Week 145

Edition 145

www.thecourier.es

Friday, November 29, 2013

UNCHARITABLE SPLIT AS COPS CALLED IN Guardia threat to HAH members

Major local charity, Help at Home Costa Blanca, have their 3rd President in a matter of months after sacking their newly­elected presi­ dent Marivi Cueli Nerva.

This followed a final showdown at the HAH Playa Flamenca charity shop, and a series of E­mails threatening arrest by the Guardia Civil. An Extraordinary General Meeting took place this week, with an interim steer­ ing group being elected, with the chari­ ty’s lead nurse, Eileen Mayes, voted in as President.

Over 50 volunteers were at the EGM at the Asturias Restaurant, Orihuela Costa, and they dumped Marivi Cueli Nerva, after seri­ ous concerns about her behaviour. Disputes and splits within the group started almost immedi­ ately in the summer after she was elected to the top job as Cueli Nerva disputed the minutes of the AGM, and then she called an EGM, which was cancelled without explanation.

Back in July, the then HAH President Norah Bond resigned from her position to take a more active role in local poli­ tics, and in a News Release sent to The Courier, fully endorsed Marivi Cueli Nerva saying:­ “Marivi Cueli

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Nerva is Spanish, she will ensure your rights for after care and social welfare will be provided.

She was brought up in the UK, having lived in England for 24 years. She knows how we think, what our rights are and what Spain should provide us as European Citizens.”

The overwhelming majority of mem­ bers at this week’s meeting supported the past administration of Norah Bond, which meant that Marivi Cueli Nerva was thrown out by 44 votes to 1, with 6 abstentions on a motion brought by retired police officer, Ken Farquar who

accused her of “failing to get HAH working together and ending up divid­ ing it”. "It is sad she chose not to attend today's meeting to put her point of view," he added. Her supporters boycotted the meeting, which had to be postponed twice because of fears that matters might get out of hand, though those fears proved to be unfounded as the EGM business was conducted in a calm manner.

Members said that they were inun­ dated with E­mails from Ms Cueli Nerva’s supporters, some suggesting that any meeting called by them would be illegal and that the Guardia Civil

Continued on page 2

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Friday, November 29, 2013

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96 692 1003 679 096 309 965 99 66 66 E­MAIL 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 EDITOR Alex Trelinski 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 Patrick International Rep 5 Languages Tel 685 901 265 Donna Tel 616 332 178 Writers Donna Gee Sally Bengtsson Jeanette Erath Alex Trelinski Dave Silver Tony Mayes John McGregor

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Picture of the Week

JUNGLE DRUMS

A lost baby. Photo by MRS P CALEY.

UNCHARITABLE SPLIT Bullish stand

From page 1

would be asked to attend, taking their names and arresting them. Last week Ms Cueli Nerva, in a last­ditch attempt to retain control, called in the police and her support­ ers to the charity's Playa Flamenca shop and changed the locks as well as allegedly taking a computer and charity documents in addi­ tion to cutting off the phones. HAH say they have lost a lot of money because they have not been able to get into the shop and open it, due to the new locks. The landlord has now allowed the charity to change them and

a notice has been put up saying that the Guardia Civil will be called in if the former president and her supporters try to enter the premises. However, yesterday the charity got permission from the landlord to change the locks, and HAH also discovered 2 safe keys that had been thrown in between the security door and grille.

The EGM also voted to take all legal steps necessary to recover all the charity's assets and to hold another meeting on December 12th, to give time for the dismissed president and supporters to put their case.

ELCHE FIREBUG

A phantom arsonist caused chaos around Elche last weekend light­ ing 10 fires, which led to the evacuation of a build­ ing, as well as 4 cars and a motorbike being burnt.

The firebug struck last Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday morning in a six hour trail of damage, setting fire to refuse containers around the city. One of the big bins was next to the vehicles which were damaged in one of his attacks. A shop awning caught fire and the build­ ing was cleared as a pre­

The trial of two men accused of vandalising a familiar land­ mark on the N332 at Santa Pola started in Elche this week.

In May 2007, two men (one Spaniard and one Portuguese) were spotted by a passing police patrol, sawing and trying to remove the famous Osborne Bull, with the intention of selling it for scrap. Damage of over 8 thousand Euros was done to the 4 tonne structure, with the prosecutor asking for compen­ sation to the Osborne Group in addition to a 5 month jail sen­ tence.

BUM RAP

caution, though the blaze was brought under con­ trol. The National Police are leading the search

A man will have to pay a 120 Euro fine for sending texts to his neighbour about her buttocks and that he could have better sex with her than her husband. The for the arsonist who is Murcia Provincial Court believed to have struck upheld the original judge­ in another spate of bin ment of the Cartagena mag­ blazes. istrate, with the defendant

arguing that 2 of the 3 phones used to send the saucy messages did not belong to him. He was also ordered to pay 300 Euros in “moral damages” to the woman.

WANTED – MORE HEADLINE NEWS! DO YOU have a story that might grab the headlines?

What’s all the gossip about round your way? A spate of robberies, perhaps – or maybe you’ve spotted a celebrity in the neighbourhood. Whether your news involves fire, police, ambulance, accidents – or hap­

pier events like family weddings (particularly Golden and Diamond ones!), Just phone the Courier office on 966 921 003 or email office@thecourier.es We’re waiting for your call…and next week’s Front Page story.

Friday Sunny High 14 Low 5° Chance of rain 0% Monday Partly cloudy High 15 Low 8° Chance of rain 0%

Tuesday Partly cloudy High 16° Low 8° Chance of rain 22%

Saturday Partly cloudy High 17° Low 6° Chance of rain 0% Wednesday Partly cloudy High 18° Low 7° Chance of rain 5%

Sunday Cloudy High 14° Low 7° Chance of rain 0% Thursday Partly cloudy High 17° Low 7° Chance of rain 5%

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Friday, November 29, 2013

MISSING GEORGE Longer walk Family and friends of a 78 old British man are fearing for his safety after he went missing from Alicante­Elche air­ port last Saturday. George Fletcher from Torrevieja suffers from dementia, and had arrived half an hour early on a flight from the UK at 5.30pm, and missed the people that were due to meet him to take him home.

One of those was Debbie Cooke who told The Courier that George’s friends are extremely worried about him. “George’s wife died 6 years ago and his mental state is not good.

We’ve noticed in recent months that his appearance has not been as good as it has been. There’s no doubt that he badly misses his wife and they spent many days in Benidorm, and so we thought he might have caught a taxi from the airport to the resort”.

CCTV images showed Mr.Fletcher

heading towards the taxi rank at the airport, but he did not actually get into one. “The Police and the Guardia Civil along with the airport staff have been excellent”, added Debbie. “They made a thorough search of the airport and they’ve been ringing around the local hospitals to see if George has been taken in. I get a daily update from them”.

George had been staying with family in the West Midlands of England and was a familiar figure in a number of Torrevieja bars, often picking up a microphone and singing. He had all his papers on him like his passport and residencia when he went missing along with his house keys.

If you have any sightings or news of George, please phone Debbie Cooke on 687 077 308 or get in touch with the police.

Brits still buying THE PRICE OF PROTEST

The Valencia region featuring the Costa Blanca is still the most popular part of Spain for foreign property buyers, led by the British and Russians. 30% of home sales in Valencia are to foreigners, with 17% being British, followed by Russians on 12% according to figures for 2012. 80% of the Valencia region property deals are in Alicante Province, with property sales involving European customers actually increasing over the last 3 years.

Problem teens

Teenage girls in Spain smoke and drink more than any others in the developed world, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Girls of 15 admit to having been 'blind drunk' at least twice in their lives and to smoking reg­ ularly at least once a week.

And they are more likely to drink and smoke than boys of the same age, the research found.

Along with Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Italy and Estonia, Spain has one of the highest levels of smoking and drinking teenagers. The coun­ try comes fifth in the 34 OECD countries for numbers of teenagers who smoke, the dubious honour of the highest number being held by Austria, followed closely by Hungary, the Czech Republic and Italy.

Spain fares better than the UK for teenage drinkers – Britain has the third­highest levels, after Denmark and Finland in that order, but ahead of Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, with Spain 10th out of the 34 coun­ tries. The average for the OECD nations showed a total of 32% of 15­year­olds, and 28% of girls of this age had been drunk at least once. In Spain, the figure was closer to 40% for both boys and girls.

The Spanish government has backed down on new secu­ rity laws which would have seen unauthorised protestors out­ side the Madrid Parliament building hit with fines up to 600 thousand Euros. The U­turn has seen some clauses changed in the draft Citizen Security Bill, but an illegal protest outside a Government building could still see a penalty of up to 30 thousand Euros for each protestor.

"Only those who behave violently should be fearful," said Spain's Interior Minister, Jorge Fernández Díaz in reference to the clauses involving street protests. Disorderly behaviour at public, sporting and religious events, as well as at 'critical locations' like nuclear plants will still bring incur a possible 600 thousand Euro penalty, in addition to ‘coercive’ protests in the lead up to government elections. ‘Serious’ offenses incurring 30 thousand Euro fines now make up the majority of the draft bill, although insulting or threatening policemen will now be considered a minor infraction.

MARKET MOVE

Bids closed on Tuesday for the redevelopment of Elche’s Central Market building. 2 applications have been received

by Elche council with a local grouping led by businessman Antonio Serrano Aznar, up against a bid fronted by Galician developer, Luis Somoza Fernández. The winning tender will be announced within 4 months.

Torrevieja is to get a major boost with a 17 million Euro investment which will create an uninterrupted promenade taking in Poniente, Acequión, and Los Náufragos beaches.

Torrevieja major, Eduardo Dolon, sealed the deal with nation­ al and regional officials in Madrid on Wednesday, with some work already underway in the San Roque area.

