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Spain’s ‘ghost prisons’ hit by funding shortfall
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A lack of funds for staff has left Spain with five new prisons, built at a cost of over €1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) standing empty, including the world’s largest vacant prison near Malaga which features a solar heating plant and a football pitch. Spain’s economic crisis has left the country with unused airports and empty motorways, built to handle traffic which never came. Now a similar situation has been revealed in its prison system: five new prisons plus 26 units in existing facilities stand empty apart from the occasional security guard patrolling the fences. The vast, 350,000sqm (3,770,000 square foot) Malaga II prison in the Andalusian town of Archidona has 1,000 cells in 16 buildings. Its facilities include a football pitch, a solar heating plant and a dedicated water treatment plant. It was built at a cost of €117 million and was predicted to have 2,000 inmates and 600 workers. Today it is the biggest empty prison in world. Its €800,000 development budget for next year is not even enough to furnish it and it costs €3.2 million a year in security, inspection and maintenance just to keep it habitable. The alternative is to let the facilities rot and have to pay more when the time comes to open it. According to Spanish daily Diario Sur, the 1000-capacity Mas d’Enric prison in Tarragona costs the local city hall €1 million per month in rent, even though it’s empty. Other prisons in Ceuta, Soria and Levante are unfinished and no date has been set to open any of the new centres. Jesús Otín, head of prisons at workers’ union UGT said, “The government has slowed down the planned work and abandoned the construction of ten new Social Integration Centres because they don’t believe in the
model of serving sentences in semiliberty from open prisons.” The number of prisoners in Spain has plunged in recent years, from 76,079 in 2009 to 67,404 at the end of 2013 due to increased deportations, electronic tagging, reforms of the penal code and pardons. Former Spanish Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, according to a spokesperson from ACAIP union, pardoned enough people just on Good Fridays to empty a small prison. But new reforms planned for next year could provoke a “hailstorm” of new prisoners according to Ángel Moreno, head of prisons at the CCOO union. “The new code will introduce more life sentences. When someone enters, and they don’t expect to ever get out, there are problems with security and behaviour towards other inmates,” he said. Unions are concerned that the government’s end goal may be to privatize prisons if, as predicted, the current system is unable to cope with the influx. Two thousand jobs have been axed because of budget cuts, putting strain on those who remain. Between 900 and 3,000 more would be needed to staff the new prisons. According to Spanish daily El País, 85 per cent of Spain’s existing prisons have fewer guards, medical staff and other qualified personnel than in 2011 and the staff who remain are ageing: in 2020, a third of prison personnel will be aged over 58. A government spokesperson blamed the previous administration for the situation, saying that it had “continued to order new correctional facilities, many of them of a luxurious nature, unnecessary for the re-education and social rehabilitation outlined in the Spanish constitution.” Source: http://www.thelocal.es/
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News
Workers sacked by SMS win €120,000 payout
Two drivers with the government of Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region who were told by SMS that they no longer had a job have been awarded €120,000 ($150,000) in unfair dismissal compensation. The two men worked as drivers for the Chief of Staff of the Education Council of the central Spanish region. They received text messages in February 2013 informing them that they should go to their boss’s office the following morning to sign dismissal papers. When they did so, the chief verbally confirmed the termination of the men’s employment.
Castille-La Mancha’s supreme court ruled on Monday that the dismissal was unfair. It stated that the manner of dismissal was not in accordance with Article 55.1 of Spain’s Workers’ Statute and noted, “Communication of any type of contract termination should be done in writing, explaining the reasons for the termination and the effective date”. According to Spanish daily Público, the government was
offered a choice of re-employing the men under the same conditions as their previous contract, plus missing wages from the intervening period, or paying compensation. It chose the second option and must now compensate the men with sums of €68,924 and €49,523 respectively, plus €500 each in costs. It is another political blow for the President of CastillaLa Mancha, María Dolores de Cospedal, who is also second-in-command of the country’s ruling Popular Party (PP). Last year she was summoned to appear in court after former PP treasurer, Luis Bárcenas, told a judge investigating a long-running corruption scandal Do you own property in Spain? that he had personally handed Cospedal two For the presentation of your Modelo 210 tax form under-the-table payments. Cospedal denied We make it simple to pay all your Spanish Property Taxes Online the accusation. only In April the Castilla-La Mancha supreme court www.taxesonline.es also ordered her government to reinstate 672 The non-resident Income Tax Website Based in Spain since 1993 public sector workers who had been sacked in
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Politicians arrested in Spain’s latest graft probe
Thirty-two people including politicians and public officials were arrested in anticorruption raids in Spain last Tuesday as another graft scandal rocked the country. The arrests came in seven Spanish regions with the detainees including high-level officials as well as politicians from Spain’s ruling Popular Party, the United Left (IU) party, and the conservative Canarian coalition. They were for arrested for their alleged involvement in a scheme which saw people taking cash and gifts in exchange for awarding parks and gardens maintenance contracts, according to Spain’s El País newspaper. Authorities now plan to charge the suspects with crimes including money laundering, tax fraud and forgery, Spain’s interior ministry said in a statement. The raids came at the end of a 15month investigation and stemmed from earlier investigations into a former senior town planning official in the southern city of Seville. He is suspected of receiving gifts including cash and vehicles from an environmental services company which had a “network of corrupt officials who helped the win contracts”. The raids on Tuesday also come just two weeks after another corruption crackdown saw another Spanish judge formally accuse 26 people of fraud and bribery. Among those in custody in relation to
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Mon - Fri 10am-4pm Sat Closed that case is the former Madrid secretary general for Spain’s ruling Popular Party, Francisco Granados. Judge Velasco sent Granados to prison with no possibility of bail while he investigates the politician in connection with
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y m t c e t o r p e w n a how c d l o c e h t m o r f skin & eyes Cold winter weather can be a nightmare for everyone’s skin and exposed body parts not just those who have sensitive complexions. The lower temperatures, cold wind, and dry indoor air causes the water in our skin to evaporate more, and as a result we get itchy, dry, and even painfully cracked skin, not to mention dry eyes, which can also (ironically) tear up. Unfortunately, it takes more than just slapping on some moisturizer to protect your skin and combat the brutal weather. Here are a few tips to winter-proof yourself when you have to brave the cold.
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Health & Beauty
Cover Up as Much as Possible It goes without saying, but the less exposed your body is to the elements, the better. You don’t have to don a ski mask and goggles (or so much you can’t put your arms down), just to commute to work. The key is to choose your clothing carefully. Use the Right Skin Care Products Even if your body is covered head to toe, your skin is still prone to drying out in the winter. This is the time to reevaluate our skincare regimen.P ·W hen washing up, use creamy, non-foaming cleansers and moisturizing body washes instead of more drying soaps. Also avoid astringents, especially those containing alcohol, since they can strip skin of its moisture.P · O ver on The Telegraph, facialist Joanne Evans recommends exfoliating dry, flaky skin three times a week if you have dry skin or twice a week if you have oily or combination skin. By getting rid of the dry skin on top, you help new moisture-rich cells move to the surface, says Marie Claire. The key is to follow exfoliating with lots of moisturizer or a healing hydrating mask.P Moisturize, frequently throughout the day! · I f you use a light, water-based lotion, switch to a more moisturizing cream or oil. WebMD suggests looking for “nonclogging” oil ingredients such as avocado, mineral, primrose, or almond oils. Or look for lotions with “humectants,” which attract moisture
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to your skin: glycerine, sorbital, and alpha-hydroxy acids.P I f you have really delicate or sensitive skin, watch out for products that contain sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), which has been found to irritate skin and make it more permeable.P A shielding lotion like Gloves in a Bottle or O’Keeffe’s Healthy Hands help form a barrier that last even with frequent hand washing.P D on’t forget the sunblock, particularly on and under your nose if you’re active outdoors.P F inally, frequently apply lip balm with SPF—but avoid the drying ones that contain camphor, phenol, menthol, OL, or salicylic acid.
Treat Dry, Cracked Skin Finally, if all this exfoliating, moisturizing, and humidifying doesn’t help, and your skin is still dry or cracked, here are a couple of things that can help:P ·A quaphor or vaseline, especially on cracked lips.P ·A t night, after moisturizing your hands and feet, put socks and cotton gloves on to help them recover their moisture.P ·T reat windburned-skin with 1% hydrocortisone.P ·M any people love Zim’s Crack Creme (although I remember trying it and found it stings a bit.) Read more on: lifehacker.com
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CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA
It´s that time of year again. This year Rascals will be inviting you to Join the Circus for the first half of their Christmas show. Numbers from Barnham will feature alongside comedy items and dances in this colourful show. A free seasonal drink and nibles will be provided during the interval after which you can sit back and enjoy the second half where you can hear the Nuns chorus, ballerinas doing Swine Lake (not quite up to Moscow ballet standard) a lively dance to Upside Down and young Poppy Moon catching Mummy kissing Santa Claus. Rascals like their audiences to join in so come along and sing your hearts out to Christmas songs and Carols that follow. Performances will be at:The School of Culture & Music, Los Montesinos on Thursday 4th December
and later at The Virgen del Carmen, Torrevieja on Sunday 14th December. Both performances start at 7pm To reserve tickets call Sue on 96 678 4874. They only cost 5 Euros and all the ticket sales go to local charities. Tickets for the Los Montesinos show can be obtained from Benimar Card Shop, Post Room Benijofar, Kennedys Los Montesinos, Bargain Books San Miguel, Quick Save Los Dolces Centre. Hoops Bar, Guardamar, Shamrock Bar, Guardamar, La Campana, Eden Urb. Guardamar, Chalmers, Rojales. For Torrevieja at the box office outside the Municipal Theater or book online with Servicam. Don´t miss out the chance to have an enjoyable evening which will leave you with that feel good factor. To find out more about Rascals look on www. therascals.org
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Torrevieja Pipes & Drums have had a busy few days assisting the Royal British Legions in this area with their Remembrance Celebrations. Thursday 6th Nov they took part in the stage spectacular organized by the Torrevieja branch at the Municipal Theatre for the Poppy Appeal. There they were joined by dancer Mark who danced The Sword Dance and then they had the audience singing along with their melody of W.W.1 tunes. Sunday 9th Nov was Remembrance Sunday and they led the Standards to and from the Church at Mil Palmeras, organized by the Orihuela Costa branch. After the service they stood behind the Cenotaph and played the popular tune, Highland Cathedral whilst the poppy wreaths were laid. That was followed by the March Past which this year included Lieutenant David Carter RAF, son of the branch chairman Keith. Tuesday 11th Nov took them to Hondón de las Nieves where the
service, organized by the Hondón Valley branch, took place in the Aula Cultura. This was a mixture of a Church service and a celebration supplied by the Spanish and the English. The band played for the presentation of the Standards, assembled the drums for the Drumhead Service and piper Tony played the moving tune, Flowers of the Forest. The Pheonix Concert Band supplied the music for the hymns as well as a musical interlude which finished with the 1812 Overture. The Coro parroquial de San Pedro de la Romana sang 2 delightful songs and Alexis Rubira Rilo, the Foreign Resident Councillor, read a passage from the Bible in his native Spanish tongue. Tony Brown of the RBL Hondón Valley read his own very moving poem “to end all wars” JOAN WADDINGTON re information further For the Torrevieja Pipes & Drums ring John 663446892 or www. torreviejapipesanddrums.com
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2014 week 8 With only 9 couples remaining in the competition and this weeks show coming from the home of ballroom dancing the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, this was always going to be a show to sort out the men from the boys. With the floor being significantly larger than the studio, this week was all about being able to ‘fill’ the floor without looking lost. Most of the celebrities appeared with other dancers included in their number and it did help to ‘fill’ that space. Opening the show were Frankie Bridge and Kevin with a Quickstep to A Town Called Alice. This was a very fast Quickstep action packed with difficult choreography, and I have to say that Frankie managed to stay in contact with Kevin throughout. Something which is very difficult to achieve at speed. I gave her a 10 and the judges a total of 37. Next out were Jake Wood and Janette with an American Smooth to Feeling Good. I felt that the judges were over generous with Jake this week. This was a very slow piece of music and despite the fact that he always gets truly into the character of the dance, I felt that his Foxtrot part of the smooth left a great deal to be desired. It was stiff, stilted
and certainly not smooth and elegant which is what we look for in this dance. I gave him 7 and the judges 36. Following were Sunetra Sarker and Brendan and a Samba. Another disappointing night for Sunetra who struggled with both steps and speed throughout the dance, she consistently made errors with her choreography and for me the whole thing fell apart. She struggled to gain the rhythm and as a result I awarded her just 6 and the judges 30. Simon Webb and Kristina then danced the first Argentine Tango of the season to Roxanne. Simon is still gaining in strength every week and this certainly didn’t disappoint. He found the intensity of the dance and his Argentine kicks and flicks were superb. The choreography was also very tricky but Simon coped superbly. I gave him 10 and the judges agreed with 38. Next to perform were Judy Murray and Anton with a Viennese Waltz to Let’s Go Fly a Kite. Whilst there was a slight improvement in the quality of dance, Judy is now trailing a mile behind her opposition in the competition and whilst I can appreciate the public loves a tryer and an underdog, this is getting beyond a joke. I gave her 4 and the judges a total of 24.
By Lyn Aspden of ‘Strictly Dance’ Class Info 635584 431
Mark Wright and Karen were next to perform a Charleston to Papa Americano. I didn’t like the tune for Charleston, which was very repetitive, and as a result I found myself a little ‘bored’ with the choreography which is not Mark’s fault as he is still improving week on week. I gave him 8 and the judges 36. Pixie Lott and Trent then performed a Paso Doble to War of the Worlds portraying gladiators and it was a superb performance with great strength and power throughout. The basic figures were danced extremely well and the choreography was such that it was difficult to know who the professional dancer was. I gave her 10 and the judges 38. Steve Backshall and Ola then performed an American Smooth to Rolling in the Deep. Similar to Jake, I found that whilst the lifts were well executed, when it came down to the ‘dance’ part, the Foxtrot was walked instead of being danced, it was plonky and he had his bottom stuck out. It lacked the fluidity necessary to carry this dance to perfection. I gave him 6 and I again thought the judges were over generous with 31. Closing this weeks show were Caroline Flack and Pasha with a Jive to Crocodile Rock. Caroline has great feet and legs and her
kicks and flicks were extremely good however, I did feel that she was being a bit ‘careful’ this week and as a result I found her just fractionally behind the beat through her performance. Other than that there was a good variety of Jive steps very well performed. I awarded her a 9 and the judges 37. So the judges top 2 were Simon and Pixie mine were Simon, Pixie and Frankie. The bottom 2 were Judy and Sunetra and mine were Judy, Sunetra and Steve. The public had Judy and Sunetra in the bottom 2 and after the dance off, Sunetra lived to survive another week with Judy finally leaving the show. Next week back to the studio and as things are closing towards the final, who will be prepared to put in the hours needed to stay ahead of the game, or maybe keep coming through from that middle group? Have you picked your winner yet? I certainly can’t call it as it is depending upon the dance each week. That said there are a few of the celebrities who are remaining consistent week upon week. I can’t wait until Saturday night, but in the meantime, if you want the ‘strictly’ gossip come along and join one of our classes, until then Keep Dancing!
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News
Stefanie Finished Her Concert With Standing Ovations After singing 32 songs in all mixtures of genres Stefanie finished her sold out 2 ½ hour concert in the Los Montesinos Music School with a long standing ovation. Before the last song, the Los Montesinos Councillor for Culture, Rosa Belen Moran Peredes, handed Stefanie a bouquet of flowers and thanked her for an outstanding performance, that was raising € 700 for the needy registered with the Social Services of Los Montesinos in form of food vouchers, also purchased
locally. Stefanie covered lighter music, like Joleen to Ballads like I surrender, Musicals and German Populars, switching effortless between styles. Even though Stefanie had a blocked nose and cold, one did not notice and Stefanie did not let this fact detract from the audience. If you have not seen this impressive concert, you should remember her name and make sure you come to her next concert, as this lady will be going places. Well done......
forget me not
The Cheque valued €1000.00 was presented to Forget Me Not, the respite care charity, by Geoff
Balshaw, Master of the Loggia Sierra Espuna for the past year. Members of the lodge raised the
money at various social events throughout the past year. Forget Me Not provides respite care for the carers of people suffering from long term illnesses such as Alzheimers and dementia and people recovering from strokes etc. It holds sessions at the Camposol Cultural Centre every Mnday morning.These sessions are free to the client,thanks to donations such at that made today by Loggia Sierra Espuna and their Master Geoff Balshaw.
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entertainment this week The Entertainment Venue That Has It All....
Monday - Eyes Down with our very own Maz from 8pm Tuesday - Art Class 2pm - 4pm Dennis and Friends and Crazy G with Play Your cards Right guest singers fun and laughter 4.30pm to late Wednesday - 9.30am Line Dancing with Peter 10am Spanish Lessons with Mark Wednesday Mid Week Roast Day! 2 x Main Courses for 10€ including bottle of wine for 2 people. Served 12 - 4.30pm in Bar Area Served in the restaurant from 6pm. To Book call: 966 719 160 Thursday - Winter Warmer Specials 2 Meals for 10€ 12 - 5pm Friday - Happy Hour from 5pm to 7pm followed by Live Entertainment from 9pm Saturday - 9.30am Line Dancing with Peter All Your Live Sports shown on the Big Screen Sunday - Our award winning Sunday Carvery first sitting from 1.15pm and second sitting from 3pm. Please book to avoid disappointment.
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and western and central Europe. The bulbs grow best in fertile, sandy soil in a sunny, open location. They should be protected from excessive moisture and strong winds. Traditionally, it was always said that bulbs should be planted in the autumn, before the first frosts. Nowadays, many disregard this rule. Chris Blom, of Blom’s Bulbs, whose family has been growing tulips since 1910, says: “Tulips don’t like to be planted too early.” He’s planted bulbs as late as January, but would recommend up until the end of November, adding that tulips need cold weather to root. If you’re growing tulips in containers, Chris warns: “Don’t forget to water during early spring when you might get dry, warm weather. Otherwise, the bulbs will dry out.” After flowering, most varieties benefit from being lifted and stored in a dry place until autumn. Other varieties, particularly the Kaufmanniana hybrids and species tulips, can be left in the ground, and may spread to colonise an area. Plant bulbs 10cm (4in) deep and 10cm (4in) apart. Water bulbs when the buds are rising, to encourage large blooms and taller stems. Top-dress bulbs in autumn, after planting. For long-term tulip displays, wait until the foliage has died off before cutting back.
