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Number of Spaniards emigrating hits new high since crisis began

December 2015

Total of 50,844 people left the country to go and work abroad during the first quarter of 2015 The incipient economic growth finally being seen in Spain’s economy is not yet enough to stem the flow of Spaniards leaving the country to seek work abroad.

In the first half of 2015, 50,844 Spanish citizens left the country, representing a 30% rise from the same period in 2014, according to figures released on Friday by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

The exodus of foreign nationals has been considerably reduced this year, after being twice as high in 2013 By comparison, less than half that number, 23,078, returned to Spain after living in another country.

The figures confirm what appears to be an unstoppable trend. The number of

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departures in the first half of the year is higher than in all of 2010, when Spain was in the middle of the crisis and 40,157 Spaniards decided to try their luck in a foreign country.

Meanwhile, 134,143 foreign citizens moved to Spain in the first six months of the year – most from Romania, Morocco and Italy – while 113, 762 foreigners who were already residing here decided to leave. This yields a positive number of 20,380 new foreign residents in Spain.

Italian, Ukrainian, French and Chinese communities are the fastest-growing in Spain.

The exodus of foreign nationals has been considerably reduced this year, after being twice as high in 2013, when 233,320 people moved back home in the first half of the year.

The overall picture shows that Spain is still a country of emigrants, but that incoming and outgoing flows are more balanced out than ever: the difference between those who left and those who came is 7,385, the lowest figure since 2009.

But Spain continues to lose population. The total number of residents shrank by 26,501 individuals and was 46,423,064 on July 1, 2015, nearly 0.06 percent less than at the beginning of the year.

Population evolution depends on three main factors: births, deaths and migratory flows. The number of births had been higher than the number of deaths for the last 16 years, but the trend was reversed in 2015.

A higher death rate, coupled with net emigration, yields a country that is losing population and with a higher average age.

“The long-term trend is towards an ageing population and a smaller population,” says Pau Miret, a researcher at the Demography Studies Center in Barcelona. “It could only be avoided through young immigration, but that will not happen until the job market really recovers and we stop seeing these ridiculously high unemployment figures.”

Spain, where the fertility rate is 1.27 (compared with 1.40 in Germany and 1.99 in France), is facing future economic and political consequences, such as difficulty financing the pensions system and a smaller representation in European institutions.

The INE is forecasting that Spain will have 45.8 million residents in 2024 and 40.9 million in 2064.

A higher death rate, coupled with net emigration, means Spain is losing population and has a rising average age “Demographic ageing is a major challenge, because the welfare system is structured on the basis of intergeneration solidarity, and the numerical relationship between contributors and recipients is key to that sustainability,” explains a demographer at the Center for Sociology Studies’ Human and Social Sciences Center.

Broken down by regions, only five out of Spain’s 17 “autonomous communities” registered a population increase in the first half of 2015. In absolute terms, Madrid grew the most with 15,552 new residents, but compared with the existing population it was the Balearics that saw the largest increase, of 4.2 percent.

Castilla y León lost the largest amount of residents: 12,178. http://elpais.com/

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Spain rolls out new anti-jihadist plan that seeks citizen cooperation

Website, hotline and mobile app will help people report suspicious behavior Police arrest suspected jihadist recruiters in the Catalan city of Granollers.

The Spanish government is launching a nationwide plan to locate potential jihadists before they become fully radicalized, and is hoping to enlist the cooperation of citizens on this mission.

Next week, the Interior Ministry will roll out a campaign called “Stop Radicalismos” which is mostly aimed at countering Islamist terrorism, but will also cover “any kind of violent radicalism.”

Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz was due to present the plan to his European counterparts on Friday morning, at a Brussels meeting of the EU Internet Forum to counter terrorist content online.

Jihadism is also present in Spain’s

election campaign. For the first time in democratic history, citizens will go to the polls in a level 4 terrorism threat scenario, forcing security agencies to deploy extra measures to ensure safety.

The Spanish campaign includes a website, a hotline (900 822 066) and a mobile alert service through the app AlertCops.

It will also create local groups comprising law enforcement officers, members of Muslim communities and other relevant members of society.

The overarching strategy is to implicate citizens in the fight against jihadism, by encouraging people to report suspicious behavior.

“For instance, if a teacher or neighbor observes someone regularly visiting jihadist sites, he or she can alert authorities through any of these tools,”

said anti-terrorist sources.

The goal is early detection of radicalization in individuals, especially in “vulnerable groups.”

“The point is to take what already exists at the national level and bring it down to the local level,” said a source at the Interior Ministry. “It’s designed to detect potential radicalization in people’s everyday environment, on the street.”

The plan is bringing together 12 ministries, the National Intelligence Center (CNI), the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and the Islamic Commission, as well as several academic centers and social groups.

All the information gleaned through these tools will end up at CITCO, the Intelligence Center Against Terrorism

euro

and Organized Crime, which will analyze it and consider possible action.

A counter-narrative Meanwhile, there will also be an online campaign using messages, video footage and photographs to counter the powerful message being delivered by the Islamic State.

“It’s about countering that message, which is sinking so deep among some groups, with another one showing the real face of ISIS,” said a source. This could entail using people who have traveled to Syria and those who have been victims of jihadist terrorism.

Spain has made more jihadist-related arrests this year than any other EU country. elpais.com

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December 2015

Arise Dame Ana Botin! Santander chief awarded honours by Queen

Ana Botín, the Executive Chairman of Banco Santander, has been appointed an honorary Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE), by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for services to the British financial services sector.

Ana Botín was appointed chairwoman of Spanish bank Santander in September 2014 on the death of her father, former chairman Emilio Botín.

She was awarded the title of DBE in recognition of her services to the UK during her time as CEO of Santander UK, a position she held between December 2010 until she took over the helm from her father.

Botín, who regularly makes the lists of the most powerful women in the world, is one of only a handful of Spaniards to be awarded an honour from the Queen.

The British Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, said: "I am delighted that Ana Botín has received this honour, reflecting her exceptional contributions to the UK economy and society. The United Kingdom welcomes foreign investors - large and small - that wish to expand overseas, for the opportunities that it offers to those companies and the benefits that it brings to our country.

"In particular, Ms. Botín positioned Santander as a major provider of lending for small and medium-sized UK businesses, complementing the UK government’s wider efforts to boost overseas trade under the newly launched 'Exporting is GREAT' campaign," he said.

As CEO she led the transformation of

ort

Santander UK following the merger of Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley building societies and oversaw the steady growth of the business to its current position where it has around 860 branches across the UK, serves 14 million customers and employs 20,000 people.

In July, Botín was appointed to Prime Minister David Cameron’s Business Advisory Council, the only representative from a foreign company to do so.

The award also recognises Ana Botín’s voluntary contribution. In 2010 she joined the Board of Trustees of the Mayor’s Fund for London, a foundation that focuses on projects to improve employment opportunities for disadvantaged children.

And in 2013 she was appointed as one of five external members to the Financial Services, Trade and Investment Board, which was established by the Chancellor George Osborne to promote the UK’s financial services industry.

Ms. Botín has also been a strong supporter of the link between education and entrepreneurialism. thelocal.es

Lost 18th-century Spanish galleon found near Colombia

A SPANISH ship which sank somewhere in the Atlantic in the 18th century has been found off the coast of Colombia, according to the country’s president Juan Manuel Santos.

The San José set off from Cartagena de Indias on the northern Colombian shores on June 7, 1708 loaded with

treasures pillaged from the New World, captained by Admiral José Fernández de Santillán and heading for Spain.

Textiles, gold, silver and spices were among its lucrative cargo.

A crash with the British ship, The Expedition, captained by Charles Wagner led to a battle between the two and the Spanish galleon sank.

Numerous shipwreck-hunting companies have tried to convince the Colombian government to allow them to search for the San José in exchange

Spain considers ban on dubbing in bid to boost English language skills

A new proposal from the ruling Popular Party could see Spain say adios to the practice of dubbing foreign programmes on television as a way of improving the nation’s English proficiency.

Spaniards lag far behind their Scandinavian, German and Dutch cousins when it comes to English proficiency, but they could soon be shooting up the EU English league tables if one election proposal comes to fruition.

The conservative Popular Party (PP) led by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy want a part of all television programming in Spain to be emitted in the original version, getting rid of dubbing and broadcasting with subtitles instead.

Spain’s Education Minister, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, unveiled the plan as part of the PP’s electoral programme for education and culture in Burgos on Thursday.

The plan also includes measures to allow all Spanish children to receive schooling in Spanish. In some regions of Spain, public schools teach the majority of classes in regional languages, such as Catalan or Basque.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has famously struggled with English, which has sometimes hindered his for being allowed to keep the treasures on board.

The US firm Sea Search Armada claimed to have found the galleon in 1982, but lost its legal battle against Colombia 29 years later for possession of the precious cargo.

Colombia was being sued for US$17 billion, but won the case in 2011 and

ability to join in the banter on foreign visits.

He had been working on his language skills, however, as a recent document ar y revealed.

Spain’s long tradition of dubbing films instead of subtitling them stems, in part, from its political history.

Under General Francisco Franco, all foreign - and even regional languages were banned, which meant that international films shown in Spain were dubbed in Spanish rather than shown in their original languages with subtitles.

Dubbing Hollywood films into Spanish also meant that Spanish censors could remove whole swathes of storyline; in the film Mogambo, Spanish censors made Grace Kelly and Donald Sinden siblings to avoid explaining her adultery (he is really her husband).

But the tide is changing. Many Spanish cinemas now show films in V.O.S (versión original subtitulada - subtitled original version) and as younger generations improve their English, they increasingly want to watch films in the original language rather than dubbed in Spanish.

Hollywood stars have also been known to not be the biggest fans of their foreign dubbers.

“I heard my Spanish self for the first time and it is so high pitched and different from my own voice,” Jennifer Lawrence recently told US chat show host Conan O’Brien. thelocal.es

did not have to pay. All trace of the ship appeared to have been lost after this, but the Colombian Navy found it yesterday (Saturday) near where it sank, close to the Las Perlas islands.

Under Colombian law, the shipwreck and its cargo belongs to the country and is considered ‘sunken heritage’.

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Children’s ‘litter-collecting’ competition in Madrid to raise awareness among the young

Solar electric systems Solar hot water systems Buy direct - no middle men no sales people - no subcontractors Quality European products Guarantees backed by 10 years of training in Spain Complete solar systems from only 1500€ including installation MADRID’S mayoress wants to launch a children’s competition to see who can pick up the most litter and cigarette ends off the streets.

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Economic upturn + good weather = bank holiday hotel bookings up

The improving economic situation and the good weather Spain is enjoying at the moment have both contributed to increased hotel bookings for this year’s Constitución and Inmaculada long bank holiday weekend.

The Spaniards’ favourite destinations are the country’s ski resorts, the Canary Islands, or city/shopping breaks in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville or Granada.

Both online and traditional travel agencies have seen a 8% increase in bookings for the December long weekend compared with 2014.

Foreign city breaks have also proved more popular this year, with Berlin, Rome, Paris, Vienna and London topping the list.

According to data from Hoteles.

com, Madrid is the favourite destination for Spaniards during the Constitución long weekend, with London second on the list.

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT), Juan Molas, predicted higher numbers of hotel bookings for the bank holiday, especially in Spain, although he added that the recent terrorist attacks in Paris did not seem to have put people off traveling abroad.

Shops are also expecting a good Christmas, with a 5.5% increase on 2014 sales predicted for this festive season.

In Catalunya, the snow is once again proving to be the main draw, with most ski resorts full for

the long weekend. Rural tourism associations are also reporting roughly 90% occupation in their accommodation. The director of the Catalan Association of Mountain Resorts (ACEM), Joaquim Alsina, said yesterday that the sector was “euphoric” about the predictions for this long weekend, and added that all the ski resorts would be open and with favourable weather forecasts.

In Andalusia, the regional minister for Tourism and Sport, Francisco Javier Fernández, reported that the prognosis for the December bank holiday weekend was for over 73% occupation, a 10% increase on 2013, the last time there was a four-day December weekend. http://www.thinkspain.com/

The EU today agreed on a system to share airline passenger details in a bid to improve counter-terrorism efforts.

The Passenger Name Record (PNR) system will allow passenger information including names, itineraries, contact details and credit cards details to be collected and shared between the appropriate authorities of each member state.

The details would be collected from European flights entering or leaving the EU - as well as from those between member countries.

The Spanish Interior Minister,

Jorge Fernández Díaz, expplained that the data collected would only be related to the passengers' journeys - their itinerary, amount of luggage, whether they were travelling alone or accompanied, but under no circumstances would it turn into "an ethnic or racial profile". French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the system would be "indispensable in the fight against terrorism", whilst Luxembourg's Interior Minister Etienne Scheider said: "The compromise agreed today will enable the EU to set up an effective PNR system which fully respects fundamental rights and

freedoms. The PNR system was first proposed in 2007 and again in 2011, but lawmakers struggled to pass it because of privacy concerns. A new sense of urgency was brought to the negotiations in the wake of the November 13th attacks in Paris.

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EU countries to share airline passenger details

Strictly Week 11 Quarter Final Musical Week This week we were treated to a great opener by the professionals performing to ‘That’s Entertainment’ and with musicals being this weeks theme we were sure to be in for some treats. With just two more weeks to go it is now all to play for so who will hold up that coveted glitter ball trophy for 2015? It really is extremely close and for me it could be 2 or 3 possible winners. Going from the dances to date I have Jay and Georgia as my favourites as they are good in both disciplines, Helen is only good for the Ballroom and I think Kellie is great but just not quite so technical. Katie and Anita the two next to go??

Opening the show were Georgia May Foote and Giovanni with a Foxtrot to Beauty and the Beast.

Georgia looked a dream and performed beautifully, well controlled, soft, flowing with good coverage across the floor.

Just occasionally she tightened in her head movement and out of hold was hunching her shoulders a bit. That said a well deserved 9 and 36 from the judges. Next to dance were Anita Rani ad Gleb with an Argentine Tango to Cell Block Tango from Chicago. Such a powerful piece of music which unfortunately outlined Anita’s weakness which is in her feet and ankles. She is guilty of sloppy sickle feet (turning inwards) and not pointing her toes and because of all the kicks and flicks in this dance the weaknesses were seen again and again. I really like Anita but her time I think is quite close and for that reason I gave her 8 and the judges bottom place on 31. Oom Pa Pa from Oliver was the next show with Kellie Bright and Kevin and a Viennese Waltz. There was a lack of Viennese Waltz in this for me and too much side by side dancing. Characterisation good as always from Kellie but due to insufficient Viennese Waltz I gave her 9 and the judges 36.

One of my favourites Jay McGuinness and Aliona then danced a Rumba to Falling Slowly from Once a show I haven’t heard of. This was an extremely slow Rumba which makes it very hard to control but Jay did it beautifully.

Superb hips, feet, ankles and legs,the only thing lacking for me was his ability to transfer the feeling through his legs and hips into his upper body. Otherwise the best dance of the night. I gave him 9 and the judges top place on 39. Katie Derham and Anton then danced a Foxtrot to Maybe This Time from Cabaret.

Although this was a very nice performance Katie is always unstable on her feet and Anton

Zara store opens in old Palma cinema after months of restoration

A NEWLY-REVAMPED branch of high-street retail giant Zara has opened on the Paseo del Born boulevard in Palma de Mallorca in an 84-year-old cinema building which has just undergone months of restoration.

Retaining the original design of the historic film theatre but extending it to cover three floors and 1,900 square metres, the new store is modelled around the original seating area and has kept its vaulted ceiling.

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is forever rebalancing her, something the judges aren’t picking up or saying anything about. I felt they overmarked her with 35, I gave her 8. Closing the show this week were Helen George and Aljaz and a Paso Doble to At The End Of The Day from Les Miserables. Sorry Helen, this certainly wasn’t your dance. Helen is too ‘elegant’ for the upper body strength and power needed to really portray this dance and she just didn’t do it for me. I gave her 8 and the judges 34.