La Hoya crash

Nine people, including four children aged between eight and twelve, were injured in a three car collision on the CV853 Elche to La Marina road at the hamlet of La Hoy. Two of the vehicles collided head on, whilst the third hit a farm gate with the road.

Firefighters had to free the children from their Renault Megane, but they all wore seat belts which meant that

their injuries were not seri­ ous. All of the victims were taken to Elche, Vinalopó and Alicante hospitals, with res­ cue services saying that it was lucky that nobody lost their life.

NEW URB

Daya Vieja is set for a big expansion with a new urbanisa­ tion of some 600 homes which are said to be aimed at European and Russian buyers. Work is set to begin next year and will see a big population boost for Daya Vieja, which with 800 residents is currently the smallest town in Vega Baja.

GOING BUST

Bankruptcies in Spain lept by 31.9% in 2012 compared to the previous year, with nearly 8 thousand companies going under. The Valencia region had the 2nd highest amount of bankruptcies with over 13 hundred cases.

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Friday, November 29, 2013

BAG OF TROUBLE CARLOS COPS IT

A bag opened by Spanish police at the Gibraltar border was not a diplomatic bag, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia­ Margallo has said. Britain had issued a formal protest to the Spanish authorities following the incident. The UK said opening the bag was "a serious infringement" of international protocol.

But Mr Garcia­Margallo said it did not count as a diplomatic bag so "there was no diplomatic incident". The incident is said to have taken place on last Friday as the bag was taken from Gibraltar to Spain. The row comes over a week after the UK protested about a Spanish incursion into Gibraltarian waters.

Mr Garcia­Margallo said: "There is no incident. If it is not a diplomatic bag, there is no diplomatic incident. A bag was opened, which was not a diplomatic bag."

Spanish officials have been quoted as saying that a bag has to come from an embassy or a ministry to be

protected under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The ABC newspaper said it understood the incident con­ cerned a package from the governor of Gibraltar which was being carried by a mes­ sage company with other bags.

It said the Guardia Civil opened the bags, possibly without noticing that one of them had a seal that identi­ fied it as a diplomatic bag.

The British Foreign Office would not say what was in the bag, but said protocol

Carlos Fabra, Castellón’s former provincial President, famed for building the area’s unused airport, is facing four years in jail for money­laun­ dering offences. The sen­ tence relates to four counts of tax evasion between 1999 and 2003 in the region of 693 thousand Euros. Fabra has to pay this sum to the tax authorities, and the same amount in a fine to the court. His ex­wife, María Amparo Fernández, has been sentenced to two years for two offences of tax eva­ sion, but in her case, as it is a first criminal incident, she will not have to go to jail.

But the Castellón court has acquitted Fabra and his ex­wife of corruption charges, which would have

increased Fabra's custodial term to 13 years and his wife to between 3 and 11, mean­ ing she would indeed end up behind bars. Fabra said he was 'pleased' that the cor­ ruption charges, which he said was the part the media had most centred on, had been dropped, but he plans

to appeal against the money­laundering sentence.

He has formally ceased his membership of the Partido Popular, but continues to work as secretary­general for Castellón Chamber of Commerce, a job he took on after standing down as MP for the provincial council.

Three men have been jailed for two years after chucking cream pies at a Spanish politician in 2011.

The National Court, found them guilty of an "attack on authority" by smearing the head of government for the Navarre region, Yolanda Barcina, with sticky white pies two years ago.

"These are not dangerous objects, nor are they likely to cause injuries, and that was

not the aim, but they did involve bodily violence" when pushed into Barcina's head and face, the court said. Barcina, 53, fell victim to the pies while seated at a public meeting during an official visit to the south­ western French city of Toulouse in October 2011.

Activists opposed to a plan to build a high­speed railway link with France through the Spanish Basque

country and Navarre regions claimed responsibility for the pieing. A public prosecutor had demanded five years' jail for all four defendants, who reportedly denied hav­ ing been present in Toulouse during the attack. Barcina's lawyers demanded nine years in jail for one of them, Gorka Ovejero, an elected official in the Navarre munic­ ipality of Arruazu, and six years for the other three: Julio Martin, Ibon Garcia and Mikel Alvarez Forcada. The court convicted the first three of attacking her and sentenced them to two years. It convicted Alvarez of acting as an accomplice and handed him a one­year sen­ tence. Under Spanish law, a defendant with no previous convictions does not serve time in jail if the sentence is two years or less.

A 22­YEAR­OLD Málaga woman who claimed her ex­ boyfriend and his new partner kidnapped her, tied her to a tree and beat her up is under arrest after confessing she invented the entire incident. The accused even went as far as to send text messages to herself from other phones and post threatening messages on her own Facebook wall using separate accounts under made­up names – and to tie herself to a tree before calling the police.

She told police that she had received a text message ordering her to tell her current boyfriend to meet her somewhere and that, when she turned up, her former partner and another girl set upon her, tied her up and blindfolded her, bundled her into a car and took her to an abandoned area of land in the Campanillas neighbour­ hood.

They then proceeded to tie her to a tree and beat her repeatedly, before leaving her there tied up. After tying herself to the tree and partially freeing herself, she then called the police to attend the site and told them her tale.

When contradictions in her statement cropped up, the girl reportedly broke down and confessed she had invented the entire incident in order to get revenge on her ex­boyfriend.

15 Catral bars and restau­ rants will be involved in this year’s 2nd Tapas Run, which will also include bars offering cocktails at reduced prices. A drink and a snack will cost 2 Euros, and if you vote for your favourite tapas, then you have a chance of win­ ning of prizes like a digital camera.

surrounding official corre­ spondence and the diplo­ matic bag was governed by the Vienna Convention.

This row comes days after Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds told MPs Britain was to review its naval poli­ cy around the British territory following an illegal incursion into its territorial waters by a Spanish state vessel. The RV Ramon Margalef was challenged by the Royal Navy after it refused to leave Gibraltar waters after 22 hours despite repeated requests.

COSTLY PIES

Forget Rajoy at your peril

An Ecuadorian man has been refused Spanish nationality after being unable to name the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy. The immigrant has been living legally in Almeria for nearly 8 years with his mother, grandmother and aunt. He attends workshops and earns a minimum wage despite suffering 67% mental incapacity. He cannot read and write in Spanish (despite it being Ecuador’s official national language), which showed to the examiners, an insufficient level of integration, though he was able to say the colours of the Spanish and Andalucian flags. His family and lawyer say the verdict is a breach of basic human rights as mental dis­ ability cannot be used to discriminate against a candidate, and they plan to take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights.

New route sprouts All for revenge CATRAL RUN

Irish budget airline Ryanair is to launch a new daily route between Brussels and Alicante­Elche airport. The new serv­ ice to the Belgian capital will start in February 2014, with the company claiming that the prices will be lower than that of Brussels Airlines which also has services into El Altet.

Spick and span

There’s new look for the Paseo Riviera in Mil Palmeras, thanks to some recent landscaping. The smarter image was inspected

by Pilar Mayor, Fidel Ros, who said it was important to keep the area smart for both the tourists and the local people.

DIRTY UNCLE

A man is to appear before an Alicante Court for storing sex­ ual images of under age children on his computer. Some of the material including footage of his 13 year old niece, which was taken via a hidden bathroom camera.

TRIAL STARTS Moving palms

The trial has started yesterday (Thursday) of 3 men accused of an attempted doorstep killing in Santiago de la Ribera, San Javier. The incident happened in March 2008 when the three men, along with a child, went to the victim’s house and pumped four bullets into him, after pushing him over. Prosecutors are seeking 14 years in jail for each of the assailants plus over 32 thousand Euros in compensation to the victim.

Palm trees have arrived on Avenida de la Playa in La Zenia, Orihuela Costa as part of the improvements being made to the pave­ ments and the surrounding area. The current works also include new lighting and benches.

FINE DEAL

Murcia City’s main library has come up with a novel idea of helping the less well off if people return their books late. It’s going to allow people to convert their fines into food that will be distributed by the Caritas charity. A similar campaign last Christmas proved to be popular around Spain with the motto of “Libraries Removing Sorrows”.

POPPY BOOST

The Royal British Legion is bet­ ter off by nearly 25 thousand Euros thanks to the efforts of their Orihuela Costa branch. Their Poppy Appeal fund­raising attract­ ed €24,891.25, which means that the group have raised nearly 122 thousand Euros in the last 6 years.

Branch chairman Keith Carter praised everybody in the area for donating generously as well as all the hard­working volunteers.

Friday, November 29, 2013

KNIFED AGAIN King Juan Carlos left hospital on Monday, four days after surgeons replaced his left hip in the latest of a series of operations that have left him looking frail. The 75­year­old monarch, who has appeared in pub­ lic this year on crutches, waved at journalists from the front passenger seat as he was driven away in an official car from the private Quiron hospital in the western suburbs of Madrid.

Visiting doctors from a US clinic on last week fitted a permanent pros­ thesis in a two­and­a­half hour fol­ low­up operation to replace a temporary one that was implanted on September 24 after the area around the previous joint became infected.

"The latest results from biopsies and microbiological cultures confirm the disap­ pearance of the infectious process in the hip," the hospital said. "In the next weeks, Don Juan Carlos will continue with his treat­ ment, post­operative checks and a planned outpatient recovery programme."

Surgeons said after the operation that they expected the king to walk again unaid­

ed in 10­12 weeks but warned he would have to avoid running and vigorous sports.

Last week’s procedure was the king's ninth operation since May 2010. He has had sur­ gery on a benign lump in his lung, his right knee, an Achilles tendon, a slipped disc, two operations on his right hip and three on his left.

The sight of the king on crutches in recent months and the news of the latest operations had fuelled speculation of a possible abdica­ tion, but the palace has flatly denied the king was considering such a possibility.