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9
News As the days get shorter and colder, it’s time to pack away those lighter layers and bring out your winter woollies. But how do you avoid dust and moths ruining your lovely summer stuff? Follow our simple three-step guide to storing everything away neatly and safely.
Step 1 - Declutter • Be ruthless – the less you have, the easier it is to store. Go through everything in your wardrobe and sort into three piles: things you want to store, things that need to be chucked and things that you’ll wear through the winter. • Increase wardrobe space, and help others, by donating anything you didn’t wear this summer to your local charity shop. • Alternatively, sell unwanted clothes on eBay or on the car boot! It’s a great way to recoup some of your loss from ‘mistake’ purchases.
Step 2 – Clean Up • Clean your summer shoes and repair clothes before packing them away. • Have your delicates dry-cleaned and make sure other items are washed and dried before you pack them away for the winter – moths love dirty clothes!!! • If your favourite black items have faded to grey, purchase a dye from Mercadona – great value and great results in the washing machine!
Step 3 – Store it ! • Protect hanging garments with dry cleaning covers or cotton protectors – both available in Mercadona and the ‘60c’ shops across the area. Protect special pieces with full length cotton bags as they allow the air to circulate. • Save space by vacuum-packing your clothes and keep them protected from damp, dust and moths – again these are available in shops across the region. • Protect clothes in drawers with anti-moth sachets containing cedarwood and lavender. www.lakeland.co.uk do a great range of products at really great prices! • Use underbed lidded storage boxes. These offer great protection for all of your items and are out of the way too!
y a w A e r o St r e m m u S r u o Y lothes C
Welcome GO SATELLITE!
g Getting British TV here in Spain can be a confusing and daunting task and findin about us GO SATELLITE was set up 10 years ago by husband and wife team Ian and Deborah. Ian has more than 20 years experience, having spent 10 years with SKY In Home Services in the UK, where he worked on the specialist heights team as well as SKY´S Prestigious VIP Team which caters for the “stars”, therefore the quality of his workmanship is extremely high! After leaving SKY, Ian set up his own business in the UK and ran this very successfully for 5 years before moving to Spain. SERVICES WE OFFER We are here to help!!!! We can arrange Installation of TV direct from the satellite with no monthly subscription. We are able to make repairs to existing satellite systems, potentially saving you from additional costs. We are
a reliable and informative company is vital.
suppliers of Sky and humax receivers direct from the UK. You will find we are the cheapest on the Costa Blanca. Ask us about Sky cards and subscriptions as well as Al Jazeera cards for bars enabling viewing of Premier League Football matches. WHERE ARE WE? GO SATELLITE is based in Ciudad Quesada and covers most of the Costa Blanca. WHY ARE WE DIFFERENT? Ian said “Being a small company has its advantages. We offer a personal service and get to know all our customers by name. It’s important to us that people fully understand and are happy with the service we are providing. We realise that the technology involved can be confusing but we are happy to spend time with our customers to ensure that they get the best system for their needs”. CUSTOMER SERVICE Any concerns or queries are dealt with in a clear and professional manner and clients can call Ian at any point if they have any queries. This ensures that all of their customers have complete peace of mind throughout the lifetime of the service. Added to that is the fact that GO SATELLITE is a fully legal, Spanish registered business that provides individual, company and community installations with a free no obligation site survey. Go Satellite is going from strength to strength! SATISFIED CUSTOMERS! Over the past 8 years the company has installed hundreds of satellite TV systems for individuals, companies and
3 49€
USUAL PRICE 399€
communities. The Go Satellite system uses highest quality Portuguese-manufactured dishes and requires NO monthly payments. Packages are available to suit everybody´s requirements and budget. GO SATELLITE offer expertise, reassurance and a proven track record, which can be backed up by many a satisfied customer. OTHER SERVICES Go Satellite not only provide television but are also able to provide internet and telephone services. Packages are available to suit all with a switch on/off service available for non residents. COME AND MEET US! We have an office in the Business Centre Calle Los Arcos No7 Ciudad Quesada, so you can now come and meet us and we will endeavour to help you with all of your TV queries. DISH ISSUES? Here at Go Satellite, we use only Top Quality Portugese dishes and Invacom LNB’s. Sky Packages are also available. If you do not have room or do not wish to have a dish, give us a call as we have a solution! At Go Satellite, we will endeavour, to provide TV for everyone. So, if you are fed up of missing your favourite programs or you have lost your TV signal and do not want to lose out any more, then call on 965 725 670 or call into our office to find out more about GO SATELLITE and its services. Alternatively check out the website:www.freetvspain.com
1.4 metre dish with HD receiver
one off payment
Come and visit us in our office based at: Calle Los Arcos No 7, Ciudad Quesada Open: Monday – Friday
Tel: 965 725 670 www.freetvspain.com all major credit & debit cards accepted
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SOLTIMES november 2014
...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES
News
The Olive Harvest
The olive - of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil. Olives are harvested in the fall. More specifically, green olives are picked at the end of September to about the middle of November. Blond olives are picked from the middle of October to the end of November and Black olives are collected from the middle of November to the end of January or early February; the time varies in each country, and with the season and the cultivar. Most olives today are harvested by shaking the boughs or the whole tree; using olives found lying on the ground can result in poor quality oil. Many uses an oli-net that wraps around the tree trunk and opens to form an umbrella-like catcher from which workers collect the fruit. Another method uses an electric tool, the oliviera, that has large tongs that spin around quickly, removing fruit from the tree. This method is used for olives used for oil. Table olive varieties are more difficult to harvest, as workers must take care not to damage the fruit; baskets that hang around the worker’s neck are used. In some places in Italy and Greece, olives are harvested by hand because the terrain is too mountainous for machines. As a result, the fruit is not bruised, which leads to a superior finished product. The method also involves sawing off branches, which is healthy for future production. The amount of oil contained in the fruit differs greatly by cultivar; typical yields are 1.5-2.2 kg of oil per tree per year. Olives are a naturally bitter fruit so they tend to be subjected to a fermentation process or cured to make them more palatable. Green olives and black olives tend to be washed thoroughly in water to remove oleuropein, a bitter carbohydrate; sometimes they are also soaked in a solution of food grade sodium hydroxide in order to accelerate the process. Freshly picked olive fruit is not palatable because it contains phenolic compounds and oleuropein, a glycoside which makes the fruit too bitter although not unhealthy; one exception is the Thassos Olive, which can be eaten fresh. Olives can be used green, ripe green (a yellowier shade of green, or green with hints of colour), through to full purple black ripeness. Olives should be selected for general good condition and for firmness if green. There are many ways of processing olives for eating. One basic fermentation method involves a 10% solution of salt and vinegar in water; the olives are soaked in water to wash, then drained. 7 litres (7 kg) of room temperature water is added to a container, plus 800 g of sea salt and one cup (300 g) of white wine or cider vinegar. Each olive is slit deeply with a small knife; after some weeks, the salinity drops from 10% to around 5 to 6% once the water in the olives moves into solution and the salt moves into the olives. The olives are weighed down so they are fully immersed and lightly sealed in their container. The gases of fermentation should be able to escape. The exclusion of oxygen is helpful, but not as critical as when fermenting grapes to produce wine. The olives are edible within 2 weeks to a month, but can be left to cure for up to three months. They can be tasted at any time because the bitter compounds are not poisonous, and oleuropein is a useful antioxidant in the human diet. Curing can be done by several methods: salt-curing, brine-curing and fresh water-curing. Salt-curing (also known as dry-curing) involves packing the olives in plain salt for at least a month, which produces a salty and wrinkled olive. Brine-curing involves placing the olives in a salt water solution for a few days or more. Fresh-water curing involves soaking the olives in a succession of baths, of which the water is changed daily. Olives can also be flavoured by soaking them in various marinades, or removing the pit and stuffing them. Popular flavourings are herbs, spices, olive oil, feta, capsicum, chilli, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic cloves, wine, vinegar, juniper berries and anchovies. Sometimes, the olives are lightly cracked with a hammer or a stone to trigger fermentationwhich adds a slightly bitter taste.
SOLTIMES novemBER 2014
www.soltimes.com
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opening hours MON-THURS 9am-8pm FRIDAY 9am-5pm SATURDAY 9am-6pm
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Peugeot 308 1.6 HDi Active (2012) - €13,995
Opel Meriva 1.7 CDTi Diesel (2012) - €12,995
VW Golf 2.0 TDi Highline Estate (2009) - €12,995
Citreon C4 1.6 HDi 5 door hatchback (2011) - €11,995
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 5 door (New shape) (2011) - €11,995
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Renault Megane Coupe 1.9 TDi Karmann (2007) - €7,995
Opel Meriva 1.7 TDCi (2004) - €5,995
Ford Focus Saloon (2006) - €5,495
Kia Carens 6 Seat (2003) - €5,495
Daewoo Lacetti Automatic (2005) - €4,995
Ford Ka 1.3 3 Door (2003) - €2,995
Renault Clio 1.2 Petrol 5 Door (2001) - €2,495
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www.autosdirect.es • 966 723 718 San Miguel de Salinas
12
...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES
SOLTIMES november 2014
Look Good
Feel Great
Eye Perfection
Ladies, as we head into party season, eye make-up becomes more dramatic and it’s worth taking the time to get it perfect for maximum impact!
Prime the eyelids...
press shadow onto the eyelid with a firm rounded brush for an even velvety finish.
browns, navy, deep greens and purples.
Black shadow & pencil can be ageing…
…up around the eye socket, using a soft round-ended brush to blend the edges; use a smaller, flat brush to apply a line of shadow under the eyes. Look straight ahead in the mirror to see how far to blend and keep wiping the brush clean and use a paler shade to blend to avoid hard edges.
…instead, go for a softer look using greys,
…with concelaer or foundation and apply a light dusting of powder to help the eyeshadow stick. Using a patting motion,
Using a soft kohl pencil…
Kim Clar k benefits consultancy
…line into the lashes, inside the rim of the eyes and around the eye line. Finish with volumising mascara.
For a simpler, softer look…
Do you suffer from mobility problems, breathlessness/pain or falls/stumbles? Do you need help washing / dressing or supervision? You could be entitled to extra income by claiming UK sickness / disabililty benefits while living in Spain
…just apply a fine black line around the lash line and into the inner corners of the eye to the tear ducts. Elongate the effect by taking the line slightly beyond the outer corners and then apply lashings of mascara.
For advice or to book a consultation call 950 169 729 or 663 297 568 or visit www.ukbenefitsinspain.com
Ro s y Ch eek s!
Ross At studio six
Vibrant, full of life, looking healthy and fit we all want to be described in this way, but as the cold months arrive and our sun-kissed faces fade, we reach for the blusher brush.
Unisex Stylist Over 29 years experience S.R.H “Senior Stylist” City & Guilds of London
Tel: 966 714 970 Mob: 677 897 788
Avda del Romero Local 6, Urb. Montebello, Algorfa Open Tuesday - Saturday (incl.) from 9am 03176
Late night opening
Near Zoco Market by appointment only AP7 Junc 745
Karma Days Holistic Therapies Call Lorraine 693 268 139 New At Vibra Gym Non Surgical Face Lifts Call Lisa on 603 317 111 E-Cigarettes
KATIE AND PINKY
our two new beauty therapists now at Flabelos
cc/ Torregrosa next to Consum & Lidl between San Luis & Quesada on the Crevillente Rd
Summer Opening Hours only at Quesada Gym
Mon-Fri 9-2pm 4.30-6.30pm Sat 9-1pm
Lorraine Call: 693 268 139 Getting Fit Just Got Easier
Blend the shadow…
Remembering that the art of using blusher is to look as if you haven’t used it, so choose a colour that resembles the natural glow of your cheeks after you exercise. Go for a lighter colour for day, and a darker tone for a more dramatic evening look. Types of Blusher Ensure you choose the right type of blusher for your skin. Cream blush works very well for drier skin, as it can help to keep skin hydrated, whilst powder blush is better suited to oily skin.
Application Apply your foundation, powder and all eye makeup before applying blusher as you need to keep the look balanced. Use a full, round brush for powder blush, it will make for a soft, professional look; this should not be the same brush you use to apply your loose powder. ‘Swoosh’ a small amount of blush on the brush and gently tap off any excess - if you are using cream, place a small amount of cream on your middle finger. Now, look in the mirror and smile!
Place powder blush on the apple of your cheek and gently brush up your cheekbone toward your hairline. Dot cream blush beginning at the apple, and gently blend up the cheekbone toward the hairline. Focus your blush at the outside of your face near your hairline if you have a fuller face. For high cheekbones, concentrate blush in the centre of your face to accentuate them! For a more natural, less dramatic look, lightly blend a little blush down your cheek.
Tips (& Warnings!) When using gel or liquid tints make sure you wash your hands after use! Remember that the lighter your skin tone, the lighter your blush colour should be! Wash brushes regularly with a makeup remover or a non-soap cleanser (otherwise you’ll never get rid of the bubbles!) to keep nasty bacteria at bay. Don’t following the underside of your cheekbones, it looks too artificial Invest in a good quality BIG brush; many blushers come with their own compact size blusher brushes, but these are too small and the bristles are not shaped properly.
SOLTIMES november 2014
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News
Runny eggs ‘safe for mums-to be’ after vaccination of hens halts salmonella risk A study has found that stricter precautions taken by producers mean even babies can be safely fed runny egg, which it is claimed can stop them becoming allergic later on. NHS Choices still advises pregnant women to avoid soft-boiled eggs or give them to babies after weaning because of the salmonella risk. Dr Juliet Gray, registered nutritionist and co-author of the review, said expectant mothers may be unwittingly putting their children at greater risk of allergy by avoiding eggs Just nine per cent of babies are currently given eggs at six months, the recommended age to start weaning. Even at 12 months, only one-third are given eggs, with allergy concerns given as the main reason for avoiding eggs, says a new review published in the Journal of Health Visiting. Data from the latest UK Infant Feeding Study of more than 10,000 mothers also showed that three-quarters of new mums largely avoided eggs and more than one in ten did not feed their babies with boiled eggs. But widespread vaccination of hens against the infection among producers taking part in the British Lion scheme has ‘effectively eliminated’ the bug from their eggs. The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) says the launch of a strict code of practice 15 years ago has been so successful that 90 per cent of British eggs are now laid by salmonella-vaccinated hens. Each egg is stamped with a lion mark and a best-before date on the shell. Dr Juliet Gray, registered nutritionist and co-author of the review, said mothers may be unwittingly putting their children at greater risk of allergy by an avoidance strategy. She said research suggests delayed introduction of potential food allergens, such as eggs, during weaning may actually be counterproductive. In contrast the introduction of these foods while breastfeeding, between the ages of 4-7 months, could protect against developing allergies to these
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La Siesta Ladies Friendship Group
CHRISTMAS FAYRIES AND FRIENDS AT LA SIESTA CHURCH
ON SATURDAY 22nd NOVEMBER 10.30 a.m.
Bric-a-brac, jewellery, raffle, home baking, mulled wine, mince pies, hot dogs, jacket potatoes, auction, linen, books, games, tombola, tea & coffee etc. Brass Group will play your favourite carols.
Proceeds to local charities.
M&S blames ‘unseasonable’ weather as clothing sales fall
foods. Dr Gray said two trials are being carried out to test whether the approach works and two government committees are also reviewing the current advice on infant feeding and food allergy. She said ‘Eggs are highly nutritious, containing key nutrients including high quality protein, vitamin D, selenium, choline and omega-3 fatty acids, several of which are not found in many other foods. ‘Our review concluded that mums and their babies can be encouraged to eat eggs, as this could have a positive effect in terms of nutritional intake and may also help immune tolerance of eggs. ‘The BEIC advice that vulnerable groups can go back to runny eggs, if produced under the Lion scheme, should further reassure women that they can enjoy them normally in pregnancy and give them to their babies when weaning from six months.’ A nationwide salmonella scare in 1988 – sparked by Edwina Currie who was health minister at the time – resulted in vulnerable groups such as expectant mums, infants and the elderly being advised not to eat undercooked eggs. Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Marks and Spencer has reported its 13th consecutive quarterly drop in clothing sales, blaming the “unseasonable conditions in September” for the poor performance. The 130-year old retailer said likefor-like general merchandise sales which are primarily clothing - fell 4% in the second quarter. Despite the drop M&S boss Marc Bolland said he was “pleased” with its progress in “challenging market conditions”. Analysts said the High Street chain’s performance was largely better than expected. Half-year pre-tax profit fell 0.4% to £279.4m, but underlying profits rose 2.3% to £267.6m which was ahead of expectations. Online sales at its revamped website, which was re-launched in February, were down 4.6% in the second quarter, but this was an improvement on the 8.1% drop it reported in the previous quarter. And M&S said sales of womenswear also continued to improve. It did not give a quarterly performance, but said total sales were up 1.3% in the first five months of the year. In food, like-for-like sales rose 0.2% in the second quarter, much weaker than the first quarter, but in line with analyst forecasts. Across the M&S group, like-for-like sales fell 0.2% in the three months to 27 September, but were up 1% for the half-year. And a closely-watched City measure - the margin at which M&S sells its clothing - also improved by more than expected. Analysis: Kamal Ahmed, business correspondent: The City is likely to welcome Marks and Spencer’s results - gross margins are up, profit before tax is up (for the first time in four years), cash generation is up and dividends are up. But the overall story is still one familiar to all those who have been watching M&S for any length of time - food doing well but overall general merchandising - including vital clothing - down. The retailer does appear better positioned to gain when real incomes start rising, with up-market store refits. There has been some improvement in womenswear sales.
