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March 2016

Another successful anti-terror swoop

by National Police in Spain

EFFICIENT coordination and prompt action by National Police in conjunction with Intelligence services uncovered and disbanded a Jihad logistics racket in the Comunidad Valenciana providing supplies to Syria and Iraq. The discovery was sparked by a consignment of 20,000 combat uniforms for DAESH – or so-called 'Islamic State' – fighters intercepted in Valencia port.

Various unnamed companies were thought to have been providing financial and logistic support to the Middle Eastern terror cells DAESH – also known as ISIS – in Syria and Jabhat al-Nusra in Iraq, but their cover was blown on Sunday, February 7. Police have only just revealed details of the swoop, which had to remain topsecret until now for security reasons. Containers shipped from Saudi Arabia were registered as carrying furniture and personal belongings, second-hand clothing and

even humanitarian material, but when they were inspected upon arrival in Valencia, their contents turned out to be firearms, money in cash, explosives, transmission equipment and tens of thousands of combat uniforms.

The cargo was on its way to Ontinyent, capital of the inland Valencia-province district of the Vall d'Albaida, where they were due to be stored in a warehouse owned by a Moroccan national.

These illicit goods were heading for Spain in two containers destined for Valencia and a third heading for Algeciras (Cádiz province, on the south coast). Their final destination is thought to have been Syria and Iraq, but their presence revealed a likely international network of suppliers providing technological support and there were enough uniforms to dress an 'entire army' trained in Jihad combat.

But it is not believed they were intended for such an army based in Spain, only that the terror organisations had set up a distribution network in the country to avoid suspicion and to keep it comfortably far from DAESH's main centre of warlike activity. MP in the Comunidad Valenciana Juan Carlos Moragues, speaking at a press conference in Catarroja – near Valencia airport – said the haul showed there had been 'a highly-active racket' made up of companies in the region which, 'in coordination with each other', had been sending what they tried to pass off as aid material to the war zones, but which was in fact weapons, explosives, cash and military equipment.

Moragues, however, says this discovery should not necessarily cause alarm to the people of Spain or the region of Valencia – the goods were not designed to be used in Spain, and the mere fact the nationwide racket had been busted showed just how far Spanish police were ahead of the terrorists and highlighted their ability to thwart attacks and strike at the heart of the organisations themselves.

Spanish authorities recall that the country has lengthy experience in fighting terrorism through its 40 years battling against Basque separatists ETA, meaning it is better prepared than many other parts of Europe which had not suffered the same type of violence.

ETA's last major attack was nearly a decade ago – on December 30, 2006 – when it planted a bomb in the car park at Madrid airport's Terminal 4, killing two Ecuadorian men.

And its ceasefire has been ongoing since 2009, with no real sign of any intention of breaking it.

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Barcelona-Paris flight avoids 'unauthorised' drone in French air-space in the nick of time

AN AIR France plane narrowly missed its wing colliding with a drone flying illegally through Parisian airspace, according to the French General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC).

The Airbus A320, which had taken off from Barcelona on February 19 - although reports of the incident have only just been released - had just gone into landing mode above Charles de Gaulle airport and was still at a height of 1,600 metres, or around 4,900 feet, when the pilot was forced to make a sharp manoeuvre to avoid the drone.

This meant shutting off the automatic pilot mechanism and swerving in mid-air, a move which required split-second decision-making and presence of mind.

In the end, the drone flew beneath the wing by a margin of around five metres (16'6”).

The Barcelona-Paris flight touched down safely, but could have been forced

into a tricky and risky emergency landing had the drone made contact with the wing since, at the speed the aircraft was flying, it could have sustained considerable damage.

Air-traffic control were informed straight away and have logged it as a 'very serious' breach of air-space security.

Drones are not permitted by law to fly anywhere near airports or flight paths, nor within the vicinity of potentially hazardous installations such as nuclear power plants.

This is mainly because few radars are able to detect flying objects of less than a certain size, meaning pilots may not have a chance to react by the time they notice them.

The owner, or person in control of the drone is likely to face a very hefty fine, or even prison. thinkspain

www.soltimes.com

Wind, snow, rain and tidal surges today across northern and central Spain

MOST of northern Spain will be hit by gales and snow today (Sunday), and coastal areas – including in the south – could see tidal surges.

Members of the public are urged to stay off the seafront in the provinces of Almería and Granada in Andalucía, and also along the Costa Brava and in north-western Galicia.

Heavy snow is expected to fall in the Aragonese provinces of Huesca and Zaragoza, although possibly also in Teruel.

But the positive side of this is that the region of Aragón is an immensely popular skiing destination, and the extra white stuff means the season is expected to last longer this year.

Parts of the centre-northern region of Castilla y León – the provinces of Burgos, Palencia and León in particular – will suffer snow and gales, as will the inland province of Catalunya, Lleida, plus most of Galicia and the Basque Country.

Tidal surges are likely in Asturias and Cantabria (pictured) along the

northern strip.

Snow will fall at altitudes of 400 metres above sea-level and higher, meaning many more northerly parts of the country have snow-ploughs and road-gritters on standby just in case.

Strong winds and possible storms are forecast today in the Canary Islands, although these are more likely on the mainland where a north-west wind could reach gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour. thinkspain

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Thousands of Spaniards fined for ‘disrespecting’ police

A report confirmed by The Local shows that Spanish police raked in nearly €1 million from fines for “disrespecting police” under the controversial gag law.

Data from the Spanish Interior Ministry obtained through a petition by El Diario shows that police fined 6,217 people as of this January for showing “lack of respect to security forces” since the law went into effect last year.

Such infractions brought in more than €900,000 ($987,000) in fines, according to the report.

A spokeswoman from the Interior Ministry confirmed to The Local that the numbers in the report were correct, and the fines occurred between April 2015 and January 2016.

Spain’s public security law has been dubbed the “gag law” by its numerous critics who say it places strict limits on freedom of speech and harkens back to time of dictator Francisco Franco.

International rights organizations including Amnesty International and the International Press Institute have harshly condemned the law for its “dangerous” restrictions, which include fines of up to €600,000 for unauthorized protests, sanctions against social media activism and bans on taking

3

pictures of police.

A total of more than 40,000 sanctions were issued as of January, according to El Diario, most of which were for consuming or possessing drugs in public places, at 18,006.

The data obtained by the newspaper does not include arrests made by the independent police forces in the autonomous regions of Catalonia or the Basque Country.

Not showing respect to an officer was the second most common offence, followed by disobedience or resistance to authority at 3,699 sanctions.

The fines so far for not respecting an officer averaged €145, according to El Diario, with a minimum of €100.

The gag law has been used to fine a woman €800 for posting a picture on Facebook of an illegally-parked police car, though the sanction was later dropped.

A protester was also fined €5,000 under the law for “posing a danger to public safety” after he chained himself to a road sign at a bulllancing event. thelocal.com

4

March 2016

Socialists blocked in bid to form government

Spanish lawmakers on Friday voted down a bid by Socialist chief Pedro Sanchez to form a coalition government with centre-right Ciudadanos, leaving the country’s parties with just two months to find an alternative to avoid fresh elections.

Sanchez’s proposal was defeated with 219 votes against and 131 in favour,with only his own party, Ciudadanos and a tiny party from the Canary Islands voting in favour. His first attempt to win approval on Wednesday also fell well short of the mark after an acrimonious debate in parliament that highlighted the country’s political divisions.

It is the first time that a candidate for prime minister has lost both confidence votes since Spain returned to democracy following the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975.

Spain has been governed by a caretaker government since a December 20 election which resulted in a hung parliament divided among four main parties—none of which won enough seats to govern alone.

Parties now have until May 2 to negotiate an alternative power-sharing agreement.

If they fail, new elections will be called, most likely on June 26.

Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party (PP) came first in the polls—which put an end to Spain’s long-running two party system— but lost its absolute majority, taking just 123 seats. Rajoy gave up trying to form a government after he failed to win support from other parties fed up with

ort

years of crisis and corruption scandals.

So King Felipe VI asked runner-up Sanchez, whose Socialists scored their worst result in history, to form a government.

After weeks of negotiations, he sealed a deal last week with upstart centre-right party Ciudadanos.

But both the PP and new far-left party Podemos, led by pony-tailed university professor Pablo Iglesias, which has 65 seats, voted against Sanchez. “I am going to keep working until I achieve this majority which our country needs,” Sanchez told reporters after the vote.

‘Theatre’ “Today Mr Iglesias has betrayed the millions of voters who voted for change and he is the only one who ultimately is responsible for Rajoy continuing to be head of the government,” Sanchez added.

Rajoy bitterly dismissed the Socialist pact with Ciudadanos as “theatre”since he had not shored up the support he needed to rule anyway.

Spain has struggled to form a government because it “lacks a tradition” of coalition building, said political scientist Anton Losada of the University of Santiago de Compostela.

“Either there is a transversal government or we are heading toward selections,” he told AFP. For the past three decades, Spain has been ruled by either the PP or the Socialists. Fresh elections would leave Spain with an acting government with limited powers for several more months just as the country emerges

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Spain also faces an independence threat in the wealthy northeastern region of Catalonia which is governed by a coalition of separatist parties.

Rajoy, who wants to remain in power at the head of a “grand coalition” made up of his PP, the Socialists and Ciudadanos that will defend national unity and budget stability, has made it known that

he plans to call Sanchez on Monday to try to reach a deal.

Anti-austerity Podemos has said it is ready for talks with the Socialists if they drop their agreement with Ciudadanos, which it sees as too economically liberal.

Podemos’ number two, Inigo Errejon, said before the vote that it was still possible to form a coalition government of the left, with the support or abstention of small regional Basque and Catalan separatist parties.

“We have to reset the counters and start over with a clean slate,“ he said. thelocal.com

Spain 'waiting to pounce' if Gibraltar leaves the EU

Spain’s acting foreign minister told Spanish radio on Friday that if Britain left the EU he would "raise the question of Gibraltar" the very next day.

The possibility of Britain leaving the European Union is raising serious questions about what might happen to Gibraltar, the tiny British Overseas Territory that borders Spain.

In an interview with Radio Nacional de España on Friday, Spain’s acting Foreign Minister José Manuel GarcíaMargallo said that if Britain were to leave the EU "we would be talking about Gibraltar the very next day".

Gibraltar reacted angrily to the remark. "The declared intent of the Caretaker Foreign Minister of Spain to bring the question of Gibraltar to the fore in the event of the UK and Gibraltar leaving the EU confirms the analysis that has already been made,” the Government of Gibraltar said in a statement to The Local. "It is safer and more secure for Gibraltar to remain in the EU in order to deny Mr Margallo the opportunity to pounce on us," the statement continued.

"This is exactly the type of attitude that we have come to expect from Sr. Margallo and it no doubt pervades so many others of his mindset," Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabien Picardo told The Local in a statement. "It usefully sets out the danger that those who choose Brexit potentially create for Gibraltar if there is also a Partido Popular government in Spain in the future." Speaking in the run-up to Gibraltar’s elections in November, which he won, Picardo said his centrist alliance was firmly of the view that Britain should remain in the EU and that access to the single market and freedom of

movement were vital for Gibraltar. "We have fought to ensure that Gibraltar is able to vote in the Brexit referendum so that we can influence that decision," Picardo said.

"Our primary challenge as a people after the election is, therefore, to work to keep the UK in the EU." Picardo has had several clashes with Spain, which has a centuries-old claim over Gibraltar's sovereignty and until recently imposed sanctions and restrictions. Picardo and Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) have argued over the smuggling of cheap cigarettes from Gibraltar into Spain and the territory's low-tax regime.

There has also been tension over fishing rights and law enforcement in the waters around the Rock, which are claimed by both Britain and Spain.

Picardo has at times taken an assertive stance toward Spain, but insists this was proportional to the PP's approach to Gibraltar. "Dealing with Garcia-Margallo has required us to be tough on occasions," he said.

"I make no apology for that." thelocal.com

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March 2016

Wanted: amateur Indiana Joneses for Spanish dig

A Spanish community is crowdfunding help to excavate an impressive Iron Age hillfort in Galicia, on the Atlantic coast of Spain.

Ever dreamed of following in the footsteps of Indiana Jones and becoming a real-life archaeologist? Well now’s your chance!

Archaeologists in northwestern Spain are inviting adventurous travellers to join them for a week of learning hands-on about archaeology and taking part in the excavation of an Iron Age hillfort in Galicia on Spain’s Atlantic coast.

This hillfort (known as A Cabeciña pictured below) is one of a series in the region, and has already provided evidence that the Celtic people who inhabited western Iberia during the Iron Age were interacting with Mediterranean traders long before the Romans arrived in the area.

The excavation will take place over two weeks from October 10th to 23rd 2016 and amateur archaeologists can get involved in the project by sponsoring it on its crowdfunding site.

A mere £10 (€13) allows you to become a "digital participant" in the project, while £725 (€937) will buy you one week of on-site archaeological training, including food and accommodation.

No previous experience is required to join the school as all training will be provided on site by professional archaeologists.

The dig is being organized by DigVentures, a British company set up by three archaeologists who have gone on to pioneer crowdfunded archaeological projects.

Last year, preliminary excavations at A Cabeciña hillfort unearthed an hacha de talón - a type of bronze axe that was not used as a tool or a weapon, but was specifically made for trading.

"These axes were highly valued by Mediterranean people for the bronze they contained, and it looks like the indigenous people at Costa dos Castros were selling them in exchange for other

goods like jewellery and exotic pottery," said project manager Xosé Gago in a statement to The Local.

Locally known as Costa dos Castros (Coast of the Hillforts), the region developed during the late Bronze Age and flourished in the late Iron Age, until it was subsumed by the arrival of the Romans, and is named for the unusual density of hillforts that line its shores.

Archaeologists have so far identified 12 within a narrow seven kilometre stretch.

According to Carlos Otero, archaeological director, "it is impossible to understand the hillforts of Atlantic Europe without exploring the connections these Iron Age people had with Mediterranean traders. There was a lot more contact than many people realize, and the influence that these two cultures had on each other is a story that remains relatively unexplored."

"With so many hillforts in such close proximity, Costa dos Castros is an excellent place to investigate Atlantic and Mediterranean connections, but also the question of why these Iron Age people built so many different hillforts in such close proximity. We also have clear construction phases, which means we can study how they evolved," said Otero.

Previous finds at the site have included local Iron Age pottery, imported Punic and Roman pottery, an iron axe, fibulae, and an archer’s wrist guard. A series of tightly packed, domestic roundhouses were also found to have been built within the walls of the hillfort. thelocal.es

Mum arrested for chaining up son while she was at work

The little boy was chained and padlocked inside of a room while his mother went to work.

Police in the city of Huelva, southwestern Spain, have charged a mother with neglect and child abuse after she left her seven-year-old son locked in a room while she went to work.

Neighbours called the police on Thursday afternoon to report a child "crying inconsolably and shouting for help" on a balcony.

Police discovered the child in a room "locked with chains and padlocks", officers confirmed to Europa Press.

According to sources from the local fire brigade, the child was "dirty and

hungry" and the room was in an "appalling condition of hygiene and sanitation".

He was taken to a local medical centre, where social workers gave him a bath, clean clothes and something to eat.

Police officers learnt that he was left on a regular basis from 6.30am until 4.30pm while his mother was at work.

Police waited in the flat until the mother came home and arrested her on charges of child abuse and neglect.

The little boy is currently in the care of local child services, while court proceedings against his mother are ongoing. thelocal.es

www.soltimes.com

Princess Cristina: “I am convinced of my husband’s innocence”

Princess Cristina de Borbón, sister of Spain’s King Felipe, became the first member of the Spanish royal family to declare at a trial as she answered questions at the Noós corruption hearing in Palma de Mallorca on Thursday afternoon. However, the infanta, as she is known in Spain, only accepted to answer queries posed by her lawyer, which is to say that she declined to respond to questions from the prosecution or the other defense lawyers.

During her declaration she distanced herself from the running of Aizoon, the company she jointly owned with her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, that is suspected of being used to channel funds out of his non-profit Nóos Institute and expressed her full confidence in his innocence.

“I completely trust my husband and I am convinced of his innocence,” she said. She also said that it was her husband who took care of all the family’s economic affairs and denied holding bank accounts in tax havens. “I do now have an account in Switzerland, since I live in Switzerland,” she said. “I have never had accounts in tax havens and neither has my husband.”

The princess had taken to the stand after prosecutors finished their questioning of her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, on Thursday.

The former Olympic handball player is accused of diverting €4.5 million of €6.2 million that he and his business partner Diego Torres earned in public contracts from the Balearic Islands and Valencia regional government from Nóos to private businesses.

He faces up to 19-and-a-half years in prison if found guilty of all the charges against him.

The obscure right-wing Manos Limpias labor union, which has filed a private accusation against the Princess Cristina, is demanding she serve an eightyear prison sentence for making personal purchases using a company credit card belonging to Aizoon and claiming them as deductions in her tax filings.

Earlier in the day Urdangarin had sought to radically disassociate his wife from the management of Aizoon, the company they jointly owned that is suspected of

being used to channel funds out of his nonprofit Nóos Institute. The royal brother-in-law also categorically distanced former King Juan Carlos from any involvement in his businesses.

“Did his majesty intervene in your businesses and in those of your wife?” asked the lawyer for Manos Limpias.

“Not at any moment,” Urdangarin replied.

Urdangarin has said his wife never had anything to do with the management at Aizoon, which he claims was set up to “channel” the “fees” he earned for his work at the Nóos Institute.

When asked to explain why personal purchases that included a €15,797 family safari in Africa, €1,357 worth of wine, €6,672 of coaching sessions, as well as cosmetics and trips to the hairdresser were charged to Aizoon and deducted as company expenses in tax filings, he took refuge behind his secretary Julita Cuquerella, and former Nóos Institute accountant Marco Antonio Tejeiro.