Orihuela council has been given the go­ ahead to change the exit 763 signs on the AP7 which currently say La Zenia Urbs, and will now be labelled Orihuela Costa La Zenia. The green light from the Public Works ministry follows lobbying from the Orihuela

tourism councillor, Rosa Martinez. But the ministry has rejected a similar move for exit 768 which has signposts for Dehesa de Campoamor, saying that the label of Orihuela Costa would be unfair to other local councils in the area.

SIGN CHANGE

PLAY ON

A 28 year old pianist has been acquitted by a Girona court on charges of dis­ turbing her neighbour by her playing. Laia Martin was prosecuted for noise pollution and psychological harm by her ex­ neighbour Sonia Bosom who said she had suffered anxiety from hearing 40 hours of piano practice a week between 2003 and 2007. Prosecutors wanted a 6 year jail term

and a ban from playing the piano for Martin, who was a music student at the time in the north­eastern town of Puigcerda, and is now a professional pianist. The judge said that the family had taken measures to soundproof the room where Martin practiced in a rented apartment and he also slammed authorities for allowing the case to get to trial.

HELP AT HAND

British ex­pats in Spain can go on­line for two new services to get the latest news from the British Embassy in Madrid, as well as chatting to fellow residents around the coun­ try.

The new channels ­ ‘Brits living in Spain’ on Facebook and @BritsliveSpain on Twitter – wil allow you to share useful tips amongst the 800,000­strong British community as well helping you to make the most of Spanish life. The start of the services coin­ cided with the first official visit by the new British Ambassador Simon Manley to the consulate in Alicante, as well as visiting Benidorm, where he signed the Book of Honour, witnessed by British Consul Paul Rodwell, as well as the Mayor, Agustin Navarro and Tourism Councillor, Gema Amor.

Mr Manley said: “I would really encourage Brits in Spain to search out our new chan­ nels, ‘like’ or ‘follow’ them, and reap the ben­ efits of a new way of communicating with each other and with us.”

The new social media channels are regu­ larly updated with useful, independent infor­ mation tailored to local demand, and will pro­ vide open forums for residents to engage with fellow Britons across Spain.

AVE BOOST

The high speed train service between Alicante and Madrid may see the journey time between the two centres reduced to just 2 hours and 5 minutes before the end of the year. The section between Alicante and Albacete has had safety work complet­ ed which means that trains will be able to travel up to 300 kilometres an hour, meaning that the service will be the fastest anywhere in Spain.

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Friday, November 29, 2013

editor@thecourier.es COURIER POSTBAG: YOUR VIEWS ON OUR NEWS

Lions’ filip for the Phillipines THE Torrevieja Costa Lions Club are now in full stride with fund raising for those in most need in the Philippines, following the tragic outcome of Typhoon Haiyan.

On November 17 the Lions, in association with Sunshine FM, hosted six hours of music, dance and entertainment at The Emerald Isle in La Florida.

At very short notice Simon Morton, Managing Director and Presenter on Sunshine FM, pulled together a fabulous array of entertainers. These included Dan Davy, Nik Gold, local X Factor winner Yasmin Dumbreck, Sunflower Valley, Matrix Studio,

Raquel Pena Dancers, The Jazz Singer Neil Diamond, and the super tenor voice of Paul Michael, ably assisted by the falsetto voice of Simon Morton, Total Dance Group from Benijofar and an excellent Elvis Presley (Simon Morton style) performance, all of whom kept the audience enthralled into the early evening.

With an excellent prize draw and the great generosity of the regulars at The Emerald Isle the Lions were able to raise €1,609.36 towards their fund­raising efforts.

On November 20, the Lions promoted and hosted the Rogers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, which was performed by

Footlights Theatre Group from Calpe to a full house in Teatro Municipal in Torevieja.

Originally the Lions had planned to donate any profits from the show to Reach Out, the Torrevieja Charity for the local homeless and needy. However, the Directors of Reach Out asked that on this occasion any profits are sent to help the Lions Hope for the Philippines Appeal.

The Lions agreed to accept this very generous offer from Reach Out, and have promised to return to Reach Out early in the new year to lend their support. On the evening of South Pacific, a prize draw and bucket collection for the

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT OF A NO-SEE PARKER I HAVE just received a ´Notificacion de Denuncia´from Madrid fining me for being illegally parked. The prob­ lem I have is proving I was not in Madrid on the day and time stated.

In fact, I have never been to Madrid, neither has my car been driv­ en by anyone else.

The only difference on the denuncia to my vehicle was that the model stated was´C5´ and my car is a ´C3´.

I was actually at a keep­fit class in Ciudad Quesada on the day and time in question but understand that as this was a private arrange­ ment it will not be accepted as proof.

I find this very frustrating and believe it is another way for the Spanish authorities to make money from expats.

After speaking to my insurance company, Quesada Town Hall and the police in Rojales I saw my solicitor and he wrote a letter for me to send to Madrid which I mailed last week by registered post. I await the outcome.

SYLVIA ROBERTS, Dona Pepa, Quesada The Courier’s DONNA GEE had a similar experience last q year and comments: “I received a speeding offence notifi­ cation from the Barcelona Trafico containing a picture of what looked like the rear of my Kia Picanto on a motorway, its regis­ tration lit up by speed cameras. They wanted the name of the driver, who they were obviously planning to fine. I've not even been to Barcelona, let alone driven there, and when I looked more closely at the picture, I realised it was not even a Kia, though.the registration number was very similar to mine. I got a Spanish friend to call the Trafico in Barcelona and they can­ celled the whole thing once they realised it was a genuine mis­ take. Please let us know what response you receive from Madrid.your protest letter and we’ll update our readers.

Don’t forget to add contact information...

Letters and emails will only be considered for publication if an address and contact number are provided.

THE COURIER MANAGEMENT DOES NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE LETTERS ON THIS PAGE

I beg your Padron!

I READ with inerest Raymond Kearney’s letter regarding the changes to the requirements of reg­ istering on the Padron at Orihuela Costa.

It was unfortunate that Mr Kearney was not present at the meeting and consequently has no real idea of what transpired regard­ ing voting rights and the Padron.

If he had been present he would have been aware that it was only after intensive questioning by Mr Robert Houliston of CLARO and members of the public that the issue was clarified by both the main speakers from Alicante and then reinforced by the worker from Orihuela Padron Office.

He is correct when that the repre­ sentatives of the Diputacion de Alicante and the University of Alicante clarified issues relating to registering on the Padron.

It is not and never has been a requirement that someone is a Resident to be entered on the Padron. In fact it is in the interest of everybody that as many people as possible enter their names onto the Padron so that an area can gain access to all the relevant govern­ ment grants and finances to which they are entitled.

Entering on the Padron does not entitle people to vote in Local Elections, but if you are registered

Continued on Next Page

Philippines raised a magnificent €808.07. Once all the theatre and Footlights bills are paid the Lions share of the profits will go to the Philippines appeal.

Coming up there are prize draws at various locations ­ Lo Marabu Quesada, Post Box Quesada, IBEX Insurance La Zenia, Paddy's Point La Zenia, and Quesada Fish and Chips.

There are also fund­raising fun nights in the following locations ­ Paddy's Point on Friday November 29 (19.00), Lo Marabu on Wednesday December 4 (18.00) and O Sheas' on Friday December 6 (20.00) As usual the Lions will be join­ ing JB Brass at La Zenia beach on Christmas Day ALEXaround 11.45.

IAN BENNETT, Secretary, Torrevieja Costa Lions Club

It’s Sri cheers for hypocrisy q

ALEX Trelinski's column head­ ed 'Cameron's Show of Hypocrisy' chimed closely with the views of this British/Sri Lankan expatriate.

He contrasts the PM's, and the Chancellor's, appeasing attitude towards China in order to secure 'a massive business deal', while in Sri Lanka they were 'venting their vitri­ ol', since 'that would not cost British business a jot!'

However, one must remember that as a punitive measure in 2011 the EU withdrew its GSP Plan for preferential treatment access to EU markets, pushing Sri Lanka into more lucrative business relations with the Middle East, Far East (China), and other emerging South East Asian countries.

With GDP growing at 7% or thereabouts Sri Lanka can thumb its nose at Cameron too.

MIGEL JAYASINGHE

I can’t get no slat-isfaction I BOUGHT two day beds from Conforama at the Boulevard, paid for delivery and for them to be assembled.

When they were put together I then asked "What do I put the mattress on"? I was told I had to go to the shop and buy the base with slats! No one told me this at the time of buying, and my (and others) way of thinking is, a bed is to lie on and if there is NO base only a frame it is NOT a bed! They sold it to me on the receipt as two BEDS !

I am completely stumped as I have never bought a bed before in SPAIN. Is this normal? Has anyone else come across this?

JACKIE BOYALL (Mrs), Los Dolses

7

Friday, November 29, 2013

AFTER doddering my way through 130­odd Grumpy Old Gran columns (odd being the operative word), you’d think I’d be running out of things to moan about.

There’s no chance of that. Since irritation is my middle name, I’m never short of targets. And for back­up I’ve an army of expat cof­ fee addicts ready to plonk them­ selves down and wax cynical about the latest bureaucratic out­ rage.

Whether it’s simply a lust for control or a veiled plot to drive expat Brits out of the country, I don’t know. But Spain’s cack­ handed ‘system’ of doing things is getting beyond a joke ­ and nowhere is it more visible than in the Guardamar urbanisation in which I live.

The police and the local authori­ ty are doing a wonderful job at El Raso ostracising the people whose huge investment in the tourism and housing sectors is the lifeblood of Spain’s economy. Yes, the Brits – and in this case the hard­working bar owners and ten­ ants who provide most of the entertainment for their fellow expats.