One big worry will be the performance of the website where sales are still down over 6%, although M&S insists it is turning around rapidly. It will need to, Christmas is just around the corner. ‘Glimmer of hope’ Neil Saunders, managing director of Conlumino, said the results suggested the overall picture was improving, with the pick-up in womenswear sales indicating “the years of decline may well have bottomed out”. “Beneath the surface some faint glimmers of hope are beginning to shine through as the company’s strategy starts to deliver,” he added. But Phil Dorrell, director of the retail consultancy Retail Remedy, said “no amount of hand-wringing about September’s unseasonal weather can explain away such weak clothing sales”. “The brand is finally introducing more clarity to its over-complex clothing lines, but look beyond the flagship stores and many are still a mess of baffling sub-brands, and feel like museums where older people go to browse endless rows of black slacks,” he added. However, Mr Bolland told the BBC’s Today programme that he was encouraged by the improvement in womenswear. “The trend is positive. Customers are telling us the style is back at M&S,” he said. Mr Bolland said people should disregard September due to the warm weather, and said without that month womenswear sales had risen. However, he said market conditions continued to be challenging. “As a result we remain cautious about the outlook for the remainder of the year,” he added. M&S is not the only retailer to blame the unusually warm September for affecting trade. Clothing retailers H&M and Next have both said that the weather has hit sales. Source: wwwbbc.co.uk
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...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES
SOLTIMES NOVEMBER 2014
pause for thought
Hello and welcome to CanDu Computer Bytes. Today we will look at the desktop (XP, 7, 8.x and 10 are all different) and explain what it is, where it comes from and do we need it? To start with I would like to say that the desktop is a digital metaphor of a real desktop of years gone by. I know, kind of obvious, but the starting point of all desktops. It is commonly called a WIMP interface, not because you are a wimp if you prefer this to the command line option, but because WIMP is an acronym for Windows, Icons, Mouse and Pointer which accurately describes what you see. The first ‘Desktop’ was introduced by ‘Xerox’ way back in the early 70’s (long hair and beards, and that was just the men! Remember?) but due to high price and poor marketing, it failed. Apple also tried and failed to market a desktop based computer, but persisted and finally created one of the most widely used desktops for graphical work out-there. Microsoft’s desktop came in with a criminally primitive desktop pre-Windows 2.0 but it worked, kind of! It was with the introduction of Version 3.0 and 3.1 with the 3D look, that it got noticed! It still looked as though someone had got a set of trays and in these tray were smaller trays, all placed on a flat tabletop. Windows 95 took a sharp turn in the way that it organised the desktop. There was a bar at the bottom of the screen with a button and on the other end was the time and other information. Clicking on the button marked ‘Start’ (good name!) would allow access to all your programs, files and settings. This was a HUGE step forwards and has been successfully used in every Windows including 7. Windows 8.x (a number with a ‘.’ and one or more x’s means that this number belongs to a family 3.xx = 3.1 or 3.11 or 3.95). Apple’s desktop hasn’t had too many changes, simply because they got it right, more or less, first time! There is another OS’s out there that has a desktop and it is the Unix / Linux family of OS’s. The Unix desktop is very business
orientated and reflects this in it’s organisation. The Linux OS has a number of desktop styles, because that is all that they are, styles of presentation. The KDE format looks very much like Windows 7 or can be quickly changed to look like Window 98. The Gnome format is as different as “chalk and cheese” to KDE. There are others, but the tried and trusted ‘Menu bar and Start Button’ format is the one most popular and therefore most adopted. Windows 8’s tiles are a creative solution to the question of “What about chubby fingers?”. This desktop was designed for Tablets, with the ‘Swipe and Tap’ method of use. The thinking was sound, the design imaginative and the overall execution, breathtaking – as was their myopic ineptitude (ridiculous short-sightedness) as It failed to take into account the many millions of Desktop, Tower and Laptop users and as a result was the biggest clanger dropped since ‘Vista’. Several week back I wrote a piece about the new flag ship Windows 10 so I won’t bore you with a repeat! At the beginning I asked 3 questions. Desktops, what it is, where it comes from and do we need it? You now know what a desktop is and where it came from. Now for the big question, Do you need it? The answer depends on whether you just use it to make your office or educational work organised OR whether it is a tool in itself to make better tools for the office / workplace or education. A tool or set of tools for making your work or school work easier? Then I would say and emphatic “Yes” because it does make finding and working with, documents so much easier. For us ‘Tech-Heads’ there are many times when the GUI (Desktop) just gets in the way! Anyway, now back to finding out what newbies (everyone new to computers) really want to know about their computer and how it works but before that I’m now off to Jack’s Bar in Albox for my talk to the members of the Albox Computer Club and then the Friday afternoon computer clinic!
For further information or advice on computing,contact Trevor on 689 892 745 or canducomputing@hotmail.co.uk
El Refugio - Almeria City Many people know Almeria City just for its airport. Whether on the red eye from Gatwick or via another UK route, many arrive only to scuttle off to their homes or holiday destinations without wondering about what else is on offer. The City has a beautiful old quarter with excellent restaurants, tapas bars, art galleries and museums. Stunning architecture abounds, topped by the Moorish Alcazaba towering above. The Paseo de Almeria is a broad tree lined boulevard; running from the port to Plaza Purchena it’s filled with chain stores and boutiques. It’s the commercial hub of the city with some curious black news stand kiosks dotted along the way. Another world however lies hidden the surface, and the kiosks dotted along the paths have trap doors leading 3 metres and deeper below ground. At Plaza Purchena for the grand sum of 2€ the intrepid will learn more. The entrance to El Refugio is a modern glass building with a suspended glass floor so the foundations of ancient
The Old Testament Lesson set for last Sunday was the story of Gideon as told in Judges 7 – one of my favourite stories in the whole of the Bible. We’ve probably all come across this character in the form of Gideon Bibles, but I wonder how many of us know the story. Some 3000 years ago, Israel, rather like today, was under attack from tribes to the South and East. They’d largely lost their faith in God, but this one man had the feeling God was calling him to lead the defence of the Nation and advertised for a volunteer army. He did quite well, receiving 32,000 volunteers, but these, compared with the half million or so of the enemy, looked pretty meagre. So Gideon prayed and left a woollen fleece outside his tent overnight, asking God to prove his support by making the fleece wet whilst leaving the ground dry. Next morning, sure enough, the fleece was soaked, though the ground remained dry. Fearing the sign was just nature, Gideon then asked God to do it again, but the other way round – and next morning, the fleece was dry, whilst the ground was sodden.
Gideon then with some trepidation prepared for battle, but God told him that his forces were too many, which may lead him to take credit himself for any victory gained. So Gideon told his troops that any who were afraid should go home – and 22,000 went, leaving just 10,000. Still too many, God suggested another test, which reduced his army to just 300, assuring Gideon that with these few he would defeat the half million! Military madness! But in an early example of psychological warfare, the sudden showing of 300 torches in the middle of the night, together with the blast of trumpets and shouts of “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon” the enemy camp fell into disarray, attacking each other in their haste to escape. A great story of faith and God at work, which is well worth reading. Details of a number of English Language Churches are given in Sol Noticeboard; for any wishing to Worship, whilst additionally, further information about the Anglican Church in this area may be seen on the web site www. mojacarchurch.org Duncan Burr is Licensed Lay Reader for the Anglican Chaplaincy of Costa Almeria and Costa Cálida and may be contacted at djburr@avired.com
Enjoy Stephens musings? Pop over to http://findmeahomeinspain.wordpress.com as the articles are posted on there too...and they’re a bit longer too! Findmeahome are always looking for quality homes for their sales and rental portfolios, please contact Stephen for a valuation: stephen@findmeahome.es Telephone: 636 266 641
Moorish walls can be seen. Here the story unfolds firstly via a short film, interviews with now elderly locals tell the story of how when the Civil War erupted in 1936, the city council along with help from the Republican Government set about designing and constructing an air raid shelter large enough to hold 40,000 people. During the war German, Italian and Nationalists conducted 52 bombing raids, the most devastating of which killed 40, injured 150 and destroyed 200 buildings. The original staircase leads visitors down beneath the glass building to a passageway some 1.3 metres wide with a bench running along one side. Supposedly there were 101 of these exits but only 67 have been discovered. The passageway is one of many feeder passages into the main tunnel that extends the whole length of the Paseo de Almeria; the main tunnel is 2m wide with benches each side and extends about a kilometre towards the port. Originally they were
dirt floors with smoking prohibited. A generator provided light and there was a system for pumping clean air in. Directly beneath the city market is a much deeper section that served as food store, so in case of a prolonged bombardment supplies could easily be moved below. Along with street entrances there were also entrances in private homes and churches. A black flag was put outside for easy recognition. The designer of the tunnels; architect William Rubio had one such entrance at his home for the public plus he built an extra gallery so his family had some private space. Other wealthy families did the same. When Malaga fell to the fascists in 1937, 50,000 refugees fled on foot towards Almeria. The German Luftwaffe or Condor Legion practiced their strafing techniques shooting at the unarmed civilians killing and injuring hundreds of them. In response
Almeria then built another section containing an operating theatre which can still be seen today. After the Civil War ended in 1939, the tunnels remained open in case Spain was drawn into WWII. Then in 1945 the entrances were sealed with some entrances covered by the aforementioned kiosks. In 2001they were rediscovered by accident during the construction of an underground car park. The city started renovations aiming to open in time for the Mediterranean games in 2005. Instead they opened the next year in 2006, being now the City’s third most popular tourist attraction. Booking is advisable as due to space constraints only a maximum of 25 people are allowed on each of the 4 daily tours. Or try your luck, as we did and got lucky!
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SOLTIMES NOVEMBER 2014
15
16
...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES
SOLTIMES NOVEMBER 2014
Iberian Funeral Plans offering peace of mind
News
Rose Singers
The recent concerts by the Rose Singers proved a huge success and a generous donation was given to the Royal British Legion’s poppy appeal. The Thursday concert was performed in camping Los Gallardos and on Saturday 8th November the group did a matinee in Mojacar. This was so well received that it could become a fixture for future years. Audiences were asked to write their comments and preferences for music, on slips provided in the programme and many useful suggestions were received. As usual with the Rose Singers the music was varied and sung to the high standard members of the public have come to expect. All genres were covered with the rousing ‘anthem’ from the musical chess opening the evening
and a selection of wartime songs, with audience participation, to finish. You can follow the choir on their face book page ‘the rose singers – Mojacar’ with a link to sound cloud where much of the music can be heard. The next performance will be on December 9th at camping Los Gallardos where the group will be singing Christmas carols at their annual concert on behalf Ofasadis. The ticket price of 8 Euros will include turkey sandwiches and mince pies, the event starts at 7.30pm. The group would like to express a huge vote of thanks to all those who participated in promoting the concerts, including the press, ticket outlets, and not forgetting the husbands & partners who ‘manned’ the doors.
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SOLTIMES novemBER 2014
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It’s always the same isn’t it? You think you’ve got loads of time to get your house ready for Christmas and then all of a sudden it’s upon you. Where does the time go? Well since you know it’s always going to be the same why not be clever this year and get your house ready before the rush begins? Proper planning and good timing can mean your house will be ready well in time for Santa’s visit.
17
News
Poppy Concert 2014
It was a calm and fresh Thursday 6th November evening in Torrevieja. The Municipal Theatre had been booked, advertising sent out, flyers posted and the entertainers arranged. The annual Poppy Concert in aid of The Poppy Appeal was held on Thursday 6th November and a full house was expected. This variety show had proved popular over the last few years, and once again the Torrevieja Branch of The Royal British Legion hit the mark with a show to entertain the most discerning of audiences. As the Branch Standard was paraded into the auditorium accompanied by the Standards of the RNA, RMA, RAFA, District North Spain and Orihuela Costa branch, the Torrevieja Pipes & Drums along with Phoenix Concert Band provided a stirring reception. Providing the music for the entrance was the forerunner of a set of tunes which included the popular Highland Cathedral, Killaloe and more favourites highly enjoyed by those present.
1. Clean the House You’ll feel better at Christmas if your house has a had a really thorough cleaning. Why not treat yourself and get a cleaning agency in for a day or two to do the job for you? Alternatively, set a weekend and allocate tasks to all the family, top it off in the evening with a meal out or a take away to celebrate the hardwork (and save on dishwashing!) 2. Prepare for Overnight Guests Air the spare room and give it a thorough clean Empty some space in a wardrobe for overnight guests to use. Start to get your clean bed linen and towels ready - all the better if you can coordinate your washing so that matching items are ready at the same time! If you need to move your children around, start to make preparations now - move stuff out of their rooms early and arrange the bedrooms so both kids and guests are comfortable Give the bathroom a good going over, festive accessories can even make a difference here... buy some travel sized toiletries and place in a basket for your guests to use. 3. Find Extra Storage Space Gifts and food preparations are discussed elsewhere on this site, but part of getting your house ready will be finding space to store the extra things you’ll have around. Empty a cupboard - preferably one with a lock on it - in your bedroom (or somewhere you can access it out of sight of prying eyes) in which to store Christmas presents. It’s also handy to do the same with food: clear out a kitchen cupboard and start buying food with a long use by date early in December or even late November. Similarly, make a start on using up food from your freezer, there’s bound to be something
In this the 25th Anniversary of the formation of the Branch, Carol Stockwell who had organised and managed the event, had there you won’t need over the Christmas proven that the Legion is alive and well supported in Torrevieja period so use it now and make some space for and the surrounding areas. Christmas food. Footwork Dance studio provided some scintilating moves and 4. Christmas Decorations enthralled the audience with their range of dance. The Panache Now - it’s time for the fun stuff, the trio of Tap Dancers used the complete stage to show off their decorations! Start shopping for decorations now. Decide on your theme whether it be energy and enthusiasm. A favourite with local audiences, Maria winter wonderland or Santa’s grotto and go Ohara raised the rafters with operatic excellence and obvious in search of cute or classic ornaments and favourite songs from popular shows. Barbershop singing filled creative crafts. You could start making your the arena when the Velvetones took the stage, and later in own decorations and get the kids involved in the packed programme Torrevieja Harmonisers sang a few some arts and crafts. numbers. Look for the perfect tree and plan what kind The Phoenix Concert band under their new director of music, of lights, ornaments and decorations you’ll brought the evenings event to a conclusion with an array put on it. Go for a classic, traditional theme of military tunes, noticeably RAF biassed, where audience of green, gold and red or maybe something a participation in the old favourite songs was well received. little more modern for example silver and blue As the Standards were returned to their bearers, the Torrevieja or lilac and white. Play around with colours and make sure you add a little of your own Branch Lady Chairman Gill Burden, thanked everyone for their personality into the design so your decorations support for The Royal British Legion and the Poppy Appeal. are truly your own. We hope to have in the near future the total raised for this 5. Little Decorative Touches years Poppy Appeal on the evening. Small touches like candles, vases, pine cones, fruit bowls, fresh flowers, holly sprigs and tea-lights can finish off your rooms nicely. Fun stuff like singing snowmen, reindeers with red flashing noses and cuddly Christmas toys are considered tacky, but you know the kids love them - so why not put some in their playroom if you have one, or the downstairs toilet’s another great place! Being prepared will help you to have a much more enjoyable Christmas with your friends and family in a house you’ll be proud of. You’ll be more than happy far Santa to drop by when you know your house is in tip top condition and is beautifully decorated for the Christmas holidays.
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SOLTIMES november 2014
News
Hotel highlights joys of Spain’s cava country
Christmas Fayre
SATURDAY 6th DECEMBER 2014 11am – 3pm
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In the heart of Catalonia’s cava country is one of the country’s most amazing hotels — a unique way to get a firsthand look at the culture surrounding Spain’s own answer to champagne.
Remembrance Service
As the last poppy was placed outside the Tower of London in bright sunshine, the people of Camposol stood out in the rain for the annual Remembrance Service in Parque Los Palacios, here in sunny Spain. Three hundred and thirty five people braved the weather to sing hymns, and observe the two minutes silence. This year the service was led by St. Nicholas Ecumenical Church, and Wellspring Victory church, jointly, featuring the wonderful sound of the combined choirs from both churches. Reverend Maureen Kent and Pastor Andrew Fisher reminded all attending that the service in the Memorial Garden is dedicated to the memory of all departed loved ones, as well as honouring those who died in wartime. This year included a moving contribution from Derek Davison of the Humanist Association, proving that the service really is intended for all. The Ayuntamiento of Mazarron were
well represented. Despite the rain, the mayor of Mazarron, Francisco Garcia,, acompanied by Gines Campillo, Maria Martinez, Juan Miguel, David Fernandez, Magdalena Mendez, Mathilda Vasquez, and Ismael Gomez all attended. At the end of the service each of them presented a rose, and a hibiscus (Rose of China) before the cross. All of these, and many more, will be planted in the park by the hard working people of the Los Palacios Garden Volunteers. More plants, and many small crosses provided by the Ex- Servicemen’s Association of Mazarron, were also placed in the garden. This day will be remembered by many who expressed a wish to keep the beautifully presented service sheet kindly provided by the English Funeral Director, Tony Smith, and those who will return to the park to see their plant flourishing in the sunshine.
