutions. Yes I have stopped making New Year’s resolutions. Why you might ask? Well, to be very honest, I stopped making New Year’s resolutions because I never keep them.

From previous New Year’s resolutions they last but a few days into the New Year, and by the first week in the New Year they have fizzled out and forgotten never to be heard of again: they evaporate like the morning dew.

It seems better to not make a New Year’s resolution promise, than make it and then break it. I have not learned much over the years, but one thing I have learned is: don’t make promises if you are not going to keep them. That is my motto.

The past year seemed to fly by so fast, and the memorable things that stand out would best be forgotten.

The things I remember I prefer to forget. The things I forget are the things I would have liked to remember.

It seems the things one least wants to have to experience are the things remembered the most. Anyway - all the best to you all for 2014.

Susan Senta, Benidorm

Beggars belief HAVING LIVED in Albir for a number of years why is it there are more and more beggars about? No Spanish I may add, outside every supermarket you see them asking for money. This is not doing Albir any good. When will the Police move them on and realise that people don’t want to be pestered by these people? You have one couple that sit outside Mercadona every day with a board saying ‘No home, no money, living on the street.’ They live in Altea and walk to Albir every day - there is nothing wrong with them, all they are doing is conning good people into giving them food and money. If they are going to beg why don’t they go back to their own country? The reason is that their country won’t give them anything.

It is difficult enough to run a business in Albir as at night it is like a ghost town. So let’s get these beggars away from Albir or send them back to their country – they’re not giving any money to Spain and they are not helping the economy to get back on its feet.

Be careful when shopping

I WOULD like to advise your readers not to be complacent when shopping during the Christmas and New Year sales.

My wife and I went shopping on Friday 27th December to do some shopping. We brought some electrical goods. We purchased three items and left the store. As one of the items was quite large and heavy we decided to return to the car park to deposit the shopping in the boot of our car before returning to another store to buy some clothing.

When we returned to the car park we noticed that the rear car door window was smashed and the three electrical items had been stolen from the boot. We had obviously been spotted by undesirables loitering in the car park.

So do not be complacent while shopping, don’t do your shopping in two or more goes and don’t let your guard down. When you get back to your car, go home and complete your shopping on another day. And if you are offered a cheap microwave oven, electric kettle or Brita water filter in the pub tonight beware they might be my stolen items.

Happy New Year to you all!

Name and address withheld.

Winter fuel allowances

YOUR AWARD of ‘Letter of the Week’ in Edition 739 (South) must surely have been some joke on your part. The writer’s name has been withheld, but in the interest of brevity we can call him/her ‘Dick’. Like many UK pensioners legally resident in Spain, I paid taxes for 40+ years to provide the infrastructure of the UK, i.e.

Government, the Judiciary, schools and universities and all the other centrally/locally supplied facilities necessary for a civilised state. I contributed to the benefits system through the National Insurance scheme, yes a sort of savings account which I could call on when I got sick or became old or was in need of some or other assistance, albeit within the rules as laid down.

Like many of the pensioners referred to above, I still pay income tax to the UK Treasury but get none of the benefits listed above from general taxation. Very soon, I will no longer be eligible to vote and didn’t we lose America for much the same reason as that. I have no shame about accepting the Winter Fuel Allowance which I qualified for under the rules that apply. I do, however, pass it on to my grand-daughter in England as she, being a single mother (not some reckless teenager, but with other reasons for being on her own), is penalised by the present benefit system in that because she chooses to work part-time to help her position, must totally forego benefits she would otherwise be eligible for.

As for ‘leaving the country’, I am saving the UK money by being here, healthy, rather than lying sick in a NHS bed needing nursing and care. Whilst I agree with Dick about hand-outs to immigrants, I think he/she should address the comments to their MP rather than stealing from pensioners who have and still are, paying their way. The £200 I receive annually is far less than the weekly entitlement of the average immigrant and is less than 10% of the tax paid by me to the UK. Alex Walker, San Miguel de Salinas

3-9 JAN 2014

13

The Louise Clarke Creative Writing Contest IN SEPTEMBER 2013, RTN announced the first Louise Clarke Writing Contest in memory of their former colleague and respected local journalist, Louise Clarke, who passed away just over a year ago after a short and mysterious illness.

by Keith Nicol THE IDEA for the contest came from San Miguel resident Karen Moon McDonald, just one of the many people who Louise had a close connection with in the village. Karen said; “I am very proud to have instigated this competition with RTN. I’m upbeat that this competition brings her back to all of us.”

And judging by the response and amount of entries that RTN has received in all age categories, from school children through great grandparents, her name and legacy will forever be remembered on the Costa Blanca.

The contest invited writers to be creative with this first year’s topic being to write a ‘Fictional adventure story’, a short piece of ‘Flash Fiction’. The first prize for each category was for the stories to be printed in the RTN with an illustration by our resident cartoonist Carter McKeague.

The cartoon and printed page will be framed for the winners. Second and third prize-winners receive book vouchers of 50€ for second place and 30€ for third place sponsored by Libreria Europa book shop in Calpe.

The ‘secret’ judging panel included Louise’s son Charlie and daughter Lily for the junior section plus Contest instigator Karen Moon, staff at RTN plus UK based Book Publisher and Literary Agent, Laura Lockington. On behalf of Louise’s husband Lee, Charlie and Lily plus all of us here at RTN, we’d like to thank everyone for taking part and hope that this competition will inspire more people to take up writing and also enter next year’s competition. The winning stories and cartoons can be found on pages 31, 33 and 35.

OVER 18 WINNERS 1st – Linda Bell - An Encounter with the Moor 2nd – M.E.Cornwell - Uncivil War 3rd – Roseanne Morris - My Precious 12-18 WINNERS 1st – Monty Schebesta - Casus’ Vengeance: A story in Roman Hispania 2nd – Jonny Gordon - Juan and Pedro: The Jewel of The Matador 3rd – George Biddiscombe - The Abandoner

UNDER 12 WINNERS 1st – Alejandro Fernandez - The Bull Run 2nd – Sofia Eremina - Talking dogs and people 3rd – Lottie Allegro - Glamtastic Kate

3-9 JAN 2014

15

Happy New Year Watts In Britain By

Paul Watts

HERE WE go again folks, all aboard for the three hundred and sixty-five day spin around the sun.

TIME TO make all those unattainable resolutions once more: stop smoking (again!); lose weight (again!); be a nicer more approachable person (again!) and head out to Spain a bit more often. The later I really need to try harder at…

Previously on Watts In Britain: So, there I was on the street in Alfaz – if you can remember back to before Christmas – my home sold and me near to destitution. Anyway, as I headed up Alfaz high street coming the other way was Paul, my old barber (erm, hair stylist if you don’t mind! Sorry Paul). It was so good to see Paul’s cheery face and what’s more he remembered me.

So thanks Paul for cheering me up on such a sad occasion. And thanks also to the La Nucia Spanish class that allowed me to gate-crash their Christ-

mas party. It really took the edge off a bad day. And, I got to sit next to OCI Radio’s Vince (the Prince) Tracy.

I remember back in the day, as I sat waiting for my daughter to come out of Sierra Bernia School, listening to Vince’s ‘take’ on the daily goings-on around the world. Well, if like me you miss all of that, I can tell you that although OCI doesn’t broadcast in English anymore, Vince regularly broadcasts via podcast. Yup, just click onto: www.vincetracy.com and listen away in the bath; on the beach; on the plane or in your car. It makes me believe I’ve never left the Costa Blanca.

And, how about this, as a New Year present to yourself or your dear old Auntie Doris, Vince has recently published his autobiography. It’s called, The Long and Winding Road: from

Beatles to Benidorm. I can guarantee it is suitable reading before or after the watershed (nothing too shocking for Auntie Doris) and Vince’s adventures make a refreshing change from all the murder and mayhem that I normally class as a good read! Get on to those jolly nice people at Amazon and order your copy today.

Anyroad, all this talk about old chums from my Benidorm days has made me realise just how much I miss being in Spain. And the two days I recently spent in La Nucia was nowhere near enough. However, with my casa now gone I’m going to be just a tourist once again.

Unless, of course, I can find a bargain like the one I’ve just sold!

Watts in Britain, so you don’t have to be

16

3-9 Jan 2014

Taking the plunge THE ANNUAL ritual of taking a dip on New Year’s Day reached a milestone on Wednesday when the charity event in Javea celebrated its 30th anniversary.

by Jack Troughton Hundreds of people lined Arenal Beach to watch over 40 brave souls race into the Med – and contributed to the collection buckets.

Nigel and Karen Rushton of the Lancashire Bruja Bar have organised the event for the last 17 years, taking over the reins from the Humpty Dumpty Newsagent.

And for the first time, they had an official letter from the town hall authorising the charity collection at the beach – the money goes towards buying presents at Three Kings for the children at the Preventorio de Gandia and EMAUS. “This is totally amazing,” said Karen.

“Three generations of families went into the

sea – Nigel has done it for the last 17 years.

“And we have raised thousands and thousands of euros over the years to treat the kids.

I will be off shopping on Friday morning to buy the presents.”

The sponsored event requires swimmers stay in the sea for 10 minutes during which time they get rid of any cobwebs left from New Year’s Eve celebrations – and many ward of the cold with flasks of spirits.

After drying off, they all head for the Lancashire Bruja for traditional bacon butties and a bit of a party.

Brave And Nigel – who released balloons to mark swimmers the occasion - had just one word to describe take the the water temperature: “Bracing!” plunge

A spectacular end to a bumper year DECEMBER FIGURES for hotel occupancy in Benidorm show that despite the economic crisis the city is enjoying a spectacular winter season with 4.6% more tourists visiting than last year – an average occupancy of 60.1% with two-star hotels achieving 73.4%. Following an outstanding summer season Benidorm braced itself for a slow winter but in fact the cool weather has not deterred visitors in the least. Hotel association Hosbec predicts that by the end of December hotels in and around Benidorm this year will have achieved the best occupancy since the start of the crisis.

Having a party

STAFF AND volunteers enjoyed a special Christmas party with the youngsters living at the new look Denia Children’s Home.

A small team from Denia U3A have completely redecorated the bedrooms and communal areas of the home.

And the association President Gordon Clifford said Alan Lewis of El Cid Auctions had provided a new bed for each child, while the regional government in Alicante had funded the installation of a new kitchen and the complete rebuilding of bathrooms. He said Denia Town Hall had also assisted the modernisation by supplying paint and decorating materials.

3- 9 jan 2014

Boost for typhoon disaster appeal

by Jack Troughton KIND-HEARTED PEOPLE on the Costa Blanca have helped boost aid heading for the Far East in the wake of the destruction left by Typhoon Haiyan – which claimed 5,260 lives.

Teulada Moraira Lions Club has been trusted with thousands of Euros that will help people in the Philippines struggling to cope with the devastation of their homes.

The club’s primary target in Spain’s ongoing recession has been to help struggling families living locally – but a ‘bucket collection’ for the Philippines Disaster Appeal at the regular bookstall at Moraira Market raised more than 400€ within hours.

And in the days after the typhoon struck, Lions members were approached by individuals, bar and restaurant owners, and business-

es wanting to simply donate money or the proceeds from a number of events organised in the aftermath of the storm to raise cash.

A spokesman for the club told RTN: “They told us they wanted to channel these funds through Teulada Moraira Lions Club because they knew we would insure every penny would be applied in full to where they were so desperately needed.

GENEROUS “Such unexpected generosity from people who then place such trust in us is a humbling experience and we hope that we have justified their faith since all the money received – which equates to $2,300 – has now been sent to Lions Clubs International Foundation in Illinois, to be added to the $1 million so far raised in response to the disaster.”

The Kings in Ondara ONDARA IS planning an outstanding Three Kings celebration this year based on an Arabian theme with drummers, music, Oriental dancing, tightrope walking, fireworks and fire jugglers. Taking part will be local gym students, the League of Pipes and Drums and the Ondara Musical Union. The parade of the Kings will begin at 7pm on 5th January and is tipped to be the most spectacular ever. For more information visit www.ondara.org

17

Aid arriving in the Philippines

He said there were 12,600 Lions members living in the Philippines and of the 380 clubs throughout the country, four were in Cebu, the capital of the hardest hit province, and one in Tacloban – the town which suffered most in the typhoon.

“All of them are working tirelessly to provide relief aid and food to the tens of thousands of people affected by this horrific typhoon; to collect and distribute life-saving supplies and

to liaise with the foundation in the USA to insure that all monies raised are applied directly to where they are most needed.”

Members of the Teulada Moraira club and colleagues on the front line wish to pass on their thanks to the public and are proud to have lived up to the Lions’ motto “We Serve”.

Progress of the Lions Clubs relief efforts can be seen at http://lionsclubs.org/blog/ lionsrelief-for-typhoon-haiyan/

Exam success

By Jack Troughton TEENAGER GEORGY Kadzhaya is celebrating achieving the highest mark in the whole of Spain in the Cambridge IGCSE exam for High Achievement in First Language Russian.

The Xabia International College Year 11 student’s success was described as a “fantastic achievement” by staff at the Javea school.

Georgy is pictured with Fiona Phillips, Head of Secondary at XIC, holding his exam certificate.

3-9 Jan 2014

19

43% of homes in Spain not insured ACCORDING TO the Study of Burglaries in Spain carried out

by Línea Directa’s Home Insurance Division, which analysed official data on burglaries in Spanish homes in the last 6 years and the opinion of 1,500 home owners throughout Spain, burglaries have increased in number as a result of the crisis. In spite of this, the insurer’s sources show that only 43% of houses are insured.

Burglaries are a concern for many people. In fact, more than 90% of home owners taking part in the survey thought that the law needed to be strengthened in order to prevent this type of crime, the punishment for which is a prison sentence of up to 5 years. Furthermore, almost 40% of victims consider that reporting burglaries to the police has little or no effect and almost 45% believe that the work carried out by the State Security Forces in their investigations has been a failure. In fact, according to the Ministry of the Interior’s own data, although the number of people arrested for burglary has increased by 123% since 2007, only 11% of cases recorded last year were resolved.

Many burglaries are committed in family homes (such as detached houses) at the weekend and in broad daylight. The most common methods used are: breaking in via windows (40%), removing locks (19.2%) or the so-called ‘slide method’ (14%), which involves opening the door with an X-ray or credit card.

The cost of burglary is considerable: the average cost of homes burgled last year reached 732€, a figure which is particularly significant in times of crisis. As for the objects stolen, money (64%); jewellery (57%) and electronic devices (54%) are most sought after.

MOST BURGLARIES IN LEVANTE: FEWEST INLAND With the aim of analysing the real scope of burglaries in homes in Spain, Línea Directa has compared the Ministry of the Interior’s data from its official crime figures with the to-

The most common method used is breaking in via windows

tal number of homes in our country, which currently stands at around 26 million. This analysis reveals that homes in the Community of Valencia, Baleares and Murcia are those which are burgled the most, while those in Asturias, Extremadura and Castile and León are where the number of burglaries recorded is the lowest.

According to Francisco Valencia, Director of Corporate Gov-

ernance in Línea Directa: “Analysing data from the report it is remarkable that around 11 million Spanish homes are still uninsured and another 4 million do not have any type of security measure installed. As a result, it is very important to increase safety measures and include theft cover when taking out home insurance, especially taking into account that the home is still the main investment for Spanish people.”

20

3-9 Jan 2014

the Guardian of Secrets ONE OF the most interesting books to come out of the Costa Blanca recently is written by Denia-resident Jana Petken.

by Karla Darocas She has composed, written and published a 700 page work of fiction called THE GUARDIAN OF SECRETS AND HER DEATHLY PACT. Jana has devoted over six years of her life to manifest this saga of family adventure, history and revenge.

It is quite an achievement and deserves a read.

The story unfolds in England and travels down to the Valencia region of Spain, as the main character is escaping the tortures of an abusive and psychotic husband during the turn of the 20th century. As the main characters’ new life plays out in Valencia, Jana introduces the reader to early 20th century life in Spain during the great European wars, as well as the country-bound crisis of the Spanish civil war. It is a well-written story with excellent character development. For Costa Blanca readers, it has the added benefits of allowing us to visualize the Valencian landscapes and beaches, along with the action of the characters.

For Jana, writing this book has been a self-preservation act of therapy due to an unfortunate accident. Over 6 years ago, Jana was a hostess with British Airways on their Boeing 747, which was flying at 39,000 feet above Africa, when it was caught in clear-air turbulence. As the plane dropped Jana’s body flew upward hitting her head on the cabin ceiling resulted in a major operation on her spinal cord at the neck.

The attending physiotherapist suggested that Jana move her fingers and hands. This gave Jana an idea.

“I bought myself a computer,” explains the author.

“I began tapping away, not really knowing what I was going to write about but thinking that the exercise might help

me to regain mobility in my extremities.”

Jana Petken actually grew up in Spain and lived under the dictatorship of General Franco. She remembers, very clearly, her childhood living at the beach and in particular the patrolling Guardia Civil with guns. In later years, she learned about the Spanish Civil War and about the legacy it had left on the Spanish people. She researched, read books, and spoke to war survivors. When she decided to write this first novel, she knew that the Spanish Civil War would be a dominant subject.