Or, more accurately USED to provide the entertainment because they've all had their music licences revoked following a complaint from Spanish residents living oppo­ site one of the bars.

At least three cafe bars have also been fined up to 1,000 euros by the Guardamar authorities for holding live music events without a licence .

This, despite their having been issued with what thy believed were music licences by the same authority.

Apparently, the local or perhaps national police (or could that be the regional government in Alicante ­ or was that Valencia?) have deemed that the music licences aren't valid.

THE SOUR SOUND OF SILENT MUSIC

I make no apology if I don't have the facts entirely correct. It's an inevitable consequence of a sys­ tem that is so antiquated that it would have shamed Dickensian Britain, never mind 21st century Europe.

We’ve all had run­ins with bungling banks and/or electricity, gas and communications officials, and the stress of sorting out the mess has probably shortened a few of our lives.

But perhaps the most frustrating thing of all is that the silly muggers who demand your money or cut

you off never have a complaints procedure that actually works. The English­speaking department doesn't answer the phone, while Spanish speakers are pinged from clerk to clerk, all of whom point you in the wrong direction.

More often than not it’s too cost­ ly and risky to take the establish­ ment on, so you pay them the debt they imagine you owe them – and conclude that there’s definitely a conspiracy out there to generate stress by extortion.

The first dilemma facing the tar­ geted El Raso bars is trying to find

Unlike the UK, press offices and organised com­ plaints departments are rare luxuries in Spain. So we’ll do it the other way round and offer the authorities the chancce to respond to this article.

Every story has two sides and we’d all like to know whether the music ban is permanent. What heinous crime did bar bosses commit to incur

out exactly what the rules are. If music licences are not worth the paper they are written on, as seems to be the case, then pre­ sumably the goalposts can be moved at any time on the whim of the Mayor, the police or the region­ al authorities.

What these swaggering bandits seem to forget is that the clamp­ down on musical entertainment could well force bars to shut down.

El Raso's commercial centre has been like a morgue since the plug was pulled on live music following that lone resident's complaint – a protest inflamed by a drunken halfwit 'mooning' at the com­ plainants in the early hours.

No one is condoning that sort of behaviour but it hardly justifies a blanket silencing of the Brits.

At least one of the bars involved has never faced a noise complaint ­ and is unlikely ever to, since it faces away from the residential area. So how on earth do the face­ less ones justify putting España in the works to the tune of 1,000 euros?

The minutes of the October meeting of El Raso’s Presidents Council provide an indication of

1,000 euro fines. Do they have the right of appeal? Have tbey been told exactly what is legal and what isn’t:? Do councils alter the rules when suits them? Over to you, town halls, political par­ ties, police, regional authorities ­ indeed anyone in authority who can enlighten us. All respons­ es, please, to donna@thecourier.es

the thinking behind the silencing of the British lambs.

“In Spain the law is that no music licences are issued to ‘cafe/ bars’ except for special events.

“Guardamar started issuing licences to try to help businesses.

Due to complaints by some neigh­ bours all licences on El Raso and in Guardamar have been with­ drawn by order of the regional Government.’’

If that statement came from an official source, than it smacks of double standards. If the local authority genuinely wanted to help businesses, the last thing it would do is to remove their main source of income, and then fine them 1,000 euros for a trumped­up crime.

The inevitable consequence if the music ban is not reversed – or a compromise reached ­ is that bars will be forced to close down for economic reasons.

If Guardamar's PP Mayor Carmen Verdú García actually cares for the welfare of El Raso, you'd think she and her advisers would be regular visitors to the urbanisation. Just as her Socialist predecessor was.

Now I am not a political ani­ mal...but if the music situation remains as it is, I can guess which party most El Raso voters will be backing at the next election.

And it certainly won’t be the one Alcaldesa Garcia belongs to.

Petanca’s for the memory side El Alto Lo Dolores restaurant every Tuesday.

Says coordinater Izzy Tolson: “We have four teams in the Las Salinas Petanca Winter League,

which is possibly the largest Petanca league on the Costa Blanca with five Divisions of eight teams and one of seven teams.

“We currently have 12

The Padron and Orihuela

playable pistes but early in 2014 we hope to have a total of 18 to 20 available, which means we will be able to accommodate international competi­ tions''.

Winners of the latest Peacock competition were Castillo Petanca Club members Ray and Diane Hayes and Graham Todd.

Second were Pepino, Lulu and Ivan from the Rocajuna Club and third were Ray and Gill Stevens and Tony Fielding also from Castillo.

PLAYERS at one of Guardamar's fastest growing Petanca clubs are as proud as peacocks after increasing their membership nearly ten­ fold and raising 1,700

euros for charity.

When the Peacocks Club started up, just eight players were involved. Today, no fewer than 70 are registered for their fun mornings along­

Continued from Page 6 you can vote in local elections by com­ pleting a separate form which is available in the Padron Office at the Playa Flamenca Town Hall.

Presently electoral registration forms are being sent to 5,299 individuals in the Orihuela Municipality, who have newly signed on the Padron since the last European Elections, but completing these will only be valid for the forthcoming European Parliament elections.

No EU resident is allowed to cast more than one vote and many people and conse­

quently many people will have to decide whether to cast their vote in Spain or the EU country of origin. The electoral office is not registering people for local government elec­ tions. You must go to the Padron Office at Playa Flamenca Town Hall and ask to be registered on the list of voters. It may be convenient to do this at the same time as renewing your Padron. Make sure you ask to be entered on the Voters List. This is your right!

May I offer my thanks to Mr Houliston for sorting out this contentious issue.

SUE HOWELL­JONES (Mrs)

A bulging food hamper provided by new spon­ sors Millie Munro Services was fittingly won by the Peacocks Club's senior and most respected couple, Wally and Stella Hutt.

Over the last couple of years the club has sup­ ported AECC, SATS Animal Charity, the Alzheimers Association Torrevieja and EMAUS Children's Charity.

“Donations will contin­ ue throughout the com­ ing year,'' says Izzy, who instigated the club's char­ itable side in 2011.

“We have also collect­ ed, through our Club members, clothes, blan­ kets, toiletries food, etc for the homeless people of Torrevieja.''

8

Friday, November 29, 2013

Friday, November 29, 2013

UK HEADLINES

9

Couple Arrested Over Slave Claim 'Named' The couple suspected of holding three women in London for more than 30 years have been named as Aravindan and Chanda Balakrishnan.

A senior council source confirmed the pair were arrested last week by police amid alle­ gations they held the women for decades and inflicted "physical and mental abuse".

The couple, aged 73 and 67, are believed to have been well­known to the police in the 1970s after setting up a communist squat, the Mao Zedong Memorial Centre, in Acre Lane, Brixton in 1976.

Balakrishnan, who was known as Comrade Bala, was a former member of the national executive committee of the Communist party of England (Marxist­ Leninist) but documents show he was sus­ pended from the party in 1974 for pursuing "conspiratorial and splittist activities".

Documents also show how in 1978 police raided the Mao Zedong Memorial Centre arresting 14 members of the organisation, including Aravindan Balakrishnan and wife Chanda, referred to as Comrade Chanda.

A source at Lambeth Council said the cou­ ple were believed to have been in the prop­ erty for around 10 years after moving there from a council property, and concerns had

previously been raised with police about the education of the youngest woman.

Scotland Yard would not comment on the claims, but previously said two of the victims met the male suspect through a "shared political ideology", living with him at an

address that was effectively called a "collec­ tive".

The alleged victims ­ a 30­year­old Briton, a 57­year­old Irishwoman and a 69­year­old Malaysian ­ are now in the care of a special­ ist non­governmental organisation.

Speaking earlier, Metropolitan Police commander Steve Rodhouse said: "We believe that two of the victims met the male suspect in London through a shared political ideology, and that they lived together at an address that you could effectively call a 'col­ lective'.

"The people involved, the nature of that collective and how it operated is all subject to our investigation and we are slowly and painstakingly piecing together more informa­ tion. I will not give any further information about it.

"Somehow that collective came to an end and the women ended up continuing to live with the suspects.

"How this resulted in the women living in this way for over 30 years is what we are seeking to establish, but we believe emo­ tional and physical abuse has been a fea­ ture of all the victims' lives."

The case came to light after the Irishwoman rang the Freedom Charity last month to say she had been held against her will.

Scotland Yard said that part of the agree­ ment on October 25 when the women were removed from the address was that police would not take any action at that stage.

Tesco ID a 92-year-old Death by snowflake ?

War veteran Tony Ball, 92, was left red­faced when the girl on the till said she couldn't sell him two bottles of vodka that he was buying as Christmas presents unless he could prove he was over 18.

Mr Ball initally thought the checkout girl was joking but was furious when he discov­ ered that she was being serious.

He said: "I got to the checkout and the woman said: 'Have you got any ID?' "I looked at her and laughed and she said: 'We're not allowed to serve you if you're under age'.

"I was surprised but by the look on her face she wasn't joking.

"I said: 'Do you mean it?' and she said: 'Yes', so I said: 'You can tell Tesco

what to do with their stuff' and I walked out."

Mr Ball, who saw action in North Africa and Italy during the Second World War as a Private in the Ordnance Corps, said that he had his driving licence on him but preferred to buy the alcohol somewhere else.

The store manager of the Feltham branch of Tesco later apologised to Mr Ball, admitting that the worker had done it before "as a joke".

Tesco said: "We all like to be told that we look younger than we are.

"Our colleague was trying to be light­hearted but we appreciate the joke wasn't shared.

"We have apologised and explained no offence was intended.

"We're keeping Mr Ball's bottles for him if he chooses to drop by, with our compli­ ments."

However, Mr Ball has failed to see the funny side.

