The Courier Week 112 by TKO UK

Edition 112

www.thecourier.es

Friday, April 12, 2013

NO MORE SEX AT 13 – BY LAW And brides must be 16 in war on abuse

SPAIN is to raise the By SALLY BENGTSSON minimum age for marPrime Minister Mariano exploitation, to be funded riage from 14 to 16 as Rajoy's right leaning govern- with a budget estimated at part of broad plan of ment announced the 5.2 billion euros over the next reforms to protect four years. changes after last Friday’s youngsters. Spanish legislation allows Consultations are also to be held about increasing the age for consent for sex from 13 in a bid to combat child abuse.

weekly cabinet meeting. The reforms are part of a broad plan approved by the government to protect children from abuse and

Ana Mato: Stepping up the fight against paedophilia

more effectively against paedophilia.’’ The Spanish office of the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, hailed the reforms. "We welcome the measures that raise the age of marriage a child to enter into marriage and the revision to the age of with special permission, as sexual consent," said Gabriel young as 14. Defenders of Gonzalez-Bueno, head of children's rights fear that at childhood policy at UNICEF such a young age some Spain. He also praised a minors, even if only a small decision to include a report number, may be forced into on the impact on children of unions. all planned legislation and "Although the age to enter regulations, a measure for into marriage in our country is 18, the law does allow in which he said UNICEF Spain certain circumstances for had long campaigned. In line with the recommenmarriage at 14. We are going dations of the UN's to raise that age to 16," Social Services Minister Ana Committee on the Rights of Mato told a news confer- the Child, the Spanish government also revised the ence. "We also propose to raise drinking age to 18 across the the age of sexual consent, country. In most Spanish which is now 13, the lowest regions the minimum age for among countries in our consumption of alcohol was region, so as to avoid adults already 18 but in the northern abusing minors and to fight region of Asturias it is just 16.

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Friday, April 12, 2013

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96 692 1003 679 096 309 965 99 66 66 E-MAIL office@thecourier.es WEB www.thecourier.es HEAD OFFICE Calle Luis Canovas Martinez 1. Urb Aguas Nuevas, Torrevieja 03183, ALICANTE PHONE: 96 692 1003 Email: office@thecourier.es OPENING HOURS Mon - Fri 1030 to 1730 CONSULTANT EDITOR Donna Gee ADVERTISING SALES 966 921 003 office@thecourier.es TELESALES 966 921 003 679 096 309 Sally Los Alcazares, San Javier 618 391 491 Myra Quesada, Rojales, Torrevieja, San Miguel Tel. 618 583 765 Jean La Zenia, Playa Flamenca, Cabo Roig Tel. 618 898 034 Janine 616 332 178 Patrick International Rep 5 Languages Tel 685 901 265 Writers Donna Gee Sally Bengtsson Jeanette Erath Alex Trelinski Dave Silver Tony Mayes Heidi Wardman John McGregor

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JUNGLE DRUMS

Hawkeye wins line war PREMIER LEAGUE BACKS BRITISH TECHNOLOGY BRITISH-based firm Hawkeye has beaten off competition to be named provider of goal-line technology for the Premier League. The system, similar to the one used at the Wimbledon tennis championships, is the preferred option recommended after a meeting of the 20 top-flight clubs. According to the Daily Mirror, a German system, GoalControl, had also been under consideration after submitting a tender. However, Hawkeye's camera-based system will now be in place at Premier League grounds and Wembley Stadium from next

season. Hawkeye, which was sold to technology giant Sony two years ago, already provides systems for tennis and cricket. The Premier League provided seed money to help Hawkeye develop a goalline technology system back in 2007, but there is no longer a formal relationship with the company. League chiefs made their recommendation based on both cost and ease of implementation and use. Earlier this month FIFA chose GoalControl, which is also a camera-based system, for the Confederations

Hawkeye on test Cup in Brazil in June and next year's World Cup finals. Two other systems, also German, have also been licensed by FIFA but they both use magnetic sensors rather than cameras.

He said at the Soccerex conference in Manchester: "The Premier League will be the first league in Europe to introduce it. "I have been on this campaign for six or seven years and now it's going to happen. "The referees need help, the camera will always beat the eye, and every referee in the Premier League is in favour of it." The 12th Volvo Ocean Race will commence in Alicante on October 4, 2014 – and cover nearly 40,000 nautical miles over the following nine months. Chief Executive Knut Frostad said an additional leg through the South Seas, from Recife in Brazil to Abu Dhabi could make this “the toughest race in our 40 year history."

Former Arsenal and FA vice-chairman David Dein, who has long campaigned for goal-line technology, claimed every top-flight referee in England was in favour of having a system.

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Friday, April 12, 2013 By SANDRA PIDDOCK (Published by permission of Insidersabroad.com)

UNTIL this week, many people outside the immediate area would have had no idea that a place called Benijofar existed. But now, this small town on the Costa Blanca is making international news, due to the arrest of a vet in connection with the death of his wife. The facts are thin on the ground, but basically this is the indisputable truth: A vet in Benijofar has been arrested following his admission that he had his wife cremated after she died in the surgery. There’s nothing newsworthy in that, other than the fact that the wife was cremated in a place which is usually used for the cremation of animal remains. That’s all that the news reports agree on. In some versions, she died following a DIY liposuction operation that went wrong. In others, the vet found her dead from an overdose of self-administered medication. Whatever the truth, a 46 year old woman is dead, and a family is in mourning. That’s bad enough, but it’s even worse when you know the people involved in this tragedy. Around Algorfa, we’ve been talking about this all weekend – even before the news hit the headlines – because we know these people well, and we feel for them. The vet in question – and his daughter – have been a valuable and valued source of support and information to us over the last few years. They’re not just service providers – they’ve become our friends. We may not have pets that need walks or regular visits to the veterinarian, but we do keep tropical fish. While they may not need flea treatments, worming, vaccination or grooming, it’s not easy to keep them in the rudest of rude health. Our first foray into fish keeping ended badly. We bought a bunch of flowers at the same time we bought the fish, and the flowers lasted longer. We made the mistake of buying our fish – and the attendant and expensive accessories – from an outlet that was more concerned with profit than creature comforts. When

Benijofar vet arrested – what’s the REAL story?

the inevitable happened, we decided that before we repopulated the tank, we’d find out more about fish keeping. A good friend recommended the vet in Benijofar to us. She knew even less about fish keeping than we did, but she had been using the vet’s services for three years for her two dogs. She described him as a very nice person who really cared about the animals he treated, and their owners. As a bonus, he was also an enthusiastic and expert keeper of tropical fish. On her advice, we went along to the surgery in Benijofar and called on their expertise. On that first visit, we spent around an hour just chatting to the vet and his daughter. We didn’t buy anything, nor was there any sort of sales pitch. We did, however, learn a lot about the pleasures and pitfalls of

DIAMOND FORMATION SUITS JIM AND BETTY

IT’S more than six decades since Betty and Jim Aitken met while enjoying the hobby they still love best -ballroom dancing. And 13 years after coming to live in Spain, they are still dancing their way through life after celebrating their Diamond Wedding last month. Jim, 80, and Betty received a congratulatory card from the Queen and marked the big day itself, March 28, with friends from Montebello, where they now live. Next month, their daughter and grandchildren will join them in a family celebration in the UK. That event will have a double significance as their grandson will be celebrating his 21st birthday.

keeping tropical fish. Following their advice, we successfully repopulated our expensive fish tank. Too successfully, some would say. Our Guppies and Sail Fin Mollies have been extremely – productive. The vet and his daughter assured us that this was because we were good parents, and our fish were happy. If that was the case, it was down to their advice and support. When the first babies arrived, they talked us through it all and even gave us suitable food for the first few vital days of life. All this may sound trivial in the light of the breaking news, but sometimes you have to look behind the headlines. The details in some reports are lurid to say the least, and to people who only know about the vet from what they have read, he may come across as some sort of monster. To us, he’s a decent, caring human being who – along with his son and daughter – is now living through everyone’s worst nightmare with the whole world as witness. Eventually, the real truth will emerge; at the moment, the rumour mill around here is in overdrive, and it’s virtually impossible to separate fact from fiction. At this time, the whole family need and deserve the support and prayers of everyone out there. And although it’s not admissible as evidence or defence in a court of law, nobody I know can bring themselves to condemn this man. There’s a lot more to real life than the reports in the media, and nothing is clear cut black and white. Spanish Eyes, English Words Sandra Piddock’s Blog on Eye on Spain

THIS WEEK IN SPAIN suspicion of killing her THE Valencian comq munity’s Industry and two children aged 9 and 11. The 35-year old Tourism Minister believes foreign tourism will increase by 4.5 per cent this summer following a very positive Easter. José Manuel Soria, also predicted that Spanish tourism will remain dormant due to high levels of unemployment.’’ “Youth Without a Future’’ pressure group held a joint protest in more than 20 cities around the world against the situation which has forced so many young people to leave Spain to find work. Spokesman Pablo Padilla said the action demonstrated the "visible reality which is putting increased pressure on Spanish youth" who have been pushed out of their country "with an unemployment rate of 50% and 85% on temporary contracts." Police in Barcelona arrested a woman on

Bolivian had warned the father she was going to kill the youngsters. Social Services had been monitoring the family for months over marital and economic problems. The accumulation of allegations against the Alicante’s two most recent PP Mayors could see Luis Díaz Alperi and Sonia Castedo sitting in the dock very soon. The two politicians are being investigated for alleged bribery, manipulation of contracts and revealing confidential plans during the formation of the city’s General Urban Plan. Alperi is also being investigated for alleged forgery, bribery and tax crimes. A fire which broke out in Parque del Molino del Agua in Torrevieja on Saturday affected 70 pine trees in the nature reserve.

Friday, April 12, 2013

WEB HUNT FOR MISSING WALKER DETECTIVES investigating the disappearance of missing Sussex man Robert Golden, who has not returned from a walking holiday in Spain, have launched a website in the hunt to find him. The website www.findrobertgolden.com features appeals in English and Spanish and is aimed at gathering information from the public in an effort to find Robert. It follows four possible sightings in Spain since he flew alone to Seville on November 5. The latest reported sighting was on January 28 when a couple saw a man fitting Robert's description and carrying a backpack, walking at pace towards Gibraltar. Detective Chief Inspector Dave Wardley-Wilkins said: "These unconfirmed sightings of Robert are encouraging. If they were in fact Robert then it is obviously good news. We want to confirm it is him and that he is safe and well. His family have not heard from him and they would be delighted to hear positive news. "This new website is a part of our efforts to find him. By appealing directly to people in Spain we hope they will come forward with any information about his whereabouts. I would appeal

to anyone living or visiting southern Spain who believe they have seen him to get in touch. " Apart from the January 28 sighting in Sabinilla, there were reported sightings of Robert on January 11, hitch-hiking on the A7 which leads to Gibraltar, Nurca or Seville. Two days earlier a man from Vera saw a man carrying a rucksack, walking from Vera towards the AP7 to Almeria. On another occasion a couple thought they saw Robert sitting on the ground at the Lidl store in Benissa in Alicante province. Robert's brother Barry said: "I'm really worried. I'm really missing him and want to see him back home. "Robert loves walking and the outdoors. It is worrying that he can be away for that length of time and not use his bank cards. He is a very nice chap and approachable. If anyone thinks they have seen him could they please talk to him to see if he's OK. He would never be rude. We are worried that he has possibly had a medical episode." Anyone with information is asked to contact police on +44(0) 1273 475432 from Spain, quoting 804 of 23/11 or email contact.centre @sussex.pnn.police.uk

MURCIA’S €98M MEDICAL MISERY The regional government of Murcia owes 98.1 million euros for medicine and medical equipment. This is 3.85% of the total money owed to Fenin (Federación Española de Empresas de Tecnología Sanitaria) by the whole of Spain. The aver-

age amount of time that regional governments take to pay Fenin is 278 days, but the Murcian government takes 309 days. Although these statistics appear unacceptable, they are 9.12% better than they were in December 2012.

Nestling amongst the Orange groves of the Costa Azahar (Orange blossom coast) you will find “Viva España” From outside it looks deceptively small. Inside it is spacious and has a warm, ambient and welcoming atmosphere. This family run business offers the very best of typical and genuine Spanish entertainment. On May 4th a special night brings together all the elements of Spanish culture in a night of stunning entertainment. As soon as you arrive you become a part of this very special Spanish experience. Dark haired, brown eyed “Señoritas” in full flamenco outfits provide us with that traditional Spanish refreshment – Sangria – Glass in hand we watch the beautiful, sturdy Andalucian horses being put through their paces by incredibly skilled riders. - The brightly clad girls dancing with the horses enthral us all with the ele-

gance of the whole spectacle. Then we go inside to enjoy a quality meal with wine. This served by to our table by smartly dressed waiters. After dinner, the lights go down and we really are in for a treat. The stage fills with dancers who amaze us with the speed, elegance and colour of tradi-

Viva Epaña

tional Spanish dancing The gritty sound of Spanish singers accompanied by guitar music and Valencian box drums surround us as we are engulfed by this superb spectacular of sound and colour. To finish the night off, it’s now our turn to dance. What a fabulous and special night this is .Exclusive to “David’s Coachtrips SL” you can join the party by calling 966785910. At only 45€ including coach travel, show, dinner and wine, this is great value.

Friday, April 12, 2013

editor@thecourier.es

COURIER POSTBAG: YOUR VIEWS ON OUR NEWS

A grave problem in Orihuela RECENTLY one of my friends died. This sad event has been made even more traumatic to the family by the total lack of funeral or cemetery services on Orihuela Costa, where my friend lived. Since the family have been looking where to bury their father, I started to look around at all the nearby towns and villages and see that even villages with really small populations have appropriate cemeteries near to them. San Miguel has a small cemetery, Algorfa has a very new and modern cemetery capable of serving that small village for many years to come. Obviously Orihuela is well served with a

The Age of real charity Concern YES, even Charities are feeling the pressure and in our 15 years on the Costa Blanca we have never encountered such hard times. We are finding it very hard to cover all our costs and to make sure our beneficiaries are receiving the excellent care they are used to. Our shops in Torrevieja and Los Montesinos need your help with donations of clothes, bric-a-brac, bedding and small items

of furniture. Our shops and the bars and groups who raise money for us are our main source of income that helps us continue our work in helping the elderly. Please think of us as you do your spring cleaning and bring any items to either of our shops or to the Day Centre in La Siesta. We can also collect, just phone 96 678 6887. Thank you. MAUREEN PAYNE, President

Bluebirds dictator’s broken my heart I MISSED Donna Gee’s article on twinning Cardiff City and Elche football clubs as I´ve only just arrived back at our apartment in Torrevieja - but did see the letter reply in The Courier. I would have loved a Bluebirds supporters club on the Costa Blanca but after 36 years I had my last broken heart with my beloved Cardiff City. I’m afraid the only people referring to them as the Bluebirds are the media and fans with their heads in the sand. The only reason the great dictator backtracked on changing the name and the very small bluebird on the badge was because he hadn’t finished selling season tickets (which I’ve not renewed). Wait until next year. I may be in minority of 300 maybe 400 fans who had the integrity to stand up and fight against this whoring of our club and it hurt like hell, but the only place a club £90m in debt with no hope of recouping is going is liquidation. I hope to watch CAP Cuidad de Murcia this Sunday, a club which retains its values, and Merthyr Town when I am home. There is also hope that an alternative fan-run FC Cardiff City is in the pipeline. If all I desired was success I would had gone to Old Trafford, not stood on the freezing cold Bob Bank with 2,000 other hardy souls. I loved Cardiff City but unfortunately its gone. MIKE JAMES, Torrevieja (Port Talbot) DONNA says: I’m so sorry you feel this way, Mike, but after half a century in the wilderness, I don’t care if they are Bluebirds, Redbirds or Pinkbirds with blue spots. It’s still my team, we’re going to the Premier League - and I’m hoping to be there on promotion day.

cemetery, but the coast, with a population of over 30,000, has absolutely no provision. Luckily, at the moment the deceased of Orihuela Costa can be buried at San Pedro. However, how long this will continue to be available is anyone's guess. Why is the coastal region not deemed significant enough to have decent burial provisions for its large and aging community, who all will need this service at some point in the future. Is this another example of the total disregard of the needs of Orihuela Costa community by the mindless and thoughtless rulers based in Orihuela? This situation is totally disgusting. LIZ PAGE, Orihuela Costa

SPANIARDS? ALL PARKING MAD!

I ENJOYED Tony Mayes’ article on "dozy park- part of test which does not include manoeuvres such as parkers " and, having lived and driven in Spain for 12 ing in a confined space and reversing round a corner; perhaps this is the reason why the Spanish cannot park correctyears, agree with all his statements. I have found the best way to deal with the Spanish is to insult them , with dozy parkers taking up two parking spaces I offer the offender the use of my reading glasses . On most occasions they choose to ignore the gesture but recently the driver refused my offer of help and drove out of Mercadona car park without shopping . However his wife gave me a smile and waved as they left, having upset her partner. Where did I learn this tactic? Our first home in Spain was on a European urbanisation where the Spanish ‘’Presidente " had only concerned herself with getting the builders to improve her own property. After a year the Germans on site asked me to be "El Presidente "; I had to learn to speak German at school in case we lost the war ! Included in my letter of complaint to the builder in Spanish was the fact that a workman had not flushed out the toilet and left us a large "floater". I think this insult did the trick, the foreman and salesman were sent to our bungalow with my letter, under orders to sort out the site, and from then on we had a progress meeting every month. Within a few months the swimming pool was open and by the time we had sold up and moved, the site was finished and connected to public utilities. I would like to add to Tony Mayes’ list, Spanish drivers do not signal their intentions ,especially at roundabouts, ignore one-way street signs and do not read traffic notices. Regarding the last fault, a roundabout was built to replace traffic lights at a busy junction near our duplex behind Dos Mares shopping mall. The local authorities signed and cordoned the area with a diversion which included a ‘residents only’ sign on our section of the road. Many Spanish motorists ignored the sign and tried to drive through, finishing up in a cul de sac. The local Brits, for entertainment, would try to flag down the offenders but we were ignored. After they drove out of the cul de sac we would give them a round of applause. I spoke to the local garage owner on the subject; at the time he was instructing his son on the highway code prior to taking his written driving test. I asked them about the driving

ly.

How many of you had to take the difficult UK driving test more than once? My wife had seven attempts before she finally passed - but she is a good driver now and often corrects me! The other dangers are cyclists and pedestrians . Cyclists ride against the traffic flow and ignore one-way signs and traffic lights; they are a danger at night as very few wear the mandatory luminous jacket and insist on wearing dark clothing . Pedestrians have obviously never learnt the "green code" as Brits during their school days .There is no two-car-length parking ban either side of pedestrian crossing, as in the UK, although if there was, the Spanish drivers would ignore it. I always approach pedestrian crossings with care and give way, only to be hassled by the following impatient drivers . In the UK I was a licensed taxi driver for 38 years and my father and other family members were policemen so had a strict law abiding background. I consider Spain to be a dangerous place to drive and the police have my sympathy dealing with the Spanish public where a minority ignore the law. My home town Brighton had traffic meters installed in 1964 , the streets cleared overnight and traffic flowed . We had a few ‘Hitler’ traffic wardens , some even tried to stick a parking ticket on our taxi windscreens when we stopped to pick up passengers ! Cartagena is the only city near us where they have installed traffic meters and it’s not a place where you can take liberties parking. Perhaps the Spanish traffic police would benefit from a course at NOTE: the Hendon police college, EDITOR’S even if it’s only to learn a few Letters and emails of the sarcastic chat lines they will only be considuse on traffic offenders . ered for publication Example, when you wander in The Courier if an into a bus lane you are asked address and contact " Sir, are you a bus today?" PHILIP HUMBERSTONE, number are provided Santiago de la Ribeira (not for publication)

Friday, April 12, 2013

HANDBAG HIT SQUAD HAVE you ever stopped to think just how pathetically illogical Ryanair’s so-called Terms and Conditions are? Every woman who has flown with the Irish cheapskates is all too aware that handbags must be packed into hand luggage and not carried separately. How ludicrous is that? Every woman on the planet shorn of her most-prized possession for fully five minutes until she's allowed to pluck it from her over-stretched hand-luggage the moment she steps aboard the plane. The reason for the ruse is patently obvious...to increase profits by imposing petty fines for trivialities. All of which explains why some of their airport jobsworths can’t wait to slap a £50 fine on any unfortunate lady whose handbag bulks up her 10kilo mini-case so it won’t quite drop into the Rob-Them-Silly size rack. I had the dubious pleasure of being fleeced by one of these delightful Hitlers of the Air on Sunday after struggling to get my handbag into my pull-along case, which I’d packed meticuously to ensure it complied with jobsworth rules Handbag squeezed in uncomfortably, I duly took my place in the Priority queue. As the third person in the line, I was a sitting duck for Jobs and Worth. ‘’Does that bag fit in the rack?’ barked Jobs (a Spanish male) as we began to file past the boarding desk towards our plane. With that, he grabbed my wheely- bag, and proceeded to demonstrate that it was too wide to drop into the rack without a mighty squeeze. “That’s purely because of the handbag,’’I protested honestly in a pointless attempt to escape the gallows. Gleefully, he told me the wheely bag would now have to go into the hold - at an extortionate cost of €50 - plus an extra

Sent to the hold - my handbaginflated wheely case euro if I wished to pay by credit card. The reality could not have been clearer. The ‘handbags inside your case’ rule is a clandestine way of increasing profits whilst reinforcing Ryanair’s insistence that they have the lowest fares. It's a rule that even Ryanair staff find distasteful, unnecessary and petty. An Alicante-based cabin crew member told me this week: "It's silly that ladies have to put their handbags into their big luggage and a few minutes later, are able to remove them. I do not know what Ryanair has this rule - it's the stirictest airline regarding passengers bags. "Many times when I couldn't fit clothes or books in my luggage I've placed them inside jackets, under my belt or worn three sweaters. Once I got on board I removed everything

Cardiff-Elche footy link is just too hot I ALWAYS fancied myself as a football agent - if only because they are arguably richer than the multi-millionaires they represent. But my attempt to ‘twin’ English Championship high-flyers Cardiff City, the team I support, with their Spanish counterparts Elche FC is a non-starter. However, Cardiff manager Malky Mackay’s luke-warm reaction to my idea of a pre-season friendly before both teams move up to their respective Premier Leagues is understandable. He explained: “In my first season as Watford manager in the summer of 2009, we came to Spain for our training camp and

stayed in Lleida up near Barcelona. “However, we have generally preferred more mild climates - Switzerland, Austria, tsouthern Germany - because the heat is oo strong for us to be able to do the necessary work out on the pitch.Therefore pre-season trip to the Costa Blanca is probably not something that would suit the way we work.’’ So that’s that, then. Well, not quite, because the Bluebirds boss added: “You never know whether the opportunity might arise for us to take advantage of your envious sunshine during a convenient winter break in our fixtures in years to come.’’ Well, at least I tried.

DEAR DONNA... I CAN’T believe that at long last we have recognition of the great Cardiff City Bluebirds. We have lived in Los Dolses for many years and as you can see from the photographs, we named our villa 'The House of the Bluebird'. Instead of a dolphin we have a bluebird in our pool. Not a very good one I might add as it was created by one of those 'master tilers' who had just stepped off the plane. The sign on our house was made at Rumney Potteries in Cardiff many years ago and it has held pride of place since we moved here. Our sons and grandsons were born in Cardiff and have all been avid supporters of the Bluebirds ever since they were born. My eldest son looks after

City supporters, providing them with a 6am breakfast in the cafe next to the Ninian Park pub before they travel to away matches - and also especially on the home games where it is definitely the place to be before and after the match. Without jumping the gun, Cardiff will be so proud when City achieve their position in the Premier League. We both really look forward to the start of a Bluebirds supporters branch. Can’t wait! DIANE & RAY HAYES, Los Dolses

and put it all into my permitted bag.'' Plebs like us are not privy to the amount Ryanair's ‘unseen’ greed machine syphons off from on-the-cheap travellers in €50 ‘handbag’ charges, changing names on tickets and correcting online booking errors. Add this income to the stated fares, divide by the number of passengers and bingo, the ‘cheapest fares’ would become as believable as the hysterical recorded jingle that announces you have landed on time like 90 per cent of Ryanair flights. What the jingle does NOT tell you is that the scheduled time from take-off to landing is around half an hour longer than the actual flying time. Back at the airport, young Jobs seemed satisfied with his lone catch and oblivious to the 200 or so other passengers who filed past him with varying volumes of luggage. Not so his partner Worth (Spanish female), who roped in an unsuspecting middle-aged couple because the husband was carrying a small rucksack on his back AND, horror of horrors, a duty-free bag in his hand. It wasn’t only me who felt Worth’s manner less than acceptable. Fellow passenger Gavin White, who was behind the couple in the queue, said: “I could not believe the way she was speaking to them. She had no right to be so rude.’’ In the event the couple escaped with a warning - but only after a nasty exchange of words in which the angry husband was threatened with eviction from the flight. “I don’t think I’ve ever been on a Ryanair flight where there wasn’t a confrontation between a passenger and Ryanair staff,’’ said Gavin White, a regular flyer. That's obvious. I mean, a calm, orderly boarding would be more than a jobsworth's job's worth.