“When we had expenses, we handed the receipts to the secretary and she decided what expenses were passed on to the accounts department,” Urdangarin told Manos Limpias lawyer Virginia López Negrete.

He also said Princess Cristina was never in possession of an Aizoon company credit card. “The bank issued two cards, one for me, and after seeing that my wife owned 50% of the firm, it issued another, but I kept hold of it. She never had it personally. The card numbers were kept by me or my secretary,” he said.

Urdangarin stated that a number of people he trusted used the card in his name to run various errands. “My secretary, of course, used the credit card,” he said.

“Also to go to the hairdresser?” asked López Negrete.

“I don’t know, I don’t know how it was paid for, whether it was by transfer or with the card, but she had a lot of expenses,” Urdangarin replied.

“And to go to the pharmacy?”

“There were people in our trust with our codes,” he

Unemployment grows by 2,231 people in month of February

Number of workers registered as out of work hits 4,152,986 in second month of year

7

said. He also once again took shelter behind the fact that the Royal Household supervised his activities, saying he regularly consulted with the infanta’s secretary Carlos García Revenga; José Manuel Romero, the king’s private lawyer, who looked after legal matters, and Federico Rubio, who oversaw tax issues. He also revealed that the Royal Household’s security and communications chiefs supervised him.

The tensest moment of the Manos Limpias questioning came when López Negrete exhibited a document addressed to, among others, “Jcsumer,” an acronym corresponding to “Juan Carlos Su Majestad el Rey” (Juan Carlos His Majesty the King), which led Judge Samantha Romero to warn that this could be a piece of evidence not previously admitted at the beginning of the trial in January.

After a 30-minute recess to deliberate the matter, the judge confirmed that the document was invalid.

The lawyer attributed the incident to a mistake in the numbering of the summary. elpais

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There was good news and bad for the Spanish job market last month.

Unemployment rose slightly, albeit by just 2,231 people, leaving the total number of jobless in the country at 4,152,986.

At the same time, the number of people signed up with the Social Security system saw a rise of 63,355, bringing the total of registered workers up to 17,167,712, according to data released by the Labor Ministry on Wednesday morning.

When seasonal factors are accounted for, both of the figures are positive.

Employment, measured by Social Security affiliations, rises by 32,492 workers, while registered unemployment falls by 13,538 people.

February saw growth in practically all sectors, in particular hostelry, up by 21,197 workers; construction, +20,584; education, +17,172; and manufacturing,

+14,342. However, the agricultural sector saw a fall of 28,902 workers in February (-3.65%), leaving a total of 762,762 registered. The ranks of the selfemployed, meanwhile, went up by 3,593 workers, to leave a total of 3,153,066.

The number of Social Security affiliates rose in most of Spain’s regions in February. The biggest increases were in Catalonia (+22,134), the Balearic Islands (+12,032), the Madrid region (+11,884), Murcia (+4,758) and Galicia (+4,654).

Andalusia, meanwhile, saw a fall of 7,509 registered workers.

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February was a good month for the labor market in 2015 – unemployment fell by nearly 14,000 people while the number of workers signed up with the Social Security system grew by nearly 100,000. http://elpais.com/

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March 2016

TV NEWSLETTER

march 2016

March has crept up on us with the lighter mornings and evenings as spring comes to Southern Spain although this morning heading to work the car dash board gave me a possible “ice warning” and showed 2 deg ! Cold Hands !!! So far it has been a dry mild winter and I think the garden and wild life are quite confused but as nature always seems to I am sure it will all sort itself out. The terrapins have been almost hibernating and not eating but the fish in the pond have continued to wait for their food each morning throughout the winter - not sleeping in the deeper water as they do most years – however they do it I do not know but they know the time of day and they know I am approaching the pond with “frantic” surface flapping as I open the fish food container ………………! ?

TV NEWS ………. Well BBC3 has gone “online” only – a move I believe towards my previous predictions that all TV will be “online” within 15 or so years – if you do want to watch BBC3 you will need a UK ipaddress through your internet provider or a VPN (makes your computer equipment look like it is in the UK) although the BBC have said that for the iplayer service they are going to track and block such schemes so I expect that will apply to BBC3 as well – when the bill “radio and TV without frontiers” that is in Brussels becomes law and allows all EU residents to view any nationalities TV anywhere in the EU ?

When the Murdoch’s stop blocking the bill I suspect !

Channel “WATCH” has become channel “W” and is showing many of the BBC3 programmes (but on subscription TV only) and includes the late broadcast of the same days Eastenders and a weekend omnibus – we can provide “W” and all other pay channels inc SPORT at very reasonable rates ……. Ask !!!

Back to BBC3 and internet TV ………

I am convinced both regular antenna and satellite transmissions will cease in the not to distant future …… the mobile phone companies want all the TV transmission frequencies and satellite TV is just to expensive

– once the majority of TV viewers in a country have decent fast reliable broadband all other forms of TV transmission will cease …….If we think the advances in TV / mobile phones / etc has exploded in recent years then watch this space for the advances in the next 10 years.

Having said that SKY are just testing their new satellite box system that will fill the gap in technology time and is a real advance. It will require a change of LNB on the dish and a new “central” hub box that will have a massive hard drive for recording. It will have its own WIFI system feeding “satellite” boxes around the house (or by cat5e/6 cable) that will not need to be connected to the dish. It will , I understand , allow 4 programme recordings at one time whilst watching any other channel on any of the boxes ……. With recording schedules being able to be set by any box and recordings being watched by any box. This is a real advance in TV viewing and I await testing one soonest ………. I am not sure when they will be on the general market.

Still getting lots of reports from clients who are having problems with FREESATPLUS recording boxes – recording twice or not at all or odd channels not scheduled ! The frequency that controls all this is now very weak down here --- the only answer is to maximise that signal and if that is not possible then a bigger dish ……. If you are having problems call us in for a look.

It does not apply to SKYPLUS as this uses a different frequency that is now stronger down here !

That it for this month ……. You can always contact us for free friendly advise on all things TV in southern Spain – RAINBOW SATELLITES – rainbowsats@gmail.com , (0034) 686 358 475 or look at the website www. rainbowsats.org.

Police step in to stop rescued horse being taken from the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre

Police have stepped in to stop a group of people from reclaiming a neglected horse that was seized and put under the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre’s protection in December.

When found on December 11, the horse was so thin he was labelled a “walking skeleton”. Police immediately seized the horse from a propert y near the San Luis salt lake in Spain’s Alicante province, in a joint operation between the Torrevieja Council and the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre.

But last month (Februar y), the alleged owners arrived at the Rojales rescue centre with a Ford transit van, saying they had come to collect the horse.

Rescue centre co-founder Rod Weeding promptly called the Rojales council, which sent several police officers to the scene.

“Police told these people that they weren’t allowed to take the horse without the correct paperwork, and that they certainly couldn’t take him away in a Ford transit van,” centre co-founder Sue Weeding said.

“We are determined that this horse not be returned to these people as without painkillers and specialist medical inter vention, he will not sur vive. He’s about 17, still ver y thin and has problems with the joints of all four legs from being overworked. He had shoes on when he was rescued, so they were obviously still riding him.

“We can’t thank the police

and council enough for stepping in to make sure that this horse was kept safe.”

The Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre relies entirely on donations to fund its important animal welfare work, including the feeding and care of the centre’s more than 90 horses, ponies and donkeys rescued from abuse, neglect and abandonment.

Donations of cash or items for the centre’s network of eight charit y shops across the Alicante province are gratefully welcomed. A pickup ser vice is available to collect large donated items such as furniture and each shop also offers a deliver y ser vice for large items purchased in-store.

Anyone interested in making a donation, becoming a long-term sponsor, or volunteering at the rescue centre or in the charit y 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 ever y 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.

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9

10

March 2016

enviroment news

Greenland’s ice melt accelerating as surface darkens, raising sea levels

Why is 2016 smashing heat records?

January and February have both broken temperature records. Karl Mathiesen examines how much is down to El Niño versus manmade climate change Yet another global heat record has been beaten. It appears January 2016 - the most abnormally hot month in history, according to Nasa - will be comprehensively trounced once official figures come in for February.

Initial satellite measurements, compiled by Eric Holthaus at Slate, put February’s anomaly from the pre-industrial average between 1.15C and 1.4C. The UN Paris climate agreement struck in December seeks to limit warming to 1.5C if possible.

“Even the lower part of that range is extraordinary,” said Will Steffen, an emeritus professor of climate science at Australian National University and a councillor at Australia’s Climate Council.

It appears that on Wednesday, the northern hemisphere even slipped above the milestone 2C average for the first time in recorded history. This is the arbitrary limit above which scientists believe global temperature rise will be “dangerous”.

The Arctic in particular experienced terrific warmth throughout the winter. Temperatures at the north pole approached 0C in late December – 30C to 35C above average.

Mark Serreze, the director of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre, described the conditions as “absurd”.

“The heat has been unrelenting over the entire season,” he said. “I’ve been studying Arctic climate for 35 years and have never seen anything like this before”.

All this weirdness follows the record-smashing year of 2015, which was 0.9C above the 20th century average.

This beat the previous record warmth of 2014 by 0.16C. These tumbling temperature records are often accompanied in media reports by the caveat that we are experiencing a particularly strong El Niño - perhaps the largest in history. But should El Niño and climate change be given equal billing?

No, according to Professor Michael Mann, the director of Penn State Earth System Science Centre. He said it was possible to look back over the temperature records and assess the impact of an El Niño on global temperatures.

“A number of folks have done this,” he said, “and come to the conclusion it was responsible for less than 0.1C of the anomalous warmth. In other words, we would have set an all-time global temperature record [in 2015] even without any help from El Niño.”

Global surface temperature is the major yardstick used to track how we are changing the climate. It is the average the UN Paris agreement refers to.

But the atmosphere doesn’t stop at the surface.

In fact 93% of the extra energy trapped by the greenhouse gases humans have emitted gets sunk into the oceans – just 1% ends up in the atmosphere where temperature is most often and most thoroughly measured. During El Niño, which occurs every three to six years, currents in the Pacific Ocean bring warm

water to the surface and heat up the air.

Jeff Knight from the Met Office’s Hadley Centre, said their modelling set the additional heat from a big El Niño, like the current one, at about 0.2C. He said wind patterns in the northern hemisphere had added another 0.1C to recent monthly readings.

“The bottom line is that the contributions of the current El Niño and wind patterns to the very warm conditions globally over the last couple of months are relatively small compared to the anthropogenically driven increase in global temperature since preindustrial times,” he added.

Steffen said the definitive assessment of this El Niño and its effect on the world’s temperature would only be possible once the event had run its course (it has now peaked and is expected to end in the second quarter of this year). But he agreed that past El Niño cycles could be an appropriate guide for the order of magnitude of the effect.

The picture becomes less clear cut when we talk about monthly records. Even weather trends can have small effects on the monthly average temperature, said Knight. The effect of El Niño traditionally increases as it dies, so Mann believes it may have added more than the “nominal” o.1C during the past three months.

In the Arctic, the effect of El Niño is poorly understood but likely to be weak, said Knight. “Given that the Arctic has been very warm for a number of years, with record low sea ice, it is more likely that the warmth there currently is part of a long-term trend rather than the response to a episodic event like El Niño.”

Steffen says quantifying the relative contributions of El Niño and climate change on a monthly or even annual basis cannot help to answer how fast the world is warming. Only trends over 30 years really matter.

But the pile up of records we have had in the early part of this century are significant. All things being constant, record hot years should occur once every 150 years. Yet 1998, 2005, 2010, 2014 and 2015 have all been record breakers.

A study published in January found that even without last year’s mammoth anomaly such a run was 600 to 130,000 times more likely to have occurred with human interference than without.

“The fact that you are getting records so close, one after the other is really striking. And that is symptomatic of that long-term trend,” said Steffen.

But while they may be poor signals for long-term climate change, record hot months and years do have an immediate and tangible impact.

“It’s making heat waves worse. Here in Australia it bumps up the bushfire danger weather really fast.

It tends to lead to drier conditions in our part of the world. These things are exacerbated by El Niños, so I don’t want to downplay the importance of them for human suffering,” said Steffen. http://www.theguardian.com/

Greenland’s vast ice sheet is in the grip of a dramatic “feedback loop” where the surface has been getting darker and less reflective of the sun, helping accelerate the melting of ice and fuelling sea level rises, new research has found.

The snowy surface of Greenland started becoming significantly less reflective of solar radiation from around 1996, the analysis found, with the ice absorbing 2% more solar energy per decade from this point. At the same time, summer near-surface temperatures in Greenland have increased at a rate of around 0.74C per decade, causing the ice to melt. This winnowing away of the ice, exacerbated by soot blown on to the ice from wildfires, means that Greenland’s ice is stuck in what is known as a “feedback loop” that will make it ever more vulnerable to warming global temperatures. The study predicts that the ice surface reflectivity, or albedo, will drop by 10% or more by the end of the century, which will trigger further melting. “It’s melting cannibalism, basically – it’s melting that’s feeding itself,” said lead author Marco Tedesco, of Columbia University’s LamontDoherty Earth Observatory. “Rising temperatures are promoting more melting, and that melting is reducing

albedo, which in turn is increasing melting.

“It’s worrying because if the ice sheet continues to get darker, it becomes more sensitive to atmospheric warming. The impact of two weeks of sunshine with no clouds, for example, is far greater than it was 20 years ago. The ice is going to melt much more quickly, with more water flowing off on to the sea.”

In recent years, scientists have began to pick apart the complex, interrelated forces at play in the Arctic, which has experienced a 13.4% drop in minimum ice extent per decade, on average, since the 1980s. More than half of the Greenland ice sheet experienced some melting last summer, the largest annual melt since 2012 and well beyond the average melting seen over the past 35 years.

Tedesco’s research shows that as the surface of Greenland’s ice melts, old impurities, such as dust from erosion or soot that has been entombed for years, start to appear, darkening the surface.

If the summer is warm enough to remove all the snow, these dark impurities begin to spread across the surface, providing a far more heat-absorbent environment. At the same time, as this snow melts and then refreezes, the grains of snow get larger.

These larger grains, invisible to the eye but detected by satellite’s infrared instruments, also create a less reflective surface.

These two processes are turning Greenland into a store, rather than a reflector, of solar energy, with consequences far beyond the icy wilderness. Water from the melting flows into the sea, contributing to rising oceans around the world. This process is unlikely to reverse given the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

11

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March 2016

home & garden

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Adding Touches of Spring to the Living Room Hopefully, we've finally put winter behind us! Even if it makes another appearance, I've brought spring into the house anyway! Spring has always been my favorite season, even as a child. I couldn't wait for green grass, birds chirping, baby animals, and sunshine after a long, harsh winter on the farm. Maybe that's why I tend to decorate with spring-like home decor all year round?

If you’re looking to add a feeling of spring to your home, it’s easy to do without having to redecorate your entire house. I haven’t been up to decorating much here in the rental, but just swapping out some simple seasonal updates can make a big difference.

As I shared previously, the living room has a wall of built-ins which is

great for holding collections, etc and although I wish both sides were symmetrical (maybe that’s the accountant in me), they are perfect for adding seasonal items like nests, etc...

Years ago, my oldest daughter started bringing me nests that she’d find and now my middle daughter has taken up the torch. I’ve lost count how many I have now! I’ve noticed that all my daughters seem to love to collect bits of moss, pretty rocks, and nests when they are playing outside.

Things like nests, potted plants, birds, cut flowers, and spring-inspired items tucked into built-ins and bookcases is one of the easiest ways to decorate for spring...

Another favorite way that I like to

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change things out for the seasons is to fill a dough bowl or an oversize basket with some of my favorite things that reflect the time of year.

This tray-basket from Pottery Barn is perfect for the top of a coffee table to fill with candles and ornaments for Christmas and now spring plants, nests, and glass floats for spring...

I love having live plants in the house and inexpensive daffodils and spring bulbs are a great way to add greenery as they last

longer than cut flowers... ... but sometimes a bundle of tulips has to come home with me. Nothing says spring like tulips!

Swapping out pillows, throw blankets, and even window treatments once the weather starts getting warmer and bringing in fresh spring colors and patterns is also a great way to update your home for the spring season...

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7 Beauty Tips

for Gorgeous Skin and Hair Most people are born with good skin and hair. The sad part is that a lot of them destroy them overtime due to negligence, without putting in the effort to take care of themselves. I come across hundreds of young women looking for desperate solutions to their skin and hair problems and expecting me to wave my magic wand and tackle their issues overnight and transform them. I would love to oblige but the truth is that nature doesn't bloom overnight. The smallest seed of a plant also needs to be planted, nurtured and cared for before it can blossom and show its magnificence. Though we live in a world of "insta" or instant options, some things cannot be played around with.

1. For dull, oily and combination skin.

Massage the skin with iced yoghurt and sprinkle some sugar along with it. Now take orange halves and scrub gently until the granules melt. Wash the face with iced water and see the difference.

2. For dull, tired and dry skin. Massage the skin with papaya. Then make a scrub by mixing oats and honey along with a little cold milk and scrub the skin.

Wash off with ice cold milk and water and pat dry.

3. Suffering from frizzy hair? .Try this simple, quick and easy-to-make spray.

Take slices of two lemon and simmer in two cups of water until it reduces to half the amount. Pour the liquid into a spritz bottle and spray on your hair. Not only will there be a wonderful natural sheen

but static and fly away hair will be gone!

4. For natural hair colour. If you have a brownish tinge in your hair and don't have the time to henna or colour it, then take a few sprigs of rosemary from the kitchen shelf and simmer them in 2 cups of water along with 2 tsp black tea until it reduces to half the quantity. Mix with 1/4cup of shampoo and every time you shampoo, use this mixture. Leave the shampoo in your hair for about 15 minutes and see the difference it makes.

5. For a smooth back.Planning to wear a low back blouse, backless dress or choli, but have no time to go in for a body scrub to show off a smooth back?