He added: "I can take a joke and I can give a joke but that wasn't a joke.

"If I had known it was a joke I would have joked back at them and passed it off."

Tesco has offered to get the staff member to say sorry in person but the offer has been declined.

Mr Ball is now taking his business elsewhere.

He said: "I don't go in there now. The only thing I do is park my car there and go up the High Street.

"I wouldn't be bothered anyway as it's a dear store for Feltham. I go to Aldi."

A RETAIL worker is so allergic to the cold that a sin­ gle snowflake could kill him.

Doctors think Bernard Ward’s condition was trig­ gered by standing at a bus stop in Aberdeen in temper­ atures of ­10C. The Irishman’s skin explodes into angry hives if he comes into contact with anything cold.

He has to wrap up warm even indoors and doesn’t venture outside if it’s chilly.

The reactions can be so bad that Bernard could go into anaphylactic shock, which could kill him.

He said: “I dread winter – it could be deadly for me.

“It costs me a fortune in heating bills and thick clothes. Since I developed the allergy, it’s changed my life.

"A simple night out with my mates down the pub is out of the question.”

Bernard, of Londonderry, started to notice his hands itching as he waited for the bus on his way to work.

But it became serious after he came to Aberdeen for a training course in February last year.

He said: “On my first

evening, it was about ­10 and I was waiting on a bus. I wasn’t wearing gloves.

“After a few minutes, my fingers and hands began to swell up so badly I couldn’t bend them.

“My face also was burning and itching and I was wheezing.”

Bernard was diagnosed with cold urticaria – an aller­ gy that causes the body to react badly to touching any­ thing cold and sudden drops in temperature.

The condition makes life difficult for Bernard and fiancee Mairead.

He added: “We can’t do outdoor things like going for a walk. Going out at night is not easy either as we have to have a taxi pick us up then leave early so we’re not standing in a taxi queue.”

10

Friday, November 29, 2013

FROM RUSSIA WITH GLOVES

MY grandfather was appar­ ently a very nice man. I say apparently because I never knew him.

Unlike Mrs S's Lancashire grandpa, who kept pigeons and ferrets and wore an ancient cloth cap which was a bit old hat (sorry, couldn't resist that one), my Russian peasant

grandad fled his home­ land after nearly getting caught by the Cossacks ­­ which sounds rather painful (Sorry, couldn't resist that one either.).

Anyway, my grandfather was a gentleman ­­ but cer­ tainly not a gentle man at the beginning.

Having spent his formative y e a r s under t h e constant cosh of Czarist persecution in Fiddler on the Roof coun­ try, Grandad, of necessity, developed a hyper­thick hide. By the time he reached man­ h o o d , Gramps h a d

acquired somewhat of a rep­ utation in his village as a very tough cookie indeed, often muddy and bloody but always uncowed and unbowed.

Then the opportunity to start a new life presented itself. Grandpa grabbed his pretty young wife by the hand and together they took a fly­ ing leap off the Russian Steppe and landed one bit­ terly cold day in Britain. It was so icy that the couple almost felt homesick, but that was only because of the familiar weather. Everything else about Russia could take a flying leap, too. It is firmly established in the Silver fam­ ily annals that when the new arrivals stepped off the train in Manchester ­­ via a hellish sea trip to Hull ­­ Grandma kissed the ground, turned tear­

fully to her husband and asked: 'What now?'

For the first time, Gramps relaxed his natural fighter's stance and said: 'Now I can be nice!'

And so it came to pass.

Grandad soon settled into his new gentle persona, although life wasn't easy in the cramped cobbled streets which criss­crossed the Strangeways district, Gramps faced hardship with a self­effacing smile and suc­ cinct words of cheer ­­ deliv­ ered in fractured English ­­ which warmed the hearts of his fellow Mancunians, immi­ grant and native alike.

Grandma, too, must have thought Grandad a very nice man because she joyfully bore him five sons, one of whom was my dad.

Sadly, Gramps passed on while still in his prime, proba­

bly from exhaustion after grafting all hours for his tailoring boss­ es. The Silver chroni­ cles record his final words.

'How do you feel this morning?' Grandma had asked, stroking Grandpa's wan face as he lay quietly under the feather­filled quilt he had dragged over from Mother Russia. Gramps had opened one eye, winked and whispered cheerfully: 'Notsa bad, chuck. Any chance of a bit of Bury black pudding washed down with a nice glass of Russian tea from the samovar?' Good old (well, not so old) Grandpa. He was nice to the end. Realising he was about to expire, he had sent his wife into the kitchen so that she wouldn't witness his final journey.

Gramps' faithful mongrel, Anatoly, would not leave his departed master's side until the mutt caught a whiff of the black pudding and jumped off the bed to wolf it down.

Anyway, my own father grew

into manhood, went out and took himself a wife. And they begat two children ­­ me and our kid. Despite the blandish­ ments of his headmaster to go onto art college, Dad had been forced to quit his edu­ cation early in order to help support his widowed mum and four brothers. He conse­ quently spent his whole working life on a sewing machine in a backstreet clothing factory ­­ just like his own dad. He'd return home each evening from his sweaty labours in a stuffy windowless room and have to ask Mother what the weather had been like that day. Anyway, Father made a promise that his first­born son would not tread the same job path. 'He shall take full advantage of his talents and choose a career best suited to his abilities,' Dad pledged to Mother. 'And what of our other son, the odd one?' Mother asked, pointing her finger at me as I gnawed on the cot bars. Dad scratched his head. 'God knows,' he said.

11

Friday, November 29, 2013

YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT

Anatidaephobia is the fear that somewhere in the world there is a duck watching you.

When you laugh while being tickled, what you are experiencing is actually a form of panic.

If you’re ticklish, you know the automatic laugh response that occurs when you are tickled. This can range from gig­ gling to uncontrollable shrieks of laughter. However, your body is actually responding with panic and anxiety.

This is actually the body’s defence mechanism. It is believed that the response is meant to protect you from dan­ gerous things on your skin, such as poisonous insects. The body needs to react quickly to this unanticipated touch and does so with a panic response.

you had started this project during the Big Bang, you still wouldn't be done yet.

Another way to think about this is, if a person had as many Rubik's cubes as there were possible configurations, they could cover the surface of the Earth 275 times. And if one considers the number of configurations you could reach by disassembling and reassembling the cube, the number would be nearly 12 times that many

An elephant can die from a broken heart.

Yawning is contagious. Even thinking about yawning is enough. In fact, there's a 50% chance that you're about to, or just did, yawn.

Anatidaephobia is the pervasive, irrational fear that, somewhere in the world, a duck is watching you. The person believes that no matter where they are or what they are doing, a duck is watching them.

The people who suffer from this phobia have suffered some sort of trauma in their lives, likely when he or she was a child. This trauma probably had to do with a duck or some sort of related water fowl, like a goose. Perhaps the person was attacked by one of these animals.

Some of the symptoms of this phobia include an anxiety or panic attack. This results in a dry mouth, shortness of breath, muscle tension, hyperventilation, etc.

You're more likely to die on your way to buy a lottery ticket than you are to actually win the lottery.

We’ve all heard the adage “you’re more likely to get struck by lightning than to win the lottery.” Sounds grim. Apparently, it’s also more likely that you will die on the way to buying your lottery ticket than actually win the lottery.

Of course this all depends on your mode of transportation to buy the ticket and the characteristics of the area where you buy it and even your demographics. It is true that you are more likely to die in a car accident than win though. The gist is that it’s very unlikely that you will win the lottery.

Some other things that are more likely than winning the lottery? Dying from flesh­eating bacteria, dying from a bee sting, becoming a movie star, dying in a bathtub and having identical quadruplets.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words.

Yawning is a reflex of simultaneous inhalation of air and stretching the ear drums followed by an exhalation of breath.

It is linked to tiredness, boredom, overwork, stress and lack of stimulation. In humans, yawning is often triggered by oth­ ers yawning around you.

In this way, it is contagious. Interestingly enough, this con­ tagiousness has also been observed in chimpanzees and dogs. So why is that when we see those around us yawning, we too want to yawn?

Some studies have suggested that infectious yawning developed to keep groups of animals alert. The increase of oxygen to their brain will help ready them for action. Other studies have suggested that yawning is associated with the cooling of the brain.

The total weight of all the ants on Earth is about the same as the weight of all the humans on earth.

It turns out that elephants are highly emotional animals.

They form close­knit relationships with one another and mourn the loss of loved ones. At times, if a fellow elephant dies, the others in the herd will gather around and pay their respects as if at a funeral.

If a baby elephant loses its mother, it will grieve. The ele­ phant will often become withdrawn and emaciated. Other members of the herd will gather around and nurse the orphan back to life. Elephants can form deep attachments with humans too.

In one case, an elephant handler raised a baby elephant.

She had to go away for a brief time to attend her daughter’s wedding. When she returned, she found that the baby ele­ phant had died of a broken heart at her absence.

It cost 7 million dollars to build the Titanic and 200 million to make a film about it.

The film “Titanic” was incredibly successful. It won 11 Academy Awards and launched the careers of its leads, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. In order to make such an epic film, the producers had to spend a lot of money.

Specifically, it cost $200 million. Part of the cost of the film was building a partial replica of the ship itself. The movie actually cost more than the real Titanic.

In 1910­1912 when the Titanic was being built, it cost about $7.5 million. In 1997 dollars, when the movie was made, that would be about $120­$150 million.

Did you know that "ough" can be pronounced TEN DIFFERENT WAYS?

There are a lot of interesting and random phobias out there. Dendrophobia is the fear of trees. Blennophobia is the fear of slime. And neophobia is the fear of anything new.

However, the fear of long words may have the most ironic (and cruellest name).

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. So let’s say you do have this phobia. You’d be terrified to name your ailment.