After the public vote Helen and Georgia! (what’s going on public???) were in the bottom two with Helen being voted off unanimously by the judges after the dance off. Neither I nor the judges anticipated this for the bottom two!!

The competition is now really on! Lets see how the last couple of weeks go, Have you got a favourite yet? Why not come and join us at one of our classes for the latest ‘strictly’ gossip but in the meantime - Keep Dancing!

By Lyn Aspden of ‘Strictly Dance’ Class Info 635 584 431

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December 2015

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Healthy living starts right now

Experts tell you how Healthy living is within your reach, starting today. Sure, healthy living is a long-term commitment, not a flash-inthe-pan fad. But there are steps you can take right now that will make today healthier than yesterday and pave the way for healthy living tomorrow, too.

Here's your checklist of practical healthy living tips that are ready to go. Let's get started.

Healthy Living Step No. 1: Take stock.

Your first step toward healthy living is to get a handle on your health status right now. Here's your to-do list: Make appointments with your doctor and dentist. Catch up on your routine screening and immunizations, and take the opportunity to ask your doctor any questions you might have.

Gauge your girth. Measure your height and weight to check your BMI, and measure your waist circumference to see if you're overweight and if your waistline is putting your health at risk.

Assess your activity. How much physical activity do you get in a typical week? How intense is that activity? How much variety do you get in your activity, and how much do you enjoy it? The CDC recommends that adults get at least two and a half hours per week of moderateintensity aerobic activity or one hour and 15 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, plus muscle-strengthening activities at least two days per week.

Keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat for a day -- and no fair skipping the items you're embarrassed about. "The idea is to write it down ... without judgment," says Kathianne Sellers Williams, MEd, RD, LD, a nutritionist, wellness coach, and personal trainer with Cafe Physique in Atlanta. "You can't change what you're not aware of or don't acknowledge."

Check your mood and energy. Healthy living includes emotional wellness and adequate rest. How has your mood been lately? Are you experiencing any symptoms of depression or anxiety? Do you usually sleep well for seven to eight hours a night?

Consider your social network. How strong are your connections with family and friends? Are you plugged in with social or spiritual groups that enrich your life?

"People have a fundamental need for positive and lasting relationships," C. Nathan DeWall, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, tells WebMD. If you're not thrilled with the answers to some of those questions, remember that the point is to figure out where you are today so you can set your healthy living goals. It's not about being "good" or "bad," "right" or "wrong."

Healthy Living Step No. 2: Put out fires.

If you know that you have chronic health problems, whether it’s heart disease, diabetes, depression, arthritis, or other conditions, treatment is an obvious priority for healthy living. The same goes for risky behaviors, such as smoking, and addictions of any kind.

Addressing these issues typically isn’t a do-it-yourself task. Partner with your doctor. Make the phone call today to schedule that appointment.

Healthy Living Step No. 3 Move more.

Here are Williams’ top tips for increasing physical activity: Make it fun. Go on a hike, walk with friends, take a bellydancing or karate class, or whatever you enjoy.

“There’s no need to stick to cardio equipment in the gym if you’re dreading it and you don’t like it,” Williams says. “Find something that’s fun.”

Keep track of it. Make a note of your physical activity in your date book or calendar. “Put big Xs on the days that you exercise,” Williams says. “Keep a visual record that you look at frequently” as a reminder and motivator.

Set a weekly goal for activity. To build your confidence, “make the first goal so easy that you

say, ‘I know I can do that,’” Williams suggests. She recommends weekly goals because if you set a daily goal and miss a day, you might get discouraged; weekly goals give you more day-to-day flexibility. And at the end of the week, reward yourself with a visual reminder of your accomplishment, such as buying flowers for yourself.

Work activity into your day. “Ten percent of something is better than 100% of nothing. So even if you have 10 minutes, it’s better than zero minutes,” Williams says. She suggests taking a 10-minute walk before lunch or walking up and down the stairs when you’re feeling drained and tired.

Other ideas include wearing a pedometer to track how many steps you take per day (health experts recommend shooting for 10,000 steps per day) and working with a personal trainer (double up with a friend to lower the cost) to create an exercise routine.

Healthy Living Step No. 4: Upgrade your diet.

Williams, a nutritionist for a dozen years, says her diet advice isn’t about eating certain foods and avoiding others as much as it is about awareness and choices.

Here are her pointers: Replace “I should” with “I choose.” So instead of “I should be eating more fruits and vegetables,” it’s “I choose to eat more fruits and vegetables” or “I choose not to,” because it’s more powerful language,” Williams says. “It shows that you’re in control, you’re making the choice. So if you choose to or you choose not to, you make the choice and you move on.”

Skip the guilt. “Usually, whenever someone feels guilty about something, it feeds right back to the behavior that they’re trying to get rid of,” Williams says. “So if someone is an emotional eater and they say, ‘I know I shouldn’t be doing this,” it implies more guilt and judgment on themselves, they feel worse, and then they end up eating to comfort themselves.”

Choose to plan. Stock your pantry with healthy fare and bring healthy snacks with you so you’re prepared when you get hungry. “When we’re really hungry, our physiology kicks in and that’s when we’re craving the hamburger and fries; we’re not craving a salad,” Williams says.

Slow down and savor your food. Don’t watch TV, work, or drive while you’re eating. “A lot of people tell me,

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‘My problem is that I really like food,’ but I think that’s a really good thing,” Williams says.

“If you really enjoy food, sit down and enjoy your meal. You’re much more likely to feel psychologically satisfied if you don’t multitask while you’re eating.”

Shoot for five to nine daily servings of varied fruits and ve g e t ab l e s.

Cover the rainbow of fruit and vegetable colors to get a good mix of nutrients.

“If you’re not getting the rainbow, you’re probably not getting all the nutrients that you need,” Williams says.

Healthy Living Step No. 5: Manage stress.

As a wellness coach trained in stress management, Williams recommends making two different plans to handle stress.

Routine maintenance: Develop positive coping skills, such as meditation and visualization, and look for activities, such as yoga or exercise, to keep your baseline stress level in check.

Breakthrough stress: Find ways to handle stressful situations that flare up without warning. For instance, Williams says that after a stressful meeting at work, you might run up and down the stairs a few times to burn off anger, or retreat to a bathroom stall to take a few deep breaths and refocus. http://www.webmd.com/

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Contact 950 121 936 or email sales@soltimes.com to Advertise in this section There’s only a few weeks to go before Christmas Day and many of you will be preparing to host family members and getting the house clean and tidy for the big day. Whilst many of you have booked the Clear Interiors team to come in and get your homes sparkling, we didn’t want to leave the rest of you high and dry, so thought this handy checklist would help you make sure you haven’t forgotten anything. It’s quite a long list, but we want your ideas on anything else that we might have missed off!

It’s broken down into manageable chunks so it doesn’t feel as overwhelming!

Christmas

Home

36. Make sure you’ve got comfy pyjamas if you don’t plan on getting dressed!

Preparation Checklist: 1. Christmas Tree Decorations 3. Fairy Lights 4. Presents wrapped 5. Stockings filled 6. Candles 7. Table cloth 8. Wreath 9. Table centre piece 10. All food shopping done 11. Clothes washed and dried 12. House cleaned 13.

Xmas cards written and sent 14. Alcohol and other drinks bought 15. Bedding ready for guests 16.

Christmas Crackers bought 17. Christmas pudding

37. Carry out any small DIY jobs that need doing 38. Tackle any drafts under doors or around windows. You can buy draft excluders for the bottom of the door or over your letterbox, rolls of sticky foam to add to any gaps around the edge of doors or windows and reflective, insulating foil to put behind radiators to reflect heat into the room rather than it being absorbed into the walls.

39. Get a small fan or halogen heater for your kitchen if, like us, you have a chilly extension.

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cracker remains into 18. Films rented or TV Guide checked to keep 29. Get spare batteries for any toys or gadgets everyone entertained bought 19. Christmas Day clothes set aside 30. Buy fresh flowers if 20. Activity ideas for the kids planned needed 21. All presents bought 31. Write a list of 22. Check you have all the cooking utensils, pans, any family or friends you need to call over crockery you need Christmas 23. Placemats 32. Check any guests 24. Napkins or family staying over 25. Ice for drinks bought (I always forget this one) don’t have any dietary 26. Collect any presents sent by post that are at requirements 33. Check Royal Mail the depot postage dates 27. Plan Christmas dinner and have recipes 34.

Check opening prepared in a folder times of local shops in 28. Put a recycling bag or box to one side for case you need to get everyone to throw wrapping paper or Christmas or other cakes baked

40.

Make sure arrangements and seating are suitable for all guests, for example some elderly relatives may need a certain type of chair if they have mobility issues.

41. Get a radio set up in the kitchen or some music for when you’re cooking.

42. Make sure you have enough tupperware if you’re planning to freeze items or store leftovers in the fridge.

43. Make sure you have enough bin liners or compost bin liners for non-recyclable waste.

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December 2015

Hello and welcome to CanDu Computer Windows has one built-in.

Bytes, Your Only Stop for solutions to Your On Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, computer problems. Before we start, hardware drivers appear I will be away for the first holiday in 7 years. So there will be no clinic on Friday in the Windows Update interface as an 11th December. Now to the business at optional update. If you want the latest hand. How many of you have a program hardware drivers, be sure to go open to download and install updates for your Windows Update, check for updates, drivers? Well, Today I am going to give you a number of suggestions regarding and install any available hardware driver updates. These are coming through this very subject.

Should you update your drivers for your Microsoft’s Windows Update servers, so hardware? In general, I don’t recommend they should be fairly stable and solid. updating hardware drivers unless you Everyone knows my thoughts on giving have a very good reason reason to do so.

The driver for the SD card reader, etc. that anyone absolute power to install whatever came built into your computer is probably they like on your computer without your just fine. Even if the manufacturer does knowledge or consent. DON’T DO IT! Just offer a slightly newer version, you probably won’t notice the difference, So, there’s no a thought :-) Graphics drivers are usually modified in reason to obsess about having the latest hardware drivers for every component in a custom interface window. Just open the your computer!

NVIDIA GeForce Experience application, But, occasionally, there are good reasons to update your drivers. In particular, AMD’s Catalyst Control Center (soon to gamers will want to keep their graphics be “Radeon Software Crimson”), or Intel’s drivers as up-to-date as possible to ensure Graphics Control Panel — whichever is the best graphics performance and least on your computer. These often appear in bugs with modern games. In other cases, you might need to get the latest version your system tray, and you can usually find of a hardware driver if the current one is them with a quick Start menu search. causing problems with your computer.

For other drivers, go straight to your If you do want to update your drivers, hardware manufacturer’s website. If you AVOID the driver-updating utilities they are worse than useless! Instead of using have a laptop or a pre-built desktop PC, these Potentially Unwanted Programs go to its manufacturer’s website and look (PUP’s – from last week), Go straight to up the driver-download page for your the source for your hardware drivers. specific model of computer. You’ll usually This means first go to the hardware manufacturer’s individual websites (always find a single web page with a long list of the best option) or in desperation go to drivers you can download. New versions Microsoft’s Windows Update. of these drivers are posted to this web Assuming you’re using Windows 10, page when available, and you’ll often see Windows Update will automatically download and install the latest drivers the dates when they were uploaded so for you. Windows 7 and 8 provided driver you know which are the latest. updates via Windows Update, too, but Meet me at Olivers Bar in Albox on be warned Microsoft is being much more Friday´s 1200-1600 for free advice aggressive about this in Windows 10. It all happens automatically. Even if you install concerning your computer. To arrange your own hardware drivers, Windows will an appointment for another time or place automatically overwrite them when a new use the Email address or phone number version is available. This is their automatic, below. set-it-and-forget-it solution.

For further information or advice on You don’t need computing,contact Trevor on 689 892 745 or a driver-updating canducomputing@hotmail.co.uk utility because

Thoughts from a young exploring foodie My love of good food and adventure started at a young age; I was perfecting the art of cooking omelettes by the age of ten and my sandwich making was borderline obsession and still is. I was lucky as a child as the ending of the eleven plus exam around 1976 meant that instead of moving to ‘big school’ at eleven I stayed at my middle school an extra year.

Lucky for two reasons; firstly as me and my classmates stayed in the top year for two years running. The second reason was our form teacher Mr Venus was a bit of a cool ‘dude’.

Being the mid seventies meant long hair, plaid and flared jeans were in; he had them all and smoked roll ups. Mr Venus had previously been a teacher in Brixton and a London bus driver.

Mr Venus’s first trick was to get the school governors to agree to a fund raiser to buy a school bus. Using his contacts at London Transport he organised a retired London bus for 800 quid.

A competition was organised to

choose a name to christen the bus with when it arrived. I went all out on this, spending lots of money on tickets. I really wanted to win the prize (a table football game) plus gaining the honour of naming the bus. Every 5p I could beg, steal or borrow soon meant the dice were loaded in my favour. My efforts paid off and Buster was the chosen name waiting for our new school bus when it arrived.

One morning all the staff and children were waiting in the playground to greet our bright red school bus. We’d all seen Cliff’s film Summer Holidays so excitement was high as we knew that Mr Venus was the only staff member with the PSV licence to drive the thing and we were destined for many trips out in our double-decker. Initially we were disappointed when the bus arrived; as instead of a bright red double-decker Routemaster; it was a single-decker bus looking remarkably like a London underground train carriage.

Unofficially, our class now had a private bus and driver. As I walked

pause for thought

A friend recently remarked they were glad Christmas comes in December to brighten up the winter, and scorned my comment that Christmas actually related to the birth of Jesus who probably wasn’t born in December anyway.

Sadly understanding of the Christmas story is fading. Many children are unaware whose birthday we’re celebrating and few know He was born in Bethlehem.

Even adults know little of the nativity story and many consider it irrelevant to their Christmas.

Yet Albert Einstein once wrote that the greatest wonder we can experience is the mysterious, the source of all true art and science and that anyone unable to pause in wonder standing rapt in awe, is as good as dead, his eyes blind.

So as we frantically ‘”shop-‘til- we-drop”, send cards to people we never see, buy presents for those who want for nothing and collapse exhausted on Christmas Eve, we should pause and reflect on the real Christmas and its meaning.

Christmas is a time of peace, as proclaimed by the angels, giving ‘Glory to God on high.’ It’s a time of hope, poised as it is between two years, at the crossroads of past and future.

A previous year, with its blessings and trials, is gone; a new year

ahead, full of uncertainty, with Christmas between - the celebration of a birth 2000 years ago, a perennial bright spot on our calendars. And Christmas should also be a time of love centred around the greatest love story ever told, the story of a God who loved us so much that He sent His only Son to rebuild a broken world.

The Christmas story, retold each year, never loses its majesty; nor ceases to fill our hearts with wonder. A baby born into a grim and dark world as a shining light across the barren landscape, a light that still invites all to come into the warmth of God’s grace and find peace, hope, and love. So let’s pray that this Christmas we may each discover His peace, His love and Hope.

Details of a number of English Language Churches are given in Sol Noticeboard for any who wish to Worship, but further information about the Anglican Church and details of forthcoming events may be seen on the web site w w w.mojac ar c hur c h. 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.eu Telephone: 636 266 641

home with my football game under my arm, our next door neighbour Margaret saw me and I proudly showed off my prize telling her how I’d spent a lot of money trying to win it. ‘Oh, why didn’t you say? I donated the prize to the school and would have just given it to you if I’d known.’ DOH! So, back to sandwiches; Mr Venus took his teaching seriously, whisking his 30 or so charges out on adventures often. In fact very often and I don’t know how he got away with it as were off every other week. Each trip meant a packed lunch and so my love of all things sandwich grew as I was allowed to go to our local shop and buy and then make what I needed.