Here's a quick home remedy. Take 1 cup of sea salt and mix it with half a cup of olive oil. Add 5 drops of sandalwood oil

and mix well. Store in a jar and scrub face. Beat an egg white until it peaks the areas of your body you want to and brush onto your skin and let dry. flaunt. Wipe off with a wet towel.

You will feel the stretch in the skin. wash 6. Dealing with under eye bags and face with icy cold water. dark circles. Take used chamomile tea http://food.ndtv.com/ bags and store them in the freezer. Grate half a cucumber and massage benefits consultancy around eye area and then lie down with the tea Do you suffer from mobility problems, breathlessness/pain or falls/stumbles? bags on your eyes for 10 minutes.You will find an Do you need help washing / dressing or supervision? instant difference in the You could be entitled to extra income by way your eyes look and claiming UK feel. sickness / disability benefits while living in Spain 7. Instant face lift. Wash For advice or to book a consultation your face with ice water call 950 169 729 or 663 297 568 or simply rub and ice cube or visit www.ukbenefitsinspain.com with a tsp of honey on the

Kim Clar k

14

950 121 936 - sales@soltimes.com

March 2016

pause for thought

Hello and welcome to CanDu Computer password. If you connect Bytes, Your Only Stop (Currently based to it from your PC, the at Maloan’s – near the BP garage on a drive will show up in Friday Afternoon. See bottom of article File Explorer (Windows) or Finder for more choices) for solutions to Your (Mac OS X), just as though it were computer problems. already plugged in over a physical cable.

Every day there are more and more If you connect to it from a smartphone solutions that no longer need wires. or tablet, a window should appear that The amount of fun I’ve had resolving will take you through all the steps you’ll wireless printer problems for people is need to begin transferring files to and unreal! There has been, for quite some from the drive. The battery life will vary time, Wireless Storage Devices. depending on what you’re doing at the As we continue to shift our lives away time, but most manufacturers rate their from the desktop and onto mobile devices (which for anyone doing drives at about six hours of uptime anything worthwhile on the computer, is while consistently streaming media, and like moving from a rolls royce to a push- around 20 hours if kept on idle standby. bike!), having an external hard drive that If this is the case, then these might be can you connect to without any cables is impressive stats!

All this added functionality doesn’t a convenient way to stash away photos, videos, and music you want to take with always come cheap, however. Regular you on the road. But how do they work, wired external hard drives can cost as and are they worth the increased cost little as $50 (Appinformatica - 55€) for over the more traditional external media 1TB of storage, but equivalent wireless solutions we’ve used until now? hard drives would cost at least twice What’s a Wireless Hard Drive? as much. This is due all the extra parts Traditional external hard drives require that manufacturers need to include with a USB port to connect to your computer. a wireless hard drive in order to make Wireless hard drives, as the name it work, including the battery and the implies, use either Bluetooth or WiFi various WiFi components. to allow almost any kind of mobile or Also, if extreme portability is what stationary device to access the files you’re after, these added chips and stored inside. battery packs will also bulk the device This is particularly useful for mobile up a bit. If you’re planning on stashing devices like smartphones or tablets, the drive in a laptop bag or a backpack which don’t have simple USB ports like it’s pretty much negligible, but if you laptops–they have a Micro-USB (Android) like the idea of having the entirety of or Lightning (iPhone) port. This means that unless you buy some very creative your system backups ready to slip out of adapters and download third-party apps your pocket at a moment’s notice, the that aren’t even available in the main increased heft could start to weigh you app stores, a regular external hard drive down.

So the upshot of the article is: Would won’t work on many phones. Some I buy one? NO! Couldn’t justify the Android devices may work with external drives but, even then, they’d lose battery expense or convince myself that I had a real need. But if anyone would like very quickly powering the drive.

Wireless hard drives are battery- to buy me one, I would be EXTREMELY powered, and constantly emit their own grateful :-) WiFi network that For further information or advice on any surrounding devices can computing,contact Trevor on 689 892 745 or canducomputing@hotmail.co.uk connect to with a

A Curious Case of travelling Laundry Part 1 In married life there is one par t y who is always right and the other is the husband. Proving this theor y seems to be an occupational hazard of mine and here is one such example.

When we travel we do so lightly; I’ve had too many suitcases disappear for days on end when checked in as hold luggage so its hand luggage only for us. This saves time and worr y as we avoid staring at the Generation Game conveyor belt at the end of each flight wondering if we’ve won a prize. We’re ver y selective about what we pack and if visiting a hot countr y it ’s not a problem as clothing is thin and doesn’t weigh much; a week’s wor th is easy to fit into a small suitcase. In less developed countries it ’s a doodle as ever y town and village has laundries aplent y charging about a Dollar a Kilo so clothing can be returned washed and pressed for the price of a couple of beers. If desperate then hotels will provide the same ser vice but of ten charge through the nose.

Our system has worked well over the years until recently; midway through our last trip away. I’m one for leaving things to the last minute but I’d reasoned get ting our laundr y done by our hotel the day before we travelled to our nex t destination meant our clean clothing stock s would be chock full for our nex t location. Of course I lef t it too

At this time of year, known as Lent, we Christians traditionally pause to remember the period of 6 weeks that Jesus spent, immediately following his baptism, in the wilderness preparing for his coming ministry.

Nothing easy this, as the Bible tells us that he ate absolutely nothing during this period, concentrating every emotion and appetite on his relationship with God and on the personal cost of the necessary self sacrifice.

Personally, I know how important food is and how painful it can be to go without for just a day or so when, for example preparing for an operation.

And yes, I guess many of us have agonised over the risks and pain of impending operations, but for Jesus, it was immeasurably worse as this period of preparation without food lasted 40 days, and the surgery for which he was preparing himself would, he knew involve indescribable agony and his own death.

Small wonder that as he faced the rival demands of the common people, of justice and truth, of his family, the authorities and of his God, with all the usual options for short cuts and corruption, the Bible also tells us that he was tempted by the Devil. So, suffering intense hunger, Jesus went day after day eating nothing at all ,resisting that temptation Satan threw at him to turn stones into bread

(doubtless well within his power) lest it interfere with his resolve and his personal communion with God. And as he faced the certainty of his ultimate agonising destiny, he similarly resisted all the ‘cheap and easy’ alternatives offered

by Satan. And who could have blamed him had he succumbed?

But he didn’t even for a moment consider such alternatives, accepting the necessity of faithfully serving his father, whatever the personal cost.

So this Lent, dare we do other than examine our own lives and the little sacrifice we make for our faith, and ourselves resolve to give more time to our communion with Him 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 www. mojacarchurch.org Duncan Burr is Licensed Lay Reader for the Anglican Chaplaincy of Costa Almeria and Costa Cálida and may be contacted at djburr@avired.com

Enjoy Stephens musings? Pop over to http://findmeahomeinspain.wordpress.com as the articles are posted on there too...and they’re a bit longer too! Findmeahome are always looking for quality homes for their sales and rental portfolios, please contact Stephen for a valuation: stephen@findmeahome.eu Telephone: 636 266 641

late in the day and the hotel said no!

No problem as a few minutes’ walk away was a laundr y so I dropped it of f as they promised that we could pick it up nex t day at early O’clock when we vacated the hotel. I was so chuf fed, by using these guys I was on for saving a couple of Dollars at least.

Nex t morning our taxi stopped at the launderet te and like the gentleman I am; I told Katherine to stay in the car as I would look af ter this easy transaction.

The laundr y woman took my three Dollars and handed me a neatly tied bag of folded clothes. I nonchalantly put the bag in the boot of the car making a mental note to put it in my suitcase when we arrived at the ferr y por t. I haven’t mentioned the ferr y yet have I? Nor the 3 hour taxi drive we were about to take across Southern Cambodia to get us to the ferr y por t, nor the fact the island we were aiming for was 18 Kilometres out in the Gulf of Thailand. What could possibly go wrong?

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March 2016

The world’s most expensive ham is from Huelva and costs €4,100 a leg

GREAT NEWS FOR MOTOR HOME OWNERS The freedom to travel the world in a motor home is a wonderful experience.

So why compromise your vehicle by holding back on its capabilities?

Motor Homes are normally built around a large van chassis and engine.

Unfortunately the engines are not set up or tuned for optimum economy or power output for motor homes.

Most manufacturers sell their vehicles all over the world and have to allow for differing conditions within each export market. Conditions such as climate, emissions regulations and fuel quality are all taken into account. They have to take into account expectations of many commercial vehicle fleet buyers, who are happy to accept a compromise that copes adequately with average commercial use, not necessarily what is most effective when those same vehicles are converted for use as motorhomes.

The great news is that today the engines on most turbo diesel engines can be tuned to increase the economy and performance without any component changes to the engine at all.

Great Benefits Your vehicle’s throttle response is now sharper, turbo lag and flat spots have been eliminated, gear changes arrive sooner, your whole vehicle feels livelier, as though you had chosen the bigger engine option. These are just some of the benefits you will enjoy with a “Veloc Tuning” remap.

How It is achieved by carefully changing the software within the vehicles “ECU” or “Engine Control Unit”. This is the brain of the engine that controls how the engine runs. How must air and fuel goes into the engine, the timing for the injection of the fuel, also the duration, and turbo boost pressure. All can be adjusted mostly by plugging into the vehicles “OBD” port or “On Board Diagnostics” port under the dashboard of the vehicle.

Some vehicles require the ECU removing to make the tuning modification, and will take a little longer, but the end result is the same.

Using state of the art equipment and the skill and training we have received, we can retune your engine to make these great improvements to save on fuel, and give very useful extra pulling power, also a smoother, happier running engine.

FROM JUST 199€ FOR CARS TO BE REMAPPED, AND FROM 249€ FOR A MOTOR HOME. THE VALUE FOR MONEY IS OUTSTANDING. For full tuning details for your motor home or car, check out our “Motor Home” section on our website.

Our tuning service is fully mobile, so will come to you on any Campsite, or your home along the Costas and inland Spain.

We offer a lifetime software guarantee for all tuning work. Also a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not totally happy with the results. Then, in that case the vehicle will be returned to the original manufactures software.

Also we always let you test drive your Motor Home before asking for any payment.

We cover Costa Blanca, Costa Calida, Costa Almeria, and Costa del Sol. Discounts given for groups and friends, if the tuning is done on the same day, and location.

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Eduardo Donato’s Dehesa Maladúa brand has just been awarded a food product Oscar Coming in at a hefty €4,100 a leg and hailing from Huelva province in southwest Spain, Dehesa Maladúa is already the world’s most expensive ham.

And now its reputation has been sealed after it was recently awarded the charcuterie world’s equivalent of an Oscar.

Held each February in Nuremberg, Biofach is Europe’s leading organic foods trade fair and this year declared this unique dry-cured ham from Spain its best product.

The prize-winning ham comes from a rare breed of pig called the Manchado de Jabugo, which takes its name from the distinctive dark patches on the animals’ coats. Dehesa Maladúa’s founder, Eduardo Donato, helped rescue the breed from extinction a quarter of a century ago when he moved to the tiny community of Cortegana, in southwestern Spain’s Huelva province.

cured. To further complicate matters, Manchado de Jabugo pigs sometimes fail to produce the dark pigmentation in their trotters that has become one of the distinguishing features of Iberian ham (pata negra).

Unsurprisingly, Donato looks after his pigs like few other farmers, sometimes sitting among them while they bathe and drink amid the fast-running streams of the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche UNESCO biosphere reserve.

Aside from traditional veterinary treatments, Donato’s animals are also treated by a homoeopathist, who cures cuts and grazes with a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and ash from the holm oaks that populate the hills of Huelva.

They are de-wormed and treated for parasites with a special recipe made from mint and sunflower seeds.

Donato came to the area in 1990 after selling the construction company he had founded in his native Tarragona, buying a farm in Maladúa, an abandoned village around eight kilometers from the village

Donato, aged 67, produces just 80 hams a year, and says the secret of his success is “patience, passion, and pleasure.”

The Manchado de Jabugo breed has been kept alive over the years by a handful of dedicated farmers like Donato, but unlike him, most of them did not sell their produce, instead focusing on other types of pigs bearing the Huelva Denomination of Origin, of which there are now around 22,500.

Manchado de Jabugo ham’s unique taste comes from the fact that the pigs eat only natural ingredients. Donato allows them to forage for acorns, almonds and to root around in the rolling woodlands of Huelva, which is washed by Atlantic rains. Its excellence has already been established by Córdoba’s Nutritional Science and Food Technology Department, after it was subjected to a tasting by 10 experts, based on international norms. These measure the intensity of its color, which in the case of Manchado de Jabugo is dark and lustrous; its fat, which is white and soft; its aromatic intensity, which is deep with notes of toasted dried fruit and bread crust; and its overall flavor, which is a balance of sweet and salty.

The Manchado de Jabugo breed was hit by the swine fever epidemic of 1958, and then fell out of favor with farmers because it takes longer to reach maturity and is less fertile than other strains. A Manchado de Jabugo pig takes up to three years to reach maturity, while other varieties can be sold when they are as young as 14 months. It then takes another six years before the ham is fully

of Cortegana.

He says he began learning all he could about sustainable pig breeding and ham curing, creating a company that he registered with the Spanish Ecovalia organic products certification, which carries out up to six checks each year on the animals that roam freely over Donato’s 80 hectares of woodland.

“Our commitment to protecting the environment means we can only produce a certain amount of ham,” says Donato.

He runs a virtually one-man operation, aided only by his daughter Marta, who moved to the area six years ago, and a neighbor, who also helps out from time to time. His hams are now sold throughout Europe and as far afield as Hong Kong.

His customers are happy to pay top dollar, knowing they are acquiring a unique product as well as helping to save a rare breed. What’s more, Manchado de Jabugo ham not only tastes wonderful, but it’s good for you as well, being rich in protein, vitamins B1 and B6 and healthy minerals. High in unsaturated fatty acids, a 100 gram portion (which would cost around €50) provides around 185 calories.

Given the relative scarcity of topquality Iberian ham such as Maladúa, along with the high cost of producing it, it’s little wonder that some unscrupulous producers outside Spain have begun producing pata negra-“style” ham from animals that will have been factory fed and artificially fattened.

Elpais.com

www.soltimes.com

Spanish Property

People love Spain because it is easy and cheap to get to, it has fantastic yearround weather and it has a quirky, but mainstream culture. More than in any other country, people choose Spanish property as a retirement destination, as an investment, as a holiday home - or simply to escape the cold weather.

Spain's vast collection of regions, cities and cultures offer something for everyone: From the sun-seekers favourites of the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca, to the rugged islands of Ibiza and Mallorca, or the culture-rich cities of Barcelona and Madrid. Spain has it all - and much, much more.

The Property Market in Spain While the property market in Spain suffered badly in the financial crisis, this is very good news for buyers of Spanish homes. Thanks to the relative strength of other European and national economies, buyers from outside of Spain can get incredible property bargains. Is your dream home in Spain a villa with stunning sea views? An apartment in the heart of a bustling medieval city? A secluded country retreat?

Why Buy in Spain There are many reasons why people buy a property in Spain. Many opt to buy a villa or a holiday home which can be rented to other holidaymakers for part of the year. These tend to be situated around the most popular tourist resorts, such as Malaga, the Balearic Islands or the ever-popular Marbella.

Business people often select property in or around one of the major cities.

The economies of Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia remain relatively strong.

SOLTIMES

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PROPERTY SUPPLEMENT

THE BEST PROPERTY SUPPLEMENT ON THE COSTAS!!!!

Some people even find it easier and cheaper to live in Spain full-time and commute within Europe for work. Larger cities in Spain also have fast internet connections making remote working AND living the Spanish dream a distinct possibility.

How To Buy a Property in Spain It all starts with a property search. Most people start with an area they’re familiar with, or somewhere they can fly to easily from their local airport.

Your free Kyero account makes it easy to save properties and get alerts on new ones matching your requirements. You can contact the estate agent advertising a property directly when you want to ask questions or need more property-specific information. kyero.com

Most important of all: Have fun! Searching for your dream home in Spain takes time and is an ongoing process of exploring, learning and refining. There’s no rush, just enjoy it.

Types of estate agents in Spain

Spanish real estate agents (owned and run by Spaniards) Many more Spanish agents will belong to either the API or GIPE professional associations, which on the whole indicates a higher level of training and some level of professional indemnity.

Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the API and GIPE titles are often abused, and are therefore not a reliable guide to professional service.

Furthermore, many Spanish-run estate agents, be they API or GIPE accredited, are no better than estate agents run by foreigners. So nationality is no guide to quality, but at least Spanish nationals can understand contracts and other documentation in Spanish, which is more than many foreign agents working in Spain can do.

Spanish estate agents tend to cover their local area, though there are also some national chains and networks that cover the country. Spanish agents often don’t speak English and this can create a language barrier for British buyers. Nevertheless it is increasingly common to find local Spanish estate agents with English-speaking staff, especially on the most popular coasts.

Foreign owned-and-run estate agents in Spain Foreign owned-and-run estate agents in Spain tend to focus on buyers from their home countries, so British and Irish agents focus on the British Isles, Germans on Germany and so on. British buyers usually end up working with British or Irish-run estate agencies, though most foreign agents are adopting English as their operational language and the alternatives are increasing.

It is now very easy to set up as an estate agent in Spain. Deregulation means that no qualifications are required and barriers to entry are low. With a modest capital outlay you can be in business and many of the foreigners who have come to Spain have ended up selling real estate for lack of professional alternatives, not to mention the high commissions that can be earned from property sales. It is unsurprising, therefore, that thousands of foreign-run estate agents (especially British) have sprung up in Spain, many of them very small operations that can stay in business on the back of just a few sales per year. h t t p : / / w w w . spanishpropertyinsight.com/

Attractive Inland Village Houses For Sale.

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THE COSTA CÁLIDA: A SEA OF POSSIBILITIES

The Mar Menor and the Mediterranean come together in Murcia to create a coastline of cliffs, beaches with kilometres of white sand, and ideal temperatures. Any time of year is good for discovering this holiday resort.