Kind of a conundrum.

Jellyfish evaporate in the sun. They're 98% water!

When jellyfish are in the water, they can be a bit intimidat­ ing. Their tentacles can pack a painful electrical shock.

However, once they wash up on shore, they are anything but intimidating.

It turns out that jellyfish are 98% water. Most are transpar­ ent and bell­shaped. If they end up on the beach, they will most likely evaporate in a few hours and mostly disappear.

Jellyfish also don’t have brains, bones or a heart. They do have rudimentary sensory nerves though.

Unless you leave food out and attract them, humans rarely have a need to think about ants. They're tiny, not poi­ sonous and not particularly terrifying, like say, spiders.

However, they far outnumber humans on earth­­by one mil­ lion to one!

Funnily enough, they are also roughly a millionth of a human in size too. Do the math­­the total weight of all the ants on earth matches the total weight of the entire human population.

There are 10,000 different types of ants and they've been around for a long time. Ancients ants have been discovered in fossilized sap from 100 million years ago!

Over time, ants have changed very little. Their way of life and survival is successful. Some scientists attribute this to their unselfish ways. Ants live in colonies and bring their prey back to their many relatives to share.

A Rubik's cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible configurations.

With 6 colour sides, 21 pieces and 54 outer surfaces, there's a combined total of over 43 quintillion different possi­ ble configurations. To put that into perspective: if you turned the Rubik's cube once every second it would take you1400 trillion years to finish to go through all the configurations. If

There's "cough" (which rhymes with "off"), "enough" (which rhymes with "stuff"), "dough" (which rhymes with "no"), "through" (which rhymes with "do"), "thought" (which sounds like "awe"), "plough" (an alternative spelling of "plow"), "hiccough" (an alternative spelling of "hiccup"), "hough" (an alternative spelling of "hock"), "lough" (an alter­ native spelling of "loch"), and "thorough" (which has a differ­ ent pronunciation in the UK than it does in American English).

Try this sentence: "A rough­coated, dough­faced, thought­ ful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

The longest word in the English language is 45 letters long.

The longest English word, at 45 letters, is 'pneumonoultra­ microscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis'.

12

Friday, November 29, 2013

HELPING DOGS COSTS MONEY

Regular readers of this column will know that we have started a charity here in Spain, where we look after and rehabilitate the most severely abused dogs. The work we do is extremely rewarding and seeing a dog who is at rock bot­ tom begin to blossom is an amazing sight.

Lima is a Podenco mixed dog and I drove to Granada to collect her. She had her two front legs broken as a puppy and because of this, you can understand how terrified of humans she was when we first met. It took four hours to drive her back to Pinoso and in that time she did not move a muscle, such was her fear. A few months later and she is now a completely different dog, with lots of confidence and a love for life again.

Another dog we took on last week was in danger of being put to sleep. I was told that I was her last resort, because she was so aggressive. We collected her last Friday and she has been an amazing little dog, who is not aggressive, and on that night there was a beautiful moment when I went to see how she was doing. I wanted her to have a really good sleep when she first arrived as I knew she needed this.

When she woke up she walked over to me very calmly, sat down, looked at me straight in the eye and offered me her paw. It was an emotional moment and it was as if she was saying, "Thank you".

As you will know from my regular articles, we do rely on

LIMA AT ROCK BOTTOM donations and it disappoints me greatly that in the last twelve weeks, we have only received one donation from Courier readers. I am aware that money is tight for most of

us at the moment, but by the sheer law of averages, I find that statistic amazing. That out of all the people who may read this column only one person has put their hand in their pocket in twelve weeks! I get many people saying it is great what we do and yes I know it is, but without funds how can we help these devastated animals. You must remember the immense pain and suffering these animals have been put through and through no fault of their own, I may add. There are burnt dogs, dogs with broken limbs and dogs with miss­ ing limbs. Veterinary treatment costs money and we cannot pay these fees by compliments from the public. We need funds to carry on the worthwhile work that we do.

Each week I say to readers that even one Euro will make a difference but still nothing from 99% of you. That I simply do not understand. I do not write this column each week for an ego boost, but I write it to bring awareness to people of dog behaviour and the needs of the most abused under our care. So please can some of you support us in some way, as I cannot make it any clearer to people how much we need backing.

If you would be kind enough to donate anything to this special cause, you can do so by PayPal, where the account details are peter@thedogyouneed.com or to our Nat West charity account, where the sort code is 60­16­03 and the account number is 73754900. Thank you.

PETS’ CORNER: CAN YOU TAKE IN A HOMELESS DOG OR CAT? Twinkle. She is about 6 months old and a lovely tabby and white girl with big yellow eyes. She again is very playful and cuddly and would make someone a wonderful companion.

Please contact K9 or PHONE 600 84 54 20 for more info www.k9club.es

Cocoa is a pretty Siamese type cat about 6 months old.

She is very inquisitive and loves playing with anything that moves. She loves peo­ ple and is very affectionate , making someone a lovely companion, she has been spayed. Please contact K9 600 84 54 20 for more info www.k9club.es

Bobbie is 8 months old and has been with us since he was 4 weeks. He was found abandoned along with his mum and 7 siblings. He is an absolutely gorgeous pup who would make a super addition to any family, good with dogs and cats. Please telephone the PEPA help desk on 650 304 746. Email p.e.p.a.animalcharity@gmail .com

Cocoa

Bobbie

Twnkle JASMINA is one of five gor­ geous girls found abando­ ned when they were only a few days old and it was of great concern to us whe­ ther any of them would sur­ vive the following few days.

We are delighted to say that they all survived. They are all now at the kennels and available for adoption having received the appro­ priate vaccinations.

Please contact us on 966710047 or email info@satanimalrescue.com

Don't let Billy and his brother Bobby's size put you off, they are big softies as well as being big boys. Lovely dogs, they will make great companions for anyone with the space to adopt a large dog. To meet Billy and Bobby please contact Yvonne on 630 422 563.

Ron is sadly looking for a new home as his owner has been offered a new job far away and there is no possi­ bility of taking him with her.

Ron is only 2 years old, up to date with vaccinations, microchipped and castrated, he is a very friendly boy.

Call: 966 731 350 www.pet­ sinspain.com

Billy

Ron

Pudding and her brother Pie born April 2013 will be large, have lovely natures and are both very friendly and affec­ tionate.

They’ve been brought up in a family with 5 kids and 5 other dogs and so are extremely good with chil­ dren and well socialized with other dogs. 650 304 746 or email: p.e.p.a.animalcha­ rity@gmail.com

Friday, November 29, 2013

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Friday, November 29, 2013

TOO MANY IN OUR WORLD

Some things in life are as natural as breathing to some people, but the same thing can be as alien as brushing your teeth with a broom to others! People have different hobbies and they enjoy doing different things, and it really would be a boring world if we were all the same. What makes us different is what makes us unique. There are no two peo­ ple the same in the world, even identical twins have their own personality and spe­ cial uniqueness that makes them who they are. We all make decisions in our lives, like where to live or who to live with, or what job we want to do and who we want as a part of our lives. One of the biggest decisions we can ever make is whether or not to have children.

I always wanted offspring; although I am not the most maternal person in the world, it was always assumed that one day I would have children and be part of a family. Coming from a broken home, I didn´t want the same for my little ones. I wanted them to be part of the typical nuclear family, however that didn´t quite work out, either time! But there was always the plan to have two children, whilst three was never in my mind. Had I stayed with the girl´s dad, I am quite sure my life would have been ful­ filled with my two daughters. But, I don´t think three is a big number as I don´t believe

it´s too many, and I would go as far as to say that four children is an acceptable number.

Some of you may disagree with me I´m sure, but I stand by my belief that people who churn out children like they were on a baby production line need to be brought into line.

It matters not to me whether they are work­ ing to support their kids or claiming from the state, it is irresponsible to have, I believe,

live longer, the planet’s beginning to groan under the strain. Great Britain is a small island floating in the middle of bodies of water, yet how much longer can it survive the huge numbers living on it? Those of us in Spain near the sea needn´t feel complacent either, together with any effects of global warming, the population increase cannot be good for the land. If we decide that there is

more than four youngsters.

This planet is struggling, and though I am not sure about the effects of global warming, I am sure there are many although I person­ ally believe it is not happening as quickly as many like to claim. I don’t believe that warm­ ing is that big a threat to Earth, as long as we continue to live the way we do and that we take care with recycling. Far more worrying for me is the rise in population and as people

no way that the land can sink just because of a bit of heat and a few more people then what about the effects in other ways of the massive population there is on our planet?

What about food? When almost three quar­ ters of the globe consists of water, it means that we live on the other quarter and on that we have to survive. Then we take into account the parts of the land where people cannot exist:­the very hot and very cold

areas. What are we down to then? Then there are the areas of extreme poverty like the African countries that cannot grow food and struggle to exist, and the war torn coun­ tries that we cannot rely on to sustain any­ thing.

How much room are we left with? Some people I have spoken to have the attitude that they won´t be here if the world gives up so why should they care, and to be hon­ est, they are the childless people, the ones who have no future generation to live on in their name, so I can almost see their point. I believe people who chose not to have children are selfish, as they do not want to share anything with any­ one, but they are also the type of folk that will keep this world going that much longer. Without realising it, they are the very ones we need more of on this Earth.

We need people to balance out those that chose to have lots of babies and just keep reproducing. So, I actually have more respect for someone who chooses not to reproduce, than those that go on and on with the baby chain. We all have a duty to this world, not just for our children but for the children of our friends, and neighbours.

Imagine, if you can, that you live in a world where food is scarce and water has to be pumped out of a standpipe. This is the world for our future generations, not just a reality in Africa, if we do not think now and respect this planet that we live on.