Over the next two years; Mr Venus drove Buster with us in it to so many places; firstly to his old school in Brixton where he’d organised a steel drum concert for us. I remember the shock as being an inner city school it was all steel and concrete with not a blade of grass to be seen. Leafy suburbia

it was not! Every museum London had to offer got visited, plus day trips to Windsor Safari Park and the seaside. Trips sometimes meant a diversion to Mr Venus’ house to pick up his girlfriend; we’d then see them snogging a lot. She’d then be dropped off on the way back to school (we knew to keep quiet about that).

Being an ancient bus it broke down often which just meant more adventure for us kids. I always made plenty of sandwiches; to enjoy both a late breakfast on the bus and then the noisy lunch time wherever we ended up. All in all a great couple of years which instilled in me a thirst for knowledge and adventure!

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15

December 2015

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LOOKING TO BUY OR RENT? FIND YOUR DREAM HOME INSIDE! Spanish House Prices Register Largest Increase Since 2008

The average price of housing in Spain increased by 1.4% in the third quarter of the year, compared to the same period of 2014, which according to the Ministry of Public Works data is the greatest year-on-year increase since the middle of 2008, and is also the second consecutive quarterly increase registered.

This latest increase follows the 1.2% rise recorded between April and June, which was the first price increase registered in a quarter since the crisis began in 2008 and which up until then had accumulated 26 consecutive quarters of declines.

Since the maximum values recorded in the first quarter of 2008, the average price per square metre of housing has declined by 29.8%.

Following the latest upturn, the average price per square metre of free housing stands at 1,476 euros, which is 0.1% less than in the previous quarter.

With regard to the age of housing, El Mundo reported that in the third quarter of 2015 the average value per square metre of housing up to five years old (considered as new) stood at 1,741.9 euros, which is 1.6% more than in the same period of 2014, while the price per square metre for second hand housing (over 5 years old) stood at 1,465.9 euros, representing a decline of 0.1%.

Price increases were registered in

12 regions, lead by Madrid, with an increase of 3.5%; followed by the

Building Permits for New Housing Up 30.6% YEAR oN YEAR to September

According to data published last week by the Ministry of Public Works, of the total number of permits issued in the first nine months of 2015, some 25,238 were for apartments in blocks, representing a year-onyear increase of 34.8%, and 10,777 were for individual family homes, representing an increase of 21.6% year-on-year.

Balearic Islands (+3.2%); Arag贸n (+3.1%); La Rioja (+2.9%); the Canary Islands (+2.4%); Navarra and Valencia (both +2.1%), while six regions continued to register declines, lead by Asturias (-3.6%) and the Basque Country (-1.4%).

KYERO.COM

Between January and September of this year, the number of building permits authorised in Spain for new construction for residential use totalled 36,031 permits, which represents an increase of 30.6% compared to the same period of 2014, when a total of 27,593 licences were authorised.

Moreover, El Mundo reported that a further 16 permits were requested for other types of building works not intended for family dwellings, which is one more than in the same period of 2014. This significant increase in permits so far in 2015 comes after new builds broke the streak of seven consecutive years of declines in 2014, registering an increase in permits of 1.7%, to a total of 34,873 permits authorised.

Since the peak levels reached in 2006, when a total of 865,561 building permits were authorised, this real estate market indicator registered an all-time low in 2013, with just 34,288 permits issued, representing a decline of 96%.

KYERO.COM

18

Spain’s Surplus Housing Stock Should be Absorbed by 2018

Data from an analysis of Spain’s housing stock in 2015, published last week by property appraisal company, Tinsa, shows that 1.56 million new homes have been built in Spain since 2008, which is equivalent to 6.4% of the total housing stock, and that some 24.9% of these homes, specifically 389,000, remain vacant, waiting to be sold or rented.

Of these homes built in recent years, 80% are located in only 900 of the more than 8,000 Spanish municipalities and, according to Tinsa, it will take until about the first half of 2018 for this housing surplus to be absorbed. This scenario assumes an average annual demand of 150,000 new homes in the coming years. However, in areas where the housing surplus is below 10% of their stock, the absorption time is reduced to 1.2 years, and where it is over 50% it is increased to four years.

In this regard, the appraisal company cited funding difficulties, rising unemployment and the prospect of falling prices as reasons for the sharp slowdown in home sales.

Tinsa director Pedro Soria indicated that 13.9% of the new empty homes remain in the hands of the developers, while 86.1% are owned by other organisations, mostly banks.

Almería is the province with the highest level of excess housing stock, with 38.9%, followed

by Cuenca (37.1%); Castellón (36.1%); Toledo (34.7%) and Murcia (32.7%).

In contrast, Álava is the province with the smallest proportion of unoccupied homes, with 10.3%, followed by Guipúzcoa and Navarra with 15.2% and 17.6% respectively.

Nevertheless, the report also highlighted areas where, given the average absorption period, it may become necessary to start building again, in order to avoid shortages. According to their analysis, this would be the case in cities such as: Madrid; Barcelona; Malaga, Granada; Girona; Oviedo; Santander; Vigo; Pontevedra; San Sebastian; Gijon and Aviles.

This scenario also applies to some of the more established towns on the Costa del Sol; Roses, on the northern coast of Girona; Tarifa in Cadiz, as well as in some municipalities of the Balearic and Canary Islands.

KYERO.CO

December 2015

Spain Still a Nation of Home Owners

Around eight out of 10 people in Spain (78.8%) are the owners of their own home, which is higher than the EU average, which stands at 70.1%. At the same time, some 21.2% of Spanish citizens live in rental housing, which is below the EU average of 29.9%.

Moreover, Spain is the EU country with the highest percentage of the population living in apartments (66.5%) and the lowest percentage living in houses (33.1%).

These figures are taken from the latest data published by the European Commission statistical agency, Eurostat, which ranks

the countries with the highest percentages of home owners as: Romania (96.1%); Slovakia (90.3%); Lithuania (89.9%); Croatia (89.7%) and Hungary (89.1%). In contrast, the countries with fewest owner-occupied dwellings are: Germany (52.5%); Austria (57.2%); Denmark (63.3%); the United Kingdom (64.8%), and France (65.1%).

Eurostat’s study on “Housing Conditions in 2014”, which analyses the conditions and characteristics of housing in the EU, reveals that in the whole of the European Union, some 59.3%

of the population live in houses, while 40% live in apartments. Last year, the countries of the EU with the highest percentages of their population living in houses were: the United Kingdom (84.7%); Croatia (80.8%); Belgium (77.6%); the Netherlands (77.1%); Cyprus (72.7%) and Slovenia (70.3%), while the Member States with the greatest percentages of their citizens living in apartments were: Spain (66.5%); Latvia (65.1%); Lithuania (58.4%) and Greece (56.9%).

Top Reasons FOR LIVING IN SPAIN The Weather Widely regarded as the best all year round climate in Europe, the southern Blanca normally offers up to 320 days of sunshine a year with a low registered rainfall.

Its unique dry micro-climate and warm winters is one of the main reasons astute northern Europeans find this area so very desirable. Why live in the cold and damp any more, this part of Spain is just over 2 hours flying time away.

Health Benefits Recommended by the World Health Organisation as “near perfect environment as it is possible to obtain”.

Near miraculous cures have been recorded in this area and especially beneficial to people who suffer from Asthma, Rheumatism, Arthritis or heart related problems. Spain offers truly exceptional, quick medical treatment and many new hospitals, recognised as far superior to the U.K. Improved Standard of Living The difference can be amazing, try it for yourself and you will soon note the contrast to living back in the U.K. This area offers greatly reduced living costs, low crime, more to do and enjoy, greater social life and of course that fabulous weather. You just feel that much better especially with winter evenings remaining brighter for much longer than back home, if you enjoy life you will certainly enjoy Spain and all it offers in a safe, secure, established environment.

Cost Of Living It is well proven fact that you can live and own a freehold property in this glorious area for considerably less than back at home. Estimated savings on general yearly property running costs are between 30-40% less than in the U.K. with heating and food being noticeably cheaper.

bargain

€125,000

20 mins from mojacar, 4 beds, 2 baths, Open plan living areas, kitchen & diningroom as well as a workshop, courtyard front & back & room for a pool. Mountain views.

649 186 107

or email thunderpaul2003@hotmail.com

VERA APARTMENT FOR RENT 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

NEW BUSINESS? 2 WAYS TO ADVERTISE RING 950 121 936 OR EMAIL YOUR ADVERT TO blancasales@soltimes.com

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detatched cortijo reduced

Investment Spain constantly tops the lists of European countries for increased property values, couple this with a safe, strong economy and it can only get better. It is common knowledge that Property values in the Murcia region are still under valued so offering a shrewd investment for our buyers. Prime, top quality property in a desirable area always sells well regardless of any market fluctuations.

Easy Access With 2 established International airports situated between our developments at Alicante and San Javier (Murcia) offering daily low-cost flights from most regional U.K. airports, it just could not be easier to get to. With the exiting new International Airport soon to be built at Murcia City, very soon there will be 3 international Airports to choose from. Add to this the huge number of people who take the ferry to Northern Spain or the French ferry ports and drive to their new home in Spain, we firmly believe it is the best location in Spain for ease and low cost of access from anywhere in the U.K. Spanish People A warm and generous people, renowned for their genuine hospitability and are to glad share their relaxed lifestyle with their European friends. One of the main reasons Spain is so popular is the Spanish nation are so helpful and accommodating to its visitors, perhaps that’s why 1 in 4 people from the U.K. holiday there every year and just keep going back, they cannot all be wrong, can they?

Buying Safely You will have no worries or sleepless nights when buying through Prestige Villas, just ask the 10,000 people who have safely bought through our group without one single case of litigation. All our properties are 100% legal and fully authorised by the Spanish Government; we always supply Bank Guarantees and a full money back assurance. You are totally safe when buying with our group, we pride ourselves on our irrefutable reputation in this business.

Quality of Life This is the real reason so many people choose southern Spain over other countries, you simply just feel better and more relaxed in this balmy atmosphere.

You cannot describe or put a price on the “feel good factor”, its just there for all to enjoy, unique to Spain and best of all “it’s free”. The much-improved quality of life and less formal attitude to day to day living is without question the main reason so many people say they wish to buy a new home in Spain.

www.soltimes.com Sales & lettings

Almeria inmobiliaria tlf: +34 850 993 099 Property Mob: +34 606 281 865

Agency

info@almeriapropertyagency.com

www.almeriapropertyagency.com Office located in Arboleas Village, Almeria.

APA1443

Area: Arboleas

Superb villa with panoramic mountain views in a desirable location, 15 mins walk to all amenities. Property comprises of bright entrance hallway that leads to the fully fitted kitchen including white goods. There is a spacious lounge with wood burning fire and dining room area. The 2 guestbedrooms both have air-conditioning & built in wardrobes, a large master bedroom has en-suite shower room. There is also a family bathroom. The outside space has been well thought out including a car port, 8mx4m swimming pool, patio area with shaded porch and a mature garden.

Furniture is included in the sale of this property.

Price: 168,000€

APA1525

Area:Albox

A lovely 3 bedroom villa for sale set in a large plot with a patio, swimming pool & gardens. Property comprises of a spacious light & airy living room with feature fireplace, modern fully fitted kitchen with a dining area, 3 good size bedrooms, 1 being the en-suite master bedroom with double doors onto the rear patio & finally a good size family bathroom for guests. There is also a conservatory.

There is an 8x4 swimming pool surrounded by a large patio, a storage shed. To the front there is a lovely landscaped garden & car port with log store.

Price: 135,000€

Have You Considered Moving To The Lovely Almeria Province Where You Will Get A Lot More Property For Your Money And Warmer Temperatures?

Come And See For Yourselves No 3 Plaza Constitucion, Open Monday- Friday 10am to 5pm Saturdays 10am to 2pm

Focusing on smaller area to give our clients a better service.

Stamp duty move ‘brought £4,500 saving’

Buyers purchasing a property in the last 12 months are typically £4,500 better off owing to the stamp duty changes of a year ago, a lender says.

Stamp duty was reformed to a more progressive system in England and Wales last December.

The changes saved tax for most buyers but dampened demand at the top end of the market, the Halifax said.

The lender said that the total tax levied in the UK rose to a record £7.5bn in 2014-15.

“The changes made to stamp duty a year ago have been of significant benefit to many buyers,” said Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at the Halifax.

“Only those purchasing the most expensive homes are worse off. There is some evidence that the top end of the market has been adversely affected by the changes with sales over £1.5m falling by twice as much as the market as a whole.”

Sales in the first six months of the year were 10% down on the first half of 2014, but there was a sales decline of 20% for properties selling for more than £1.5m, said the Halifax, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group.

Under the old system, stamp duty charged successively higher rates on the whole of the purchase price. For this reason it was often criticised as a “slab tax”. Its structure meant there were sudden increases in stamp duty, when the price went above the next threshold.

Since December, the rates of stamp duty only apply to the amount of the purchase price that falls within the particular duty band, making it more like income tax.

19

The current stamp duty rates are: Up to £125,000 : 0% £125,001 to £250,000 : 2% £250,001 to £925,000 : 5% £925,001 to £1.5m : 10% Above £1.5m : 12% People who buy homes worth more than £938,000 pay more in stamp duty than they would have done under the old rules.

The Halifax found that 72% of the stamp duty revenue raised was from property purchases in London, the East of England, and the South East of England.

Only 1% of properties in London were bought for less than £125,000 in 2014-15, meaning no stamp duty was levied in these cases. In contrast, 45% of homes in the North East of England were bought for amounts below the threshold for paying stamp duty in 2014-15.

Scotland has had its own system, known as Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, since April.

In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne announced a further reform of stamp duty. A 3% surcharge on stamp duty when some buy-to-let properties and second homes are bought will be levied from April.

This means it will add £5,520 of tax to be paid when buying the average £184,000 buy-to-let property.

Bbc.com

LOOKING FORWARD TO A BUSY 2016

Voss Homes has had a great 2015, BUT 2016 is going to be EVEN BETTER. If you are thinking of selling your property in 2016 in the Huercal-Overa, Zurgena, La Alfoquia or Taberno areas please call us NOW for a free, no obligation and truthful valuation so you have an idea of what you can get for your property when you are ready. THANK YOU For more information and to arrange a viewing contact us asap.

Please call 0034 950 616 827 / 0034 678 002 006 / 0034 667 891 741 or email: info@vosshomesspain.com

www.vosshomesspain.com

Office: 155a Carrerera Estacion, Huecal-Overa. 1km off the A7 motorway at exit 553. 100metres from Lidl.

20

SOL Y MAR

Avenida 28 de Febrero Nº 44, Albox

December 2015

Tel: 950 064 584 609 199 394

Email: info@solymarspain.com www.solymarspain.com

FANTASTIC VALUE FOR MONEY El MARGEN NEAR ORIA SM033 - 60000€

former B&B Albox Great value for money sol178 - 62,500€

BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED NEAR ALMANZORA sol726 - 89995€

Traditional semi detached cortijo , recently refurbished features 3 bed , 2 bath , 400m2 of land to the front , side courtyard and logburner Lovely village setting with stunning views

Former Bed & Breakfast, attached villa features 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with large garden.

Only 10 mins to Albox.

Restored mid terrace cortijo .Features 1000m2 of land, private courtyard , 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms

UNIQUE AND QUIRKY NEAR TIJOLA sm032 - 99,950€

unique location cantoria sol137 - 108,000€

separate apartment Arroya albanchez sM007 - 116,000€

Stunning inside detached cortijo with many unique and quirky features Features 3 bed, 2 bath, part AC and woodburner , walking distance to village amenities

Delightful 2 bed, semi-detached villa with pool, set in a fenced plot of approx 611m2. In a unique location, not part of an urbanisation, only 4km from Cantoria where all amenities can be found.