Friday, April 12, 2013

NAME THAT DAME

I HAVEN'T seen my best pal Eric the dentist for a hole . . . sorry, whole . . . two months. He recently got married and although his honeymoon is over, the honeymoon period isn't. Eric the dentist and Erica the dentist's new wife are madly

in love and feel no need to be with other people. 'Isn't that romantic?' I remarked to Mrs S last night. 'Do you remember when we were like that?' 'No,' replied Mrs S with an emphatic shake of the head. 'You are to romance what Dame Edna Everage is to heavy freight handling. I should have realised that when you turned up on our first date wearing your Italian suit, the one with spaghetti sauce all down the front.' 'How can you say that!' I said. 'Who was the romantic lad who presented you with a single red rose when we met outside the cin-

ema to see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?' Mrs S thought for a moment. 'But I've never seen that film. And if memory serves, it came out three years after we were married. So who was the hussy you took to the pictures while I was at home looking after your two children?' It was my turn to think for a moment. 'Sorry, luv,' I said. 'My memory slipped a bit there. That hussy was my mother. It was her birthday and I'd given her the single rose because the rest of the bouquet I'd purchased from the petrol station had turned manky with mildew.' Mrs S sighed. 'Why don't you just trot off to the pub before Dave the barman thinks you've deserted him for another publican.' 'But you are my one true love icon,' I said. 'I intend to spend the rest of the evening here at home worshipping you.'

But, as it turned out, there was nothing on the telly so I legged it to the pub. 'I know who Dame Edna Everage is but what exactly does heavy freight handling involve?' I asked my alehouse cronies. 'I know the answer!' shrieked Daft Barry, throwing both hands up in the air. 'Put your arms down, Barry. This isn't a stick-up,' I sighed. 'Now, calm down and try to reveal your answer to my question.' 'Heavy freight handling,' said Daft Barry hyperventilating with excitement, 'is all about . . . er . . handling heavy freight. But as for Dame Edna Everage, I've no idea who she is.' 'Will you lot shut up! I'm trying to get some sleep here!' yelled Ol' Red Eyes, slumped across the bar. And thus continued another intellectual evening at our hostelry. In the meantime, and

unbeknownst to me, Eric the dentist and Erica the dentist's new wife were having their first row. It seemed that Erica had invited her mother round for tea that night, forgetting that Eric had asked his own mother, too. And the two mums just did NOT get on. 'You'll just have to put off your mother,' insisted Erica. 'No! I invited mine first,' Eric countered. Meanwhile, back at the pub our discussion group was in full flow. 'We have to go back to 1837,' Dave the barman was saying. 'That's just after half-past six,' Daft Barry pointed out, adjusting the hands on his Bugs Bunny watch. 'The year 1837!' snapped mein host. 'The British Prime Minister at the time was William Lamb. He was the 2nd Viscount Melbourne and that's why the Aussies named the city after him.' Dave the barman stared at our blank faces. 'That's why

the flaming place is called Melbourne,' he growled as if he were addressing a bunch of simpletons (!). 'But more relevant to our discussion, that's where Dame Edna Everage hails from.' And at that point, Eric the dentist walked into the pub. 'Somebody get me a drink,' he pleaded. 'I've just had to cancel my mother.' 'You've killed your mother?' I gasped. 'But before you explain yourself, can you name a famous Dame who comes from Melbourne? If you know the answer, you can take Daft Barry's place on the pub quiz team.' 'Don't talk to me about dames. I'm in enough trouble,' groaned Eric. 'And all I know about Melbourne is that it is Australia's busiest seaport for containerised and general cargo.' 'And that,' proclaimed Daft Barry proudly, 'is why there's loads of heavy freight handling going on there.'

Friday, April 12, 2013

SAY IT IN SPANISH Learn the lingo - with a little help from JEANETTE ERATH LESSON 66 Here are the answers to last weeks translations: She knows that you are thirsty – ella sabe que tienes sed, I know Anthony – conozco a Antonio, The actress knows Hollywood very well – la actriz conoce Hollywood muy bien, Do you know the answers? - ¿sabes las respuestas? I know how to read – sé leer, Do you know my cousin? - ¿Conoces a mi primo/a?, The chef knows the food of Mexico – El cocinero conoce la comida de México, I know that you are tall – Sé que eres alto, Do you know where the boys are? - ¿Sabes donde están los niños?, They don´t know that I´m here – Ellos no saben que estoy aquí, She doesn´t know Paris (she isn´t familiar with Paris) – Ella no conoce Paris This week we are going to learn the verb tense called the subjunctive. This tense is used when we are talking about feelings rather than definites, that is the best way I can think of to explain this as it can get quite confusing, I will take it slowly so we can go through it together and be sure to understand everything. We spent a long time learning the present tense and now I am going to tell you when the present tense is not used when you would think that it should be. Don´t get hung up on this, I will explain it bit by bit and there will, as ever, be plenty of revision to ensure your knowledge is there. I received a lovely compliment from someone who read my column via a friend who was talking to them. They asked my friend, not knowing that she knows me, if she reads my column and he stated that he found it the best column for learning Spanish due to the constant revision and checking of knowledge and the clear explanations, which is always nice to hear. So let´s talk about the subjunctive which I will try and simplify by stating that we have been learning tenses in Spanish but as stated the subjunctive is a mood. Tenses

have a degree of certainty, I am going, there is no doubt that...., now let´s think about uncertainty, I hope that... I doubt that... it´s possible that... in these last phrases there is an element of not knowing whether the situation will occur, in these cases we use the subjunctive. There are many ocassions when the subjunctive is used, a few of these are: a menos que .unless...,antes(de)que...before ...cuando... when, dudar que.... to doubt that, en cuanto... as soon as,es importante que... it´s important that, es necesario que... it´s necessary that, es preferible que... it´s preferable that, no creer que... not to believe that, esperar que... to hope that. However there are many others, it may be easier to remember when the subjunctive is not used: creer que ...to believe that, no dudar que... to not doubt that, es cierto que.... it´s certain that, es claro que.... it is clear that, es evidente que... it´s certain that, es obvio que.... it is obvious that, estar seguro que... to be sure that, es verdad que.... it is true that, no cabe duda que..... there´s no doubt that, no es dudoso que....it is not doubtful that, no hay duda que.... there is no doubt that. This is because with the last expressions there is no element of doubt, only certainty, so the tenses we use are those we have learnt in previous lessons. So how do we conjugate the verbs into the subjunctive? Regular verbs take the stem of the verb, i.e the verb without the AR, IR or ER ending and add: -AR verbs: -e, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en -ER and -IR verbs: -a, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an Examples: Hablar... hable, hables, hable, hablemos, habléis, hablen. Comer... coma, comas, coma, comamos, comáis, coman. Vivir.... viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan. With irregular verbs take the yo form and then add the endings, examples conocer (yo conozco) conozc + a = conozca , conozc +

as = conozcas, conozc + a = conozca, conozc + amos = conozcamos, conozc + áis = conozcáis, conozc + an = conozcan tener (yo tengo) tengo - o = teng + a = tenga, teng + as = tengas, teng + a = tenga, teng + amos = tengamos, teng + áis = tengáis, teng + an = tengan For -ar and -er stem-changing verbs, the formula applies except that there is no stem change in the nosotros and vosotros forms Examples: pensar (yo pienso) piens + e = piense, piens + es = pienses, piens + e = piense, pens + emos = pensemos, pens + éis = penséis, piens + en = piensen For -ir stem-changing verbs, the formula applies except that the stem change in the nosotros and vosotros forms follows these patterns: o:ue verbs change o to u; e:ie verbs change e to i; e:i verbs change e to i. Examples: dormir (yo duermo) – duerma, duermas, duerma, dumamos, dunáis, duerman sentir (yo siento) – sienta, sientas, sienta, sintamos, sintáis, sientan pedir (yo pido) – pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidáis, pidan Next week we will continue with the learning how to conjugate verbs into the subjunctive but this week take time to revise when it is used and the above conjugation. Remember, any degree of uncertainty we use the subjunctive. Next week there will also be the usual suspects in the form of the irregular verbs that follow none of the rules, so for now use the above verbs only, and then next week we will have all the verb conjugations and we can start to revise them. Have a great week, and always keep the hunger for learning.

Friday, April 12, 2013

FERGUS, A LOST SPIRIT I BRIEFLY wrote last week about Fergus, the first dog we are fostering after our return to Espana. He arrived with us from Cordoba killing station and when he was there he was in a terrible state. He is a Spanish Water Dog mix and his hair was long and matted and he was covered in ticks. He had ear problems and is blind on one eye, along with poor sight in the other. Added to this he had to be clipped and his skin was in a very poor condition. He has been with us for one week now and thankfully is blossoming. The reason we chose to foster Fergus is because I was sent a couple of videos of him and from what I watched, it was clear to see that as well as this dog being in a terrible condition physically, he was also in a terrible condition mentally. His spirit had totally gone and there was nothing left but a shell. I have no idea of his life before I met him, but I knew I had to help this dog, as something I hate to see is any species is a creature which has lost its spirit. When he arrived with us, it was a delight to see his little tail wag when he met my pack of dogs. He has settled in straight away and they all love him. I can only imagine what this dog has been through, but the amazing thing about dogs, is that if you do the right things when you first meet them, it is humbling to see how quickly they will trust again. I noticed the other day when I was in the garden that he has started to follow

me around. I make sure my energy is calm and I put him under no pressure. I also like to keep quiet as damaged dogs follow our silent energy, not an over excited voice. I was told from Cordoba that when he arrived with us, he would not look good because of all his health problems, but I think he looks fabulous. He reminds me of a new-born lamb and has a wonderful, calm nature. Even when I gave him his bath to ease the problems with his skin, he was so good. He just stood there and let me do what I had to do. He loves other dogs, loves cats and walks beautifully on a lead.

Fergus - the dog we are nursing back to full health

REBORN

I have been charting his story on my Facebook page, where there are photos of him meeting the pack, walking with the pack, having a bath and also one which my wife Jean took, of me and Fergus being caught having a nap together! For anyone wanting to see them, type Peter Singh into Facebook and I am the only person by that name holding three puppies, so you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss me! As well as practising my dog behaviour work in Espana, we also want to concentrate on helping elderly and sick dogs. Nursing Fergus back to full health is proving to be one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my life. Seeing him improve each day is a blessing. We are applying for charity status at present and thankfully are in the latter stages of this being approved. Every penny will go towards helping these sick and elderly dogs and if anyone would like to donate something, even one euro would help, either send the money to my Paypal account, which is peter@thedogyouneed.com or to my charity status bank account with Nat West, which is sort code - 60-16-03 and account number - 73754900. Please try and donate to help me rescue and rehabilitate as many dogs as possible, here in Espana. Many thanks.

PETSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CORNER: CAN YOU TAKE IN A HOMELESS DOG OR CAT? Pol born Feb 2012 is a friendly medium sized dog who was found wandering. He is a sweet natured young dog who is currently living in a garage, so he desperately needs a home. For more information about Pol please telephone the PEPA helpdesk on 650 304 746. www.pepaspain.com

Pol Born in August 2012, Jake is a very playful and friendly young greyhound puppy who was found tied to the APAH kennels gate. All he wants to do is run around and play and he loves playing with other dogs. To arrange to meet Jake, or any other APAH dog/cat, please contact Yvonne on 630 422 563

Jake

Rusty is a small dog and is a real cutie. He has a very loving nature and loves people. Unfortunately he was thrown from a car at a great speed. He has now recovered from his injuries and is looking for someone to love him forever.Please ring 616655789 or visit our website www.catsndogsaid.com

Maisie is a black Lab cross about 2 years old. She is very affectionate and is fine with other dogs and is not interested in cats. please contact K9 or PHONE 600 84 54 20 for more info www.k9club.es

Lucy was found extremely emaciated and heavily laden with puppy milk. She is approx 15 months and after searching for 2 days no puppies were found. She is very loving and friendly and will make someone a lovely companion. Call: 645 469 253

Rusty

Maisie

Lucy

These 5 female puppies were brought into us after being found in the campo and are now in our care. They were covered in fleas and starving but after a quick de-flea treatment and some food are now happy, healthy pups. Call: 966 725 975

Jodie is approx 3 years old. She was rescued after being abandoned in a garden, where she had no means to escape. Jodie is a friendly, energetic dog who needs someone who likes to walk, or a large garden where she can run off her energy. Please call Yvonne on 630 422 563

Jodie

Friday, April 12, 2013

DO YOU NEED MONEY?

LÍNEA DIRECTA IS GIVING AWAY UP TO €300 IN CASH Línea Directa Aseguradora is the insurer of choice for foreign residents in Spain. Since 1998, it has offered all its services in both English and German, including the purchase of the policy, handling claims, forwarding documents and 24-hour road assistance. It has now taken another step in its commitment to its foreign policyholders with a remarkable offer: Línea Directa is giving its customers up to €300 when they recommend the company’s excellent car and home insurance to their friends and family. How does it work? It’s very easy. For each person purchasing car or home insurance, that has been recommended by a Línea Directa customer, the company will give €30 to both the current policyholder and the new customer. To qualify for this offer, the new customer must call the company with the name and ID number (NIE or passport) of the person who recommended Línea Directa and, if the policy is finally signed, both parties will receive the money in 45 days. The offer is limited to a maximum of 10 people per customer, which could result in a profit of up to 300 euros, a considerable amount in the current economic crisis. The offer, the only one of its kind in the insurance sector, will be valid until June 30 2013. About Línea Directa Aseguradora Línea Directa Asegurador is the fifth largest motor insurer in Spain, and specialises in the sale of direct car, motorbike, company fleet and home insurance. It currently has over 2 million customers and almost 2,000 employees providing a service to the whole of Spain in Spanish, English and German.

Call now: 902 123 104

Friday, April 12, 2013

BOILING POINT

I was looking forward to my son’s week off school for the Easter holidays, I had ideas of nice long lie ins and days out with my boy. However all that went wrong on Tuesday

morning when I got up to a puddle of water on my kitchen floor, after some head scratching I mopped it up and hoped it had just come from my sink and had breakfast. However on returning to the kitchen I found more water and so the search began. It didn´t take long to find the source was a leaking boiler. I decided to make the most of the hot water and had a quick shower, then turned the water off and had to carry on with my day as I was teaching in the afternoon there was nothing that could be done, however Wednesday morning I had to get up and go and buy a new boiler, got it home, had friends help me take the old one off and try and fit the new one, however the fittings were not correct to get it on the wall, and no one was brave enough to make new holes, so back went the boiler and off I went to the school again, another day without hot water. On the way home I went to a big store in Elche and bought another boiler, assured by the staff there that this one would fit fine on my brackets. So, Thursday morning again I rose early to try and get the new boiler fitted and working, I had help from three neighbours and the husband of my friend. The boiler was placed neatly on the brackets and fitted snugly, then the pipes were connected. This is where it all started to go wrong! There was at first a drip, then a pour, then a drip again. No matter what was done by anyone the leak continued and

bucket underneath. No matter how much I tightened, the water did not slow down, so there was only one answer: have a bath! I again used the hot water, not knowing how long I would be without it and then phoned a plumber. It was by now late Saturday evening and the plumber was out on a stag do, however, he answered his phone and not only that promised to come round in the morning to have a look at my disaster zone. So, Sunday I again had to rise early and await the plumber who came round, spent about 10 minutes in total and the boiler was fixed! And not only did he fix the boiler he also didn´t charge an exorbitant amount of money, so thanks Dave the plumber for saving not only my water but also my sanity. I have had new boilers before and always managed to get it done between me and friends, however this one seemed to have a life of its own and I think next could not be fixed. time I will just concede defeat and call Dave before I even try. I spoke to a friend who said if the leak isn´t too bad to leave As I´ve said before I do like to support my fellow British here it and see if it just stops, which I did. The water was dripping in Spain, we all want to be here and as I have a friend doing out but a towel around it wasn´t getting soaked too quickly everything she can to stay but is looking like having to go and at least I could put the boiler on and have hot water. So back to her native USA, I believe it´s important to use British that´s how it stayed, from Thursday until Saturday, I kept labour when possible, of course I use Spanish too, but I like checking the towel and changing it when necessary and then the comfort of knowing I will understand everything I´m told and my Spanish plumbing vocabulary probably is less than it all went downhill very rapidly! Late Saturday afternoon I checked and the towel seemed perfect! I am writing this on a beautiful Sunday morning, I feel wetter than before, after removing the towel the drip was noticeably faster, so I did what I do best and what I did last cheated of my week of lie ins, having managed only about time, I tried to tighten the joins between the connections. three and by the time you are reading this I will have had That, to put it mildly was a mistake. The water then began another week of school runs and early mornings, however at pouring down the pipes and into the strategically placed least I can lie in tomorrow, and I will be making the most of it!

Friday, April 12, 2013

LOVE HER OR HATE HER, MAGGIE WAS SPECIAL It was September 1978 and a spotty faced teenager was nervously standing in a brand new suit in the foyer of a Warwickshire hotel, ready to be introduced to the most important person he had met in his life. The legs turned to proverbial jelly as a lady dressed in blue walked down the line of people that she was meeting and shaking hands with, making polite chitchat

along the way. I wasn’t meeting with royalty but I was to make contact for the first and only time in my life with the then Leader of the Opposition, Margaret Thatcher. Some 35 years later, I can’t remember what I said to her or what she said to me, but you just felt that there was something very special about her, and a few months later, she became Britain’s f i r s t woman Prime

Minister. Never in modern day British politics has anybody polarised people’s views in such a dramatic way. There was no middle ground at all. You either loved her or hated her. For me, she along with Labour’s Clement Attlee (who she greatly admired) were the most radical and memorable peacetime Prime Ministers of the 20th century. It’s easy to forget the shambolic state of the UK in the seventies as the unions ran amok and the country was viewed as a joke. Thatcher tore everything up and did it her way, as well as giving invaluable support to Ronald Reagan in standing firm against the Soviet Union and helping to bring to an end the Cold War. Yes, she lost the plot over the Poll Tax, which led to her removal in 1990, but her

eleven years in charge helped to make Britain a country that counted, in spite of comments to the contrary from her detractors. She really was The Iron Lady! Forget the weeping and the wailing from the left wing of British politics over the recent benefit changes. They must be living in a fantasyland of pixies, fairies, and hobgoblins, because they are totally out of touch with reality. The recent introduction of a new benefits system under the watch of Iain Duncan Smith will have been largely welcomed by the majority of voters, who have got fed up with the relative ease that money has been given away to people who don’t deserve it, whilst hard work has not been rewarded. The UK safety net is still one of the best in the world, but the

endless supply of money has dried up, and it was long overdue for this contentious area to be looked at. Privately, Labour would agree with the reforms, which they would never have had the guts to implement, but in public, they have gone against the changes because they don’t want to annoy their core voters and union friends. Their spokesperson on welfare, Liam Byrne, said that they want to come up with plans to “reward those who give more to their community”. I‘d love to know what those words actually mean, especially coming from a man who as a former Treasury minister left a note to the new government saying that “all the money had been spent”. The Tories meanwhile can also say that their Lib Dem coalition partners have backed them in their

plans, and that leaves Labour looking totally out of touch with the public mood on this subject. Sadly, we have seen misguided attempts to extend the argument over welfare to the tragedy of the six Philpott children. George Osborne unwisely said that there was some kind of a link between the Philpott case and the need for welfare reform, whilst there was an especially vile front page of the Daily Mail which also drew the same conclusion. Why is there a need to try and get a political angle out of everything, including the awfulness of six youngsters losing their lives? There are times when politicians and newspapers should actually engage their brains, before saying something that is insensitive and unnecessary. There's a right time and place for everything.

Friday, April 12, 2013

LOW FAT DESSERTS LEMON & LIME CRUSH Ingredients 6 lemons 6 limes 1 large stick lemongrass 4 lime leaves , optional 250g sugar

Method

Zest 2 of the lemons and 2 of the limes. Juice all the fruits and keep the empty shells to serve the

granita. Tip the juice, zest, lemongrass, lime leaf (if using), and sugar into a bowl. Pour over 500ml boiling water. Stir everything together until the sugar has dissolved, then leave to cool and infuse. Strain the lemon syrup into a tray and freeze as stated. Place the lemon and lime halves in the freezer and fill with granita to serve.

MAPLE PEARS WITH PECANS & CRANBERRIES Ingredients 4 ripe pears handful dried cranberries 2 tbsp maple syrup , plus extra to serve 50g/2oz pecan nuts, broken roughly Greek yogurt , to serve

Method

1. Peel and halve the pears and scoop out the core with a teaspoon. Lay the halves in a shallow microwaveable dish, cut side down, along with the cranberries. Pour 2 tbsp of the maple syrup over and cover with cling film.

Microwave on High for 3 mins until softened, stirring halfway through. Uncover and leave to cool for a few mins. Stir the pecan nuts through the syrup. 2. Spoon into serving dishes, drizzle extra maple syrup, if you like, and serve with yogurt.

Friday, April 12, 2013

RICHARD CAVENDER

Bluemoon Solutions www.bluemoonsolutions.es

BlueMoon Solutions is the computer and IT services company on the Costa Blanca, they provide quality computer services at realistic prices and specialise in working with home users and small businesses.

Richard moved to Spain seven years ago having left his management background behind in the UK and decided to use his IT skills to help home users and small businesses with their PC problems. Now a relaxed 'computer man' he is out and about in the Spanish sun every day, making house and shop calls and using his vast experience and qualifications to (usually) sort out the problem there and then. Computers are his hobby as well as his work so don’t be surprised to get an answer to your email in the early hours!

ADVICE: Denise wanted to know how to delete a contact ADVICE: Bill wanted to know whether he should remove Windows Live Messenger in Gmail.

Hi Richard, I am having trouble with my Gmail account in as much as I am unable to delete certain addresses that I no longer need. Please how do I do this? Denise

Hi Richard hope you & your good lady are both well. Just wondered if you can advise me. As I now use outlook.com for my emails & Skype now takes over MSN messenger is it a good idea to remove all windows essentials with messenger too. I emailed Microsoft but they never replied with any advice? Take care both cya Bill

Hi Denise, in order to delete a Gmail contact you need to do the following… • Log onto Gmail as normal • Click on the down arrow next to Gmail at the top left of the screen and choose contacts • Click on the contact that you want to delete • Click on the “more” button at the top of the screen and choose “Delete Contact” Hope that helps.

ADVICE: Uffe wanted to know whether he could install Firefox on his tablet without risk.

Hi Richard, before I install Firefox on my tablet I would like to make sure it doesn’t conflict with Google Chrome which is my usual browser? By the way, I have another access to the Internet simply called "Browser"! I seldom use it, but it appears that it is "just" Google - and not Chrome? Anyway, can I install Firefox without "risk"? Thanks Uffe Hi Uffe, there are risk free solutions when it comes to computing, anything and everything we do with our computers has an inherent risk attached to it, however in this case it’s a pretty straight forward thing to do to install a new web browser on your tablet. There should be no “conflict” between the different browsers, Google Chrome, Firefox and “Browser” which is simply a web browser that comes as part of the Android package are all happy to work alongside each other on your tablet.

Hi Bill, yes it's probably a good idea to remove Windows Live Messenger now that Microsoft have replaced it with Skype. The easiest way to do this is to open up the control panel and locate the add/remove programs section (called Programs and Features in Windows Vista and 7). Inside here you will see a program called Windows Live Essentials, just double click it and select the option to "select the items to remove" rather than just removing everything you should probably just untick the Windows Live Messenger option to remove just that item. There are a number of quite useful Windows Live Essential programs that you probably don’t want to remove like Microsoft Photo Gallery and Movie Maker to name just a couple. Hope it helps, regards

Don’t forget you can follow me on twitter @bluemoonspain Alternately why don’t you sign up for my newsletter. You can do this by going to:www.bluemoonsolutions.es and fill in the form that is on any page except the front page. office@bluemoonsolutions.es www.bluemoonsolutions.es Mobile: 655 044 970

Office: 902 906 200

Friday, April 12, 2013

Lose pounds gain confidence Each and every one of us have different reasons for wanting to lose weight. Before you begin any attempts at weight loss its worth actually thinking of 3 reasons why you want to lose weight. For example I want to be able to be more active with my children/grandchildren. You can remind yourself of these reasons each time you need a little extra motivation.