“When the prologue was written, I also realised that I Photo by Darocas wanted this story to be more than just a war story,” explains Media the author.

Jana “People have always fascinated me. I am a “people watchPetken er,” so I decided to incorporate a family saga into the novel, (left) with Mrs one, which would begin long before the war began.”

You can learn more about Jana Petken and her book – THE Jacqueline Phillips, GUARDIAN OF SECRETS by visiting her website – president JanaPetken.com of M.A.B.S.

Murla Mayor drops a clanger THE LITTLE village of Murla in the Jalon Valley is decidedly unimpressed with its Christmas gift of a new church bell tower. The old bell tower collapsed 24 years ago, killing two elderly ladies. The town has waited for a replacement tower ever since. Last week the scaffolding was removed on the new 36m bell tower which took two years to complete. Far from shouts of delight, local residents have complained to the town’s PP mayor that the tower is ‘too modern, ugly, and not in keeping with the historical church’.

The new bell tower is to be officially opened for service on Thursday 9th January.

Winter warmer for brigade

by Jack Troughton MEMBERS OF Javea U3A spread a little festive cheer amongst the town’s voluntary firemen with a donation of more than 939€ - the proceeds of a raffle held during the association’s annual Christmas Extravaganza.

U3A President Peter Allin and fellow members visited the Bomberos Voluntarios headquarters at Balcon Al Mar to present a cheque to ISVH President Erich Brenner, who accepted the donation on behalf of the brigade.

Erich said they were extremely grateful for the donation which would help

meet the running costs of a valuable emergency service. The brigade costs around 17,000€ a year to run and receives an annual grant of 4,000€ from Javea Town Hall – until 2013 this had only been 2,500€ - and relies on donations and fund raising to survive.

It has one fire engine and relies on a team of 15 fire fighters to be the “first line of defence” in responding to emergencies. The brigade tackles mainly forest and bush fires, most frequently caused by people at picnics.

In October the Bomberos were the first on the scene of one of the worst forest fires in Javea for many years.

An electrical fault sparked a huge fire across the Granadella National park – homes were evacuated as the volunteers, joined by firemen from Denia and Valencia, fought the flames supported by helicopters and a plane.

However, the Javea brigade lost over 2,500€ of equipment during the emergency and have needed donations and public fund raising to replace 300m of hoses destroyed in the incident.

Pictured at the presentation are (from left) Marianne Forster, Emma Lawton, Commandant Michael Nickel, Peter Allin, Erich Brenner, Mick Cox, Ian Rogerson, Mike Oxley-Brown and Lorraine Allin.

3 - 9 jan 2014

21

Change of A Dress

SINCE OPENING for business on 2nd December, the dress agency Change of A Dress has been trading steadily, already receiving a positive response from new customers. The agency works hand in hand with the Giving4Giving charity which supports many local cancer charities and all commissions earned by the agency is donated to the various causes.

You’ll find all the top designer labels at Change of A Dress - up to the minute new and pre-loved ladies’ wear; gents’ wear and accessories; boots, shoes and bags; all at a fraction of the new price and all in excellent condition.

Whether you are looking for designer fashion bargains or considering selling items from your current collection, Change of A Dress is the place to visit; the place to sell your pre-loved unwanted designer purchases and the place to shop for amazing authentic designer fashion.

SEASON SALE! There are massive reductions on many items over a limited period only, including a huge amount of new NEXT jewellery at only 1€ per item. Come and grab yourself a bargain! The dress agency is located above the Giving4giving charity shop in La Nucia and is open 7 days a week, 10am – 2pm. For more information call Gary on: 603 137 697 or visit Giving4givingcharity on Facebook.

A doggy donation

ALTEA CITY Council has launched its collaboration with USAR13DYA, an NGO concerned with the training and support of search and rescue dogs and their handlers, with a contribution of 1,000€. Health and Social Services Councillor Gregorio Alvado highlighted the work done by members of the groups whose help proved invaluable a few months ago in the search for a local resident who had gone missing. Dogs trained by USAR13DYA are used in the rescue of victims of earthquakes worldwide and are offered as therapy for people suffering disability and degenerative diseases.

Home & Garden

Brought to you by spanishhomefinder.com

HOME

GARDEN

3-9 JAN 2014

Brought to you by

www.spanishhomefinder.com

Ideas for benefiting more from your Mediterranean Garden by

Dick Handscombe Active gardener and author

UNFORTUNATELY IT does not look like 2014 is to be any better money wise for many expatriates, especially pensioners. So in thinking about New Year resolutions perhaps we should start with how one can live less expensively from the garden. The following are some thought starters: When doing this year’s winter cut back keep and plant up as many cuttings as possible to produce inexpensive new plants for your own use, swapping with friends or selling at gardening club meetings.

Buy a solar cooker kit and cook lunch and dinner for warming up later, using the rays of the sun instead of expensive electricity. Ours took five hours to put together but soon started to save money. It still cooks well with light cloud but obviously takes longer.

Build a garden oven and heat by burning logs and thick prunings, fir cones etc., from the garden or surrounding woods.

Build an extra compost heap to increase your production of inexpensive compost for improving soils, making

23

potting composts and mulching. Our books ‘Your Garden in Spain’, ‘Growing Healthy Vegetables in Spain’ and ‘Growing Healthy Fruit in Spain’ each have comprehensive chapters on how to produce good compost in the dry Mediterranean climate.

Bag up leaves in large plastic bags, make a few air holes and then store for a year in a hidden corner of the garden to produce free leaf mould to add to composts.

If you live near the sea enrich the compost with sea weed cleared from beaches after storms.

Start to grow at least your salad vegetables in raised beds or containers. One can grow a lot in a small space even on apartment terraces. See ‘Apartment Gardening – Mediterranean Style’ for illustrations of what is possible.

With the closure of many of the shops that sold English books it may now be most convenient to purchase our books from the internet shops of Santana Books, Amazon, and the book depository etc.

Reduce the expense of buying vitamin and mineral supplements by growing and eating those fruits and

vegetables that have the greatest concentrations of these. A comprehensive list of these plus hints for good living from a really traditional but fast disappearing Mediterranean Diet will be found in ‘Living Well from our Garden – Mediterranean Style’ available from Amazon.

Make fire lighters by rolling up dry garden twigs etc., in roils of paper and soaking them with used cooking oils.

Start to drink infusions made from mint, rosemary, lemon verbena, lemons and olive leaves instead of tea or coffee.

Instead of throwing outside leaves and roots of vegetables in the waste bin or putting them on the compost heap feed a couple of hens for eco eggs and meat. My Christmas turkey thoroughly enjoyed the tit bits and reached 40 lbs.

Prepare your own winter liquors by adding herbs and fruits to inexpensive Anise liquor or brandy.

If you need to buy plants buy those that are most drought resistant and buy small to reduce the cost of watering and help the development of deep root systems.

Improve the garden to make it easier to entertain at home instead of at increasingly expensive restaurants.

Lastly perhaps there is scope for cutting back on the hours you pay a gardener by doing more yourself.

Hope some of these ideas help your purse strings and also lead to more enjoyable and healthier gardening and lives.

The Handscombe’s books can be most conveniently purchased from Amazon Books, Santana Books website or 95 248 5838, The Book Depository or The Royal Horticultural Society Bookshop. ©Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com

24

3-9 Jan 2014

Farmers’ market sows seeds of success HOME GROWN and homemade produce and crafts have planted the seeds of success for a Marina Alta farmers’ market that is growing in popularity.

By Jack Troughton The ‘Mercat de Riu Rau’ is held every Sunday at Jesus Pobre – in winter between the hours of 9am and 2pm – and has proved to be a little gem.

It was started last July and both the stall holders and their customers represent the cosmopolitan mix of the nationalities living in the local area.

China Laudisio, an American now living on Mediterranean coast, explained: “It’s all local – it is either grown locally or made locally. Most of the produce is organic and there are preserves, breads and cakes and crafts.

“There is a real mix of stalls and different events – today there was a cookery class and on the first Sunday of every month there is an antiques market as well. In the summer that is in the evening but in winter they are both in the morning.”

RECYCLE China has a craft and clothing stall and also runs a knitting school that frequently meets at the market. “I recycle textiles – I take old clothes and make them into something else.”

Key to her handiwork are pairs of old trousers and men’s ties

China (left) with Kelly of Kelly’s Kitchen

– the brighter the better. Anyone taking along a bag of clothing is rewarded with a little present.

And China’s knitting group meets on Wednesdays at a series of different locations as well as at the Sunday market – anyone wanting to join ca either pop along on Sunday or make contact via www.lastricotorras.com or go to Las Tricotorras page on

Facebook for times and locations.

Naturally the market has a bar and music adding to the feel good atmosphere. China added: “It is a really friendly market.

It’s a meeting place – people come and just hang out.

“There is a really great feeling about the market, and it is very different from the normal ‘rastro’ markets you find in Spain.”

legal

3-9 JAN 2014

27

Careful, you could have important legal problems with some life assurance policies (Unit Linked) by

Carlos Baos

of White & Baos Abogados

English & Spanish Solicitors

SOME OF our readers have invested in whole of life unit linked life assurance policies, known as “poliza de seguro de vida entera unit linked” in Spanish.

THESE KINDS of a life insurance policy, whilst both legal and carrying certain advantages, are linked to funds or investments. They have a complex structure, where the risk of the investment is the responsibility of the client or insured, and not the company.

One of most important risks is when the funds are invested in property or non-liquid assets.

In these cases, policies often include clauses (sometimes even without the insured knowing it), that the insurance company can refuse or delay any encashments or the payment of the death benefits, if the assets are not saleable.

Occasionally, the companies are refusing or deferring the payments after death, without time limit, leaving the consumer (insured or beneficiary) without the possibility to get their money, just when they need it. Basing the delay on the fact that the insured had

chosen an “illiquid” fund which cannot be sold at that moment.

As per the users, consumers and Spanish insurance laws, it is important to remind both companies and consumers that: -As per the articles 105 and 107 of the Regulation and Supervision of Private Insurance Law, before signing any life insurance contract, the policyholder must be provided with complete information drafted clearly and precisely, about the conditions, terms and maturity of the premiums, indication of surrender values, calculation of the benefits, etc.

Therefore the insurance company or the financial advisor must be sure that the consumer has understood the real risks of the document signed and what could be the worst case scenario.

- Also, these kind of clauses, which are considered a limitation on the consumer’s rights according to Spanish General Insurance Law, must be highlighted

and specifically accepted in writing by the insured.

Therefore, although this kind of life insurance policies have some tax advantages and could be a good way to invest, the consumer must check the characteristics of the fund where the money is invested in, as he will be solely responsible for its performance. All the wording of the policy must be checked as well as whether payment to be received could be refused or delayed by the company and for what reasons.

Like always we recommend you read carefully all the contracts and documents that you may have signed, seek legal advice, and ask the companies to explain in writing any potential risks.

If you have any problem with your insurance company, our law firm can advise and help you.

You can follow the Spanish Legal Issues that affect you and consult us by following us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ WhiteBaosAbogadosLawyers

Carlos Baos (Lawyer) © White & Baos Abogados 2012 - All rights reserved. C/Diana 19, 2º-D, 03700 Dénia (located 1 minute away from the La Via underground car park).

Tel: 966 426 185. Send your questions to spanishlawyer@roundtownnews.com or info@white-baos.com. This article is available in English and Spanish at www.white-baos.com. The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys general information related to legal issues. Visit our blog at http://www.white-baos.com/blog/ and Facebook (White-Baos-Abogados-Solicitors)

28

3-9 JAN 2014

by

Mark Roach

Company Director and Spanish Tax Consultant

money

Inheritance Tax increases in the Murcia & Valencia Region AS OF 17th July 2013 the Murcia region increased Inheritance Tax (IHT) payable by residents inheriting within this area. Before this time residents of the Murcia community benefitted from a 99% exemption on assets they inherited within their region. From August Valencia resident spouses, descendants and ascendants had their personal free allowances upon inheritance, or in the case of gifting, increased to €100,000. However, the exemption for assets inherited above the €100,000 allowance was lowered to only 75%. There are no such exemptions for brothers/ sisters/ aunts/uncles/nephews/partners or friends.

Resident’s Inheritance Tax in Spain is charged by the autonomous region they live within, however all non-residents who inherit assets on mainland Spain, The Balearic Islands and The Canaries are all taxed by the central Tax office in Madrid with a maximum allowance of €15,957 per individual inheriting.

Many Murcia tax residents may now look forward to sizeable tax increases which have already affected

Valencian residents during August 2013. It could be said that other regions may decide to follow the suit in the near future. A concern for most beneficiaries is that bank accounts can be frozen on death leaving any money to pay this tax unavailable within the 6 months stipulated and in worst case scenario an embargo placed upon the property. Simply becoming non-resident, which has been seen as a solution to the recent asset declaration problem’, would not work here as the IHT due for non-residents is significantly more and taxed centrally in Madrid.

It has been written that this is discrimination against non-residents of Spain and they will be taxed at a lower rate and in line with residents. As this may not be financially viable to the Spanish Government, residents may be bought in line and taxed at a higher rate along with non-residents.

THE WINCHAM SOLUTION The owner of the property forms a UK Limited Liability company (Wincham can provide), in which

Wincham Consultants Limited, Wincham House, Greenfield Farm Trading Estate, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 4TR, England.

(Wincham Consultants also have offices located on the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol) UK Tel: +44 (0)1260 299 700 | Spain Tel: +34 965 830 991 | Email: iht.info@wincham.com | Web: www.winchamiht.com

ownership of the property passes into the hands of the company. In this way when he or she passes away, the company will be reorganised, meaning it will only be necessary to transfer company shares, which falls outside Spanish inheritance tax.

From the point of transfer the company owns the asset. As the legal company owner, you remain in full control of the company - and therefore the asset and in addition there is no Property Transfer Tax (7/10%) or Capital Gains Tax due in Spain for this transaction.

Therefore - Inheritance tax never becomes an issue.

On your passing, the company still remains the owner of the asset, it’s just the shares in the company that will change hands when the time comes.

To receive a free personalised Spanish Inheritance tax Illustration and the opportunity to discuss how this method of ownership could benefit your circumstances, visit www.winchamiht.com or scan the QR code below. Alternatively contact one of our advisers directly on +44 (0)1260 299 700 (UK) or 0034 965 830 991 (Spain).

money

3-9 JAN 2014

29

Managing the January feeling by

Suzanne O’Connell Customer Care at Ábaco

WAITING AT the airport to greet someone you care about is a wonderful feeling.

ON SUNDAY 22nd, it was our turn. My daughter and boyfriend were flying in from Stansted and we took our usual position at the barrier. As the flight was delayed, we had plenty of time to look around at the families and friends eagerly waiting around us. What struck me was that this time they were all, almost without exception, Spanish.

As doors opened and passengers came through it was evident that the flight from Stansted had largely transported Spanish people returning home for Christmas. Perhaps working in London, they were going to celebrate their festive season with their families.

As you might expect, there were touching scenes with people waving banners, cheering and always hugs, smiles and happiness. I know in only a few days time, the situation will be reversed for us and possibly for most of these Spanish families too. Then I will leave it to my husband to bring my daughter and boyfriend back for their return trip. I’m no good at saying goodbye.

The delight that we feel when reunited is all-too-soon wiped away when the visit ends. Now we’re at the time of year when perhaps you’ve returned from a visit to family abroad or you’ve just waved them off at the airport we’ve got some top ten tips for managing the ‘January’ feeling: 1. Plan your next visit – it’s never too early to start pencilling dates in your diary 2. Remember, if you live in Spain, you only have a couple of months before those temperatures start rising and the winter is all but done 3. Remind yourself that now there will be more food in the fridge, reduced queues for the bathroom and you can stop ‘enjoying’ yourself 4. Find yourself a good film, what’s left of the chocolates and treat yourself - you’ve probably been treating others for the past few days.

5. Tackle something you’ve been avoiding. If you have a new year’s to-do list, make sure you can tick off one

item as soon as possible 6. Remind yourself of the reasons why you came to live in Spain in the first place – and indulge 7. Remember – there are many ways of contacting each other these days – distance is not like it used to be 8. Ask yourself, realistically, how much you would see your family if you lived in the UK. Relatives can be only miles away but don’t always show up very often.

9. Have a look through your photos or download them off your camera. It can be a bitter sweet activity, but it does remind you how you’ve celebrated in style and together.

10. Don’t forget all those people who are here all year round who you might have neglected over the festive season. They might need a little cheering up too.

If you have chosen to make Spain your home make the most of the winter sun shine, marvel at the astonishing sunsets and look forward to the good times you’ll share in 2014.

Ábaco provide fiscal representation to non-resident and resident Spanish property owners. You can contact us for free advice and information by calling our helpline 96 670 3748 or visiting our website www.abacoadvisers.com

Life

Three Kings parade

The “Three Kings or Epiphany”, called “Dia de los Reyes Magos” in Spanish falls on January 6th and this year it´s a Monday, meaning an extra days holiday for most people!