n case you were unsure of where you are, your hotel room is shaped like a huge cava bottle. The window (the bottom of the bottle) is covered with a circular grate (the bubbles). The hotel door is the cork and it all gives the impression of being a Borrower floating in a magical cava world. The 11 other rooms around the hotel are similarly shaped, making the building appear like one giant wine rack. This is the latest attraction in Catalonia’s cava country - a vineyard with a five-star hotel shaped like a wine rack, the finest food this side of Barcelona and an almost limitless supply of award-winning cava. The hotel - and its neighbouring vineyard - is called Mastinell and it sits a couple of kilometres from the centre of Villafranca del Pendès, the capital of this wine growing region, in the hills 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Barcelona. A blind tasting competition for the Royal wedding in 1997 of the Infanta Cristina saw judges chose Mastinall’s brut as the cava for the celebration. It lifted Mastinell, and in particular its Brut, now named Cristina, to fame. “Before, no one bought this one,” says vineyard guide Jordi. “After, sales go like this.” He raises his hand up into the dank air of the Mastinell’s cava cellar. We are three flights of stairs below ground (cava meaning caves — where wine was originally stored before cellars — in Catalan) and surrounded by hundreds of thousands of bottles which will hit supermarket shelves in a few months. Mastinell produces around 200,000 bottles of Cava a year and Jordi boasts that the vineyard throws away half of its grapes, which aren’t deemed good enough. Mastinell also keeps its concoctions bottled longer than most vineyards (three years minimum) which makes them less bubbly in the mouth. The working winery is housed in a brick building opposite the hotel and here Jordi tells all about Mastinell’s
secrets. How long to store the cava for? Which grapes to mix? The vineyard describes its hotel is a “work of art” and it’s hard to disagree. It is extraordinary. The presence of the Catalonia capital’s most famous architect - Antoni Gaudi - is very much felt. The hotel, which opened this year after five years of building was designed by Barcelona architects Josep Juanpere and Lluís Escamis and it’s wavy green roof and huge circular windows are meant to resemble bottles of cava. It was awarded the Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Interior Design in Shanghai 2011. The wine theme continues inside with no room numbers - your place for the night is named after one of 12 grapes. And those rooms are hugely impressive with great views over vineyards, a luxurious bed and bathroom and a bottle of cava waiting to help you get settled in. Keeping with the wine theme, the hotel also offers “wine therapy” - not a course for alcoholics - but a spa and massage using grapes “against ageing”. The second part of the hotel building is a restaurant with some of the finest food in the region. The menu is in flux, but we tried seven courses including lamb, fish and balsamic vinegar ice cream, all served with cava of course. Cava is Spain’s drink and Villafranca del Pendès, is cava’s country. This is marked in the town square where the most prominent building (after a medieval church) is a wine and cava museum called Vinseum. It spreads 8,000 years of the vine’s history over three floors The Vinseum tells the story of how the grape and the land were almost one and the same from the Bronze Age onwards for the people here. It then goes on to explore the fine science of wine and advances in the 19th Century which led to the first cava being made in 1870. The more you find out about something the more you can appreciate it - something understood by the Vinseum’s curators who give a free glass of cava or wine to all visitors at the museum’s bar, in exchange for your entrance ticket. Sit and reflect on the complexity of a drink which brings simple joy. Source: http://www.thelocal.es/
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SOLTIMES november 2014
News
Slow start for Spain’s golden visa scheme
Interest in Spain’s controversial ‘golden visa’ scheme which grants Spanish residency to people who spend at least €500,000 ($620,000) on property in the country is still below expectations, real estate experts have told The Local. A total of 324 people had signed up to the scheme up to end of the September, according to new figures from Spain’s foreign ministry and published by Spain’s 20 minutos newspaper. That means around one person a day has signed on since the programme was launched in October 2013. The total value of that real estate investment was €256.1 million, the ministry said. As of May, the number of property buyers who has made use of the Golden Visa scheme was just 72, with Spain’s national newspaper El País describing the Golden Visa scheme as a flop. However, the new figures show there has been increased take-up since that time, even if this is limited. “The numbers are comparable with Portugal in the first year of their Golden Visa programme but given the current interest in Spanish property we believe that these numbers should increase significantly for the scheme
to be classed as a success,” Alex Vaughan, co-founder of property firm Lucas Fox told The Local. He said he understood that official teething problems were now being addressed by the government , with a possibility that “tweaks” could be announced “by the end of the year”. “We are continuing to see interest, primarily from the Middle East and Asia, “ Vaughan told the Local. “We continue to believe that, as in Portugal, the main interest will come from China but the numbers of applicants have so far failed to materialize.” The golden visa scheme — part of Spain’s 2013 Entreprenuer’s Law — gives foreigners who invest large sums in Spanish property, public debt and projects of general interest the right to reside in Spain. For property investors, the minimum investment before taxes and changes is €500,000, although the real cost rises to around €600,000 once extra costs are factored in. While the law doesn’t give people the right to work in Spain, it gives non-EU citizens access to the entire Schengen area. Aside from the 324 people who have been granted residency rights after
purchasing property, a further 20 visas have been given to people investing capital in Spain to the tune of at least €1 million in shares of bank deposits, or €2 million in public debt. In the case of those investments, people are granted a one-year visa,
which is then extended to two years “as long as investment” is maintained, Spain’s foreign ministry said. A further ten visas have been granted to be people setting up business projects considered of public interest in Spain.
RECRUITING NEW RESPONDERS
FAST held an ‘Induction Meeting’ on Tuesday 14th November at The Cultural Centre in order to recruit more Responders. The morning proved to be a great success as the following week 18 people arrived at 9:00 a.m. ready and eager to commence training with Gerry Bradshaw, Head Trainer and his assistant Sally Bridges. This is great news for Camposol and the FAST Team! Keep watching for news updates! A message from the Head Trainer: Gerry has expressed his delight with the response and the enthusiasm displayed by the new Responders, so much so that he is expecting to get them all through their training by mid December. However, he has stated that FAST must not sit back on its laurels but continue to actively recruit even more people into the fold. So if there are individuals looking to learn new skills and at the same time help in this worthwhile cause for the Community please get in touch or come and see us. We will happily answer any questions you may have. FAST apologizes for the event cancelled in October - ‘Trevi’s Bar with
Elvis and Friends’, regrettably due to reasons beyond our control. We wish to convey our grateful thanks to Elvis for his generosity and support. LEO LIONS CLUB - FIRST AID TRAINING The LEOS recently undertook First Aid training, learning life saving skills instructed by Gerry Bradshaw, Head Trainer of FAST and his assistant Sally Bridges,. Aged between 12 and 18, the LEOS now have knowledge to help in an emergency situation. They enjoyed the sessions too! What a delightful group they are, also deserving praise for the voluntary work and money raising they carry out, helping so many people. Additional thanks from Sector D for the help given, clearing debris etc following the flooding. ‘Well done’ to the LEOS, leaders and parents too! Visit the FAST STALLS - Sector B, obtain info, tickets and books. The FAST Team will be happy to provide help, information, answer questions or just chat to you! Paddy Snell John Snell - Photographs
SOLTIMES november 2014
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How to keep your house warmer this winter
Let sunlight in during the day. Once the sun is up, you want to capture as much of that free heat as possible. Even on cold days, the sun is still warm. So before you leave the house for the day, open up those curtains and let the light shine in. If there are certain parts of the house that don’t get sunlight, no need to open those curtains. Just do so where it streams in for a good part of the day. Keep curtains closed at night. Once the sun goes down, keep all that heat from leaving through the windows by closing the drapes. If you’re in a particularly cold home or geographic area, consider getting insulated curtains for winter use. They’ll prevent some of the warmth in your home from escaping. You can even put up temporary curtains (or even sheets, rugs, etc.) over doors to the outside, even if just at night while you’re sleeping. Mind your wood-burning fireplaces. While they’re romantic on a chilly evening, lighting a fire is terribly inefficient for the rest of your home. It’s warm and toasty right by the roaring flames, but for all that heat being exhausted up through the fireplace, cold air is being pulled into the house elsewhere. You don’t want to put the damper on idyllic evenings spent in front of crackling logs altogether, so when you do have a fire, just be sure to buy / use a glass front for your fireplace, which keeps some of that heated air in your home from escaping up the chimney once the flames have gone out. Beyond that, remember to keep the flue closed when the fireplace isn’t in use. Failing to do so means basically having an open window in your room, letting warm air out and cold air in. Take a look at your ceiling fans. If you have ceiling fans in your home, they may be sitting needlessly dormant during the winter months. Some fans have a “winter” setting, which reverses the fan so that it moves clockwise vs. counterclockwise. Since heat rises, the clockwisespinning fan will push the heat back down into your rooms versus being trapped up at the ceilings. This is especially recommended if you have high or sloped ceilings. Some experts don’t trust the efficacy of doing this, as the fan may just cool the air too much, but try it out on a low speed, and see if it warms the room. Move furniture away from vents. You may have unknowingly placed furniture in front of heating vents when you moved in or rearranged. Go around the house and double check that vents aren’t blocked, and if they are, find a way to move your furniture, at least for the winter. This will make sure every room is getting its max heat potential. Blocking return vents in a forced-air central heating system could also cause air pressure issues, which further disrupts the flow of heat. Mitigate the “stack effect.” The stack effect is the movement of air in and out of homes and other buildings, essentially creating large-scale chimneys. The rising warm air in a home will pull in cool air from the outside through any gap it can find. This creates negative pressure in lower levels, which acts like a suction cup because that warm escaping air needs to be replaced. This pulls cool air in and obviously chills the home. The effect is magnified in taller homes (more air rising to greater heights, so more cool air is
being pulled in), so be extra aware of the stack effect if you live in a multiple-story home. To combat this, you obviously want to seal those gaps. The most common offenders are doors and windows. To test this out, you can light a candle and carry it with you throughout the house, holding it close to the doors and windows. When you hold it still and it flickers, you have a possible gap. Hold your hand out to test it and you’ll often feel cold air. It may seem like a small and unimportant leak, but it can definitely make a big difference, especially when they’re multiplied around the house. For doors, you can try making a “door snake.” That can be inconvenient, though, if the door is frequently used. You can also buy door sweeps that seal those gaps on the bottom. For gaps on the sides and top of the door, as well as window gaps, use weather stripping to negate the stack effect. Seal other leaks, too. There can be air leaks in your home beyond windows and doors. Think attics, basements (where cements meets the wood frame), even kitchen hood vents. Take a look at this handy guide from energystar.gov to find those leaks and seal them. Hint: caulking can be your best friend. Keep certain rooms toasty warm by closing doors. If you spend a lot of time in certain rooms, you can close doors and create a little sauna. If you have big, open spaces, you can use room dividers; it may not seem like much, but any blockage that keeps air from escaping just a little less quickly will help keep things warmer. You can also close doors to rooms that aren’t frequently used in your home — just make sure you also close the vents in those rooms. This sort of acts to lower the heated square footage, and the warm air will spread quicker and easier through the house. As a bonus, this will save a little bit on your heating bill, too. (Just make sure you aren’t sticking your in-laws in the guest bedroom without first letting it heat back up for a day or two.) Utilize space heaters, but with caution. Space heaters are excellent tools for keeping individual rooms warm. The danger is that they are a high-risk fire hazard, especially compared to other tips listed here. In fact, they account for
WINTER WARMERS
one-third of all heating-related house fires. To ensure the safety of your household, keep any flammable material at least three feet away, and make sure the heater is on an even and stable surface. Never leave space heaters on overnight or when you leave the home (there are timed space heaters that turn off after 1-4 hours that are a better option than entirely manually-operated ones). Additionally, it’s a good idea to only use space heaters that shut off automatically when tipped over. Use the oven. Baking, convecting, and broiling things will keep your house warmer, especially in rooms nearest the kitchen. Don’t be afraid to roast a chicken or bake a ton of casseroles when the temperatures dip! (This is also why, in our household, we don’t use the oven much in the summer.) Add layers to your wood floors. According to the National Energy Foundation, uninsulated wood floors can account for up to 10% of a home’s heat loss. Carpets and rugs were created for a reason — to keep rooms warmer. They’re far better at trapping heat than your creaky wood floors. Add a rug or roll of carpet to your floor in the winter, and you’ll notice a difference in coziness. If you have radiators… The first thing you can do is put tinfoil on the back of the radiator. This will reflect heat back into the room(s) versus it just floating up to the ceiling. There is special reflective radiator foil, but the kitchen variety will work as well. The second thing you can do is put up a shelf or table over the radiator (not on the radiator — don’t put anything directly on it). Again, this acts to trap the heat and let it spread more evenly through the room. Ultimately, keep the person warm versus the house. So throw on hoodies and sweaters, get a warm robe, sip on hot coffee or tea all day, break out the thick blankets and bed sheets; do whatever you need to do to stay warm and comfortable (being comfortable is key — you don’t want the thermostat so low that you have to wear a coat in your own home). In all likelihood, you can probably handle the thermostat being a couple degrees lower if you take some of the measures above. Source: www.artofmanliness.com
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Build Size VERY GOOD LOCATION 3 BED VILLA WITH 120m² CLOSED GARAGE, Dist beach WONDERFUL SEA 250m VIEWS. Beds 3 FANTASTIC PLOT. Baths 3 5 MINUTES WALK TO Terraces 5 THE BEACH.
rental properties urgently required - we have clients waiting
Ref 1460
Email: info@k7mojacar.com
€70,000
Build Size 85m² Dist beach 40,000m Beds 2 Baths 1 Terraces 1
vera campo
Tel: 950 478 555
MOJACAR playa
Build Size 150m² Dist beach 8,000m Beds 4 Baths 3 Terraces 2
€149,950 EXCELLENT LARGE COUNTRY HOUSE WIHT A MAIN HOUSE, AND A SEPARATE 1 BED ANNEXE. SPACE FOR A POOL. 2 STORAGE ROOMS AND A LARGE SHED. CLOSE TO ALL AMENITIES. VERY GOOD LOCATION.
albox
Ref 1463
turre
€195,000
Build Size THIS CORTIJO HAS BEEN REFORMED TO A HIGH 296m² STANDARD, IT HAS Dist beach CENTRAL HEATING, SOLAR 40,000m HEATED POOL, 4 STABLES, Beds 5 LOTS OF LAND. HAS Baths 6 TO BE SEEN TO BE Terraces 0 APPRECIATED
Ref1464
€280,000
Build Size amazing property has to be seen. 90m2 office 211m² space underneath, Dist beach separate entrance. 4 4,000m rooms in all. Ideal for somebody wanting Beds 3 living space & work Baths 2 space. heated pool, Terraces 2 sauna, c/h
SOLTIMES november 2014
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factory outlet beds, garden, sofas
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SOLTIMES novemBER 2014
News
UK unemployment falls to 1.96m as record number of people are in work The number of people unemployed in the UK fell by over 100,000 between July and September, new figures have shown. A record number of people are currently in work after the jobless total fell by 115,000 to 1.96 million - the lowest figure since the start of the year. Employment increased by 112,000 in the latest quarter to 30.7 million, the highest since records began in 1971, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported. Figures show that the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance was 931,700 in October, which marks a decrease of 20,400 since September and the 24th consecutive monthly cut. The number of non-UK nationals working in this country increased by 230,000 over the past year to 2.9 million, while the figure for UK nationals went up
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by 445,000 to almost 28 million. Pay, including bonuses, was 1 per cent higher than a year ago and excluding bonuses went up by 1.3 per cent, the first time the figure was above CPI inflation for five years. Around 14.7 per cent of workers, or 4.5 million, are self-employed, down by 88,000 on the quarter but up by 279,000 on a year ago, while the number of part-time workers wanting a full-time job remained at around 1.3 million. There were just over nine million people classed as economically inactive, including students, long-term sick or those who have given up looking for work, 38,000 more than between April and June. The Government welcomed the news but critics said the figures did not reflect the number of people working in poorly paid jobs and on zero hours contracts. Employment Minister Esther McVey said: “Record numbers of people in work means more people with the security of a regular wage who are better able to support themselves and their families. “With the vast majority of the rise in employment over the last year being full-time, it’s clear that thanks to the Government’s long-term economic plan, we are helping businesses to create the jobs that people need. “More young people are getting their foot on the
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career ladder and we’ve seen record falls in female unemployment, so as the economy continues to grow, more and more people are having their lives transformed by moving into work.” However, GMB general secretary Paul Kenny said: “Many of the new jobs are precarious and badly paid while the real value of take-home pay for the rest of the workforce is 13 per cent below pre-recession levels. “Although 898,000 workers have left public sector employment since 2010, the deficit is still £100 billion because this increased economic activity is not generating more income from taxes. “The Tory recipe to get a recovery in pay and income from taxes is even more savage cuts in public spending and public sector jobs.” The Government pointed out there are more than half a million fewer unemployed people than there were a year ago with schemes such as the Work Programme contributing to the biggest annual fall in long-term unemployment in 16 years - down by 206,000. The number of people claiming the main unemployment benefit - jobseeker’s allowance - has also been falling every month for the last two years and is now more than half a million lower than May 2010. Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/
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SOLTIMES NOVEMBER 2014
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Film review The Counsellor
“To aspire to the stone’s endless destiny. Isn’t that the meaning of adornment? To enhance the beauty of the beloved is to acknowledge both her frailty and the nobility of that frailty.”
Star-studded actors: Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz and of course husband, Javier Bardem, wonderful scenery of Texas and California from the acclaimed writer Cormac McCarthy who made his screenwriting debut here with his wit, dark humour and a nightmarish scenario with graphic images more akin to horror. Well it is an 18 and not suitable for children. McCarthy is seen as one of the greatest American living authors. You may remember “No Country For Old Men” (2007) which left me cold, also starring Bardem as the baddie, Anton Chigurh who embodied pure evil. “The Road” (2009) was just as bleak. McCarthy’s trademark is the frequent use of graphic violence which includes disturbing details and I mean disturbing. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator fame). Scott’s brother committed suicide during filming and the film was dedicated to the memory of Tony Scott. The plot is straightforward and touches on themes connected to morality, love, ambition savagery and man’s greed for power and wealth. If you are a McCarthy fan you probably belong to an educated, elitist group, lost in translation springs to mind adapting the novel into a screenplay/film. The film isn’t successful in spite of these famous actors, too many things happen behind the scenes and the characters are thrown together to deliver philosophical statements about the nature of mankind, greed or simply, bloodlust, monologues that you
might see in Shakespeare, out of place here. “Greed really takes you to the edge, doesn’t it?” spoken by the Femme Fatale, Malkina, unconvincing as the lover of an eccentric playboy Reiner. Cameron Diaz represents pure evil ; she will kill for drugs equating to wealth. She hires her hitmen of course, indulges in kinky sex with a Ferrari and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. The scene at confession when she tries to turn the young Priest on is creepy. She gets turned on by watching her two pet cheetahs chasing jackrabbits in the desert: “ The hunter has grace, beauty and purity of heart to be found nowhere else.” The cheetahs or Malkina herself?
a truck containing 625 kilos of drugs (c o c a i n e) worth about 20 million dollars. In one of them is the decaying corpse of an illegal immigrant, put there as a sick joke. These barrels of cocaine are hidden in a full sewage tanker but when the vehicle is sabotaged it leaves in its wake plenty of bloody corpses. Se Fue. Reiner, Westray and the Counsellor are on their way down, actually on their way out. “Headless body baffles police.” If you think this scene is gruesome involving The Green Hornet wait until you see the Bolito in action in the streets of London. It can cut a person’s head off-the wire cuts through the carotid arteries. Not a pleasant sight. Be warned. Mexican cartels had a vicious reputation and a lust for blood and guts.
The Counsellor, Fassbender is a lawyer with a beautiful girlfriend, Laura (Penelope Cruz) and he travels to Amsterdam to buy a beautiful diamond ring for his beloved. We are meant to believe that he aspires to the playboy image and suffers the sin of avarice. Unfortunately, he is naïve and gets involved with Reiner, Westray (Pitt, meant to be the shifty facilitator) Monsters are created. McCarthy’s and dubious and dangerous business world shows a nihilistic bleakness; it associates in drug trafficking from certainly comes across as a bloody tale Mexico to the USA. Very dangerous and of betrayal and retribution, it explodes risky. He fails to listen to some sensible with violence from start to finish. Don’t advice and things turn out really nasty try counting the dead, mutilated bodies. with double dealings and betrayals. It’ll give you nightmares. This could have been a Greek tragedy. His flaw is his greed to REVIEW it by Carol Naylor. finance his burgeoning lifestyle. www.carolnaylor.blogspot.com / A fatal flaw, no less. www.carolesleynaylor.wordpress.com Four drums are loaded onto naylorcl@hotmail.es
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Santa Claus is coming to town!
Bring your children to the magic of Santa´s Grotto. The Grotto will be held at the Mojácar Area Cancer Support (MACS) shop on Mojácar Playa on Friday December 12th and 19th from 6 to 8 pm and on Saturday December 13th and 20th from 10 am to 2 pm. Santa has a present for each child, for which a donation of 3 euros is requested. Parents may take a photograph of their child with Santa.