There are 4 recognized stages of weight management

Preparation Weight Loss Stabilization The rest of your life! Here at Medaesthetics we can help you to lose weight in a stress free, non pressurized, confidential and professional environment. We always work on a one to one basis and as highly skilled professionals we can support you on your weight loss journey and afterwards for as long as it takes. Your success is our reward. There are no weekly fees or initial joining fee, you pay only for your food

products and with a wide choice of foods and the incorporation of a healthy eating programme you are guaranteed the best possible chance of success. Here at Medaesthetics we have also developed SLIMFIT EUROPE which is a combined approach to weight loss using an exercise based machine and nutritional advice and food supplements which give really impressive results. Again this is one to one and completely private. Even if you are very obese you will be welcomed and supported to lose the extra weight in privacy - don’t be afraid to come and see us. We can even arrange an out of hours appointment if you are very shy and don’t want to meet with anyone else. A good way to prepare is to visit the website www.cambridge800.es (just press the English flag to read the site in English). This site is really useful for learning a little more about our unique approach and for working out your personal BMI (body mass index) which is a really useful indicator of your general health in relation to your weight. If you would like to speak in confidence to one of our Weight Management Consultants email us at simply18es@hotmail.com or call us on 965 326 082 and ask for Lynda or Lauren

BLOOD PRESSURE? WHAT IS NORMAL

Arteries and veins form a closed circuit (filled with blood) fitted with an in line pump, the heart. The heart contracts, forcing blood via the arteries to all parts of the body. Every surge of blood causes a palpable pulsation: the pulse. Following every contraction, the heart relaxes. During contraction the pressure in the arteries reaches a peak. When measured, this is called the systolic pressure, also known as the upper value or reading. With the heart at rest, the pressure drops; but not to zero. This is called the diastolic or lower reading. Blood pressure is measured by wrapping a cuff around the upper arm which is inflated until all flow is cut off. During slow deflation of the cuff one listens, by means of a stethoscope, waiting for the pulse to appear and later disappear, noting the readings at both instances. Pressure within the cuff is registered by either a mercury or aneroid baumanometer. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 or below. While it's true that blood pressure tends to rise with age, that's no reason to feel complacent: such a rise will always carry with it an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and other complications of high blood pressure (hypertension). Blood pressure normally varies throughout the day, often by 40 points or more. Exercise and stress are especially likely to increase it, while relaxation and sleep will usually lower it. Standing up or talking, for example, can increase blood pressure by 10 or more points. Even simply worrying about blood pressure will increase it. If your blood pressure is only high when you're exercising or when you're at the doctor's office, that's okay. But if it's high even part of the time in routine situations, that is abnormal and deserves treatment.

HOW YOU CAN PREVENT OR SLOW DOWN ALZHEIMER’S A very recent report in one of the local papers highlighted the rising incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in Alicante province. According to the paper, the incidence of AD has gone up by 173% in the last decade, a huge increase when compared to a population increase in the area of just 32%. Undoubtedly, the rise in the number of AD sufferers will be related to the massive influx of retirees to Alicante in the past years. Nevertheless, every year

DR MACHI MANNU’S ADVICE CLINIC Email your questions and comments to machimannu@gmail.com

more people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than the year before. Currently a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease cannot be made using any of our existing technologies. It is known as a disease of exclusion, only confirmed when other disorders that may have a similar presentation have been eliminated. Alzheimer’s is regarded as a progressive neurode-

generative disorder, in the sense that the symptoms of confusion, mood swings, and memory loss originating from the brain and nerves, continue to worsen until death. In Alzheimer’s, certain abnormal proteins (amyloid and tau) and plaques are deposited in the brain, leading to the destruction of brain tissue and nerves. This destruction causes the

depletion of a very important brain chemical- acetylcholine. It is widely believed that the loss of acetylcholine in the brain is responsible for the symptoms associated with AD. Not surprisingly, a number of environmental toxins are known to be triggers for the formation of the abnormal proteins that herald AD. Toxins, especially those known as free radicals are now recognised to be behind most chronic illnesses. Free radicals cause what is known as ‘oxidative damage’ to our tissues and organs. Even as we breathe, our lungs are generating toxic free radicals. Usually our bodies have an efficient anti-oxidant system for neutralizing the free radicals it produces, but our environment has become overloaded with toxic free radicals, thereby overwhelming the body. Anti-oxidants play a major role not only in the prevention of Alzheimer’s, but also in preventing many other chronic disorders such as Diabetes, Parkinson’s, etc. Coloured fruits and vegetables are very rich sources

of antioxidants. Vitamin E is one of the most powerful antioxidants in the body, protecting it against inflammation and damages caused by free radicals. Good sources of vitamin E are seeds, nuts, leafy greens, sprouts, avocados, and spinach. Vitamin E in very high doses of 2000 IU daily is known to slow down the progression of moderately severe AD. The red wine extract known as resveratrol and the extracts of the French pine – Pycnogenol are also good sources of powerful anti-oxidant compounds. Aluminium has been strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease as sufferers are known to have high levels of this metal in their blood. Common sources of aluminium contamination in the body include; aluminium cookware, antacids, deodorants,

baking powders, canned beverages and contaminated water. The symptoms of AD can be very similar to those of vitamin B complex deficiencies. Vitamin B12 is needed for normal functioning of the nerves and brain. It is commonly deficient in elderly people and a major cause of depression in them. Zinc deficiencies have also been linked to the development of AD. Zinc is important for the production of many enzymes and proteins in the body. Taking a comprehensive multi vitamin supplement is more beneficial than taking single vitamin and mineral supplements because nutrients need each other to be properly absorbed into the body. FOR A FULL BODY DIAGNOSTIC SCAN, CALL 965 071 745

Friday, April 12, 2013

When gout comes in from the cold… deep red-blue colours. Eating a quarter kilo of cherries is known to reduce uric acid levels significantly after 3 hours. Folic acid blocks the enzyme that produces uric acid, working on the same principle as allopurinol (the drug of choice for treating gout). If you consume vitamin C in high doses to maintain your health, it is important to realise that this may lead to increased production of uric acid and its crystals. Avoid high dose Vitamin C if you suffer from gout.

I have suffered from recurring gout for many years. The pain affects both my knees and big toes. Colchicine has been very helpful for managing the pain, but I am now worried that it may be suppressing my immunity. I never used to suffer from colds, but I get it a few times in a year now. I will be glad for your advice on what else I can do to help manage it.

Gout is a common cause of arthritic pain due to increased uric acid levels in bodily fluids. The elevated uric acid precipitates into crystals that are deposited around the joints of the toes, cartilage, subcutaneous tissue and bone leading to inflammation and damage to the surrounding areas. These crystals can also lead to the formation of kidney stones. 90% of all cases of gout (primary gout) are of unknown origin and has been linked to gene defects. The remaining 10% (secondary gout) occurs when the raised uric acid is caused by some other factor such as kidney disease, and medications such as aspirin. Primary gout occurs when the body produces a lot of uric acid, or is unable to excrete the uric acid it produces. The drug colchicine has no effect on uric acid levels, but reduces the inflammation it causes by suppressing the activities of white blood cells. It is very effective for managing acute gout pain, but has many side effects such as; lowered immunity, hair loss, depression, and liver damage. Uric acid is produced when a compound known as purine is broken down in the liver. High levels of purine is found in foods rich in proteins such as organ meats, shellfish, yeast, herring, sardines and also spinach, asparagus and legumes. Cutting down on foods rich in protein especially red meat and organ meat is paramount in the reduction of uric acid levels. Alcohol increases the production of uric acid, and often initiates gouty attacks. In some cases, abstinence may

Q A

What is Lemon balm?

be the only way to prevent such attacks. Obesity and weight gain have been linked to increased production of uric acid and weight reduction has been shown to lower uric acid levels and reduce associated symptoms. Refined carbohydrates such as flour and sugar and saturated fats are also known to increase uric acid production. An ideal diet for anyone suffering from gout is a diet low in animal and plant protein, low in saturated fats and high in fibres and complex carbohydrates. Proteins are essential for survival, and should never be avoided but curtailed. Many people do not drink the required 1.5 – 2 litres of water needed to excrete waste products from the body. Drinking adequate amounts of water promotes the excretion of uric acid, and prevents the formation of kidney stones. Cherries and red-blue berries are very effective in lowering uric acid levels. These fruits (cherries, blueberries, hawthorn berries) are rich sources of anti-oxidants – flavonoids that give them their

Lemon balm (Melissa Officinalis) is a herb of the mint family native to Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. The leaves which contain a variety of aromatic essential oils have a gentle lemon scent that makes them attractive to bees hence the name ‘Melissa’ which means honey bee in Greek. Lemon Balm has been used since ancient times for healing many kinds of ailments. It has sedative properties, and is commonly used as a calming agent. One study found it to be effective in reducing stress. It is also known as the ‘scholar’s herb’ as it was traditionally taken by stressed-out students to calm their nerves before exams. Research suggests that lemon balm works by blocking the breakdown of the relaxing brain chemical –GABA. It is widely used to ease a number of stress-related symptoms such as nausea, flatulence, depression, anxiety, restlessness, headaches and irritability. Lemon balm is also useful for stimulating the appetite. The crushed leaves repel mosquito when rubbed on the skin. Lemon balm works well to calm the nerves when combined with valerian. These 2 herbs work in synergy to reduce the symptoms of stress and depression. Lemon balm should never be taken with prescribed sleeping tablets, as the combination may cause drowsiness.

Friday, April 12, 2013

WARNING: Don't call out the police if you're in trouble in Britain - you might find yourself being sued. The UK police force are fast becoming a national joke and a very sick one at that. We've heard horrendous stories about senior officers distorting evidence, losing witness statements they didn't agree with, and just downright lying over the Hillsborough disaster. You've heard about the police stitching up the former Chief Whip, aided and abetted by the police trade union, the Police Federation, resulting in his having to resign his job. But now crass police officers (I think the word officers gives them too much credibility) are suing folk if they get injured while on a call out. It makes me wonder if a police officer's first priority today isn't trying to catch a villain, it's looking at ways to make money out of victims. The first case concerned a woman constable called to investigate a break-in at a petrol filling station. During the investigation she tripped over a kerb and injured herself. The garage owner couldn't believe it when he received court papers that the WPC was demanding compensation because he failed to keep her safe while she was carrying out the investigation. Not surprisingly the woman's action provoked widespread condemnation from the British public, and even attracted a rebuke from her Chief Constable, who said this was her decision to sue and was not official police policy. But now comes another case, of a PC who reportedly fell into a drain while attending a burglary. He's suing for loss of overtime because, although he received basic pay while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, he was not available for extra work during the Olympic Games. What on earth is a member

COP THIS FOR A SICK JOKE

of the public supposed to do if he or she calls on the police to help in an emergency - provide them with balls of cotton wool to wrap themselves in, just in case they fall over and hurt themselves? Recruits know that the job of a policeman or woman is more dangerous than most that's why they are paid more, can retire on a good pension in the prime of life and have a gold plated pension at that. This crazy nonsense of people suing for anything and everything came from America and it's sickening. The coppers are being backed by their trade union and I've long been of the opinion that trade unions lost any common sense

years ago. They argue they are only looking after the interests of their members, and in cash terms they may be right, but are they really acting in the best interests of their members if they are making them look like a lot of namby pamby, moneyseeking idiots, reduced to being a sick joke in the eyes of the public? Hopefully, these cases will be thrown out by the judges, with costs awarded against the Police Federation. But seeing some of the recent antics of judges, who are so out of touch with public opinion it's untrue, I have my doubts. We need to send out a clear message to police and everyone else - if you trip

and fall it's your fault for not looking where you are going (unless you are blind of course).

GOOD for the Chancellor and Prime Minister for having the guts to imply that Philpott, the father of 17 convicted of killing six of his children, was a product of the welfare state. Philpott has become one of the most hated people in Britain, his motives being fuelled by his desire to obtain benefits any way he could. Opinion polls in national newspapers have shown the British public firmly behind the idea that Philpott was a product of the UK's welfare state. The debate has certainly wrong-footed Labour, the party which for years has been guilty of making sections of society more and more dependent on benefits. All Labour could do was to condemn the Tories for making political capital from the tragedy. Yes, Labour, you may well want to try to avoid a sensible discussion on the total mismanagement of the UK's

welfare budget, which for years has been spiralling out of control. Labour introduced welfare as a way of protecting people for a relatively short time giving them a cushion until they could get back on their feet again. It was never intended to be used as a lifestyle choice. But that's exactly what has happened. Now we have armies who I'm often describing as breedi n g machines; women prepared to have b a b y a f t e r baby, year after year, with goodness knows how many fathers, to enable them to live on benefits. Then there are those who, like Philpott, invent bizarre lifestyle choices all aimed at maximising what they can get from the State. It's acted as a magnet to draw hundreds of thousands of immigrants into Britain to live off benefits; many moving into rented accommodation in the capital and having extortionate rents paid by taxpayers. It's resulted in immigrants living in the most expensive streets in London, having their rents paid for them. A crazy system which spiralled out of control, fuelled by the craziness which only unbridled Socialism can achieve. Yes, good for Cameron and Osborne for highlighting something which should have been to the forefront of public debate a generation ago. So much damage has been done and it's going to take years to rectify. Hopefully, at long last, people are seeing how crazy it is to allow a section of society to exist taking everything and giving nothing. Yes, those who cannot work because they are sick need protecting and protecting well, and the retired who have done their bit by working all their lives deserve a

good pension. But anyone who thinks itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fair that people on benefits should have as good or better lifestyle than someone who is working is just plain stupid, and it's about time that Labour was regarded as the loony Left which they clearly are and not even worth listening to.

ANYTHING which encourages people to think seriously about their weight - and with it their health - should be encouraged, and that's why I applaud Samoa Air, for its new ticket pricing policy. This is the first airline to start charging ticket prices by the weight of the passenger. Rather than pay a fixed price for a seat, passengers pay a fixed price per kilogram, which varies depending on the route length. It is, in my book, a very fair way of pricing on airlines, because airlines do not run on seats, they run on weight, the heavier the payload, the more fuel used. It means that a slim couple with two children flying to a summer holiday destination like Spain, may find themselves paying less to travel in future, if more airlines follow Samoa Air's example. It cannot come soon enough. Why on earth should I, weighing in at 11.8 stone, pay the same as someone weighing 18 stone? Perhaps people will soon turn up at the airport for a weigh-in with their luggage and pay according to weight, as a norm. They might find, however, if they've been stuffing themselves on all inclusive package holidays, the return flight will be much more expensive. One other aspect of all this comes to mind. What about clothes? Why shouldn't we slim folks pay less for our clothes than the fatties? After all, our clothes need less material. It's the same argument for shoes too. Bring it on - we'll slim down the nation one way or another!

Friday, April 12, 2013

ChariTEA jackpot is charity’s cup of tea THE last ChariTEA event was a huge success and raised €1,875 for various charities. Held on March 13 in the Parque Almansa Civic Centre, representatives from local charities Help Mar Menor, Aidemar and MABS Murcia were all welcomed to the event, and offered their own stalls in which all sorts of things were sold. Visitors were entertained by a wide range of music, including chamber music, the White Voices Choir, a string quartet and a percussion group. Café Golf provided delicious cakes and tea for the event, donating 100€ to the charities’ fund. The raffle, organised by CONEXIA, gave out some wonderful prizes, donated by local businesses.

From left: Paco Vidal (AIDEMAR), María Angeles Martínez-Abarca Nicolás (EOISJ Director), Evelyn Campbel (MABS), Bernard Ash (HELP MAR MENOR) and Antonio García Clemente (CONEXIA EOISJ President).

On April 5, the money raised was divided up and each charity was presented with a cheque for 475.66€. MABS Murcia is extremely grateful to Maria Angeles Martinez-Abarca Nicolas, everyone from CONEXIA EOISJ and Café Golf for all their hard work to make this such a successful event. “Every year, they raise awareness of and funds for local charities, and MABS has taken part in the event since its inception” said MABS director Lyn Baines. “We are delighted to be associated with EOISJ and we have gained some very useful Spanish volunteers as a result of these events. We look forward to continuing our good, working relationship with them.”

Sheila’s £300 Sun beam for MABS MABS Cancer Support Group in Murcia have received a surprise £300 donation from the staff and customers of the Sun Inn in Stockton, Cleveland in the UK – thanks to the kindness of. Sheila Moore, who works at the pub and heads up their fundraising committee. As a regular holiday visitor to the Mar Menor, Sheila got to know local resident Donna Walsh very well. And when. Donna was diagnosed recently with breast cancer, Sheila was so impressed with the support work of MABS that she sang their praises to the folks back home. When she explained to them what MABS does, the Sun Inn staff and customers

Banging the drum for Saint George

Matthew’s magic adds Hopkins class to choir

The youthful Nottingham Trent University Choir enchanted the audience at La Zenia Church with their outstanding singing. Their excellent harmonising and full rich sound filled the air - while the strength of the singing belied the actual number of singers present. The choir sang a varied programme from Mozart to John Rutter, including the Londonderry Air and What a Wonderful World. The audience was treated

to two outstanding solos, one given by Matthew Hopkins, the musical director and conductor of this very talented and committed group of singers. The full Nottingham Trent University Choir recently joined the world-class City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) for the last night of the proms under the conductorship of Matthew, who is clearly following in the footsteps of his dad, Nigel Hopkins.

were keen to contribute – and their efforts led to Sheila handing over a cheque to MABS Murcia Director, Lyn Baines. “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone at the Sun Inn pub and we are so grateful for their kindness.” commented Lyn. “The funds will be put to good use, helping those affected by cancer in the Murcia region.” Donna is now helping other people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and Lynn added:. “We’re very proud of how well Donna has coped and she will be a great support for others undergoing the same treatment.”

Upcoming events at Age Concern Costa Blanca include: May 3 and 4: The Rascals 20th Anniversary Concert ‘I REMEMBER IT WELL’ (7.30 pm). Tickets €6 available from Age Concern or ring 966784874. May 18: Concert by Cantabile Female Voice Choir, at The Palacio de Musica in Torrevieja (7.30 pm). Entrance Free, collection in aid of Age Concern. June 8: Summer Fair at Day Centre, Calle Paganini, La Siesta opening 11am. All the usual stalls including homemade cakes, bric-abrac, linen, tombola, and much more. Grand Raffle with lots of prizes, tickets €1 available shortly from the Centre or from volunteers. Donation of items appreciated, we can collect. Call 966786887.

ORIHUELA Costa’s St. George's Day Festival in Playa Flamenca is a benefit event for the Elche Children’s Care Home charity association and the Royal British Legion. The event starts at 12 noon on April 23 with a street parade led by

Torrevieja Pipes & Drums from Mercadona at Playa Flamenca down to the beach. There, the action will continue with live music from local artists, a raffle and fun for the whole family. Make a date in your diary…it’s a Spring Festival not to be missed...

Edition 4

PROPERTIES OF THE MONTH Page 2

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Legal Services Page 5

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FM Spanish Promotions Page 8

Friday, April 12, 2013

Buy, Sell or Part Exchange With Spanish Life Propeties

SPANISH LIFE PROPERTIES is a busy estate agency in Quesada and has been successfully selling properties in the Costa Blanca South area for the last three years. It was established to provide a much needed personal service for anyone who is wishing to buy or sell a property in Spain. For clients wanting to find their dream property, Spanish Life Properties listens carefully to what the customer wants and offers them personalised viewing trips, tailored to meet their specific needs so that they find their ideal home. Wanting to sell your property? Then look no further, as their dedicated ´Listings Specialist´ offers a free, no obligation, valuation service, and all the properties that they have are advertised via their shop, website, local media advertisements, property web portals and trade shows, as well as distributed to their extensive list of collaborative agents from all over Europe, so your property will certainly be seen! Spanish Life Properties primary aim is to

ensure that clients receive outstanding service and receive the help and support that they need during the purchase and sale process. To assist customers even further, they have an extensive portfolio of service providers giving clients easy access to the best solicitors, conveyors, banking or money exchange providers, in fact, any area of help that someone buying or selling a property will need A unique service offered by Spanish Life Properties is the Part Exchange scheme. This can assist some clients who want to move up the property ladder. Part Exchange works best in this difficult time, as even though client´s property maybe worth less than a few years ago, the property they want to buy is also dramatically cheaper. For more information about buying or selling a property, or the Part Exchange scheme, give them a call today on +34 966719689 or visit them at their Quesada office, behind the SabadellSolbank.

Discover Your Dream Home with The Rental And Sales Centre The Rental and Sales Centre has a vast knowledge and experience of the real estate business, whether it be buying, selling or renting property. Located within the popular holiday and residential urbanization of Los Dolses, the business has expanded through the years, developing a sound international client base and in-turn surviving through a very difficult period for the sector. The bilingual team includes specialists in the sales, rentals and administrative sectors, as well as a maintenance and cleaning arm, who are all on- hand to offer helpful hints and advice, carrying you smoothly through the sale or rental process. They promise to “remain proactive and extrovert in all that we do, although we do not believe in an aggressive, harassing approach”. This means that while they are happy to devote time to giving information and showing you a selection of properties

which are best suited to your needs, they will not bombard you with telephone calls or put any pressure on you to make a decision until you are entirely satisfied that it is the right one. The Rental and Sales Centre offers you access to a comprehensive website, featuring sale and rental properties located up and down the coast, and thus allowing you to browse at your leisure and remain in control of your property search. The site also gives information about property tours, property management services, golfing facilities, flight information, nursery hire, and a range of other useful facts which will all help you to make an informed decision about your future home. For further information please telephone 966 764 894 or email teresa@therentalandsalescentre.com or visit our website www.rentalandsalescentre.com

RCS 286 – Studio – 1 bedroom apartment Beautiful views to the countryside - 32,500€ An excellent opportunity for investment or step onto the property ladder in Spain! The property has 1 bedroom, lounge/diner, kitchen, bathroom and terrace area. Restaurant close by and walking distance to the very Spanish town of San Miguel de Salinas.

RCST 0072 - South-facing Bungalow in popular town of San Miguel - 59,000€ Drastically REDUCED end terraced bungalow with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lounge/diner, kitchen, outside utility area. Garden with room for a pool. Very large solarium with panoramic views to the Salt Lakes and mountains. Walking distance to shops, bars and restaurants, tennis courts and pool.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Falling House Prices Provide Encouraging News For Investors By Heidi Wardman Spain continues to boast a buyer’s market, as house prices fall again during the first trimester During the opening months of 2013, resale property prices across the country witnessed a drop of 2.8%, or 1,820 euros per square metre, according to Spanish property experts. This trend is not uncommon for wintertime, when slower sales encourage people to re-think their prices, and the falling figures were common for the entire country, aside from Asturias which maintained its prices at roughly the same level. The downward trend is set to continue as keen buyers become aware of the recent slide in prices, leaving vendors little choice but to take note, and offer even greater discounts on those which were available during 2012 in order to close a deal.

decline in resale property prices during the first trimester of this year, whilst only four registered a rise. The largest increase was witnessed in the Province of Ourense, with a rise in prices of 4.9%, followed by Tarragona (1%), Soria (0.6%) and Asturias (0.3%). Conversely, the most drastic price crashes were felt in Valencia (-4.7%), Cuenca (-4.6%),

House Prices By Region Asturias was the only region in the country that closed the trimester on a positive balance, with resale property prices increasing by 0.3%. By contrast, the largest decreases occurred in La Rioja, where prices plummeted by 4.1% over the three month period; Valencia where the reduction was 3.7% and 3.5% in Murcia. The Basque Region continues to offer the most expensive properties in Spain, which are selling for an average 3,000 euros per square metre. This is closely followed by Madrid, where prices lie at 2,703 per m2; Cantabria at 2,056 per m2 and Catalonia at 2,031 per m2. On the opposite side of the scale buyers will find the best value for money properties in Valencia where you can purchase a quality home for 1,304 euros per m2; Castilla la Mancha at 1,162 euros per m2 and Murcia for a bargain 1.151 euros per m2.

Provincial Figures Of the total 50 Spanish provinces, 46 experienced a

Seville and Castellón (both -4.5%). The provinces with the most expensive resale properties continue to be Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya, situated in the Basque Region, where prices are pegged at around 3.231 euros per m2 and 3.083 euros per m2 respectively, closely followed by Madrid (2.703 euros per m2) and Barcelona (2.284 euros per m2). Cuenca currently stands as the cheapest province in the country to pur-

chase property, where re-sales are worth around 1.035 euros per m2), followed by Ciudad Real (1.072 euros per m2) and Toledo (1.094 euros per m2).