Traditional attached 3 bed, 2 bath cortijo in idyllic setting. Features separate apartment, solar heating and swimming pool.

Traditional Spanish House near albox sm024 - 119,950€

Albox TOWN CENTRE SM025 - 119,950€

Near CANTORIA SM030 - 120,000€

Traditional attached Spanish house with lots of character. Features internal courtyard, idyllic setting and 5 bedrooms plus 3 cave rooms, 2 bath & short drive to Albox

Traditional townhouse in prime location walking distance to all amenities to Albox. Features 3 bed, 2 bath, fully enclosed patio & available furnished.

3 Bed,2 bath detached family home .950M plot. 10 Mins walk to Cantoria

Walking distance Almanzora sM022 - 125,000€

cLOSE TO ALBOX SOL069 - 149,950€

Immaculate Home near albox sM021 - 169,000€

A lovely, detached bright villa in a great location. Well maintained gardens and room for a swimming pool.

Walking distance to the local amenities, must be seen to be appreciated.

Well presented 3 bed, 2 bath vill a with a pool in the popular village of Limaria and within easy reach of the shops and amenities of Albox.

Detached 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom country villa with 2400m2 of land. Close to Albox and appointed to a high standard.

2

21

www.soltimes.com

PROPERTY OF THE WEEK ew g N ti n s Li

RAMBLA DE ORIA SM031 -NEAR ALBOX ABSOLUTELY STUNNING VIEWS 4 BED 3 BATH SWIMMING POOL SEPARATE GARAGE AND GUEST ANNEXE 8000m2 OF LAND EDGE OF MOUNTAIN SETTING 145,000€

WE URGENTLY REQUIRE LEGAL PROPERTIES FROM COAST TO COUNTRY WE ARE LOOKING FOR ALL TYPES OF PROPERTIES FOR RENTAL OPPORTUNITIES. CLIENTS WAITING CALL US 950 064 584 Beautiful Detached villa near albox sol161 - 169,950€

SOL Y MAR

RENTAL SECTION

RENTAL OF THE WEEK Quality villa (127m2) located just 10 minutes drive from the town of Albox & features 3 bed, 2 bath, private pool & jacuzzi. The walled corner plot is 710m2 & has a carport & garden shed (10m2)

RSM014

DETACHED FURNISHED 1 BED ANNEXE WITH ALL AMENITIES. SHARE OF POOL AND JACUZZI PRICE INC BILLS

ew g N ti n s Li

DETACHED TOWNHOUSE CANTORIA TOWN CENTRE sm009 - 186,500€

300€ PCM IMMACULATE ATTIC CONVERSION CLOSE TO aLBOX RSM002 - 200€ pcm

ew g N tin semi detached cortijo s i RSM013 - 300€ pcm L

COUNTRY CORTIJO CLOSE TO aLBOX RSM004 - 325€ pcm

Separate one bed fully self contained attic of Spanish cortijo. Fully furnished with many traditional features.

Large 3 bed semi detached cortijo on generous fully fenced plot, needs tlc reflected on the price

3 bed semi attached cortijo with small courtyard and roof terrace Comes fully furnished, in a secluded tranquil setting and only 20 mins from Albox

STUNNING SETTING MAR620 - 350€ pcm

CLOSE TO aLBOX RSM010 - 350€ pcm

IDYLLIC SETTING BAJO SALIENTE NEAR ALBOX RSM011 - 450€ pcm

Traditional cortijo , beautifully restored .Features 3 bed , 2 bath , logburner, stunning views and only a short drive to Oria

Traditional 2 bed Cortijo in the lovely village of Limaria, close to Albox. Fully furnished & walking distance to local bar

Detached home on 1200m2 plot , features 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms , large garage, terrace area and stunning views .

Detached 6 bed , 2 bath , 3 storey house on the edge of town. Easy walk to Cantoria , fully insulated roof , enclosed patio and roof terrace

large country house Cerricos SM011 - 225,000€

Extensive detached 6 bed country house , ideal potential for family home , hotel or retreat.

22

December 2015

property group

Paseo del Mediterraneo 197 - Mojacar - Almeria

Tel: 950 472 430 / 610 053 563

www.veritashomes.co.uk info@veritashomes.co.uk

Garrucha

€60,000

Great opportunity. 3 bed / 1 bath 1st floor apartment within a short walk from the beach and amenities in Garrucha. Underground parking space. Lift. Ref.1646

Palomares

mojaca playa

DUE TO INCREASE IN SALES WE URGENTLY NEED PROPERTIES IN MOJÁCAR, GARRUCHA, VERA AND TURRE. FREE VALUATION. NO FEES FOR ADVERTISING.

€77,500 mojacar playa

Fantastic 3 bed / 2 bath Townhouse with garage of 46 m2 on the basement. Back patio, front terrace & roof solarium. Walking distance from amenities. Short drive to beach. Ref. 1629

€110,000 mojacar playa

€285,000 turre

Amazing detached 3 bed / 2,5 bath villa with pool and garage on plot of 1,000 m2. Panoramic views. Air con & heating. Your castle in Spain!

Ref.1651

palomares

€165,000

Weel-kept 2 bed / 2 bath detached villa with terraces and panoramic views on small complex with communal pool and gardens.

Car port. Ref. 1652

€289,000 la parata

Nice detached 3 bed / 3 bath villa with pool on plot of 960 m2 within walking distance to amenities. Terraces and solarium with views.

Ref.1106

€100,000

2 bed / 2 bath Penthouse apartment with underground parking place and store room.

Nice complex with pool and gardens. Ref. 1035

€129,950 cabrera

3 bed / 1 bath furnished apartment with Sea views. 3 bed / 1 bath southeast facing large terrace on well maintained gated apartment with large terrace within walking development with tennis court & pools near distance to promenade and playa Ventanicas. promenade. Store room. Air con . Ref. 1647 Ref. 1562

€188,000 cabrera

Detached 3 bed / 2 bath villa in quiet cul de sac a few minutes’ walk to the beach and new promenade. Light and airy. Kitchen and sitting room open planned. Ref.1560

Opening hours.

Monday to Friday 10.00 am to 6.00pm Saturday 10.00 am to 1.30pm

€475,000

Stunning newly-renovated 5 bed / 3 bath villa with pool, garden and garage. 3 levels.

Contemporary style. High quality fittings.

Ref.1650

www.soltimes.com

murcia webcams

www.sensolgolfvillarentals.com

CAMPOSOL LOWER C HOLIDAY LETS FROM €450 PW

Ref No: 087

• 3 bed/2 bath luxury villa.

• Large private pool.

• AC throughout.

• Close to golf course.

CAMPOSOL B HOLIDAY LETS FROM €750 PW

Ref No: 0172

• 4 bed/4 bath ext Neptuno Delux • Amazing private pool area.

• Furnished to high spec.

• Free wifi & games station etc

23

office spain: (0034) 968 970 614 mobile: (0034) 608 631 700 CAMPOSOL D LONG TERM LET €650 + BILLS PCM

Ref No :0191

•3 Bed/3 Bath Neptuno De Lux Villa.

•10m x 5m Private Pool.

•Oil Fired Central Heating.

•Furnished to high standard.

CAMPOSOL D LONG TERM LET €600 + BILLS PCM

Ref No: 0208

• 3 bed/3 bath Neptuno Delux Villa.

• Amazing Front Line Golf & Valley Views.

• Private Pool.

• Oil Fired CH plus much more.

CAMPOSOL D LONG TERM LET €575 + BILLS PCM

Ref No: 0204

•3 bed extended Fortuna style villa.

•2 bed annex.

•Private freeform pool.

•Oil Fired CH + much more. camposol d LONG TERM LET €500 + BILLS PCM

Ref No: 0176

• 3 bed/2 bath Cibeles Style Villa.

• 10m x 5m Private Pool.

• Large 700sqm plot.

• Amazing value.

MAZARRON COUNTRY CLUB CAMPOSOL D MANY MORE PROPERTIES ON OUR WEBSITE LONG TERMCAN LET €550 +BE BILLS SEEN PCM LONG TERM LET €650 + BILLS PCM

CAMPOSOL D LONG TERM LET €475 +BILLS PCM

Ref No :0079

•2 bed/2bath Rosa style villa.

•8m Freeform pool.

•Log fire Plus much more.

•Well furnished.

LAS CABILLAS, ALHAMA LONG TERM LET €600 + BILLS PCM

Ref No: 0183

Ref No: 0201

•2 bed/1 bath detached villa.

•8m x 4m private pool.

•Furnished to very high standard.

•Fully gated community.

CAMPOSOL UPPER C LONG TERM LET €300 + BILLS PCM

Ref No: 0202

Ref No: 0191

•3 bed/3 bath Neptuno Delux Villa.

•Private pool with large sun terrace.

•Furnished to high standard.

•Large storage area.

CAMPOSOL D HOLIDAY LETS From €400 PW

Ref No: 0023

Covering, Al Alamillo, Puerto De Mazarron, El Alcolar, Bolnuevo, Isla Plana.

Urgently require villas and apartments for Long Term or Holiday Rental.

(0034) 610 152 682 Website: www.BahiaVillaRentals.com •4 bed/2 bath semi detached finca.

•6m x 5m private pool.

•Fully fenced.

•Spanish campo living.

•2 bed/1 bath Classico style villa •Furnished to a good standard •Full size upper solarium with great views.

•Close to Camposol Club De Golf.

•3 bed/3 bath Neptuno Delux villa.

•8m Freeform pool.

•AC, Internet + much more.

•Bespoke outside dining area.

24

December 2015

Bankruptcy Looms For Spain’s Green Energy Giant

FOR BUSINESS Talk about awkward timing.

At the Paris climate summit earlier this week, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pledged to “de-carbonize” his economy. But back home, Spain’s biggest renewable energy company is on the verge of becoming the country’s biggestever bankruptcy.

Abengoa S.A. was founded more than 70 years ago in the sunny southern Spanish city of Seville. Back then, it was a traditional electric company.

Nowadays it runs solar, biofuel and desalination plants, plus power lines and telecom equipment, all over Spain and abroad — from Brazil, to India, to the United States. It employs nearly 29,000 people worldwide.

One of the company’s flagship projects is the Solana parabolic

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trough solar plant near Gila Bend, 70 miles west of Phoenix, Ariz. — the world’s biggest solar plant of its kind. Abengoa also runs several big desert solar plants in California, and half a dozen ethanol and biofuel plants in places like Kansas and Missouri.

The company’s U.S. headquarters are near St. Louis.

Subsidies Scrapped With more than 300 sunny days a year, Spain had been emerging as a leader in renewable energy in Europe, and exporting its technology abroad.

But two years ago, Rajoy’s government cut its subsidies for solar and wind power in Spain. It was early 2013, at the height of Spain’s economic crisis. Unemployment was near 27 percent, and the Spanish government was struggling to pay interest on its debts.

The cutbacks devastated Spain’s renewables sector. Some smaller firms went out of business. Big survivors like Abengoa were left living off loans. The U.S. government has guaranteed some $2 billion of Abengoa’s loans, because of the estimated $3 billion Abengoa has invested in jobcreating projects in Arizona and other U.S. states.

Last week, the Basque steel company Gonvarri pulled out of a deal to invest some $370 million in Abengoa — money the renewables giant needed to stay afloat.

Spain’s former king, Juan Carlos (fourth from left), walks with Abengoa Chairman Felipe Benjumea (to the right of the king), in front of a new solar tower in southern Spain in 2009. Abengoa, a large international company focused on renewable energy, now faces potential bankruptcy.

Spain’s former king, Juan Carlos (fourth from left), walks with Abengoa Chairman Felipe Benjumea (to the right of the king), in front of a new solar tower in southern Spain in 2009. Abengoa, a large international company focused on renewable energy, now faces potential bankruptcy.

Miguel Angel Morenatti/AP Since then, Abengoa’s CEO has resigned. Its stock has plunged more than 50 percent. And the company is applying

NICK THE TILER

for creditor protection — the first step toward bankruptcy.

Another Solyndra?

Abengoa has four months to salvage its finances before bankruptcy kicks in. The company’s lawyers reportedly spent two consecutive nights at the Madrid offices of KPMG, the auditor, trying to sort out Abengoa’s finances and debts — which are in the billions of dollars, and perhaps even the tens of billions.

Spain’s economy minister, Luis de Guindos, has said he’s closely monitoring Abengoa’s woes but suggested it’s not likely that the Spanish government would rescue the company. He was quoted as saying he thinks the company can remain in business.

Meanwhile, Abengoa’s plight is drawing comparisons to Solyndra, the green technology company from California that President Obama’s administration backed with government funds before it went bankrupt in 2011. Solyndra had received $536 million in loan guarantees from the U.S. Energy Department, plus tax breaks. Most of that money was never recovered.

Abengoa got up to $2 billion in U.S. government loan guarantees, but it has not yet defaulted on any debts.

It’s still too early to tell what will happen to employees of Abengoa’s U.S. subsidiaries, most of which remain profitable, according to the firms. If the parent company goes bankrupt, they could be spun off or sold. http://www.npr.org/

Call Nick for all your tiling & laminate floor requirements.

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NEW BUSINESS? 2 WAYS TO ADVERTISE RING 950 121 936 OR EMAIL YOUR ADVERT TO blancasales@soltimes.com

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Political Maneuvering

The Alquerian system of government, governing by referendum was a workable form of anarchism. The vote always supported the popular view which corresponded to the popular politicians. Manuela and Antonio Poyato in coalition with Loco Paco while Rodriquez seethed in opposition.

Manuela was always popular with the men and Poyato, although he grew the Remitroot Whisky which kept half the village in a state total inebriation was a non-threatening individual and popular with all. Loco Paco aroused the Mothering instinct and pity of the female population owing to his inherent insanity. Rodriquez however was a vile man who was loathed by all except those sycophants who were attracted by his wealth. It is clear from the above that all the decisions made went in favour of Manuela and Co. which was the left-wing view. Rodriquez was the arch-capitalist and dreamed of moulding Alqueria into a Dickensian workhouse the dream of every conservative government whether in Madrid or London.

Rodriquez hatched a not so cunning plan. He would break the coalition by setting each against the other, then provide free Remitroot Whisky to all rendering them incapable of rational thought. While the People of the Pueblo are in this state he would declare himself dictator and over a period of time introduce a privileged society of which he and his minions benefited. He got the idea from Cameron’s Tory Party.

Loco Paco, as readers may recall has

viewpoint

a five foot tall imaginary rodent friend called Bert with whom he converses on a wide range of subjects.

It was a simple matter for Rodriquez to plant the thought in Paco’s simple brain that Poyato had physically abused Bert with his boot.

Paco, and his pets imaginary and real retired to the cellar of the town hall where he barricaded the door.

With Loco Paco safely in his cellar Rodriguez now circulated the rumour that Poyato was broadcasting a story which involved Manuela, the Atlético Nijar football team and an industrial strength barrel of Swarfega, disturbing in its detail.

Manuela checked her records and found that particular football team wasn’t listed among her exploits but she made a note of the Swarfega for future reference. She went in search of the unfortunate Poyato armed with a very large ‘turkey baster’ and a bottle of Tabasco.

Antonio Poyato was completely ignorant of the charges laid against him but when Manuela hove into view threatening to give him a piquant enema he took to his heels. He was last seen wearing false testicles at a freak show in Mojacar.

Will Rodriquez prevail?

Stay tuned.

Our Olive tree has now reached the dimensions where it can truthfully be referred to as a tree.

It has progressed from an untidy mess of tangled twigs too large to be a sapling and too small to be a tree, and has grown into a small but perfectly formed tree.

Not only has it achieved an aesthetically pleasing appearance, but it has entered with enthusiasm into the raison d’etre of olive trees, and has produced an abundance of olives.