It is probably regarded as the most important of all the fiestas in Spain – particularly by the children.

On the Eve of Epiphany, the 5th January there are parades in most Spanish towns and cities to symbolise the arrival of the Three Wise Men Melchior, Casper and Balthazar to the city where Jesus was born. It is a major event especially for the children when massive floats pass with the Three Kings waving and camels or horses join the street parades, with sweets being thrown into the crowds.

Benidorm is a great place to be to watch the magnificent parade and the entire route will be lined with spectators, so get there early if you want a front line position. The procession is on Sunday 5th and sets off at 6pm from Parque de Elche – Dove Park, at the beginning of the Poniente beach. There will be numerous floats, the grandest of which will be the three carrying the Kings, sat on their thrones. The children all get very excited when these main floats pass by and cannot wait to see what they will bring them that night – it is the equivalent of Santa Claus for the Spanish. Last year there were a number of horses and donkeys as well as the traditional brass bands.

Many of the floats have themes and they all make a great effort with the costumes.

From the start point the procession heads up the Avd de los Almendros then back down the Calle Ruzafa, finishing at the Plaza de Navidad – Town Hall square. Sweets are thrown out to the waiting crowds along the entire route and it´s a mad scramble to collect them – not only by the children either. Go well wrapped up as it gets chilly in the evening – it lasts for around a couple of hours from start to finish and remember to take your camera to capture the moment.

Remember to take your camera to capture the moment

Life competition

3-9 JAN 2014

31

Louise Clarke Writing Competition Winner Over 18

An Encounter with the Moor YOUNG JOSE clapped and cheered excitedly.

The horses danced and the Christians proudly marched to the slow, rhythm.

By Linda Bell THEN CAME the Moors, whose magnificent costumes, raised gasps from the crowd, and linking the whole spectacle were the marching bands. Jose swayed to the mesmerising beat of drums and closed his eyes , inhaling the atmosphere. When he opened them, sounds and colours had been replaced by darkness and silence.

Dressed in heavy uniform, Jose was within the confines of a castle. Shivering, he approached the meagre warmth of a small fire. “Rest easy lad” said a battle-weary soldier.

“The devils will wait for daylight to attack.” “They have the element of surprise. Wish we knew their plans.” Just then a horse and cart, laden with waste, trundled towards the castle gates. Instinctively, Jose slipped away from the group, caught up with the cart, jumped on the back and hid amongst the stinking cargo.

Once free of the gates, he leaped off and scuttled into the woods. Stealthily, he dodged through the trees, following the glow of camp-fires until he reached the Moor’s encampment. Evading the guards, he crawled through the maze of tents until he came to a large, elaborate one. He hid behind it, and waited.

A fire illuminated a group of bearded men with dark intimidating eyes, speaking in a strange language. How

was Jose to learn their plans? Suddenly a man emerged from the tent, and after addressing the group, proceeded to draw symbols and diagrams in the soil with his sword.

Jose watched intently for a while, then, in fear of being discovered, silently moved away and backtracked his way out of the camp.

Relieved and enveloped by the trees, he quickened his pace. As the castle silhouette loomed, he paused for breath; then heard a sharp crack from behind. Jose froze, then, turned into the face of the enemy. The Moor , of similar size and age, was dressed in black, except for the flash of steel in his hand. Terrified, Jose drew his sword. Time stood still as two young lives stared at death.

Then, the hatred in the Moor’s eyes subsided and he slowly lowered his sword. Hesitantly, Jose followed, until each weapon touched the ground and the tension eased.

Then, one swift bow of the head in mutual respect, and the Moor was gone.

As Jose headed back to the castle, the distant drumming returned and upon opening his eyes, he was standing in a littered street. The procession had passed, and the crowd were dispersing. It was over for another year but Jose would always remember his encounter with the Moor.

Life competition

Casus’ Vengeance:

A story in Roman Hispania

By Monty Schebesta THE ROMAN god of fire had been Casus’ name for a reason: Casus the god was a legendary giant. Casus, the human was just alike. He was a fearsome sight.

He had sworn to himself, years ago, that he would have his vengeance on the man who had murdered his father and sold Casus into slavery.

That man, by the name of Marcus Aurelio Quinti, had to die.

As his master’s bodyguard, Casus had some freedom.

Today he walked through the slave market of Dianium and stepped up to one of the stands selling local Hispanic slaves.

He knew it all too well.

Casus walked up to Marcus and towered over him. He stared into his eyes, and saw no feelings, only hatred. In a calm voice he said: “Do you recognize me? I am the boy whose father you killed and whom you sold as a slave” The slave trader showed no reaction and answered: “There are too many of your kind for me to count. I have killed so many people and sold so many slaves. I don’t care for their lives, they are just goods to me. I will tell my guards to kill you if you don’t leave!”

“I don’t care for my life as long as you die by my hand” Casus was becoming furious, he pushed Marcus, nearly throwing him over.

Marcus recovered and gave a wink with his hand. Casus spun round just in time to dodge a sword coming at his head.

He grabbed the guard by the throat and lifted him off his feet, the guard wriggled, trying to break free but it was useless.

The rest of the guards were too intimidated to attack. When the guard stopped moving, Marcus screamed: “Attack him; I pay you for a reason!” The guards obeyed. Casus drew a knife and slit the belly of the first, so that the guts came pouring out. His shrieks scared the rest of all but one.

He was a giant, like Casus, and carried a huge axe. Casus dodged the first blow and quickly slit the giant’s wrists whilst he was trying to wrench his axe out of the wooden floor.

The giant abandoned the axe with a scream and started punching Casus, who grabbed his arm and threw him off balance. Casus took his arm and bent it in such a gruesome way that the elbow snapped and caused the giant to scream out in agony.

By now the whole slave market was watching. Casus stepped up to Marcus and drew an ornate knife. It had been passed down from father to son for generations. It was the knife his father had in his hand when he died.

“When this knife pierces your guts all the acid will slowly eat you up from the inside, it’s a slow and horrible death.”

With those words Casus drove the knife deep inside Marcus’ abdomen.

All around the market slaves were cheering and trying to break free from their chains. Casus grabbed the ring of keys from Marcus and ran to the nearest slave to release him. He gave him the keys to free the next.

“Today you have the chance to avenge your families; if you die you do so in dignity and with honour. Kill them or they will kill you for we all have the right for freedom!”

3-9 JAN 2014

33

Louise Clarke Writing Competition Winner 12-18

3-9 JAN 2014

35

Life competition The Bull Run

Louise Clarke Writing Competition Winner Under 12

Once upon a time in an old village in Spain called Pamplona, there was a little child who lived with his father. They were poor and couldn’t buy lots of food and so the little child couldn’t grow.

By Alejandro Fernandez THE CHILD always wished to go to a bull run but he was too little to go. He decided to go to the fortune teller and hear what she had to say.

The fortune teller told the child that he will grow eight centimetres overnight and look sixteen years old! The child didn’t believe her, especially after she told him about the very scary day that would follow!

That night, the child went to sleep and dreamed of the Bull Run. Meanwhile, as he slept, a mage war was going outside. A mage shot a potion that would make another mage eight centimetres smaller. The mage missed and the potion bounced on a mirror, which reversed the potion to make something grow eight centimetres taller! The potion hit the small child and made him bigger.

The next day the BIG child was ready to run with the bulls. Suddenly he had to run for his life when a Minotaur statue came alive! The Minotaur chased him until it saw its reflection on a building and tried to kill it! When it butted the reflection, a piece of glass came out and killed the Minotaur!

Phew! The Big child survived the day and lived to tell the story of his Spanish adventure!

36

3-9 JAN 2014

Life TV

3rd January - 9th January

FRIDAY 3rd January BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

07:00 Breakfast 10:10 The Cat in the Hat 11:25 Race to Witch Mountain 13:00 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 The Shaggy Dog 16:15 Escape to the Country 17:15 Flog It! 18:10 Pointless Celebrities 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 Celebrity Mastermind 20:30 A Question of Sport 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Miranda 22:00 Silent Witness 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 The Graham Norton Show 24:25 EastEnders

07:00 This Is BBC Two 07:30 Natural World 08:30 The Culture Show 09:30 Britain’s Empty Homes 10:00 Africa 11:00 Earthflight 12:00 Great British Bake Off 13:00 Great British Bake Off 14:00 Antiques Road Trip 15:00 Rebecca 17:05 The Queen’s Palaces 18:05 Antiques Roadshow 19:00 Celebrity Eggheads 19:30 Coast 20:00 Nature’s Weirdest Events 21:00 Kangaroo Dundee 21:30 Christmas University Challenge 22:00 James May’s Toy Stories 23:00 Drive 24:35 Top Gear

07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News 14:55 ITV News Central 15:00 All Star Mr & Mrs 16:00 Secrets from the Workhouse 16:59 ITV Central Weather 17:00 Tipping Point 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Central 19:30 ITV News 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 The Martin Lewis Money Show 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 Piers Morgan’s Life Stories 23:00 ITV News at Ten 23:30 ITV News Central 23:35 The Americans 24:35 Benidorm

07:10 According to Jim 07:35 Will & Grace 08:00 Candleshoe 09:50 How I Met Your Mother 10:20 How I Met Your Mother 10:50 The Big Bang Theory 11:15 The Big Bang Theory 11:45 King Kong 14:15 Zulu 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Celebrity Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Gordon Ramsay’s Home Cooking 22:00 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 23:00 Rude Tube

07:00 Childrens TV 09:05 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:20 Peppa Pig 09:30 Peppa Pig 09:40 Toby’s Travelling Circus 09:55 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:10 Tickety Toc 10:45 Inside Hollywood 10:55 The Dog Rescuers 11:20 Cowboy Builders 12:20 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 13:20 5 News Lunchtime 13:25 CSI: Miami 14:15 Doctor Zhivago 18:00 5 News 18:30 Cowboy Builders 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 The Gadget Show 21:00 Robson’s Extreme Fishing Challenge 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 24:00 Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Side

07:00 The Hot Desk 07:10 Emmerdale 07:35 Emmerdale 08:00 Holiday Airport: Orlando 09:00 The Cube 09:55 You’ve Been Framed!

10:25 Britain’s Got More Talent 11:25 Britain’s Got More Talent 12:25 Britain’s Got More Talent 13:30 Emmerdale 14:00 Emmerdale 14:30 You’ve Been Framed!

15:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show 16:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 17:10 You’ve Been Framed!

17:45 Junior 20:00 You’ve Been Framed!

20:30 You’ve Been Framed!

21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Two and a Half Men 22:00 GoldenEye 24:40 Two and a Half Men

ITV2

E4

07:00 Switched 07:25 90210 08:10 Ugly Betty 09:00 Charmed 10:00 Glee 11:00 Rules of Engagement 11:30 Rude(ish) Tube 12:00 Rude(ish) Tube 12:30 Charmed 13:30 Hollyoaks 14:00 How I Met Your Mother 14:30 How I Met Your Mother 15:00 The Big Bang Theory 15:30 The Big Bang Theory 16:00 Rude(ish) Tube 16:30 Rude(ish) Tube 17:00 Rules of Engagement 17:30 Rules of Engagement 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 18:30 How I Met Your Mother 19:00 The Big Bang Theory 19:30 The Big Bang Theory 20:00 Hollyoaks 20:30 Ice Age 22:10 Hot Tub Time Machine 24:10 The IT Crowd

SATURDAY 4th January BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

ITV2

E4

07:00 Breakfast 11:00 Saturday Kitchen Live 12:30 Food & Drink 13:00 Football Focus 13:45 Sportsday 14:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 14:15 Bargain Hunt 14:45 Escape to the Country 15:30 Live Darts: BDO World Championships 17:30 Final Score 18:10 Frozen Planet 19:10 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 19:30 Celebrity Mastermind 20:00 Pointless Celebrities 20:50 The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins 21:40 Casualty 22:30 Catherine Tate’s Nan 23:05 BBC News; Weather 23:25 Little Fockers 24:55 Romance & Cigarettes

07:05 My Fake Fiance 08:30 Stick It 10:10 Life on Earth 11:05 Life on Earth 12:00 Fred Dibnah’s Made in Britain 12:30 Great British Railway Journeys 13:00 Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds 13:45 Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds 14:30 The Horse Whisperer 17:10 Coast 17:30 Live Darts: BDO World Championships 18:30 James May’s Toy Stories 19:30 Flog It! 20:30 Dad’s Army 21:00 Morecambe & Wise in Pieces 22:00 Dave Allen: God’s Own Comedian 23:00 Dave Allen: The Immaculate Selection 24:00 Dave Allen in Search of the English Eccentric 24:55 Darts: BDO World Championships

07:00 Childrens TV 08:40 Almost Naked Animals 08:50 Almost Naked Animals 09:05 Horrid Henry 09:15 Horrid Henry 09:30 Victorious 10:00 Deadtime Stories 10:25 ITV News 10:30 Dinner Date 11:25 Murder, She Wrote 12:25 ITV News and Weather 12:34 ITV Central Weather 12:35 The Chase 13:40 Midsomer Murders 15:45 Show Me the Telly 16:45 You’ve Been Framed!

17:15 ITV News Central 17:30 ITV News and Weather 17:45 Live FA Cup Football 20:20 Splash!

21:50 Take Me Out 22:50 Jonathan Ross Show 23:50 ITV News and Weather 24:04 ITV Central Weather 24:05 FA Cup Football Highlights

07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 Little Wolf’s Book of Badness 07:35 Arctic Tale 09:00 The Morning Line 10:00 American Football Show 11:00 How I Met Your Mother 11:30 How I Met Your Mother 12:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:30 The Big Bang Theory 13:00 The Simpsons 13:30 Jamie’s Festive Feast 14:30 Channel 4 Racing 17:00 Come Dine with Me 17:30 Come Dine with Me 18:00 Come Dine with Me 18:35 Come Dine with Me 19:05 Come Dine with Me 19:35 Channel 4 News 20:00 Speed with Guy Martin 21:00 Secret History 22:00 Robin Hood 24:45 Charlie Brooker’s How Videogames Changed the World

07:00 Childrens TV 09:20 Angelina Ballerina 09:40 Rupert Bear 09:55 Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom 10:10 Jelly Jamm 10:30 LazyTown 11:00 Power Rangers: Megaforce 11:35 Slugterra 12:00 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 12:30 Celebrity Big Brother 14:25 Columbo: Try and Catch Me 16:00 Columbo: a Case of Immunity 17:25 Diagnosis Murder 18:25 Diagnosis Murder 19:20 Mr & Mrs Murder 20:10 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 21:00 NCIS 22:00 NCIS 22:55 5 News Weekend 23:00 Celebrity Big Brother 24:00 Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Psych

07:00 Beauty and the Geek 07:45 Coronation Street 10:10 Emmerdale 13:05 You’ve Been Framed!

14:10 DragonHeart 16:20 Junior 18:30 Beethoven’s 2nd 20:15 Mr Bean’s Holiday 22:00 The 40 Year Old Virgin 24:20 Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason

07:00 Switched 07:20 Make It or Break It 08:05 Being Erica 09:00 One Tree Hill 09:55 Ugly Betty 10:55 Charmed 11:50 Rules of Engagement 12:20 Rules of Engagement 12:50 Rules of Engagement 13:20 How I Met Your Mother 13:50 How I Met Your Mother 14:20 Rules of Engagement 14:50 Rules of Engagement 15:20 The Big Bang Theory 15:50 The Big Bang Theory 16:20 How I Met Your Mother 16:50 How I Met Your Mother 17:25 Penelope 19:10 Meet Dave 21:00 The Big Bang Theory 21:30 The Big Bang Theory 22:00 The Waterboy 23:50 The Inbetweeners 24:25 The Inbetweeners 24:55 8 Out of 10 Cats

SUNDAY 5th January

Mr Bean’s Holiday 20.15

BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

ITV2

E4

07:00 Breakfast 10:00 The Andrew Marr Show 11:00 The Big Questions 12:00 Homes Under the Hammer 13:00 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News 14:10 Weather for the Week Ahead 14:15 Moving On 15:00 Escape to the Country 15:45 Helicopter Heroes 16:15 That Puppet Game Show 17:00 Songs of Praise 17:35 Dolphins - Spy in the Pod 18:35 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 19:00 Countryfile 20:00 Celebrity Mastermind 20:30 Antiques Roadshow 21:30 Sherlock 23:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 23:25 Mrs Brown’s Boys 24:05 Good Will Hunting

07:00 This Is BBC Two 07:10 Odette 09:05 Monty Don’s French Gardens 10:05 Countryfile 11:00 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 12:30 Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds 13:15 Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds 14:00 Live Darts: BDO World Championships 18:00 Ski Sunday 18:45 Catch Me If You Can 21:00 Nature’s Weirdest Events 22:00 Operation Grand Canyon with Dan Snow 23:00 Charlie Brooker’s 2013 Wipe 24:00 Darts: BDO World Championships 24:50 Darts Extra

07:00 Childrens TV 10:00 Deadtime Stories 10:25 FA Cup Football Highlights 11:55 The Unforgettable 12:25 ITV News and Weather 12:29 ITV Central Weather 12:30 Live FA Cup Football 15:15 The Cube 16:15 Splash!