Major Cities Even the country’s largest cities, which boast the highest degree of economic output, have failed to maintain house prices during the first trimester, with the most significant downward trend being recorded in Seville (-4.4%) followed by Valencia (-4.1%) and Zaragoza (-2.8%). Prices have also fallen in Bilbao (2.7%), Valladolid, Barcelona (-2.2% in both cases) and Madrid (-1.8%). This has left San Sebastian to accelerate through the ranks as the most expensive Spanish capital (4.082 per m2), ahead of Bilbao (3.205 per m2), the Spanish Capital Madrid (3.150 per m2) and Barcelona (3.146 per m2). At the opposite end of the scale, Lleida is the country’s cheapest city in which to purchase property, where resales are available for 988 per m2- the only city where the value is now under one thousand euros.

Property Plus Featuring some of the most professional and longstanding Real Estate companies on the Costa Blanca, Property Plus is rapidly becoming the preferred place to search for sales or rental properties. Our advertisers can introduce you to some of the best offers currently available, as well as offering sound advice to help you make the right move, and all within one handy supplement. Property Plus is published every month within the pages of The Courier Newspaper, and also available online at www.thecourier.es and www.propertyplus.es. If you own a property related business, and also want to take advantage of the effective marketing techniques demonstrated in Property Plus, please telephone Janine McKenzie on 616 332 178.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Building Your Country House

Horror stories concerning the “Land Grab” situation that was commonplace across the Valencian region only a few years ago, have caused investors to lose faith in building on rustic land. However, the reality is that as long as you do your homework, ensuring that all T’s are crossed and I’s dotted, there is no reason why you cannot enjoy a beautiful and FULLY LEGAL Spanish country home. Any area which falls under the term “Rustic Land” must also be highlighted on the General Plan which is kept by the local Town Hall and available for public viewing on request. Rustic land, as the name suggests, is that which lies outside of the core town or village, and often borders its recorded geographic territory. Planning regulations for rustic land are slightly different from those of urban land, in that the plot size and various other factors are determined by the Regional Government, which owns the territory, rather than Local Government. For example, the rustic land law for the Valencian Community states that any building should be on a minimum plot of 10,000m2, ensuring that a certain degree of natural land is retained. This figure may vary according to regional area so it is advisable to double check at the local town hall when you first set your sight on a plot in order to avoid a disaster later on. Be warned- rustic land may be further broken down into sub-categories of Protected, Restricted or Building land, so even if it is of 10,000m2 or more, you are not necessarily permitted to build on it. Again, all of these details will be included on the General Plan at the town hall and should be verified before any purchase agreement is signed. As a general rule, rustic land tends to be far cheaper per square metre than urban land. However, when working out your finances you must obviously account for the fact that you need to purchase a lot more of

it in order to make it legal. The ground floor area itself is always fixed at 2% of the plot size, meaning that on a 10,000m2 plot, the maximum stretch is 200m2, whilst the built area may extend to 4% of the plot size. This would allow for two floors of 200m2, making a total constructed area of 400m2. Beyond these limitations, the construction may also include a cellar, terracing, porches/pergolas and a swimming pool. There are also certain rules which must apply to the height of the building, including that it must be restricted to two storeys, with the height of the solid boundary wall standing anywhere between 1 and 1.80 metres high. Aesthetically, properties constructed on rustic land should be designed in a style which is in-keeping with the surroundings, as well as other country properties situated nearby. In this sense, it is highly unlikely that the authorities would grant permission to the construction of an ultra modern designer glass-fronted villa on a plot of rustic land, so if that’s what you are hoping for then you may have to think again. Traditional inland rustic houses are known as “fincas” and have the appearance of a farmhouse, with stone cladding on the walls, or the entire construction made from stone. Again, regulations concerning the appearance of country properties are largely determined by the local Town Hall and so vary between municipalities. For example, some have more stringent rules concerning the direction of the roof-line, types of acceptable windows, number and dimensions of arches, or the construction materials permitted, which should all be looked into prior to commencing building work. In all instances, it is advisable to speak to a reliable local architect and builder prior to signing any contracts, as they should be able to give you all of the details required to make an informed decision regarding your investment.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Golden Rules for Renting in Spain By Heidi Wardman As a result of the unstable economy and curb on lending by banks, renting property has become increasingly popular in Spain in recent years. The situation offers many benefits to both property owners and tenants alike, although as with most things, you should think carefully about who you are renting from, or to, before you tie yourself to a contract.

Management companies operating on the Costa Blanca, with a selection of the most professional and established featured within this Property Plus supplement. These usually offer a range of supplementary services; and tariffs can vary greatly so be sure to shop around before you hand your keys over!

Landlords If you decide to rent out your Spanish property, you stand to face the same pros and cons which you would also need to consider in the UK. You have the perfect opportunity to capitalize on your investment, but could risk entrusting your property to problem tenants at the same time. Landlords are largely in control of how they arrange payments for rent and utilities, with the option to pinpoint an all-inclusive figure or request that everything be paid separately. They may also consider charging for other services such as swimming pool maintenance, community fees and municipal taxes associated with the property, although this can make the overall rental cost expensive compared to others and might be off-putting for potential tenants. All terms and conditions of this nature should be clearly stated and agreed in the rental contract, and landlords are advised to ensure that these are understood to avoid conflict later on. If the tenant takes you to court claiming that they were not aware of the various charges then they could win the right to evade them leaving you liable to pay the deficit. Landlords are legally entitled to safeguard themselves by demanding a refundable deposit as well as a full month’s rent upfront for unfurnished accommodation and two months rent for furnished or commercial units. This might either be paid directly to yourself or to a third party such as a reputable property management company, and should also be written into the contract. There are several Property

Finally, it is important to note that you should declare any rental income by law, which has led to many verbal agreements being forged between landlords and tenants in the past. If you chose to go down this route it is important to be aware that you still have a binding contract in the eyes of the law, and if the tenant has a problem they need only offer proof of the last month’s payment to commence legal proceedings against you, which could leave you in very deep water.

Tenants Properties in Spain can either be let on a short or long term basis in accordance with the owner’s needs. Short term lets are usually charged on a weekly basis and offered to holiday makers with the rental contract headed with the words "Por Temporada", which translates as "seasonal". Long term lets are more often charged on a monthly basis, and designed for people who are planning on living in Spain either permanently or for several months at a time. These are confirmed with a contract that states "Vivienda" or "Residential". The tenant’s legal rights and obligations vary greatly depending what type of contract they have. For example, if you are hoping to remain within a property for a few years and “make it your own” but sign a short term contract for nine months, you could be asked to leave when the contract ends. Therefore it is best to insist upon a long term "Vivienda" contract, which will give you the legal right to renew for five consecutive years. During this time, rental fees and other charges can only be revised in line with the rate of inflation. You will generally be asked to pay a deposit when you take up occupancy, which is expected in accordance with Spanish law. However, for your own peace of mind you maintain the right as a tenant to insist on paying this to a neutral third party such as a rental agency or a government office called the "Consejería de la Vivienda", rather than handing it directly to the landlord. If you hold a long term rental contract but do not feel that the landlord is fulfilling his legal obligations towards you, it is advisable to visit the nearest municipal consumers' office (OMIC - Oficina Municipal de Información del Consumidor). Otherwise you could go on paying for facilities which you are not receiving. They will be happy to put your case forward to a Consumer Affairs specialist who can advise you of your legal position and any action to take. If you decide to go down this route you will need to take some form of identification, your rental contract, and any receipts for payment of rent or utilities which you have made with you.

Friday, April 12, 2013

FM Spanish Promotions: Providing The Key To Your Dream Home FM Spanish Promotions offers a selection of high quality new and resale properties, located right along the coast. With a wealth of experience in the Real Estate and Finance industry, the experts at FM Spanish Promotions are well equipped to assist you in securing your dream home, and carry you through the entire purchase process, from searching for property to signing contracts at the notary. Working out of its busy offices in Playa Flamenca, the company is also pleased to have its own professional After Sales service, which means that even when you are all settled into your new home, you will still have someone to call upon when in need of assistance. Their philosophy is to secure a lifelong contract with their clients, by catering for their individual property requirements and offering the best possible rates available in order to see their dreams become a reality! FM Spanish Promotions are pleased to take the hassle out of searching for property, by inviting clients to join one of their personalised inspection tours. During this process, the professional Sales Team will take the time to research the client’s requirements,

including location, housing type and budget, before escorting them to view a selection of potential properties. They offer honest, impartial advice throughout the trip, with no obligation to the client to make a commitment until they are entirely satisfied. FM Spanish Promotions cannot only pair you with a perfect home, but will also support you in selling an existing property, marketing it to a wide audience through continual media announcements and a comprehensive web portal. Furthermore, FM Spanish Promotions operates a professional property maintenance and rentals service, allowing you to select an attractive property and location without the need to make a long term financial commitment. The company maintains that “Whether you are buying, selling or renting a property, we will give you an honest, reliable and dependable service which is second to none”. For further information or to make an appointment, please telephone 965 325 476. Alternatively, you may email them at info@fmspanishpromotions.com. You can find FM Spanish Promotions Office at: Calle Santa Alodia, 27, Playa Flamenca Commercial Centre, 03189.

Customer Service – push 1, 2 or 3 …

Terrible customer service stories – everybody has them and many seem to involve call centres or haggling with salespeople. These experiences show one thing in common – a lack of respect for the customer’s needs. Customer Service is important in any business but why, at right move insurance, do we consider this our number one priority. At right move we’re not robots and we don’t treat our clients like robots, everyone is an individual and is treated as such. Of course sales are vital, but what is more important is to ensure that our clients get the right insurance product for their needs at the right price and that they are happy enough to recommend us and return year on year. Like every other business, we offer discounts and try to get the best products and prices in the marketplace, but good customer service is the lifeline of our business. But is it true to say that in this modern age of technology with automated machines for everything from cash dispensers to utility companies and automated answer phones that seem to have so many options and buttons, none of which do what you want, that we have lost what is important? Is it too much to ask that a human not a robot, will answer your enquiry, is it too much to expect that you will be answered by a qualified, knowledgeable

and polite human being who will listen to your problem, solve it, hold a polite conversation with you and above all make a decent cup of tea, doesn’t seem much to ask does it! There is no denying that technology made our lives simpler and more convenient, but at the expense of being distant and impersonal and of course the all important words “cost effective”. At right move we believe that our secret to success is delivering good customer service, and there are no shortcuts and no overnight success. We always treat customers the way we would like to be treated ourselves. Good customer service is important to us, because without customers we would not have a business. Right move insurance can help with all your insurance needs from car to home, travel to funeral, pet to commercial and public liability insurance. We also specialise in fleet/rental car insurance. We can be found at Playa Flamenca Commerical Centre, Orihuela Costa and are open Monday to Friday 10.00 - 6.00pm, telephone number 965 325 242, email contact@rightmoveinsurance.com, web www.rightmoveinsurance.com. Appointments can be made for after hours and weekends.

Friday, April 12, 2013

RASCALS GET NOSTALGIC DOWN MEMORY LANE THE Rascals staged their first photo shoot for their upcoming series of shows which open at the School of Culture and Music in Los Montesinos on May 3 and 4 . This year is quite a milestone for The Rascals as it is 20 years since their first show in La Siesta Square. And the group’s late founders Grace and Wally Scott would be so proud to see the group thriving as it is. This year’s show, entitled ‘I Remember It Well’, is packed with excerpts from top musicals including Oklahoma, Calamity Jane, My Fair Lady and many more. There will also be a James Bond section featuring Rascals dancers, plus some amusing comedy sketches. The Los Montesinos dates are followed by May 18 in Guardamar at the Casa de Cultura, June 1 In Benijofar Casa de Cultura and concluding in Torrevieja at the Virgen del Carmen on June 13. The Christmas shows were completely sold out, so please reserve your seats now. Tickets are still only €6 and can be obtained by calling Sue on 96 678 4874 or Jill on 96 6727 282. All Rascals ticket money is donated to local charities - they have raised over €120,000 to date.

€2,955! PURE GOLD FOR OUR HEROES The Help for Heroes fun day at Punta Marina Commercial Centre raised the grand total of 2955€ thanks to our entertainers Nick Gold (who compered), Dan Davy, JJ Soulman, Davy Jones, Elise Macgregor, Release, Touch of Class, The Notion and TAABS. The sun shone down all day and those present were treated to a march by The Royal British Legion led by The Torrevieja Pipes and Drums. Included in the total is 270€ raised by the Royal British Legion on their stall. Organiser Lynne Zaber would like to thank my stall ladies who worked so hard leading up to and on the day, local businesses including Milar, Timeless Fashions, Captains Table and Le Cafet to name but a few, for their generous raffle prizes and support. Thanks also goes to everyone who turned up to make it a great day for a very worthy cause.

Tony the terrific tops it all

TOP local entertainer Tony Lincoln will compere and host an Evening of Soul and Motown as a prelude to returning to the UK at the end of the month. The show at Restaurante Los Rosales next Tuesday (April 16) is a tribute to Tony’s popularity and also features

Richie Alexander, The O’Jays, Billie Paul, The 4 Tops, and diva tribute Chloe Leigh. Tickets are €12.50 for show and meal. Doors open at 7.00pm. More info from 697 501 992 /672 885 418 or email losrosalesshows@gmail.com

Friday, April 12, 2013

UK HEADLINES

IT’S GOOD THEY FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT ME...IT MEANS I’VE DONE SOMETHING DEFIANT Baroness Thatcher thought that parties celebrating her death would be a “remarkable tribute”, a close friend revealed Tuesday. Tory MP Conor Burns said she spoke out after he told her “death party packs” were being sold at a union congress. He added: “She said that the fact that they still felt so strongly about her — more than 20 years after she left Downing Street — was a tribute to the fact that she had DONE SOMETHING in politics, rather than simply BEEN SOMEONE in politics.” Street parties were held on Monday night across the country. A huge one is planned for Saturday night in Trafalgar Square — scene of a notorious 1990 Poll Tax riot. And more are set to take place next Wednesday to clash with her funeral. Yesterday a protester was ushered from the doorstep of the former Prime Minister’s home in Belgravia, central London, brandishing signs saying “Thatcher supported state terrorism” and “Thatcher is an anti-Irish racist”. Angry Jim Curran, 65 — chairman of the Irish Civil Rights Association — said afterwards: “In regards to her family, she is a mother and I have sympathy for her family. “But I have no sympathy for her political views. I hope the policies she pursued die with her.” Organisers at the Class War anarchist group claim tens of thousands will turn up to Saturday’s Trafalgar Square celebration. Founder Ian Bone, 65, said: “It was always planned that there would be a party on the first Saturday after Thatcher died. “It will probably be the best Saturday

The Sun

night out since the Poll Tax riots, which brought her down. Miners, steel workers and all the groups she annoyed through the years will be there. It will be Poll Tax riot reunion.” He said the fact that Lady Thatcher died on Monday has “given people time to book coaches and accommodation so they can turn up in their tens of thousands”. A spokesman for the Met Police said: “We are aware of suggested protests over this weekend. We will have a policing operation in place, as appropri-

ate.” Seven cops were injured, one seriously, at Monday’s party in Easton, BRISTOL, after 200 people took to the streets. Some wore Lady Thatcher masks. Unemployed Julian Styles, 58 — made redundant from a factory in 1984 — said: “I’ve been waiting for that witch to die for 30 years. Tonight is party time. I’m drinking one drink for every year I’ve been out of work.” Trouble flared around midnight when officers tried to silence sound systems. Dozens of riot police were pelted with bottles and cans with the air thick with cannabis smoke and chants of “Maggie Thatcher, Maggie Thatcher, she’s not living any more! She’s not living any more!”

Wheelie bins were set on fire and a police car damaged before calm was restored around 3am. Chief Insp Mark Jackson said: “It was a peaceful party but at about 10.30pm it expanded somewhat. Residents were quite upset and wanted something done.” In LEEDS there were cheers as “Maggie death cake” was handed out while flares and fireworks were set off outside LIVERPOOL’s Lime Street Station. In GLASGOW’s George Square protesters wore party hats and launched streamers. Around 150 people gathered at the scene of the fierce 1981 riots in BRIXTON, South London. Some of them clambered on to a cinema to rearrange letters advertising films to spell out “Margaret Thatchers dead. Lol”. Others unfurled banners proclaiming: “The Bitch is dead”. Two women were arrested on suspicion of looting a shop. Local councillor Alex Bigham said: “Even if you detested her policies, many of which I did, it is tasteless posturing.” The area’s Labour MP Chuka Umunna added: “Holding a party to celebrate the death of any person is totally wrong and in extreme bad taste. The organisers do not speak for or represent the people of Brixton.” FORMER Prime Minister will be laid to rest with a televised ceremonial funeral with full military honours A party spokesman said leader Ed Miliband “categorically and unequivocally condemns any celebration of Lady Thatcher’s death”. But Unite union boss “Red Len” McCluskey insisted last night “maybe millions” had celebrated the death. The Socialist firebrand added: “Thatcherism was an evil creed.”

Bung in the oven A JOBLESS mum of TEN on benefits has sparked outrage by declaring she wants ANOTHER baby. Iona Heaton, 44, hopes an 11th child will boost her state hand-outs after the family’s £30,000 bill was cut. She said: “I don’t know how the Government expects people to make do with current benefits. “It’s just not enough for a family as big as mine to live on. “I wouldn’t dream of getting a job because I’d be worse off.” Iona and partner Paul Brown have seven kids — Kain, eight, Elle, seven, Kian, five, Keegan, three, Zak, two, 21-month-old Kaiden and Keelan, seven months. Her eldest three — Sean, 25, new mum Jade, 18, and pregnant Shannon, 17 — are from a previous relationship. Iona said: “As soon as I’ve had a baby, I just want another. “No matter how much the Government cuts my benefits by, it won’t stop me. “I don’t think it’s irresponsible to have so many children on benefits. I’ll

never stop having babies — no matter what the cost.” Last year Iona demanded a bigger house and the family moved to a fourbed semi worth £190,000 in Blackburn, Lancs. Their annual hand-outs, which include £400 a month in child benefit, were cut to £21,600 when Paul, 46, got extra work as a metal polisher. But Iona — who wants fertility treatment on the NHS to conceive again — says his £1,000-a-month income is too small. Paul is unsure about having another child, but Iona vowed: “I’ll win him round. Seeing Shannon pregnant makes me broody. “Now I’m 44, I’m terrified my biological clock is ticking.” TaxPayers’ Alliance chief Matthew Sinclair said: “Most families have to decide whether they can afford another child rather than demanding someone else to pay for it.”

Friday, April 12, 2013

UK HEADLINES

British man sought in Lanzarote kidnap case NEW DIG UNCOVERS 'ENTIRE STREETS' OF ROMAN LONDON

A family from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, were on holiday in Costa Teguise in Lanzarote on January 30 last year when a man - believed to be British - attempted to kidnap the girl in a shop. The victim's father noticed she was missing, left a store and spotted the youngster being led around a corner into an alleyway by a man, who was holding her by the hand. He shouted out and ran up to his daughter, pulling her away from the man who then left the scene. The family were on the beach a short time later and saw the same man, who spoke fluent English, sitting between some rocks and acting suspiciously. The victim's father confronted the suspect, but he left the scene before police arrived. But the family took photos of the man, which have now been released by police in an attempt to identify him. The suspect is described as white, with pasty skin, of stocky build with broad shoulders, 5ft 8ins to 5ft 9ins, 40 to 55 years old, with short dark hair and a dark moustache. Investigating officer Detective Constable John Swallow said: "This is a very concerning incident in which a young girl was led away from her family by an unknown man. "The victim's father knew it was his daughter being led around the corner because he recognised her flashing trainers.

An archaeological dig in the heart of the City "will transform our understanding" of Roman London, experts claim. About 10,000 finds have been discovered, including writing tablets and good luck charms. The area has been dubbed the "Pompeii of the north" due to the perfect preservation of organic artefacts such as leather and wood. One expert said: "This is the site that we have been dreaming of for 20 years." Archaeologists expect the finds, at the three-acre site, to provide the earliest foundation date for Roman London, currently AD 47. The site will house media corporation Bloomberg's European headquarters. It contains the bed of the Walbrook, one of the "lost" rivers of London, and features built-up soil waterfronts and timber structures, including a complex Roman drainage system used to discharge waste from industrial buildings. Organic materials such as leather and found in London, is another prize find. wood were preserved in an anaerobic enviMOLA's Sophie Jackson said the site conronment, due to the bed being waterlogged. tains "layer upon layer of Roman timber buildings, fences and yards, all beautifully preserved and containing amazing personal 'Beautifully preserved' Museum of London archaeologists items, clothes and even documents." The site also includes a previously unex(MOLA), who led the excavation of the site, say it contains the largest collection of small cavated section of the Temple of Mithras, a finds ever recovered on a single site in Roman cult, which was first unearthed in London, covering a period from the AD 40s 1954. The preserved timber means that tree ring to the early 5th Century. Sadie Watson, the site director for MOLA, samples will provide dendrochronological said: "We have entire streets of Roman dating for Roman London, expected to be earlier than the current dating of AD 47. London in front of us." The artefacts are to be transported back At 40ft (12m), the site is believed to be one of the deepest archaeological digs in to the Museum of London to be freeze-dried London, and the team have removed 3,500 and preserved by record, as the site will eventually become the entrance to the tonnes of soil in six months. More than 100 fragments of Roman writ- Waterloo and City line at Bank station. Once Bloomberg Place is completed in ing tablets have been discovered. Some are 2016, the temple and finds from the excavathought to contain names and addresses, tion will become part of a public exhibition while others contain affectionate letters. A wooden door, only the second to be within Bloomberg's headquarters.

Daily Telegraph

The man police would like to speak to in connection with an attempted child abduction in Lanzarote "The incident was reported to Thames Valley Police after initially being reported to police in Lanzarote and we have been making enquiries to try and establish the man's identity since then. "We are working closely with the Spanish authorities and Interpol on this case and will continue to do so. "We have reason to believe he may be a British citizen as he spoke fluent English and made references to being on holiday. "I am appealing for anyone who recognises the man in the images or has information on his whereabouts to contact police as soon as possible."

Friday, April 12, 2013

SPANISH NEWS

COAST L AW AMNESTY ON SPANISH SHORELINES The Popular Party (PP) government is planning to open a little loophole in Spain's strict coastline protection laws. A planned amendment to the 1988 Coast Law reduces — in practice — the protected shoreline area from the current 100 meters to just 20 meters. But homes that are now located within this 80-meter strip will be subject to very strict controls if property owners want to make structural changes, assuming they get the approval from and comply with the rules of their municipal governments. To remove their beachside homes from the present state of legal limbo, owners must demonstrate that they have an access road, water supplies, sewage disposal and electrical power. Environment Ministry officials said that changes to the law are being proposed at the request of the regional governments in Galicia and the Canary Islands.

An aerial view of Nules, Monocofrar and Xilxes in Valencia, which could benefit from changes to the Coast Law The modification is also aimed at resolving the situation of existing population areas that fall under the 1988 law, which back then did not meet the qualifications to be considered urban areas, but do meet the requirements proposed in the amendment. "This means that inside the 80meter area, there will be no ban on building stemming from the Coast Law," explained a ministry source, who added, however, that no new

buildings can be built simply on the basis of the proposed reform. This is nothing but a loophole because it legalizes all the breaches to the law” Those municipalities that want to take advantage of the new standard will have a three-month period after the amendment is passed to solicit authorization with the entire process expected to end in two years. If officials at the Environment Ministry do not raise

any objections to the applications within 18 months, then it would be understood that the petition is favourable and the local governments can go ahead and introduce the regulations in their areas. "This is nothing but a loophole because it legalizes all the breaches to the current law," said Fernando Palao, a former secretary of state under the previous Socialist government and one of the architects of the Coast Law of 1988. Palao says that the only kind of illegal building that will not be covered by the changes are single, isolated homes. "The problem is how to enforce all of this," he said. José Ortega, a lawyer and president of the People Affected by the Coastal Act Platform, believes that a big problem will occur when it comes time to appraise all the land in these areas. "It \[the amendment\] doesn't define what the boundaries should be of the areas to be appraised," he said. The PP's proposal is just one of

184 amendments in a major government reform package, which will be debated in the Senate this month. In the neighbourhood of Ojos de Garza in Telde, Gran Canaria, people are confident that the changes will at least buy them some time. There are 21 demolition orders for this ward and 30 other homes could also face similar razing orders if they are determined to remain squatter settlements on public land. "The amendment does not address the homes that risk demolition. If they existed before 1988, then they are out of the public domain and they are considered to have owners," the Environment Ministry official said. During a debate in the Canary Islands regional parliament, PP Senator María Rosa de Haro explained that the amendment will give some flexibility to the authorities when administering those zones that can demonstrate they are connected to municipal services.