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Friday, November 29, 2013

IRAN NUKE DEAL GIVES HOPE

Back in 1962, I was aged only 4 during October’s Cuban Missile crisis, and in some ways I’m glad not to remember it.

My older brother was apparently in tears believing that the end of the world was close, and he wasn’t the only

one on the planet with that view. It was the lowest point of many low points in the Cold War between the West and the East, and it is thanks to the absolute determination of the Kennedy brothers to fight off the US hawks that wanted mass bombing all

over Cuba and further afield, that we are still here right now to reflect on an extraor­ dinary piece of history. There were many tense moments during the blockade on Cuba that JFK put into to place to stop more missiles getting there, and one itchy mis­ placed finger on the trigger here or there (a Soviet sub was within seconds of launching a torpedo), and nuclear Armageddon would have been inevitable. You cannot under estimate the world’s nervousness at that time, but do check out the excellent Kevin Costner­star­ ring movie, 13 Days, which gets the mood and story absolutely right.

Cool heads prevailed in Washington, and likewise with Khrushchev in Moscow, who had his own warmon­

gers to deal with. But this was a vital piece of history that must never be forgotten, and that anybody who has nuclear weapons cannot be in total and rational control of them. Fast forward now to last weekend, and the groundbreaking deal between the West and Iran over their nuclear production.

The Tehran regime will curb some of its nuclear activities in return to sanctions being reduced with a more wide­ ranging permanent treaty to be agreed on next year. Even old Vlad Putin in Moscow thought it was good news!

In many ways, we live in a far more dangerous world than that of the old days when there were just two nuclear arsenals in Washington and Moscow aimed at each other. Too

many countries have got into the nuclear act, and so deals that potentially reduce the chance of a “crackpot leader” causing mass devastation are to be welcomed. Sadly that’s not been the case in Israel, where their right­wing leader, Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal was a “historic mistake” and reserved the right for Israel to “defend itself”. That’s rich coming from a country that has at least 80 nuclear warheads!

What worries me about Netanyahu’s words is the thought of a nightmare sce­ nario of Israel launching a pre­emptive strike on Iranian sites that allegedly have nuclear weapon­making capability under the guise that Israel needs to protect itself. Other countries then get dragged into a regional

conflict that gets out of con­ trol, and then you wonder who else might put their hand on a nuclear trigger: ­ Pakistan and India both have that capability. The deal with Iran struck in Geneva is one of the best international pieces of news for a very long time, and is a clear example of how talking and intelligent dialogue can bring results. Of course one would like human rights and free­ doms sorted out in Iran (and the Shah’s dictatorship before he ran away in 1979 was just as bad), but it is a good start. More importantly, it’s potentially one less button to be pressed in a future nuclear conflict that even 51 years after the Cuban Crisis, I still fear might happen as the lessons of history are sadly forgotten.

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Friday, November 29, 2013

Tony

Mayes

HE ALWAYS HAS SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT

FLOWERS’ ROTTEN DIVVY

This week's rant comes with a warning.

It's controversial and may upset some peo­ ple, but I believe it's long overdue, so here we go. What a sick and sorry tale the saga of shamed Rev Paul Flowers is.

He was a Methodist minis­ ter for 40 years, was a Labour councillor, was some­ how able to get a senior posi­ tion with the Co­op Bank by convincing people he had the expertise, and presided over it while it lost £700million in the first six months of the year. A £1.5billion black hole was discovered in its finances. He was grilled by MPs over the near­collapse of the "ethical" bank, threat­ ening the retirement income of thousands of pensioners; the bank which has given a small fortune to payroll the Labour party.

Openly­gay Flowers was the £132,000­a­year chair­ man of the bank, which has lent £34million to Labour over two decades. This man used to chair the drugs char­ ity Lifeline, whose motto is ‘telling the truth about drugs’, whilst to friends he openly boasted about getting "wast­ ed" on drugs. He was finally exposed by an acquaintance called Stuart Davies, who was ‘disgusted by his hypocrisy’ and secretly filmed him on an iPhone buy­ ing drugs earlier this month.

Mr Davies, 26, said he met Flowers in October through Grindr, a gay dating mobile phone app. He told the press: ‘After hearing him bragging about his life, about his connections in Parliament, his 40 years in the church and his all­round good works, it just felt wrong.

He seemed to be using his status to get young men off their heads for sex.’

Flowers' appalling history at the Co­op will, quite rightly, come under intense scrutiny.

Police have been brought in to investigate the alleged drug taking, and Flowers' role in politics will be picked over by politicians. All Flowers' antics in his public life will be under the micro­ scope and quite rightly,

because society has set up controls to do so ­ to protect society and help it to learn lessons for the future. But there is one important aspect that somehow always seems to be quietly swept under the carpet, quietly forgotten ­ possibly because it can rock too many boats and be too sensitive to deal with proper­ ly. What am I referring to?

How the hell could this man have continued preaching when there was so much evil going on in his life? In short ­ who is policing the clergy?

Who is keeping a strict eye on those who are influencing millions of others on the altar of religion?

The religious readers among you will no doubt be saying God ­ if not in this world, then the next.

But I would suggest that God is currently doing a pret­ ty poor job in policing those who are speaking in his name. The Bible would have us believe that he was inter­ vening virtually every five minutes in biblical times turn­ ing people into pillars of salt; killing first born babies; drowning thousands and sending all manner of plagues and famines just because people didn't do his bidding. So why isn't it hap­ pening now? Wouldn't it be good if some huge hand of God would descend on the wrong­doers in the church (and everywhere else in the world) and with a booming voice tell all and sundry of their crimes and dish out punishments. Punishing the countless priests who preyed on children for sex and ruined their lives, and the hierarchy of the church who knew what was going on and covered it up. People of the cloth have the gift of the gab, it's their stock in trade ­ able to influence others in all man­ ner of ways. Just like Flowers, who was able to convince others he was the right person to run a bank, have the calibre to be a councillor and manipulate others to get the kinky sex he wanted, as well as getting wasted on drugs. There are many people who go to a church because they have been damaged and need understanding, counselling

and help. They do not expect to be preyed upon by people who shouldn't be preaching from the pulpit, who are high on drugs or are using mem­ bers of the congregation for their own ends. There needs to be more regulation of every church and sect. Do you really know the person who is preaching at you from the pulpit each week?

Undoubtedly the vast majori­ ty are upright and of high moral fibre. But we know some are not and every time I hear of a transgression of a person of the cloth it sickens me, whether it is a priest preying on choirboys or an Imam grooming a person into Islamic extremism, ready to plant the next bomb to kill and maim. These people are nothing more than absolute hypocrites and an abomina­ tion.

Still on a religious note, here's for a dose of reli­ gious silliness. Many people in Britain value yoga classes for limbering their bodies, helping breathing, posture and general health.

But the silliness comes among some Muslims, Christians and Jews who fear that doing yoga is something they shouldn't be doing because of yoga's history as an ancient spiritual practice with connections to Hinduism and Buddhism.

Would you believe it? A yoga class was banned from a church hall in the UK. "Yoga is a Hindu spiritual

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exercise," said the priest: "Being a Catholic church we have to promote the gospel, and that's what we use our premises for." Anglican churches in the UK have taken similar decisions at one time or another. In the US, prominent pastors have called yoga "demonic".

How can you possibly deal with such crackpot and crazy ideas which you would have thought was coming from churches in the 16th century, not the 21st.

Apparently, yoga is a path towards enlightenment that focuses on building physical and mental strength. Yes, I could do with a dose of that ­ and do I care whether it comes from a religion from another part of the world? No not a jot and it's about time many people did a lot of growing up and stop being religious fanatics.

Well Peter, didn't I ruffle your feath­ ers (or should I say fur) over my rant a fortnight ago! For those of you who missed it, I wrote about how sickened I was to hear so fre­ quently about a child ripped to death or seriously maimed by an out­of­control dog. I was taken to task by Courier writer, dog expert Peter Singh, for sug­ gesting that people who have young

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children were stupid, irre­ sponsible or even criminal to introduce a large dog into their home. Peter claims that the problem is not the dog but the owners who have not been taught how to under­ stand their dog so that it is controlled and balanced. Fair enough Peter, and I take that point, but in the case of the four­year­old girl ripped to death, the parents obtained the dog from a rescue centre without any knowledge of the history of the dog. If this isn't stupid, irresponsible and criminal I don't know what is?

Peter, answer me this. We have a small Westie. My wife went with our new arrival to dog training classes and did everything right. She has had a dog all her life and there's not much she doesn't know about them.

But one day our grand­ child, aged about three, called, was on the floor and put her face down close to the dog and she snapped at her. Another incident was when we were at a barbecue and a little boy got down on the ground with her and she snapped at him, this time drawing blood. Needless to say we will never allow any child to come near her, unless totally supervised and we are obviously extremely concerned. These days we can't trust bankers, can't trust politicians, can't even trust all British bobbies, and some national newspaper staff, but you seem to think you can trust every dog not to attack a human being, provided its owners have been properly educated. How then is it that thousands of British postmen are attacked every year and the situation has become so bad that the Government is being forced to legislate?

There must be an awful lot of bad dog owners out there. I think I will let Courier readers reach their own conclusions as to whether it is owners, dogs, or both who are guilty.

Still on the subject of dogs, we were visiting friends on two urbanisations last week and were inflicted by absolute bedlam by barking dogs. The owners were pres­ ent but made not one attempt to quieten the dogs, which barked every time someone walked past. If a person passed who had another dog the noise was pure hell.

Peter will say the fault is that of the owners and I would agree, but I would add that anyone failing to control dogs properly should not be allowed to own them. We go on regular walks with various walking groups and from our discussions it seems the barking dog problem is get­ ting worse, and something needs to be done. Got a view? Then write to The Courier!