It was a shame to let the fruits of its labours fall and rot, so we gave the tree a shake, picked up the fallen bounty, gathered them into a Mercadona-sized plastic bag and put them into the large flat expanse of the boot of the car, with a view to taking them to José, as a neighbourly but minuscule addition to his much grander harvest.

‘It’ll fall over.’ Pete said.

‘No it won’t. It’s too heavy.’ I countered.

José was out, so I pulled Henry up on the slight tarmac rise of the road outside his homestead. With confidence I opened the boot to be surrounded by a stream of unbagged olives obeying the forces of gravity, pouring out of the boot and merrily rolling down the road – Pete had told me so; the bag had fallen over!

I set off in pursuit of the fleeing fruit – it is not easy to apprehend a rolling olive - and by some miracle I gathered them all up into the bag before a car came and ran

You must be barking to put up with buffering

over Xmas

Errant Olives

25

By Jos Biggs

josbiggs@hotmail.co.uk over both me and my prey.

I looked round. I had got them, every last one! Now all I had to do was transport them across the road and leave them outside José’s door. With the satisfaction of a difficulty surmounted I bent down to pick up the bag.

I picked up the bag all right, but not the olives – the bag burst as I lifted it, and the olives cascaded out in unfettered freefall. However, now they had tasted freedom, and they were determined to preserve it – they rolled as only escaping olives can, ducking, dodging and sprinting like so many tiny black run-away rugby balls.

Once more I gave chase, but this time armed with one of the big tough Mercadona Bags for Life, and once more I captured and bagged every last one.

I think I can now claim to be an expert on catching errant olives!

puzzle pages

26

December 2015

To advertise in this space Contact our sales advisors on 950 121 936 or email: sales@soltimes.com sol picture quiz!

1. Definitely not before 20.01hrs.............

2. Mother’s hostelry, perhaps................

1

4

3

Answers

2

wordsearch

soltimes drinks Quiz

IDENTIFY THEse FAMOUS Car manufacturers

1. Volvo 2. Saab 3. Chevrolet 4. Alfa Romeo

on this day 10th December

1817 – Mississippi becomes the 20th U.S. state.

1907 – The worst night of the Brown Dog riots in London, when 1,000 medical students clash with 400 police officers over the existence of a memorial for animals that have been vivisected.

1955 – Mighty Mouse Playhouse premieres on American television.

1993 – The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland. The closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages.

Christmas Gift Ideas

Find and circle all of the words that are hidden in the grid.

The remaining 13 letters spell an additional Christmas gift idea.

soltimes sport Quiz

1. Which sport is played on the largest pitch?...........................

2. In darts, what is the lowest score that CANNOT be scored with a single dart?....................

3. Voodoo in a box..................................

4. Cow juice container............................

3. Which sports playing area is 2.7 metres by 1.5 metres?.........

5. Song from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’..........

6. Floral items, could be climbing or tea.

4. Which sport do the Oklahoma City Thunder play?...

7. Single snowy deposit..........................

5. In Athletics, what is the last event of the Decathlon?............

8. This becomes you, according to the song......................................................

6. Who was the first cricketer to achieve 10,000 runs in test cricket?....................................

9. The ‘E’ is missing from this pet food...

10. Could be Park Lane, or Mayfair..........

11. A star cluster.....................................

7. What is the highest possible break in snooker - 147, 150,

12. Another star cluster..........................

155?.........................................

13. Oh look, there’s another star cluster!

standard SUDOKU

2010?.......................................

9. James Naismith invented which sport?............................

10. 8 minutes and 47.8 seconds is the fastest ever winning time for what race?..........................

Answers

squiggle SUDOKU

wordsearch answer easy SUDOKU

14. S(nicker)s Mars) 13. Planets (made by 12. Galaxy 11. Milky Way 10. Quality Street

CROSSWORD

CRYPTIC crossword

15. Celebrations

SOLUTIONS

PLANT SCARF SHIRT SLIPPERS SNEAKERS SOCKS STUFFED ANIMAL SWEATER TELEVISION TOOL SET TOY TREE ORNAMENT WATCH WINE

ELECTRONICS FLOWERS GAME GIFT BASKET GIFT CARD HERBAL TEAS JEWELRY MONEYMOVIE MUSIC NECKLACE NECKTIE PANTS PENDANT PERFUME

CHRISTMAS CAKE

1. After Eight 2. Mars Bar 3. Black Magic 4. Milk Tray 5. Matchmaker 6. Roses 7. Flake 8. Moonlight 9. KitKat

Answers

BAKING BELT BOOK BRACELET CANDLES CANDY CHOCOLATES CLOTHES COFFEE MAKER COFFEE MUG COLOGNE COOKIES DOLL EARRINGS

Gavasker 7. 155 8. Fulham FC 9. Basketball 10. The Grand National

15. Christmas and birthdays give rise to these.....................................................

1. Polo 2. 23 3. Table Tennis 4. Basketball 5. 1500m 6. Sunil

14. Sounds like bloomers!......................

8. Who were the runners up in the Europa League Final of

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27

UK Motorhomes Wanted

Contact Karl on 0044 7976 662395

email: carlskitt@live.com

across

STANDARD CROSSWORD

1 Consternation (6) 4 Announce (8) 10 Clams, crabs and lobsters for example (9) 11 Labor organization (5) 12 Lubricated (5) 13 Exciting (9) 14 Cold-blooded (7) 16 Make a melodic noise (4) 19 Skim or dart (4) 21 An ancient Egyptian musical instrument (7) 24 Lip service (9) 25 Rot (5) 26 Enlist (5) 27 Naivete (9) 28 Hold spellbound (8) 29 Came up (6)

Down

1 Dictatorial (8) 2 Sneaky (8) 3 Afflicted (5) 5 Engages for work again (7) 6 Matings (9) 7 Proofs of innocence (6) 8 Be in charge of (6) 9 Nipped (6) 15 Elemental (9) 17 Diagrammed outlines (8) 18 The highest heaven (8) 20 Of little importance (7) 21 Expression (6) 22 Cheddar or gouda, for example (6) 23 Any incorporeal supernatural being (6) 25 Furnishings of a room (5)

SUDOKU PUZZLES

easy

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS 8 Went faster than a new tour (new at first) (6) 9 Apart from one so dead, bad end will follow (8) 10 See 22 Down 11 Being English, books it years later (6) 12 I’m me - without a foreign resistant (6) 13 Unholiest hospital missing new boundaries (8) 15 Aims a spike south (7) 17 One church lad with energy is cooler (3,4) 20 Bugged immoral half-German journalist (8) 22 Hear animals without Republican country (6) 23 Less fearful rock is heard (6) 25 Coated “Dido’s an egghead” in a frenzy (8) 26 A creature takes Reagan back - that’s not typical! (8) 27 Draw without scoring new one left (twice) (3-3)

Down

1 Mess up or change leaders (8) 2 Cherishing garnitures, perhaps (10) 3 Ask for one new life (in France) without Tory leader (6) 4 In good party, within a kilometre’s realm (7) 5 Items adapted in fish over home (8) 6 Final hold out? (4) 7 Reportedly pound the French insect (6) 14 Rib decline might be astounding! (10) 16 A murder’s shattered tympana (8) 18 Microorganisms pretend to be in a Brie spread (8) 19 I’d have English friend, in a perfect world (7) 21 Almost flow (after a short time) with a protozoon (6) 22/10 Innovative drug - no clue perhaps (6-8) 24 Fall or rise in key power (4)

squiggle

famous birthdays on this day

standard

1942 – Ann Gloag, Scottish nurse and businesswoman 1952 – Clive Anderson, English lawyer and television host 1957 – Prem Rawat, IndianAmerican guru 1958 – Pepsi Demacque, English singer (Pepsi & Shirlie) 1983 – Lewis Buxton, English footballer

soltimes famous quote

28

December 2015

FOOD & ENTERTAINING...

Edible Christmas gifts Impress your friends and work colleges with your culinary prowess and masterful craft skills with these delicious (and deceptively easy) edible gift ideas from bbcgoodfood.com.

Peppermint Candy Canes These sweet treats are a great last-minute gourmet addition to a homemade gift hamper and are fun to make with kids Mix a few drops of peppermint into the white, red and green icing. Divide the white icing in 2 and wrap half in cling film along with the green icing.

Roll the remaining half of white icing into a Ingredients long, thin sausage shape, then do the same Makes 40 Few drops peppermint essence with the red icing. Lay the 2 sausages next or extract to each other, and twist together. Gently 100g white regal icing roll the twisted length with the palm of your 50g red regal icing 50g green regal icing hand until the 2 sausages are joined and smooth. Slice into 12cm lengths, then bend After 24 hours drying, package the end of each one to make a hook. Line a the canes in bags, boxes or jars, baking sheet with baking parchment, then or store in an airtight container spread out the candy canes. Repeat with the between sheets of kitchen paper remaining white icing and green icing, then for up to a month. leave the canes to dry out for at least 24 hrs before packaging.

TIP

Ruby’s

URBANISATION EL RASO, CAMPO DE GUARDAMAR, JUST OFF THE CV895 LEMON TREE ROAD, 03140

TEL 622 434 912

Opening times 10am till Late Tuesday - Sunday

Menu Del Dia 12.30pm - 4pm Tuesday - Friday 4 Course 7.95€ Full Main Menu 6pm - 9pm Sunday Lunch Available 2pm - 7pm 3 Course 9.95€ / 2 Course 7.95€ Happy Hour 4pm - 6pm Wednesday is quiz night with Nick Marshall with our great 5€ meal deals for quiz players PLUS Karaoke with guest singers Last person standing, winner takes all

GREAT FUN NIGHT OUT

Gingerbread Wreath Turn delicately spiced, iced biscuits into an edible Christmas decoration - a gorgeous gift to give to someone special over the festive season

Put the sugar, golden syrup and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then bubble for 1-2 mins, stirring until well combined. Set aside to cool for 10 mins.

Tip the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into a large bowl. Add the warm syrup mixture and the egg, stir to Ingredients bring everything together, then gently knead in the bowl until smooth and Serves 12-15 streak-free. The dough will feel a little For the gingerbread soft now, but will firm up once cooled.

175g dark muscovado sugar Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least 30 mins.

85g golden syrup Remove the dough from the fridge and leave at room temperature until 100g slightly salted butter softened. Heat oven to 200C/180C 350g plain flour, plus extra for fan/gas 6 and line two baking trays with baking parchment. dusting Cut off half the dough and keep the 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda rest wrapped in cling film. Roll out the dough to the thickness of a £1 1 tbsp ground ginger coin, then use a plate or the base of 1 tsp ground cinnamon a cake tin as a template to cut out a 20cm circle. Transfer to one of the 1 egg, beaten baking trays, then use a 7cm cutter to To decorate stamp out and remove a circle in the blue food colouring paste middle. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out a variety of other shapes (optional) to decorate the wreath (you’ll need about 20-25 pieces – we used stars 500g fondant icing sugar and angels) and arrange these over silver edible glitter the trays too.

Bake the biscuits for 10-12 mins, (optional) swapping the trays over halfway ribbon and cellophane through cooking. Stamp a hole in the top of the ring using a small cutter, or (if giving as a gift) the end of a piping nozzle, as soon as it comes out the oven – you can tie a pretty ribbon through this later. Leave to cool on the trays, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mix the icing sugar with enough water to make a thick icing. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle, then decorate the biscuits as you wish, using a little edible glitter, if you like. We flooded some of the biscuits with pale blue icing (see tip) and piped white details on the others. Leave the icing to dry for 1-2 hrs, then use a little more icing to stick the biscuits to the wreath. Thread a ribbon through the hole and wrap up in cellophane, if giving as a gift (the ribbon is just for show and may not support a hung wreath). Will keep for 2 weeks.

Present Your Presents Like A Pro • If it's going by mail it • C o v e r the lids of needs to be a robust your jars with squares enough not to arrive in of red fabric and tie with pieces. Solution: send twine for Bonne Maman something that's already chic. in pieces!

• Artisan touch: use • Cover a box with sparkly alphabet stamps to print wrap, fill with tissue the name of your chutney paper and lay your baked on a brown label tag and beauties inside. Pop on tie round you jar. Could the lid and stick a pretty have come from a posh deli. paper snowflake on top.

29

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FOOD & ENTERTAINING...

Snow globe hot chocolate

Christmas tree pops

Marshmallows and strawberry laces transform into a snowman in this cute edible gift idea - a hot chocolate kit in a jam jar perfect family fun First make the marshmallow snowman.

Skewer the marshmallows together with a cocktail stick - cut off any of the stick that protrudes from the top. Use a little of

Ingredients

the icing pen to stick a chocolate button

3 large white marshmallows icing pens, in black and orange 1 giant chocolate button 1 chocolate - a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup or other domed chocolate is perfect 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp Horlicks powder handful mini white marshmallows 1 cookie (small enough to fit in a jam jar) 3 strawberries laces You will need: 1 cocktail stick 1 large jam jar ribbon and gift tag

marshmallow stack, then draw on a face and

Serves 1

and peanut butter cup to the top of each 3 dots for buttons. Plait 3 strawberry laces and tie around the neck for a scarf. Stick the snowman to a cookie with a little more icing, then set aside to dry for a few mins.

Mix the cocoa and Horlicks together in the bottom of your jar. Put the snowman on top, then scatter around the mini marshmallows.

Screw on the lid, tie with a ribbon and a gift tag with the following instructions: Warm 300ml milk in a pan. Remove the snowman from the jar and add the milk. Stir until smooth and chocolatey, then enjoy, with your marshmallow snowman for dunking.

Orange & Ginger Stained Glass Biscuits Kids will love to make these magical Christmas biscuits and hang them with pretty ribbon

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Twist the sausages into 7.5cm/3in lengths and separate them into individual sausages.

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a 26cm/10in shallow flameproof casserole dish. Add the sausages and fry until nicely browned all over. Lift them onto a plate and set aside.

Ingredients Add the onion, garlic and Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Grease 2 large Makes 14 non-stick baking sheets with oil. Whizz sunflower oil, for greasing the flour, ginger, zest and butter with 175g plain flour, plus extra 1⁄2 tsp salt to fine crumbs in a food 1 tsp ground ginger processor. Pulse in the sugar and milk, zest 1 orange 100g butter, cold, cut into chunks then turn out and knead briefly on a floured surface until smooth. Wrap in 50g golden caster sugar cling film, then chill for about 30 mins.

1 tbsp milk Flour the work surface again, then 12 fruit-flavoured boiled sweets roll out the dough to the thickness icing sugar, to dust of a £1 coin. Use 7cm cutters to cut about 120cm thin ribbon, to decorate out shapes, then use 4cm cutters to cut out the middles. Re-roll leftover pieces. Make a hole in the top of each biscuit, then carefully lift onto the baking sheets.

Crush the sweets in their wrappers with a rolling pin, then put the pieces into the middles of the biscuits – the sweets should be level with the top of the dough. Bake for 15-20 mins or until the biscuits are golden brown and the middles have melted.

Leave to harden, then transfer to a rack to cool. Thread with ribbon, then dust with icing sugar. Will keep for a month, b-ut best eaten within 3 days. another tablespoon of oil to the casserole dish and fry until soft and lightly golden. Stir in the potatoes, browned sausages, lemon zest and juice, bay leaves, half the chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon salt and ten turns of the black pepper mill.

Pour over the rest of the oil along with the water, cover tightly with the lid and bake for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the lemon zest and sprinkle with the rest of the parsley before serving.

Decorate wedges of chocolate sponge with green icing and Smarties to make festive cake pops on sticks - perfect for baking with kids

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line the base with a circle of baking parchment.

Put the butter in a big mixing bowl with the sugar and vanilla extract, and Ingredients mix until it looks creamy. Crack in the Makes 8 eggs, one at a time, mixing after each 100g butter at room temperature, one. Sift the flour and cocoa together, plus extra for greasing add to the bowl with the milk and stir everything together until smooth.