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SOLTIMES november 2014
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5. Which F1 champion was killed at Hockenhiem in 1965?.......................... 6. How high is the crossbar in Rugby?.......... 7. Who did Boris Becker beat in his first Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final in 1985?......
easy SUDOKU
wordsearch answer
LEGS LONGER LOVE BITES LOVE SHACK LUKA MAGIC MANEATER MANIAC MICKEY MR. ROBOTO NASTY NIGHTSHIFT OH SHERRIE PHYSICAL PRIVATE EYES RAPTURE
ROSANNA SARA SLEDGEHAMMER SMALL TOWN SUDDENLY SWEET DREAMS TAINTED LOVE TIME UPTOWN GIRL URGENT VALERIE VENUS YOU ARE YOUNG TURKS
8. In which sport do teams compete for the James Norris Trophy?....... 9. In which sport might you encounter Spares and Strikes?.................... 10. Who was the first bowler to take 300 wickets in test cricket?.....
Answers
squiggle SUDOKU
DRIVE FAITH FIRE LAKE FOOTLOOSE FUNKY TOWN HEARTLIGHT HELLO HIM HOLD ON JEOPARDY JESSE JUMP KEY LARGO KISS KYRIE LADY
standard SUDOKU
ABRACADABRA ALLENTOWN ALONE AMANDA ANGEL BATDANCE BILLIE JEAN CARS CELEBRATION CHERISH COME DANCING CONGA COOL NIGHT CRYING DANGER ZONE DESIRE
I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR
CRYPTIC crossword
4. Which football teams met in the first FA Cup final to be played at Wembley?.......................
6. 3 metres (10 feet)
10. Miles Davis 9. Port 8. George Orwell 7. East Timor 6. Rome CROSSWORD
3. Which Canadian was stripped of his gold medal at the 1988 Olympics after being found to have taken banned steroids?.............
7. Kevin Curren
1. Pamplona 2. Earthquake 3. Castlian 4. London Marathon 5. Santiago de Compostela
SOLUTIONS
1. Which athlete won four gold medals at the 1936 Find and circle all of the 1980’s song titles that are hidden in the grid. Berlin Olympics?............. The remaining letters spell the title of a U2 song 2. Who owns The Oval cricket ground?................
80’s songs
8. Ice Hockey
Brain Teasers Answers
sports nicknames quiz
9. Ten pin bowling
1. Which Spanish town is the scene of an annual bull run through the streets?. 2. In 1755 Lisbon was victim to what kind of disaster?.................................... 3. Which dialect of Spanish is the official language?.................................. 4. Portuguese athlete Rosa Mota won which British annual sporting event in 1991?.................................................... 5. Which city in northern Spain is the scene of an annual pilgrimage in honour of St James?............................... 6. In which city are the famous Spanish Steps?................................................... 7. Dili is the capital of which former Portuguese colony in Indonesia?........... 8. Which famous British author wrote Homage to Catalonia, which was a memoir of the Spanish Civil war?........... 9. Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal is the centre of the production of which beverage?............................................. 10. Sketches of Spain is an album by which famous jazz trumpeter?...............
wordsearch
10. Fred Truman
Spain & Portugal Quiz
SolPUZZLES
1. Jesse Owens 2. The Prince of Wales 3. Ben Johnson 4. Bolton Wanderers & West Ham United 5. Jim Clarke
film titles & translations
The Hangover - Very Bad Trip (France) Bad Santa - Santa is a Pervert (Czech Republic) Army of Darkness - Captain Supermarket (Japan) Grease – Vaseline (Argentina) Never Been Kissed – Because She’s Ugly (Philippines) Step Up – Sexy Dance (France) Top Gun – Love is in the Sky (Israel) Dragnet - Floppy Coppers Don’t Bite (Germany) The Sixth Sense - He’s a Ghost (China) Dodgeball - Full of the Nuts (Germany) Pretty Woman – I Will Marry a Prostitute to Save Money (China)
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Go to our web site for all our excursions. Costa Blancas No1 Tour Operator for day trips, city breaks, cruises through to Christmas & New Year.
Across 1. Possesses (3) 3. Of assistance (7) 5. Light beam (5) 6. Response (5) 8. Land measure (4) 9. Young horse (4) 11. Complies (5) 14. Body of water (5) 15. Guru (4) 16. Paradise (4) 18. Constricting (5) 20. Lukewarm (5) 21. Amazing (7) 22. The night before (3)
Down 1. Uproarious (9) 2. More secure (5) 3. Silence (4) 4. Portable computer (6) 5. Biggest (7) 7. Gave way (7) 8. In the past (3) 10. High wire (9) 12. Male offspring (3) 13. Conundrum (6) 17. Fencing sword (4) 19. Topic (5)
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SUDOKU PUZZLE s
Sudoku is a placement puzzle. Enter the numbers 1 to 9 in each row and column of a grid, made up of 3 x 3 subgrids. The catch is that each row, column and grid must contain only one instance of each number or letter.
CRYPTIC CROSSWORD
standard
easy
squiggle
ACROSS 1 A short time at Lincoln brought back protozoon (6) 4 All over graduate’s animal (5) 8 Tried to dance around - setter’s fault (7) 9 Small container going into space? (7) 11 New vampire tie is urgently necessary (10) 12 Somebody admired on the screen? (4) 13 One assuming an attitude as a model, perhaps (5) 14 Fixed Student Union elections, not out to get permits (8) 16 Patching unusual drink (8) 18 Hooters sound silly at first, losing current (5) 20 Head of department to have blue (4) 21 Follow brother or sister back to equipment, we hear, to make food fit for an animal (3,7) 23 Leader - the headless one taking part in advertising (7) 24 Ceremony that’s not exactly real fun (7) 25 Nimble soldier held by drink (5) 26 Blur music’s not half bad, during empty bit of entertainment (6)
down 1 A ray of light at right angles to a vessel’s length (5) 2 Ordinary seaman holding even exams (1-6) 3 Odds and ends to rib about, with one vehicle coming before another’s brought up (4-1-4) 5 Go east, to wash outside (5) 6 Purpose for which one is sent to girl? No - I turned up (7) 7 Queen to wear flowers for undergarment (8) 10 Petite gal’s novel - and where you see what it’s called (5-4) 13 Con child into taking metres away from first coat (8) 15 That which is joined together without interruption to nearly go on with hesitation (9) 17 Suspend animal with a sneaking, cowed look (7) 19 100 deuces designed to turn out well (7) 21 Doctor’s tool to speak slowly (5) 22 Enraged boy with Lawrence (5)
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food & drink
...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES
Tel: 902 750 190 blancasales@soltimes.com Makes: 12 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Skills needed: Basic
ingredients There’s no top g a pie, but much easier. kin ma e lik is t tar a g kin Ma upy mess filling won’t become a so ur yo so at, he the p tra crust to no wondering crust all soggy. There’s that makes your bottom tell. In short, it’s e you can look at it and whether it’s done, becaus want to make se occasions when you tho for ve ati ern alt ct rfe a pe get it wrong fore but can’t afford to be ne do n’t ve ha u yo parents, a recipe ch with your boyfriend’s un br , ck tlu po d’s en fri — like your . or dinner with your boss
Butternut squash, bacon and blue cheese tarts
Ingredients
200g flour 100g butter pinch of salt 1 teaspoon sugar egg, lightly beaten FOR THE FILLING 180 g smoked bacon (lardons) 50g butter 4 onions, cut in half and sliced 240g butternut squash, diced 100g gorgonzola cheese (or any other blue cheese) 2 eggs 140 ml cream salt freshly grounded pepper handful of fresh sage leaves, shredded
Method
Start by making the tart shells, combine the butter with the flour, sugar in the food processor. Pulse it for about 15-30 seconds, until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the beaten egg and continue pulsing until the dough starts to stick together (another 30 seconds or so). Remove the dough from food processor onto a working surface and using the palm of your hands just press it together, do not knead. Wrap the dough in a cling film and put it to rest in a fridge for at least 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 200C. Once rested unwrap, give a little knead for it to stick together (as little as possible), then roll it to dime thin, measure circles for 6 tartlet bases (with removable bottoms) plus 1 cm plus for
each and press it into a tart base, then place it into a fridge to rest for at least 20 minutes. After that, prick the bottom of the tart with a fork. (do not prick before chilling!) Place a baking parchment on top of the pastry and fill the forms with beans or baking weights (this will prevent the pastry from rising and is call blind baking) and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove the baking parchment together with bean or baking weights and continue to bake for 5 more minutes. Heat a large heavy based pan and cook the diced bacon, until turns crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon on a paper towel. Wipe the pan, melt the butter and cook the onions for 15-20 minutes on medium heat until caramelized. If need add another knob of butter followed by the butternut squash and continue to cook for about 2-3 minutes. Set aside. Beat the eggs with cream, season with salt and pepper. To assemble the tart shells, divide the caramelized onion and squash mixture between, sprinkle with bacon, crumble gorgonzola on top, then pour over the egg-cream mixture and finish with generous amount of sage. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot or cold. Enjoy! Tip: this will make 6 small tartlets or 1 medium tart! Source: www.gourmantineblog.com
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest 3/4 cup lemon juice 1 cup caster sugar 4 large eggs, whisked 80g butter 12 shortcrust pastry tartlet cases Blueberries and tiny mint leaves for decoration
Method
Put the lemon zest, juice, sugar, eggs and butter in a heat-proof bowl and give it a good stir. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens slightly
little Lemon Tarts and coats the back of the spoon. Remove immediately from the heat and cool. When cold spoon into pastry cases and decorate with blueberries and a mint leaf. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/
Chocolate and Pecan Tarts ingredients
125g caster sugar 1 cup (250 ml) thickened cream 150g pecans, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve (you can also substitute this with hazelnuts or walnuts) 175 ml pure (thin) cream 175g good quality dark chocolate, chopped Pastry: 250g plain flour 100g icing sugar 40g almond meal 100g chilled unsalted butter, chopped 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
Method
For the pastry, grease six 10cm tart pans. Place flour, icing sugar, almond meal and butter into a food processor. Process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add eggs and whiz until mixture just comes together. Divide dough into 6 portions, then shape into disc, enclose in plastic and chill for 1 hour. Roll out pastry on a lightly flour surface to 3mm thick. Use to line the tart pans, then place in freezer for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180C. Line pastry with baking paper, then filled with pastry weights or uncooked rice.
Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until light golden. Remove paper and weights and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until evenly golden. Cool To make the filling, preheat a heavy based saucepan over medium heat, slowly add sugar into pan bit by bit - do not stir mixture. As sugar starts to melt, slowly sprinkle in some lemon juice (1/2 tsp). Cook until golden caramel colour. Meanwhile, heat thickend cream in another saucepan until it comes to light boil. As the sugar turns golden caramel colour, slowly pour warm thickend cream and pecan into the caramelized sugar. Stir a little until combine. Remove from heat and pour into tart shells and bake for 6-8 minutes. The mixture must bubble all the way to the centre and should be slightly firm around the edges and jiggly in the centre. Allow to cool. Chill for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, to make the topping, place pure cream in a pan over medium heat and bring to just below boiling point. Remove from heat, add chocolate and stir to melt. Cool slightly, then pour over the filling. Chill for 10 minutes until set. Remove tarts from pan, scatter the tarts with extra pecans, then serve. Source: privatekitchenjourney.blogspot.com.es/
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News
Tomato tarts Margherita ingredients
Makes: 4 Tarts For the sauce 2 tablespoons sunflower oil 1/2 onion, peeled and finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 (400g) tin Cirio® chopped tomatoes 2 teaspoons caster sugar salt and freshly ground black pepper For the tart 1 (400g) pack ready rolled puff pastry 225g mozzarella, sliced 4 slices salami 1 egg, beaten fresh oregano, ripped watercress for decoration
Method
Prep: 30min, Cook: 25min, Ready in: 55min First make the tomato sauce. Heat oil in a pan and fry onion and garlic
strawberry Tarts
Ingredients
Makes: 12 pieces 225g prepared shortcrust pastry 250g strawberries 2 tablespoons icing sugar 150g cream cheese 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 C / Gas 6. Thinly roll out the pastry, then with a 9cm fluted cutter, cut out 12 circles. Press them into a bun tin to make pastry cases, then
over gentle heat until softened but not brown. Pour over Cirio chopped tomatoes and sugar. Bring to bubbling and reduce slightly. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cool. Preheat the oven to 200 C / Gas 6. Place pastry on a worktop and unroll flat. Using a saucer as a template, cut out 4 circles. Discard extra pastry. Spread over the cooled tomato sauce, leaving a rim of 1cm (1/2 in). Top with mozzarella and finish with a slice of salami. Brush egg wash over the exposed edge of the pastry. Bake in the preheated oven until pastry is crisp, airy and golden, about 10 minutes. Serve warm scattered with ripped oregano leaves. Garnish with watercress. Source: http://allrecipes. co.uk/ prick them with a fork. Scrunch up pieces of foil and press them into each case. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and return to the oven for further 3 to 4 minutes. Leave in the tin until cool enough to move it to a transfer rack. Chop half the s trawb e rrie s and place in a food processor with the icing sugar. Blend to a puree then sieve. Beat the cream cheese and vanilla, then stir in 2 tablespoons of the puree. Fill the cases with strawberry mixture. Slice the strawberries that are left and use them to neatly decorate the top. If you want, you can cut a strawberry in half without tearing off its little leaves and put it on the very top. Serving suggestion Try serving it with blueberries on top, drizzled with the remaining puree. Source: http://allrecipes.co.uk/
‘Spain is getting taste for foreign food’
After stints in locations as diverse as Caracas and Kazakhstan, this versatile chef has now bitten the bullet by setting up a catering business in Madrid. Meet Belgium’s Moustafa Moussaoui, aka Mousse. How did you end up in Madrid? When I was 21, I left Belgium and came to Spain. I lived in Madrid for seven years, and met my partner here. Then I went back to Belgium and worked in a bank and at the European Commission before going back into gastronomy. I’ve spent time in places like Los Angeles and Algiers and also learned to become a cooking sushi chief in Japan. I then came back to Madrid in August 2013 to study and Le Cordon Bleu (one of the best cooking schools in the world). Tell me about your business model. The business has three parts: there is the home chef business, which is basically where I deliver meals to people’s homes. It’s a little like a restaurant at home, and for this I have a set menu, or the meals can be tailor-made. It’s a still a new idea in Spain, and — yes — there are people with money willing to pay. The second part of the business is my cooking classes, where I teach people how to make sushi, or cook Moroccan food. Those classes are in English, French or Spanish on demand, and my motto is ‘no secrets’. I want people to be able to make the food at home afterwards. My clients here are expats and locals, basically people interested in learning something new and having fun. The newest part of my business is the catering services which I set up in July, which is about supplying Belgian quiches and cakes. Spaniards have a reputation for being nervous about new food. Have you experienced that? Spaniards are in the habit of having their own food — they are proud of it and rightfully so. But they can be lazy about trying other food. At the same time, there are more and more people who have travelled and want to try new flavours. There’s definitely a market for people interested in international cuisine, while there has also been a return to ‘home-made’ cooking in Spain, and my products definitely fall into the group
as they have no additives and all made fresh on the day. Spain is notoriously bureaucratic. Did you have any problems setting up your business? I paid an expert to help me start my business, and I would highly recommend including that cost in your investment plan. It saves you a lot of hassle. Just dealing with the licence for my premises involved a huge amount of paperwork, and it’s stress you don’t need. What other advice would you give to people setting up a business in Spain? Location is critical. For example, I chose to set myself up in the area of Alcobendas in northern Madrid, where rents are cheap, but where we are also surrounded by offices. Being there also means I have good access to neighbourhoods like (upmarket) Chamberí and (officefilled) Chamartin. It’s also important to make sure you offer something different: I hired a consultant to see what was already available. I didn’t want to replicate something that was already on the market. It’s important to be unique. Basically, it’s all about patience, planning and preparation. Setting up the catering side of my business took four months. Have you had any problems on the supply side? I do find you sometimes have to be pushy with some people. It was a bit difficult at first to adjust to the Spanish way of working. For me, as a northern European 9am is 9am, and not 9.30am or 10am. I’m still adjusting to that. I also found that though my set-up costs are half those of the people I studied with in Madrid, my costs are higher than I thought. But it definitely pays to start small and grow your business. What are your plans for the future? The aim now is to build up the brand and open more sales points based on growth. I’d also like to open up my premises to private parties so that people can come and dine there. I don’t want to set up a restaurant though: it’s too passive — I like to get around! Source: http://www.thelocal.es/
30
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SOLTIMES novemBER 2014
Q: Why does my cat scratch?
A: Scratching is a perfectly normal behaviour that has a number of very important benefits. These benefits include: 1. Sloughing off of dead nail sheath 2. Visual marker for other cats to see 3. Scent markers, glands in the pads deposit scent as the cat scratches 4. Conditioning of the muscles required for the retraction of the nail For cats that spend a great deal of the day outside, scratching in the home is rarely a problem as tree trunks provide a perfect surface for scratching. Cats will generally not scratch in the home if a suitable site for this behaviour is provided. Encouraging the use of a scratching post. Some cats do not like the sisal that is wrapped around many commercial scratching posts. Try covering it with carpet (comb first to ensure that there are no tight loops that your cat claws can get caught in) or come other material that your cat may prefer. It should be in a prominent position in the room near to areas that are already preferred for scratching. Once your cat uses it reliably you can begin to more it into a more suitable position in the room, but hiding it out of the way may just mean your cat will revert back to previous scratching positions. Place a scratching post close to sleeping quarters as well. If your cat is responsive to catnip you can try sprinkling a little of this herb over the post to attract your cat. If not a small
amount of oil from a tin of tuna can be rubber into the post. As long as your cat is not anxious try rubbing its paws gentle over the surface of the post. Generally cats have a preferred surface for scratching, usually surfaces that the cat can really get their claws into and drag them along – your furniture proves ideal! You can cover surfaces with a loose fitting material or tinfoil that will be ineffective for scratching or using sticky tape that will feel unpleasant under their paws. Prevent your cat having access to preferred areas when you are not there to correct it too. The use of citronella or eucalyptus type scents is very unpleasant to cats. Your cat will be reluctant to approach these scents. But this does have its drawbacks, as cats have every sensitive noses this can have a profound effect on your cat. If the scent fills the whole room the cat may be unhappy about going in there at all. Punishment will not stop scratching and often will only mean your cat will just scratch when you are not there. A sound deterrent can be used to interrupt your cat but should not be seen to come from you. If your cat is scratching to attract your attention then it is very important that you ignore it. Any attention directly from you even shouting is likely to be seen as reward for this behaviour. Some cats use this behaviour to get their owners
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undivided attention. If your cat only scratches when you are in the room (some even give a cheeky glance towards you to make sure that you are watching) your cat may be trying to initiate some kind of desirable response from you. Do not give your c a t any attention when it does this including eye contact, talking too or touching your cat. If your cat has been doing this for a while it may try harder initially to get your attention. If you give in then your cat will have learnt to try harder to get what it wants.