The Manga del Mar Menor and much more La Manga is one of the great symbols of this coast, a narrow strip 24 kilometres long separating the calm Mar Menor lagoon and the Mediterranean Sea. Its has 3,000 hours of sunshine a year in which to enjoy its charming fishing villages and lively harbours like the one in Mazarrón, and is located between the towns of Águilas and San Pedro del Pinatar.

Anyone for water sports?

The best idea is to visit the Mar Menor marine resort or the tourist offices in Águilas and Mazarrón to rent equipment or to sign up for specific courses. The Costa Cálida is the ideal place for sailing, kayaking, water biking, canoeing, rowing…

Nature and culture In addition to relaxing under the sun on the Costa Cálida, you can also explore the various agricultural landscapes and mountain and nature areas such as the Cabo de Palos-Hormigas Islands marine reserve and the Salinas de San Pedro regional park.

And if you're in search of cultural experiences, why not visit the Roman Theatre Museum and the National Underwater Archaeology Museum in Cartagena?

Total relaxation The whole area is also famous for its numerous spas and areas offering therapeutic mud treatments. Pamper yourself.

SAN PEDRO DEL PINATAR

March 2016

Spanish Property Prices Lagging Behind Demand

Demand for Spanish properties is growing significantly, with recovery in both the residential and commercial markets making Spain increasingly popular with domestic and international buyers. However, so far prices remain relatively low, and are failing to rise as fast as the growth in demand might lead you to expect.

With affordable finance, improved employment rates and – crucially – the resurgence of Spanish homes as an attractive investment asset, demand for properties in Spain is predicted to grow significantly over the next couple of years. A report by Bankinter predicts that demand will reach a level of 420,000 homes this year and then further rise to 450,000 in 2017, whereas last year's figure was just 367,000.

In the big cities – which of course are key markets and are therefore serving as some of the major focal points of this resurgence in demand – available supply of properties is limited. This situation of modest supply and growing demand obviously creates a perfect climate for price growth. Bankinter predicts that 2016 and 2017 will see average annual rises of around 3%, with some premium locations delivering a figure of 5%.

Price rises so far have been comparatively modest, and this has left Spanish properties deceptively affordable in terms of the demand situation. There are a number of factors believed to account for this.

Firstly, while the Spanish market is definitely in recovery and demand is rising accordingly, things still remain in their early stages. The rise in sales is currently under 10%, and

this is not yet enough to apply huge amounts of upward pressure to prices. Furthermore, bank sell-offs are still playing a role in the market.

These properties are being sold at significantly discounted prices, and their continued availability is definitely holding back price rises for the time being.

One of the key points to note about rising demand in Spain is that it is relatively widespread. When the market first tentatively entered into recovery after years of tumbling values, things were very much confined to a few key city locations and coastal tourist spots. While it is not fair to say that things are booming throughout the country at this stage, the recovery has spread out significantly and is now evident in a significantly larger and more diverse range of locations.

The commercial sector is displaying trends similar to those seen in residential property at the moment.

Positive trends are evident in both rental levels and occupancy rates, and these trends are expected to not only continue but to accelerate through this year and through 2017. Retail properties – both high-street and in major centers – and blocks of offices in core city business districts are expected to be the best performers of the Spanish commercial sector.

Political factors are the biggest danger to Bankinter's predictions. If changes in the political climate impact on confidence in the property sector, this could hold back the expected positive changes in the Spanish property sector. http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/

British buyers invest in Spanish property following terror threat

Facing the tranquil waters of Mar Menor, San Pedro del Pinatar is one of the main tourist destinations on the Murcia coast.

Traditionally a seafaring and agricultural centre, San Pedro del Pinatar has become one of the principal tourist towns on Murcia’s Costa Cálida.

The main attractions of San Pedro are concentrated around the beach and shore. Here you will find Lo Pagán, a lively tourist centre which has all kinds of holiday facilities, such as hotels, bars, restaurants and shops. Next to the long promenade facing the Mar Menor are extensive beaches such as La Puntica or Villananitos. This watery setting, combined with the facilities at its marina, means you can do a great many sports, such as sailing, scuba diving or windsurfing.

As well as one of the town’s architectural symbols, the Quintín mill, the surrounding area contains the Salinas de San Pedro del Pinatar Regional Park, a space where a great many species of migratory birds come to nest.

You can also benefit from the therapeutic properties of its mud, especially suitable for treating bone and skin ailments.

FEAR of terrorism helped drive demand for Spanish property from British buyers in 2015, a new report says. UK buyers snapped up one in five of all Spain’s foreign-bought properties in 2015, according to the Tranio report.

“It comes as no surprise that, as the bloody death toll rises, Brits are returning to Spain’s sunny shores . . . so far preserved from merciless violence since the deadly Madrid train bombing of 2004,” said the report from the overseas property

broker. UK buyers accounted for 21.34% of all foreign home sales, while buyers from France came a distant second, at 8.72%.

Andalucia was 2015’s number one choice for the British, 32% of whom invested in the region.

Price might have been a factor: Alicante has Spain’s cheapest property per square metre at €1.284, with Malaga third cheapest at €1.663. http://www.theolivepress.es/

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Time to buy a home abroad? Where the strong pound meets inexpensive housing Property prices are recovering - and your pound will go further.

Telegraph Money research reveals where people are looking, and where the bargains can be found

Data compiled for Telegraph Money shows a surge in interest among British buyers looking to buy abroad, driven by the pound’s new strength against the euro.

Buying a €500,000 Italian property, for example, now saves £26,041 compared with January 2014.

The euro has weakened against sterling because of fears over quantitative easing, designed to rescue languishing European economies, and a possible standoff between Europe and Greece. All this has pushed the pound to a seven-year high, boosting the spending power of sterling buyers.

Now, 48pc more Britons are searching for property in Spain and Ireland than a year ago, Rightmove data shows.

Interest is also up elsewhere. In the United States it has increased by 38pc.

Our extensive research, presented in the charts, below, shows which countries balance cheap exchange rates with inexpensive housing, using official figures from Eurostat, the EU’s data agency, and the OECD. HiFX, a foreign exchange firm, echoed Rightmove’s data, registering a 27pc rise in inquiries from Britons who want to buy property in the eurozone. Buyers shouldn’t delay, experts say, as the pound could weaken as the general election draws closer.

“A hung parliament will inevitably leave markets uncertain as to which political party will govern the country and the pound is likely to weaken,” said Andy Scott of HiFX. Sterling also buys more currency outside the eurozone. Marianne Gilmore, of foreign exchange specialist

Moneycorp, said that now was a good time to buy Polish zloty or Croatian kuna, where exchange rates are far better than in 2014.

Sterling doesn’t go quite as far now in Switzerland, following the country’s decision to float its currency free from the euro. In mid-January £100 would have bought 155 Swiss francs, now this sum buys 137 francs. With prices for a small chalet in the Alps starting at around £2.5m, Swiss property is further out of reach of British buyers.

What next for prices?

Property values across Europe are on the rise again, according to figures from Eurostat. The most dramatic increase was in Ireland, which saw 15pc annual price growth towards the end of 2014.

Michael Grehan from Irish estate agent Sherry Fitzgerald said there was every reason to expect further increases.

“This will be particularly evident in urban centres where supply is most constrained,” he said, particularly for three and four-bedroom homes.

Monaghan, a county near the border, saw a threefold increase in interest from British buyers over the past year. Estate agents estimate that rural locations are undervalued by as much as 60pc and therefore offer strong investment potential.

Portuguese property values rose by 4.9pc from 12 months ago, a far cry from the end of 2013, when prices increased by just 0.6pc.

In the second quarter of last year Spain saw its first growth since 2011, a 0.8pc increase. Murcia, which is in the south-east and popular with British expats, has seen the biggest increase in

property searches (75pc more than last year). Currently, the average budget for a British buyer in Spain is £379,000, higher in Barcelona (£556,000) but lower in Lanzarote (£109,000).

French and Italian markets are struggling, with prices in France down by 1.2pc, and 3.8pc lower in Italy.

Experts say a lack of interest from wealthy foreign buyers, such as Russian investors, has had an effect, disguising an otherwise strong property market.

Roddy Aris of Knight Frank International said: “We expect to see ‘super-prime’ property prices continue to come down in 2015, after a 7pc price drop across the French Alps, but the core market will remain buoyant.”

Undervalued markets Housing markets in Italy, Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Germany are said to be undervalued, according to two main measurements used by the OECD, last collected in May. The first uses a price-to-rent ratio, which measures the profitability of owning a house. The ratio is compared with the long-run average to see if it is higher or lower.

The second ratio plots prices against wages. “There is a growing sense that prices are low by historical standards and that there is a considerable upside for early investors moving into these markets,” said Liam Bailey of Knight Frank. For overpriced property, the data points to Britain and France.

House prices in the US, also viewed as undervalued by the OECD, have staged a strong recovery. But property is still cheaper than in Britain, despite a strengthening dollar. The average UK

house price of £250,000 buys a sevenbedroom home in Davenport near Orlando, Florida. Mr Bailey said: “The US is looking interesting and New York, Miami and LA should take off in 2015.”

Falling mortgage rates You can borrow at home on rates as low as 1.19pc for a two-year fix. Many may remortgage against a pumpedup UK house price to fulfil foreign ambitions.

Costs abroad are higher – but falling.

Europe’s central bank, with its official rate already at 0.05pc, will drive down market rates with its QE plan.

In France the best 15-year fixed rates have fallen to 2.55pc and should fall further.

Simon Conn, an overseas broker, said: “British borrowers are increasingly interested in Spain, the Balearics and the Canaries, where interest rates are around 2.75pc and lenders expect a 30pc to 40pc deposit.

“Italy is still flourishing, with Umbria and Tuscany more popular, due to interest rates of around 3pc, not as low as France or Spain.”

In Ireland, where lenders remains cautious, borrowers must pay a 50pc deposit for holiday homes, and 40pc for buy-to-let, with rates at 5.25pc.

Borrowing in an undervalued market, such as Greece or Bulgaria, can be nigh impossible, Mr Conn warned. “Greece is still very restrictive on lending, unless the property is worth at least £1m, but this may improve in 2015.”

Outside the eurozone, expect to pay 3pc in the US and 4.5pc in Australia. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

SOL Y MAR

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March 2016

Tel: 950 064 584 609 199 394

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SM044

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CELA

sM043

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Presently set out as two separate properties on individual floors with shared garden and large pool. Each floor have 8 bedrooms, large lounge with wood burner, kitchen, 4 bathrooms, individual patio etc. Large well managed garden has separate alfresco bbq and dining area with fantastic views, store room, raised planting areas and a large unusual and very attractive pool. Completely enclosed and walled property.

Ample parking space. Ideal for extended family, B&B or rental possibilities.

Short easy walk to the natural spring water pool of Cela and bars / restaurants.

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Avenida 28 de Febrero Nº 44, Albox Email: info@solymarspain.com www.solymarspain.com fantastic value for money

Elevated Views

LIMARIA

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Impressive detached villa with elevated views across the valley.

Beautiful walled mature garden with BBQ area.

Finished to a very high standard with many extras including pellet central heating, built in damp proofing, swimming pool, screened gazebo eating area and a generous plot size of 936m2.

Walking distance to local bar and restaurant and only 10 mins drive to Albox.

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SM042

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Spacious 3 bed 4 bathroom detached traditional cortijo with much charm and character and many original features. Most attractive and desirable location as short drive to the nearest village and just off main access road.

This large property offers scope for minor renovation hence the fantastic price.

This home comes with many extras including 4 outbuildings, garage and a new fitted kitchen. Set in a small hamlet of country houses in a setting yet so close to amenities.

A short drive to the traditional village of Almanzora with all amenities you would require including bars, cafes, medical centre and banks.

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22

Home Mortgages Increased by 19.8% in 2015

The latest data published on Friday last week by the National Statistics Institute show that the number of new mortgages constituted on housing in Spain increased by 19.8% in 2015, compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 244,827 new mortgages, and accumulating a second consecutive annual increase after seven years of declines.

Moreover, the 2015 increase is the highest registered in the Institute’s comparable series, which began in 2003.

Home mortgages have been registering mostly double-digit declines since 2007. Specifically, in the years 2012, 2011 and 2008 the number of new mortgages constituted on housing dropped by more than 32%, in 2013 they fell by 27.1%, in 2009 the decline registered was 22.2%, while in 2010 and 2007 the declines were more moderate, of 6.6% and 7.7%, respectively. The downward trend finally reversed in 2014, when housing mortgages registered an increase of 2.3%.

The average value of the mortgages constituted on housing rose by 3.6% in 2015, to 105,931 euros, while the total capital loaned for these home loans climbed by 24.1% during the whole of the year, to 25,934 million euros.

El Economista reported that the regions which registered the greatest number of new mortgages on housing in 2015 were Andalucía (45,971), Madrid (42,382) and Catalonia (38,583).

All regions registered increases in the number of new mortgages constituted

on homes last year, the greatest being those recorded in the Balearic Islands (+41.4%), Catalonia (+25.9%) and Cantabria (+24.9%), while the regions to register the lowest increases were Navarra (+2.5%), Castilla y León (+8.9%) and Asturias (+11.8%).

In 2015, most capital was loaned for the constitution of mortgages on homes in the regions of Madrid (6,233 million euros), Catalonia (4,640.4 million) and Andalucía (4,159.5 million).

In December last year, the number of new mortgages constituted on homes reached a total of 19,362, representing growth of 21.1% compared to the same month in 2014.

This is the 19th consecutive month of year-on-year increases and is greater than the increase registered in November, when new mortgages on homes increased by 16.4%.

Licences for Home Construction Rose by 42.5%

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Public Works, the number of building licences authorised in 2015 for new construction for residential use in Spain reached a total of 49,695.

This figure represents an increase of 42.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, when a total of 34,873 licences were issued, and is the second consecutive year of positive data.

Of the total number of permits granted during the whole of the year, some 35,025 were for apartments in blocks, with a year-on-year rise of 50.3%, and 14,651 were for individual family homes, with an annual increase of 26.8%. Moreover, there were an additional 19 permits issued for other types of building works not intended for family dwellings, which is three less than

Looking at the monthly rate (December over November 2015), mortgages on homes increased by 0.6%, while the capital loaned rose by 1.8%. Both these increases are the highest registered in a month of December in the last five years.

the figure registered during 2014.

El Mundo reported that the significant increase last year comes after new builds broke the seven consecutive negative years streak in 2014, registering an increase of 1.7%, to reach a total of 34,873 licences granted in the year. This followed the historical minimum registered in 2013 when only 34,288 permits were issued which, compared to the peak levels reached in 2006 when a total of 865,561 permits were issued, represented a decline of 96%.

BBVA Research pointed out that this increase in building licences confirms the “end of a successful year for construction activity” and they also indicated that this growth is supported by the improvement shown in employment in the construction sector, where the number of Social Security contributors registered average year-onyear growth of 4.7%. Moreover, the organisation indicated that the Social Security data for the sector for the month of January points to further growth in employment, albeit more “moderate”. keyero.com

kyero.com

Construction in Spain Closes 2015 with Best Quarter in Three Years The Spanish construction sector from those registered in the boom

contributed 80,055 million euros to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the last quarter of 2015, after registering growth for the seventh consecutive quarter.

According to data published by the National Statistics Institute, this represents the best quarter in over three years, since the last time the sector contributed more than 80,000 million euros to the GDP was in the third quarter of 2012.

However, compared with data from the housing boom years, the 80,000 million euros contributed in the last quarter of 2015 is still far from the figure registered in 2007, which exceeded 140,000 million euros in the second quarter of that year, its record best, but is similar to the level of contribution to the economy recorded in a quarter by this sector in 1998.

One sign that the real estate sector is undergoing a phase of improvement is the increase in the number of new homes being constructed in Spain which, according to Ministry of Public Works’ data, amounted to 19,529 new homes in the first eleven months of last year, indicating that the figure will easily surpass 20,000 for the full year. These figures, however, are far

March 2016

years when, in each of the years from 2003 to 2006, the construction of over 200,000 were initiated, some ten times more than the current figure.

El Economista reported that the number of home mortgage loans also increased in 2015, by almost 20% compared to 2014, reaching a total of 244,827. Although this is a significant year-on-year increase, the figure still stands at between 5 and 6 times less than the number authorised between 2005 and 2007, when the total was around 1.2 million loans for home purchase.

Similarly, the volume of capital loaned for home mortgages increased in 2015, to 25,934 million euros, which represents an increase of 24% compared to 2014, but is still around 7.5 times less than the figures recorded in both 2006 and 2007, when home loans amounted to some 180,000 million euros. ht tps:// n e w s .k ye r o. com

Resale Housing Prices Fell by 0.9% in February According to the latest real estate price index from property portal, idealista.com, prepared by analysing 377,114 properties on their database which were advertised between 25th January and 25th February, the average price of second hand housing in Spain registered a decline of 0.9% during the month of February, to stand at 1,583 euros/m2. Year-on-year, compared with February 2015 when the average price stood at 1,595 euros/ m2, the decline is 0.8%.

Only two of Spain’s regions registered increases in the average price of used housing: the Canary Islands (+1.5%) and the Balearic Islands (+0.3%). In Galicia the prices remained stable, while the biggest declines registered were those for La Rioja (-2.8%), Murcia (-2.2%) and Castilla y León (-1.8%).

The Basque Country remains the most expensive region for second hand housing, with an average pric e p e r square metre of 2,550 euros, followed b y

Madrid (2,371 euros/m2) and the Balearic Islands (1,900 euros/m2). In contrast, the regions with the most affordable housing in February were Extremadura (955 euros/ m2), Castilla-La Mancha (968 euros/m2) and Murcia (1,057 euros/m2).