King of Spain 'less popular than tax inspectors' KING Juan Carlos is now less popular among his subjects than Spain’s tax inspectors, according to a poll in El Pais. The King’s standing has plummeted as his family has been drawn into a corruption and money-laundering scandal linked to his sonin-law, the Duke of Palma, yet the survey was conducted before his youngest daughter, Cristina, received a court summons last week in connection with the case. The Metroscopia poll gives the King (pictured) a first-time “fail” grade, awarded when the sum of disapproval votes is greater than those in favour. His total of minus 2 per cent is 13 percentage points lower than tax inspectors. It is also lower than his total during the scandal last year, when he had to apologize

for going on a luxury safari trip in Africa as Spain battled its worst economic crisis in half a century. Once considered Europe’s most popular Royal Family, anti-monarchist sentiment has being growing fast in Spain. It is particularly strong among younger voters, suffering from 55 per cent youth unemployment, and for whom the King’s important role in the country’s transition to democracy in the 1970s has little significance. Instead, months of lurid headlines about Princess Cristina’s husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, over alleged siphoning off of millions of euros of public money to his supposedly not-for-profit organisation, Nóos, have had greater impact.

Friday, April 12, 2013

BAY WATCH: BISCAY Domestic violence WAVES ROLL THEIR cop loses his arms WAY TO NEW POWER FOR SPAIN THE Bay of Biscay, on Spain’s northern coast, may have claimed hundreds of lives through shipwrecks on its treacherous waters, but the power of its waves is about to be harnessed to produce electricity. Walking along the promenade during a storm used to be dangerous in many of the coastal towns in Bilbao, but residents can now stroll over the breakwaters, which are hollow cement and stone structures more than four football fields long, in relative tranquility. Hidden inside these breakwaters, Spanish scientists are busy generating electricity from the powerful waves that roll in off the Bay of Biscay. Gloria Etxebarria is a renewable energy technician who specialises in electricity generated from tides or waves. "The government decided to build a breakwater to protect the harbour of Mutriku," she said in an interview. "To make use of that investment, we decided to put our wave energy plant there."Spain is exploring the relatively young wave power industry after investing heavily in solar and wind power for decades. “Every wave that rolls into the Mutriku wave plant sets 16 turbines spinning with the help of oscillating water columns (OWC) technology. "We have some chambers and when the wave arrives, it pushes, compresses the air inside the chambers," Etxebarria explained.

"So the air goes through a turbine, which in turn drives an alternator, producing electricity." Salt water would quickly corrode the turbines, requiring expensive repairs. But the water never touches them. Instead, the turbines turn only with the force of air pressure, created by the waves pushing up underneath them. The Mutriku plant connected its turbines to Spain's power grid in July 2011, making it Europe's first commercial wave plant. Since then, similar technology has been used in Scotland and the Azores. The plant has a capacity of about 300 kilowatts, which is enough to supply constant power to about 600 residents. It cost the regional government about two million euros to build. The renewable sector hopes to create more than 200,000 green jobs in Spain this year and as many as three million across Europe. Murcia’s regional government owes €98.1m for medicine and medical equipment. This is 3.85% of the total money owed to Fenin (Federación Española de Empresas de Tecnología Sanitaria) by the whole of Spain. It takes an average off 278 days for regional governments to pay Fenin, but the Murcian government takes 309 days. Although these statistics appear unacceptable, they are 9.12% better than they were in December 2012.

A LOCAL Police officer in Oliva (Valencia province) has had his arms confiscated after his ex-girlfriend reported him for domestic violence. The accused hid for two days when he found out she had been to the Guardia Civil. Officers from the force in Oliva and in Pego (Alicante), where the victim lives, had to arrange for special security measures to protect her from physical harm as they suspected serious violence could occur if she were to be confronted by the accused. The Local Policeman,

aged 41 and resident in Oliva has been identified only by his initials of E.P.B. and was said to have failed to answer phone calls and could not be traced by the Guardia Civil officers after his former girlfriend pressed charges. He is then said to have presented himself voluntarily at the Domestic Violence Court in Dénia (Alicante) in the company of his solicitor, and signed a statement. Guardia Civil officers were ordered by the judge to immediately withdraw the five guns he possessed – two which he held in his line

of duty in the police force, and three hunting rifles. A restraining order prevents him from contacting the victim or going within 300 metres of her. Despite the charges, he is expected to be allowed to continue with his employment in the town and carry on being paid his usual salary. Council sources say the accused does not work fighting crime or protecting the public from danger, since he has a permanent knee injury, and is employed looking after a public building in Oliva.

Friday, April 12, 2013

GOLDEN OLDIES

‘We certainly never thought it would last 50 years. Three or four at most’ YOU’D be excused for thinking the pop superstars of the 60s are creaking in on their zimmer frames – and in terms of age, they should at least have invested in a wheelchair in case their legs give out.

What sort of relationship did you have with The Beatles in your heyday? Any rivalry with The Beatles or anyone else in those days was a very friendly one. We all wanted to be higher in the charts than our chums but there was no animosity or bitterness. And certainly not where the Beatles were concerned. Without them opening the doors we would never have got the chance in the first place. They deserve the undying thanks of every group who made it back then. “How do you feel 60s music compares to the modern stuff. Is it just nostalgia that makes people of a certain age think the old stuff is better...or was it special? And how do you look back on the ‘Liverpool Sound’? Has there ever been anything to compare with it.’’ “I`m not really qualified to judge today`s music. Music is all about that period when you are young and passionate. What they like is different to what I liked but why they like it is because they are young and it is what`s happening.’’ What is your relationship with Mike Pender like these days? (Founder member Pender left The Searchers in the 80s to pursue a solo career). “We don`t really have one. John, who was a close friend throughout those early years, finds what he sees as a betrayal unforgivable and would refuse to meet him. I`m a lot more sanguine although I don`t applaud the motives or the way it was done when he split. But all those out there still waiting for the reunion better not hold your breath because I doubt it will ever happen.’’ And finally, a sensitive question. There were lots of groupie girls throwing themselves at pop stars in those days - I’m sure you and the other guys had them falling at your feet. Do you find the ‘witchhunt’ for aging celebrities on sex charges reasonable, or has society become paranoid about something which was just part of life at that time? “I think there certainly must be a separation between older people preying on children and men (not necessarily old at the time) taking advantage of what was being offered to them from all directions. There is nothing admirable about the behaviour but there are degrees of offence. It does seem as if the authorities are pouncing on everyone in case they get accused of failing in their duty once again. “What we are seeing in some cases appears to be so tenuous that I can`t see how they hope to achieve success in many of the prosecutions. We`ll see.’’

The Courier’s DONNA GEE talks to THE SEARCHERS, who play the Benidorm Palace on Sunday, April 21. Half a century after following The Beatles to No.1 in the hit parade, Liverpool’s second group to top the charts are working harder than ever…

But for The Searchers, Needles and Pins is purely a song title – and a symptom of the music that lifted them onto the same podium of fame as The Beatles. Fifty years later, John McNally and Frank Allen are still enjoying life on the road and working as hard as ever. They also marvel at the fact they are still entertaining a vast public. I was lucky enough to grab a few minutes of their time as they prepared for next weekend’s one-off show at the Benidorm Palace. And they can’t wait to strut their stuff in Spain, even though the gig comes in a week when, as Frank says, “we barely have time to breathe’’. But he adds: “I think The Palace, with its combined British and Spanish audience, not to mention great facilities in a terrific setting will be perfect for us. We are looking forward to the show so much.’’ The Costa Blanca is not unfamiliar territory to Frank in particular, even though The Searchers have only played Benidorm once before. “I think it was in the late eighties when a friend of mine started a venture in an outdoor venue in the centre of town,’’ he revealed. “We had a great night but it was a short lived idea for him due mainly to there being a curfew of 10pm on music. Not at all a good thing for a club that wanted to attract the late night drinking crowd. “But I personally have spent a lot of time in the town. I used to come regularly with a bunch of English pals and just loved the place. In fact when one of our road managers wanted to take his family on holiday a couple of years ago I recommended Benidorm as the ideal place that his two daughters would absolutely love. And I wasn`t wrong. “We have done a couple of other shows in Spain over the years but our hits didn`t translate too well with the Spanish people so it was never really on our regular itinerary. Such a shame because it`s a great country.’’ Asked whether they are still working fulltime, Frank, now 71, retorts: “Full time? Are you serious? We have such a packed diary

that we are hardly ever off the road. This year we spent most of the first six weeks in Australia. We came home for 12 days during which we had six UK concerts, and then headed straight back to New Zealand for a short 12 day tour with Gerry & The Pacemakers. “We are about as full time as anyone could ever get. It`s a mad schedule but we love what we do.’’ It’s 52 years since the groups remake of the Drifters hit, ““; sat proudly at No.1 in the hit parade. The Searchers went on to become the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the when Needles and Pins charted in March 1964. McNally has been with the group since 1957 whilst Allen replaced bass player Tony Jackson in 1964. I reckon those of us old enough to remember them in their prime will recognise McNally instantly, even at 72 years of age. Allen won’t hit the big seven-O until December this year, but he admits: “We do still get recognised in the street... but not that often. Usually it’s someone who has attended a recent show but our faces these days wouldn`t be recognised by fans who only saw us in the 60s’’.

The current line-up is completed by lead singer Spencer James, who joined The Searchers in 1986, and drummer Scott Ottaway – the ‘baby’ of the line-up after just three years aboard. As for veterans John and Frank, they find it hard to believe they are still strumming along, as busy as ever, half a decade into their old age pensions. “We certainly never thought it would last for 50 years,’’ confessed Frank. “Three or four at the most, perhaps. Of course I wasn`t around for the first year. When I joined in August 1964 we went into the studio straight away to record When You Walk In The Room and I sang and played on every subsequent hit. “Thank goodness we hung on because this is something we love doing and will always be grateful for the privilege.’’ Do they feel it possible that they will one day have another major hit? “You always have to have that hope although every act has to accept that in the end they become a nostalgia attraction and we have no problem with that. But, yes, maybe we could grab one final piece of chart success before we hang up our high-button black suits for good’’.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Horrorscopes Aries March 21 - April 19

By Pandora Leo July 23 - August 22

Your selfish ways will not improve this week as you win a sizeable jackpot on the lottery. Parts of you feel like giving up the ghost today, but feeding those parts with ice-cream and bacon bits may revive them, to an extent. Any deliveries you receive may turn out to be blessings in disguise this week. Watch out for incorrect addresses.

Taurus April 20 - May 20

The future holds much joy and happiness for someone close to you. But not you. Oh no, you're screwed. Today will seem like a good day for disregarding advice concerning things that are generally considered to be bad for you. To avoid embarrassment, please avoid wearing underwear on incorrect areas of the body.

Virgo August 23 - September 22

Today might find you requiring a move of the left-hand and right-hand side speakers or earphones you use to listen to music. Speak slowly and you will be heard. People will think you're being a nutter, but people will definitely understand you. Telling tales is pretty much what keeps me going. How about you?

Gemini May 21 - June 20

A talk show that you overhear today is likely to concern principles on which you base your life. Listen closely and they might knock down all those principles. Take everything you've got and run like the wind. Bad things are afoot. I mean, can't you smell it? You might find you start aching below the knee, today.

Libra September 23 - October 22

Friends have always tried to convince you of your madness, but never more so will that be true than this coming weekend. Any time you feel restless this week, try to imagine what it would be like to take viagra and ritalin at the same time. Banter between two important people may sway you in your current ideas about progressing with your life.

Cancer June 21 - July 22

If you want to ride your bicycle, then by all means do it. But I refuse to be held responsible for any consequences. Fire is a hazard you won't want to ignore this week, so watch out for those big conflagrations! Try not to get the wrong end of the stick today, especially the pointy end. All your long-term plans will come into fruition this week.

Scorpio October 23 - November 21

Giraffes are one of natures most bizarre creatures. Whilst this may seem like a "fact" out of the blue, you'll soon see the relevance over the coming fortnight. It may seem unrelated to your day so far, but remember: the world loves a goat. Your package will arrive today, delivered by an expected person.

Correlating facts is an awesome responsibility. Are you sure you're up to it? To make yourself feel beautiful, hug a tree, kiss a baby, read a classic, and then take a long train journey. After that, you'll still be an ugly bugger, but you'll be so tired you won't even care. The odds are always on your side today, so don't be afraid to experiment.

VELOCITY RACING GATHERS PACE! OVAL/short Circuit Racing is motor sport performed within a flat circuit of up to approximately 365m in circumference . It differs from a road course in that it turns in one direction only and as the turns are all very fast, standard road tyres would not last long with the extreme pressures forced on them. Oval circuits can vary dramatically in length and physical layout and therefore each track presents its own unique challenges & demands on the driver. Different forms of Oval circuit racing have been around almost as long as there have been cars to race as this was and still is the best form of motorsport. Many categories of vehicle have been used from the monster NASCAR V8’s of the states to the very British minstocks. Here on the Costas, Velocity Racing Spain intend to bring a range of formulas, including 1300 Stock Cars, 2.0 Hot Rods, Lightning Rods, Junior Rods, Rookie Rods, National Hot Rods. If you’re anything like us then this is the ‘real’ racing because ‘trading paint’ and ‘rubbing’ is just racing but without the very high speeds & without the likelihood of serious accidents. We are looking for sponsors, volunteers, marshals, officials, medical staff etc., anyone wishing to help, drive or in need of a car to race please contact us on 674 256 147 or email us. Anyone wishing to have a drive on the day will need to be a full paid up driver and have the proper safety equipment. We always have ready built cars for Hire and For Sale

The Cartagena Circuit is located in Cartagena, a city with 3,000 years of history .The closest airports are the San Javier (Murcia) at about 25km of distance and Alicante Airport at about 95km. There is a train service that connects Cartagena with Madrid or other coastal destinations. There are many motorways but the main ones are the A 30 (Cartagena-Madrid) and the AP7 (Cartagena-ValenciaBarcelona).

Upcoming Festivals! Festival of Speed! Starting on May 4, 2013 till May 5, 2013 Two days of racing! Stunt shows Drift cars Nascars Custom Cars Vintage Cars Drivers able on Saturday to drive around the whole circuit either accompanied with an experienced driver, or solo.

Other activities taking place over the weekend Live music Bouncy castle Kyle Minogue tribute act from England Top Spanish DJ (Boca Boca) performing live Camp over for the entire weekend. More information coming soon. If you plan on coming, you can preregister your details, such as if you're going to be taking part in any of the race events.

Sagittarius November 22 - December 21 Find some candles, tonight will be filled with darkness. You won't be hospitalised today, but things may not go as planned The more money you get this month, the more you realise you should be doing something more constructive with it. You have achieved what most of us only dream about - you are a star.

Capricorn December 22 - January 19 The stars indicate that walking under ladders is a bad idea for you this week. Creeping around on your tip-toes is all very well and good, but driving like that is just going to give you sore feet. Breaking bad news to someone today may break your heart, but please remember to wash the blood off your hands before hand.

Aquarius January 20 - February 18 This week will see "a new hope" arrive in the form of a whiny sand-farmer boy. Find yourself someone to settle down with today. Don't be choosy - just pick at random. If random fails, go for whoever doesn't violently sick-up on your clothing. Every part of your body will cry out in pain today, although there is no explanation as to why this should be.

Pisces February 19 - March 20 One man cannot make himself into an army of super-strength midgets. No matter what his budget. This year may seem to have started as you intended, but what's happened since, eh? Nothing. You haven't done anything. Get out there and get something sorted! Gift horses always happen to those who least expect it. The moral of this horoscope is: expect a gift horse.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Petrol sales down over 20% in five years

Newly released official government figures show that petrol sales have declined by more than 20% in the last five years. Data published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change shows that since 2007, the total amount of petrol sold in the UK dropped from 22 billion litres to just 17 billion litres last year. The decline in forecourt petrol sales was not reflected in the quantity of diesel sold over the same period, however. Sales of the heavier fuel actually increased from 2007 to 2012 – from 14 billion litres to 16 billion litres – although overall forecourt fuel revenues still dropped by 9% over the last five years. The great swing in the balance of fuel sales has been blamed on an increasing switch to more frugal diesel engine cars, as well as consumers looking to downsize to more efficient, smaller-engined petrol vehicles. In the year 2000 around 10% of new cars sold were diesel-powered. This rose to more than 50% in 2012, highlighting the changing

fuel mix of UK vehicles, and proving a significant contributing factor for the rapid dropoff in petrol sales. It is also thought that rising fuel prices in recent years have led to motorists using their vehicles less. The announcement of the new results follows a greater than 10% decline in fuel sales as a whole throughout the middle of last year. The Department for Energy and Climate Change reported that nearly 500 million litres less fuel was sold over the short threemonth period between April and June 2012 compared to the same timeframe in 2011. AA president Edmund King speaking on the most recent figures: “Greater take-up of diesel cars and smaller petrol vehicles has contributed to this overall decline in UK fuel sales over the long term. “However, soaring pump prices also have taken a huge toll on petrol sales more recently – during the 10p-a-litre price surges last March and October, pump sales of petrol fell by up to 5%.”

Friday, April 12, 2013

CODE CRACKER Code Cracker is a crossword puzzle with no clues; instead, every letter of the alphabet has been replaced by a number, the same number representing the same letter throughout the puzzle. All you have to do is decide which letter is represented by which number. In this week’s puzzle, 8 represents F and 11 represents Q, when these letters have been entered throughout the puzzle, you should have enough information to start guessing words and discovering other letters.

QUICKIE

DOUBLE CROSS-WORD Solve the Double Cross-Word puzzle using either the standard or cryptic clues, the answers are exactly the same.

CRYTPIC CLUES Across 1 Mouldiness is a requirement (4) 3 Falls for rotter in trials (8) 9 Admire crumpled doilies (7) 10 Have a thing about the dark (5) 11 Youngster is a swollen-headed prude (5) 12 Pleased to be given directions to open spaces (6) 14 Walks in a leisurely fashion and risks losing head (6) 16 Was confused in her cable (6) 19 A purge carried out in Eastern Europe (6) 21 A portion of mushroom soup for a place to stay (5) 24 One diamond and a heart, love, it’s a rocky state! (5) 25 Marine creature is alone, sadly (3-4) 26 Vocalise twice for this prison (4,4)

27 From the hill, a cry is heard (4) Down 1 I am nasty, really nasty, but a big supporter (8) 2 Point to unsatisfactory animal track (5) 4 Craven genocide involves pay back (6) 5 Line dancing can go wild (5) 6 Deviate from awful endless dirges (7) 7 Fill in forms at election (4) 8 One way to get a bachelor (6) 13 Being there for gifts, we hear (8) 15 Haggle over a counter reward (7) 17 Jack on the way overseas (6) 18 Logic concerning a boy (6) 20 Part of first class organ goes up a large amount (5) 22 One found inside variety of rose willow (5) 23 Tobias Smollett’s secret is prejudice (4)

STANDARD CLUES

Down

FILL IT IN

Complete the crossword grid by using the given words:

2 letter words As We 3 letter words Bid Cab Cam Eat Oar Pod Set Sip 4 letter words Abed Amen Beat Card

Doll Duly Dyke Emit Gave Giro Glee Iced Idea Obey Odds Ogre Opts Pate Pent Plea Raft Real Root Safe

Sale Same Sate Sled Stye Suet Test Used 5 letter words Annul Balmy Based Betel Caked Candy Carer Creak Cuffs Cutie

Doubt Emery Erode Gamut Gnome Heart Humus Inept Naked Noise Oasis Oiled Plods Samoa Saver Scuba Skids Wafer

6 letter words Bundle Cornea Issuer Orders Salary Severe Soccer Treble 8 letter words Alliance Tasteful 9 letter words Cavalcade Restocked

SPANISH-ENGLISH CROSSWORD Improve your Spanish - clues in Spanish, answers in English or vice versa.

Across

Across 1 Floating wreckage (7) 5 Small lizard (5) 8 Endless (7) 9 Snow leopard (5) 10 Male duck (5) 11 Admit (7) 12 Holy (6) 14 Stick to (6) 17 Porch (7) 19 Slight (5) 22 Respond (5) 23 Shake up (7) 24 Popsicle (5) 25 Hang up (7)

Down 1 Meadow (5) 2 Musical drama (5) 3 Genuine (7) 4 Spite (6) 5 Moan (5) 6 Admit (7) 7 Supervise (7) 12 Quite a few (7) 13 Limit (7) 15 Fire (7) 16 Pester (6) 18 Dapper (5) 20 Astonish (5) 21 Fashion (5)

Last weeks Solution Across: 1 Famous, 5 Shriek, 8 Macaroni, 9 Read, 10 Bet, 12 Upset, 15 Set, 17 Ail, 18 Eat, 19 Apt, 20 Tears, 21 Air, 22 Tor, 23 Tot, 24 Spy, 26 Abyss, 29 Ebb, 33 Bore, 34 Suitable, 35 Tennis, 36 Hasten. Down: 2 Aware, 3 Oral, 4 Snoop, 5 Spike, 6 Rare, 7 Evade, 10 Brags, 11 Tatty, 12 Ultra, 13 Scary, 14 Tests, 15 State, 16 Throb, 25 Prone, 27 Basis, 28 Swish, 30 Bulge, 31 Keen, 32 Bans.

Scribble Pad

1 Chief supporter (8) 1 Necessity (4) 2 Animal track (5) 3 Waterfalls (8) 4 Take revenge for (6) 9 Hero-worship (7) 5 Latin American dance 10 Hours of darkness (5) (5) 11 Branchlet (5) 6 Stray from a topic (7) 12 Forest clearings (6) 7 Satisfy fully (4) 14 Saunters (6) 16 Mooring rope (6) 8 Unmarried (6) 19 Capital of Czech 13 Personal bearing (8) Republic (6) 15 Negotiate terms (7) 21 Chambers (5) 17 Overseas (6) 24 State in the Rocky 18 Conclude (6) Mountains (5) 20 Offensive (5) 25 Marine mammal (3-4) 22 Willow tree (5) 26 New York prison (4,4) 27 Hill near a loch (4) 23 Prejudice (4) Last weeks Solution Across: 1 Tick, 3 Norseman, 9 Reagent, 10 Luges, 11 Carry, 12 Ardent, 14 Attend, 16 Intact, 19 Barrio, 21 Titan, 24 Claim, 25 Accrues, 26 Talented, 27 Fern. Down: 1 Turncoat, 2 Chair, 4 Outlaw, 5 Solid, 6 Magenta, 7 Nest, 8 Kenyan, 13 Stands in, 15 Travail, 17 Notice, 18 Pomade, 20 Roman, 22 Truce, 23 Scat.