100g golden caster sugar Spoon into the cake tin and use the 1 tsp vanilla extract back of a wooden spoon to spread the 2 medium eggs top to make it as flat as you can. Bake 100g self-raising flour for 20 mins until a skewer poked into 3 tbsp cocoa powder the centre comes out clean, with just cake crumbs stuck to it, not wet batter.

3 tbsp milk Leave the cake to cool completely in 300g icing sugar, sifted the tin on a wire rack. green food colouring Remove the cake from the tin and use sprinkles, for decorating (we a serrated knife to cut it into 8 wedges. used sugar snowflakes and mini Turn each one so that the round, outside edge is facing you, and push a Smarties) lollipop or cake pop stick through the 8 lollipops or cake pop sticks, middle of the outside edge. Remember to serve to leave enough of the stick poking out for you to hold.

Mix the food colouring and icing sugar with enough water to make an icing that is a bit runny, but still quite stiff. Try drizzling a bit on a spare piece of paper; you want it to stay in strips, not run all over the place.

Spoon some icing over each cake wedge (you can cover it completely or drizzle lines across them in a tree shape). Decorate with sugar snowflakes and mini Smarties, then lift onto a wire rack and leave to set completely (this will take a few hours). Iced cakes will keep in the tin for up to 2 days.

The un-iced cake can be frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost completely before cutting and decorating.

Mint Chocolate Truffles An impressive accompaniment to after-dinner coffee, or box these up for gifts

Bring the cream just to the boil in a pan. Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Stir until melted, then add the peppermint. Cool, then chill until

Ingredients

the mixture is solid, about 2-3 hrs.

Makes 20

Scoop out teaspoons of the mixture

100ml double cream 200g milk chocolate, broken into pieces

and roll into small walnut-size balls with your hands, then roll in icing sugar.

¼ tsp peppermint essence

They will keep chilled for 3 days or

icing sugar, for rolling

freeze for up to 1 month

30

December 2015

French cheese under threat from mass production and ‘bacteriological correctness’ Search where you will in the most exclusive cheese shops in France and you will no longer find a bleu de Termignon, a vacherin d’Abondance or a galette des Monts-d’Or. They are among 50 species of French cheese to have vanished in the past four decades. Could better known cheeses, such as brie de Meaux, or crottin de Chavignol or bleu d’Auvergne, follow them into gastronomic oblivion?

Last week, Prince Charles, while visiting the COP21 global climate conference in Paris, declared his love for Pont-L’Evêque and other French cheese made in the traditional manner with lait cru or raw, unpasteurised milk. He warned that their survival was threatened by the “bacteriological correctness” of European and national food safety regulation.

Is he right? Oui et non. But mostly oui. Only about 10 per cent of the cheese now consumed in France is “genuine” – in other words, made with untreated milk. Consumption of lait cru cheeses has been falling by 4 per cent a year.

Even many of the French cheeses labelled, like fine wines, as “origin controlled” are mass-produced with pasteurised or heat-treated milk. They have the old names, but a fraction of the taste and character, say critics. Real cheese producers and campaigners confirm a growing threat from fussy EU and domestic health regulation. But they say the real menace comes from the greed and corner-cutting of France’s large and powerful dairy companies.

“Many thanks to Prince Charles,” said Véronique

Richez-Lerouge, president of the Association Fromages de Terroirs. “But I find it shameful that French politicians and personalities should say nothing while the heir to the British [throne] speaks out so powerfully.”

Hervé Mons, an award-winning producer and worldwide marketer of authentic French cheeses, told The Independent on Sunday: “We are under pressure to apply the same standards to artisanal as to factory-made cheese. There is no justification on health or other grounds. The dairy industry lobbies for standards which would rob cheese of all true character and quality – in other words impose the kind of cheese that they can make cheaply.”

Ms Richez-Lerouge says the erosion of authentic French cheese is part of a “wider, national hypocrisy”. Successive French governments, she says, have extolled the virtues of small-scale farming and quality food while “shovelling 80 per cent of European subsidies into the pockets of big farmers and the agro-industry”.

President Charles de Gaulle complained that it was impossible to govern a country with “265 different kinds of cheese”. In fact, depending how you count them, there are (or were) at least 700, and maybe as many as 1,000 types of French cheese.

Ten years ago, I visited Célina Gagneux, the last manufacturer of vacherin d’Abondance, a rich, creamy cheese so soft it had to be eaten with a spoon. She had just retired, ending a 200year unbroken tradition of cheese-making in the

Velvetones Christmas Charity Concert

Get in the mood for a seasonal sing with Velvetones Carols and Christmas songs along with many new repertoire harmony numbers!

Doors open 7.15pm for 7.30pm start on Wednesday 9th December at Restaurant El Paraiso, behind Carrefour Torrevieja.

‘Dodgy Diva’ aka Caroline Hughes, is back by popular request with her fantastic voice and comedic humour!

Only 5 Euros for a fantastic evenings entertainment - call Ena 065 707 598 or Jean 693 727 218 or see a chorus member for tickets. Visit the website www.velvetonesharmonytorrevieja.com for full details.

mountains on the French side of Lake Geneva.

She said: “When I was a girl, there were 30 people or more who made vacherin in this valley.

Now they’ve all died or stopped. They make the Abondance cheese, a firmer cheese, because that’s what the big buyers want. How can you blame them?”

Ms Richez-Lerouge, the real- cheese campaigner, says there is also a more subtle threat to the survival of France’s cheese tradition. The industry giants are moving into the “origin controlled” market and imposing rule changes to allow pasteurised cheeses to be sold with the appellation contrôlée label.

In Normandy, a handful of traditional camembert producers resisted, Asterix like, and fought off the agro-giants. The close cousins of camembert, Livarot and Pont-L’Evêque, have succumbed.

You can now buy a pasteurised Pont-L’Evêque which carries the “authentic” origin-controlled label – a contradiction in terms to the purists. If you want to buy a “real” French cheese, it must state on the label that it was made with lait cru.

Mr Mons, the cheese trader from Roanne in central France, says the threat is not the disappearance of great names such as cantal or camembert. “The real danger – and the reality in many cases – is their conversion into something bland and characterless, which betrays our traditions.” -The Independent

Eduardo Scissorhands? Hairdresser styles with swords and fire in Spain

Alberto Olmedo is no ordinary hairdresser, eschewing one pair of scissors in favour of swords and fire, his exploits have made him go global after featuring in a video for news site AJ+ From his salon in Campamento, in the south of Madrid, Olmedo offers an extremely unconventional haircut using age old traditions that these days, look quite scary.

"People have been using small daggers to cut hair for hundreds of years," the hairdresser told Spanish daily, El País.

In the video, which has had an incredible 122 million views since it was uploaded to Facebook on Thursday, Olmedo is seen chopping hair with six pairs of scissors at once, burning the hair off a woman with fire and slashing off hair using two huge swords.

"I’m practically using primitive tools: fire, swords, it’s a bit medieval," Olmedo says.

"Sometimes you have to use a bit of your imagination just to get positive results," he adds.

But whether the majority of Spanish women would be prepared to let Olmedo - and his daggers and fire - loose on their precious locks remains to be seen.

Facebook commenters were certainly not convinced.

"Talk about hair damage," said Eve Ankh, while Leanne Davies remarked: "I notice how the video quickly skimmed over the end results and even from that it was clear the women looked exactly like they had their hair cut by a man with a sword."

Perhaps commenter Mariah Hicks summed it up best: "When you have to make that hard life decision if you wanna be a ninja or a hair dresser." -thelocal.es

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Tel: 950 121 936

MABS MAZARRON EVENTS

REGULAR EVENTS CRAFT GROUP - every other Wednesday from 1.30 at the MABS Information Centre – restarts 9th September after the summer break BOOK SALES – every 3rd Friday at Commercial Sector B Event tickets on sale at the book stall between 10.00am and 1pm or from the MABS Information Centre on Sector B Camposol or by Calling 620 582 418

CHURCH OF ENGLAND COSTA CALIDA & ALMERIA

Priest: Reverend Pauline Williams 950 956 166 / 687 250 860

- community news welcome events

Welcome Group Events Wednesday January 6th. - Welcome Fun Games Night with Bingo, Beetle Drive, Quiz etc at Mariano’s.

Come and unwind after a busy Christmas. €3 Wednesday January 27th. - Put your dancing shoes on and enjoy two great acts for tonight’s dance at Mariano’s, the lovely Angie McKay and Terry J. €8 Wednesday February 3rd. - Race Night at Trevi’s Bar in aid of MABS and AGE CONCERN starting at 7.30. Come, bring your friends and have a flutter and support two worthy charities. €3

A Romantic Weekend Trip to Benalmadena, leaving February 12th 2016 for 3 nights half board with wine & water at the 4* Hotel Mac Puerto Marina. Price Archaeological Museum Every Day, Open from 10:30-14:00 and 17:00-20:00. includes coach travel and day trips plus The Ricky Closed Monday mornings. At C/ Conde de Aranda. Lavazza Valentine Show. €170 Tel: 968 493 287. Entry: Individual €1.20 Groups Saville Trip Monday May 2nd 2016 - 4 nights staying €0.60 in the heart of the city at the newly refurbished 4*

TABLE TENNIS AT PILAR DE LA HORADADA Hotel Melia Sevilla on B&B. Price Includes coach Sports Centre every Monday at 10am Five tables travel, day trip to Tio Pepe Factory, Jerez and equipment supplied, coaching given if necessary, all hopefully another trip to the Jerez Horse Show. standards welcome. Contact George on 965 326097 €350 p.p. or Gordon on 966 848304 or e-mail drewgeorge49@ yahoo.com.

June 6th Trip to Cuenca, Toledo & Aranjuez staying in the 4* Hotel Ciudad in Cuenca for night of 6th St. Nicholas Ecumenical Church June then at 4* Hotel Eurostars in Toledo for nights We hold services each week at 10.30am on of 7th & 8th June, all B&B. Also a trip to Aranjuez.

Camposol, Mazarron. Everyone is welcome to join €190 (€25 Deposit when booking) us. For further details, call Rev. Maureen Kent 968 For more information or to book your tickets, 970 637 call Rosemary on 620 105 179

Ex-Servicemen’s Association

Mazarrón District (Founded 1 May 2006) EVENTS - 2015 & 2016 Saturday 12th December - 7.30pm for 8pm Restaurant Bar Med - Puerto De Mazarron.

Christmas Evening Meal with Music by Christine Wednesday 13th January 2016 - Hotel La Cumbre Puerto De Mazarron, Winter Dance and Grand Raffle 7.30pm for 8pm Membership and enquiries, Ian 629 818 611 or esamd.espana@gmail.com

A parkinsons Support Group

On Tuesdays at 11am At bobbie jo·s, los montisinos For a chat and a cup of tea For further information contact wally Williamson On 966 770 871

Roman Catholic Church

Saladillo, Mazarron ( close to Camposol) Mass in English every Saturday at 4.30 pm Mass in Latin every Sunday at 4.030pm For further information please contact Father Octavio on 676 219 445 or Father Carlos on 628 824 555.

Talks & Workshops

MABS Murcia North East - Sew’n’So’s - Sewing Group Every Mon Fortuna. Taking place every other Monday at Urb. Las Kalendas from 14:00. For further information email: mabsmurciane@gmail.com

PALS Final New Years Day swim.

In the water at 1pm. Bahia Beach Puerto de Mazarron. Dress to impress or entertain. Please attend or participate Information and Sponsorship forms from Diane at Ratatouille on a Wednesday afternoon or Maureen on a Saturday morning at the Trevi or call 626 460 465. This has always been a great way to kickstart the year see you there.

Send us your event information and we can share with your local community production@soltimes.com

petanca league

The las Salinas winter petanca league is now stopping for the Christmas and New Year break.

It will recommence on the 8th January 2016, so the players will have plenty of time to enjoy the festivities. In division 1 Amigos Belgas 1 cemented their top spot position with a 7-1 victory over Lakeside Lakers. Good wins for Dominos Red, Los Bandidos and Rocajuna. In Division 2 Blagul 1 retain top spot with an 8-0 victory over El Mirador eagles. El Mirador Hawks had a good home win against XPS 6-2. Corsairs had a good away win at Danish Dynamite 5-3 whilst Lakeside Mosquitos and Amigos Belgas2 ended up in deadlock 4-4.

In division 3 Pumas stay top of the table with a good away win at Peacocks Red 6-2, also good away wins for Amigos Belgas 3, 5-3 and El Mirador Kestrals 7-1. Buddies had a good home win 5-3. In division 4 Guardamar stay top, with a solid home win 7-1 other winners Torre Bears 2, 5-3 over Peacocks blue, Florentillies shared the points with El Raso Bandidits 4-4. In to division 5 good wins for Rocajuna lions, Blagul 2 and Falcons, Lakeside Ramblers shared the points with Daya Vieja hillbillies 4-4. Thank you to our sponsors Casas Manuel and Redital orange mobile

MARKET DAYS IN THE AREA Monday - San Pedro del Pinatar Tuesday - Los Alcazares / Alhama de Murcia

Wednesday - Santiago de la Ribeira / Fuente Alamo / Totana

Thursday - San Javier / Camposol Sector A / Lorca

Friday - Isla Plana (Summer only) Saturday - Mazarron Pueblo / Aguilas Sunday - Puerto de Mazarron / Mar Menor / Cabo de Palos

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sales@soltimes The Mar Menor is a huge (135 square kilometres) saltwater lagoon, separated from the Mediterranean by the 24 kilometre long La Manga del Mar Menor (The Strip).

The average depth of the Mar Menor is four metres and at its maximum it is seven metres which means that the seabed slopes very gradually and you have to get

several hundred metres in before the water is of any depth.

The Mar Menor’s salinity provides buoyancy so it is, supposedly, one of the safest places to swim in the world.

The mineral-rich waters are said to have therapeutic effects and because of this the area has a significant spa tourism industry.

The sludge in the salt pans is also credited with beneficial effects

on the health, so there are often dozens of mud people wallowing in it at any one time.

Playa Paraiso beach on a summer weekend.

The beach at Playa Paraiso is very popular, partly because it has road access right onto the beach. On summer weekends it will be packed with Spanish families,

who move most of their house onto the beach.

The sea is very shallow, with netted off areas to exclude watersports, fishing and jellyfish.

The jellyfish are mainly harmless and much reduced in numbers from previous years, apart from the summer of 2006 when they were back with a vengeance. Playa Honda beach During the week the beach is quiet.

Luz del Sol

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Have A Drop Off Point Here For Payments Private Or Trade Advertisers, Birthdays Or Other Announcements

32

SOL CLASSIFIEDS

SOLTIMES 950 121 936 www.soltimes.com see us online everyday Advertise all your unwanted items for sale Any single item up to 300€ is

free of charge deadline thursday 5pm

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or EMAIL us Send your advert or lineage to

sales@soltimes.com situations vacant

SOLTIMES newspaper group Require Sales Executives to work in our Costa Calida and Costa Blanca Areas

You will have proven sales ability, can work to sales deadlines. You will be dealing with current advertising businesses but have the confidence to build new business. You must have a computer to work from a distance, own car and driving licence.

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December 2015

Call Jane on: 950 121 936 or 902 750 190 Ext 330

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71 x new Glass Blocks 19x19x8 deep some coloured, 100€ the lot, 4x kids mountain style bikes age range 4 years to 7 years, 60€ the lot, Microwave oven, digital with grill 20€ Tel: 606 075 644 Can deliver if reasonable distance.