Ten provinces registered price increases during the month of February, the greatest being those recorded in Lleida (+3.6%), Toledo (+2.9%) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+1.9%), while the biggest declines were registered in Ourense (-3%), La Rioja (-2.8%) and Lugo (-2.8%).

In the ranking of provinces, the Basque provinces of Guipuzcoa and Vizcaya are once again the most expensive, with average prices of 2,851 euros/m2 and 2,625 euros/m2, respectively, followed by Madrid (2,371 euros/m2) and Barcelona (2,185 euros/ m2). Toledo is the cheapest province with a price of 887 euros per square metre, followed by Cuenca (899 euros/ m2) and Ávila (908 euros/m2).

San Sebastian remains the most expensive Spanish city, with the average price of its second hand housing standing at 3,856 euros/m2, followed by Barcelona (3,499 euros/ m2) and Madrid (2,836 euros/m2), while Lleida is the most economical, with an average price of 878 euros/m2, followed by Ávila (1,048 euros/m2) and Castellón (1,050 euros/m2).

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y t r e p o pr r e d n fi ANOTHER WORLD PROPERTIES S.L.

J Galvez Renero S.L

Next to Camposol Insurance & opposite the Butchers

Urgently require properties for sale in the Mazarron area.

Email jgalvezrenero@gmail.com or telephone 968 153 707

Centro Commerical B Urb Camposol, Calle Jara 34b, Mazarrón 30875 Murcia Tel: +34 968 592 679 www.anotherworldproperties.net

For A No Obligation Valuation & Competitive Rates

RENTALS? End Penthouse Apartment

Alicante Dream Homes, your Inland Property Specialists For your dream Spanish Villas, Country Fincas, Alicante country houses, Murcia Villas and Costa Blanca property Contact: -

Spain tel: (+34) 645 746 176 or UK tel: 020 3695 8977 Email: alicantedreamhomes@gmail.com Apartado 256, Pinoso, 03650 Spain

Almeria Property

Agency Sales & Lettings - Inmobiliaria Visit us to see what the Almeria property market has to offer Office: 850 993 099 Mobile: 628 872 334 Email: info@almeriapropertyagency.com

www.almeriapropertyagency.com

2 bedrooms,1 bathroom, roof top solarium, private front terrace, gated community, communal pool, off road parking, fully furnished, Aircon Ref: GKRS059 Price €54,999 Formentera Del Segura Contact Ena Cummings for more info or to view call into our office Calle San Jaime Bajo 5 Benijofar.

Tel: 636 942 204 ● www.goldenkeysproperty.com

Are you looking for an agent you can trust to rent or sell your property?

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950 121 936

24

March 2016

Around-the-house spring chores

property services

With winter well and truly behind us, it’s time to get your house and garden ready to face not just the warm weather, but the damaging effects of summer sun, rain and wind.

Choose a fine spring day and walk around the outside of your house, taking inventory of what tasks need attending to, before they become a major – and possibly costly – repair.

Don’t think of spring home maintenance as “chores”; consider it a great excuse to spend time outside in the sunshine!

1 Inspect your roof for any loose, missing or damaged shingles, evidence of leaks, cracks in seals or flashing that may have shifted.

2 Scrape, prime and repaint any peeling or bubbling paint on trim or woodwork. Touchups now can forestall or prevent a big painting job later on.

3 Check your steps and deck for cracks, rotting boards or places where nails have popped up.

With concrete steps, consider painting them with concrete paint to protect the surface and spruce them up; repair any cracks.

4 Clean and check your eavestroughs and make any needed repairs. Consider buying leafguards for the tops of downspouts; these are easy-to-clean mesh screens that prevent debris from flowing into the downspout and

clogging it.

5 Walk around the perimeter of your house, carefully checking the foundation and seal for cracks. Even small cracks should be repaired; they have a way of growing into big cracks, and possibly leaks.

6 Coat your driveway with driveway sealer.

7 Arrange for an annual check-up of your cooling system, before the summer rush.

8 Clean and, if necessary, replace your furnace air filter. If you didn’t have it cleaned in the Prompt and reliable service, fall, schedule a furnace cleaning. no job too small.

9 Wash your windows Full bathrooms or just makeovers inside and out; take down and handyman service. storm windows if you 24 hour call out have them, and wash and install window screens Boilers: 80 litre fully installed from 160€ and window coverings.

Call David on 634 286 590 h t t p : / / w w w . styleathome.com/

DAVID THE PLUMBER

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Paul

The Plumber Call Paul for a FREE no

General Plumbing Obligation Quote on: 634 326 804 Bathrooms Kitchens Find us on Water Heaters Facebook /paul_theplumber Tiling

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NICK THE TILER Call Nick for all your tiling & laminate floor requirements.

Tel.. 605 305 405

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viewpoint The Bar La Casa Devante

John MacDonald (El Sordo) www.caratacus.eu

www.soltimes.com

The Bar La Casa Devante is one of two bars in Alqueria, the other being La Golondrina Verde which is frequented by the Newcomers.

There has probably been a ‘watering hole’ on the spot of the Casa Devante ever since some ‘ancient’ tried to soften his bread by soaking it in water accidentally causing fermentation. An act which received no reward nor recognition, an act which however millions are grateful.

The Hill People who drink, play and plot in the bar are rightly proud of their taberna. Covering the walls are the framed photographs of the bar’s drunks through the ages. One faded sepia print shows ‘Botella Pedro’ who in 1932 drank sixteen bottles of cheap Ribera, two flagons of Remitroot Whisky and a glass of a well known cola. He holds the record for an evening’s consumption and was awarded a certificate entitling him to free drinks for life. This didn’t turn out to be too much of an expense as Pedro died the next morning. The then landlord blamed the cola claiming it was ‘corked’. The doctor who examined Pedro said it was the first time in medical history that both kidneys and liver had voluntarily removed themselves, they had simply ‘left home’.

The Republic of Alqueria was formally inaugurated in the bar when the constitution was drafted on the back of an empty twenty pack of ‘FagsRUs’ cigarettes, thus steeping the hostelry in history. The ‘Hero of Alqueria’, El Raro was said to have hid at the La Casa Devante

while on the run from the French during the War of Independence. It was said he was disguised as an itinerant Asturian washer woman wearing false breasts and a moustache. Strangely though he continued to dress in this manner for three years after the French gave up the search, he could be seen frolicking and giggling most evenings during the summer months.

The Bar La Casa Devante is the premier venue for the supply and consumption of Remitroot Wine, Whisky and associated products.

Antonio Poyato, who produces the beverages uses the Bar as a testing ground for new Remitroot based products, the clientele are his ‘Guinea pigs’ albeit unwittingly. This had led to some strange side effects including watery bowels, rashes, hair loss, toe nails turning bright orange and uncontrollable urges to join the Conservative party. The side effects became so alarming Poyato had to curtail his experiments. He gets a multinational pharmaceutical companies to do the trails for him now.

When one visits the Village Republic of Alqueria the Bar La Casa Devante is a ‘must see’. Just feel the atmosphere, taste the Remitroot beverages on offer and hurl abuse at the defenceless resident drunks.

The Bar guarantees a fun packed evening for young and old.

Pushing the Limits

Rules are few in our household, but in any confrontation between a wrongdoer, be it cat or dog, Pete is Good Cop and I am invariably Bad Cop. I’m not necessarily happy with that, but as the ultimate Layer Down of the Law, the task invariably falls to me.

The Rules are: No animals of any sort in the bedrooms.

No dogs on the furniture.

No cats on the surfaces.

Lucy, The Dog That Is Not Ours, has always accepted her rules, though since the arrival of the cats, she has mumbled ‘Not fair!’ a few times under her breath when the cats jump without let or hindrance on the sofas.

No cats on the surfaces had been accepted without opposition by Her Royal Highness Sayyida Al Hurra, Somebody Else’s Cat. Despite her lofty status she has acquiesced, announcing that to argue the point was beneath her dignity.

Her son, Mr Tommy Fluffipants, has no such qualms. He seems to have grasped the surfaces bit, but bedrooms and the kitchen table are his ultimate Holy Grail.

However, he is not stupid, and although he does not seem to have the keen deductive qualities of his mother’s mind, he has manipulative powers all of his own.

It all started to go wrong when he first came into the house, and it was ‘He’s only a kitten, he doesn’t understand.’

Meanwhile Tommy, with his absolutely circular eyes and expression of innocence that would have made Bambi seem a bit dodgy, would happily usurp the kitchen table and spread himself out in hedonistic

25

By Jos Biggs

josbiggs@hotmail.co.uk luxury on the beds.

It started with a handclap and a firm ‘Tommy, get off the table/ bed.’ He would fake terror and flee, casting a backward glance of bemused grievance. ‘Why? I’m only on the table/bed. What have I done to deserve this?’

Then one day it changed. I clapped.

‘Tommy!’ I commanded. He defied me. He raised his yellow eyes calmly to meet mine. ‘What are you going to do about it?’ he said.

No dilemma ever had more pointy horns. What should I do? It was an empasse, but I couldn’t lose. I picked him up, turned him upside down (he likes that) cuddled him and plonked him on his favourite cushion.

However, it’s a pyrric victory. He now makes a bee line for the bed/ table, only so that he can be picked up, cuddled, and put on his favourite cushion!

He is pushing the limits!

puzzle pages

26

March 2016

jimmy carr

wwe live

new order

Formed in 1980 the Manchester band have regrouped & are touring the UK

Funny Business Tour, TVs Funnyman is on the road in another side splitting tour.

Watch your favorite stars in action in the UK. John Cena, Big Show & Sheamus

GET YOUR TICKETS TO THESE plus MANY OTHER EVENTS AT WWW.SOLTIMES.COM

Answers

2. What was advertised in the 1980’s with the slogan “If you see Sid, tell

Find and circle all of the different types of music that are hidden in the grid.

The remaining 15 letters spell an additional type of music.

him”?....................................................

3. What was the last port of call for the Titanic?..................................................

4. Where is there an American flag that has not been lowered since 1969?..........

5. Which theoretical temperature corresponds to -273.15 degrees Celsius..

6. Which is the longest month in the year?.....................................................

7. Chomolunga and Sagarmatha are alternative names for what?...................

Answers

CRYPTIC crossword

10. High Street 9. Vichy 8. Scafell Pike 7. Mount Everest.

6. October

CROSSWORD

1. Winfield 2. The sale of British Gas shares 3. Queenstown, Ireland 4. On the moon 5. Absolute Zero

SOLUTIONS

EUROPOP EXPERIMENTAL FOLK ROCK FUNK GOSPEL GRUNGE GYPSY IRISH MAMBO MARIACHI MIDDLE EASTERN NEW AGE NEW ORLEANS OPERA

wordsearch answer

standard SUDOKU

10. What is reputed to be the most common street name in Britain?.............

easy SUDOKU

9. Which spa town was the seat of the French government from 1940 to 1944?..

ACID JAZZ AFRICAN ALTERNATIVE BEBOP BLUES BOLLYWOOD BOSSA NOVA BRAZILIAN CELTIC CHAMBER CLASSICAL COUNTRY DOO WOP ELEVATOR

POP MUSIC PROGRESSIVE REGGAE ROCK AND ROLL SALSA SURF SWING TECHNO TRIP HOP TROPICAL URBAN ZYDECO ALTERNATIVE ROCK

8. What is the highest peak in England?.

soltimes film Quiz

Answers

squiggle SUDOKU

1. What did the W stand for in the Name F W Woolworth?......................................

1. Howard Hughes was obsessed with which Rock Hudson film?............................

2. Which famous 1963 horror film takes place in the sleepy little coastal town Bodega Bay? 3. Jack Bauer and Aaron Pierce are the only two characters that have appeared in seven seasons of the TV series 24.

What does Aaron Pierce do for a living?...................................

4. The Academy Award winning song ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’ was written for which classic 1940 film?.....................

5. Wikus van der Merwe is the reluctant hero in which film?....

6. Name the two actresses Frank Sinatra married...............

7. The 2009 British science fiction film ‘Moon’ was directed

by Duncan Jones. Jones is the son of which famous English musician?................................

8. Gaston was the evil antagonist in which Disney film?........................................

9. Which Hollywood actress who has been married nine times was born in 1917?............

10. What is inside the doll in the 1967 film thriller ‘Wait Untll Dark’ staring Audrey Hepburn?.

6. Ava Gardner and Mia Farrow 7. David Bowie 8.Beauty and the Beast 9. Zsa Zsa Gabor 10. Heroin

wordsearch Types of Music

soltimes Pot luck Quiz

1. Ice Station Zebra 2. The Birds 3. Secret Service agent 4. Pinocchio 5. District 9

IDENTIFY THEse FAMOUS films

sol picture quiz!

A: Pulp Fiction B: Falling Down C: James Bond D: The Blair Witch Project

on this day 9th march

1566 – David Rizzio, private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, is murdered in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1954 – McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, “A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy”, produced by Fred Friendly.

1959 – The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

1961 – Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a human dummy nicknamed Ivan Ivanovich, and demonstrating that Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight.

2011 – Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.

www.soltimes.com

puzzle pages

27

UK Motorhomes Wanted

Contact Karl on 0044 7976 662395

email: carlskitt@live.com

across

STANDARD CROSSWORD

1 Law enforcement assistants (8) 5 Evaluate (6) 9 Dimmed (8) 10 Coiffure (6) 12 Draw out (5) 13 Hindrances (9) 14 Main course (6) 16 Savior (7) 19 When the moon blocks all sunlight (7) 21 Expel (6) 23 Bizarre (9) 25 Forest god (5) 26 An introductory section to a story (2 words) (6) 27 Found on roofs (8) 28 Harm to property (6) 29 Baffle (8)

Down

1 Avoid (6) 2 Employees (9) 3 Not those (5) 4 Something very ugly (7) 6 Swordsman (9) 7 Enlist (5) 8 Financial supporters (8) 11 Utilizer (4) 15 Atoning (9) 17 Fazed (9) 18 Revolted (8) 20 Beige (4) 21 Excavator (7) 22 Found on most pencils (6) 24 Assertion (5) 25 The mountain of the Ten Commandments (5)

SUDOKU PUZZLES

easy

squiggle

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 3632 33 - chip back weights, and hesitations second (6,9) 9 Be a right animal! (4) 10 Loved a Labour party first (6) 11 Extremity of potato explosion (3) 14 Novel empire? (5) 18 Redhead cure, perhaps to happen again (5) 20 Against human tickling inclusion (4) 21 Take in Orient with a second to spare! (3) 23 Good man called American casualty for alien (8) 24 Starts to escape, lies under desk - early death is avoided (6) 25 Drink a litre heartlessly (3) 27 21across - a great deal without name (5) 28 Shape of monarchy? (4) 30 Donated long-head hammer (5) 34 Club area reveals where you might find 25 (3) 37 Follow “thanks” with “I left” (4) 38 Northern person: “I smoke disgustingly” (6) 40 French made big, bitter bible gossip (15) Down

2 Completed deliveries? (4) 3 Sharp, short thankyou, right? (4) 4 A street in New York is not nice! (5) 5 Following ref at mix-up (5) 6 Finish in French 500 (3) 7 Nothing to regret returning currency (4) 8 Team dies horribly (4) 10 Give weapons to 35 (3) 12 Take for granted before total ecstasy? (7) 13 Northern corgis excited about getting a goal (7) 15 Reportedly 2 eggs... (3) 16 ...at lunar arrangement (not man-made) (7) 17 Extend time inside? (7) 19 Managed church farm (5) 21 Age of Queen Anne, initially (3) 22 Golfer’s support returns English and French (3) 26 Meadow left at East Anglia at first (3) 29 Very fat? That’s nothing with bees about! (5) 30 Fantastic, eg rat movement (5) 31 6 second teams compete (3) 32 Social gathering needed in many sports? (4) 33 Iron, say, left in copper (bighead) (4) 35 Member of Elim Branch (4) 36 Distance of backward books? (4) 39 Second kilometre I travel on the white stuff? (3)

famous bithdays on this day

standard

1964 – Steve Wilkos, American police officer and talk show host 1970 – Martin Johnson, English rugby player and coach 1987 – Bow Wow, American rapper 1993 – Larnell Cole, English footballer

soltimes love quote

28

March 2016

FOOD & ENTERTAINING...

Ingredients

Ingredients

(Serves 4-6)

(Serves 6) 65ml olive oil

1 chicken, cut legs, drumsticks and thighs Salt Freshly ground black pepper 2 tsps paprika 1 large onion, diced 1 large green pepper, diced 1 (410g) can diced tomatoes 1125ml chicken broth 455g Spanish style chorizo, cut into slices on the bias 500g short-grain rice (Valencia or Arborio) Pinch saffron threads 250g green peas Lemon wedges, for service

This weeks recipes from Food Network will help you make the most of your Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks!

Spanish Chicken and Chorizo Paella Heat a paella pan or very large, shallow skillet or pot, preferably with 2 handles over high heat. Cook’s note: A large cast iron skillet would work here.

Pour in the olive oil and let it heat up.

Season the chicken all over with salt, pepper and paprika. Sear in the olive oil until browned all over. Transfer to a plate with tongs.

Lower the heat to medium and saute the onions and bell pepper until softened. Stir in the diced tomatoes,

chicken broth, and chorizo.

Bring the liquid to a boil and then stir in the rice and saffron. Add the browned chicken pieces. The rice should be completely covered with liquid. Cook the paella without stirring for 20 minutes. When the liquid has all been absorbed, pour the peas over the top of the pot, turn off the heat and cover the pot with a kitchen towel.

Let stand 5 minutes and then serve with lemon wedges.

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

250g cashew nuts 100ml vegetable oil 2 onions, chopped, plus 2 onions, finely sliced 12 garlic cloves 2.5cm piece of root ginger, chopped 2 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 4 dried red chillies 6 cloves 8cm cinnamon stick 100g freshly grated coconut Salt 2 green chillies, finely chopped 1kg boneless chicken thighs and legs, cut into 5cm pieces 3 tbsp yogurt

Chicken in a Cashew Nut Sauce

Before you start, put 100g of the cashew nuts into a bowl and add just enough warm water to soak them. Leave for two hours.