17:45 The Chase 18:45 ITV News Central 19:00 ITV News and Weather 19:15 Dancing on Ice 20:45 All Star Family Fortunes 21:30 Dancing on Ice: The Skate Off 22:00 It’ll Be Alright on the Night 23:00 ITV News at Ten 23:14 ITV Central Weather 23:15 Birds of a Feather 23:45 FA Cup Football Highlights 24:45 Premiership Rugby Union

07:30 Barnyard 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:30 Frasier 10:00 Frasier 10:30 Sunday Brunch 13:30 How I Met Your Mother 14:00 How I Met Your Mother 14:30 The Big Bang Theory 15:00 The Big Bang Theory 15:30 The Simpsons 16:00 The Simpsons 16:30 Edward Scissorhands 18:35 Channel 4 News 19:05 Deal or No Deal 20:00 Shipping Wars 21:00 Speed with Guy Martin 22:00 Bad Teacher 23:50 Rude Tube

07:00 Childrens TV 09:00 Little Princess 09:10 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:25 Angelina Ballerina 09:40 Rupert Bear 09:55 Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom 10:10 Jelly Jamm 10:30 LazyTown 11:00 Power Rangers: Super Samurai 11:35 Slugterra 12:00 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 12:30 Celebrity Big Brother 13:30 Cowboy Builders 14:30 Grounded 16:15 Along Came Polly 17:55 Made of Honor 19:40 Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous 21:55 5 News Weekend 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 Most Shocking Celebrity Moments 2013

07:00 Beauty and the Geek 07:45 Emmerdale 10:30 Coronation Street 13:00 Boyzone at 20: No Matter What 14:00 Take Me Out 15:00 The Mighty Ducks 17:10 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 19:05 Evan Almighty 21:00 You’ve Been Framed!

22:00 The Magaluf Weekender 23:00 I Am Britney Jean: Britney Spears’ Road to Las Vegas 24:50 Forgetting Sarah Marshall

07:00 Switched 07:20 Make It or Break It 08:05 Being Erica 09:00 Ugly Betty 10:00 Charmed 11:00 Hollyoaks 13:35 Rude(ish) Tube 14:00 Rude(ish) Tube 14:30 How I Met Your Mother 15:00 How I Met Your Mother 15:25 How I Met Your Mother 15:55 The Big Bang Theory 16:30 The Big Bang Theory 16:50 Rude(ish) Tube 17:20 Rude(ish) Tube 17:45 Grease 20:00 The Big Bang Theory 20:30 The Big Bang Theory 21:00 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 23:20 The Inbetweeners 23:55 The Inbetweeners 24:30 8 Out of 10 Cats

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 17.10

MONDAY 6th January BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

ITV2

E4

07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Rip Off Britain: Holidays 12:45 Real Lives Reunited 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 Inside Out 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 A Question of Sport 22:00 The 7.39 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 Secrets of the Sales 24:35 The Graham Norton Show

07:00 This Is BBC Two 07:20 Homes Under the Hammer 08:20 Bargain Hunt 09:20 Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds 10:05 Britain and the Sea 11:05 Britain’s Empty Homes 11:35 Click 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Live Darts: BDO World Championships 17:15 The Great British Winter 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys 20:00 Great British Garden Revival 21:00 University Challenge 21:30 Sacred Wonders of Britain 22:30 PQ17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster 23:30 Newsnight 24:20 Darts: BDO World Championships

07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News Central 15:00 All Star Mr & Mrs 16:00 Dickinson’s Real Deal 16:59 ITV Central Weather 17:00 Britain’s Best Bakery 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Central 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 A Great Welsh Adventure with Griff Rhys Jones 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 The Bletchley Circle 23:00 ITV News at Ten 23:30 ITV News Central 23:35 I Shot 2013 24:20 Hellboy II: the Golden Army

07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 According to Jim 07:35 According to Jim 08:00 Will & Grace 08:25 Will & Grace 08:55 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:30 Frasier 11:00 Frasier 11:30 Frasier 12:00 Building the Dream 13:00 Channel 4 News 13:05 Come Dine with Me 13:35 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Come Dine with Me 14:40 Come Dine with Me 15:10 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Food Unwrapped 22:00 Benefits Street 23:00 Secrets of the Living Dolls 24:00 American Football Show

07:00 Childrens TV 09:30 Olly the Little White Van 09:35 Toby’s Travelling Circus 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 Cat 8 18:00 5 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 Monster Moves 21:00 The Gadget Show 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 Celebrity Wedding Planner 24:00 Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Side

07:00 Emmerdale 07:25 Coronation Street 07:55 Coronation Street 08:25 You’ve Been Framed!

08:55 Jeremy Kyle Show USA 09:30 Dinner Date 10:30 Real Housewives of DC 11:30 You’ve Been Framed!

12:30 New You’ve Been Framed!

13:30 Emmerdale 14:00 Coronation Street 14:30 Coronation Street 15:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show 16:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 17:10 The Real Housewives of Orange County 18:05 Millionaire Matchmaker 19:00 Dinner Date 20:00 You’ve Been Framed!

20:30 You’ve Been Framed!

21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Two and a Half Men 22:00 Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason 24:15 Fake Reaction

07:00 Switched 07:25 90210 08:10 Ugly Betty 09:00 Charmed 10:00 Glee 11:00 2 Broke Girls 12:00 Rules of Engagement 12:30 Charmed 13:30 Hollyoaks 14:00 How I Met Your Mother 15:00 The Big Bang Theory 15:30 The Big Bang Theory 16:00 Rude(ish) Tube 16:30 Rude(ish) Tube 17:00 Rules of Engagement 17:30 Rules of Engagement 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 18:30 How I Met Your Mother 19:00 The Big Bang Theory 19:30 The Big Bang Theory 20:00 Hollyoaks 20:30 How I Met Your Mother 21:00 The Big Bang Theory 21:30 The Big Bang Theory 22:00 Revenge 23:00 Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2013

3-9 Jan 2014

Tuesday 7th January BBC1

BBC2

07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Rip Off Britain: Holidays 12:45 Real Lives Reunited 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Holby City 22:00 The 7.39 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News 23:35 Secrets of the Body Clock with Terry Wogan 24:15 Insomnia

07:00 This Is BBC Two 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Rip Off Britain: Holidays 08:50 Real Lives Reunited 09:20 Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds 10:05 Antiques Roadshow 11:05 Britain’s Empty Homes 11:35 HARDtalk 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Live Darts: BDO World Championships 17:15 Great British Winter 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys 20:00 Great British Garden Revival 21:00 Stargazing Live 22:00 Stargazing Live: Back to Earth 22:30 Truth About Immigration 23:30 Newsnight 24:20 Darts: BDO World Championships

ITV1 07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News 14:55 ITV News Central 15:00 All Star Mr & Mrs 16:00 Dickinson’s Real Deal 16:59 ITV Central Weather 17:00 Britain’s Best Bakery 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Central 19:30 ITV News 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 River Monsters 21:00 Weight Loss Ward 22:00 The Lying Game: Crimes That Fooled Britain 23:00 ITV News at Ten 23:30 ITV News Central 23:35 Keane & Vieira - Best of Enemies 24:50 Sports Life Stories

37

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

itv2

E4

07:10 According to Jim 07:35 According to Jim 08:00 Will & Grace 08:25 Will & Grace 08:50 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:25 Frasier 11:00 Frasier 11:30 Frasier 12:00 Building the Dream 13:00 Channel 4 News 13:05 Come Dine with Me 13:35 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Come Dine with Me 14:40 Come Dine with Me 15:10 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Location, Location, Location 22:00 The Taste 23:00 Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA 24:00 Secrets of the Scammers

07:00 Childrens TV 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Sacrifices of the Heart 18:00 5 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 Highland Emergency 20:30 Highland Emergency 21:00 Gibraltar: Britain in the Sun 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 Autopsy: The Last Hours Of 24:00 Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Side

07:00 Emmerdale 07:25 Coronation Street 07:55 Coronation Street 08:25 You’ve Been Framed!

08:55 Jeremy Kyle Show USA 09:30 Dinner Date 10:30 Real Housewives of DC 11:30 The Real Housewives of Orange County 12:30 Millionaire Matchmaker 13:30 Emmerdale 14:00 Coronation Street 14:30 Coronation Street 15:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show 16:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 17:10 The Real Housewives of Orange County 18:05 Millionaire Matchmaker 19:00 Dinner Date 20:00 You’ve Been Framed!

20:30 You’ve Been Framed!

21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Two and a Half Men 22:00 GoldenEye 24:40 Two and a Half Men

07:00 Switched 07:25 90210 08:10 Ugly Betty 09:00 Charmed 10:00 Glee 11:00 Rude(ish) Tube 12:00 Rules of Engagement 12:30 Charmed 13:30 Hollyoaks 14:00 How I Met Your Mother 15:00 The Big Bang Theory 15:30 The Big Bang Theory 16:00 Rude(ish) Tube 16:30 Rude(ish) Tube 17:00 Rules of Engagement 17:30 Rules of Engagement 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 18:30 How I Met Your Mother 19:00 The Big Bang Theory 19:30 The Big Bang Theory 20:00 Hollyoaks 20:30 How I Met Your Mother 21:00 Ice Age 22:35 Rude Tube 24:40 The Big Bang Theory

wednesday 8th January BBC1

BBC2

ITV1

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

itv2

E4

07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Rip Off Britain: Holidays 12:45 Real Lives Reunited 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Waterloo Road 22:30 Live at the Apollo 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News 23:35 A Question of Sport 24:05 The League Cup Show 24:50 Mimic

07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Rip Off Britain: Holidays 08:45 Real Lives Reunited 09:15 Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds 10:00 Great Continental Railway Journeys 11:00 Kangaroo Dundee 11:30 See Hear 12:00 BBC News 12:30 Daily Politics 14:00 Live Darts: BDO World Championships 17:15 The Great British Winter 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys 20:00 Great British Garden Revival 21:00 Stargazing Live 22:00 Stargazing Live: Back to Earth 22:30 The Hidden World of Britain’s Immigrants 23:30 Newsnight 24:20 Darts: BDO World Championships

07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News 14:55 ITV News Central 15:00 All Star Mr & Mrs 16:00 Dickinson’s Real Deal 16:59 ITV Central Weather 17:00 Britain’s Best Bakery 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Central 19:30 ITV News 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 Midsomer Murders 23:00 ITV News at Ten 23:30 ITV News Central 23:35 Jonathan Ross Show 24:40 Corfu: A Tale of Two Islands

07:10 According to Jim 07:35 According to Jim 08:00 Will & Grace 08:25 Will & Grace 08:50 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:25 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:55 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:25 Frasier 10:55 Frasier 11:30 Frasier 12:00 Building the Dream 13:00 Channel 4 News 13:05 Come Dine with Me 13:35 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Come Dine with Me 14:40 Come Dine with Me 15:10 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 The Restoration Man 22:00 24 Hours in A&E 23:00 Benefits Street 24:05 Secrets of the Living Dolls

07:00 Childrens TV 09:30 Olly the Little White Van 09:35 Toby’s Travelling Circus 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Robson’s Extreme Fishing Challenge 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 ‘Til Lies Do Us Part 18:00 5 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 The World’s Biggest Bomb: Revealed 21:00 Big Body Squad 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:30 Hens Behaving Badly 24:30 Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Side

07:00 Emmerdale 07:25 Holiday Airport 08:25 You’ve Been Framed!

08:55 Jeremy Kyle Show USA 09:30 Dinner Date 10:30 Real Housewives of DC 11:30 The Real Housewives of Orange County 12:30 Millionaire Matchmaker 13:30 Emmerdale 14:00 The Cube 15:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show 16:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 17:10 The Real Housewives of Orange County 18:05 Millionaire Matchmaker 19:00 Dinner Date 20:00 You’ve Been Framed!

20:30 You’ve Been Framed!

21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Two and a Half Men 22:00 Benidorm 23:00 The Magaluf Weekender 24:00 Fake Reaction 24:50 Two and a Half Men

07:00 Switched 07:25 90210 08:10 Ugly Betty 09:00 Charmed 10:00 Glee 11:00 Rude(ish) Tube 12:00 Rules of Engagement 12:30 Charmed 13:30 Hollyoaks 14:00 How I Met Your Mother 15:00 The Big Bang Theory 15:30 The Big Bang Theory 16:00 Rude(ish) Tube 16:30 Rude(ish) Tube 17:00 Rules of Engagement 17:30 Rules of Engagement 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 18:30 How I Met Your Mother 19:00 The Big Bang Theory 19:30 The Big Bang Theory 20:00 Hollyoaks 20:30 How I Met Your Mother 21:00 The Big Bang Theory 21:30 The Big Bang Theory 22:00 The Tomorrow People 23:00 Final Destination 3 24:50 The Big Bang Theory

Thursday 9th January

BBC1

07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Wanted Down Under 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Rip Off Britain: Holidays 12:45 Real Lives Reunited 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Father Brown 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Escape to the Country 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Dolphins - Spy in the Pod 22:00 Silent Witness 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News 23:35 Question Time 24:35 This Week

BBC2

07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Rip Off Britain: Holidays 08:50 Real Lives Reunited 09:20 Paul Hollywood’s Pies & Puds 10:05 Tudor Monastery Farm 11:05 Kangaroo Dundee 11:35 HARDtalk 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Live Darts: BDO World Championships 17:15 The Great British Winter 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys 20:00 Great British Garden Revival 21:00 Stargazing Live 22:00 Stargazing Live: Back to Earth 22:30 QI 23:00 Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe 23:30 Newsnight 24:20 Darts: BDO World Championships

ITV1 07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News Central 15:00 All Star Mr & Mrs 16:00 Dickinson’s Real Deal 16:59 ITV Central Weather 17:00 Britain’s Best Bakery 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Central 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Tonight 21:00 Emmerdale 21:30 Birds of a Feather 22:00 Benidorm 23:00 ITV News at Ten 23:30 ITV News Central 23:35 The Brits Are Coming 24:35 Weight Loss Ward

CHANNEL 4

CHANNEL 5

itv2

E4

07:10 According to Jim 07:35 According to Jim 08:00 Will & Grace 08:25 Will & Grace 08:50 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:25 Frasier 10:55 Frasier 11:30 Frasier 12:00 Building the Dream 13:00 Channel 4 News 13:05 Come Dine with Me 13:35 Come Dine with Me 14:05 Come Dine with Me 14:35 Come Dine with Me 15:10 A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Supersize vs Superskinny 22:00 The Undateables 23:00 What Happens in Sunny Beach 24:05 24 Hours in A&E

07:00 Childrens TV 09:35 Toby’s Travelling Circus 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Got Thin - Got Fat Again!

13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Stolen Innocence 18:00 5 News 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 World’s Busiest 21:00 World’s Worst Holiday Horrors 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 Botched Up Bodies 24:00 Celebrity Big Brother’s Bit on the Side

07:00 Emmerdale 07:25 Coronation Street 07:55 You’ve Been Framed!

08:25 You’ve Been Framed!

08:55 Jeremy Kyle Show USA 09:30 Dinner Date 10:30 Real Housewives of DC 11:30 The Real Housewives of Orange County 12:30 Millionaire Matchmaker 13:30 Emmerdale 14:00 Coronation Street 14:30 You’ve Been Framed!

15:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show 17:10 The Real Housewives of Orange County 18:05 Millionaire Matchmaker 19:00 Dinner Date 20:00 You’ve Been Framed!

21:00 Two and a Half Men 21:30 Two and a Half Men 22:00 Tricked 23:00 Fake Reaction 23:50 Forgetting Sarah Marshall

07:00 Switched 07:25 90210 08:10 Ugly Betty 09:00 Charmed 10:00 Glee 11:00 Rude(ish) Tube 12:00 Rules of Engagement 12:30 Charmed 13:30 Hollyoaks 14:00 How I Met Your Mother 15:00 The Big Bang Theory 16:00 Rude(ish) Tube 17:00 Rules of Engagement 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 18:30 How I Met Your Mother 19:00 The Big Bang Theory 19:30 The Big Bang Theory 20:00 Hollyoaks 20:30 How I Met Your Mother 21:00 The Big Bang Theory 21:30 The Big Bang Theory 22:00 The Inbetweeners Movie 24:00 The Inbetweeners Top 10 Moments

38

3-9 JAN 2014

Life Showbiz Goss

Big confessional from Sexy Smiley Miley!

I, LIKE most of you, have watched Miley Cyrus going on a seemingly endless crusade of shocking the world of late with her general comment being: ‘If you don’t like it then I don’t give a damn’.

It all started for her when she played the charming character of Hannah Montana for five seasons for Disney that ended in 2011, and now finally she has spoken out about her remarkable transition from sweet little sugar dumpling to full on, in your face, sex machine!

Speaking to The New York Times Miley said: “There’s a sex scene in pretty much every single movie,” … adding with a tone of regret, “I don’t have a bunch of celeb friends, because I feel like some of them are a little scared of the association … this is terrible.” … Sure is Miley babe!