Snooker Table 6 x 3 Riley Complete with balls and cues. Tel: 699 172 982 Buyer collects 300€ Los Altos area Halogen Oven New and unused 30€ Tel: 965 073 193 Orihuela Costa Area Hague Linking Machine, circular linker for knitwear. In pristine condition 110€ Tel: 865 779 402 – Torrevieja Area

if so call ecocorp on 671 716 597 or 950 930 187 for a no obligation quotation

4 Core Satellite Cable, unused, 4 cables one outer, ideal Quad LNB, 50m (200mm cable) for 49€ Tel: 690 772 178 San Fulgencio

sunlife solar solutions

71x new Glass Blocks 19x19x8 deep some coloured 100€ the lot, will deliver reasonable distance Torrevieja.Tel: 606 075 644

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4x kids mountain style bikes age range 4 years to 7 years, 60€ the lot. can deliver reasonable distance Torrevieja Tel: 606 075 644 Microwave Oven, digital with grill, 20€ Tel: 606 075 644 Voile Curtains - white/very fine silver stripe. Size approx W170/ D240. 10€ Quesada Tel: 966 713 707 Brand new white shower base 70 x 80. Cost 280 euros will accept 100€, Modern Headboard DB size - white with black inset. 65€, Two white bedside cabinets. W43 x D42 x H57. 40€. Tel: 966 713 707 Quesada

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personals “Readers of a sensitive disposition may find some of the ads in this section offensive”

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 Spanish lady Playa Flamenca near new Carrefour before La Florida. 37 years, attractive, classy lady, private house, parking. Offers all erotic services, massage, sexy lingerie, prices from 40€. Full discretion. Tel: Ana 865 646 437

want to know whats in the news?

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Tommy, Timmy and Tinkerbell were found abandoned in a box behind the bins at a local supermarket when they were 3 weeks old and had to be bottle fed. They are now around 6 weeks old and adorable, friendly kittens. Tommy and Timmy are Red point Siamese and Tinkerbell the girl is a Chocolate point Siamese. Call 645 469 253.

For More Information Please call 645 469 253 info@petsinspain.info www.petsinspain.com

33

www.soltimes.com

Call Jane on: 950 121 936 or 902 750 190 Ext 330 or email: sales@soltimes.com

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sat/tv services Rainbow Satellites for all your TV needs with clients all over the Murcia Region. Contact Matt or Alan on 686 358 475 or rainbowsats@ gmail.com

spas euro spas Spas at factory prices.

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vehicle registration

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removals

Full Circle Removals Spain - UK Full or Part Loads Pet Transport Tel: 965 071 956 / 659 420 862 UK Mobile: 0044 750 337 1438 www.fullcircleremovals.com email: fullcircleremovals@hotmail.co.uk

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605 319 889 or 966 753 375 www.spanish-number-plates.com info@spanish-number-plates.com

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34

December 2015

animal corner To advertise here call : 950 121 936

New and larger Gran Alacant charity shop to open

A new charity shop selling furniture, clothes, shoes and other high-quality large items is set to open at Gran Alacant this month to raise money for the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre.

The new store will open behind a much smaller rescue centre charity shop, which has proven so successful since its launch about 18 months ago that a bigger space is needed.

Rescue centre co-founder Sue Weeding said members of the public are invited to the larger store’s official opening on Tuesday, December 15 at 12pm. Taffeta, a miniature pony rescued in 2008, will also attend.

“Because of the fantastic volunteers we have in Gran Alacant – we have about 30 there now – and the huge support from the surrounding areas, we’re literally floor to ceiling with donations,” Sue said.

“Now that we finally have the keys to the bigger store, we’re up and running and are able to take donations of furniture and large items that we previously didn’t have the space for.”

The existing shop will be converted into a book and euro bargain shop, while the new store will sell larger, higher-quality items.

Donations of items to stock the store, or any of the rescue centre’s other eight charity shops across the Alicante province, are gratefully welcomed. A pickup service is available to collect large donated items

FROM 15€ A DAY Welcome to our Casa Rurales which sleep 2-6 people.

Experience the rustic charms of Villares, a traditional Spanish mountain village. Both houses are fully equipped for a self catering holiday. Only 2 hours drive from Orihuela costa.

Villares is an ideal base from which to explore the area and discover a part of unspoilt Spain. For walking, photography, painting or just a relaxing break. It is very close to the river and places of interest. In many ways you may feel that you have gone back in time in this tranquil area set in the heart of Sierra del Segura.

With your booking a donation will go to APA Santa Clara dog rescue.

For more information Tel: 600 326 156 Email: margwormington@yahoo.co.uk www.casacamille.wordpress.com

such as furniture and each shop also offers a delivery service for large items purchased in-store.

All funds raised go towards the hefty feeding and care costs of the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre’s more than 90 horses, ponies and donkeys rescued from abuse, neglect and abandonment.

Anyone interested in making a donation, becoming a long-term sponsor, or volunteering at the rescue centre or in the charity shops can call Sue on 652 021 980.

The Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre, located just outside Rojales at Partido Lo Garriga, 59, opens to the public on the first Sunday of every month between 1pm and 4pm. Free horse tours run throughout the afternoon and refreshments are available in the café. For more details and directions, please visit www.easyhorsecare.net.

Mountain View

Cat hotel Hondon de las Nieves/Frailes

Centrally-heated houses with large individual runs Love and care will be lavished during your cat’s stay My 29 years of experience in animal and veterinary care will give you piece of mind

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

Do you want a loyal and loving companion?

This is QUEEN. She is a healthy, medium sized, 2 year old girl who is very friendly and loving. She gets on well with all the dogs and at present is kennelled with a male dog.

Queen loves children and walks well on a lead. She would be an ideal family pet. For more information tel: Santa Clara 697 495 315.

Merry Christmas from NEGRO. He was thrown over the wall of the shelter when he was a tiny pup and been there ever since, simply because he is black. He is a 3 year old, Belgian Shepherd cross, castrated, healthy, very loving and friendly.

He mixes with all the dogs and would love a family of his own. As you can see he is happy to pose in his Christmas hat! For more information contact Santa Clara Tel; 697 495 315

www.soltimes.com

Book Review

Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey

www.carolnaylor.blogspot.com - www.carolesleynaylor.wordpress.com - naylorcl@hotmail.es

“I’ve missed this tiny thing for nearly seventy years. And now the earth, made sludgy and chewable with the melting snow, has spat out a relic. Spat it into my hands. But where from?”

It seems that Healey’s paternal grandmother who had been showing signs of senility came out with the simple but inspiring phrase that prompted this debut novel: “My friend is missing.” The critics loved it. I loved it. Healey didn’t want it to be too bleak portraying a vulnerable octogenarian showing signs of dementia, trapped in a life of boredom and tedium: watching or attempting to watch tv, attempting to read when the words don’t make sense, waiting endlessly for the carer or the daughter. What a life! Nine publishers fought over its publication and the tv rights have already been sold. Suggestions regarding Judy Dench or Maggie Smith playing Maud are strong possibilities.

Watch this space!

Maud is 82, eccentric with an obsession for collecting anything and everything. She has done this since being a child but when it continues into old age it is infuriating for her daughter Helen. Most of it is rubbish after all.

“Sufferers often seek refuge in a childhood version of themselves.” (Healey) Dementia transforms a previously safe and recognisable world into one that is frightening and strange and the author captures this remarkably well. So it is appropriate to run two timelines, one that takes us back to post-war (1946) when Maud was a 15 year old and then move to present date. The plot flits backwards and forwards and significantly the author uses various means to connect both timelines, a character or a memory of an event. Very clever.

The potential bleakness is understanding the degeneration of Maud’s mind, her inability to sometimes recognise her daughter or her granddaughter, Katy.

Imagine losing your way going to the corner shop, with pockets full of lists, her “paper memory,” many meaningless and taking home umpteen tins of peaches, the same every day. Or what about twelve calls to the doctor telling him you are ill in a short space of time then when he arrives telling him you are fighting fit? Also imagine that your one and only friend Elizabeth just disappears and in her muddled mind, Maud suspects that Peter, Elizabeth’s son must be responsible for getting rid of her. She never trusted him, she thought he was deliberately starving his mother.

Maud makes several unsuccessful attempts to visit her home, reports the disappearance to the police on four separate occasions to their amusement and her agitation then puts an ad in the local Echo. Phoning Peter during the night and forgetting why she was phoning him caused him to swear and complain.

Poor Helen was always having to apologise. Carla, one of the carers didn’t help either. She relishes feeding Maud with the latest gossip particularly the gory bits which results in a distortion of Elizabeth’s disappearance: “Elizabeth locked in room-crack addicts in house. Bound and tortured in basement.”

Ironically, Maud knows that her friend doesn’t have a basement so something isn’t quite right. So much for her paper memory.

The whodunnit part of the story is the major one to follow and it will keep you riveted. It is woven into the Elizabeth is missing plot meticulously and concerns half-forgotten memories which hold the key to a dark secret from the distant past, an unsolved mystery. “I found it too late, far too late. Now I’ll never find her. She’ll always be missing and I’ll always be looking for her. I can’t bear it.” It is the discovery of the remains of a compact belonging to her sister

Special Offers Visit:

35

and found in the garden of her octogenarian friend Elizabeth.

“The mildewed mirror is like a window on a faded world, like a porthole looking out under the ocean. It makes {Maud} squirm with memories.”

Sukey was Maud’s sister, seven years her senior and sophisticated. She loved dressing up and going dancing.

Maud idolised her and they had a close relationship. Sukey married Frank who was a dodgy character and Maud’s lodger, Douglas disliked him intensely. He saw Frank as being a jealous man with a foul temper. Douglas had a soft spot for Sukey and he was always at Sukey’s house particularly when Frank was away working. Maud suspected they were having an affair which he denied.

An agitated Sukey came to visit Maud and family for tea as was the weekly custom and she wanted to sleep there rather than return home. She then abruptly decided to return home and disappeared into thin air. This was 1946. Naturally her family was distraught and Pa blamed Frank. He thought she had been kidnapped or killed although he searched the town for her and even travelled to London scouring the streets in vain. The police had to deal with lots of cases of men and women disappearing so Sukey’s disappearance became unremarkable: “People are being reported missing left, right and centre. The men can’t get used to being back on Civvy Street, or the women can’t get used to having their husbands home again, and so they’re off.”

A suitcase full of her clothes turns up but no Sukey. Two further devices are used to create mystery. One is the mad woman with a dark but tragic past who seems to stalk Sukey and Maud in a menacing way. On the night of Sukey’s disappearance the mad woman scared the living daylights out of her and neighbours heard her screaming. Maud is petrified when she chases after her on many occasions.

She has been known to grab Maud and hit her with an umbrella. What does she know about Sukey’s disappearance? What is significant about her digging up of marrows? Is there a connection? If so, what is it?

The second device is the narrative thread concerned with the Grosvenor Hotel murderer, Kenneth Lloyd Holmes due to hang for the murder of two women. In Maud’s demented mind perhaps Sukey was his third victim? “I had to know if he killed my sister.” So she writes to him before his execution. Maud’s mother and father died not knowing what happened to their daughter. “I don’t want to die like that,” admitted Maud. By the end of the novel past and present become fused with memories muddled. Earlier lucid thoughts change shape, lost in her state of dementia with this unsolved mystery. Well-written but unsettling.

Publisher: Puffin.

ISBN: 978-0-241-96818-5

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36

motoring

December 2015

in the news

review

We would like to inform you about the options you have when you receive a traffic ticket.

Audi RS 3 Sportback

The Audi RS 3 Sportback starts to rev like a thousand wild animals before you’ve engaged the engine, a highly engineered fakery, like piping the synthesised smell of bread through a supermarket. It takes mettle not to be embarrassed, especially sitting in stationary traffic with a stop-start engine waking up, roaring and going back to sleep, like a narcoleptic lion.

Is it worth it for the tremendous acceleration? For the fact that, if you find yourself two lanes away from your exit on the M1 with 15 seconds to go, you can scare everyone, make your front-seat passenger swallow his entire sandwich in one go, and make it, easily, with seven seconds to spare? For the fact that the four-wheel drive and magnificent horsepower sometimes make you feel as though you’re in control not just of your own car, but of everybody else’s, and indeed, the entire road? It’s not necessary, is it, to make you sound like a petrolhead? Everyone can see you’re a petrolhead you’re in a sporty Audi. There are a couple of other irritations.

The stop-start engine wakes up, roars and goes back to sleep, like a narcoleptic lion

The wing mirrors only flip out after the engine’s switched on, and they do so quite slowly. It seems quite perverse to spend God knows how many man-hours and how much money getting a James Bond-esque 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds, only to have to wait a minute and a half before you can indicate.

But maybe looking in your mirror before you signal is a bit last century.

The satnav is flaky for such an expensive car: none of the screen controls are very intuitive and the programme claims to know how to duck traffic, before immediately directing you down the side of Harrods. Yet the toggling between its media and yours is the best I’ve encountered.

My friend Charlotte, the one who owns a Volvo because she likes the idea of sitting in the open back to put her wellies on, even though she owns only ornamental wellingtons and if confronted by mud would think it was a rejuvenating skin treatment, called the Audi “girly”. This brought me up short as I realised that every time I see a car with such elegant cornering and unignorable power, carbonised dash, a decent bass speaker and earth-burning carbon emissions, I immediately file it under “boy racer”. This is a dated sexist furrow that the car industry escaped before I did.

The car is neither male nor female: it is flamboyant, irresponsible, outrageously fun and somewhat shaming, with a smooth, smooth leather steering wheel that makes you think you’re Steve McQueen (which is possibly the most unisex of all imaginative excursions). ht tp://www.theguardian. com/

Price £51,185 Top speed 155mph Acceleration 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds Combined fuel consumption 34.9mpg C02 emissions 194g/km Eco rating 4/10 Cool rating 8/10

On every traffic offence issued by Guardia Civil Tráfico, you can see there are two prices, and a date, do you know what they mean?, and what are your rights?.

How long do you have to start your appeal if you disagree?, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 60 days?

N332 would like to know if you really know all your obligations and rights when you receive a traffic offence, please leave your comments, we will publish the answer in the following days.

We remind you that we have launched an ebook to raise funds for “Elche Children’s Care Home”, for only 4.95e you will be updated about the latest Traffic Rules.

The profits of the ebook, will be for Elche Children´s Care Home, so we hope you support this good initiative buying this ebook. http://n332.es/…/the-new-rules-of-the-road-for-elchechild…/

Orihuela Town Hall Helps International Residents with Driving Talk

Members from the N332 road safety Project were invited by the Orihuela Councillor for International Residents, Martina Scheurer, to give a presentation at the Orihuela Costa town hall this week, where residents from various nationalities attended to learn more about driving in Spain.

Split into two sessions, the first part in English and the second part translated into German by the International Residents Office head, Heike Schug, with website manager Mark Nolan introducing the idea behind the N332 project and the creation first of the Facebook page by members of the Guardia Civil in Torrevieja, and the subsequent creation of the website by a separate group of professionals to catalogue the information in order to make it easier to find.

Francisco Morales, a serving traffic police officer from Torrevieja, who is in charge of coordinating the team from the Guardia Civil, then took the participants through many of the more common questions that have arisen through both Facebook and the website, everything from driving license renewal, documents you must carry in the car, mobility scooters and microcars, cycles, overtaking and more, including how to spot an unmarked police car.

It is the first time a town hall has taken the initiative to invite the group to give a presentation, which was kept brief with the promise of returning to offer more in-depth presentations on key aspects about driving after the summer period, focusing on many more of the specific questions raised.

The group can be contacted via the Facebook page, and the website, as well as the International Residents Office offering to forward enquiries on your behalf, should you not have access to Facebook. Although, as the team explained, it is not always possible to respond to individual enquiries, those most frequent questions will form the basis of articles published via the internet and other mediums, to ensure that you questions do get answered in some way. http://n332.es/

www.soltimes.com

San Miguel Golf Society at Villamartin

The largest turnout of this current season saw 50 members and 5 guests attend SMGS’ visit to Villamartin to play a stableford competition. Fantastic weather and a course in good condition suggested rounds would be good, but no forward (and several almost white) tees for men and some tricky and unusual pin positions, as well as, unfortunately, the common fault of a number of crowned holes, countered the positives.