Drain and place them in a blender or food processor, adding a little warm water. Blitz to a thick, smooth paste. Set aside.

Place 25g more of the cashew nuts in a small frying pan and stir over a medium heat until toasted. Set aside.

Heat a small amount of the oil in the same pan and cook the sliced onion until crisp.

Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

In a large frying pan, dry-roast the garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dried chillies, cloves and cinnamon over a low heat for five minutes, stirring. Add the coconut, 75g more of the cashew nuts and the chopped onions and roast for 10 minutes more, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Grind the mixture either in a blender or food processor, adding 150–250ml water, to a very smooth consistency.

Heat the remaining oil in a wide cooking pot, add the blended spice mixture and fry for 10 minutes over a low heat. Add the ground cashew paste with some salt and fry for two minutes, adding the green chillies.

Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the chicken pieces. Fry for five minutes, then add the remaining un-toasted cashews. Stir-fry for a minute or so, then add 600ml of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10–15 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through.

Serve with a dollop of yogurt, the reserved toasted cashew nuts and the crispy fried onions.

F O K TAL OWN T E H T

29

www.soltimes.com

F O K L TA N W O THE T Open 7 Days a Week 12noon till 10pm

QUESADA FISH & CHIPS

Menu of the Day 12noon till 5pm

Cod or Haddock Chips, Peas, Bread and Butter

CH 2015 (7 of 7) 73mm high x 111mm wide,

€7,00

Sunday Special Fish, Chips & Peas

€6,00

All Day

Takeaway Also Available Quesada Villamartin Plaza

966 719 136

966 764 441

965 999 973 harry’s bar Open Daily from 9am until late Avd. Costa Azul (at the top) Quesda LUNCHES, SNACKS AND EVENING MEALS AVAILABLE DAILY

Easter Sunday

FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST

Served 10 – 3pm only

3.50€ inc. Tea/Coffee

27th March Fabulous Sunday Lunch

SUNDAY ROAST from 7.95€ QUIZ NIGHT

With Play Your Cards Right Every Monday from 9pm Special dietary requirements catered for.

Please advise when booking.

SPECIAL DEALS for group parties, clubs & societies

Kitchen Open: Mon – Sat 10am – 3pm & 6pm – 9pm. Sun 10am – 7pm

FOLLOW HARRY’S BAR ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES

Plaza de la Constitución, Benijófar 03178. Open Daily from 10am

Experience the Oasis Difference this Easter Easter Sunday Lunch with Roast Lamb or Turkey mains special starters and dessert choices included 2 courses €10,95 or 3 courses €13,95 both of which include include a drink Tapas on the Terrace evenings are back Thursday to Saturday evenings from 24th March For further details, telephone 603 169 090 or email oasisbenijofar@outlook.com / www.oasis-benijofar.es

3€ off final bill. (valid until 31st March 2016.

Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers) Call 656 613 356 for Reservations OPENING HOURS: Tuesday-Sunday:12:30 to 10pm

Urbanisation El Raso, just off the Lemon Tree Road, Guardamar Make Sundays special with our delicious Sunday Lunch menu 3 course menu, 13.50€, including wine Served from 1pm to 9pm. Our A La Carte menu is also available.

Easter Day 27th March You can book now for this special Sunday Tables available from 1pm to 9pm

Come and enjoy warm hospitality and great food.

Relax in our comfortable and smart surroundings. Enjoy live music entertainment with us every Saturday 12th March: GREG FREEMAN 19th March: RANDALL CAIN 3 course Set Menu (15€ pp) plus A La Carte menu available Table Reservations

965 077 444

info@laurelandhardys.com

Opening Hours Tuesday-Saturday from 6pm Sunday from 1pm-9pm Monday - Closed

Calle Los Arcos, 21 Ciudad Quesada w:laurelandhardeys.com f: Laurel & Hardy’s, Quesada Elevator available ● Gift Vouchers available

30

March 2016

Spanish wine 'the most popular on the planet' despite fetching less than a third of the price of French vintages

Spanish wine is the most popular on the planet, according to the latest international export figures, but few of the country’s vineyard owners will raise a glass to that news; on average their vintages fetch less than a third of the price of those sold abroad by France.

Spain exported a record 2.4 billion litres of Rioja, Ribera del Duero and other wines in 2015, significantly bettering second placed France’s two billion litres, according to the Spanish Wine Market Observatory, At the same time, exports brought in €2.6bn (£2bn) in sales. But Spanish wine makers’ glasses are half empty, as their French counterparts raked in €8bn. more than three times as much. Even Italian wine commanded sales worth €5bn last year.

Experts point out that Spanish vino is often sold in bulk. The price per litre fell last year by 2.9 per cent, to €1.10. “The situation is frustrating, but we know what we have to do to catch up,” Rafael del Rey, the head of the Spanish Wine Market

Observatory, told the Independent.

“Italy was in the same situation as Spain 15 years ago, but now Italian producers have doubled their average price. We need to sell less wine in bulk to other producers and more Spanish wine that indicates origin.

The Spanish wine industry will look very different in 10 years’ time.”

The problem facing Spain’s wine makers was clear on the Sainsbury’s website. A bottle of Codorniu Cuvée Barcelona, the supermarket’s most expensive cava, was for sale at a modest £13.00. The priciest bottle of champagne, a Krug Grande Cuvée, would set you back 10 times that at £130.

For the EU as a whole, there was better news as demand from the US and China boosted wine exports. “The European Union remains the most important wine exporter worldwide and, after three years of relative stability, [it] attained its best ever performance in 2015,” JeanMarie Barillère, president of the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins, told

Olive oil prices set to increase as much as 20% as drought and disease strike groves of southern Europe

Record temperatures in Spain last year have hit production, while a bacteria outbreak has infected more than a million trees in Italy Drought and disease among olive groves in southern Europe are expected to push up the price of olive oil on supermarket shelves by as much as 20 per cent in the coming months.

Traders are warning of an imminent spike in the cost of a bottle of olive oil after last autumn’s exceptionally poor harvests, when conditions were especially bad in Spain and Italy, the two biggest producers in the world.

Last year was the hottest ever recorded in Spain and, while the country’s tourism sector experienced a boom, its farmers struggled in drought-like conditions.

More than 300 million olive trees grow in the south of the country and produce more than twice as much extra virgin olive oil as Italy.

But the drought, which led to such a

Spain exported a record 2.4 billion litres of Rioja, Ribera del Duero and other wines

The Drinks Business magazine. Helped by a positive dollar to euro exchange rate, the US paid more than a €1 a litre more for its EU wine in 2015, while exports to China grew by 26 per cent.

Still, Spanish wine remains popular with some. Last month saw the sad passing of Antonio Docampo García, aged 107, from Vigo. Before he died Mr Docampo

García attributed his longevity to drinking four bottles of homemade wine each day, and never touching water.

“He could drink a litre and a half all at once,” his son, Miguel Docampo López, told La Voz de Galicia newspaper.

“When we were both at home we could get through 200 litres of wine a month.” in 2015 - The Independent

Cumberbunnies' will allow you to eat Benedict Cumberbatch this Easter

terrible harvest that reserve supplies have had to be used by bottlers, means that Spanish olive oil may rise in price by 20 per cent this year. “Typically, olives are a cyclical plant – they have a good year, a bad year and a good year,” said Lisa Mullins of Filippo Berio UK, the olive oil company. “While a weak harvest is usually not a cause for concern, 2014-15 was a disaster.”

Meanwhile, in Italy an outbreak of the Xylella fastidiosa bacteria among olive groves has infected more than a million trees. The bacteria leads to what is known as “olive quick decline syndrome”, which ends with the death of the tree.

The outbreak, in Lecce and Apulia, means that the price of Italian olive oil is expected to rise sharply, by as much as 14 per cent in the coming weeks.

Xylella fastidiosa was also identified in southern France last year, threatening French olive supplies.- The Independent

Easter wouldn't be Easter without a strange and unusual egg on the market. Last year we had 'Eat My Face' (which is exactly what you think it is) and this year we've got 'Cumberbunnies'.

That's right, everyone’s favourite detective, actor Benedict Cumberbatch has been immortalised in the form of a chocolate bunny this Easter.

The unique chocolate treat is the brainchild of Jen Lindsey-Clark and her team at New York-based Chocolatician who like to "experiment with chocolate and push the limits of how chocolate can be used as a medium to make art and bespoke gifts".

The Cumberbunnies come in three different flavours, milk, white, and dark chocolate, and are described as "a delicious Belgian chocolate rabbit

with a handsome face and a tasty bottom".

In honour of the recent Oscars, the white chocolate ones also come with an edible 22 carat gold bow-tie and "will spring from his white warren box with a beautiful orange ribbon and Easter bunny tag, sealed in a cellophane bag for freshness".

The bunnies weigh 400g each, cost £50 and have a shelf life of six months.

This isn't the first time Chocolatician have used Cumberbatch as their muse either. Last year they created 'Chocobatch', a life sized chocolate figure of the actor made from nearly 500 bars of Belgian milk chocolate.

The company also plan to release other celebrities bunnies in the new future, so keep your eyes peeled.The Telegraph

www.soltimes.com

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

Archaeological Museum

Every Day, Open from 10:30-14:00 and 17:00-20:00.

Closed Monday mornings. At C/ Conde de Aranda.

Tel: 968 493 287. Entry: Individual €1.20 Groups €0.60

TABLE TENNIS AT PILAR DE LA HORADADA

Sports Centre every Monday at 10am Five tables equipment supplied, coaching given if necessary, all standards welcome. Contact George on 965 326097 or Gordon on 966 848304 or e-mail drewgeorge49@ yahoo.com.

St. Nicholas Ecumenical Church

We hold services each week at 10.30am on Camposol, Mazarron. Everyone is welcome to join us. For further details, call Rev. Maureen Kent 968 970 637

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

- community news welcome events

Welcome Group Events Wednesday March 23rd. - Dance at Mariano’s with two fantastic artists, Sandy Fitzpatrick and Darren Jones always a great night. €8 Sunday April 10th. - Annual Treasure Hunt. Explore the countryside you have not seen, solve clues and win prizes. Lovely buffet at the end. €9 THURSDAY April 21st. - This months dance at Mariano’s features PDQ, a live band with excellent musicians and vocalists. Dance your socks off while enjoying this superb group. €8 Wednesday 15th June. - Ladies Afternoon at The Club House, Camposol - Fashion show, Stalls, Bingo plus a Cold Buffet. Dancing to Terry J. €10 Wednesday June 22nd. The Welcome Summer Ball at La Cumbre Hotel, Puerto de Mazarron. Start the evening with a champagne reception, followed by a 6 course meal including drinks, and then dance the night away with Rob Sweeney. Rooms are available for €50 if you would like to stay the night or book a seat on the coach for €5. This is always a very popular event so book early to avoid disappointment. €30 NEW September 12th. Trip To Barcelona. On the way up stay overnight in Valencia at the 4* Tryp Oceanic, in the morning continue to Barcelona for 3 nights in the very central hotel HCC Montblanc both on B&B. Cost includes return coach travel and a trip to Montserrat. €375 p.p. (€75 deposit when booking) NEW November 3rd. Benalmadena & Gibraltar. Due to popular demand this trip returns for 2016. Staying 3 nights at Hotel Mac Puerto Marina on half board inc. wine & water with dinner. A trip to Gibraltar and an evening Ricky Lavazza show included. €200 p.p.

For more information or to book your tickets, call Rosemary on 620 105 179

SAMARITANS IN SPAIN -

MARKET DAYS IN THE AREA

Ex-Servicemen’s Association

Mazarrón District (Founded 1 May 2006) events 2016 SWednesday 13th April Bocapizza Puerto de Mazarron 7.30pm for 8.00pm Wednesday 11th May Costa Celbracion Rooms Mazarron Town 10th Anniversary Dinner Dance with Grand Raffle and Live Entertainment 7.30pm for 8pm Membership and enquiries, Ian 629818611 or esamd.espana@gmail.com The Mar Menor is a huge (135 square kilometres) salt-water 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

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

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

move most of their house onto the beach.

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

MABS CANCER SUPPORT GROUP MURCIA MAR MENOR EVENTS LIST

Friday 11th March Spring Market, 11.00am – 3.00pm La Zona, Los Alcazares, Lots of stalls offering great value fashion, shoes, bags, crafts, cards, home ware, accessories, skin care & make up, home bakes plus many more. Plus a hand picked selection of high quality, previously loved fashion, shoes & accessories. If you would like a stall please email mabsdonnawalsh@gmail.com Like our facebook page to be kept up to date Talks & Workshops MABS Murcia North East - Sew’n’So’s - Sewing with all of our fundraising events.

Group Every Mon Fortuna. Taking place every other www.facebook.com/mabsmurciamarmenor Monday at Urb. Las Kalendas from 14:00. For further Volunteers Meetings are held on the first Wednesday information email: mabsmurciane@gmail.com of every month at Roda’s Bar, Roda 11.00 for 11.15.

If you are interested in helping MABS and would like to know more, come along to the meeting or phone our Volunteer Co-ordinator, Sylvia on 634 353 575.

Share & Care Group is held on the 3rd Friday of In 2016 we aim to expand our teams of listeners the month at Vintage Restaurant, San Javier around Spain. between 11.00am and 1.00pm . This is an informal If you are resident in the Mazarrón área and would get together for anyone affected by cancer. Newly like to hear how you can join us as a Listener or spare diagnosed, cancer survivor, family or friends and a few hours a week to help with fundraising / other indeed anybody affected by cancer or bereaved is events held in the area please contact our General welcome to come for a coffee and a chat and to meet Manager stephenrbaker@outlook.com to register others in a similar situation. For more information interest in attending an initial group meeting locally. please call Anne 693 795 247 or the centre 868 171 www.samaritansinspain.com 035.

Book Stall at The Arches Bar, Los Narejos, Los Also on Facebook and Twitter. (Volunteer positions Alcazares EVERY Saturday between 10.00am – are unpaid but certain expenses can be claimed) 1.00pm. Book donations always welcome.

Charity Shop: Avenida de la Union, San Javier is open Monday – Friday 10.00am – 2.00pm Monday - San Pedro del Pinatar Good quality second hand clothing, furniture and bric-a-brac. Donations gratefully received. Ring 968 Tuesday - Los Alcazares / Alhama de Murcia 191 300 during shop hours.

Wednesday - Santiago de la Ribeira / Fuente Information Centre: Urb Foque, Avenida Mar Menor, Alamo / Totana San Javier is open Tuesday & Friday 10.00am – Thursday - San Javier / Camposol Sector A / 2.00pm. Drop in for information or help for anything related to cancer. A volunteer is always available to Lorca make you a coffee and take the time to talk. Ring Friday - Isla Plana (Summer only) 868 171 035.

Saturday - Mazarron Pueblo / Aguilas Cancer does not discriminate and neither do MABS, we help anyone of any nationality Sunday - Puerto de Mazarron / Mar Menor / affected by cancer. HELPLINE 693 275 779 Cabo de Palos anytime.

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.

31

sales@soltimes

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

new properties s.l.

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Centro Comercial #34, Sector A, Urb. Camposol, Mazarron 30875, Spain

SolTimes

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

32

March 2016

animal corner

To advertise here call : 950 121 936

Betty

Mountain View

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Betty is very striking tortie , about 6 months old.

She was abandoned with her sisters in Catral.

She loves other cats and is very affectionate towards people.

Like all girls she loves attention and enjoys being spoilt.

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

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Answerphone - we will call back: Mobile 654 155 473

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APAH

When Harry was rescued as a puppy he looked like his brothers and sister, but now they’re grown up, they look like Great Danes and Harry is the odd one out.

He loves being with people and is full of energy, so he needs space and someone able to exercise him. To meet Harry and the rest of his family

If you can offer Betty a home please call

610832726 or 600845420.

Chip

This is what it is all about. Just after Christmas K9 rescued this elderly lady after she was abandoned. Her name is Chip and she was very traumatised, in fact she was terrified of everyone.

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please call 630 422 563 or 616 210 850.

SOL CLASSIFIEDS AIRPORT PARKING

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C A M PIN G GAZ EXPERT BBQ with cover & full bottle of gas 70€Tel: 966 722 299 Mob: 620 135 988, Buyer collects Torrevieja area Brand new white slate shower tray 80 x 70 95€, Wrought iron DB headboard in cream 35€ Headboard - DB size in white with black inset 35€, Pair of bedside cabinets in white 25€ Tel: 966 713 707 Quesada area.

F RI D G E FREEZER w WHIRLPOOL size 170 –60 –60 white no frost fast freeze

option can be seen working ex condition 75€, MICROWAVE white range of settings including defrost good condition working order 25€ Tel: 966 716 646 Quesada.

Decathlon D o n n y ’ s exercise cycle with manual 40€, Gents Raleigh mountain bike Manta ray 21 gears 50€, Ladies Raleigh cycle Aluminium frame 18 gears 50€, Auto massager, stand on with belt 2 speed old but works 12€, Aerobics step on short legs with height

adjustment underneath 12€, Delta ABTech workout with manual 12 euros, White b at h r oom cu p boa r d , top is slightly marked, W 23 1/2”/60cms D 12”/30.5cms H 3 21/ 2 ”/ 8 2c m s 12€, Lovely gl a ss dropped chandelier 5 glass shades bayonet fitting with bulbs.

15€, Arched B at h r oom mirror with etching, glass shelf and 2 lights H 29”/75cms W 23 1/2”/60cms 15€ Tel: 968 131 879 Camposol Area

4€ 1 DAY

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alternative power

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Pets In Spain

Benji’s has been in a foster home with us for quite a while, his owner sadly passed away and his owners wife was taken into a care home, Benji is around 5 years old and great with other dogs

and cats, he is one of the most gentle dogs we have had and will make a wonderful companion.