Q: How do I rid my cat of fleas?
A: There are a number of preparations that can be used to safely treat your pet against fleas. These are available from vets and pet shops. Check that the preparation you use is suitable for the age of animal you intend to treat as puppies and kittens may be more sensitive. Treatments can be powders, sprays (liquid or aerosol), drop on preparations or tablets or liquids to go in food. It is also sensible to treat the home, as there may be flea eggs still in the house. Putting a flea collar in your vacuum cleaner bag is another handy hint.
APAH Space for a little one?
Pick up & delivery service offered for coastal areas
Telephone: 966 195 816
Answerphone - we will call back: Mobile 654 155 473
www.mountainviewcathotel.webs.com
Finca La Castellana Animal Welfare Centre San Miguel de Salinas
Truco is an 8 years old Yorkshire terrier male. He is fully vaccinated, castrated and his passport is up-to-date. His owner no longer wants him .Very affectionate good with other dogs. He just wishes for his forever home. To see Truco please contact either mobile or email. Tel 634 065 540 Email: lasthopedogrescue@outlook.com
TRuco
benji
saffron
Benji is the most unique looking dog you are ever likely to see, even vets don’t know what breeds make him up! He was rescued from outside a supermarket in San Pedro and is living in the APAH kennels. He is a lovely medium sized dog, a bit shy, but will grow in confidence in a loving home. To arrange to meet Benji please call 630 422 563 or 616 210 850.
APAH currently has over 80 beautiful cats and kittens being cared for in its Cattery. Some of them have lost their loving home, many have never had one. Can you give one of their cats a happy life and loving home? They have every variation of colour and personality, so there’s sure to be one for you! To arrange to visit APAH’s Cattery please call 630 422 563 or 616 210 850.
www.apahrescue.org
photo: Www.vetprofessionals.com/
animal corner CAT QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
Q: My cat is very fussy. What’s the best thing to feed it? A: Every cat is an individual and like people can have taste preferences. Cat foods are available in many different forms such as chunks in jelly, chunks in gravy or a meatloaf type. If your cat is very fussy warming the food slightly will help to release the natural aromas. Hand feeding can also be very useful to tempt a cat that is convalescing after an illness. One trick is to try offering a “platter” with a little of each different types of food on it and watch for the one your cat shows a preference for. Don’t forget that some cats prefer crunching on a dry food. DISCLAIMER: Please note: this editorial feature is meant to provide advice only and is not meant to replace an appointment with a registered veterinarian.
All they need is a loving home !
can you help?
Perla is around 3 years old and in need of a new home, she is slightly nervous so would ideally suit an older family with no young children. She has been chipped, vaccinated, sterilized and good with other dogs. Call: 645 469 253
perla
marina
Marina was found with her 2 kittens and her rump was very inflamed, we rushed her to the vet where she received treatment and tested her for feline diseases which are all negative. She is a very shy 10 month old girl who at the moment doesn’t want to be picked up but does like a stroke and will wrap herself around your feet. She has been sterilised and vaccinated. Call: 645 469 253
pets in spain Call: 645 469 253 www.petsinspain.com info@petsinspain.info
SOLTIMES november 2014
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31
COMMUNITY NEWS welcome events
Wednesday 19th November - Dance with Kevin Tyler and the lovely Joanne. €8. Friday 5th December - Ladies Day trip to Torrevieja market, La Zenia shopping mall and Iceland for your Christmas goodies. €10. Wednesday 10th December - Christmas Party Night with Ricky Levazza and Sandy Fitzpatrick. €12. New Years Eve - Dance with Rob Sweeney, Dan Davey and our own Christine. €20 to include cold buffet. 2015 TRIPS Monday 11th May - 3 night trip to the ancient city of Cordoba for the “Patio Of The Flowers,” staying B&B at a 4-star hotel. Marvel at the displays of flowers on the patios in the old part of the city. Not to be missed. Book now to avoid disappointment. €260 including a trip to Ubeda. Wednesday 27th May - Cruise around the Mediterranean. Staying overnight in Valencia, then on to Barcelona to join Royal Caribbean “Vision Of The Seas” for 12 nights, visiting Villefranche, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, 2 days in Venice, Ravena, and Kotor, Montenegro. All outside cabins. HOT NEWS - Monday 14th September - Trip to Salamanca, staying for 2 nights at 4-star Hotel Exe Hall, within walking distance of the old city, then 2 nights at a 4-star hotel in Leon city centre, with a day trip to Astorga, and 1 night in Valladolid. All B&B. €295. For more information call Rosemary on 620105179
Home Owners and Residents in Camposol
are invited to join “Camposolers Political” in FaceBook. Burying ones head in the sand is tantamount to putting ones hands up and surrendering your fate to “some” self serving politicians that, when in Office with a fat pay cheque, could not give a rat’s behind that your investment, and in a lot of cases life savings, continues to go down the drain as the condition of the failing infrastructure deteriorates further with each day.To join just copy and paste…. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ camposolers.poltical in your Browser or email reg_rogers@hotmail.com
50+ SOLOs
(Torrevieja area) No subs or fees and open to ladies and gentlemen over 50 years of age and on their own. We go to different restaurants normally the first and third Saturday of the month. To enquire or book please contact Ruth 966 789 063 or Anne 966786281
Country & Western Night
in aid of S.A.T. on the 29th November at Rojales Steak House Rojales from 8.30pm till 12. JD Tex Mex music duo have kindly offered to do the gig free for us. Tickets are €5 for food and entry and can be obtained from the S.A.T shop in Benimar or Formentera or from Rojales steak house for more info ring 687 233 980
modern jive classes
Modern Jive Spain Ceroc Style with Paso A Paso Tuesdays 1.30pm The Club, Quesada. Tuesdays 5pm La Marina Sports Complex, La Marina Urb. Thursdays NEW SUMMER TIME 6pm Los Rosales Restaurant, Guardamar. La Mosca still tbc All classes start with a ongoing beginners class. Thursday dance social with different entertainers and Dance Junction Disco at Los Rosales Restaurant. Doors open 8.30pm. All welcome. www.modern-jive-spain.com / Face book same Tel 670 711 408
Returning of Rendezvous Girls Social Club.
11th december party day with Nick gold Dan davy and Benny. 8 euros includes entertainment buffet snacks and free gift. Bring your hubbys, boyfriends and family members. All welcome. Ring me lin 648 250 652
Casa Tom Community Choir:
Casa Tom Community Choir meets every Monday at 2.00pm for 2.30pm. It is a mixed choir and all levels are welcome. No auditions, no solos. Make new friends and have a good time. Location: CASA TOM, Avenida JACA 31, San Luis, Torrevieja. Phone or email Terry for further details. Phone: 647-189-135. Email: casatomsanluis@ gmail.com.
art club
Art Club, all mediums, no charge, in the Playa Flamenca area. Anyone interested, please contact Lyn tel: 966 189 118
COME SEQUENCE DANCING
In the air conditioned Olympia Torrevieja Costa Restaurant, Mil Palmeras Monday evenings at 8pm in a very congenial Lions Club Please come and join our club members atmosphere. Programme and music on one of our “ Business meeting nights” change weekly. New dances introduced at 7-30pm. For further details contact and see what we are doing this year to Sina and Terry. Tel. 96 676 9420 raise money for charities, in our local area and further afield. We are growing in numbers every month so if you feel SPIRITUALIST CENTRE like helping us then we can be found on benijofar the second Thursday in every month at Meets at NEW ADDRESS: with the Cabo Cervera Hotel in La Mata near immediate effect at Hamilton´s Bake Torrevieja, Meetings now start at 19.30 House, 62 Calle Vicente, Blasco Ibañez, Benijofar 03178. We hold a Sunday hours. If you like what you see and hear, then Service at 11.30 a.m., a Tuesday you will be invited to join us at our next Evening of Mediumship at 7 p.m. And social night event later in the month, every Thursday there is an Open Circle where ever and what ever it may be where you can develop your skills commencing at 6.30 p.m. Spiritual you can be sure of a good night. healing is available every Sunday and Contact philip.buckman@btinternet. Tuesday after the service. com or via our web site on membership@ Ray Bailey will take the Divine Service torreviejacostalions.org on Sunday 23rd November. Everybody to our centre. Contact Wendy Quesada Pool League welcome on 965 323 028. The start of the 2014/15 Quesada Pool League is nearly here - games are played www.spiritualistcentre-benijofar.com most Wednesday evenings between New email is phoenixchurch23@gmail. October and May with a couple of leagues com or info@spiritualistcentre-benijofar. plus optional knockout competitions com Identificacion Fiscal G54713789 for singles, doubles and teams. We are looking for any bars or clubs in the greater Wish your Friends or Loved Ones Happy birthday, Anniversary Quesada area that have an English Pool or just send them a special table and would like to enter a team, to message. Send details to get in contact as soon as possible – please email quesada-pool@outlook.com production@soltimes.com
stars in bars
DATE ARTIST VENUE
AREA INFO
19th Richie C La Manga Camping La Manga 20th Nikki G The Local La Florida 20th Gemma The Lansdowne Playa Flamenca 20th Andy Balsamo Jardin’s Restaurant La Zenia Start 8pm 20th Che & Ali YOLO Cabo Roig 21st Andy Jones Maggie OBrians Campoverde 21st Lynden B Captain Morgans Eagles Nest Comedy Show 22nd Elvis Experience Black Bull Castilla International 22nd The Cages YOLO Cabo Roig 22nd Diverse Duo Pablo’s Bar Playa Flamenca 23rd Lynden B Inn at the Green Entre Naranjas 23rd Vanessa The Snug Torre de la Horredada 23rd Andy Jones Thirsty Monk Torrevieja 24th Lynden B The Park Inn Quesada Start 7pm 24th The Cadillacs The Club Quesada Start 4pm 25th Lynden B Arches Cafe Bar Los Alcazares
Strictly Dance
Monday The Palms, Punta Prima 46pm Beginner and Intermediate tuition and general dancing. Tuesday The Club, Quesada 8-10pm Beginner and Intermediate tuition and general dancing. New courses every 3 weeks, singles welcome. Come and join us with our Strictly gossip. Hope to see you there! Info 966188430, 635584431 or lynatdenelledance@hot mail.com
PASO A PASO MODERN JIVE n DANCE CLUB
Mondays 7.30pm. Maymar Restaurant, Poligono de Poniente s/n Catral.€5 Tuesdays 3pm. La Marina Sports Complex on the urb, Cl Berna.€5 Tuesdays 8pm. Matrix Madhouse, Cl Republica Dominicano, Urb Pueblo Pricipe, Campoamor. €6 Wednesdays. Face2Face learning centre, Main Street, Benijofer. €6** Those classes marked ** please bring your own drinks. Thursdays 7pm Los Rosales Restaurant, cv895 Campo De Guardamar. This is our main dance class with social dancing til late. €5 whole night. €2 after 8.45pm where all dancers and spectators are welcome. Food available. Anyone attending a class during the week can come along for a FREE night of social dancing where all kinds of dancers can be seen on our dance floor. Music old and new provided by JIVE N DANCE JUNCTION DISCO. Never Danced-No Partner-No Problem.. The easy style partner dancer also known as Ceroc and Le Roc that has little footwork.....unless you get the dance bug too !!!!! Come along and be part of our friendly dance family. No need to book but new dancers please check for any updated information. Adam 638 330 342 / Maxine 670711408 www.modern-jive-spain.com or find us on facebook
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 2pm -3pm Intermediate Class 3pm - 4pm Intermediate Plus Class 4pm - 5pm For more information contact Andrea and Brian 616 478 157
32
SOLTIMES APRIL 2014
SOL CLASSIFIEDS
SOLTIMES 950 121 936 www.soltimes.com see us online everyday
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for sale
business opportunity
personals
Advertise all your unwanted items for sale in this section
“Internet Millionaire Reveals Secrets Of Making £1,000 A Week & More Without Any Previous Experience”
“Readers of a sensitive disposition may find some of the ads in this section offensive”
Any single item up to 300€ is free of charge email: blancasales@ soltimes.com
pool tables
snooker tables, table tennis tables, darts. Tel: 666 933 726 www.spainpool.com ELECTRIC GOLF TROLLEYS, Choice of two a Powakaddy Freeway black and an Energy/Lucas also black. Both are in good working order, but neither have a battery and charger included (both require a 12v 24amp battery) Mazarron area. These are both very reasonably priced at 45€ each Tel: 691 646 606 3 SEATER RECLINER SOFA, brown leather, good condition, 65.00€ Tel: 966 924 902 (lo Crispin Algorfa) Two Dorma overthrow covers as new, size 2m wide x 2.6m long (fit 3ft wide single beds). Beautiful yellow floral pattern one side different pattern other side, quilted. Bargain at 40€ each Tel: 968 199 018/649 296 658 (Camposol) Scan model SC2500 NTSC/PAL DVD player, with Karaoke function. Remote control and User Manual. Plays DVD’s from all regions (1, 2, and multi region) and RCE protected discs, also plays MP3 discs. 50€ Tel: 968 199 018/649 296 658 (Camposol) Brother Industrial sewing machine on stand with motor, lots of accessories inc.100 needles 250€, Knitmaster/Silver 700 punchcard knitting machine with lace carriage ribber and table, excellent condition second machine 120€, Brother Chunky 260 punchcard knitting machine with ribber, Intarsia carriage and table, gift at 120€, Bellinky knitwear linker/ sewer, easy to use. Boxed as new 39€ Tel: 693 059 558 2 BUTANO GAS BOTTLES 40€, Single phase deep submersible water pump (as used in a domestic well). Can be seen running 100€ Tel: 662 463 337 Murcia region.
If you would like to start earning extra money now! Then the internet is definitely the place to do this. You can earn money whilst relaxing by the pool or even earn whilst you’re sleeping. This is the reality for people that are making money online. Read why you should be cashing in on today’s booming economy and discover for yourself how you can turn your passion into a large monthly wage, every single month. For Free Information Visit
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electricians
Electrician available for all works
Small or large. Call Dave 693 251 562. davendonc@aol.com
ELEGANT slim, sexy, naughty italian lady available home/house visits. Torrevieja, La Manga, Torre Pacheco & Mazarron, Quesada plus all other areas. Escort available home & house visits. Tel: 693 357 526
pets
pet taxi TRAVELLING IN AIR CONDITIONED VEHICLE DELIVERED TO DOOR PETS STAY IN PET FRIENDLY HOTELS. ACCOMPANIED TRAVEL AVAILABLE
(0034) 667 235 205 (sp) (0044) 7850 575862
Furniture
Furniture first
est 2006
sl
ROJALES SPECIALIST OF PRE - OWNED FURNITURE & AccESSORIES AT SENSIBLE PRICES
house clearance specialist FREE LOCAL DELIVERY SERVICE WE BUY, SELL & PART EXCHANGE QUALITY FURNITURE Open Mon - Fri 10 - 18.00, Sat 10 - 14.00 C/Pablo Neruda 2, Local 5, Rojales
PLEASE CALL JAMIE ON: 966 713 075 OR 680 545 923 www.southcostablancaonline.com
insurance
asssa medical
insurances
Rita Rita is a 4 year old Chihuahua cross with a feisty personality. She was found injured by the side of the road and had suffered a fractured pelvis due to a hit and run. Fortunately she is now very fit and healthy so is ready to be homed.. She is fine with other dogs and people.
Asssa Mazarron, Diane Nolan, 968 153 396
Please contact K9 or PHONE: 600 84 54 20 for more info
mazarron@asssa.es
ENGLISH PLASTERER internal finishing, external rendering, 15 years experience, good rates. fully legal in spain. Call Chris 671 444 246 / 965 078 866 email: c_pettit@hotmail. co.uk
jewellery
www.k9club.es plasterer
GOLD WANTED want to know English jeweller wishes to buy broken or unwanted Gold jewellery, silver and coins
IMMEDIATE CASH PAYMENT Call Peter
664 890 990
Member of the National Association of Goldsmiths
whats in the news?
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SOLTIMES novemBER 2014
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www.soltimes.com property for sale / rent detatched cortijo reduced
bargain
Only 15€ per week! lineage from only 45c per word
33
recruitment
SOLTIMES are looking for
20mins from mojacar, 4 beds, 2 baths, Open plan living areas,kitchen&diningroomaswellas aworkshop,courtyardfront&back& room forapool.Mountainviews. €125,000 ono 649 186 107 oremail thunderpaul2003@hotmail.com
for sale
mojacar playa front line apartment 1 bed apt with private, gated parking & gardens. Communal pool. Walking distance to amenities, shops and restaurants. Opposite beach. Sea views.
€69,000
T: 646 844 708
VERA APARTMENT FOR RENT
Your property will appear as shown above and be seen by almost 55,000 Sol Times readers! De Lima’s
removals Local, National & international REMOVALS & STORAGE Quality Second hand furniture showroom
FOR SALE Apartment
(Top floor / Penthouse) Almoradi, Costa Blanca
bargain 4 BED, 2 BATH, Large Terrace overlooking Plaza, separate kitchen and utility room, lift, furnished incl. white goods, UK TV. 105m². Close to the town ‘s attractive central square and all other amenities. 10 mins drive from the resort of Guardamar and close to La Finca Golf.
Reduced price 72,950€
(0034) 676 534 978
Call Kate TODAY on
950 121 936
Excellent Commission Rates
Send your CV to cmm@soltimes.com or call Paulette on 950 121 936
removals
SHORT-TERM/HOLIDAY RENTAL
2 BEDROOM, 2 BATHROOM, pENTHOUSE APARTMENT IN VERA PLAYA ALL MOD CONS, BALCONY & ROOF TERRACE OFFERING FANTASTIC VIEWS cALL 663 977 230 EMAIL: gedfab@yahoo.com Vera Playa Apartment
Bright, enthusiastic Sales people with an outgoing personality to join our field sales team in Costa Blanca Based at our office in Quesada Experience in a field based sales role essential. If you enjoy meeting people & can work to weekly deadlines we want to speak with you!