Across 1 To carry (6) 4 Marble (material) (6) 9 Corte (incisión, herida) (3) 10 Happiness (cheerfulness) (7) 11 Orange (7) 12 Swan (5) 13 Caballo (animal) (5) 15 Behind (at the back) (5) 20 Lights (5) 22 Elderly old man (7) 24 Elected (7) 25 Tuerca (3) 26 Arroyo (riachuelo) (6) 27 To shout (cry out) (6)

Down 1 Kitchen (6) 2 Return (7) 3 Otra vez (5) 5 Albaricoque (7) 6 Comidas (5) 7 Escalera de mano (6) 8 To kiss (5) 14 Sistema (conjunto ordenado) (7) 16 En contra de (7) 17 Riscos (peñasco) (6) 18 Bay (5) 19 To ride (horse. bicycle) (6) 21 Claro (ejemplo, prueba, ventaja) (5) 23 Coro (agrupación) (5)

Friday, April 12, 2013 Across 8 What name is given to the upper front part of a woman’s dress or a woman’s sleeveless undergarment, often laced at the front? (6) 9 By what name is a pen or enclosure for swine usually known? (3) 10 In the Roman calendar what name was given to the 15th day of March, May, July, October, and the 13th day of the other months? (4) 11 In geometry what name is given to a solid figure with many plane faces, typically more than six? (10) 12 Which crystalline compound consisting of a double sulphate of aluminium and potassium, is used in dyeing and tanning? (4) 13 What name often applied to a cruel and oppressive dictator, comes from the Greek word for ‘absolute ruler’? (6) 16 Which colourless, odourless, relatively unreactive gaseous chemical element forms about 78 per cent of the earth’s atmosphere? (8) 17 What word meaning to ‘break off a meeting with the

intention of resuming it later’ comes from the French for ‘to an appointed day’? (7) 18 What is the name of the metal band or chain fastened around a person’s hands or ankles to restrict their movement? (7) 22/4 What was the title of 27A’s 1967 Eurovision Song Contest winning entry? (6,2,1,6) 25 The name of which Hindu deity appearing in bodily form on Earth is now used for an icon or animation used to represent a participant used in internet chat and games? (6) 26 What was the surname of the Hungarian inventor of the modern ballpoint pen? (4) 27 Which singer was, in 1967, the first British performer to win the Eurovision Song Contest? (6,4) 30 Lima is the capital of which republic in western South America? (4) 31 Which Norwegian pop group’s hits include Take On Me, The Sun Always Shines On TV and Cry Wolf? (1-2) 32 What name is given to a

SUDOKU

Quiz Word

shelter with a sloped roof or a building with a similar construction attached to the side of a building as an extension? (4-2)

Down 1 Which large flightless bird with a grey plumage, tiny wings and a large head with

a hooked bill lived on the island of Mauritius until it became extinct in 1681? (4) 2 What is the surname of the British cartoonist, known chiefly for his comic strips The Fosdyke Saga and The Cloggies? (4) 3 Derived from the Latin for ‘six-monthly’, what name is given to a half-year term in a school or university, especially in the USA, typically lasting for 15 to 18 weeks? (8) 4 See 22 Across 5 What name is usually applied to a young swan? (6) 6 Which cocktail drink consists of rum, cream of coconut, and pineapple juice mixed with ice? (4,6) 7 Which French adjective means ‘elegant and sumptuous’? (2,4) 14 Which word can precede; anger, ear, game, on, product, up and user? (3) 15 P is the chemical symbol for which nonmetallic chemical element of the nitrogen family, discovered by Hennig Brand in 1669? (10) 19 According to his British

number one hit single, which town in Texas was singer Tony Christie, asking ‘is this the way to’? (8) 20 Which Old English word means a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock? (3) 21 According to Acts of the Apostles, which character, along with his wife Sapphira, was struck dead for lying? (7) 23 Which UN organisation was created in 1946 to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II? (6) 24 What was the surname of the Dutch explorer who was the first European to reach the islands of Van Diemen’s Land and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands? (6) 28 What name is applied to stony waste matter separated from metals during the smelting or refining of ore? (4) 29 Which is the highest adult male or lowest female singing voice’ (4)

SALLY’S SIMPLE SPANISH PARTES DEL CUERPO PARTS OF THE BODY Match these words with their Spanish translations then find them in the wordsearch. (Answers below)

el codo

la cara

el cuello

la cintura

el dedo

la garganta

el estomago

la nariz

el hombro

la oreja

el muslo

la piel

el pecho

la rodilla

el pie

las mejillas

el pulgar

las piernas

el tobillo

los brazos

literature QUIZ

ANSWERS: 1. Aphrodite 2. Isaac Asimov 3. Suicide 4. Catherine Cookson 5. Boris Pasternak 6. Bleak House 7. Roo 8. History 9. Captain Flint 10. Supergirl 11. Boxer 12. Twelfth Night 13. Blanchette

Last Week’s Solutions Code Cracker Last weeks Quiz Word Solution Across: 6 Stake, 7 Root crop, 10 Anagram, 11 Acolyte, 12 Croatia, 13 Epicure, 14 Debbie Harry, 19 Bassoon, 21 Lumbago, 23 Slander, 25 Regalia, 26 Derelict, 27/5 If Not For You. Down: 1 Vagabond, 2 Beirut, 3 Grammarian, 4 Doha, 6 Snatch, 8 Crosier, 9 Helen, 13 Exhilarate, 15 Blondie, 16 Yearling, 17 Abyss, 18 Bogart, 20 Stamen, 22 Magpie, 24 Rain.

Empareja estas palabras - Match the Spanish and English words You will find the answers at the bottom of the quiz. 1.el codo, 2.el cuello, 3.el dedo,

19.las piernas, 20.los brazos.

m.the throat, n.the skin, o.the thumb, p.the neck,

4.el estómago, 5.el hombro, 6.el muslo, 7.el pecho, 8.el pie,

a.the chest, b.the arms,

q.the knee, r.the finger,

9.el pulgar, 10.el tobillo,

c.the shoulder, d.the ear,

s.the foot, t.the face.

11.la cara. 12.la cintura,

e.the legs, f.the thigh,

3.la garganta, 14.la nariz,

g.the elbow, h.the nose,

15.la oreja, 16.la piel,

i.the ankle, j.the waist,

17.la rodilla, 18.las mejillas,

k.the cheeks, l.the stomach,

Soduko

Span - Eng

Quizword

Answers: 1g, 2p, 3r, 4l, 5c, 6f, 7a, 8s, 9o, 10i, 11t, 12j, 13m, 14h, 15d, 16n, 17q, 18k, 19e, 20b.

1. Who was the Greek goddess of love? 2. What author was born in Petrovichi, USSR in 1920? 3. Shakespeare's Antony, Romeo and Othello all had what in common? 4. Which author's works are the most borrowed from libraries? 5. Who refused the Nobel Literature prize in 1958? 6. In which novel does the character Quebec Bagnet appear? 7. In the 'Winnie the Pooh' stories what is Kanga's baby called? 8. Herodotus the Greek is known as the father of what? 9. Who buried the treasure, on Treasure Island? 10. In DC comics, Linda Lee Danvers is whose alter ego? 11. What was the name of the horse in the book, Animal Farm? 12. What play contains the line; 'Shall there be no more cakes and ale'? 13. What is Little Red Riding Hood's name?

Fill It In

Friday, April 12, 2013

TRELI ON THE TELLY ENOUGH TO GET YOUR VICARS IN A TWIST…

with ALEX TRELINSKI YEARS ago, early evening UK Sunday television had to show religious programming, and based on what I saw on ITV on the last Sabbath, I’m ready to start praying for a return to the halcyon days of Stars on Sunday and Highway. First up, Catchphrase was exhumed for a new series, hosted by Stephen Mulhern, who always looks like he needs a smack on the face to remind him that he doesn’t host kids shows for ITV any more. He had the constant expression of a mentally bereft village simpleton as he meandered through the show in a charisma-free performance. His main achievement was to make you appreciate how good Roy Walker was, along with those game show geniuses Bob Monkhouse and Bruce Forsyth, and don't

get me going over all the changes to the original Catchphrase format. But things were just as bad afterwards with the return of Candid Camera…sorry, a programme called Off Their Rockers where a group of old folk played a series of hidden camera pranks on the general public. There's more entertainment value watching my dog urinate up against a tree than this bargain basement botch job, which cost peanuts to

have just finished, with far better questions than Parky ever came up with. You may hate him, but Piers Morgan’s Life Stories series for ITV has always delivered interesting revelations from guests that are not plugging any new movies. The last show featured the West Ham MD and Apprentice star, Karren Brady, and it was fun to see her bantering over Alan put together. I’d sooner Sugar, mixed in with the watch an old episode of On more serious stuff of her fight the Buses on ITV3, all of against a possibly fatal brain which (for half a second any- disease. Over on BBC4, there’s way), makes me wallow in been another set of hourSunday evening nostalgia with almost fond memories of long interviews with Mark Jess Yates and Harry Lawson featuring well-known figures from the world of Secombe! I don’t buy the view entertainment. My highlight that there are no was the actress Miriam good talk shows on TV any Margolyes, who was very more, as everybody gets honest, as she let rip on her moist eyed over the days of very low opinion of Glenda Parkinson in the 70s. There Jackson! So, just because are two excellent series that chat isn’t in a regular cosy

slot after the football on a Saturday night, don’t say that it’s dead and buried. Far from it! Channel Four didn’t do a bad job of their first ever coverage of the Aintree race meeting, and of course The Grand National, which had been screened on the BBC since 1960. There were plenty of resources thrown at it and the ad breaks were not really a pain, but surprisingly the actual race itself had some poor direction and strange camera angles, as well as some very low-key coverage of the actual start. It’s as if some nerves had crept into what is normally a very professional operation. And staying with sport, what an utter disgrace that there was no coverage of the Davis Cup tennis tie between Britain and Russia from Coventry, which featured an extraordinary comeback from

the Brits. The rights-holder British Eurosport were instead content to show the tie featuring the USA, and for that outrageous decision, they should immediately be stripped of their UK Davis Cup transmission contract! If you can access the BBC I-Player, then do watch last Saturday’s BBC2 show, The Many Faces of Sid James. It was one of the best clip shows that I’ve ever come across, with many bits from his sixties TV programmes like Citizen James, Taxi, and George and The Dragon, that have not seen the light of day for nearly half a century. The whole hour rightly chose to downplay his Carry On movies in favour of his rich body of TV work that really showed off his expertise as a top comedy actor, along with some nice anecdotes about a man who was clearly likeable and generous to his fellow professionals.

The Courier Friday TV 00:35 What Just Happened? 02:10 Weatherview 02:15 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Heir Hunters 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 You've Been Scammed 12:30 Real Rescues 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 20:30 A Question of Sport 20:30 BBC News; Regional News 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 MasterChef 22:00 Have I Got News for You 22:30 Not Going Out 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 The Graham Norton Show

00:20 Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness

Changed History 01:20 Panorama 01:50 This Is BBC Two 03:55 Formula One 05:35 This Is BBC Two 06:55 Homes Under the Hammer 07:55 Formula One 09:35 The A to Z of TV Gardening 10:00 Holiday Hit Squad 11:00 Question Time 12:00 BBC News 12:30 Coast 12:55 Formula One 14:35 Formula One 16:15 Mastermind 16:45 Britain's First Photo Album 17:15 The Life of Mammals 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Golf: The Masters 20:30 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 21:30 Gardeners' World 22:00 Isaac Newton: The Last Magician 23:00 QI 23:30 Newsnight

00:50 UEFA Europa League Highlights 01:45 Jackpot247 04:00 River Monsters 04:50 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV Meridian Weather 15:00 Cook Me the Money! 16:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Ade in Britain 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 The Martin Lewis Money Show 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 The Security Men 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:35 The Majestic

THE SECURITY MEN

Four hapless security guards working the night shift in a shopping centre decide to switch off the alarms so they can let themselves into an electrical store to watch a boxing match on a decent TV. However, they later discover a jeweller's has been broken into, and with the incident recorded on security cameras, they come up with an elaborate scheme in a bid to hold on to their jobs.

00:05 Random Acts 00:10 One Mile Away 02:00 24 Hours in A&E 03:00 Nick Hewer: Countdown to Freetown 03:55 Dispatches 04:25 Come Dine with Me 05:20 Deal or No Deal 06:15 Countdown 07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:25 Frasier 11:00 The Big Bang Theory 11:30 The Big Bang Theory 12:00 Undercover Boss USA 13:00 Channel 4 News Midday Summary 13:05 Jamie's 15 Minute Meals 13:35 What's Cooking? 14:45 SuperScrimpers' Challenge 15:45 Countdown 16:30 The Common Denominator 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Five Minutes to a Fortune 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:30 Unreported World 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 Come Dine with Me 22:00 8 Out of 10 Cats 23:00 Alan Carr: Chatty Man

April 12

00:00 The Slaves in the Cellar 01:00 SuperCasino 05:00 House Doctor 05:25 House Doctor 05:45 Michaela's Wild Challenge 06:10 Great Scientists 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Rupert Bear 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Make Way for Noddy 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Trisha 13:00 Looney Tunes 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Classic Car Rescue 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 CSI: NY 16:15 Recipe for Murder 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News at 6.30 20:00 Rolf's Animal Clinic 21:00 Ice Road Truckers 22:00 The Mentalist 23:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 23:55 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

The Courier Saturday TV

April 13

04:00 This Is BBC Two 04:55 Formula One 00:25 The Matt Lucas Awards

06:05 This Is BBC Two

00:55 Paycheck

07:00 This Is BBC Two

02:45 Weatherview

08:05 The First of the Few

02:50 BBC News

10:00 Gardeners' World

07:00 Formula One

10:30 The Beechgrove Garden

09:30 Breakfast

11:00 A History of Britain by Simon

11:00 Saturday Kitchen Live

Schama

12:30 Nigel Slater's Simple

12:00 Climbing Great Buildings

Cooking

12:30 Map Man

13:00 BBC News; Regional News

13:00 Indian Food Made Easy

and Weather

13:30 The Sky at Night

13:15 Football Focus

13:50 Coast

14:00 Formula One

14:00 University Challenge

15:15 Golf: The Masters

14:30 Just a Minute

16:30 Final Score

15:00 I Know Where I'm Going!

18:15 Wallace & Gromit: A Matter

16:30 Flog It!

of Loaf and Death

17:30 The Great British Sewing Bee

18:45 BBC News; Regional News

18:30 The Story of Are You Being

and Weather

Served?

19:00 Doctor Who

19:30 Are You Being Served?

19:45 The Voice UK

20:00 Dad's Army

21:20 The National Lottery: Who

20:30 Golf: The Masters

Dares Wins 22:10 Casualty 23:00 BBC News; Weather 23:20 National Lottery Update

00:00 Weather 00:05 Later with Jools Holland 01:10 Mean Streets 03:00 Question Time

02:20 Jackpot247 04:00 Columbo: the Most Crucial Game 05:15 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Jungle Junction 07:25 The Hive 07:45 Dino Dan 08:05 Canimals 08:25 Bookaboo 08:35 Kick Buttowski - Suburban Daredevil 09:05 Ultimate Spider-Man 09:25 Almost Naked Animals 09:55 Figaro Pho 10:00 Jessie 10:25 ITV News 10:30 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 11:25 My Tasty Travels with Lynda Bellingham 12:25 Dinner Date 13:25 ITV News and Weather 13:29 ITV Meridian Weather 13:30 Columbo: Identity Crisis 15:30 The Chase 16:30 Midsomer Murders 18:30 ITV Meridian Weather 18:30 ITV News Meridian 18:45 ITV News and Weather 19:00 You've Been Framed! 20:00 Britain's Got Talent 21:35 The Cube 22:35 The Jonathan Ross Show 23:49 ITV Meridian Weather 23:50 FA Cup Football Highlights

00:05 Rude Tube 01:05 Random Acts 01:10 New Girl 02:00 The Mindy Project 02:50 Happy Endings 03:10 Accidentally on Purpose 03:35 St Elsewhere 04:25 Come Dine with Me 05:20 Deal or No Deal 06:15 Countdown 07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 The Hoobs 08:00 Volkswagen Racing Cup 08:30 The Grid 08:55 The Morning Line 09:55 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:55 Frasier 11:25 Frasier 11:55 The Big Bang Theory 12:25 The Big Bang Theory 12:50 The Simpsons 13:25 The Secret Millionaire 14:30 Channel 4 Racing 17:05 Come Dine with Me 17:35 Come Dine with Me 18:05 Come Dine with Me 18:35 Come Dine with Me 19:05 Channel 4 News 19:30 Sarah Beeny's Selling Houses 20:30 Grand Designs 21:30 Walking Through History 22:30 Get Him to the Greek

GET HIM TO THE GREEK Comedy starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. Junior record-company executive Aaron Green is ordered by his boss to get Brit rocker Aldous Snow from London to LA in 72 hours for a gig that he hopes will revive interest in the former star and restore the label's fortunes. But the beleaguered chaperone soon learns that Aldous's talent for making mischief comes before anything else.

00:55 Inside Hollywood 01:00 SuperCasino 04:55 Motorsport Mundial 05:20 House Doctor 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Great Scientists 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Roary the Racing Car 07:15 Fifi and the Flowertots 07:25 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 07:30 The Mr Men Show 07:45 Chloe's Closet 07:55 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:00 Bananas in Pyjamas 08:15 Animal Antics 08:20 Noddy in Toyland 08:35 Milkshake! Monkey 08:40 City of Friends 08:55 Little Princess 09:10 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:25 Angelina Ballerina 09:45 Rupert Bear 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 Toby's Travelling Circus 10:25 Roary the Racing Car 10:40 Jelly Jamm 11:00 The Mr Men Show 11:15 Power Rangers: Super Samurai 11:50 Batman: The Brave and the Bold 12:15 Monkey Life 12:45 Rolf's Animal Clinic 13:45 Emergency Bikers 14:45 Robson's Extreme Fishing Challenge 15:45 Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol 17:25 Rocky III 19:20 The Magnificent Seven Ride! 21:05 5 News Weekend 21:10 NCIS 22:10 NCIS 23:10 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

The Courier Sunday TV 00:35 The Football League Show 01:55 Highlander: the Source

01:00 In Dreams 02:35 This Is BBC Two

03:15 Weatherview

06:50 The Story of GI Joe

03:20 BBC News

08:40 Match of the Day

07:00 Breakfast

10:00 The Andrew Marr Show

08:00 Formula One

11:00 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites

11:15 The Big Questions 12:15 Sunday Politics

12:30 Paul Hollywood's Bread 13:00 EastEnders 14:50 Coast

13:35 Points of View 13:50 Britain's Maharajah

15:00 Great British Food Revival 15:30 The Great Rift: Africa's Wild

14:20 Bargain Hunt

Heart

15:20 Formula One

16:30 Secrets of Our Living Planet

17:20 Escape to the Country

17:30 Coast

18:20 Songs of Praise

18:30 Driven: The Fastest Woman in

19:05 Deadly 60 on a Mission 19:35 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 20:00 Countryfile 21:00 Antiques Roadshow 22:00 The Village 23:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 23:25 Match of the Day 2

the World 19:30 Golf: The Masters

00:35 Piers Morgan's Life Stories 01:30 Jackpot247 04:00 Ladette to Lady: Australia 04:50 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Jungle Junction 07:25 The Hive 07:45 Dino Dan 08:05 Canimals 08:15 Canimals 08:20 Bookaboo 08:30 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 09:00 Kick Buttowski - Suburban Daredevil 09:25 Almost Naked Animals 09:55 Figaro Pho 10:00 The Aquabats Super Show 10:25 ITV News 10:30 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 11:25 Dickinson's Real Deal 12:25 ITV News and Weather 12:29 ITV Meridian Weather 12:30 Dinner Date 13:30 You've Been Framed! 14:00 Britain's Got Talent 15:35 Food Glorious Food 16:30 Live FA Cup Football 19:15 ITV Meridian Weather 19:30 ITV News and Weather 19:45 Catchphrase 20:30 Off Their Rockers 21:00 Endeavour 23:00 Perspectives

ENDEAVOUR New series. Following on from last year's pilot, the Inspector Morse prequel returns with Shaun Evans playing a younger version of the cerebral detective. When a respectable GP is found dead in a public lavatory, Endeavour's outlandish theories see him relegated to general duties. Humiliated and humbled, he has to investigate from the sidelines, but he's soon forced to question DI Fred Thursday's orders and risk his career to avert a family tragedy.

00:35 Derren Brown Investigates: The Man Who Contacts the Dead 01:40 The Black Dahlia 03:45 Hollyoaks 05:55 Countdown 06:40 Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard 07:05 River Cottage Bites 07:10 The Treacle People 07:20 The Hoobs 07:45 The Hoobs 08:10 Will & Grace 08:35 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:30 Frasier 10:00 Frasier 10:30 Sunday Brunch 13:05 The Big Bang Theory 13:35 The Big Bang Theory 14:05 The Simpsons 14:40 The Addams Family 16:40 Deal or No Deal 17:40 Channel 4 News 18:10 Diary of a Wimpy Kid 20:00 Five Minutes to a Fortune 21:00 The Secret Millions 22:00 My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune 23:00 Juno

April 14

00:05 Law & Order: Criminal Intent 01:00 SuperCasino 05:05 Wildlife SOS 05:50 County Secrets 06:05 Hana's Helpline 06:15 Roary the Racing Car 06:25 Hana's Helpline 06:40 Roary the Racing Car 06:50 Hana's Helpline 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Roary the Racing Car 07:15 Fifi and the Flowertots 07:25 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 07:30 The Mr Men Show 07:45 Chloe's Closet 07:55 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:00 Bananas in Pyjamas 08:15 Animal Antics 08:20 Noddy in Toyland 08:35 Mio Mao 08:40 City of Friends 08:50 Castle Farm 08:55 Little Princess 09:10 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:25 Angelina Ballerina 09:40 Milkshake! Show Songs 09:45 Rupert Bear 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 Toby's Travelling Circus 10:25 Roary the Racing Car 10:40 Jelly Jamm 10:55 The Mr Men Show 11:10 Power Rangers: Super Samurai 11:45 Batman: The Brave and the Bold 12:15 Disney Shorts: How to Play Football 12:20 Monkey Life 12:50 Cowboy Builders 13:50 Practical Magic 15:55 The Secret Garden 18:00 Stepmom 20:15 5 News Weekend 20:20 Big Daddy 22:00 Once Upon a Time 23:00 Person of Interest

The Courier Monday TV

April 15

00:25 Late Kick Off 00:55 New Jack City 02:30 Weatherview 02:35 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Heir Hunters 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Don't Get Done, Get Dom 12:45 Crime Scene Rescue 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 19:55 Party Election Broadcast 20:00 The One Show 20:30 Bang Goes the Theory 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Panorama 22:00 The Prisoners 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 Have I Got a Bit More News for You

01:00 02:45 03:45 04:45 07:00

The Haunting A Very British Wedding Holby City This Is BBC Two This Is BBC Two

07:10 Homes Under the Hammer 08:10 Real Rescues 08:55 You've Been Scammed 09:25 Heir Hunters 10:10 Great British Menu 10:40 Countryfile 11:35 Click 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Coast 14:10 Animal Park 14:40 Mastermind 15:40 The Great British Bake Off 16:40 Britain's First Photo Album 17:10 The Life of Mammals 18:10 Flog It! 18:55 Party Election Broadcast 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 20:00 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 21:00 University Challenge 21:30 Paul Hollywood's Bread 22:00 Fit to Rule: How Royal Illness Changed History 23:00 Never Mind the Buzzcocks 23:30 Newsnight

00:00 ITV News and Weather 00:14 ITV Meridian Weather 00:15 FA Cup Football Highlights 01:00 Premiership Rugby Union 01:55 The Store 03:55 British Superbike Championship Highlights 04:45 Monk 05:30 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News Meridian 15:00 Rory Bremner's Great British Views 16:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Tipping Point 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:25 Party Election Broadcast 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 James Nesbitt's Ireland 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 Broadchurch 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:35 The Unforgettable

00:50 Cocktail 02:40 Southland 03:20 St Elsewhere 04:05 Come Dine with Me 05:00 Deal or No Deal 05:55 Countdown 06:40 Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard 07:05 River Cottage Bites 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 08:55 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:25 Frasier 11:00 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Location, Location, Location 13:00 Channel 4 News Midday Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 13:35 What's Cooking? 14:45 SuperScrimpers' Challenge 15:45 Countdown 16:30 The Common Denominator 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Five Minutes to a Fortune 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 SuperScrimpers 22:00 The Hoarder Next Door 23:00 Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares USA

THE HOARDER NEXT DOOR Psychotherapist Stelios Kiosses and the team return to help more extreme collectors restore order to their lives and properties. A huge collection of clothes, ornaments and shoes worth ÂŁ40,000 is putting a strain on 41-year-old Alison's relationship with boyfriend Sam, as well as taking up too much space, while primary school teacher Jo, 62, has filled her home with text books, toys and magazines.

00:00 Ultraviolet 01:45 Campus PD 02:15 SuperCasino 05:00 Wildlife SOS 05:50 County Secrets 06:05 Hana's Helpline 06:15 Roary the Racing Car 06:25 Hana's Helpline 06:35 Roary the Racing Car 06:50 Hana's Helpline 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Rupert Bear 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Make Way for Noddy 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:10 Peppa Pig 09:30 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Trisha 13:00 Looney Tunes 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Classic Car Rescue 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Nora Roberts' Northern Lights 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News at 6.30 20:00 Trauma Doctors 21:00 Nature Shock 22:00 Robson's Extreme Fishing Challenge 23:00 Battle Scarred

The Courier Tuesday TV

April 16

00:20 The Graham Norton Show 01:05 In Her Defense 02:40 Weatherview 02:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Heir Hunters 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Don't Get Done, Get Dom 12:45 Crime Scene Rescue 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:30 BBC London News 19:55 Party Election Broadcast 20:00 The One Show 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Holby City 22:00 The Syndicate 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 The Matt Lucas Awards

00:20 Toughest Place to Be 01:20 Ancient Egypt: Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings 02:20 This Is BBC Two 05:00 Schools: Wonders of the Universe 06:00 What Makes Me, Me 06:15 Schools: William Whiskerson - Fossils 06:25 Schools: William Whiskerson - Mountain 06:35 Schools: William Whiskerson

- Cave 06:45 Schools: William Whiskerson - Bee Farm 07:00 This Is BBC Two 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Don't Get Done, Get Dom 08:50 Crime Scene Rescue 09:20 Heir Hunters 10:05 Great British Menu 10:35 Deadly 60 on a Mission 11:05 Great British Railway Journeys 11:35 HARDtalk 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 The Super League Show 14:45 Mastermind 15:15 Coast 15:40 The Great British Bake Off 16:40 Britain's First Photo Album 17:10 The Life of Mammals 18:10 Flog It! 18:55 Party Election Broadcast 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Helicopter Heroes Down Under 20:00 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 21:00 The Great British Sewing Bee 22:00 Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in a Day 23:00 Later Live - with Jools Holland 23:30 Weather

00:35 Monk 01:25 Jackpot247 04:00 Champions League Weekly 04:25 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News Meridian 15:00 Rory Bremner's Great British Views 16:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Tipping Point 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:25 Party Election Broadcast 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 River Monsters 21:00 Midsomer Murders 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:35 Royal Paintbox

MIDSOMER MURDERS As darkness covers Midsomer Stanton during a total eclipse of the sun, Jeremy Harper is killed by a blow to the head with a meteorite. The victim was a leading light in the village - an amateur astronomer who was passionate about preserving Moonstone Ridge, a Bronze Age heritage site housing a 1930s observatory. Barnaby and Jones are called in to investigate, and the duo discover that intrigue, sexual tension and academic rivalry are rife among the local stargazing community.