What seems to have driven her to this outpouring is that she admitted to wrongdoing whilst still at Disney when she said: “Things came out that happened - like, bong videos when I was on Disney, but I never wanted to do that to them,” strong confessional stuff there! … 20 Hail Mary’s and 15 Our Fathers should fix it. However, sadly for Miley, the hell-raising second half of the year is not behind her just yet as a story also came out in the article about Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers saying Miley and her friend Demi Lovato encouraged him to smoke marijuana to which Miley replied: “There’s nothing that two little girls are going to get you to do that you don’t want to do … he made that comment to make himself look cool!”

Well said sweet pea! … But it’s still way outside the middle ground you claim to be looking to occupy, which suggests that there’s an awful lot more raunchiness to come from the wee lassie from Nashville Tennessee.

Celebrity Clips THE WONDER of the internet kicks in yet again with a photo that was posted by 20-year-old student Ryan Haught from Akron Ohio. In 1979, his aunt took a photo that showed Robin Williams performing mime in a New York City street in front of a huge crowd.

Williams tweeted back ‘Thanks for the photo!’ which, by the way, has taken Twitter by storm.

Baby Boy Bieber has snuck into the column on the back of having been putting it about that he will

soon retire. I am sure there are some of you who will be distraught at such news, but don’t rush out too quickly to stock up with tissues, as although he said “I’m officially retiring,” he did add, “…but I won’t actually be leaving the public eye.” … Damn and blast!

Nigella Lawson found her way into the press recently for all sorts of worrying reasons, and is now she’s back a-mouth-pouting in a US imported reality show called The Taste, which is being tagged as The X Factor of food … oh dear, oh dear. Never one to miss a sex-up, Nigella is seen in the promo for

the show assuming several provocative faces whilst tasting food … uuummm!

I’m sure you’re all beside yourselves with excitement that ‘Sherlock’ returns to the telly on New Year’s Day but our Benedict has certainly not been resting on his laurels. A while back he made a ‘selfie’ video on his iPhone, sent it to film director John Wells and will now appear in movie ‘August: Osage County’ starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Ewan McGregor ... Release date : Friday 24th January.

by

Peter Taylor

Writer and Broadcaster

Life travel

Pig’s plaza’s and chairmaker’s streets THE ONCE bishop’s seat of Segorbe is now the regional capital and the name of its principal square, Plaza Agua Limpia (Clean Water Square) symbolises the historical importance of the springs and rivers of the area.

MANY STREET names in the old town reflect other elements of the city’s history. Calle Foro Romana, Calle Mezquita and Plaza Almudin are reminders of its Roman and Moorish past, while Calle Los Silleros (Chairmakers Street) recalls the time when each trade could be found in a specific area within the city walls.

A plaque in Plaza del Angel informs you that it was formerly known as the Plaza de los Cerdos, where every Thursday for centuries the most important pig market in Valencia and lower Aragon was held and where only pigs of the highest quality and prestigio were sold. A number of the streets have plaques describing their history.

The Arco de la Verónica on Calle Argen is thought to be part of the original Roman wall, and on the edge of the old town there are two cylindrical towers that also formed part of the fortifications. Torre Cárcel housed the prison and Torre Botxi was home to the town’s executioner (Botxi being the Catalan name for that grim occupation).

The city’s history as a religious centre is reflected in the abundance of its churches, the most prominent of which is the 12th Century Catedral-Basilica, its inherent Gothic style considerably modified along with most of the churches in the Province of Valencia, through various architectural fads and fancies. It houses a small museum of art from the 15th to 18th Century, including work by Donattello.

Segorbe’s main fiesta is held during the last week of August and incorporates the Fiestas Patronales held in honour of the city’s patron saint, la Santisima Virgen, and the Semana de Toros (the Week of the Bulls). The high point of the taurine week is the Entrada de Toros y Caballos (Entry of the Bulls and Horses) when horse riders drive bulls down the main street between two densely packed rows of unprotected bystanders who rely on the skill of the horsemen to prevent them from being gored.

A short drive from Segorbe is one of the most unusual sanctuaries in Valencia, the Santuario Cueva Santa. It is dedicated to the Virgen of the Holy Cave, known as the White Dove, and her image is portrayed in bas-relief stucco about 20cms high. The legend goes that Bonifacio Ferrer, a Carthusian prior, gave the image to a shepherd who hid it in a niche in the cave, where it was found by another shepherd in 1503.

At a later date, a glorious Doric-style temple was built in the cave, 20 metres below ground, where the image now sits, surrounded by jade and gold. As you descend the stairway lined with tile votive plaques giving thanks for prayers answered and ailments miraculously cured, you pass small side niches and diminutive altars.

Nothing quite prepares you for your first sight of the temple, with its ornate scroll plasterwork topped by a pair of cavorting cherubim. The tiny stucco image radiates from its gold mount and it comes as no surprise to hear that she is the patron saint of Spanish speleologists (cavers).

It is said that if a drop of water falls from the ceiling and lands on you and you rub it over the part of your body that is ailing, you will be cured. Drops taken from the puddles on the floor will also work but without the same efficacy. You will also be cured if you hear the tinkling of a bell during the night of your visit to the cave.

Segorbe is 60km from Valance and can be accessed on the N234 from Sagunto and A7 coastal motorway.

This article is taken from Inland Trips from the Costa Blanca, a series of five ebooks, each of four excursions that cover the whole of the Valencian region. For further information and immediate download from Amazon.co.uk, visit www.spainuncovered.net

3-9 JAN 2014

39

40

3-9 JAN 2014

Life spanish Verb Tense Table I STARTED writing this series about the structure Basic Spanish for everyday needs

by Jane Cronin

The Enfarinats strike again!

of the Spanish language in 2008 and have now compiled a total of two hundred articles.

THE FIRST one hundred and twenty are available as three e-books and I will shortly be editing the final eighty into “Step by Step Spanish volumes 4 and 5”. My internet course consisting of language quizzes and dictations is also based on this series. For article number 200, here is a table of verb tenses which should be useful to you as a kind of reference. All the forms (apart from the imperatives) are based on the first person singular of the regular “ar” verb – “hablar”.

INDICATIVE MOOD Hablo I speak / I am speaking Estoy hablando I am speaking

Hablaba

I was speaking/I used to speak/I spoke Estaba hablando I was speaking Estuve hablando I was speaking Hablé I spoke He hablado I have spoken Había hablado I had spoken Habré hablado I will have spoken Habría hablado I would have spoken Voy a hablar Hablaría Hablaré Estaré hablando Estaría hablando

I’m going to speak I would speak I will speak I will be speaking I would be speaking

SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD No quieres que hable

You don’t want me to speak No querías que hablara You didn’t want me to speak Cuando haya hablado When I have spoken Si hubiera hablado If I had spoken IMPERATIVE MOOD ¡Habla!

Speak! (tú) ¡Hablad!

Speak! (vosotros) ¡No hables!

Don’t speak! (tú) ¡No habléis!

Don’t speak! (vosotros) ¡Hable!

Speak! (usted) ¡Hablen!

Speak! (ustedes) ¡No hable!

Don’t speak! (usted) ¡No hablen!

Don’t speak! (ustedes)

IN THE little town of Ibi on Saturday 28th December, the local ‘Enfarinats’ celebrated their 200-yearold annual tradition of pelting each other with flour and eggs in a decidedly messy ritual. The town resembled a winter wonderland as enthusiastic revellers dressed in military uniforms hurled entire trays of eggs and the contents of large bags of flour in reckless abandon, adding fire crackers and high pressure water hoses to the mix to ensure absolute chaos. The festivities began at 8am with a race to determine who would be ‘leader’ followed by a procession of the participants, after which pandemonium broke out with the first flurry of flour and egg! The revelry ended at around 5pm before a massive clean-up exercise started to rid the town of its coating of pancake mix!

Life books

Danny Collins - copydjp@gmail.com

The Patchwork Marriage ONE FOR the ladies but worth a man’s time to clue up ready-made families. That’s just what Andi gets when she marries Ethan, who has two daughters. The eldest, teenager Emily, resents Andi and sets out to be a little cow, at which teenage misses are so adept. Of course, Daddy will hear no wrong about his precious daughter who is intent on driving a fat wedge through the marriage.

It’s an old theme that crops up whenever someone marries a man with a resentful son or daughter and Andi and Ethan are faced with an occurrence in their life that’s going to test them to the hilt. Can the heal the rift in their marriage? Can each of them find enough love to go round?

And how strong can a patchwork marriage ever be? This is a seriously important book that should be read by anyone thinking about taking on a readymade family. And if you’re not, it’s a delight to read anyway.

Author: Jane Green Publisher: Penguin (paperback) Price: 11.20€ ISBN: 978 0 141 03865 0 Stars: 1/10 : 10

Suduko Answer

3-9 JAN 2014

Life people

A fine hand

Santa travels the world

By Jack Troughton STUDENTS AT Marcia’s Dance Centre and Stage School followed Santa on his magical journey around the world at their end of year show, raising over 2,000€ for charity Friends of the Children of EMAUS. Santa Claus and Elfie, played by Phil Leech and Candida Wright, hosted an

evening filled with music and dance at Calpe’s Casa de Cultura in front of a packed house.

The show, ‘A Christmas Journey’, started at Santa’s workshop – a place packed with cute elves, tumbling clowns, singing dolls, fairies, reindeer, and presents galore – and followed

41

MUCH-VALUED PRIZES have been awarded to delighted children in the Teulada Moraira Lions Club’s annual handwriting competition.

Winners at the schools of Cap D’Or in Moraira and the Santa Maria Magdalena, Benitachell received book tokens and certificates of merit for their efforts.

The contest is organised as a “labour of love” by Ken Langridge and standards are always exceptionally high.

This year judges were unable to decide between two finalists in one of the age groups and Ken was called upon to make a casting vote. The entries are not merely samples of handwriting but are stories composed by the youngsters and beautifully illustrated with coloured drawings.

And the enjoyment of the children is reflected by a whole generation living in the areas who now greet Ken in the street with his adopted name – Senor Leon!

The shows colourful finale

the man in red around the world with traditional dances from each continent before he returned to the North Pole.

The onstage spectacular included bright and colourful costumes and scenery and the choreography was produced by Phaedra Vaughan, principal teacher at Marcia’s Dance Centre.

A magical Christmas party MORE THAN a hundred delighted children attended a Christmas party on 27th December hosted by the Alicante College of Nurses in the hall of the Club Informacion.

The kids had a great time and enjoyed a spectacular magic show starring the ‘Great Edy Magician Clown’ who kept them entertained with magic tricks, music, jokes and balloon art.

42

3-9 JAN 2014

Life people

Spend, spend, spend!

ENJOYING A supermarket sweep with a difference, U3A Vall de Pop spent 270 Euros of donations by members to buy food for families in need.

by Jack Troughton GUIDED BY Caritas President Josefa Martinez, President Bob Welham led a team including Sandra Welham and Derek and Ann Martyr – who organise fund raising quiz nights in aid of Caritas – to Mas y Mas to fill trolleys with essentials for families supported by the charity.

They were also helped by Celia Gonzales and Nordege Font of Cellar Vinyater in Jalon – Celia clicking away on a calculator to make sure all the money was spent and acting as interpreter.

And after passing through the checkout, Mas y Mas kindly agreed to deliver the food to the Caritas food bank in Jalon for distribution.

Petanque party THE FINAL match of 2013 provided some enjoyable high spirits ‘off piste’ as members of the U3A Denia Petanque Group celebrated Christmas in the sunshine.

Everyone was a winner after the last contest of the year as members tucked into nibbles, mulled wine and bubbly.

Snug and warm

YOUNGSTERS LIVING at EMAUS homes will enjoy warmer nights this winter after being given new pairs of pyjamas by the Roundabout Charity Shop in Javea.

Big hearted volunteers donated 65 pairs of pyjamas for the children and charity President Gill Rose (right) and Carole Saunders, President of Friends of the children of EMAUS (second from left) are pictured with social workers at the Vergel home.

The Roundabout Charity Shop is always looking for new faces in its team – just pop in for more information.

Life horoscopes

Cold comfort this week, but things could have been far worse, and you will take comfort in knowing that you have played your part all down the line, as you said that you would. The squaring of a resolute and determined Mars on a transient Jupiter brings in a new set of genuine instructions that you would be well advised to follow up.

Jupiter has actions with Mercury, Mars and the Sun this week, and as a result you could be prevented from doing what your instinct tells you do. It is clear that you are currently working with good intention, but it would also appear that someone has taken hold of the wrong end of the stick, and is intent on making things difficult for you.

You have been strongly tested lately, and seem to have passed with flying colours. However someone has begun to influence your opinions and immediate decisions, albeit for the right reasons this time. Above all keep your balance and look for the guidance you need, as opposed to doing things just to make someone else happy.

Mercury’s midweek tangle with Saturn turns things around and could be the start of a new project. You need to get your act together and to believe in yourself and your abilities above all. Yes you need to get your teeth into something, but do not bite off more than you can chew.

Show others just what you are capable of to kick off!

Major aspects of planetary actions are somewhat confusing to you in the clear light of day. Your instincts are aroused and your psychic senses seem to be getting you ready for something….but what exactly? It is for you to decide where next to tread, but above all put yourself first for a change, and all will fall suitably into place.

Jupiter in opposition is egging you on for all the right reasons. You may feel that you have been let down, but there is now a clear way forward, and for sure, the door to opportunity is ajar and awaiting your entry into positive and inspiring territory. Ignore anything that holds you back from your need to take a gamble this time around, it will work.

Mercury sextiles with Saturn which serves to reveal anything that has been wrongly said about you; since this week is all about putting the record straight once and for all. You are not responsible for the idle gossip and poor judgments made against you, but they do help to fan the flames, and anger can help you to get your act together.

Kenny Corris www.kennycorris.net Mobile: 686 361 594 Tel: 965 878 424

Your currently unshakeable reserve is at last working for you. There are some life changing events ahead and these will benefit by your consolidation of compliance with your dignity intact, above all. Mercury’s dalliance with Venus midweek sets the seal on a deal or bargain, so, above all do not forget that you have started and so will finish too.

The Sun squares on Mars and this may serve to shed a light on something which presently puzzles you somewhat.

Though you may have some good ideas coming through this is a good time to wait and see before you commit to something you may very well live to forget. Wait and see and take away any immediate pressures too!

Venus squares on Ceres, which brings on the need to work with the inner you at this time. Hopes and desires are nothing without a commitment, and body and soul have to be working together right now to achieve new heights and to boost a strong inner energy. You have been dormant for such a while, but now is the time to bounce back all ways!

3-9 JAN 2014

Take time to make up your mind, especially as there seem to be two alternatives on your mind right now. There is nothing to be gained by going against your principles, however tempting an offer sounds; but really only one solution takes you onwards and rewards you as you so deserve and all that that implies.

Venus connects with you to pass on a message of heartfelt thanks for your recent actions which have been straight from the soul. The midweek Mercury connection helps to show others just what a wonderful person you are, and just what you are capable of in terms of your loving kindness and your highly specific psychic powers.

Kenny’s article and postbag is now being printed monthly

If it’s your birthday this week

Second best isn’t an option, though it has been a feature of your past. Walk into a time when there is no more compromise and your inner strength assists you in every way that it can!

Last weeks crossword answers can be found on page 51.

Quick or Cryptic Crossword

ACROSS 1. Magnificent (8) 5. Joins (4) 9. Support (4) 10. A murderer (8) 11. Comical (5) 12. A drop (7) 13. Unpleasant (13) 18. Germanic (8) 19. Ill (4) 20. Loss of memory (7) 21. Lid (5) 22. Inform (4) 23. Harsh (8) DOWN 2. Confuse (7) 3. Cost (7) 4. Trivial (13) 6. Agitate (7) 7. Genuine (7) 8. Large monkey (6) 13. Pariah (7) 14. Diary (7) 15. Select (6) 16. Decamp (7) 17. Reading desk (7)

ACROSS 1. Dogs cause a quarrel in the crowd (8) 5. A certain amount of tobacco for a pound (4) 9. This bird is a loud hooter (4) 10. Celebration that produces festive song round the States (8) 11. The sailing tackle I had is not pliable (5) 12. It’s obvious I’ve been set back by depression (7) 13. Certainly not hard at the core (6-7) 18. In which musical compositions are recorded? (4-4) 19. What is usually accepted in mensuration or mathematics (4) 20. Where one may find rhymes upside down! (7) 21. Road transport - or train! (5) 22. It may come from having a shave (4) 23. Had no hesitation in saying tea-dress needs restyling (8) DOWN 2. Notice a strange poisonous plant (7) 3. Corresponded with everybody in restricted surroundings (7) 4. They cast some light in the target area (5-8) 6. Not yet out of pocket! (7) 7. Not kept neat (7) 8. Celebrated bare back rider (6) 13. Preparing the leather - and using it! (7) 14. Indigenous types in vast disturbance round the East (7) 15. You’ll find me returning to the ship to do this (6) 16. Sounds as if a soldier without any promotion will cause acrimony (7) 17. This will painfully affect the listener (7)

Sudoku

43

44

3-9 JAN 2014

Life health

Amanda Collins, Dip HE Family Medical Centre, Albir

Why does my INR go ‘up and down’ when I come to Spain?