263 Paseo del Mediterraneo Mojacar Playa, Next to Sal Marina Hotel Mon-Fri: 10am-3pm sat 10am-2pm Tel: 950 615 364 Call Marc on 647 006 183 or Brian on 674 280 268 or e-mail enquiries@delimas.biz
www.delimas.biz
fortnightly SERVICE TO & FROM UK FULL OR PART LOADS
UK - SPAIN - UK
swimming pools
Van hire
ONE WAY
UK to Spain or Spain to UK
*LOCAL *NATIONAL *EUROPEAN
* COLLECTION & DELIVERY *STORAGE
TEL: 667 235 205
Pick up/drop off locations Throughout UK, France and Spain
For all Enquiries & Orders Contact email: spain@daisypoolcover.com.au
Mobile: 660 080 201 sat/tv services
From a parcel to a small house move Professional,Friendly & Caring Fully insured, scheduled monthly door to door service
Rainbow Satellites for all your TV needs with clients
uk@fmtransport.co.uk www.fmtransport.co.uk
all over the Murcia Region.
+44 (0) 1582 499 836 +44 (0) 7977 754 389
686 358 475 or
Contact Matt or Alan on
rainbowsats@gmail.com LWB Sprinter van going from south to North of the UK & back every 2 weeks, based near Murcia Airport. Tel: 610 846 260/ 0044 7519 186 355. or email: van.man@ hotmail.co.uk
spas euro spas Spas at factory prices. Used & Ex display models. Spares & repairs. Part exchange Telephone 650 722 905
translation services LOOKING FOR A QUICK
TRANSLATION ? English/Spanish Translations
EMAIL YOUR TEXT TO:
quicktranslations11@gmail.com
wigs Salon Mar garethas 24 years in Torrevieja hair / wig specialist for medical illness and hair loss problems. We offer different hair replacements, top fillers, hair prostheses, toupees & wigs. Natural & artificial hair & much more. Also fashion /festival accessories. TV/TS are welcome to our service. Call Margaretha on 966 921 846 for an appointment.
want to know whats in the news? go online
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34
...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES
SOLTIMES novemBER 2014
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Audi A1 facelift revealed
Call Kate on: 950 121 936 or 902 750 190 Ext 330 or email: sales@soltimes.com
New three-cylinder engines debut as well as a subtle facelift, the latest tech and chassis tweaks Audi has given its compact A1 range a mild visual makeover and introduced two three-cylinder engines for the first time. With MINI introducing a raft of new three- and five-door versions of its hatch, the time has come for Audi to keep its small premium offering looking fresh. But with 500,000 sales under the car’s belt since its launch four years ago, the changes are unsurprisingly small
The exterior look has received a small nip and tuck to keep the A1 in keeping with younger models in the Audi line-up. The front end has been subtly re-worked and features a six-corner single frame grille, a sharper looking front bumper and snazzier headlamps. The A1 and A1 Sportback’s side profile now looks a bit different too thanks to revised door sills, while to the rear, new taillights and a rear bumper in keeping with the front also feature. The changes result in both models’ dimensions growing by two centimetres, but just as before, the “roof arch” can be ordered in a contrasting colour to the body’s paintwork. Audi has added two new trims – design and
sport – including a plethora of customisation options. The infotainment system has been mildly upgraded too and now features a wifi hotspot, Bose surround sound system and Audi Connect – the firm’s extensive range of internet services. But the changes are more than skin deep. Just like the recently revised Volkswagen Polo, two new turbocharged three-cylinder engines make their appearance in the A1 range – a 95bhp 1.0-litre petrol and a 90bhp 1.4-litre diesel. The new petrol will start at £14,315 when it is available to order in Spring 2015, which is £200 more than the 1.2 TFSI model it replaces. The petrol offers 65.7mpg and CO2 emissions of 99g/km while the diesel delivers 83.1mpg
and 89gkm of CO2. In fact, the A1 is the first Audi to ever be powered by a three-pot engine. The new three-cylinder units will be joined by 123bhp and 148bhp 1.4-litre petrol units – the higher-powered version will have cylinder on demand technology – a 114bhp 1.6-litre diesel and a 1.8-litre diesel with 189bhp. The racy 231bhp S1 and S1 Sportback will continue to be offered with their performance CO2 and MPG figures remaining the same Audi’s engineers have spent time working on the chassis to make the A1 and A1 Sportback more of a challenger to the excellent Mini. The cars can now come with adaptive damping and a new electromechanical power steering system. The updated A1 range goes on sale later this month, priced between £200 and £400 more than the current range, depending on engines and trim level. The five-door Sportback commands a £620 premium, whilst the S1 hot hatch is £25,380. Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk
vehicles for sale
Do you have a caravan, vehicle, boat or motor bike for sale this space for only 15€
wanted
CASH CASH “RE-PLATE” CASH MATE Same day collection
2001 Renault Megane sports Coupe
Metallic Red 1900 DTI, CD Player, Tinted Windows, Reliable, Alloy Wheels Economical & Nippy “ITV March 15” €1,200 ono
Call: 609 199 394
We pay instant cash same day for cars, vans, bikes, quads, caravans, trailers, absolutley anything!
From 1€ to 10,000€
Call Phil: 607 848 332 wanted uk cars & vans bought for cash Telephone 667 235 205
To advertise your vehicle in the motoring section & reach over 32,000 readers
PHONE kate ON
950 121 936ext 330 Looking for a car we have a good selection of LHD & RHD vehicles available for sale or exchange
Telephone 600 726 221 or 965 687 976
www.fwreurocars.com
Vehicles registration
the sold thanks to 1000€
SOLTIMES 1998 opel corsa 1.0, petrol, manual, new ITV, VGC 123,000kms, transfer inc Tel: 622 338 515
mobile auto electrics
Mobile Auto Electrician ENGINE MANAGEMENT DIAGNOSTICS fault Finding & Repairs Engine Diagnostics Air-conditioning Re-gas & repairs Starter Motor & Alternator Repairs
Telephone Al - Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm FULLY MOBILE
638 323 499
WANTED
ALL VEHICLES
Cars, Motorhomes, 4x4’s, Boats, Vans, Trailers, Quads, Classics
FOR CASH
Telephone: 699 805 995
info@carsrus.es
wanted cars for cash
Best prices paid Spanish English Anythingconsidered
tel: Tim on 662 211 993
GB
E
Don’t take a chance! Don’t break the Law! Let us take the hassle away from you and re-register your vehicle on to Spanish plates 490€ plus Road Tax plus CO2 emission if applicable WE PROMISE TO BEAT ANY GENUINE QUOTATION For a full service contact:
Alan 662 249 159
www.replatematecostablanca.com
For re-registration of cars, motorbikes and motor homes contact Graham Shelton Who after re-registering over 1000 vehicles will put you on the right side of the road.
605 319 889 or 966 753 375 www.spanish-number-plates.com info@spanish-number-plates.com
SOLTIMES november 2014
John MacDonald (El Sordo) www.caratacus.eu
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35
viewpoint
Rearmament
After centuries of undeclared warfare between the opposing Barrios of Alqueria the methods of waging war had become staid and predictable. Like a marriage suffering the same malady, spice, zest and excitement needed to be added to stop the whole thing petering out due to boredom and apathy. Manuela and her Hill People confederates approached Rancid Rafael, a well known black marketeer and spiv. Rancid Rafael was so called because of his habit of styling his hair and moustache with curdled yak’s milk and Marmite. He was known to have clandestine dealings with such organisations as the international arms house, Bangs”r”Us. A meeting was duly arranged on the understanding that all parties would remain incognito. To this end the participants, Manuela, Poyato, Rancid Rafael and the Bangs”r”Us salesman, Incendiary Pete wore Conemmor Supermarket bags on their heads. The smell from Rafael’s hair gave his identity away immediately. When Manuela tried to interfere with Incendiary Pete’s nether regions her identity became obvious also. Poyato managed to remain anonymous for about five minutes until he produced his Remitroot filled hip-flask lavishly inscribed with his name. They still kept up the pretence of anonymity however, until the imminent prospect of suffocation forced them to abandon their plastic carrier bags. The Hill People’s delegation purchased the (LGRRDS) Little Gem Random Rubble Delivery System manufactured by the British firm Bloemhi and Hyde Co. Ltd. The system arrived flat-packed under cover of darkness. Assembly began immediately, however due to the lateness of the hour a seven your old child was unavailable and construction
The Twilight Saga Impending Gloom*
had to be performed by Alquerian adults. Even the slow witted realised the inevitable outcome. The first attempt produced a remarkably rigid double wardrobe with louvred doors. The second resulted in a confused mass of struts and bulges which somehow seemed strangely personified, it would have made Damien Hirst proud. The third attempt resembled a barrel on legs, it was immediately dubbed ‘The Thing’. At this point the characteristic truncated attention span of the Alquerians clicked in and they gave up. An alternative plan was hatched. They decided to use the results of the third attempt as a Trojan Horse. All went well as ‘The Thing’ was wheeled into the Newcomer’s territory. At midnight a commando group were to jump out of ‘The Thing’. They would then daub pro-Hill People graffiti on the walls and houses of the Newcomers and then make their way back to friendly territory as best they could. As Manuela and her comrades watched and giggled in the dark a realisation struck them. They had forgotten to actually put anyone into the third attempt. ‘The thing’ was empty. As an alternative to the alternative a rather rude letter was sent to Rodriquez, the leader of the Newcomers.
Our usually cheerful kitchen had taken on a rather sombre aspect, due to the demise of one of our three fluorescent light tubes. I fetched in the big steps, and ascended to ceiling height to remove the dead tube. I pushed the end fixings, then I pulled them. I gave them a twist, then I jiggled them, all to no avail – the tube remained stubbornly put. ‘How do you get it out?’ I queried. ‘You push the ends.’ Pete answered. ‘Done that.’ ‘Well, pull them, then.’ ‘Done that.’ ‘Have you given them a twist?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Let me have a go.’ Despite my protestations Pete climbed resolutely up, grasped the ends of the tube and pushed. Then he pulled. He tried giving them a twist before coming to the sensible decision that ‘this was a job for Andy.’ We tolerated a muted kitchen until next day, when Andy took his turn up the Biggs Big Steps. Due to either luck or skill, and I’m sure it was the latter, Andy removed the tube with no difficulty and replaced it with a brand new, expensive (2.50€ as opposed to the cheap one for 1€) tube. Pete switched the switch, and Presto! Our 3 tube light still only had 2 working tubes, but in a different configuration! The new one was working, but one of the other tubes had decided that
Dark was the new Light! Andy trudge d up the steps a g a i n , josbiggs@hotmail.co.uk a n d between Pete and Andy tubes were taken out, put back and switched round, in a sort of electrical Find the Lady while I manned the switch. Matters, however, went from not too bad to not very good, and we progressed from 2 working tubes to 1 working tube. Eventually, having completely lost track of which tube was where, which tube was the dud one and which was the new one, we decided to quit and call upon the services of Tall Andy the Properly Qualified Electrician while we still had an intact kitchen ceiling and one working tube out of the original three, and before anyone fell off the steps. Supper was cooked by guesswork, and served with carrots. I understand that carrots are good for the eyesight, and if we can’t get the light fixed, then we need to improve our night sight! *This sorry tale of everyday domestic annoyances bears no resemblance to Stephenie Meyer’s superb Twilight Saga, which is much more exciting!
By Jos Biggs
News
Apple and Google Among World’s Least Transparent Companies
The globe’s largest companies are failing to disclose major financial details about their operations in foreign countries, according to a new report. Transparency International (TI), a Berlin based anti-corruption unit, ranked 124 companies on their financial transparency on their operations abroad. UK firms were amongst some of the highest scorers in the report, while tech giants Apple and Google were among the worst offenders. The five companies that were the
most unclear about their dealings were (from first to fifth); Bank of China, Honda Motor, Bank of Communications, Agricultural Bank of China and Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank. US tech giants Amazon and Google were also singled out in the report, along with Apple and IBM, who all received a score of less than three out of 10 in terms of transparency. “Amazon, Apple and Google are among seven US companies whose company leadership doesn’t publicly
demonstrate support for anticorruption on their website,” the report reads. “Neither Amazon nor Apple say whether they have anti-corruption training for staff. Amazon is the only US company that is silent on its policy on gifts, hospitality and expenses, as well as on the channels it provides for whistleblowers.” Cobus de Swardt, TI’s managing director, said that these tech companies should be leading the way in transparency: “Tech companies are driving changes that are making our societies more open and accountable. They should be setting an example for other companies on transparency. We hope they will live up to the promise of their products and be
more transparent about the way they operate.” Transparency International chairman Jose Ugaz added: “We need more transparency from multinational companies, whose power in the world economy closely rivals the biggest countries.” “By not responding to people’s demands for greater transparency and accountability, companies risk harming their brand and losing customers.” Almost three quarters of the 124 companies that were evaluated in the report did not disclose the taxes that they pay in other countries, and half don’t publish revenue information from their foreign operations. Source: www.ibtimes.co.uk
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sport & motoring
Mercedes AMG GT: now on sale with full prices and specs
The new 2015 Mercedes AMG GT supercar is available to order now, with prices starting at £97,195 and rising to £122,745
The new Mercedes AMG GT is now available to order in the UK, complete with its SLS-inspired silhouette, a stunning design and a brand new turbocharged 4.0-litre V8. It becomes the flagship sports car in Mercedes’ range but isn’t a direct replacement for the SLS, focusing instead on rivalling models like the Porsche 911 Turbo and Jaguar F-Type R.
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Officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 2014, the full price list of the AMG GT has just been released. The first models coming to the UK will be the 503bhp GT-S and Edition 1, starting at £110,495 and £122,745 respectively. They will be delivered to customers in April 2015. The ‘base’ 456bhp GT model will start at £97,195. It is also available to order now, but won’t appear in showrooms until late 2015, around six months after the GT S and Edition 1. Options available to order include a ceramic composite braking system, at £5,995, and a Premium Pack with a reversing camera, a panoramic sunroof, a 640W Burmester sound system and keyless start. This will set you back £4,195. All models are powered by an allnew dry sump 4.0-litre twin turbocharged V8 in two outputs. Power is delivered to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, with the GT S able to accelerate from 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds and the GT taking twotenths longer. The more powerful car comes with a selectable exhaust as standard, allowing you to hear more or less of the V8’s growl depending on which mode the Dynamic Select system is in. Buyers can specify the system as an option on the standard GT. The flagship Edition 1, on sale alongside the GT-S, offers a more exclusive styling package to buyers, as well as some extra equipment and uprated aero. The most obvious changes over the GT S include a large fixed rear wing in place of the smaller retractable spoiler and there is also redesigned carbon fibre aero at the front. A deeper front splitter and more prominent side skirts will also feature on the Edition 1.
It also gets a set of gloss black wheels - 19 inch on the front, and 20 inch on the rear, unlike the GT-S wheels which are 19 inch all round. Inside, there’s suede and leather-trimmed AMG sports seats with contrast stitching, and a textured ‘black diamond’ centre console trim. The AMG GT Edition 1 is based around the same powertrain and suspension package offered on the range-topping GT S. That means the new 4.0 litre twin-turbocharged direct injection V8 will be fitted, developing 503bhp and 649 Nm of torque. Underneath, the AMG GT is based around the same kind of aluminium spaceframe chassis as the SLS – albeit with 50mm cut out of the wheelbase. As a result the GT S weighs 1,645kg, which is 25kg less than the 911 Turbo and 5kg less than the FType R Coupe. And it looks like Jaguar’s F-Type may have some competition when it comes to the title of most striking sports car on the market. The long bonnet, low glasshouse and powerful rear haunches are all SLS-inspired touches, but designers have chosen a more sweeping roofline – a design feature that was considered for the SLS before the flatter, retroinspired design was picked. The car in our pictures is the GT S, which is marked out from the standard GT by a front splitter finished in gloss black (it’s body-coloured on the GT) and a new GT S badge on the rear. Buyers can customise their GT further with a Chrome package, a Night pack and a lot of carbon fibre exterior parts. The interior features the traditional AMG centre console, with two rows of buttons flanking the gear selector and a new touchpad borrowed from the new C-Class. There are some buttons in the roof as well, which will control the seat heating, hazard lights and the extendable spoiler. There are no back seats, but Mercedes says there’s a 350-litre boot – enough for two sets of golf clubs. Mercedes AMG GT: dynamics But if you’re buying your sports car for its handling rather than its carrying capacity, you’ll be pleased to know the GT comes with double wishbone suspension all-round and a locking differential. The GT S gets adaptive dampers, which can be switched through Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus modes using the AMG Dynamic Select system. There’s also a £1,795 AMG Dynamic Plus package available for the GT S, which includes active engine and transmission mounts, which work independently of each other, and can be adjusted for feel or refinement. “The combination of selectively variable mounts and a transaxle drivetrain is unique,” said Jochen Hermann, Head of Overall Vehicle Engineering AMG. Mercedes AMG GT buyers can further boost performance of their car through the fitment of optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres. Source: www.autoexpress.co.uk/
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Calle Mallorca, San Javier Call us: 968 146 158 or 618 628 511
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audi q5
2.0 tdi quattro, 2012, 96,000kms
€26,950
Mazda CX5 2.0 diesel 2013, lhd 23,000 kms
€23,950
audi a3
auto, 1.6, tdi 32,000 kms, 2012
€18,950
MERCEDES E320 CDi
DIESEL, AUTO, 2005,167,000KMS
€14,950
VW Caddy
Wheelchair adapted, 2007,82,000 kms
poa
Renault Fluence
1.5DCi, 2011, 55,000kms
€12,950
chevrolet captiva
2.0 vcdi, 2009,103,000km
€12,950
vauxall vivaro rhd 2010 52,000km
€12,950
• ferrari f430, challenge car, 4.3l, v8, 2008, 7,000kms.......................................................................€89,950 • bmw m5 touring, 2008, 110,000km.......................€26,950 • BMW X5 3L Diesel, Auto, 2006 102,000kms........€19,950 • mercedes slk 200 cabrio, 2004, 98,000kms...€14,950 • peugeot 308, 1.6e hdi, 2011, auto, 50,000kms.€11,950 • nissan qashqai 1.5 dci Diesel, 2008, 75,000kms............ ..........................................................................................€11,950 • peugeot 308 sw, 1.6hdi, Diesel, 2012, 61,000kms, 7 seater .........................................................................€13,950 • seat leon 1.9 tdi, 2010, 96,000kms, fsh...............€poa • toyota corolla verso auto, 7 seat, 2007, 108,000 kms....................................................................€9,950 • mini cooper, 2005, 1.6, auto, 76,000kms.............€7,950 • kiacarnival, 2.9 td, 2006, auto, 7-seater, 90,000kms........................................................................€7,450 • ford fiesta 1.4 tdci 5-door, 2006........................€5,950 • seat cordoba 1.4, 60,000kms, 2007, 1 owner.....poa • alfa 156 crosswagon 1.9, jtd, 2005, 84,000kms........... ...........................................................................................€5,950 • peugeot 1007, 2005, 1.4 automatic, 65,000km....€5,950 • citroen c3 1.4, petrol, 2007....................................€5,750 • hyundai santa fe petrol, auto, 2004, 86,000kms....... ...........................................................................................€4,950 • RENAULT MEGANE SCENIC RX4, 168,000kms 1.9DTi, Diesel, 2001....................................................................€4,950 • citroen berlingo 2.0 hdi, gold, 2004, 147,000kms...... ...........................................................................................€4,950 • opel corsa 1.3 cdti, 2005, diesel, 113,000kms€4,950 • opel corsa 1.7 cdti, 2003, diesel, 3 door 97.000 kms.......................................................................€3,950 • honda vt750 shadow, 2005, 17,000kms...............€3,950 • ford fusion 1.4 petrol, 2004, 53,000kms.........€3,450 • ford ka 1.3, 2002, 69,000kms...................................€2,950 • opel corsa 1.2, auto, 2001, 91,000kms...............€2,950 • Mitsubishi Carisma 2000, a/c, 143,000kms.........€2,950 • nissan cargo 2.3, d, 1997, 160,000kms................€2,450
Right hand drive vehicles • rolls royce silver spirit, rhd, 51,000 miles.......... ......................................................................................€13,950 • vauxhall vivaro 2.0l diesel 2010, 6 seater........... 52,000kms..................................................................€12,950 • KIA SEDONA 2005, 2.9 TD, DIESEL, 113,000 MILES......... ........................................................................................€4,250 • vauxhall omega 2.0 gls, 2000, mot & tax...€1,450
Right hand drive - spanish reg • AUDI TT QUATTRO ROADSTER, 1.8 PETROL,
64,000 MILES 2002......................................................€6,950 • MGB GT 1.8 PETROL, 1978.......................................€3,950 • nissan primera 1998 2L petrol auto............€1,950 • hyundai atos 1.0, automatic, 2000, red........€1,950
~ RHD / LHD Taken in Part Exchange / purchased for cash
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Peugeot 308 2.0 hdi, 2008, 58,000kms auto, diesel
€10,950
renault clio 1.2
2011, petrol, 31,000km
€9,950
hyundai terracan,
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€8,950
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peugeot 207 1.4, 2008, 37,000kms
€6,950
audi tt roadster
rhd, 2002,1.8 102,998kms
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SPORT & motoring
Diesel Performance Tuning Lime Bar GS
Making the very best of your diesel engine, increasing drivability, performance and saving fuel is something we do at “Veloc Tuning”. We are Spain’s premier remapping company and are the main dealer in Spain for Quantum Tuning in the UK, and backed by years of experience and expertise. Why not invest in your car and feel the benefits immediately? Our aim is to perfect your diesel engines performance and optimise on fuel economy. This is done by remapping your engines “Engine Control Unit” or “ECU” for short. ECU remapping has been popular for years now, however with the advances in diesel engines and the electronics that runs them, it is possible to take great advantage of the power hidden away within. Also refining and improving the overall running of the engine. We offer three different stages of tune, From mild economy tunes, to some wild performance tunes, or a great combination of both. Never are the engines limits reached or exceeded so to maintain the durability and reliability of the engine.