00:05 Random Acts 00:10 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 01:10 Shameless 02:05 Black Mirror 03:00 Gok's Clothes Roadshow 03:55 The Renovation Game 04:50 Come Dine with Me 05:45 Deal or No Deal 06:40 Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard 07:05 Kirstie's Handmade Treasures 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:25 Frasier 11:00 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Location, Location, Location 13:00 Channel 4 News Midday Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 13:35 What's Cooking? 14:45 SuperScrimpers' Challenge 15:45 Countdown 16:30 The Common Denominator 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Five Minutes to a Fortune 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 Bedtime Live 22:00 Secrets of the Shoplifters 23:00 Shameless

00:00 Outlaw 02:05 SuperCasino 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 House Doctor 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Great Scientists 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Rupert Bear 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Make Way for Noddy 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:10 Peppa Pig 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:30 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Trisha 13:00 Looney Tunes 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Classic Car Rescue 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Audrey's Rain 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News at 6.30 20:00 Cowboy Builders 21:00 Big Body Squad 22:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 23:00 Neighbours

The Courier Wednesday TV

April 17

00:05 Cuckoo 00:35 Like Minds 02:20 Weatherview 02:25 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Heir Hunters 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Don't Get Done, Get Dom 12:45 Crime Scene Rescue 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:55 Party Election Broadcast 20:00 The One Show 21:00 MasterChef 22:00 New Tricks 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 A Question of Sport

00:20 Horizon 01:20 The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track 02:20 This Is BBC Two 05:00 Schools - How to Write 05:30 Schools - Writing for Walford 06:00 Schools - Same but Different

07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Don't Get Done, Get Dom 08:45 Crime Scene Rescue 09:15 Heir Hunters 10:00 Great British Menu 10:30 Deadly 60 on a Mission 11:00 Great British Railway Journeys 11:30 See Hear 12:00 BBC News 12:30 Daily Politics 14:00 Coast 14:10 Animal Park 14:40 Mastermind 15:10 The Great British Bake Off 16:10 The Life of Mammals 17:10 The Life of Mammals 18:10 Flog It! 18:55 Party Election Broadcast 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Helicopter Heroes 20:00 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 21:00 Coast 22:00 Israel: Facing the Future 23:00 James May's Things You Need to Know 23:30 Weather

00:35 01:25 04:00 04:45 06:05 07:00 09:30 10:25 11:30 13:30 14:30 14:55 15:00 Views 16:00 16:59 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:25 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:30 23:35

In Plain Sight Jackpot247 Loose Women ITV Nightscreen The Jeremy Kyle Show Daybreak Lorraine The Jeremy Kyle Show This Morning Loose Women ITV News and Weather ITV Meridian Weather Rory Bremner's Great British Dickinson's Real Deal ITV Meridian Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News Meridian Party Election Broadcast ITV News and Weather Emmerdale Coronation Street Food Glorious Food Scott & Bailey ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV Meridian Weather Sports Life Stories

00:05 Random Acts 00:10 8 Out of 10 Cats 01:15 European Poker Tour 02:10 KOTV Boxing Weekly 02:35 Sailing 03:05 Volkswagen Racing Cup 03:35 The Grid 04:00 Inside Nature's Giants 05:00 Come Dine with Me 05:55 Deal or No Deal 06:50 Kirstie's Handmade Treasures 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:25 Frasier 11:00 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Location, Location, Location 13:00 Channel 4 News Midday Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 13:35 What's Cooking? 14:45 SuperScrimpers' Challenge 15:45 Countdown 16:30 The Common Denominator 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Five Minutes to a Fortune 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 22:00 24 Hours in A&E 23:00 Syria: Across the Lines Channel 4 Dispatches

SECRET AGENT In Ashurst Wood, West Sussex, the property expert helps to modernise a cluttered 1950s home so retired couple Tim and Gina can take the unusual step of upsizing. In Weybridge, Surrey, he visits a not-so-Swinging Sixties pad inherited by siblings Nigel and Beverley, who need to bring their property up to scratch before potential buyers arrive.

00:00 Dallas 01:00 CSI: NY 01:55 SuperCasino 04:55 House Doctor 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Great Scientists 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Rupert Bear 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Make Way for Noddy 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:10 Peppa Pig 09:30 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Trisha 13:00 Looney Tunes 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Classic Car Rescue 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Disney Shorts: Beach Picnic 16:20 Jane Doe: The Harder they Fall 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News at 6.30 20:00 Robson's Extreme Fishing Challenge 21:00 Rolf's Animal Clinic 22:00 NCIS 23:00 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 23:55 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

The Courier Thursday TV

April 18

00:05 Bend It like Beckham 01:55 Weatherview 02:00 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Heir Hunters 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Don't Get Done, Get Dom 12:45 Crime Scene Rescue 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 Perfection 16:45 Chefs: Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is 17:30 Antiques Road Trip 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 19:55 Party Election Broadcast 20:00 The One Show 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 MasterChef 22:00 Maureen Lipman: If Memory Serves Me Right 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 Question Time

00:20 Keeping Britain Alive: The NHS in a Day 01:20 See Hear 01:50 This Is BBC Two 05:00 Schools: Human Planet Change and Sustainability KS3 06:00 Schools: Human Planet -

Change and Sustainability KS2 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Don't Get Done, Get Dom 08:50 Crime Scene Rescue 09:20 The A to Z of TV Gardening 10:05 Great British Menu 10:35 Great British Menu 11:05 Great British Railway Journeys 11:35 HARDtalk 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Coast 14:10 Animal Park 14:40 Mastermind 15:10 The Great British Bake Off 16:10 The Life of Mammals 17:10 The Life of Mammals 18:10 Flog It! 18:55 Party Election Broadcast 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Helicopter Heroes 20:00 Hairy Bikers' Best of British 21:00 James May's Man Lab 22:00 Could We Survive a MegaTsunami? 23:00 How TV Ruined Your Life 23:30 Newsnight

00:35 The Dales 01:05 Jackpot247 04:00 Columbo: the Most Dangerous Match 05:15 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV Meridian Weather 15:00 Rory Bremner's Great British Views 16:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Tipping Point 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:25 Party Election Broadcast 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 21:00 The British Animal Honours 2013 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV Meridian Weather 23:35 The Jonathan Ross Show

THE BRITISH ANIMAL HONOURS

Paul O'Grady hosts an awards ceremony that celebrates the achievements of the nation's most extraordinary creatures and the people who work with them. The categories cover military service and bravery as well as conservation and therapy, with the majority of nominees suggested by the public and the winners decided by a 30-strong jury made up of animal experts, charities and celebrities.

00:00 Random Acts 00:05 16 Kids and Counting 01:05 The Sex Clinic 02:00 Revenge 02:50 Thank You for Smoking 04:25 Come Dine with Me 05:20 Deal or No Deal 06:15 Countdown 07:00 Kirstie's Handmade Treasures 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:25 Frasier 11:00 Undercover Boss USA 12:00 Location, Location, Location 13:00 Channel 4 News Midday Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me 13:35 What's Cooking? 14:45 SuperScrimpers' Challenge 15:45 Countdown 16:30 The Common Denominator 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Five Minutes to a Fortune 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 Secret Eaters 22:00 The Intern 23:00 The Sex Clinic

00:55 Poker 01:55 SuperCasino 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 House Doctor 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Great Scientists 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Rupert Bear 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Make Way for Noddy 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Trisha 13:00 Looney Tunes 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Classic Car Rescue 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 The Mentalist 16:15 Blue Smoke 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News at 6.30 20:00 Big Body Squad 21:00 Cowboy Builders 22:00 Trauma Doctors 23:00 Exit Wounds

Friday, April 12, 2013

ACCOUNTANTS Pro Business Support – for all your accountancy needs in English; bookkeeping, taxes, wage slips and more. We cater for companies and self-employed people; we can deal with everything for you. Call us on 966 923 963 for first consultation free of charge.

AUCTIONS

ANIMALS Pet Travel UK Personalised family pet transporter between Spain/France/UK. Door to door fully accompanied service. Travel overland then on ferries with your pets. No charge for passengers. Pet friendly hotels used if a stop required, All air conditioned vehicles (no vans), DEFRA licence. www.pettraveluk. co.uk UK 0800 612 4922 or Spain 678 756 644

BABY EQUPMENT HIRE TIPTOP BABY HOLIDAY CARE, travel cots, highchairs, car and booster seats. Buggies. Beach Towels. Free local delivery. www.tiptopvillacare.co.uk. E-mail linda@tiptopvillacare.co.uk Telephone 968566011 Mobile 667848582

alities welcome. Call 966 799 273 or 660 127 276. Pilar Christian Community Church Calle Canalejas 3. Pilar de la Horadada. Sunday Service at 11am, and Thursday at 5pm for Bible study and Prayer. Home groups meet during the week. All welcome from any church background or none. For further information contact PilarChristian. CommunityChurch@gmail.c om or contact Reverend Eddie on 966769300 or 650509606. Reg No:2009SG/A Good Friday Service at 11 am. at the Church Easter Sunday 11 am. will include a Drama message, please join us The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) meet at 10.00 each Sunday at their Torrevieja meetinghouse in the Torreaguas building on the corner of Rambla Juan Mateo Garcia 104, close to the windmill in Torrevieja, 667 533 597.

CARS FOR SALE ALARMS

INSURANCE CASER SEGUROS - for all your insurance needs, home, car, health, funeral. Policies available in English and German. Call Professional Business Support on 966 923 963 for a quick quote from our friendly staff.

MEDICAL Private Medical Healthcare – call us for your personalised quote, and get covered today, using the best private hospitals in the area. Call us now on 966 923 963, and we will call you back with your quote.

Viva Villa and Vacation Services, For Short or Long Term Rentals visit: www.villaandvacation.com or Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 2 bed 1 bath partly furnished apartment. White goods included. Stunning views of the Park of Nations. Great location, close to all amenities and Torreviejas beaches. Optional garage space available. Communal Pool. 350 euros per month plus bills. Available end of April. Contact Zoe on 628 535 479 (Z) 2 or 3 bed / 2 bath apartments in San Miguel. Lift, communal rooftop pool & solarium, video entry system. Available for short or long term rent from 350 pcm. Tel 966723437 or 636615716. (116)

Ref: 61, A lovely two bedroomed ground floor apartment, located in the centre of the small Spanish town of Los Montesinos, With a pleasant communal swimming pool adjacent & all amenities in walking distance. Long and short term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 49, 2nd floor one bedroom apartment situated conveniently located in the town centre of Torrevieja, with a small sun balcony overlooking the lovely communal pool. Short or long term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref 33, Ground floor spacious 2 bedroom apartment, located in Torre la Mata. Close to all amenities and beach. 3 month rental €300pcm Call: 965 707 188

BLINDS

CARPENTER

PROPERTY FOR RENT

OVERSEAS PROPERTY

All types of alarms fitted, including CCTV. Give us a call on 966 923 963, and we will send a technician to give you a personalised quote. Call now on 966 923 963.

AUTO ELECTRICIAN

Car insurance quotes – new extra discount on fully comprehensive policies at the price of third party! Excellent prices for expats, all policies and call centre staff in English. We will call you back with a quote. 966 923 963 Peugeot 206 cabriolet 2006. RHD Spanish reg. Black. Peugeot service history. 53.000 miles. 2 lady owners. Immaculate condition. trial welcome. 4,950€ 966 796 788 La Marina San Fulgencio.

Need a UK base, 2 bed brick built bungalow in Kent for sale. Full c/h. long lease, for more details phone 965696113, e-mail, ron-elliott1@hotmail.co.uk £20,000 (115)

CHURCH SERVICES International Christian Assembly, Calle Pilar de Horadada 5, Torrevieja. Evangelical non-denominational church. Sunday services 11am. Children's church 11am. House groups in Torrevieja, Los Balcones, San Javier. Ladies meeting Thursdays 11am. Craft club, Tuesdays, 2pm. Pastor, Rafael Restrepo. All nation-

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Friday, April 12, 2013

Ref: 104, 2 Bedroom apartment in Torrevieja, (near gypsy lane), small balcony, near all amenities and Friday market. €350pcm Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 112, Spacious 3 bedroom detached villa with its private pool is located on the El Raso urbanisation near Guardamar. Convenient for all amenities, shops, supermarket, restaurants and bars. Short term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref 702: Beautiful 2 bedroom apartment, located near los Locos beach, beautifully furnished. Short term rentals from 175€ per week. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 63, Two bedroom 1st floor apartment situated in Monino Blanco. The property overlooks a superb communal pool area, in within walking distance of bars, restaurants and shops. Short or long term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 El Chaparel/La Siesta Two bedroom apartment in a quiet gated urbanisation for rent €350 per month plus bills. Reference No 17 Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397

LONG TERM RENTALS LONG TERM LET TORREVIEJA – 2 bed, park home, aircon, TV, DVD, communal pool and bar. Near Torretta II shops and bars. Close to beach. 250pm + bills. 617 599 470 (113) Ref: 709, A lovely 1 bedroom apartment in Aguas Nuevas, within a 5 minute walk of the beach. There is a terrace outside with views to the sea. Short or long term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref. KBJ3 – Luxury duplex penthouse apartment located near the marina in Guardamar. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, amazing panoramic views, inc.parking and storage. 500 € pcm. 966 923 963 Ref. CBR21 – A rare chance to rent a frontline beach apartment in Torrevieja! Ground floor with large terrace, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, direct and full-on sea views. 500 € pcm. 966 923 963 Ref. CBR20 – Spanish style 4th floor apartment right on the beach! 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lovely balcony to soak up the amazing sea views. 500 € pcm. 966 923

963 Ref. CBR3 – 2 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse located in Algorfa, communal pool, fully furnished, 300 € pcm. 966 923 963 Ref. RS20 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment within private enclosed residential in San Luis, large terrace, 300 € pcm. 966 923 963 CBR18 – Detached Spanish villa, beachside Punta Prima, 4 bedrooms, garage, 1200 m2 plot, own pool, 900 € pcm. 966 923 963 CBR23 : Stylish new house in Los Montesinos, 3 bed 2 bath with large 65m2 garage, front and back terraces. 500 € pcm. 966 923 963 Ref. RS90 – 2 bedroom detached villa all on one level, fully furnished, as new! Located in El Raso (Guardamar) 400 €. pcm Tel. 966 923 963

PROPERTY FOR SALE Home and Contents cover Comprehensive policies for house and contents with CASER Seguros - excellent prices for expats; policies available in. Call 966 923 963 for a quote. Ref. BRJ1 – 1 bedroom top floor renovated apartment in San Luis. Great sea and lake views. 55.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref: 510, €70,000. Bungalow located in San Luis. It is close to the supermarkets, bars and restaurants and is on the local bus route. An Opel Corsa car is included in this sale. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref. RS63 – 2 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse in Torrevieja, with communal pool and lots of extras. 95.000 €. Tl. 966 923 963 Ref. RS59 – Detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom villa in San Luis, plot of 350m2, private pool, and additional “granny annex”. 169.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS1 – Detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom villa with 900m2 plot located in Toretta Florida. Has private pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and much more! 320.000 € .Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS67 – 2 bedroom apartment with lovely sun terrace located in Playa Flamenca urb with communal pool. All amenities nearby. 59.995 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS98 - Spacious 2 bed, ground floor apartment 250m from La Mata beach, inc private parking and storeroom. 115.000€ Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS58 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom second floor apartment located in La Mata, communal pool, fully furnished, 79.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS84 – Large 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment of 100m2 situated in Los

Montesinos. Communal solarium upstairs with pool. 79.900 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS20 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment within private enclosed residential in San Luis, large terrace, 90.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS65 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom penthouse apartment, communal pool and parking area, located near the beach in Guardamar. 79.950 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. KEIGUA – Luxury duplex atico apartment in Guardamar. 3 bedroom 2 bathroom, 118 m2, private parking, storage room, communal pool, magnificent views of forest, beach and sea. 169.000 € Tel. 966 923 963 Lovely Corner property in Novamar V, Gran Alacant. 2 bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms Being sold fully furnished including appliances, Has secure underground parking and faces large oasis communal pool. Walking distance to beach. 139.000 Euros, Call 627 711 155 and quote Ref No. K10 Rare opportunity to purchase on Mediterrania III, Gran Alacant. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Private Parking, F/Furnished, Large communal pools & Tennis courts S/W facing, Dramatically reduced for quick sale to 126.000 euros. Ref No. K58 Call 627 711 155 for immediate viewing Ref: 521, €105,000. This comfortable bungalow is located in San Luis with a new roof and solarium tiles. It is close to supermarkets, bars, restaurants and is on the local bus route. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Don Pueblo, Gran Alacant. 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Large Kitchen with Galleria, Secure underground parking, Gas Central Heating, Glazed in Porch, Solarium with stunning views. Viewings absolutely essential. Very large property at reduced price of 190.000 euros. Ref No. K38 Call 627 711 155 Opportunity to purchase at the off plan price of 195.000 euros. Large 4 Bed, 3 Bath Brand new property. Secure underground parking for 2 cars and communal pool. Situated opposite Gran Alacant and over looks projected golf course. Ref No. K52. 627 711 155 Viva Villa and Vacation Services are pleased to offer property sales for the Torrevieja and Oriheula areas of the Costa Blanca, Spain. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 or Visit : www.villaandvacation.com 2 Bed, 1 Bath Ground floor duplex. Central heating, Grills, Fully furnished, Glazed in Galleria, 2 communal pools, private parking and walking distance to the Gran Alacant commercial centre. Situated in the popu-

lar urbanisation of Puerto Marino. Now only 96,500 euros for quick sale Ref No. K46. 627 711 155 Immaculate ground floor Duplex, 2 beds, 2 bath, Private Parking, Situated in Novamar, Gran Alacant. Price includes very tasteful furniture and white goods. Walking distance to all local amenities and beach. Now only 129,750 euros. Ref No K24. 627 711 155 Ref 533: Lovely 2 bedroom Townhouse located in the popular area of Punta Prima, the property has a large lounge and fully equipped kitchen, 2 double bedrooms, one with balcony, bathroom with double shower. €126,000 Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Gran Alacant Detached villa, located in a very sought after location.Situated on a 560m2 S/W facing plot and constructed in 2005. Comprising of 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (2 full baths), Lounge-Diner, fully equipped Kitchen, Porch and Solarium with Alicante & Sea Views. ref.L81. €258,000 neg. Tel. 680333242 Gran Alacant Town House with a difference. 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Glazed in Porch, Quiet Location, Extra storage areas, and South Facing Private Pool as well as 2 communal pools. Fully Furnished, All mod cons.

Greenland Views and all local amenities close by. Ref. No L79. 179.000 euros 680 333 242 Ref: 520, €85,000. Two bedroom apartment in Dream Hills, with a fully equipped kitchen, large lounge, glazed-in terrace and a large solarium. This property comes with a large communal swimming pool. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 78, €120,000. Three bedroom Quad in Jardin Del Mar VII. There is off-road parking and small storage shed in the enclosed garden area, communal pool nearby. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Top floor Duplex. Very good price of 108.000 euros for a quick sale. Furnished to a very high standard, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, Lounge Diner, Glazed in Porch, Large Roof Top Solarium. Choice of Communal Pools, Private Parking. Walking distance to all amenities and on the First urbanisation as you enter Gran Alacant. Viewing essential. Ref No. K44. Tel. 627 711 155 Gran Alacant immaculate villa, 3 bedroomed, 3 bathroomed property maintained to a very high standard inside and out and the interior furnishings are top quality, offering a feeling of luxury and good taste. The plot size is 400m2 and has been beautifully tiles, and graveled and has established

palms and plants. Oil fired central heating throughout, log effect fire place, ceiling fans in all rooms, towel heater rails, glazed in shower units, instant hot water, water purifier, free English TV, phone & internet lines, fitted double hanging wardrobes, safe, glazed in front porch, vanity units and much more. The pool is an 8 X 4 m2 salt water pool, meaning maintenance is much easier plus outside toilet and shower. Sea views to front with Greenland views to the rear. ref K51. €245,000 Tel 680333242 Balsares is opposite Gran Alacant where the proposed golf course is now being started so this property will virtually be on the golf course, it is an investment not to be missed. The property is on a small gated urbanisation of 18 houses with private underground parking for 2 cars and direct access to the house, communal pool and toilets/changing rooms etc. The house is brand new and consists of 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, lounge with working fire place, large kitchen 12 m2, large galleria/ utility room, bedroom balcony and front tiled terrace. This property also has a converted under build for an extra lounge or bedroom. ref K52 €198,000 Tel 680333242

Friday, April 12, 2013

Ref: 516, €39,999. Studio apartment in San Luis, close to amenities. Open plan fully equipped kitchen. Good sized lounge, bedroom and out onto balcony which has been glazed to create another room. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 709, €60,000 A lovely 1 bedroom apartment in Aguas Nuevas, within a 5 minute walk of the beach. There is a terrace outside with views to the sea. Short or long term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Gran Alacant Opportunity to purchase a beautiful 3 bedroomed, 3 bathroomed,large kitchen, detached property with roof- top solarium. Well established gardens and drive way for 2 cars, whilst also overlooking the projected 18 hole golf course. Comprising of fitted wardrobes, utility room, air con H/C, alarm system, electric wall heaters, intercom system, fireplace, ceilings fans, 8x7 gazebo, use of 2 large communal pools, immaculate condition with many extras. ref K12. €180,000 Tel 680333242 Ref: KP3100, €183,000. Three bedroom, two bathroom detached villa, located in San Luis, on a 450sqm plot, with communal pool. Garage to side of house. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Gran Alacant bargain, detached villa with pool on 400m2 plot. Briefly comprising of 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, Lounge Diner, independent kitchen, solarium with views, well maintained gardens. Quiet location yet

within walking distance of all amenities. Top quality furniture and appliances included in the price. Extras include, mosquito nets, grills, toldos blinds, built in wardrobes, gas fire, electric heating, ceiling fans, English & Spanish TV, tastefully tiled & graveled garden with irrigation system. ref K43. €229,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant South facing attractive corner house Situated in the sought after urbanization of Monte Faro, this secure gated urbanization offers a stunning oasis pool, with mountain views, tennis courts and football courts. Consisting of 3 double beds with balconies, 2 bathrooms, kitchen leading onto court yard which can easily be converted into an extra room, lounge diner with working fireplace, front garden with private parking for 2 cars. Being sold fully furnishes with white goods, built in 2006 so immaculate condition hardly lived in. Ref K48 €168,000 priced for quick sale Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Large detached villa with beautiful gardens set on 550m2 plot, built in BBQ area and large 10x6 pool.Comprising of 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms,