CURRENTLY 1.2 MILLION people in the UK are taking anticoagulants and thus have to have regular INR blood tests.

UNTIL RECENT years, many people taking anticoagulants were reluctant to take extended holidays abroad as they worried about control of their medication, older people being especially anxious.

Nowadays many people are happy to holiday as normal knowing their INR and drug dosage can easily be monitored and managed. However, you may find that once here in Spain your INR which previously has been stable starts to go up and down like a yo-yo!

There are many reasons for this, but any

change in your usual lifestyle can be the cause.

If you come here for a two week holiday, most likely you will not need to have your INR checked unless of course your doctor at home has advised you differently. This may be the case if you are a ‘new’ patient who has recently started to take anticoagulants, or if your INR frequently goes out of range.

However, if you are taking an extended holiday (i.e. escaping the UK winter for a few months) you will probably need to have your coagulation monitored even if you have been taking anticoagulants for a long time and your INR is constantly stable. This is because of the lifestyle change once you arrive in Spain. So what are these changes…?

Climate change – most come here for the sun!

Alcohol intake – many enjoy a few more tipples once here!

Diet changes Exercise changes Alteration of stress levels Without realising it, your lifestyle might automatically change once here thus making your INR more likely to fluctuate. Once you have been here for a couple of weeks it is advisable to have your INR checked to make sure it is within your target range. If it does start to fluctuate, your medication can be adjusted as necessary and INR re-checked, making sure your medication level is safe for you.

This article was written by Amanda Collins, Family Medical Centre, Albir. Please call 96 686 5072 for more information or to make an appointment.

Spain stubs out the e-cigarette

FROM THE beginning of January 2014, Spain is placing a ban on the use of E-cigarettes in public administration buildings as well as health and education centres and public transport.

The decision to ban the increasingly popular e-cigarettes has come after lengthy debate on the effects of ‘passive e-smoking’, according to Health Minster Ana Mato.

Life health

3-9 JAN 2014

45

The Costa Blanca’s Top Hypnotherapist Jonathan Gilchrist

Stick to your New Year’s resolutions with Fast Track Hypnosis “YOU ARE feeling sleepy, very sleepy…” is the catch-line most people associate with the stage hypnotist, the watch swinging showman with eyes that could pierce a stone. This is probably the most common perception that people have of hypnosis and it is certainly a mythical one that I spend a lot of time trying to dispel.

For example, a lot of people assume that they can be made to do something against their will. If that were the case you would find me, not in my office, but down at the bank manager, swinging a little watch at him and telling him to forget about my overdraft, and we would all be hypnotists!

Hypnosis is merely a state of relaxation and while the person is in this state their subconscious mind can then accept positive suggestions. These then help to alter past behavioural problems, such as phobias, stress and confidence, as well as the simple ones like stopping smoking, weight control, Gastroband…

A lot of people start off with the best of intentions, wanting to change something in their life, but usually they fail miserably after a few weeks with the expression: “I just didn’t have the willpower to do it.” This is where Fast Track Hypnosis can help a person stick to their resolution by reinforcing their own will and determination to stop smoking or lose weight. At all my centres this is done in only one Fast Track 30 Minute Hypnosis and Laser Therapy session. With

the stop smoking session suggestions are also included that clients will not symptom substitute by overeating, etc.

CD’s are also given to each client to reinforce all that is done on the session which I believe is of great benefit in times of stress.

All smokers perceive different benefits from smoking: relaxation, concentration, relief from boredom… If you only knew the substances that were in cigarettes it would certainly open your eyes as to the harm you could be doing to your health.

In the Fast Track Weight Control session, suggestions such as high calorie foods are no longer appealing are given.

Other suggestions are that they will eat healthy balanced meals, and also if they want something to eat between meals that they will take a piece of fresh fruit or vegetable to satisfy any hunger. Again a CD is provided to help reinforce the session and to avoid comfort eating.

Phobias normally take about 4 sessions to overcome using Fast Track Hypnosis (Conventional Hypnotherapy may take a lot longer).

If you are feeling stressed over the New Year period are in need of chilling out, visit www.jonathangilchristinspain.com where you can download a complete relaxation session free of charge!

Happy New Year!

Jonathan holds his Fast Track Hypnosis sessions in Cabo Roig, Quesada and Benidorm. He holds sessions in Spanish as well as in English. For an appointment, brochure, or free-of-charge initial consultation, contact Jonathan Gilchrist on 691 784 954. Email; jonathangilchristbh@gmail.com www.jonathangilchristinspain.com

46

3-9 JAN 2014

Life recipe

Creamy chicken casserole WINTER MAY not be as cold as in Britain, but there’s still nothing better than a hearty casserole to warm the long winter nights.

SERVE WITH a jacket potato, plain boiled rice or simply with chunks of fresh bread to mop up the juices.

• 4 chicken legs or 8 chicken thighs, boned and cut into bite sized pieces • 2 medium red peppers, cut into chunks • 2 medium courgettes, cut in half lengthways and sliced • 1 large onion,

roughly chopped • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped • 300ml chicken stock • 4 tsps Dijon mustard • 4 tbls thick cream or crème fraîche • 1 tsp fresh thyme, stalks removed (or ½ tsp dried thyme) • Olive oil for frying • Salt and pepper • 1 tsp cornflour mixed with a little water 1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Fry the chicken pieces in a little oil over medium heat until lightly browned (about 5 minutes).

Remove and place in a medium sized ovenproof casserole.

3. Fry the peppers and onion in the same oil until they take on a little colour, then add the courgettes and fry for a further 4-5 minutes. Add to the casserole.

4. Add the chicken stock to the pan and heat while scraping of any burnt bits (these will add to the flavour).

5. Pour the stock over the chicken and vegetables, add the thyme and season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.

6. Cover the casserole and place it in the oven. Cook for 40 minutes.

7. Remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the mustard, cream and cornflour. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tips Dijon mustard is best for this recipe because of its mild and creamy texture.

You can use grain mustard if you prefer, but it may add a slight hint of vinegar.

Ready-made English mustard is fine but you may need to use a little less.

Serves 4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes.

If you have a recipe you would like to share with RTN Readers, email your recipe and if possible a photo to rtnmail@roundtownnews.com

Lions come in out of the rain on Christmas DESPITE THE appalling weather conditions on Christmas Day, the Lions of Torrevieja Costa Lions Club turned out in good numbers to La Zenia Beach to celebrate Christmas in the company of JB Brass.

All morning on Christmas Day phone calls, emails and text messages were flying around between band members, Lion members and others in an attempt to get permission for the band to play indoors in Bar Restaurante Miradar, which overlooks La Zenia beach. After much cajoling by both The Lion President Janette Bennett and JB Secretary Stuart Burnley, the Miradar management finally agreed to let the Band play their traditional Christmas repertoire in the Restaurant, much to the delight of the small but cheery crowd of revellers who had like the Lions and JB Brass braved the terrible conditions.

The minute the band struck up the whole atmosphere lifted and smiles returned as people joined in the carols and other Christmas tunes like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The band played for around 45 minutes resulting in a standing ovation from the audience.

This was the first Christmas in eleven years that the band have been unable to play on the beach and it was thanks to the tenacity of Stuart and Janette that they were able to move indoors. The Lions had been hoping to raise funds in aid of their Lions Hope for the Philippines Appeal and despite the conditions and low turn those that did attend very generously donated 174.50 euros to the appeal.

The Lions and JB Brass wish all their friends and supporters a peaceful, prosperous New Year.

Life people

Benidorm Fun Run LAST SUNDAY Benidorm hosted the 4th annual San Silvestre – a 6km race with a circuit mapped out along the length of the Levante promenade and back up the Avda Mediterraneo.

Many of the fun runners attended in festive fancy dress

THE EVENT was well attended, with nearly 700 participants made up of a mixture of serious athletes from local running clubs and those wanting to burn off a few Christmas calories!

Many of the fun runners attended in festive fancy dress – even making it a family event, with children in prams and the odd pet dog in attendance too.

There was a separate 1km children´s race afterwards and for the first time a swim took place, with 30 very brave souls taking to the icy waters.

3-9 JAN 2014

47

48

3-9 JAN 2014

availchildren and Ladies now Kick Boxing classes for able!

Call for details!

Life what’s on Golden years DICK WHITTINGTON and his feline friend Cat have to travel new horizons before discovering London’s streets are really paved with gold.

By Jack Troughton CARELINE THEATRE presents it latest New Year pantomime treat with young Dick and Tommy the Cat spreading their wings to seek their fortune – a journey that takes them from the capital’s Cheapside to exotic foreign parts and a close encounter with the Sultan of Morocco.

The much-loved tale is packed with loads of laughs, catchy songs, colourful sets and costumes, bags of audience participation…oh yes it is! It runs at

Idle Jack (Lily Hamer) meets the Sultan (Andy Crabb)

Alcalali from Wednesday 8th January to Sunday 12th January.

Along the way get ready to meet Idle Jack, Sarah the Cook, Captain Cuttle, Alderman Fitzwarren and his beautiful daughter Alice.

And being panto, there is some magic from Fairy Bow Bells and some bad guys in the form if Queen Rat and her sidekicks Gnawbone and Gnashfang.

Doors open at 7pm each evening with curtain up at 8pm. Matinee

performances start at 3.30pm. Tickets are 12€ for adults and 8€ for children under 12 – with a 10% discount for pre-booked parties of 10 and over.

Proceeds from the first nigh are being shared between Jalon Valley HELP and HELP of Denia and the Marina Alta.

The Box Office is open for bookings; call 652 294 750 or by email to carelineboxoffice@gmail.com. For more information about Careline Theatre visit the www.carelinetheatre.com

Ovation greets Mandela tribute A STANDING ovation greeted the Costa Blanca Male Voice Choir’s moving tribute to Nelson Mandela at both its December church concerts.

A highlight of performances at the Fisherman’s Church in Javea Port and at Benitachell Church, the choir performed ‘Senzenina’, an African chant.

The two festive concerts were heralded as amongst the best ever staged by the group to date, and were led by Musicala Director Claire Post with accompanists Heather Butcher and Kirsty Glen.

The choir performed a range of Christmas music – not only in English but also in Spanish and Latin – and the audience also entered the spirit of the occasion by enthusiastically joining in the community singing of carols.

And another treat was the amazing voice of Claire and the musicianship of Kirsty as they performed as the classical duo Dolce Divas.

The choir is now taking a seasonal break and returns to rehearsals on Tuesday 14th January. For more information, go to ‘Costa Blanca Male Voice Choir’ on Facebook or visit the website www.costablancamalevoicechoir.wikidot.com

Guitar tribute

Gustav Lundgren

By Jack Troughton JAZZ AT the Parador returns to kickstart 2014 in the highly successful series of monthly concerts with a tribute to the legendary gypsy guitarist Django Reinhart.

On 17th January Guitarist Gustav Lundgren and his string trio will be at the Parador in Javea to pay homage to Django, who with violinist Stefan Grappelli, took the jazz world by storm in the thirties.

Tickets are available at 10€ from the hotel’s reception desk or by email at reservasjazzparador@gmail.com Advanced booking is highly recommended as all the concerts in the series so far have sold out.

Life music

Showtime for Akira LIVE ON Stage – Espai la Senieta, Moraira, Friday 24th January, 2014, starting at 7.15pm: Artistes & Acts appearing: Compered by Barry Moon (Pure Gold Radio Station).

Sadly, Vikki Reynolds is not available to take part in ‘Showtime’, but we are pleased to announce that Hazel Taylor will be taking her place with her Shirley Bassey Tribute.

MARCIA’S DANCE STUDIO MARCIA’S DANCE Centre and Stage School offers classes and private lessons for all levels from tiny tots to adults.

They specialise in training both amateur and professional dancers by enhancing and developing dancing knowledge in all forms of dance. As well as preparing students for a stage career, gaining their teachers qualifications or simply grade examinations and medals as a dancer, Marcia’s Dance Studio offers acting, singing, and music classes to complement students’ dancing skills.

PAUL CHRISTIE (GENE PITNEY/ROY ORBISON TRIBUTE) PAUL CHRISTIE’S early days were spent in show bands.

He was lead vocalist with ‘First Impressions’, who appeared on and won ‘Opportunity Knocks’ a remarkable four times.

Later working alongside ‘Brian Conolly’ as lead vocalist in the showband ‘Tom Foolery’, he travelled the world giving TV and Radio performances. On Friday night he will be performing his ‘Gene Pitney Sound-a-Like Tribute’ and his Roy Orbison ‘In Dreams’ Tribute Shows.

HAZEL TAYLOR: SHIRLEY BASSEY TRIBUTE WITH YEARS of experience, Hazel Taylor is a vocalist and all round professional entertainer who, with a touch of humour and her dynamic personality, is able to provide an absolutely stunning on stage performance, from her cabaret act to ‘Nearly Bassey’ her tribute to Shirley Bassey and more! It takes real vocal ability and a natural talent to perform a Dame Shirley Bassey tribute and Hazel delivers a stellar performance of those blockbusting hits.

TONY RIVERS TONY RIVERS is best known for singing with the groups Tony Rivers and the Castaways and Harmony Grass. He also sang on albums by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Roger Daltrey, Shakin’ Stevens and Cliff Richard. In 1970 Tony decided to go solo and started to do session work

and performed many cover versions on the Top of the Pops albums. He sang and arranged with/for Cliff Richard throughout the 1970s up to the late 1980s going on world tours and assisting with the production of records for Cliff during that period. He is the voice of West Ham United FC for their version of ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ and the voice leading the ‘Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads’ theme.

ENCORE DUO ENCORE! IS a new vocal duo on the Costa Blanca featuring Amanda Wright and Suzanne Gibbard. Listen to their smooth renditions of jazz, easy listening and swing classics as they perform tracks from artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Norah Jones, Adele, Etta James, Matt Monroe, Eva Cassidy etc.

TIMEWARP DUO HUSBAND AND wife duo Justin James and Jaime Lee are better known as ‘Timewarp’. Both Jaime and Justin have a true talent for singing whether performing haunting ballads, powerful rock anthems or pop classics. All ‘Timewarp’ shows are known for their feel good and upbeat music, where the audience is invited to relax and sing along or get up and dance.

Jazzify: Smooth Jazz Trio

JAZZIFY PLAYS a mix of low volume jazz, Latin, jazzified pop, fusion and lounge music styles. Their music is perfect for smaller, intimate venues such as bars, restaurants, hotel lounges or a private party. The trio consists of Stella Maarsman (vocals), Rudy Maarsman (guitars) and Grahame Sheppard (saxophones and flute). If you like jazzy music then check out this act! For more information, see their website: http://www.lajafu.com GIGS IN JANUARY Sunday 5th, Arena Bar, (Near Port Hotel), Denia: 3.30pm Monday 6th, Charity Event

Saturday 18th, Bistro de Jalon, Jalon: 8pm Friday 24th, Bar Emillo, Llosa de Camacho: 8.45pm Sunday 26th, Arena Bar, (Near Port Hotel), Denia: 3.30pm

3-9 JAN 2014

49

50

3-9 JAN 2014

Life tech

with Aunty Virus

Email auntyvirus@roundtownnews.com

Router changes ASSISTANCE AGAIN please Aunty! I changed my ISP that provided a TP-Link router in place of my defunct Linksys Wireless G. To gain WiFi with my old Sony pc (XP system) I used a Linksys USB adapter but now although it shows the TP router as available it will not connect to it saying it is ‘out of range’ and to refresh the connection. Can you provide any solution to this problem? Many thanks, Jim. Aunty says: The ‘out of range’ is not a ‘distance’ error message, just some settings in conflict between the two. This sounds as if this is to do with the settings between the Link Sys USB and the TP Link router.

One thing to do is to not use the Linksys Wireless Monitor, but the Windows Wireless system. So if you have the Linksys Wireless Monitor installed, try to disable it then connect again.

If your Linksys Wireless Monitor has saved profiles, delete them. Or uninstall and reinstall the Linksys device.

Response: Many thanks, I removed them, then reinstalled Linksys adapter using CD and it worked a treat.

Access problems HI AUNTY: We have been trying to access Gadget-Hound.co.uk without success. Our Avast antivirus program will not allow us to proceed unless we report the file as a false positive.

Is this safe? Regards, Denis.

Aunty says: I have used Gadget Hound with no problems in the past, so would suggest that you report is as a false positive. Just make sure that when you go into your account on there, you can see the secure site ‘padlock’ icon on your browser, meaning you are on their secured page.

Response: Thanks for the info and will do as you advise.

Multi page scanning GOOD DAY Aunty: I am using Windows XP and a Lexmark X1250 printer. How do I scan a multi page document and save it to My Documents? Barrie.