Call: 645 469 253 www.petsinspain.com info@petsinspain.info

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

electrician

B BETTER B BUILDING COMPANY C

Electrician available for all works Small or large.

Call Dave 693 251 562 davendonc@aol.com

Extensions - Terraces Tiling - Patios - Roofing Brickwork - Plastering Balustrades - Gates - Grills ALL WORK FULLY GUARANTEED

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email: betterbuilding@hotmail.com

insurance

asssa medical

business opportunity

insurances

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968 153 396

If you would like to start earning extra money now! Then the internet is definitely the place to do this. You can earn money whilst relaxing by the pool or even earn whilst you’re sleeping. This is the reality for people that are making money online.

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Asssa Mazarron, Diane Nolan

mazarron@asssa.es 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

33

www.soltimes.com

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

www.soltimes.com legal

pools

removals

LWB Sprinter van going from south to North of the UK & back

SERVICES WE OFFER ● INHERITANCE ● fiscal representation ●TITLE DEEDS ● CONVEYANCING •SPANISH WILLS CALL 609 656 056 - 965 352 552

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Pets- Transport

Pet transportaion service UK|Spain|UK

TRANS-PET 600 55 20 30 r Doo 965 96 06 58 2 00 44 7801 272 162 or Do

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DEADLINES All adverts Friday at 5pm prior to publication

All Swimming Pool Reforms, Re-grouts and ReTiling, Pumps Repaired and Replaced, New Roman Steps, New Sand Filters and Sand Changes, New or Repairs to Skimmers, Jets, Hoovers, Bottom Drain, etc... Structural Repairs, Leak Detection Tests.

Fully Legal in Spain 24h rs a e servicre 10 Y Over erience E xp Covering all areas from Miraira to Mazarron

every 2 weeks, based near Murcia

Rainbow

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Satellites

7519 186 355. or email:

for all your TV

van.man@hotmail.co.uk

needs with clients all over the Murcia Region. Contact

Call 634 186 710 or 638 175 699

want to know whats in the news? go online

www.soltimes.com

sat/tv services Cont...

surveyors

structural

surveys

Mark Paddon BSc Hons. MCIOB. CAAT.

Property buyer’s surveys and expert defects diagnosis

962 807 247 653 733 066

www.surveyorscostablanca.com

upholstery KENT UPHOLSTERY

Matt or Alan on

UK-SPAIN-UK fortnightly service SPAIN: 914 143 164 UK: 01773 513 013 www.britonsremovals.com britonsremovals@ic24.net

686 358 475 or rainbowsats@ gmail.com

sat/tv services

spas

SAT MART

euro spas

FOR ALL YOUR TV NEEDS FULLY LEGAL & PROFESSIONAL QUOTATIONS SPARES & REPAIRS 1.4M HIGH GAIN DISH FULLY INSTALLED HD OFFER OR STANDARD BOX NO MONTHLY PAYMENTS OVER 250 TV & 60 RADIO

299€

FULL SKY TV PACKAGE 150€ PER YEAR HOLIDAY PACKAGE UNLIMITED INTERNET 19€/MONTH. FREE TO TURN ON/OFF SO YOU ONLY PAY FOR THE MONTHS YOU USE PLEASE CALL JOHN / MIKE 693 969 872 MOBILE 965 319 830 LANDLINE WWW.SATELLITETVTORREVIEJA.COM SATMARTINSTALLATIONS@GMAIL.COM

vehicle hire

Spas at factory prices.

Used & Ex display models.

Spares & repairs.

Part exchange Telephone 650 722 905

For all your upholstery needs Homes Sofas/Garden furniture etc Cars Seat repairs inc. soft top Boats Interior/exterior

Foam cut + supplied

Contact Ken: 634 334 776 email: kentuphol@yahoo.com near Lumsden Auctions Formentera www.zenithupholstery.org

wigs

WIG BOUTIQUE Choose from the best human or synthetic hair.

Private fitting room.

Ladies & Gents Professional Service

Head to Toe

Hair, beauty, nails, massage La Zenia 966 773 216

34

March 2016

motoring section situations vacant

Real Estate Agency Business Opportunity We are looking for partners to create an International Real Estate Agency in Orihuela Costa area, Spanish call tel 686-943-011, 649-201-550 English, French, Italian, German Buscamos, socios para crear Agencia Inmobiliaria Internacional en zona Orihuela Costa. Llamar por Tel: 686 943 011 Espanol, Tel: 649 201 550 Ingles, Frances, Italiano, Aleman Vi søker partnere for å skape internasjonal eiendomsmegling i Orihuela Costa området. spansk samtale tel 686-943-011, 649-201-550 Engelsk, Fransk, Italiensk, Tysk

for sale and Wanted

Do you have vehicle, boat or motor bike for sale?

To advertise your vehicle in the motoring section & reach over 32,000 readers

Phone Jane

950 121 936

Hyundai i10 2012 5 door hatch 1.0 Classic (68 bhp) 34,000 kms 1 owner Manufacturers warranty!

Full service history A/C, PAS, ABS Electric windows, CD Remote locking Rear head restraints Metallic grey

Ford Focus 2012 - 5 door hatch 1.6 Trend 78,000 kms 1 owner Full service history A/C (Climate), PAS Front fog lights, ABS E. windows/mirrors CD player Remote locking Rear head restraints Also available in silver!

Metallic blue also Available in silver.

Skoda Fabia Dec ‘05 - 5 foor hatch 1.4 TDi 57,000 kms 2 owners Full service history A/C ABS, CD player Remote locking E.windows/mirrors Multi Airbags, PAS Rear head restraints Metallic silver

KiaCarnivalEX 2002 - SEVEN SEATER 2.9 EX CRDi 16v 177,000 kms, 3 owners Fully serviced A/C (Front/Rear), Alloys Front fog lights, PAS E. windows/mirrors Roof rails/bars, CD Centre arm rests, ABS Twin sliding side doors Metallic blue

VW Polo 2006 - 5 door hatch 1.2 (64 bhp) 119,000 kms 2 owners Fully serviced A/C, PAS, ABS E. windows/mirrors CD player Remote locking Rear head restraints Isofix, Nokia Bluetooth Metallic silver

Mercedes SLK 200 Kompressor Cab Aug ‘06 - Cabriolet 1.8 Kompressor 82,000 kms, 2 owners Full service history A/C (Climate), Xenon 17” Alloys, Cruise Head lamp wash Auto fold mirrors Rain/Light sensors Reverse camera Navigation, Bluetooth Metallic silver

€6,450

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€5,250

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600 726 221 965 687 976

Looking for a car ?

We have a good selection of LHD & RHD vehicles for sale or exchange Quality cars purchased all paperwork legally undertaken

www.fwreurocars.com

600 726 221 965 687 976

600 726 221 965 687 976

Best prices paid Spanish English Anythingconsidered

www.fwreurocars.com

tel: Tim on 662 211 993

vehicle registration

mechanic

ecu remapping

“RE-PLATE” MATE

Mobile Auto Electrician ENGINE MANAGEMENT DIAGNOSTICS

E

Don’t take a chance!

Don’t break the Law! Let us take the hassle away from you and re-register your vehicle on to Spanish plates 490€ plus Road Tax plus CO2 emission if applicable WE PROMISE TO BEAT ANY GENUINE QUOTATION For a full service contact:

Alan 662 249 159

www.replatematecostablanca.com

Email:info@replatematecostablanca.com

For re-registration of cars, motorbikes and motor homes contact Graham Shelton Who after re-registering over 1800 vehicles will put you on the right side of the road.

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

fault Finding & Repairs Engine Diagnostics Aig Bag, ECU, Instrument Cluster, Diagnostic & Repair Air-Conditioning Re-Gas & Repairs

Telephone Al - Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm FULLY MOBILE

638 323 499

ACB Diagnostics andybulletvan@gmail.com

658 109 849 Service parts included from 80€ All brakes with labour from 170€ RHD to LHD light conversions from 100€ Accident repairs free collection or repairs at yours www.acbautorecambioscostablanca.com

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wanted cars for cash CASH CASH

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Do you have a vehicle, boat or motor bike for sale?

Phone Jane 950 121 936

To advertise your vehicle in the motoring section & reach over 32,000 readers

The UK’s biggest ever car auction saw 74 of Mercedes-Benz’s most important models from the past century - and to fetch £20million.

The ‘Ultimate Mercedes-Benz Collection’ included limousines, sports cars, convertibles and even an ambulance.

The enormous fleet had been put together by an ‘anonymous European collector’.

Rolling in it: The most valuable out of the 74 cars are the two Mercedes 540K Cabrio A from 1938, expected to fetch up to £2.5million each

are you a mechanic? do you have a motoring business?

Phone Jane 950 121 936

To advertise here in the motoring section & reach over 32,000 readers This size advert for less than 4€ a week

Book Review

The Catalyst by Joy Lennick

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

“The briefest hiatus and a deathly silence prefaced the sounds of human suffering.”

This novel touches on the three train and bus bombings in London on 7th July 2005, inventing a romantic and fictitious scenario for the two main protagonists who are caught up in the Aldgate terror attack. It was written in memory of those killed and injured whilst developing a personal narrative of two people who share something in common-suffering. Both were injured physically and mentally but they did survive.

They were the fortunate ones. From then on we have a simple boy meets girl tale and a romantic liaison ensues.

For those of you who want something a bit more intense, I’d recommend Julie Nicholson’s memoirs about her daughter Jenny who was blown up during this terrorist attack. Lennick’s might show some suffering and give us some facts about the incident but it lacks the intensity one would hope to find. Nevertheless it is readable and leaves you feeling good.

Ian Grosvenor, the male protagonist is a composite of Ian Govern, co-founder of Word Play and responsible for promoting local writers living in Spain. The plot unfolds slowly. Ian is travelling on a Circle Line heading for Aldgate station for a job interview.

He had been working as a journalist on Fleet Street so felt confident he had the right skills and experience for this job. Sadly, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when the terrorist struck. Ironically, an anti-terror drill was due to be carried out at 9.30.a.m. that same morning.

Ian was conscious of the metal wheels grinding against metal rails, creaking timbers and ghostly echoes as the train travelled through ancient tunnels. Here we have a nice build up. The calm before the storm. It was the suddenness of being catapulted through the air and landing against something hard and sharp that alerted Ian to something going seriously wrong. Worryingly, he had witnessed a yellowish flash and his immediate thoughts turned to a power surge or an act of terrorism.

The train carriage was shattered and soon filled with choking dust, smoke and intense heat causing a stifling fug. The experience disoriented him and he was conscious of injuries to his neck, his right leg and his head but he was lucky. He was alive. He had survived. Others hadn’t. This happened around 8.50.a.m. forty minutes before the anti-terror drill was due to start.

The attack was referred to as “an act of indiscriminate terror.” The windows shattered. There was a gaping hole in the carriage floor.

“A few yards away was a female body, lying quite still- her clothes ripped to rags.

No pulse.”

Serena Mason was the female protagonist, an artist and single parent. When Ian found her she was partly wedged under a battered train seat, her body limp and her features completely bloodied and blackened. “We’re going to get you out of this hell-hole” he insisted, showing his determination and his heroics as he struggled to carry her to safety before collapsing and suffering amnesia then falling into a semicoma. It’s a dramatic start as you’d expect but it does lose momentum very soon unfortunately.

We see Ian’s recovery with the support of his sister Sally and Mark, her husband who happens to be one of Ian’s best friends. Lennick chronicles the previous year’s tragedies-the death of Ian’s mother, Helen, from breast cancer and the end of his disastrous marriage to Karen who heartlessly left him in the same week as Helen’s funeral. This had plunged Ian into “places so dark and other worldly” causing horrific

Special Offers Visit:

35

950 121 936 - sales@soltimes.com

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nightmares. His depression was so severe that the writer compares it to “life in a combat zone where fear daily stalks soldiers.”

During the course of the novel which is in three parts, Ian has constant flashbacks to the 2005 incident and the woman whose life he most probably saved. She frequently appeared in his nightmares.

His demons had returned. Incidentally, we are told time and time again of Ian’s penchant for auburnhaired girls with their pale limbs.

The writer introduces us to Frank, Ian’s father who unconvincingly is trying to battle his own demons, his own skeleton in the cupboard. “The seeds of doubt can lead to undesirable erroneous conclusions.” A sub-plot indicates that something happened over 35 years ago and involved a night of passion between his wife, Helen and a friend from their university days, Harvey Robyns. A dark family secret. The novel takes us back to 1970 when Harvey and Helen had a short fling. Shortly after his confession of loving Helen, dating back to their student days, he returned to the U.S.A. where he was involved in a car crash and sustained life-threatening injuries.

Out of guilt, Helen decided to come clean to Frank who was shocked by this “treacherous betrayal.” Sally arrived at an importune time casting doubt in Frank’s mind over her parentage. But this distracts from the main plot.

Part 2 introduces a recovering Serena written in first person making it more direct. She has been advised to write a diary of her thoughts and feelings as she recovers. In time it becomes third person, less personal. Agrophobia seems to be one of her demons. Her husband left her two years ago and she was left bringing up a difficult adolescent 15 year old on her own.

The soft tissue on her face had been quite badly damaged and she had difficulty in breathing and swallowing. She’d had two skin grafts and was due to have a third one shortly. When her confidence starts to return she finds work with Alex Willingale who has a small, successful publishing company.

Time passes on with little plot development, vigils and memorial services mark the first and second anniversary of the bombings. We are informed that the bombers were known to the authorities, the police and MI5. Khan had been monitored and tape-recorded during 2004 by MI5. Shazad Tanweer had been responsible for the explosion to the Circle Line train. There was no inquiry into the bombings which shocked Ian. In 2004 a BBC Panorama programme had depicted a fictional bomb on three trains in London: “Surely not too much of a coincidence not to be taken seriously?”

Will Ian get a chance to meet the girl he saved? You’ll be delighted to know there is a happy ending when a romantic email is sent but who is the lucky recipient?

“Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love.”

Publisher: Word Play Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1502851864.

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36

March 2016

sports SHORTS from Tony Matthews

• Leicester City, 1-0 winners at Watford, are five points clear of Tottenham in the race for the Premiership title.

• Spurs drew 2-2 with Arsenal (3rd); Manchester City (4th) walloped Aston Villa 4-0; West Ham, two down, came back to defeat ten-man Everton 3-2; Liverpool, also reduced to ten, beat Crystal Palace 2-1 and WBA edged Manchester United’s ten 1-0.

• At the foot of the table, Bournemouth won at Newcastle and Swansea beat Norwich, while Sunderland drew at Southampton.

• At the top of the Championship, five points cover four teams Middlesbrough, Burnley, Hull and Brighton - but bottom club Bolton are 10 points from safety.

• Burton Albion lead FL1; Northampton are 13 points clear of Oxford at the top of FL2 and Celtic still head the SPL. • In La Liga, Barcelona, 36 games without defeat, thumped Eibar 4-0 and Cristiano Ronaldo netted a fourtimer in Real Madrid’s 7-1 win over Celta Vigo.

• Bayern Munich lead the Bundesliga by five points and Juventus are just clear of Napoli in Serie ‘A’.

• This season’s Italian Cup final will feature AC Milan against Juventus.

• In the Champions League on Tuesday, Real Madrid (2-0 up) met Roma while tonight, Chelsea, trailing 2-1, play PSG at the ‘Bridge.’ And tomorrow Spurs visit Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool tackle Manchester United in the Europa League.

• There are three FA Cup quarterfinals coming up: Reading v Crystal Palace (Friday), Everton v Chelsea (Saturday) and Manchester United v West Ham (Sunday). The winners of last night’s Arsenal/Hull 5th round replay will meet Watford on a date yet to be arranged.

• Also on Sunday, Hibs play Ross County in the Scottish League Cup final.

Club de Golf El Paraiso (Rojales) LV 39 @ Alicante Golf 4/3/16

Only one no show left us with the odd number of 23, but as the buggy is included in with the Green fee this didn’t create any problems. Our club is made up of Brits, Norwegians, Swedes, Germans, Dutch, Finns, Polish, Swiss and we even have a lady from Iceland, we are a truly international group. It was a late morning start so everyone had plenty of time to make the journey across the city and to find the course.

Now that the courses are getting busier the small parking facility at Alicante Golf fills up quickly and it can be difficult to find adequate parking within easy reach of the club house.

The course was in good condition and as always the greens proved to be on the tricky side. The weather was certainly better than on our last trip two weeks ago, were we visited the south course at La Manga. On that day no one was fortunate enough to make a “2” so €19 was carried over to today’s competition so that we were playing for a pot worth €60. You may know that Alicante golf has 6 par 3’s so it would be safe to assume that the pot would be won, in fact it wasn’t until our first group reached the 17th (par3) that Joe Dean managed to stop the ball just 3 feet from the hole and luckily made the putt. As the groups came in it was looking more and more likely that Joe was going to

take the €60, but you should never take things for granted in this game as the penultimate group came in to cheers from the Dutch members because Martin Klok had also made a “2” on the same hole, the difference being that he chipped in from 25m away, well done Martin as we know it’s not how but how many! In the N.T.P.’s Competition, John Eyre was closest on Holes 3 and 6 on Hole 12 it Polish lady Isabel Daroszewski and hole 17 went to Joe Dean. Results for the Stableford Competition were; 4th place Ship’s Captain Ole Rong, 34 pts.

On higher handicap, 3rd place Vernon Brown 34 pts. 2nd place Sverre Sonesen 35 pts. Higher handicap and the winner was Gerd Cromm also with 35 pts. Photo: Competition winners.Our next competition is at Roda Golf on the 18th March, so if you fancy joining in with this multinational club call the Secretary on 661 524 101 or visit our website www.clubdegolfelparaiso.com Social media; Facebook/clubdegolfelparaiso @elparaiso14 is our twitter account; forthcoming dates and venues; 1/4/16 Hacienda Del Alamo and 18/4/16 (Monday) El Bosque ( European Seniors Tour venue) we do obtain excellent discounts on green fees at all of our venues.