Prior to any remapping work we always give the vehicle a health check with our state of the art diagnostic tools to ensure your engine is running perfectly beforehand, and you have no hidden faults or pending faults looming. This is to ensure the tuning is perfect for your car, and will cause no problems. After the remapping work and road testing, a further diagnostic test is done to ensure good engine health thereafter. We offer a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not totally satisfied with the tuning results. In the unlikely event, the vehicle is returned to the original state of tune, and a refund given in full.
The golf societies venue for the 12th November 2014 was held at Roda Golf Course. With 30 members, the society teed off in warm sunshine with the course in good condition We all started on the 10th tee and with it being the easiest 9 holes the scores were reasonable, however the returning 9 being recognised as more difficult had its effect on some of the players. The competition was in the stapleford format and the scores recorded are as follows. Longest Drive on the 10th hole was Les
Henderson. Nearest the pin on the 7th hole (par 3) was Steve Cottle. There were no other nearest the pin results Silver Class 3rd place was Dave Everson with a score of 27 points. Silver Class 2nd place was Brian Archer with a score of 30 points. Silver Class 1st place was Alan Jackson with a score of 36 points. Gold Class 3rd place was Bob Adair with a score of 28 points. Gold Class 2nd place was Mike Highway with a score of 30 points. Gold Class 1st place was Digger with a score of 33 points. A very good day in pleasant company, with thanks to Captain Mick Slater for organising the event and other members who assisted. Also thanks to the Staff at The Lime Bar and ladies for an enjoyable meal. Anyone wishing to Join our friendly society just need to phone Mick on 659866468.
LO CRISPIN GS
Alicante – 12 November 2014 The tuning software also carries a This was the fourth game at Alicante lifetime guarantee for your piece of this season and as before it was a game mind. within a game, as well as our singles We never ask for payment for our Stableford, it was the last game that remapping services until we, and our counted towards the eclectic competition. customers have test driven the vehicle The Ladies were in the lead going into the and are totally satisfied with the results. last day, so the gents were determined For more information or to book your to beat them to the post. Alicante has mobile remap service, visit our website at: proved to be a difficult course to score www.veloc-ecu-remapping-spain.com on for the average player and today was Email: paul@veloc-ecu-remapping-spain- no exception. No-one could blame the com. condition of the course as it was in good condition in general with the fountains Tel: 950 104 488 or 600 827 517 displaying the eye catching sparkle of the water on the lakes in the autumn sunshine. One or two inspected these lakes at close quarters but definately not to take in their beauty but to find an errant ball or two. The only draw back of the day was the slow play as the course was very busy and proved to be a five
and half hour round. Back at Mont´s Bar the prizes were given to: Gold Division: 1st Dicky Claeys 30pts, 2nd John Dunnion 27pts (c/b) and 3rd Padraig O´Brien 27pts Silver Division: 1st Alan Crain 30pts, 2nd 24pts and 3rd Steve Cosgrove 22pts Bronze Division: John Featherstone 31pts, 2nd Margaret O´Brien 30pts and 3rd Paul Carter 28pts NTPs: Alain Crain holes 3 and 15, Ron Stevenson hole 6, Holes 8 and 12 Brian Smith and Ricky Claeys hole 17. George Steward won the only one with a 2 so collect €50 and Ron Stephenson collect the free game draw. The Society would like to thank Mont´s Bar for providing some food for after the game as our usual hostelry, the Tavern was closed, we really enjoyed it.
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SOLTIMES novemBER 2014
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SPORT & motoring
San Miguel GS
The second outing of November found SMGS members and guests attempting to conquer the Murcian course of Mar Menor, located between Torre Pacheco and Los Alcázares. Seldom visited by the society, some had trouble finding the urbanisation. Even more trouble, and for almost all, was found locating the 10th tee from which the opening round of the Bogey´s Shield, an annual Medal competition, was to begin. Some distance from the hotel at which the 1st starts and the 18th finishes and not sign posted, those entering or leaving the complex from one of the main gates would have come across buggies heading in all directions trying to locate the starting site, as well as a Marshall in hot pursuit whistling loudly. Once rounded up and underway, players found a course in very good condition with closely cropped fairways and fast greens, and only a slight wind to affect the flight of the ball. However, and as is usual, the medal final scores, with the main exceptions of two players who managed to break and even par with their net scores, were generally very modest. Prior to prize giving all attending learned from the Captain, Phil de Lacy, the sad news of the recent passing away of long time member Sue Freeman, and the sending of the Society’s condolences to her husband Mike and family. Our thoughts are with them. The Medal results (net scores) for the 30 members and 5 guests playing, by category and in reverse order, were the following: Bronze Category: 5th Brian Mulligan (87 on CB), 4th Norman McBride (87 on CB), 3rd Ray Ewins (83), 2nd Paul Cobain (82) and 1st, with
EUROGOLF SOCIETY
the best score of the day, Keith Stevenson with 70. Silver Category: 5th Mike Jordan (80), 4th Alan MacDonald (79), 3rd Glen Rapley (78), 2nd Ken Potts (76), and 1st El Presidente Phil Birtwistle with a 73. Gold Category: 5th Ivan Hanak (75 on CB), 4th Barry Roehrig (75 on CB), 3rd Phil de Lacy (75 on CB), 2nd John Aitchinson (74) and 1st, for the third week in a row and clearly beginning to make a habit of it, Tony Smale with a 72. The Abacus winner was Mary Cleary The Best Visitor Prize went to Graham Kemp with a very commendable net 73. Nearest the pins (open to all) on the par 3’s were won by Keith Whiting (2), John Aitchinson (8), Ken Flaherty (14) and Keith Wickham (17). Our thanks go to the staff at Mar Menor golf course for their contribution to an enjoyable day. Keep up to date with all SMGS matters b y logging on to our website www.smgs.org or simply give Barry Roehrig a call on 966 731 033 to find out more about the society and its weekly golf get-togethers.
As the Indian Summer continues 45 members took part in the Monthly Medal competition on Thursday 13 November. The course was in good condition with ongoing improvements being carried out by the course management. Congratulations to all winners today, and particular our November Monthly winner Ray Porter. The results were as follows: Gold Category: 1st Bob Buckeridge 77 points 2nd David Gregson 78 points 3rd Franz Berndt 79 points. Silver Category: 1st Ray Porter 73 points 2nd Gloria Manning 76 points 3rd Debbie Weedon 77 points. Best Gross Score: David Gregson 86 points. Best Front 9 Robin Richards 36 points Best Back 9 Terry Sayers 37 points. Nearest the Pins: 5th Stan Low 11th Alec Ralph 17th Ray Porter Many thanks to our N.T.P´s sponsors today – Monos Bar & Restaurant, Lo Marabu Bar & Restaurant, Manolos Restaurant. Football Draw winners were Tony Stanley, Morag Turner, Paul Manning, Carol S On Tuesday 11 November our sister society TOFFs held their weekly Stableford competition. Unfortunately, due to the heavy rainfall half way through the
competition, many of the players decided to ´call it a day´. Leaving a few die hards to complete the course! This resulted in the competition having to be modified, with the results as follows: 18 Holes: 1st Cindi Green 37 pts 2nd Ray Porter 36 pts 3rd Dave Nicholls 36 pts. Front 9: 1st Jean Jackson 18 pts 2nd Ian Pegg 18 pts 3rd Bob Buckeridge 18 pts Back 9: 1st Joe Curren 21 pts 2nd Franz Berndt 20 pts 3rd Gordon White 20 pts Nearest the Pins 5th Dave Nicholls 11th Tony Hitt 15th Bill Martin 17th Joe Curren Many thanks to everyone who contributed so generously to the Poppy Day Golf, the final total raised was an amazing €434.
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SPORT
ROCKETS’S GOLF SOCIETY
LA MARQUESA GOLF – 11th NOVEMBER 2014 After a gap of close on 10 years we ventured just down the road to Quesada to play at La Marquesa Golf, not sure if it was tears of joy or horror, as after 5 holes it persisted down and like the martyrs we are we continued until common sense and drowned rats prevailed we call it a day after a few more holes. It was so bad that those who watched the weather forecast and donned waterproofs still got soaked to the skin. We really did try to play a combined pairs stableford. Such a shame as there was a number of us that had not played La Marquesa for such a long time, we were really looking forward to playing there. The competition was based on just
9 holes and the brave winners were: 1st: Arthur Williams & Ken Hopkins 62 points 2nd: Malcolm Woods & Tom Richardson 51 points NEAREST THE PINS: HOLE 5: Barney Hickey HOLE 15: Dave Gurrene LONGEST DRIVE: Pearse McMurray It was an early bath or hot shower and back to Izzy’s Bar. But! Ivie Davies (who just loves their Caroline’s chips) must have had premonition, as when we got back to Izzy’s there was a power cut and guess what? NO CHIPS. It was Remembrance Day and through the good services of the Britiish Legion Poppy Appeal and Mick the Grip 60€ was raised and the picture here is of the dried out players. The next away day is at Alicante Golf on the 25th November the last but one gane of 2014, where has time gone? The first Tee time is 10:00 am, so be there by 09:15 to check in and get your coffee and toasty. For more information or if you wish to play with the arguably the friendliest Golf Society contact Ron Nicholson on 678849142 or email sanmigron@ gmail.com Photo: 1st: Ken Hopkins – Arthur Williams 2nd: Tom Richardson – Malcolm Woods Poppy Day Appeal Group
Ship Hispaniola Golf Society (in association with Costa Blanca Green Fee Services) at Alenda on Monday 10th November 2014. For this month’s meeting a group of 19 players visited the established course at Vistabella under the excellent society deal obtained from Costa Blanca Green Fee Services. For 2014 we have joined forces with the Lo Marabu GS who play their monthly ‘social game’ the same days as us so we both benefit from the cost economies of scale for booking a larger group than would otherwise be the case. The weather forecast was ‘spot on’ with clear blue skies but was chilly to start with but warmed up nicely and the course was presented in an excellent condition. The winning scores on the day were as follows: 1st – Wayne Matthews– 35 points 2nd – Evelyn – 33 points 3rd – Mike Probert – 33 points Nearest the pin winners: Par 3 Mike Probert Par 4 Mike Probert Par 5 Kevin Robinson The player of the year standings are
currently:
Karen Matthews – 211 points Wayne Matthews – 204 points Mike Probert – 202 points Darren Holden – 201 points We all returned to the Ship Hispaniola in La Mata for a hearty feed and refreshments prepared by Janet and her team with our thanks. The next fixture is the Christmas Turkey Trot on 8th December 2014 at Lo Romero. Anyone wishing to join our society should
contact
Grant
Goble
on
667329772 or better still call in at the bar. Report by Mike Probert of Costa Blanca Green Fee Services on 966 704 752 or 661 345 931 or see us at our web-site at www.costa-blancagreenfees.com.
TMGS 42 members and guests turned up at La Finca with a few clouds in the sky but very soon these were replaced by a bright and warm sun and the second round of the Captain’s Stableford got under way in the sunshine. The course itself is in a decent state and we soon had comments from the Lady Members, well one of them really, who shall remain nameless but is from Northern Ireland and is married to John Hagart and her first name is Paula, because La Finca are working on the yellow tee boxes which meant we were playing off of the red area on a few holes. The majority of the yellow tee boxes were on or very close to the white plates which, obviously, made some holes a wee tad on the long side. All 4 of the NTP’s available were claimed and a sleeve of TMGS logo balls went Les Wilton, John Eyre (who looked splendid in his banana coloured outfit), Ernie Wilson and Nick Spicer. The “Two’s” pot was shared by 65 players and one greedy sod called Joe Dean took two shares worth 14€. 7€ each went to Les Wilton, Ernie Wilson,
Dave Lethaby and Graham Smith. Scores on the day were very reasonable and you needed in excess of 30 points to get into the Top 4 and the Best Visitor award went to the Bath Bandit, Mickie Noble with 37 points and in 2nd place was Dave Richards with 36 points. The Silver Division players only required 31 points for Les Wilton to take 4th spot, being pushed out of 3rd place on the count back system by Colin Marsden, also on 31 points. 32 points was enough for Roger Nilsen to take the runner-up slot and way out in front with a quite remarkable 38 points was George Chapman. In the Gold Division two players scored 35 points and again, the count back system came into play and Nick Spicer was pushed into 4th place by Dave Lethaby who took 3rd. Kell Aaesebo’s 36 points was enough for 2nd place and once again, we had Bill ”I need more shots” Starkey taking top spot with 37 points. Photo: Gold Category Winners Our next game, Wednesday 19th November 2014 see’s us at Roda for our first of 5 the Medal Trophy series in which the Gold Division will play a Medal and the Silver Division a Stableford event, guests will also play a Stableford; so if you fancy a game just look at our website www.tmgs.org or call the Match Secretary on 966719604. This coming Sunday, 16th November 2014 El Paraiso will be playing at La Serena and we still have a couple of spaces left, so again, if you wish to play, contact the Caddymaster on the above number or see our website www. clubdegolfelparaiso.com
Furniture First Rojales Tuesday Night Trios
Ten Pin Bowling League Week Seven played 11th November 2014 Mixers made it two wins in a row, when they comfortably outscored Los Bandidos to record an 8 – 0 points win. “We didn’t turn up” was LBs Terry Bells comment afterwards. Right Move Insurance consolidated their position in mid table, after a very tight game against Caballo Negro. Even with Heikki Suomi bowling a 221 scratch game and 568 scr series, CN couldn’t prevent RMI claiming a 6 – 2 victory. Belgas Torrevieja 2 came up against a very out of sorts The Dreamers and, recorded their first 8 – 0 win of the season. All three BT2 bowlers, Denis Werner and Marc, finding their form on the night. Team Finland are finding it ‘hard work’ at the moment, and taking on The Med Bistro & Bar El Raso, they needed all three bowlers to be on form. But, only Jukka Koskinen brought his A game, rolling a 236 scr game and 609 scr series, to sweep the mens awards for the evening. With MBB taking three of the four weekly team awards, they moved themselves into second place in the league, with a deserved 6 – 2 win. Juans’ Warriors halted their losing
streak winning 6 – 2 against Lucky Strike. Chris Vidal of JW shattering her previous league high scores, bowling a 171 scr game and, 620 h/c series. With Jamie Brians impressive 581 h/c series, JW only lost the third game by 5 pins, to be denied taking all 8 points. Game of the night saw top team Splash take on 2nd team Split Happens and, they didn’t dissappoint. With Maria Jesus Perez rolling a superb 225 scr game and 582 scr series, to sweep the Ladies awards on the evening, ably assisted by Diego Munoz, claiming a 203 scr game and 618 h/c series, Sp ended the night 6 – 2 victors. Even Neil Pipkins 574 scr series couldn’t prevent a defeat for SH and, Sp keep themselves top of the pile and, 4 points clear of second. After their weekly ‘team talk’, Los Lobos set about Crazy Pinz and, with Irene Lakin leading from the front with a 171 and then a 209 scr game, LL comfortably took the first two games, Irene eventually ending with a 632 h/c series. But, back roared CP and with Ingrid Wilms 616 h/c series, CP scrambled a 4 – 4 draw. So, after week Seven it is tight at both the top and bottom of the league and, all to play for.