Whilst in October it was the Celtic contingent that stood out in the prizes when the society visited, this month Scandinavian members shone (well done to Eva Pettersson, John Sorenson, Kyree Skarsmoen and Eve Hejdstrom) along with Dutchman Theo Boelhouwer. With the ladies on the true reds, and the men, as mentioned, back where they should be, the former also had a strong showing, given their numbers, in the leading results, with Beverly Cullen and Paula Hagart added to those mentioned above. The ladies standings were even more impressive given the difficulty they encountered on the 16th tee where a message telling them to watch out for an adder may well have led to some trepidation and a rush to vacate the box, particularly when no mathematician could be spotted!!

Only John Sorenson broke par, and 33 of the members playing didn’t make it to 30 points which, as a percentage of those playing, is very different to recent visits, indicating the difficulties of the day’s course layout.

Competition results, by category

and in reverse order, were the following: Bronze Category: 4th Norman Padmore (31), 3rd Beverly Cullen (32), 2nd Kyree Skarsmoen (33), and 1st, with the best score of the day, John Sorenson with 37 points.

Silver Category: 4th Mike Jordan (32), 3rd Alan Gilbert (34), 2nd Ken Flaherty (35) and 1st, playing very well and to his handicap, Dave Gibson with 36 points.

Gold Category: 4th John Aitchison (32), 3rd Eva Pettersson (33), 2nd Captain Barry Roehrig (36 on CB), and 1st, with an equally good score of 36, Vice Captain Theo Boelhouwer.

The Abacus was won by Roger Webb.

Nearest the pins on the par 3’s (open to all) went to Theo Boelhouwer (6), Beverly Cullen (9), John Sorenson (13) and Eva Pettersson (17).

Best front 9 and not in the main prizes was won by Paula Hagart (18), best back 9 by Ian Parkinson, also with 18 points.

The best guest prize was won by Eve Hejdstrom with 26 points Our thanks go to the staff at Villamartin golf course for their contribution to an enjoyable day.

Keep up to date with all SMGS matters by 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 gettogethers. Next week we will be at Las Colinas.

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T.M.G.S. @ Las Colinas 2/12/15

For a few weeks our start list for this venue has been full with substantial numbers on the reserve list. So as some players dropped out e-mails were sent to those waiting to play, on Monday evening a mail was sent to a certain Graham Smith informing him that he was indeed playing and could he please confirm that he would, nothing was heard from him so a second mail was sent on Tuesday evening, so a third reserve was contacted and told to turn up. 15 minutes before his tee time in walks Graham, after some apologies about his wife being told to reply to the mail a space was found for him to play. As I am writing this report I have just received a mail from Mrs Smith and this is it. Hi JoeMany apologies, but your emails went into my spam folder for some unknown reason. Graham has just given me a severe ticking off!! With a bit of luck he may even dismiss me permanently from secretarial duties........

Although quite what he would do then I don’t know, as he doesn’t know how computers work!

Anyway.

I hope it didn’t cause too many problems for you, and sorry you had a wasted journey. I will know in future to confirm if he gets a cancellation spot.Regards Karen. I wonder if this might sound a little familiar to some of you guys out there? Anyway on to the golf. Perfect conditions greeted the 36 members and guests that turned out to play this popular course, as with most Societies we only visit Las Colinas in “low season” and that is to take advantage of their low season green fees.It must be said that the course was presented in perfect condition and it could be expected that high scores would be required to make a podium position alas that was not to

37

be as no one scored better than par!

Dutchman Fred Kras did manage 19 points on his front nine but a problem with his contact lenses mean that he had trouble seeing the hole or (holes) while playing the back nine, missing putts from less than a metre meant that his second 9 score was only half of that of his front 9. Results; Visitors category was won by Danishman Carsten Pedersen off 4 handicap returning 32 points. Bronze category; 3rd place on higher handicap J. Dursley 26 points from Pearl Sabine who took 2nd place, first place went to handicap Secretary Colin Marsden on 32 points. Silver category; Lars Jernberg 3rd with 28 points, 2nd Alan Rickers on 30 points and first was Mick Kennedy on 34 points. Gold category; 3rd place Andy Mills on 30 points, 2nd Arne Hansson with 31 points and first Dave Lethaby with 35 points.

The prizes for the N.T.P. competition was sponsored by Pearl Sabine and Tom Jones and the winners were; Hole 5 Ian Brown, Hole 7 Dave Kirkham, Hole 10 Fred Kras, Hole 14 Mick Kennedy, Hole 17 Bob Watson. The “2’s” pot contained 30 odd euros and unbelievably this was divided between the 6 players made a “2”. Photo, N.T.P’s & “2’s” Winners. Date for your diary, 16th December we are playing the south course at La Manga so if you would like to play this prestigious course for just €50 please visit our website www.tmgs.org or call the Secretary on 661 524 101 or follow us via Facebook/TMGSGOLF or @ TMGSGOLF on twitter to reserve your place

38

December 2015

gossip

Chelsea could sack manager Jose Mourinho whether or not they beat Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday.

(Daily Mirror) Owner Roman Abramovich may act if the Blues lose to Porto and then against leaders Leicester in the Premier League next weekend. (Sun) Manchester United are planning to make a £50m move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane, 22, in the summer transfer window. (Daily Star) Red Devils midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, 31, could face a threematch ban for his clash with West Ham defender Winston Reid, 27, on Saturday. (Daily Mirror) United boss Louis van Gaal’s job is not under threat should they exit the Champions League on Tuesday. (Daily Express) However, United will start their search for Van Gaal’s successor at the end of the season if, as expected, the Dutchman confirms he will retire at the end of his contract in 18 months. (Daily Telegraph) However, the club will sit down with the Dutch manager in the new year to determine whether the 64-year-old wishes to depart in the summer of 2017 or sign a fresh contract. (Guardian) Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola could be prepared to take a 12-month break from football to make sure he lands the Manchester United job. (Sun) Swansea have opened talks with former Everton and Manchester United boss David Moyes about taking over from Garry Monk, who will be sacked after a

run of seven defeats in 11 league games. (Daily Mirror) Alternatively, if Swansea decide to sack Monk, they could turn to former manager Brendan Rodgers, who has been out of work since his October departure from Liverpool. (Sun) Former Arsenal winger Robert Pires feels the Gunners should sign Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama, 24, who is “world-class material”. (Evening Standard) Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has warned off any potential interest for Hugo Lloris, 28, by saying the goalkeeper is key to the future of the club. (Express) Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish says the Eagles - who are set for American investment - can win the Premier League in the next 10 years.

(Sun) Everton winger Gerard Deulofeu, 21, is taking intensive English lessons in order to conduct all media interviews in his adopted language.

(Liverpool Echo) Arsenal target Adrien Rabiot, 20, has requested a loan move away from Paris St-Germain as he struggles to get game time at the Ligue 1 leaders. (Telefoot, via L’Equipe - in French) Watford striker Odion Ighalo almost joined Chinese side Hebei China Fortune for £10m in the summer, but is delighted that he instead stayed with the Hornets, for whom he has scored nine goals this season. (Daily Mail) BBC.com

El Plantio 2 Golf Society A good representation of 21 players saw El Plantio 2 make a delayed start to their Greensome Competition on Tuesday 1st December due to a frosty surface. Greensome is a pairs competition where the players select their best tee shot and then play alternately until the putt is made.

As last week, the Belgian contingent made their presence felt.

Results were:- NTP Hole 4 Lawrence Wanty, Hole 9 Joint Winners Keith Smith and Claude.

3rd Place - Michel Goujon and Gordon Abba Net 50.82

BRADLEY BREAKERS

2nd Place - Ian Craig and Jeff De Marie Net 50.28 1st Place - Mike Davies and Lyn Young Net 48.86 If anyone would like to join our Society, we play at El Plantio Golf Club on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. We use both courses - the Par 3 nine hole course and the main 18 hole course, so we cater for all abilities.

The membership rates are very competitive, so call for more details.

Anyone who wishes to play in the Society as a guest or join as a new member, contact

965 723 270 607 848 332

Ian Henderson on 966 716 616 or 636 116 230.

EUROGOLF CHUCK MARTINEZ MEMORIAL MEDFORD On Thursday 26th November Eurogolf played their annual memorial to past captain Chuck Martinez. The Medford means the first 9 is played as a medal and the 2nd 9 as a stableford and then you deduct one from the other to get your score. The results were in bronze div 3rd Chris Stanley 22 2ndFrances buckeridge 22 c/b 1st Mary Sanderson 9 Silver div 3rd Ray Porter 24 2nd Tony Stanley 23 1st Marylin Eckersall 22 Gold Div 3rd

SOL TIMES

David Gregson 23 2nd Pino Perito 22 1st Sue Gillett 20 Overall winner Mary Sanderson.

On Tuesday 24th November Toffs played their weekly stableford and the results were as follows Bronze div 3rd Phyllis Venables 33 2nd Mary Sanderson 1st Chris Stanley 38 Silver div 3rd Bruce Gordon 32 2nd Colin Hobden 32 1st Alan Venables 33 Gold div 3rd Sue Gillett 30 2nd ColinGretton 30 1st Dave Curtis 32 Overall winner Chris Stanley

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Sales- : 902 750 190 (EXT: 330) email: blancasales@soltimes.com

COSTA CALIDA/MAR MENOR PAULETTE : 902 750 190 (EXT: 332) email: calidasales@soltimes.com

Sol Times Calida and Sol Times Blanca are independent of political parties, private investment and government. Our policy is to provide readers with a news and information service that is fair, accurate and balanced. Sol Times Calida and Sol Times Blanca are independent publications. Published weekly and produced exclusively in Murcia & Blanca. Sol Times News Group cannot be held responsible for claims made by advertisers, nor can it be held responsible for errors in advertisements caused by poor quality text, photographs or layout instructions. Furthermore, no responsibility can be accepted for any loss or damage resulting caused by any error, inaccuracy or non-appearance of an advertisement. Deposito Legal Sol Times Calida AL 851-2010. Sol Times Blanca AL 852-2010

Best front 9 Joy Gray 18 Best back 9 Sue Pegg 18 NTPs 5th Dave Curtis 11th Chris Stanley 15th Colin Hobden 17th Morag Turner Football Pino Perito Ian Stewart Debbie Weedon Ian Turner If you are interested in playing with Eurogolf at La Marquesa on Tuesdays and Thursdays please go to the website www.eurogolf-quesada. co.uk Both ladies and gents are welcome

www.soltimes.com

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes switch emotional - Jenson Button

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button Hamilton (left) and Button were team-mates at McLaren before the former joined Mercedes Lewis Hamilton's decision to join Mercedes was "emotional" and not based on knowledge of the team's potential, according to Jenson Button.

Hamilton decided to join Mercedes after the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix, in which he had to retire from the lead.

His then McLaren team-mate Button said: "Lewis is one of the quickest guys ever in an F1 car but he did not know [they would be so quick] when he signed.

"We're all emotional, he took it emotionally, but it has paid off."

Hamilton, who has won the past two titles, has always insisted the decision was based on Mercedes' plans for the future, after several weeks of persuasion from then team boss Ross Brawn and non-executive chairman Niki Lauda.

Brawn and Lauda sold Hamilton on their plans for the new turbo hybrid formula, which they have dominated since its introduction in 2014.

But at the time of Hamilton's decision, Mercedes were far less competitive than McLaren, for whom Hamilton

won four races and secured seven pole positions in a tightly contested season.

Hamilton's relations with McLaren, and particularly chairman Ron Dennis, had soured and his retirement from Singapore with gearbox failure was one of a series of problems that year that prevented him mounting a more serious title challenge as the championship was fought out between Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Button said: "I don't think anyone thought he was doing the right thing and at that moment in time it wasn't the right thing to do.

Club de Golf El Paraíso (Rojales) @ Roda Golf 27/11/15

As the 24 members and guests made their way down the AP7 to Roda black clouds could be seen on the horizon and although it did rain quite heavily in Torrevieja not a spot fell on us.

The golf course was in pristine condition.

Although there were some good score from our Gold division the members in the Silver seemed to find scoring a little more difficult.

Norwegian Sverre Sonnesen has been in great form lately with his handicap being cut on the last 3 outings and he managed to better it again this time but his 38 points was only good enough for 2nd place, Swedish member Ove Cederberg had never played this course before and even blobbed the first hole but still returned an incredible score of 40 points playing off handicap 15.

However a Brit did manage to make 3rd place with Vernon Brown returning 34 points. Vernon’s putting

39

had improved since his previous game on Wednesday at Villamartin where he complained severely at losing his “cherry” Vernon marks his balls with a “cherry” don’t think that I should expand on that any further.

Silver category results were; 3rd place Kai Krog with 25 points on lower handicap and that’s after playing poker until 4am!

2nd place went to Alex Alm a point better on 26 and the winner of this category was Dutchman Fred Kras with 29 points. The N.T.P.’s went to Joe Dean hole 2, Mrs. Benedicte Kruse hole 7, Alex Alm hole 11 and Vernon “cherry Brown hole 13. Photo; Gold category winners.

Our next competition is at La Serena on Sunday 6th December so if you fancy a game call 661524101 or visit www.clubdegolfelparaiso.com

Torrevieja Swimming Club This weekend Torrevieja Masters Swimming Team got their new season off to a flying start. For their first regional competition in the Municipal Pool, Elda, the team clocked up many new personal best times a good mixed relay result.

Lastly Rafael swam the 100m Breaststoke and Beth the 1500m freestyle event. Continuing in the teams winning spirit Rafael knocked 4 seconds off his personal best time and Beth matched a time swam two

The team of six each swam a maximum of two events, with the 200m freestyle women’s event first, both Beth Altabas and Vicki Connolly achieved new season best times, beating last years records.

Adam Stewart, Yuriy Lymar and Rafael Borders Alonso then followed in the same manner in their 200m freestyle event. Adam knocking a massive 6 seconds of his previous time. This was followed shortly after with Adam’s 50m Butterfly gaining one of his best times, and Yuriy and Vicki’s 50m freestyle races, both clocking up good times and placing them 4th and 2nd against all the days swimmers.

Lucy Stewart also excelled herself in her 50m freestyle event, with a much improved stroke Lucy got a new personal best time.

years ago. To end the day the team swam the 4x50m medley relay in the 160yrs plus category, with ages amassing nearer the 200yrs mark the team did well to earn 2nd place with good times for all swimmers.

"But he has walked into a team that has improved dramatically. They have done an amazing job but you couldn't have envisaged that at that moment in time.

"I think he was upset with the situation he had in McLaren. It was off the back of a DNF when leading in Singapore."

BBC.com

EL RASO GOLF SOCIETY AT LA MARQUESA On Friday 27 November twenty members of the El Raso GS played the monthly Stableford competition at La Marquesa golf course. With ideal conditions, some good golf and scores were expected and, with an excellent score of 38 points the winner of the day was Stan Low. John Barraclough came in second with 35 points and Robin Richards in third place also with 35 points on count back. Best front nine, Bob Shorley 18 points and best back nine Ken Brett 20 points.

Nearest the par 3 pin winners were: hole 5 Gordon Bourne, hole 11 Stan Low, hole 17 Malcolm Foskett.

Congratulations to all the winners.

After the game we returned to the Olde Ninth for presentations and a welcome meal of chicken curry prepared by the bar.

Our next fixture is at the popular course of Alenda on Friday 11 December.

The team are now working towards the Spanish Winter National Competition at the end of January 2016 in Gijon, Asturias, as well as two of the team members taking part in Valencia Regional Long Distance 3km Championships on the 13th December 2015 in the 50m pool Elche.

The club are always keen to invite new members and interested persons should contact Rosa 665 454 126 or Vicki 669 637 015 (English contact) or by email on info@clubnataciontorrevieja.com

40

SOLTIMES december 2015

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