The Celts Club de Golf On a cool and very windy Saturday we celebrated our Open Day for February at La Serena our home course. Again what can we say about the course, the greens were exceptionally fast and with the wind they made for some interesting putting stats. Thanks to Wayne and all his crew. To John and Paul, a big thank you for your organisation and assistance it makes the day run like clock-work. The competitions committee under the guidance of Camillus and ably assisted

by Philip, Andy and Alisdair have really risen to the challenge as again we had over 70 players 75 in fact.

As we now have such increased numbers playing every weekend we now offer three weekly prizes of fine Galway Crystal, the first prize is a 12 inch fruit bowl, second a beautiful condiment set and the third a pair of champagne flutes. Not bad for the 3euro entry fee. Our captain Bev Ellender was at hand to present our monthly prizes and the lucky weekly winners were as follows, first David Graham with 39 points, second Jane Jenkins 39 and third Andrew Currie 38 points. Week two, winner Alisdair McLean 37 points, second Frank Considine with 35 and third Denis McCormack 34 points. The monthly medal winners were, Cat II, Kevin McBride with a 72 and Category I, David Morris with a superb 68.

Down to the results on the day; In the visitors’ section we had two prize winners, Peter Whitaker 27 points and Oliver Teehan on 37 points NTP's. Alisdair McLean, Ian Williams, James Kiernan, Pat Coyne, Camillus Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Drugan.

Category III, winner Wayne Leivars 35, second Nigel Brandish 33 and third Sheila Coyne 33. Category II,winner

Mike Banfield 36, second Garry Hall 36 and third Ian Sadler 34. Category I, winner Dave Morris 37, seond Mark McCluskey 37 and third Andrew Thomas 36. Second over-all went to our Dutch member Wim Scmitz with 38 points and the winner on the day was the Welsh wizard Ian Williams on 40 points The International League is all but ready to begin for the new season.

As I said in previous reports there is hug demand to compete in the event. There are already 15 teams committed to play this season and if you are interested in entering a team (8 players) will you please contact me?

We have a team who are looking for a couple of players to join them, if you are interested can you contact me and I will give you the details?

The federation have provided a subsidy for all players taking part in the tournament with all green fees costing 25 euro per course. Among the courses we will play this year are, Las Ramblas, Alicante, Alenda, El Plantio, Bonalba, Villaitana, El Bosque, Lo Romer, La Marquesa and Los Colinas. We would like to thank the federation in Valencia for this generous sponsorship. Are you aware to maintain your handicap here in Spain you must play in 4 federated games per year? We always welcome new members and guests and if you would like to play in one of our Open Days or join or club why not give me a call? For further details on membership call 615466398 or e-mail johnobrienalicante@gmail.com.

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motoring

news and reviews

Foreign Driver Fined for Failing to Exchange Licence

It was over a year ago that foreign resident drivers were first warned of the need to change their driving licences if they did not fall into the required criteria as set out in the countless publications detailing this.

The European Union is responsible for creating a harmonised licence model with the new rules coming into force last year. However, on account of the number of foreign drivers living in Spain, the DGT issued an amnesty in March, allowing those drivers who would be liable to a fine until the 1st of January 2016 to sort out their documentation.

There were two such instances which required action. Firstly, if your licence has an indefinite expiry date, or more than 15 years validity and you were legally resident in Spain before January 19, 2013, you should have already renewed your driving licence. If not, you must do so immediately.

If you only became resident after January 19, 2013, you had 2 years from your date of residency to renew, that date has also expired.

Secondly, if your license has expired or is due to expire, you must renew it in your country of residence, in other words, if you are a resident in Spain, your current license, once it expires, must be renewed in Spain.

Despite these explanatory cases, there was still a lot of erroneous advice being spread through some outlets, including incorrect reports that you do not have to change your licence as we are all in Europe, suggestions that the whole process was illegal and even some people adamant that the Guardia Civil would not fine drivers. All of these suggestions were wrong.

This week, in the Torrevieja area, one such foreign driver has been issued with a fine as the licence, which fell into the first category of having an open expiry date, had not been changed. This licence is no longer valid and the amnesty expired in January.

You can see the details of the fine issued in the Remember, if your licence has an indefinite expiry date, or more

than 15 years validity, your licence must be changed. If, or when, any licence expires, it must be renewed in your country of residence.

New Seat Ateca crossover in pictures: Spanish rival for Qashqai SUV

It may seem like a daunting process, but we can help. N332. es work with other professionals who work in the field of driving, licencing and road safety.

Through our partnerships with other businesses we are able to offer an increasing range of services.

We can arrange for one of our partners to assist you in the process of exchanging your UK driving licence for a Spanish one. Remember, your driving licence must be issued in the country where you reside, so if you are a resident in Spain, you must exchange your licence.

You don´t have a choice, it is not something that can be ignored as you will be fined if you are caught.

In fact though, having a Spanish issued licence also makes life on the road much easier, as your Spanish licence is linked to your NIE, and so in the event of you being stopped by the police your details can be checked and confirmed instantly.

Plus, in the event of you being fined for a traffic offence, you do not have to pay on the spot if you have a Spanish licence, and can benefit from a reduced fine for prompt payment. http://n332.es/

It's been a long time coming, but Volkswagen's Spanish outpost has finally jumped aboard the fast-moving crossover bandwagon: meet the new Seat Ateca, named after a Spanish town and due in UK showrooms in September 2016, priced from £17,990.

That's half a year after its formal debut at the Geneva motor show in March, but they're in no mood to rush this launch. It's a major plank in Barcelona's expansion plans, as it seeks to cast off the shadow cast by supersuccessful sister brand Skoda: the Ateca is Seat's first fully fledged SUV (barring curios such as the Altea 4Track we last drove in 2007). It’s aimed squarely at the likes of the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and the market-leading Nissan Qashqai. Despite being shorter than Nissan’s pioneering family crossover, the Seat has a considerably bigger boot at 510 litres, the company claims.

Ateca: the key to unlock future Seat growth No surprises for guessing why this car is so important. Chairman Luca de Meo predicts the crossover segment will grow by a further 25% in western Europe: this additional model stretches the brand into more familyfriendly niches - perfect for those trading

up from a Leon hatchback. And the car will be followed by a smaller SUV, based on the forthcoming VW Polo-based Juke rival being cooked up in secret test labs of Wolfsburg, as well as a larger off-roader. Click here to find out why Seat is developing not one, but three crossovers.

Based on a platform related to that underpinning the new VW Tiguan, the Ateca harnesses the power of the Volkswagen mothership’s MQB architecture, here dubbed MQB-A1. That means that most models will be front-wheel drive, but the 4Drive badge on the car pictured in our photo gallery signifies that a Haldex part-time 4wd system is available on higher-spec diesels.

It’s clearly not going to challenge a Land Rover Discovery Sport for off-roading class honours, but the torque-shuffling, all-wheeldrive ability means it can scramble out of a gymkhana mudbath and up a snowy drive with minimum drama, vows Seat R&D chief Matthias Rabe.

He also told CAR that the Ateca could easily adopt a hybrid powertrain in future, although there are no current plans to launch this technology. http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/

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38

T.M.G.S. @ Campoamor 2/3/16

This course was on our regular visit list this time last, but during the summer, the heat burnt off a few of the greens and some restoration work was required, well I am pleased to say that it is now returning to its former condition, so much so that we had to close the start list when it reached 48 players because the course was full and couldn’t handle any more players.

So our apologies go to those members who didn’t get a game but don’t worry we have booked this venue for the first Wednesday in every month for the next 12 months.

Although it wasn’t in the forecast for today we were again greeted with a strong wind, this obviously help the competitors make par on the easy par 5 first, but made holes 8 & 9 so difficult that bogey was a good score.

Cross the road to the back 9 and as the wind dropped the temperature rose up into the mid 20’s which really help most players’ scores.

Campoamor has an unusual back 9, 3 par 3’s and 3 par 5’s, the par 3’s were thought to be significant today as there are 5 in total and that meant that there would be a least 5 chances to secure the “2’s” pot which had been rolled over twice already, so there was a very healthy €135 to be shared out between those lucky enough to make a “2”. Yes you’ve guessed it; no one managed a “2” so next week at La Finca this pot is likely to grow to the sum of approx. €170 let’s hope that there will be more than one “2” and that it gets

shared out. In the N.T.P. Competition however all 5 N.T.P.’s were won and the 5 lucky recipients of a very nice bottle of rioja sponsored by Alex and Karin Alm were; hole 4 Sverre Sonesen, hole 6 John Trehy, hole 10 Ove Cederberg, hole 15 John Hillier and hole 17 Mike O’Regan.

The visitor’s category was won with 36 points by L. Hutter. Bronze category winners were; 3rd place Alex Goslan 33 pts. 2nd Rose Cox 34 pts. Winner John Hillier 37 pts. Silver category results; 3rd place Lars Jernberg 32 pts. 2nd Viking Roger Nilsen 33 pts winner Treveor (whining) Wheeler 39pts. Gold category results; 3rd Henning Kyvag 33 pts. 2nd B. Watson 33 pts. L/H, winner Captain John Eyre 36 pts. Photo, N.T.P. winners.

Forthcoming events, 9/2/16 La Finca Club Championship (Medal) 16/3/16 Alenda final round Annual Medal Trophy and also the battle between the Viking membership and the rest of us.

If you’re looking to participate in a competitive but friendly atmosphere, take a look at our website www.tmgs. org follow us at Facebook/TMGS or via our twitter feed @THGSGOLF still need convincing then call the secretary on 661 524 101

Los Reyes Golf Society

March 2016

Over the past few years a local golf society has raised thousands of Euros for charity, all of which has gone to children’s charities in the local area. At a recent meeting the membership of the society decided to return to its prime objective of providing social golf for the members.

This will leave a number of children’s organisations in the area, who are still in desperate need of charitable donations, with serious holes in their income. Fear Not!!

Welcome to the “Los Reyes Golf Society” Los Reyes is Spanish for The Kings and KINGS is an acronym for Kids In Need Golf Society. This is an area within charitable fund raising which we will continue to support. In addition this society will provide affordable golfing competitions for all its members of all abilities.

The aims of our society are to provide members with enjoyable golfing events, held in the spirit of fellowship but with a competitive edge. We will be a totally non-profit making society. Any monies raised will be donated directly on behalf of the members of Los Reyes to local children charities within the Mazarron community.

Our main fundraising event will be an open competition for teams of four on Monday 10th October 2016 at the Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort, followed by an excellent BBQ at The Spaniard Inn. For further details regarding membership and future events please contact: Dave Perry at 603 118 174 or perry.dave@hotmail.com Barry Martin at 642 583 864 or barrymartin.spain@gmail.com Terry Adams at 634 176 561 or d11toddy@yahoo.co.uk

ROCKET’S GOLF SOCIETY @ EL PLANTIO GOLF

23rd FEB 2016 INAUGURAL TROPHY It was back to El Plantio on a bright February morning but the sun got up to strength and made it a very enjoyable day on a course that is always a pleasure to play unless it’s a Medal, which it was today, you should have seen some of the members faces, could have brought on the rain.

It was a very good turnout it soon became shorts and shirt sleeve order although ideal day for golf, the scores did not reflect it. But let’s face it it’s a Medal and February RESULTS - INAUGURAL TROPHY WINNER: Rocket Ron Nicholson GOLD CATEGORY -1ST Seamus Martin Nett 78 2nd Hugh Riley Nett

BRADLEY BREAKERS

82 3rd Ron Swift Nett 88.

BRONZE CATEGORY - 1ST Ron Nicholson Nett 77 2nd Norman Kemp Nett 80 3rd Geoff Wild Nett 81 Only 1 Nearest the Pin Hole 14: Norman Kemp Longest Drive: Mal Anderson

965 723 270 607 848 332

There were 9 no returns.

So it was back to St James’s Gate for Chicken Curry and Chips, thanks to Martin, and Mandy for their hospitality.

Next game Vistabella 8th March First Tee 09.00am please be at the course for 08.15am and it will be, wait for it, wait for it Stableford format. YESSSS For more information or if you wish to play with arguably the friendliest Golf Society contact Ron Nicholson on 678849142 or email sanmigron@gmail.com

39

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SOLTIMES march 2016

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MAZARRON FC 2 CARTAGENA FC 1

After the abject performance away to lowly Alquerias last week, Mazarron bounced back with an excellent victory over play-off rivals Cartagena FC in a hard fought game at the Estadio Municipal.

Coach Victor sprang a surprise before the kick off leaving leading goal scorer Jose and the skilful Willy on the substitutes bench. However, those supporters who questioned this decision were eating their words as Mazarron took a two goal lead in the first sixteen minutes.

Makeshift striker Gilberto made an early run down the left and his fierce shot was turned away for a corner by the Cartagena keeper, Then Juan Fran was denied an opening goal for Mazarron when his shot was saved at point blank range and his follow up header sailed just over the bar. However, the home team took the lead after five minutes with an audacious effort from Palote who spotted the keeper off his line and his shot from fully 30 yards out sailed over his head into the roof of the net.

Mazarron went 2-0 ahead after 16 minutes when Champi’s free kick on the right saw Alfonso being bundled to the ground in the penalty area.

Captain Juan Andreo calmly stroked the spot kick into the corner of the net for his eighth goal of the season, not a bad return for a central defender.

Cartagena were still looking dangerous on the break and Mazarron goalkeeper Antonio had

to be on his toes with a number of good saves including one full length dive to catch a fierce drive from 25 yards. Then, a right wing cross was missed by Antonio but Juanma somehow managed to scoop the ball over his own bar for a corner.

The second half started quietly but Cartagena came more into the game and managed to put some serious pressure on the Mazarron defence. They pulled a goal back after 63 minutes when a scramble

on the edge of the Mazarron penalty saw a Cartagena player fall to the ground and, despite furious protests from the home players, the referee awarded a penalty which was duly despatched by Andres.

It was all Cartagena at this stage and Mazarron had to defend resolutely to preserve their narrow lead. Champi relieved the pressure with a free kick which was tipped over the bar by the Cartagena keeper but the visitors could have equalised in the dying minutes when their centre forward raced through the middle only to see his shot go just wide of the far post.

The victory took Mazarron back up to fifth position in the league.

Team: Antonio; Alfonso; Juan Fran (Enrique); Juan Andreo; Alberto; Juanlu; Champi (Willy); Jesus; Juanma (Hafid); Gilberto (Jose); Palote.

Man of the Match : Palote

Tel 902 750 190

World Twenty20 2016: Scotland & Ireland set for group stage in India The World Twenty20 starts in India on Tuesday, with Scotland and Ireland among eight teams aiming to qualify for the main stage of the competition.

Scotland face Afghanistan in Nagpur on the opening day, while Ireland begin their campaign against Oman in Dharamsala on Wednesday.

The winners of each of the two groups will book a place in the Super 10 phase, beginning on 15 March.

England play Sri Lanka in Mumbai in their first match on 16 March.

In total, 58 matches will be played across eight venues over four weeks, in the sixth edition of the tournament since its inception nine years ago.

England - winners of the competition in 2010 - have been drawn in the same group as defending champions Sri Lanka,

2012 winners West Indies and South Africa, who are second in the International Cricket Council T20 rankings.

Australia are chasing a fourth successive triumph in the women’s event, which starts on 15 March and features 10 teams.

England, who won the inaugural Women’s World T20 in 2009, are in a group containing India, West Indies, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The women’s final will be played before the men’s final in Mumbai on 3 April. bbc.com

Victoria Pendleton has been given the go-ahead to ride at next week’s Cheltenham Festival, just over a year after taking up the sport.

The 35-year-old double Olympic cycling champion will take part in the Foxhunters Chase on Pacha Du Polder on Friday, 18 March.

She guided the nine-year-old to victory at Wincanton last week - her first success as an amateur jockey.

“Being part of the Cheltenham is like being at the Olympics,” she said.

“By no means was this an easy decision to make and I have spent a lot of time thinking how I would handle this wonderful opportunity.

“There are lots of risks, but I feel I am capable of being part of the race.”

Seven-times champion jumps jockey John Francome has been an outspoken critic of Pendleton, claiming she “can’t ride”, is “an accident waiting to happen” and wants “saving from herself”.

Analysis from BBC horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght “Whatever your view of the whole project it’s hard not to admire what Pendleton has achieved in the last year, showing guts aplenty to proceed from first riding lesson to competing on the biggest day of the jumps season. Money may well have changed hands to fund this potentially hazardous project, but her advisers surely wouldn’t allow her to do it if they weren’t sure.

Sceptics fear a win - or indeed a fall - may overshadow the winner of the preceding Gold Cup, but these days the Festival is easily big enough to cope with both events, and rarely can its build-up have received so much coverage in all corners of the

media.”

Pendleton, who won Olympic gold in the sprint at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Beijing and the keirin at the 2012 London Games, added she was “very blessed” to have been given the opportunity.

“If I get around and complete the course, it will be like winning a gold medal,” she said. “It seemed so unrealistic at the beginning.

“I wouldn’t have made the decision without the support of the team around me and I would like to thank them and the jockeys who have publicly supported me.”

Pendleton described the training as “very difficult but very enjoyable” and said the decision to take on the three mile and two-and-a-half furlongs at Prestbury Park was not taken lightly.

Paul Nicholls, who trains Pacha Du Polder, believes Pendleton can put in a strong display but accepts victory might be beyond her.

“At the beginning, I was dubious,” he said. “But from the start, Victoria’s enthusiasm and courage has been to the fore and her improvement month-to-month has been incredible.

“She is well ready for the challenge. Pacha Du Polder is the ideal horse. He is a super horse and a safe jumper.

“We will discuss tactics next week.

We need to ride him more patiently and take our time, but fifth or sixth would be a fantastic achievement.”

Bbc.com

Olympic cyclist to ride at Cheltenham