Aunty says: If you want to output them all in the same page then: 1. Put the first page of your document face down on the scanner glass in the upper left corner. For help, see ‘Loading an original document face down’ on the scanner glass.

2. Double-click the Lexmark Productivity Suite icon.

3. Click ‘Scan’. The Scanning & Copying page appears on your computer screen.

4. From the Send scanned image to: drop-down box, select your scan destination.

5. In the Scan section, click ‘See More Scan Settings’.

6. Click ‘Display Advanced Scan Settings’. The Advanced Scan Settings dialog box appears.

7. Select Scan multiple items before output.

8. Click ‘OK’.

9. Click ‘Scan Now’.

10. When you are prompted to do so, place the next page on the scanner glass.

3-9 Jan 2014

Gadget Inspector Investigates:

Casio G-Shock Men’s Digital Watch THIS WEEK the Inspector takes a look at the Casio G-Shock Men’s Digital Watch.

It goes without saying that a watch needs to be able to tell the time, but in these days of multi-function this and flexible that it´s not enough. A watch needs to do a lot more, and the Casio G-Shock certainly delivers.

Firstly it´s tough and will handle anything you care to throw at it. It´s shock-resistant construction means it is protected against impact and vibration. The tough mineral glass is scratch-resistant and with a resin case and band it is extremely durable. The watch is also water resistant to 20 bar / 200 metres (ISO 22810).

The Casio also features an elapsed/split-time and final time Stopwatch functions with 1/100 second accuracy and up to 24 hours of timing. And for those who need a reminder at a set time every day there is a countdown Timer which will automatically sound an alarm and then reset.

The watch also has 5 conventional multi alarms. One alarm is a snooze alarm with a total of four repeat alarms: The second is a daily alarm that sounds at the same time each day, The third is a date alarm set for a particular date such as a birthday. The fourth is a monthly alarm that sounds on the same day at the same time each month, and lastly an alarm for every day of a particular month.

And for those who travel regularly the Casio can display the current time in major cities and specific areas around

the world and has an automatic calendar function that always displays the correct date.

But it doesn´t stop there.

Handy additional features such as the auto-illuminator which turns on an electro-luminescent panel causing the entire face to glow when the watch is tilted towards your face. There is also an e-data memory database for forty website and email addresses - so you can access important addresses, even on the move. The data can also be protected by a PIN code.

You won´t be changing the battery too often either with newly developed electronics ensuring significantly lower energy consumption and ten years use from a single battery.

The Inspectors Verdict: You don´t need to be an intrepid explorer or dangerous sports addict to appreciate the Casio G-Shock watch – its toughness, durability and a multitude of features are just as suited to everyday life.

Please note the following is for information and is not intended as an advertisement - visit www.gadget-hound. co.uk/casio-watch to purchase the Casio G-Shock Men’s Digital Watch (G-2900F-1VER) for 62€. Price quoted includes free delivery to Spain and is subject to availability (Euro cost subject to exchange rate at time of purchase).

51

Crossword Solutions for 740-741 CRYPTIC SOLUTIONS: Across: 1 Bisect; 4 Soused; 9 Needle-matches; 10 Arrange; 11 Odour; 12 Snack; 14 Craft; 18 Dowel; 19 Camelot; 21 Stepping-stone; 22 Nelson; 23 Wrests.

Down: 1 Bantam; 2 Steering-wheel; 3 Colon; 5 Outdoor; 6 School-fellows; 7 Desert; 8 Umber; 13 Calypso; 15 Odds on; 16 Scant; 17 Otters; 20 Miser.

QUICK SOLUTIONS Across: 1 Basing; 4 Proper; 9 Embarrassment; 10 Correct; 11 Exile; 12 Hitch; 14 Stain; 18 Brain; 19 Extract; 21 Unimaginative; 22 Donate; 23 Planed.

Down: 1 Breach; 2 Subordination; 3 Nurse; 5 Respect; 6 Precipitation; 7 Rotten; 8 Nasty; 13 Contact; 15 Absurd; 16 Remit; 17 Attend; 20 Trail.

52

3-9 JAN 2014

Focus on Golf Powered by Campbell Lamont Golf, partnered by BayRadio

WHEN CAMPBELL met Spain’s favourite golfer, José Maria Olazábal, the conversation turned to his golf shop, the Miracle in Medinah, the short game, getting fitter, and how Tour players are looking for more control off the tee

Head 2 Head Tony: A year or two from now anchoring your putter will be banned. So how will that affect the guys who use the extended version?

Campbell: I think they will all just switch over to the conventional model. Most of them will have been using both anyway and so the changeover shouldn’t be too difficult.

Tony: I still think it is a complete nonsense and is indicative of a room full of men looking for something to do.

Campbell: Not at all, it is simply clarifying the rules about how the game should be played.

Tony: No, no, no - it is telling someone how to use a piece of equipment. These are the same people who would have said to Dick Fosbury “Sorry you can’t jump backwards over the high jump” or to Muhammad Ali “You have to stop doing that shuffle thing!” They are saying that the putter is legal but we will tell you how to use it! It is a bag or worms. If Adam Scott anchors the putter until the moment of impact is that acceptable?

Campbell: That won’t happen.

Tony: You also said Tiger would be world number one by December 2012.

Campbell: He got there just a bit later.

Tony: You still owe me 5 Euros.

Follow the banter on Focus on Golf on BayRadio, Saturday mornings (11am – noon)

OVER THE last few years I have been fortunate enough to have a few stolen moments with golfing legend Jose Maria Olazabal.

It’s always happened in December, when Ollie and the evergreen Miguel Ángel Jiménez visit La Sella to coach the country’s leading juniors.

But this year was extra special as I had Ollie all to myself for half an hour during which time we enjoyed a glass of wine from the first bottle produced at La Sella Golf Resort’s owner Pepe Bano’s vineyard in Jesus Pobre.

It was fascinating to chat to Ollie on a variety of golfing topics. And the first thing he asked me was how my new shop was doing. He said that he had heard great reports and wished me success – praise indeed!

Then I asked him what he considered to be the turning points during The Miracle in Medinah - the 2012 Ryder Cup meeting in which GB and Europe defied the odds to win the trophy on the final day.

Jose said one of the key events came on the Saturday when Ian Poulter snatched victory with five consecutive birdies to give Europe the slimmest of chances going into the final day’s singles matches.

And the second turning point was when Sergio Garcia staged a massive come back to beat Jim Furyk in one of the early Sunday matches.

I love to hear Jose talking about the area of the game where, no matter what our status or handicap, there is always room for improvement – and that’s chipping. He says he learned from Seve to get closer to the ball, come down the grip and rock the shoulders through the ball to target line.

Jose is now a devotee of exercise and he talked about the improvements working out had made to the modern player.

When he first turned professional, players were told to stay away from the gym and work only on flexibility. But now he, Jiménez and Alvaro Quiros use the same physical coach for their workouts.

La Sella’s Director of Golf Carlos Garcia mentioned to Ollie that he

had noticed the change in his physique.

That brought a smile to his face and when I said that I hoped I wouldn’t be seeing him on the tee wearing black Speedo’s he was laughing so much he had tears in his eyes.

A few days later he was off to China to captain Europe against Asia in the Royal Trophy match at Dragon Lake Golf Club – which resulted in a European win following a similar ‘Medinah-style’ turnaround on the final day.

He said all the selected players approached him and put themselves up for the challenge and he was looking forward to seeing how the likes of Scotland’s Marc Warren and Stephen Gallagher, Austria’s Bernd Weiesberger, and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olsen performed in what would be their first run out in such an event.

What struck me most was Ollie’s hunger for the game. He wants to win again – and he thinks he can.

He is going through a small swing change at the moment, getting a little more on his right side at the top of his backswing.

He feels from there he will ‘get to impact’ in an improved position and hit a few degrees on the upstroke with his driver. Previously he was hitting slightly down on his drives through impact which was causing a slight loss in distance.

He would love another 15 yards on his drives (as we all would!) and he feels this would make the difference to him being able to compete with the longer hitters.

On another technical note Ollie talked about how many of the Tour players are choosing drivers with a smaller head to achieve more control.

I asked him if he will be involved with the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September this year. He said he would love to be part of the support team but that would be a decision for the current captain Paul McGinley.

1 for ‘14

PGA ROOKIE of the Year for 2013 Jordan Spieth is my ‘one to watch’ this year.

He started 2013 without a Tour card and in July became youngest golfer to win a PGA Tour event in 82 years.

In total, he recorded nine Top 10 finishes in just 23 starts. It was a phenomenal year for the 20 year old Texan and this time, with the experience gained from playing in two majors and the Presidents Cup, there is good reason to believe that he will continue his progress this year.

Surely it’s only a matter of time before he adds to his one PGA Tour title.

54

3-9 JAN 2014

Life road test

Tim Saunders Independent unbiased car reviewer

Skoda Rapid - a sensible family car WHEN MY wife visited Canada many moons ago - and before we met - she went white water rafting: she’s a brave lass! She reminded me of this scary event in her life as she sat in the Skoda Rapid that I’m testing this week.

Its name triggered the memory. An unusual name for a sensible family car, I thought as there is no way that it can relate to frightening yet invigorating water rapids. But it is quite nippy - it will hit 60mph from standstill in under 12 seconds and on to a 114mph top speed - so perhaps it relates to speed.

The Saunders family is delighted with this vehicle. Let me tell you why: diesel prices are expensive and even taking the efficiency of these engines into consideration such prices are absolutely ridiculous and unfair. So - generally cheaper petrol looks increasingly more attractive. The trouble is that so many petrol cars remain uneconomical.

Skoda has solved this problem though, by introducing a splendid tiddly 1.2-litre, 86bhp engine that returns an average of over 50mpg. I am staggered. I am even more dumfounded by the fact that it has been fitted to the Rapid, which until I read the press pack, I was sure must be a 1.6.

This is an extremely good-sized family hatchback that fits between the smaller Fabia and the larger Octavia; easily seating five adults in comfort and a whole lot of clobber in the cavernous boot. Even with my family inside, the engine delivers a more than reasonable driving experience. I will be amazed if Skoda doesn’t sell hundreds of thousands of these, especially when considering the OTR price of under £15,000.

The interior might be a little bland but there are front

electric windows - the children are less likely to open the manually operated ones in the rear, so I’m all for that. There’s air conditioning, heated front seats and electrically heated and adjustable wing mirrors as you can see in the video at testdrives.biz. It also comes with a five-star safety rating.

This is a great value for money proposition introduced at just the right time for the poor motorist suffering from hugely inflated fuel prices. In fact, according to the RAC Foundation transport poverty has now hit 800,000 homes across the UK. These car-owning households are spending over a quarter of their disposable income on buying and running a vehicle. They spend £44 a week on car-related expenses. If they were to buy this Skoda their expenses should be drastically reduced.

I wonder whether the Skoda

marketing team was thinking about ‘rapid’ sales when naming this vehicle. They might just have something there…

Skoda Rapid 1.2 SE TSi 86PS New price: 17,275€ 0-60: 11.8secs Top speed: 114mph Economy: 55.4mpg Watch the video at www.testdrives.biz

Advanced motorist Tim Saunders is the former Business and Motoring Editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo. His regular test reports appear in numerous newspapers, magazines and websites throughout the UK, Ireland and Gibraltar. For more independent unbiased car reviews and videos visit www.testdrives.biz

3-9 JAN 2014

Life cars

Brian Deller Author of Motoring in Spain

The latest news affecting expats living in Spain THE VED disc is to be obsolete by October 2014.

THE DVLA and associated agencies are discarding the disc receipt usually displayed on windscreens that show the Vehicle Excise Duty has been paid.

Reliable electronic methods of paying and recording the issue are now in place and the use of a computer/Internet is common with just about everyone - or at least someone in the family knows how to work the machines (often one of the children). This, coupled with the fact that number-plate recognition cameras are in operation with many more due, both in the UK and most European EU countries including Spain, the need for a paper receipt is now considered unnecessary.

In addition, the savings of the existing system by changing to an electronic version represents £20 million for the UK motorist and £7 million for the DVLA. All payments now will be via the Internet: no more Post Offices and adverts by enterprising fraudsters offering copy discs made on a home computer.

The Trafico system used by specialist policing authorities at the roadsides - that is the PDA’s with access to the UK and Trafico record systems as reported many months ago here - still applies.

I stopped at a road block recently and asked to see how it works. They quickly checked our car’s plate (Spanish) and all was well (I would not have asked if it was not).

Apparently the system makes it easy to quickly check even as a vehicle drives by a road block further along the road; or in a mobile radar camera situation where the same applies. Fixed radar cameras all have automatic notification if the car is illegal as far as unpaid fines or taxes are concerned. The ‘Golden Days of Motoring’ are over for us drivers, but are here for the fine collectors.

There is much more detailed information on all motoring subjects in my book. Brian Juan (John) Deller, Malaga, author, ‘Motoring in Spain’ www.spainvia.com.

Tel: 666 888 870 Brian Deller, author, book Motoring in Spain, ISBN No 978 84 611 9278 6. Shops’ addresses in my web site at: www.spainvia.com/bookshopslist.htm

NEW CARS available to view in our showroom in CALPE 2009 MODEL,RENAULT CLIO 1.2 EMOTION Eco 2, (50mpg) 5 dr, aqua blue met, with grey trim, a/c, c/d, cruise, high spec, low kms

2004 OPEL ZAFIRA 2.0DTI DIESEL 7 seater gunmetal metallic with grey trim, alloys, a/c, c/d 5995€ 2002 TOYOTA CELICA 1.8 VVTI COUPE,silver with grey sports trim,a/c, c/ d, alloys,very low km,s, as new, 5995€

2002 TOYOTA CELICA 1.8 VVTI COUPE

6995€

2011 BMW 320D AUTO X-DRIVE-4x4 LTD EDITION Smoke silver met with cream Dakota leather, nav, clima, PDF. full spec, too much to list. (Cost new 48K) 25,950€ 2008 HONDA CRV 2.2 I CTDI DIESEL platinum grey metallic climate , alloys, 1 owner, only 80k, 11,995€ 2009 FIAT 500 1.2 LOUNGE,SPECIAL pearl white metallic with contrasting trim, alloys, panoramic glass roof, a/c c/d, ONLY 5k, as new REDUCED >>>>>>>> 8,995€ 2005 VW GOLF GTI DSG AUTO tornado red with black leather,climate, alloys, huge spec, 8995€

2004 OPEL ZAFIRA 2.0DTI DIESEL

silver with grey sports trim,a/c, c/ d, alloys,very low km,s, as new

5995€

2004 RENAULT LAGUNA 2.0 AUTOMATIC priviledge. white with grey half leather trim, alloys, xenons, c/d, 1 owner REDUCED >>>>>>>> 4995€ 2003 SEAT IBIZA1.4 AUTOMATIC 5 DR white with grey trim, a/c. c/d, remote locking, low kms 4995€

2003 SMART FOR-TWO PURE, SEMI AUTO- TIPTRONIC

7 seater, gunmetal metallic with grey trim, alloys, a/c, c/d

Black with grey trim, c/d a/c,p/ex to clear

5995€

2006 VW GOLF 1.9TDI DIESEL, 5 DR dark blue met, with charcoal trim, climate & navigation 6995€ 2009 MODEL, RENAULT CLIO 1.2 EMOTION Eco 2, (50mpg) 5 dr, aqua blue met, with grey trim, a/c, c/d, cruise, high spec, low kms 6995€ 2006 MODEL, FORD FOCUS 1.6 AUTOMATIC. 4 dr silver with grey trim, climate/ Ac, c/d, electric windows, remote locking, 5995€ 2012 RENAULT TWIZY AUTO, 2 seater fully electric car, pearl white met, gull wing doors 5995€

2005 CHEVROLET LACETTI 1.4 SE 5dr.silver with grey velour trim,a/c c/d,low km,s.

3995€

3495€

2005 CHEVROLET LACETTI 1.4 SE 5dr.silver with grey velour trim,a/c c/d,low km,s.

3995€ 2005 MAZDA 6 TS2 2.0, 5 door hatch, blue met, with black trim, climate, alloys, cruise, BOSE hi-fi WAS 5,995€ NOW 3995€ 2005 FORD KA 70. silver with contrasting trim, a/c, radio c/d, electric windows, low km,s 3895€ 2003 SMART FOR-TWO PURE, SEMI AUTO- TIPTRONIC, Black with grey trim, c/d a/c,p/ex to clear 3495€ 2000 MODEL RENAULT MEGANE 1.4 RXE 5 dr emerald met with grey trim. Alloys, a/c, low kms p/ex to clear REDUCED >>>>>>>> 1295€

MOTORCYCLES

2007 PIAGGIO MP3 3 WHEEL SCOOTER

CASH FOR YOUR CAR

2495€

Tel: 965 876 030

Mob: 699 034 138

55

Classified Ads 3-9 JAN 2014

All Major Credit Cards Accepted - 0.31€ per word + IVA

Book your advert now 902 118 999 (ext 2)

email: classifieds@roundtownnews.com

PRISTINE POOLS PROFESSIONAL, CONSCIENTIOUS POOL REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE SERVICE TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS

• Pipe leaks pressure tested, detected and repaired with a proven guaranteed success rate • Structural leaks investigated and repaired • Replacement pumps, filters, salt systems, Ph regulators and accessories supplied and installed • Refurbishments & upgrades undertaken • Weekly maintenance contracts

British Trained & Qualified in the UK Pool Industry with over 18 years experience.