KITCHENS

ELECTRICIAN

Lounge Diner with fire place, Independent Kitchen, air con H/C, Solarium, front porch, converted under build with 3 extra rooms, private covered parking, irrigated gardens, close distance to beach and amenities. Ref. K18 €250,000 Tel 680333242 Ref: 513, €115,000. Two bedroom ground floor apartment, in Aguas Nuevas, close to all amenities including the beach. It has a good size lounge, kitchen and has off road parking facilities. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Gran Alacant beautiful detached villa with very large pool and within walking distance to the Gran Alacant Commercial Centre. This villa comprised of 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, lounge-diner, Independent kitchen, roof top storage, solarium, porch & terrace. Large private pool, BBQ area, established gardens and private terraces, Private Parking, Solarium with Views to Alicante. 450m2 plot, fully furnished including white goods. Located in very quiet desirable road. ref.L96. €255,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant Gem! Fabulous detached Villa, with Alicante sea views to the front and wood land views to the rear, means this immaculate villa is very private and un-overlooked. Comprising of 2 large bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, 2 bath, large fully equipped kitchen,glazed porch sitting area, solarium, Attractive Pool with cover, well maintained Gardens. Central Heating, Air Con, Ceiling fans, Private Parking, Alarm

system, Decorative working Fire Place complete with electric Fire. Outdoor workshop/storage area, Quality Pergola & BBQ. Constructed in 2006, on plot size of 380m2 and being sold fully furnished including white goods. ref L80. €234,995 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Rare investment!! corner south facing opportunity on Novamar urbanisation.This immaculate ground floor duplex has been kept and maintained to a very high standard inside and out the position is fantastic, enjoys views over the lovely oasis communal pool, surrounded by lawned gardens. Comprising of plot size 100m2 Build Size 90m2, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully furnished, AntiGlare Windows, Security Door, Security Grills, Built-in Wardrobes, Extra Storage, Galleria, Electric Panel Heaters, Heated Towel Rails, Air Con (h&c), Ceiling. Fans. Thermo Shower, Vanity Units and decoratively tiled throughout, exquisite garden, Underground private parking. Ref.K10 €139,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Situated in the central area of Gran Alacant and within walking distance to all local amenities such as a selection of different cuisine restaurants,

PETS

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bars, pharmacies, banks, popular GA market and Carabassi Beach. Comprises of 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with a private garage and roof-top solarium. This property is part of a small urbanization which has the use of a large decorative communal pool. Ref. K36 €149,000 Tel 680333242 Beach front Line property, over looks Carabassi Beach, Gran Alacant. 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Secure Underground Parking, Fully furnished, Roof Top Solarium. 3 Large Communal Pools, Fantastic communal Gardens, Tennis Courts and much more. 125.000 Euros Ref No. K23. Tel. 627 711 155 Gran Alacant, Situated front line to the famous blue flag beaches of Carabassi, the real beauty of this property is its proximity to the beach, but also on offer is a fantastic communal pool situated in beautifully kept gardens with little Spanish walk ways.Comprising of 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, lounge diner, American style kitchen including all appliances, roof top solarium with stunning views, front porch area with front garden and a secure underground garage. fully furnished Ref. K23 €125,000 rare opportunity Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant limited edition villa, not very often available on the market. Only a few of this type were ever constructed- Very large 5 bedrooms, 4 bathroom(2 ensuit) property, situated on a large corner plot with a 10 x 5 private pool and private parking. Lounge-diner with working fireplace, fully equipped kitchen with utility room. Large landing area,

leading onto solarium, with extra storage external room. Front porch area leading into large well established gardens with irrigation system and fruit trees. Being sold fully furnished. Within walking distance to Gran Alacant commercial centre and 5 minute drive to Carabassi beaches. ref. K11. €270,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant South facing attractive corner house Situated in the sought after urbanization of Monte Faro, this secure gated urbanization offers a stunning oasis pool, with mountain views, tennis courts and football courts. Consisting of 3 double beds with balconies, 2 bathrooms, kitchen leading onto court yard which can easily be converted into an extra room, lounge diner with working fireplace, front garden with private parking for 2 cars. Being sold fully furnishes with white goods, built in 2006 so immaculate condition hardly lived in. Ref K48 €168,000 priced for quick sale Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Ground floor south west facing apartment in Puerto Marino close to G.A commercial centre, comprising of 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, Lounge-Diner, Independent Kitchen with Galleria, Porch area and large tiled front garden, The property is being sold fully furnished and includes all kitchen appliances, H & C Air con is fitted as well as sky TV. The apartment enjoys the use of 2 large communal pools and has private parking in an enclosed electronically gated car park. Competitively priced for a quick sale. Ref. K40 €91,000 Tel 680333242

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Friday, April 12, 2013 Gran Alacant Limited edition bungalow. Only six of this type available in Gran Alacant. Constructed in 2003 and immaculately maintained on a large plot size of 500m2 with a 10 x 5 pool.Comprising of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, lounge-diner leading out onto front porch, independent kitchen including white goods, outside galleria, court yard, large garage with electric door, roof top solarium and private parking. Also built in wardrobes, Toldos blinds, air con H/C, security grills, alarm, security doors, bathrooms heaters, outside toilet, outdoor lighting, irrigation system, attractive and well kept gardens, beautifully tiled inside and out, fire place, English TV, phone line. Being sold with top quality furniture. ref L95. €275,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant large detached villa with 3 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, lounge-diner, fully equipped kitchen, large porch, roof top solarium, 400 m2 Plot, with established low maintenance very private gardens

REMOVALS

with irrigation system, electronic gates, private parking, outside wc, sink & shower, terraces, air con ( h & c ), mosquito nets, grills, alarmed, large spa pool with separate Jacuzzi section. Within easy walking distance to Gran Alacant commercial centre and close to local bus and tram route. Ref K33. €260,000 neg Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, detached villa in desirable road close to all amenities, comprising of 3 double bedrooms, 3 baths, lounge diner with working fire place, brand new kitchen with all appliances and black granite work tops, private pool, plot of 550m2, established irrigated gardens and fruit trees, private parking, solarium, also there is a converted under build giving more bedrooms ,bathroom & kitchen, this house has many extras and is being sold fully furnished. Ref.k47. €280,000 neg Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant south-facing, very private villa, with woodland and Alicante views. Situated at the end of a small cul-de-sac which means this villa enjoys a very peaceful location.3 Bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, 3 Bathrooms, lounge-diner with working fireplace, fully fitted kitchen with including white goods, large front porch, solarium,workshop and storage in under build, central heating, air con H/C, ceiling fans, grills, UK T.V, off road

parking and plenty of outside parking also. Due to its orientation of this property enjoys full sun, all day, something very important in the winter months. Ref.K24. €237,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant detached villa with converted under build and pool. Comprising of 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Lounge- Diner, Front Porch, Large Solarium, decoratively tiled, Irrigated Garden. BBQ and Log Storage Cupboard. Raised walls for Privacy. Also many extras, toldos blinds, freshly decorated interior, Grills, Mosquito Nets, Air Con H/C, Ceiling Fans, Log Burner Fire, Electric Radiators, Heated Towel Rails, Alarmed, Phone Line, Satellite UK TV, private parking. Plot size 310m2 under build 100m2. price includes all furniture.The under build consists of 2 beds, lounge, kit/utility room. ref L79. €250,000 Tel. 680333242 Gran Alacant immaculate outstanding south facing villa in sought after road. Set on a 350m2 plot with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths,large porch, solarium and terraces. The large under build includes a lounge, kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom and patio doors leading to pool area. Internal & external access for under build. Extras include electric

radiators, air con H/C, ceiling fans, gas fire, heated towel rails, extended walk-in shower, fitted wardrobes. Decorative tiling inside and out. Panoramic views towards Alicante Bay, Sky TV, phone line and Internet & Private parking, established gardens, water features and fruit trees. Being sold with exquisite furniture and all white goods. Immaculate finishes and decor. ref L84. €278,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Situated on the very first urbanisation as you enter Gran Alacant, this 2nd floor duplex offers taste and quality. Comprising of 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lounge-diner, independent kitchen, full roof-top solarium with superb views and recently glazed in porch offering extra living area as well as extra privacy as the glass is mirrored. Ref.K44 €108,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Situated in the "Alto" part of Gran Alacant, this 3 bedroomed, 4th floor apartment, offers luxury accommodation, with absolutely stunning sea views, as well as views of Alicante bay and the famous Santa Barbara Castle.The apartment is 89 square meters with open plan kitchen / living room and includes all electrical appli-

RAG AND BONE

ances & furniture also there is a utility room, open terrace, and private parking. The urbanisation also offers many communal pools, tennis courts, restaurants and bars. Ref. K20 €109,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant villa located in a very quiet area , situated at the end of a cul-de-sac means there is no through traffic.3 bed, 3 bath, 330m2 plot, established large gardens, working fireplace, solar panel for hot water,private parking, south facing great views, fully furnished, fantastic opportunity. ref. L85. €215,000 Tel 680333242 Ref: 520, €85,000. Two bedroom apartment in Dream Hills, with a fully equipped kitchen, large lounge, glazed-in terrace and a large solarium. This property comes with a large communal swimming pool. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TIPTOP VILLA CARE, total property management, keyholding, holiday and long term rentals. www.tiptopvillacare.co.uk. e-mail linda@tiptopvillacare.co.uk Telephone 968566011 Mobile 667848582

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QUIZZES Experienced quizmaster/question setter with personality available to host quiz nights in local bars. Tel:- 664 838 581

SITUATIONS VACANT Kitchen Assistant Part Time required for busy restaurant near San Miguel de Salinas. All year round postion for the right applicant. 633 154 038

SOLICITORS Need English speaking solicitors in Torrevieja? Let us help to solve your problems with debt recovery, divorce, property, fraud, criminal defence. Call us on 966 923 963, give us brief details and get in touch with your specialist solicitor today

WIG SPECIALIST SALON MARGARETHAS, 23 years in Torrevieja Hair/Wig specialist for Medical illness and Hair Loss problems. We offer different Hair Replacements, top fillers, Hair prostheses, Toupees and Wigs, Natural and Artificial hair and much more. Also fashion/festival accessories TV/TS are welcome to our service. Please call our salon reception for an appointment with Margaretha on Tel no 966 921 846 Torrevieja (90)

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Friday, April 12, 2013

Greenside Gossip IVIE DAVIES takes a weekly look at the golf scene - golfdavies@gmail.com IT’S Augusta National week and golfers will be inviting her indoors to go to Zenia Boulevard, getting sandwiches and drinks ready for the first major and probably the event with the most mystery behind it. Much has been written about the Augusta National Golf Club and The Masters, but were you aware of the following? How many of the following facts did you already know? • Jack Nicklaus was just 25 when he won his third Green Jacket. Tiger Woods was 26. (So, Rory, you’ve got some catching up to do if you want to get on a platform with those guys.) • Bobby Jones played in the tournament he created 11 times but never managed to finish better than 13th. • Since turning 50 in 2009, Fred Couples has finished sixth, 15th, and 12th at Augusta. As the top 16 players qualify for the following year’s Masters, the perennial crowd favourite has earned his way into the field each year without having to rely on his lifetime exemption for winning in 1992. • Greatest improvement within one Masters tournament: 16 strokes. In 1986, after a lousy 79 in the first round, Zimbabwean Nick Price somehow managed to make the cut, carding a 69 on Friday. Then on Saturday he went out and shot a record 63 to play his way into the final group on Sunday. • Sam Snead has many impressive Masters statistics, including three wins, 15 top tens, a top 30 finish when he was 60, followed by a top 20 when he was 61. But here’s my favourite: At the 1942 Masters, he wasn’t feeling comfortable with his game, so he played nine holes barefoot. • For his six Masters victories, Jack Nicklaus earned a total of $269,000. That’s

THE GRAND MASTERS

Saga of the Shark and other jacket fillers

$1,000 more than Ian Poulter banked for finishing seventh in 2011. • The Greg Norman Saga: In perhaps the most monumental collapse in Masters history, Norman blew a sixshot Sunday lead, paving the way for Nick Faldo steal the green jacket. Still Greg has this to hang his hat on: We’re pretty sure he’s the only guy ever to shoot a 78 on Sunday and still finish solo second. • In any event, the Masters is full of hard-luck stories. Like the guy who birdied holes 14 through 17

in 1986 to tie Jack Nicklaus for the lead, only to bogey from the centre of the fairway on 18 and lose. That was Greg Norman. Then in a play-off the following year, some idiot was mentally preparing his green jacket speech, when he got totally torpedoed by Larry Mize’s ridiculous hole-out from 50 yards. That was the Shark, too. • In 1989, Nick Faldo and Scott Hoch were waiting for the third member of their

playoff group to tidy up on 18, but the guy flinched and missed his par putt. And it was…Ah, you know. • Greg Norman epilogue: April is the cruelest month for the Great White Shark. That’s when he can’t exercise a lifetime exemption to compete in the Masters. Somehow he managed never to win the tournament despite being so close so many times. So when he finished tied for third at the 2008 Open, thereby earning

TITTER ON THE TEE Usain Boult shows up at the entrance to Augusta National golf club wanting to play a round of golf, but the man at the gate will not let him enter. The man says: "Sorry sir you cannot play Augusta National, but there is another golf course just 10 minutes down the road from here" Usain Boult replies " Don`t you know who I am? I am the fastest men in the world running 100 metres. Does that not make a difference?” "Sure it makes a difference Mr Boult" replies the man. “It will only take YOU two minutes to get to the next golf course!”

his way into the 2009 Masters. Unfortunately he missed the cut. • Eight players have won three or more Masters. They are: Jack Nicklaus 6, Arnold Palmer 4, Tiger Woods 4, with Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and Phil Mickelson having three each. • On eight occasions a participant has followed a second-place finish with a victory the next year. They have been Jack Nicklaus (twice), Ralph Guldahl, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Gay Brewer, Billy Casper, and Ben Crenshaw. • Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Weiskopf

each finished runner-up tour times. Raymond Floyd, and Tom Kite finished second three times. Of those, only Weiskopf, Norman, and Kite never won. • In 1948, Claude Harmon who was largely known as the club professional had a career week. Not only did he capture his only significant professional victory, but the father of teaching son Butch Harmon, tied the tournament record of 279 and his five-stroke victory over Cary Middlecoff was the largest winning margin at the time. • The big round Loblolly Pine just up the left side of the 17th hole that intrudes into the fairway area is called “Ike’s Tree” because he hit it so often. He twice lobbied hard within the club to have it removed, but his request was ignored by Clifford Roberts. Presidential privilege only goes so far. • Steve Pate, 1999 third round, and Tiger Woods, 2005 third round, share the record for the most birdies in a row with seven while Anthony Kim had the most in a round with 11 in the second round in 2009. Two non-winners Nick Price and Greg Norman share the course record with 9-under par 63s. • Phil Mickelson recorded the highest number of birdies in the tournament with 25 in 2001. • No player comes close to the Masters dominance exhibited by Jack Nicklaus with six wins, 15 top 5s, 22 top 10s, and 29 top 25s. Hogan had 2 victories, nine top 5s, and 17 top 10s. Nicklaus also had the most eagles with 24 while Ray Floyd had 22. Nicklaus also has the lowest 72-hole score recorded by a player over fifty – five-under par 283 in 1998 at age 58. He also currently has the most career birdies during the tournament with 506!

Friday, April 12, 2013

FROM GAZ TO OXYGEN: TAKING THE FOREST AIR we at last reached the final again in 1991 I was convinced that Forest would win the one trophy Cloughie had never won, although we nearly owned the variouslynamed League Cup at one time. My ‘little’ bruvver Allan, by now aged 35 and over six-foot tall had at last repaid all those ‘60s days when I used to take him to the City Ground on the back of my two-wheeled death-trap scooters, by obtaining two wonderful Wembley seats for the final: I always knew he’d come in handy one day. There were one or two minor worrying factors

approaching the big event. Spurs had a nasty habit of winning the Cup with decades that ended in a ‘1’ – 1921, 1961 and 1981. Our biggest worry, however was

Elche drew goallessly again at home to Lugo from Galicia, the crowd 13,345, writes JOHN McGREGOR. Whilst scoringly-challenged the great Franjiverde defence did it

again with yet another clean sheet, only four defeats in 33 games, nine to go. Eleven below Elche,

Almeria have 58 points, followed by Villarreal and Girona both on 57, then Alcorcon on 56. At the bottom, Murcia are

WITH the rugby Sevens circuit starting at the end of the month, ITV Orihuela were back in training last week in preparation - and looking to follow on where they left off in the league. While the U18’s prepare to face the Barnet Elisabethans tour team,. Orihuela will be joined by players from Albacete for the April 13 encounter (13.00). The touring team also play against San Javier on Friday (17.00) Further info 692 767 242.

MONTESINOS seemed to be heading for trouble after just two minutes when Becker was booked and gave away a penalty for a clumsy tackle, writes HOWARD YEATS. Thankfully the spot kick hit the crossbar and sailed to safety – after which Monte started to take control. Edu opened the scoring

WITH Paul Gascoigne hopefully recovering and the FA Cup Final approaching, I will never forget the infamous 1991 final. That year my beloved Nottingham Forest, under a visually-andmanagerially-declining Brian Clough, faced Tottenham Hotspur, and the great Clough-Taylor-built double European Cup winning side of the late seventies had never won the FA Cup. Forest had last won it in 1959, the year after my family moved to Nottingham. Coming from sleepy old Kent it was wonderful as captain Jack Burkitt and the team paraded the Cup around the city-centre streets - and I was hooked forever. When

one of the shrewdest managers in the game, Terry Venables. But hey, we had Peter Shilton, Stuart Pearce, Des Walker, our Nigel (Clough junior) and also a young Roy Keane – and beloved Brian had done it again, getting us to a major final. Venables had overdone his pre-match motivation that day: Gazza came out purple-faced and pumpedup. From the first whisPaul Gascoigne - the nutty, unpredictable genius who tle he acted like a rabid dog, had single-handedly chasing everything and kickdestroyed Arsenal in the ing out wildly at the Forest Wembley semi-final. Spurs players. He was carried off also had Gary Lineker, and after ten minutes, for a studs-up tackle he should have been sent off for, so out of control was he that day. The temperamentallyone place outside the drop challenged one injured his zone on 35 points, which knee badly in the process includes Alicante’s and some people say he was Hercules two places below never quite the same again. Forest’s talisman and capon 34. Sunday evening tain courageous Pearce duly Elche are home again to cracked the resulting freebottom-placed Xerex – kick into the top corner to put home goals, please! Forest one up. By half-time Mucho Elche! Spurs had missed a penalty and had a goal disallowed.

NO GOALS, BUT THE POINT IS MADE...

Elche 0 - Lugo 0

Monte’s spot of bother CD Murada 1 CD Montesinos 3 from close range after 25 minutes following sustained Monte pressure and minutes later M & A ran onto a long through ball and drove a fierce shot into the net. M&A then missed a one on one with the Murada keeper and from the resulting corner hit the crossbar with a thundering header. Murada scored from a

corner when their centre forward was left unmarked to head home from close range. Only a great save by Christian from a terrific free kick kept Monte in front but Vaz put away a simple chance to send the Full Monte fans home happy. Next Sunday Montesinos are at home to Benejuzar with a 5 pm kick-off..

TORMENTED TORRY FEEL PENALTY PAIN

SUNDAY’S goalless draw against fellow strugglers Eldense on underlined the emotion and tension of the tie for Torrevieja. Manager Joserra was sent off for inappropriate comments to the assistant referee, whilst captain Jorge was dismissed with 15 minutes to go for a second cautionable offence. Both join Villanueva as absentees for the next fixture, writes Jeff Scott. Torry were then thrown an unlikely lifeline - a penalty as stoppage time approached, but an abysmal spot kick from Koeman was stopped by keeper Imanol's leg and cleared by his team mates. That penalty failure keeps Torry in the rele-

gation places on 38 points with seven games left. The team travels to bottom club Catarroja for a 6pm kick off on Saturday Catarroja came from behind to beat runaway league leaders Novelda 2-1 at the weekend! Torry stuffed Catarroja 6-0 in their earlier this season, but who knows what the score will be this time round. Torry have managed a miserable 10 goals in their 14 matches in 2013 and a continuation will probably see them drop to the Preferente. They need at least 7 points from their final seven games if they are to retain their division three status - and even that might not be enough!

What could go wrong now? Allan and I agreed at the break - this was really it: our time to win the Cup, eh, our Brian? Except …this is football! If I’d been a Spurs supporter that day I would have been proud of them, they just never gave up. Paul Stewart was their man of the match, he covered every blade of grass twice. Tottenham got better and Forest got worse, until ten minutes from time Des Walker headed past Peter Shilton into his own goal: one-all at full-time. Cloughie lorded it on the bench during the interval before extra time, arms folded, florid face a mask, appearing disinterested and leaving the mandatory motivating to his minions - a brilliant move if it had come off: except it didn’t. We lost 2 – 1 and Cloughie finally proved, to me anyway, that he was definitely losing his Midas touch. I’ve never been so up - and then so down - in a game, before or since. Ne’er mind eh, our Brian - in your time at Forest you took us so high we needed oxygen! But hey - that Gazza.

EVERY DAY’S A FOOTBALL DAY April 15th 1989 Ninety-five Liverpool fans are killed (Tony Bland, the 96th to die, spent four years in a coma) and over 200 injured at Hillsborough during the FA Cup semi final against Nottingham Forest. 16th 1851 Sam Widdowson is born. Widdowson won a single cap for England, but he’s more significantly remembered as the man who patented shinguards in 1874. 17th 1888 The Football League is formally founded at a meeting in the Royal Hotel in Manchester. William MacGregor chaired the meeting and was officially voted in as the first president. 18th 1903 Bury set a record score in an FA Cup final when they wallop Derby County 6-0. They become only the second team to win the cup without conceding a goal. 19th 1958 Bobby Charlton makes a scoring debut for England in a 4-0 win over Scotland at Hampden. 20th 1901 The FA Cup final is watched by the first six figure crowd in England when 114,815 see Spurs (then a Southern League side) and Sheffield United draw 2-2 at Crystal Palace. Spurs won the replay 3-1. 21st 1930 Arsenal visit Leicester for a division one fixture. Both sides make do with a point in the league’s first 6-6 draw. Compiled by STUART EVANS

Friday, April 12, 2013

ONE MAN BLAND STAR TURNS... Manchester City’s Sergio Aguera, Lionel Messi and (right) Malaga keeper Willy Caballero

Barca minus Messi means mediocrity ARE barnstorming Barcelona mere mortals minus Messi? In the Champions League semis at the Nou Camp Barca looked decidedly ordinary without Lionel Messi starting for them. With the aggregate 2 – 2 from the first leg Paris St Germain tore into them, going 1 – 0 up in the first half, but the roar when Messi came on after the break galvanised the Catalonians and Pedro equalised. That was enough to put Barcelona through unconvincingly on away goals and into today’s (Friday) draw with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Anybody see poor old Malaga on Tuesday? The Andalucians are in huge financial and legal shtuck here in Spain. Away to Borussia Dortmund after a goalless first leg, they went one up, it was brilliant stuff to watch - Ex-Elche goalkeeper ‘Willy’ Caballero was performing miracles, but in the second half Borussia equalised. When substitute Eliseu scored a second for Malaga eight minutes from the end it looked like kaput in Deutschland, but hey, this is football, and in a Man City season-finishing manner the Germans scored two

John McGregor reports

in injury time to win 3 -2 and break stout Spanish hearts. It was probably the right result, but hombre, was it exciting! As a temporarily goal-starved Elche supporter (see overleaf) it was wonderful to spot some sensational soccer in a goals-glut over the weekend. I was still drooling over Matthew Lowton’s viperous volley putting Aston Villa back into the lead against sweating Stoke on Saturday, when in the game of death on Sunday Loic Remy hit what looked like a screaming winner (it wasn’t to be) for Quizzically Pursuing Relegation against Wigan. Then Sergio Aguero pops up on Monday night with a stunning solo ace, in the process rightly winning the mighty Mancunian derby and City’s bragging rights in the factories, offices, bars and everywhere else in the Blue corners of England’s football capital. It brought United back to Planet Earth and timelyreminded them that despite their almost certainty to win the Premiership, they are certainly not immortal. In summary, City stepped up the mark - and United didn’t. FA Cup semis this weekend: apologies to the uvver Norf-Sarf Sat’day semi, but the same Man City are playing Chelsea on Sunday. Now, the topical question what superb achievement have both teams currently got in common? Why, they both beat the Damned

United last week - now that hasn’t happened very often, has it? Should be a great game at Wembley with both Djemba Ba and Aguero on great form. Oh, and Wigan’s got t’ weekend off from the Prem playing Millwall. No comment. Back to basics: if you accept Reading and QPR are doomed, Cap’n Mainwaring, who’s going down withum? Potty Paolo’s players got Sunderland off to a great start at the Bridge, but Chelsea’re doing well now under the beleaguered Interim One and soon stopped the Black Cats’ early euphoria to leave ‘em sweating along with stuttering Stoke, wacky Wigan and... there are others involved, he hinted darkly. Guffawing grapevine gossip – did you see Barmy old Balotelli’s still at it for AC Milan? Not content with being fined by the club after being caught puffing away in the loos of a train, he’s then been officially banned for one game for four yellows - now that’s been increased to three games for insulting an official – teehee! Bet Roberto Mancini’s relieved he’s not (mis)managing him now… Ooguzupwiv Cardiff’s a good ‘un in the Championship - Hull look likely in second, but Watford, Crystal Palace, Forest (Ojala…), Brighton, Leicester and Bolton are all fighting for the play-off positions, but six into four won’t go. Five to play…