Legal & established for over 10 years in Spain.

Extensive references. All work guaranteed.

TEL: 966 774 199 / 678 080 500 www.pristineswimmingpools.com NO CALLOUT CHARGE WITHIN THE LOCAL AREA

Torrevieja and surrounding areas plus Costa Calida

UK-SPAINIRELAND All European Destinations Removals with the personal touch.

Full/part loads. Parcels, flat packs, luggage, door to door service, Storage available, pets transported

Phone 965 696 750 • 0044 (0) 744 791 8589 email: chrisyounge73979@aol.com

Free storage toon all removals the UK ons nditi *subject to co

57

58

3-9 Jan 2014

APAD (ANIMAL) CHARITY

GOLD WANTED English Jew-

SHOP Calle San Antonio 1,

eller wishes to buy broken or

Jalon. Open 9.30/1.00 Mon- Sat.

unwanted Gold and Silver jewellery & coins for cash. Call for an

Stock needed - clothes, toys,

appointment. Peter (7 days)

misc. For more info. Tel: Jane

664 890 990. Member of the

680717118

Nat. ASSN of Goldsmiths

ALSTRAYS TRANSPORT SERVICES Monthly cat and dog transports between Spain, France, Germany, Holland, Bel-

MR FIXIT For all your electrical,

gium and the UK. DEFA certifi-

Plumbing, General & appliance

cate and license. www.alstrays.

& Bolier repairs. No call out

com. Tel: 676 653 681

PET TRANSPORT we treat your pet as if they belong to us and

charge. 698 320 434

PROTECTAPET Spains leading pet insurance provider. www. protectapet.eu tel: 965 756 371 SMALL DOGS CARED FOR IN OUR OWN HOME So if you need to go away on holiday but don’t want your dog to go into kennels then we will look after them. References available. Tel: 965843781 Mob: 622514980 (Altea area - Costa Blanca North) TRANS-PET We do regular, door-to-door journeys between the Costa Blanca and the UK.Our aim is to provide a professional, caring service for your pets.Boarding facilities for Cats and Dogs. This may be for an overnight stay or of longer durations.Tel:600-552-030/ 965-960-658 www.trans-pet.co.uk

STRUCTURAL SURVEYS Mark Paddon BSc Hons. MCIOB. CAAT. Property buyer’s surveys and expert defects diagnosis.

962807247 - 653733066 www.surveyorscostablanca.com

YOUR BLINDS IN SPAIN Family run business supplying the best quality products at rock bottom prices. Rose Fabrics, Railux designer Roller blinds, Awnings & Canopies, Venetian Blinds, Pleated Blinds, PVC Blackout fabrics, Rainforest Fabrics, Mosquito Screens. Contact us now for a free no obligation quotation

that is our promise. Van fully air

or visit us at Zoco Market every

conditioned we believe we have

CAMPER VAN British reg 1996.

Peugeot Chassis Turbo Diesel 2.5 Only 36,000 miles, 6 metres, Road Tax & MOT for 11 months.

Includes Safari room, bike rack, many extra´s. Ready to go.

Lady owner. View at Caravaning La Manga. 15,000€. Tel. 639537666

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CLEANING SERVICE for your home or business at a fair price. References available.

(Altea area) Tel: 965843781 or 622514980

Sunday. Tel: 965 701 984 / 658

the best rates so give Joe a call

338 123. Website: www.your-

on 966 074 576 or 650 341 087

blindsinspain.com Email:

for a chat or e mail

info@yourblindsinspain.com

pawspetttransport@gmail.com

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - COSTA BLANCA Confidential Helpline, South 625 912 078, North 648 169 045. www.aa-costablanca.org.

BYTEBACK MICROS computer repairs/upgrades in your home.

Qualified technician. Systems custom built. Whatever your problem call: 965-312-006 or 606-127-424

TAPPY TOES DANCE CLASS FOR BABIES from 18 months, at 4kwatro in Albir, 11am, call Louise on 655 781 068 for more information.

LADIES DANCEFIT WITH L.A DANCE at 4kwatro in Albir, Mondays at 7.30pm, call Louise on 655 781 068 for more information

60

3-9 Jan 2014

LA BAMBA’S - BALLROOM / LATIN / SEQUENCE DANCING Los Rosales Restaurant, Guardamar CV895 [near Lemon Tree Sunday Market] Monday - SOCIAL DANCE 8.30pm 10.30pm [SEQUENCE CLASS 7.30pm - 8.30pm] Friday - SOCIAL DANCE 7.30pm - 10.30pm Wednesday - New Beginners Class [Starting 8th January 2014] 2pm -3pm Intermediate Class 3pm - 4pm Intermediate Plus Class 4pm - 5pm For more information contact Andrea and Brian 616 478 157 FUNKY FREESTYLE DANCE with Louise, every Saturday morning at Villamar Campsite in Albir/Benidorm, come and learn all the moves and routines to your pop idols! Call Louise on 655-781-068 for more information!

MR FIXIT For all your electrical, Plumbing, General & Appliance & Boiler repairs. No call out charge. 698 320 434 REPAIRS Washing machines, Dishwashers & Dryers. Also Boilers and any electrical problems. 24hours. Cheap prices Tel 626 805 709

MICHAELS AT MICHAEL´S Several very high quality coffee tables, large & small. See more than 600 photos: www.michaelsjavea.com AT MICHAEL’S Fantastic black recliner / massage chair with built in soothing music. Must try! Photos on: www.michaels-javea.com AT MICHAEL’S we specialize on very high quality pre-owned furniture for half price or less. www. michaels-javea.com Tel 96-579 1328 MICHAEL’S 30 YEARS IN JAVEA - ENSURES YOUR SATISFACTION! We sell high quality pre owned furniture, many from show apartments etc. Look at: www.michaels-javea.com Tel 96-579 1328 AT MICHAEL’S part exchange on certain beds when you buy a New bed from our New Bed shop in the Arenal.

Photos: www.michaels-javea.com LIGHTWEIGHT WHEELCHAIR Folding, immaculate.150 euro.

Mobility scooter.40km range.

Road legal. Hardly used.499 euro.627019403 AT MICHAEL’S part exchange on certain beds when you buy a New bed from our New Bed shop in the Arenal. Photos: www.michaels-javea.com AT MICHAEL’S Nice quality large bedroom suite and several large double beds. + Indonesian 4-poster bed! See photos: www.michaels-javea.com AT MICHAEL’S Great Tandem bike like new - for after X-mas exercises! Also hostess trollies, fridge/freezers, etc: www.michaels-javea.com AT MICHAEL’S on our website you choose from over 95 different paintings, 64 different mirrors, 23 carpets, etc: www.michaels-javea.com

DO YOU NEED EXTRA HELP AT HOME? I can help you at home with light duties, cleaning, cooking, housework, shopping etc as a carer. References available. Altea, Benidorm, Alfaz del Pi area. Call Trisha for more information on 622 514 980 or 965 843 781

Eden Hair & Beauty on Condado De Alhama Resort, looking for Part-time winter / Full-time summer, Experienced Colour / Hair Stylist. Able to speak Spanish & English.

Please contact Leeanne on 620072536 or email:

leeanne@condadohairandbeauty.com BENIDORM AREA RENTAL AGENCY seeking administrator to work in the busy holiday and rental department with an immediate start. English and Spanish both written and spoken, computer literacy and good interpersonal skills essential.

Please send CV to 9662work@gmail.com SELF EMPLOYED HAIRDRESSER and Nailtechnician required at Shapes Albir phone Jayne for details on 638851804.

GENUINELY AMBITIOUS? BUILD AN UNLIMITED INCOME FOR JUST £99 WITH A MONEY BACK GUARANTEE, PHONE SUZANNE ON..... 627371731 ARE YOU AN EXPERIENCED CARER? ? Join our team of carers who work in the UK. Earn from £868 - £1330 for 2 weeks.

Good written/spoken English, British or EU Passport required.

Contact Sandra on 658 965 204 or email s.field@consultuscare.com.

SALES STAFF REQUIRED for fabulous glossy magazine and radio sales combined.

Must have experience in sales and have own vehicle.

Spanish speaking an advantage. Good commissions and telephone provided. Contact 965 997 222 for interview.

SOS INSURANCE www.sosinsuranceinspain.com Best prices available. CALL US FIRST for all your insurance needs, including best deals on Funeral plans.

Buildings and contents cover from just 98 euros per year. Tel 966787123 / 686116297

GOLD WANTED English Jeweller wishes to buy broken or unwanted Gold and Silver jewellery & coins for cash. Call for an appointment. Peter (7 days) 664 890 990. Member of the Nat. ASSN of Goldsmiths

NIE & RESIDENCIA translation services, tax advice and much more. Contact PMR the Property Management Specialists on 966 260 877 ADVICE WITH THE SPANISH SYSTEM Whatever you need to integrate into the spanish system, we can help you. NIE, residencia, empadronamiento, car import transfer, driving license transfer, schools, doctors, social security.(Benidorm and surrounding areas) Tel: 619 269 408 email: pammcmurchie@hotmail.com ADVISORY SERVICE Need advice on making a will, buying or selling property, tax, resident or non resident, starting a business in spain, we can talk you through and give you the best advice and help you settle in spain. (Benidorm and surrounding areas) Tel: 610 634 506

3-9 Jan 2014

61

THREE WHEEL RIO LITE Good condition fits in the boot of a Seat Ibiza. 450 Euros ONO. Telephone 966789971

CAMPER VAN British reg 1996. Peugeot Chassis Turbo

WANT TO DRIVE your LHD car to the UK and sell it when you get there? Call 658 670 777

Diesel 2.5 Only 36,000 miles, 6 metres, Road Tax & MOT for 11 months. Includes Safari room, bike rack, many extra´s.

Ready to go. Lady owner.

View at Caravaning La Manga.

15,000€. Tel. 639537666

NEED TO CHANGE YOUR LICENCE?? PMR can

POOL LEAK REPAIR SPECIALIST’S Pipe leaks pressure tested, detected and repaired.

Structural leaks investigated and repaired. Professional, conscientious service to the highest standards. Refurbishments and upgrades undertaken. Replacement pumps, filters, salt systems, ph regulators and accessories supplied and installed. All work guaranteed. British trained in the UK pool industry with over 18 years experience. 10 years served on the Costa Blanca.

Torrevieja and surrounding areas including Costa Calida. Tlf:Pristine Pools on 966-774-199 or 678-080-500 www.pristineswimmingpools.com NO CALLOUT CHARGE. SEE MAIN ADVERT ON FRONT PAGE OF CLASSIFIEDS Why go to the shop?

When we come to you saving you time and money!

MJB MOBILE WELDERS Gates, grills, hinges etc., repaired or new. No job too small.

Fast service. Low prices. Free Quotes. Call Terry: 966 845 414 / 625 995 470 WANTED I BUY ANY CAR van,Caravan,4x4 Etc.British, Spanish. Immediate cash 600-781-873 ibuyanycar@hotmail.com

help. We can arrange easy transfers of UK to Spanish licences. Call 966 260 877

PROBLEMS WITH INSECTS? Cockroaches, rats & mice. Call 626 828 974 All insects

62

3-9 Jan 2014 mobile 676-945-360/ 620-743-048 www.pooltechspain.com

sale price, Talk to MoneyCorp now about how to save up to 4,500€* Moneycorp’s repatriation service can help you drastically reduce or even eliminate Spanish bank fees when sending your property sale proceeds back to the UK. Call Moneycorp +34 902 887 243 and quote RTN to get more out of your money.

NEW HOUSE FOR SALE Benisacosta, buenavista. 3 bed, 3 bath, pool 5x 10, floorheated.

415,000 euros. Tel. 629991543

SWIMMING POOL MAINTENANCE AND CLEANING SERVICE BY POOLTECHSPAIN. We are a fully legal, qualified and registered business who have been operating on the Costa Blanca for 6 years.

We offer a professional, reliable, safe and efficient pool service, inc. re-grouting, pressure testing and leak repairs. Private and community swimming pools undertaken. Call now for more information on 965-725-565 or

THE BLUE PILL NOW EVEN BETTER also Kamagra and weekenders. Call Derek 685 207 378 FEMALES AND COUPLES REQUIRED aged 30-70 for adult modelling. No single males.

Good rates. 966 182 714 64 YR OLD MALE SUB/DOM SWITCH If your looking for

www.moneycorp.com/roundtownnews

ENERGY EFFICIENCY CERTIFICATES Contact PMR to arrange your EEC at just 175€ plus IVA. Telephone 966 260 877 ENERGY EFFICIENCY CERTIFICATES Contact PMR to arrange your EEC at just 175€ plus IVA. Telephone 966 260 877 SELLING YOUR HOUSE? Sold your house? Moving funds back to the UK? Don’t let your Spanish Bank take up to 1% of your

LOVELY ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT TO LET Situated in Moraira area, Furnished, Very Spacious, Large Double Bedroom, Excellent condition, Swimming Pool & Gardens. 325€ p/m.

To view tel. 672541728 FLAT SHARE OLD TOWN BENIDORM Mature lady has 2 bedroom flat to share in Old Town Benidorm. Double room, shared lounge, shared kitchen. Internet and all bills included. 275€ per month. Suit mature person, male or female. Call 619 236 428 for more information 2 OR 3 BED / 2 BATH APARTMENTS in San Miguel. Lift, communal rooftop pool & solarium, video entry system. Available for short or long term rent from 300pcm.

96 672 3437 or 616493487

some real fun contact me now.

Speciality more mature women.

Xdressers. Home visits/low fees.

Tel: 693478573 SOPHIE ESCORT Slim elegant naughty lady. Hotel/home visit available. Tel:693 357 526 ASHLEY- 29 ENGLISH/MIXED RACE- Absolutley stunnning, near Torrevieja Hospital, 665 883 576 GENERIC VIAGRA EXCLUSIVE

First time in Spain 120mgs. Also Kamagra 100mgs, Generic Cialis 20mgs, and jellies. Local and Nationwide service. Pay on Delivery. www.costablues.com or phone Colin 680 878 735 SPANISH LADY PLAYA FLAMENCA near new Carrefour before La Florida. 35 years, attractive, classy lady, private house, parking. Offers all erotic services, massage, sexy lingerie,

SILVERDALE TRANSPORT Spain - UK - Spain. Est. Removals company with over 13 years trading. We collect, we deliver - no other company involved.

Call now for departure dates. We also transport motorbikes. Tel: 627 371 937 or 07952 170306 www.silverdalecouriers.co.uk silverdaletransport@hotmail.com ROADRUNNER TRANSPORTS & REMOVALS SPAIN-UKSPAIN (Monthly Trips) Van leaving Spain end January and leaving UK early February. Door to door service. Fully Insured.

Tel. 633 933 391 email: spainukremovals1@gmail.com www.roadrunnertransports.com VAN LEAVING SPAIN TO UK 28th January. Space available 0034 679042805 / 0044 [0] 7552985343 keithmarion9@yahoo.co.uk

economical prices from 40€. Full discretion. Call Ana 680-735-412 CASA ANGELA TORREVIEJA Luxury Private Chalet, parking.

Drinks invitation. Feeling alone?

Just want some company? Exotic girls from South America. Call us, come and enjoy! Also Escort Service. Full discretion. Street: Avenida Asociacion Vistimas del Terrorismo. 609-573-468 or 639-832-118

ANÚNCIATE

ANÚNCIATE TLF: ANÚNCIATE TLF: 628 TLF: 191 897 eduardo@roundtownnews.com

628 191 628897 191 897 eduardo@roundtowneduardo@roundtownnews.com

news.com

3-9 Jan 2014

JAZZ, BLUES, POP, PUNK, ROCK, ETC... TOP CASH PAID. 622 750 117 TURN YOUR UNWANTED FURNITURE Electrical, Household Goods and Bric-a-brac into Cash. Anything! Anywhere!

965-319-220/663-012-541

DON’T WORRY ABOUT LOSING YOUR TV CHANNELS Free UK TV, Free Movies, Free Sports, Free Catch-up, Free Adult NO MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION! For more information visit: www.costasmarttv.com or call Tel: 657 766 341

VAN LEAVING FOR THE UK/ SPAIN EVERY 2 WEEKS great rates please contact Joe on 966 074 576 or 650 341 087 or civic1235@msn.com

JACUZZI, HOT TUBS & SPAS Quaility American spas at factory prices. Also spares, filters and repairs. Used and ex display spas available. We part ex and buy spas, best prices.

Established 9 years in Spain.

Eurospas 650 722 905 www.eurospas1.com

63

WANTED BASS PLAYER We are a new band looking for a bass player to join us. We play 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music. We are based between Elche and Torrevieja. Tel:634 760 776 I BUY RECORDS LP’S SINGLES AND CD’s ANY STYLE,