Friends of ours went on a cruise recently, start­ ing and ending at Barcelona.

There were 1,200 people on board, about 800 being Brits and other nationalities and the remainder Spanish. After a day or two of the Spanish sitting by themselves and keeping themselves apart, they complained to the cap­ tain that they thought the cruise should have been all Spanish and not open to other nationalities, as it was starting from Spanish waters.

They sat apart at the restau­ rant and tried to block any other nationality sitting near them at the tables. The cap­ tain had to remind the Spanish that if it wasn't for the Brits and others, the cruise wouldn't even have sailed because it would not have been fully booked, and all cruises would be multi­national, like it or not. It's sad, isn't it, that racial prejudice is alive and well on, of all places, a cruise ship, where supposedly, people are there to enjoy themselves on holiday.

In earlier decades, the joke was on the Germans trying to grab all the deckchairs and hog everything on holidays.

Have the Spanish taken a leaf out of their book?

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Friday, November 29, 2013

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Friday, November 29, 2013

SAY IT IN SPANISH Learn the lingo - with a little help from JEANETTE ERATH Spanish 99 Amo a mi gato How have you been getting on with your Spanish in the past? I hope you have also been practising your other tenses, present, future and conditional. I will soon be having a big revision week as we reach one hundred lessons, although as you should, by now, be able to hold a basic conversation at least in Spanish these tenses should be second nature to you.

One of my readers sent me an e­mail a while ago asking whether I have covered what is called ´the personal a´ I was sure that I had and went over my lessons to find out where it had been learnt, however I could not find it and realised that maybe I haven´t covered it after all!

Therefore this lesson we are going to go over it and if you are already familiar with it then this will be good revision for you.

This is in fact not a difficult part of Spanish to learn, so firstly what is ´the personal A´ well it is, as suggested the let­ ter ´a´ which has to be included in certain situations.

In Spanish ´a´ can mean ´in, at or to´ for example voy a la tienda – I am going to the shop, a las cinco – at five o´clock, a tiempo ­ in time, but it is also used in a personal way, that is when the direct object of the verb in a sentence is a spe­ cific person (or people) you must place a directly before the person. Remember: the direct object is the noun that is directly affected by the verb and usually follows the verb both in English and in Spanish.

For example: Juan ama a Elena – Juan loves Elena, buscas a mis her­ manos – you look for my brothers, esperamos a su maes­

tro – we wait for your teacher The personal A is not translated in English, because it does not exist. We also add the personal A to show respect.

When the personal A is not used we do not use it with the following verbs: ser, tener, hay Examples: Juan es español, tienes tres hermanas, hay un niño en la calle.

We don´t use it when the direct object is not a specific per­ son: necesito un maestro inglés, busco un amigo.

When we talk about animals the personal A may be required or not, it just depends on the animal we are talking

about. For example, with pets that we have a personal relationship with we will use it, because they are specific, howev­ er when we are talking about a stray or any other animals which we do not have an allegiance or relationship then we will not use it: amo a mi gato, Príncipe – I love my cat, Prince; odio las cucarachas – I hate cockroaches How do we ask a question with the personal A? When we want to ask a complex question and we need the per­ sonal A this is placed before the interrog­ ative ¿A quién amas? ­ who do you love? ¿A quién miras? ­ who are you watching?

Where there is a series of direct objects in a list then we need to add the personal A to each of them: Veo a Juan, a Mario, a Hugo, a Marta y a Alejandro.

Don´t forget contractions, when we need to put the personal A before the masculine el it will contract to al for example: veo al niño, María ama al hombre.

So here are some translations for you to do using the personal A, be careful because there may be some where it is not required.

I see Julia, I look for my shoes, I understand Marcos, We listen to Jorge, Do you see the girl? Laura loves Juan, you are my friend , Antonio is the president of the club, I know Alan, John, Mary and Ellen.

Have fun and next week we´ll be doing some big revision, so make sure you are up to date and get revising, although the questions are going to be on absolutely anything that I´ve covered in the past 99 lessons.

See you next week, keep warm.

Friday, November 29, 2013

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Friday, November 29, 2013

NATURES BEST KEPT SECRET A couple of weeks ago I wrote about post­ menopausal vaginal dryness and had an amazing response with many emails and telephone calls requesting Replens Vaginal moisturiser. In this article I mentioned Omega 7 or Sea Buckthorn as another aid to mucous membrane moisture and nutrition. If you suf­ fer from dry eyes, intimate dryness, dry wrin­ kled skin, dull hair, brittle flaky nails then you could benefit from Sea Buckthorn. Worn out dried mucosa affects more than 75% of men and women over the age of 50. Think of mucous membrane as your body’s own grime filter. It stops your body drying out but it also creates a barrier that traps bacte­ ria, viruses, fungus and environmental toxins from entering your body.

The effects of prescription

drugs, health problems, caffeine, contact lenses, air conditioning, fumes from bleach and other chemicals, dust and pollen all affect your mucous membrane function giv­ ing you the symptoms we have mentioned.

Sea Buckthorn has been shown in study after study to be a powerhouse of nutrition. The essential fatty acids in Sea Buckthorn have been found to help protect us from cancer and heart disease, speed up the healing of wounds, helping eczema and protecting the skin against harmful ultra violet rays.

The benefits are endless and I would like to give you a couple of

extracts from testimonials “ I am absolutely amazed at the positive results from Omega 7 (sea buckthorn) it has given me back the abil­ ity to feel like a woman again when the menopause had taken that away. It is the only supplement that has worked for me” Sarah Graham May 1st 2013.

“Most of my friends have noticed how good my skin looks, how soft it feels. My eyes are not dry and sore anymore” Mrs Rosemary Bristow April 18th 2013 If you wake up every morning and feel as if the moisture has been sucked out of you, you look in the mirror and see a prune looking back , your skin is dry and paper thin you are suffering from intimate dryness, sore eyes and if you are dreading running into someone who hasn’t seen you for ages in case they think the years haven’t been kind to you need to consider taking Sea Buckthorn , which

incidentally has nothing to do with the sea it is harvested in Finland from a thorny tree and is notoriously difficult to harvest.

Dose is 4 capsules per day for the first month and 2 each day thereafter. I can also tell you that I write about this with true passion as I have been taking this supplement myself for 4 months and having suffered from dry eye syndrome for over 20 years I can honestly say that I have been able to stop using artifi­ cial tears and that my eyes feel better than they have done for many years.

If you would like more information about Sea Buckthorn or any aspect of Diet, Nutrition and Image come along and see us in our soon to be opened new location in Punta Prima next door to Medaesthetics, La Campana Centro Commercial or email me at simply18es@hotmail.com or call 667 817 546.

Smoothies: A Bad ‘Diet’ Food If you thought smoothies were harmless, think again!

Brimming with fruits and vegetables, the smooth­ ie presents a quick and easy way of getting in your five­a­day. If only it were so simple…

The bad side is that smoothies don’t fill you up as much as eating normal fruits and vegetables would because most of their fiber content disintegrates in the pureeing process. In light of the fact that the calorie content of a smoothie is equivalent to a sandwich, you’re doing more damage than good.

How to overcome your fears and addictions

DR MACHI MANNU’S ADVICE CLINIC Email your questions and comments to contact@medb.es

Fear can be the bane of our lives. Fear is crippling and incapacitating. In the state of fear, you can nei­ ther think straight nor func­ tion normally. You are paralysed and unable to take any action. It is said that the only thing to be afraid of is fear. Many of us have all kinds of fear, whether of darkness, insects or flying. Fear is universal and has been observed in all animals Grass eating animals have a natural fear of meat eaters. And most animals tend to avoid the slithering snake. Fear is necessary for our survival and is part of our learning process until it becomes irrational. This is probably why fear is con­ sidered a learned behav­ iour. Irrational fear howev­ er, is not an affliction that hits us all of a sudden, but something progressive, that may not be noticed until it starts to affect day to day living. Fear is believed to originate from the part of the brain known as the Amygdala, and this area has more blood flowing through it when we are

afraid. Our irrational fears are mostly based on limited information or knowledge.

For example many people are afraid of bats, but when you realise that vampire bats are harmless and rarely bite humans, even adopting their neighbours young when the mother dies, your emotions towards them may change.

As fear is a learned behav­ iour, it can be unlearned, and so MedB working together with Dr Lawlis is offering 5 people the chance to take part in a research project to cure their fears, using Dr Lawlis’s own technology THE BAUD and at no cost to them. Dr Lawlis is a pop­ ular clinical psychologist and TV personality well known in the TV series Dr

Phil show. The BAUD is a non­invasive, harmless technology which uses fine­ ly tuned sound frequencies to adjust your inner mind and rid your body of fears.

If you are interested in this ground breaking project and wish to banish any fears or addictions that you have, Please call Dr Mannu on 965071745 to book a free therapy session. Fears and addictions that are managed with THE BAUD include irrational fears, such as fear of heights, darkness, flying and ani­ mals, as well as alcohol and cigarette addiction and many others.

FOR FULL BODY DIAG­ NOSTIC SCAN CALL DR MACHI MANNU ON 965071745

Friday, November 29, 2013

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Friday, November 29, 2013

WHAT CAUSES A DRY MOUTH AT NIGHT? Q

I wake five or six times per night due to having to drink water for my dry mouth. I have been putting Xylomelts into my mouth before going to sleep for a while now but they have started to make my mouth sore so have stopped using them. I have to visit the loo three or four times as a consequence of drinking so much, so sleep is very limited. Can you help me at all?

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Dry mouth syndrome or xerostomia occurs when there is reduced production of saliva from the salivary glands as a result of a number of factors. However this is not always the case as some people who don’t secrete much saliva do not show signs of dry mouth, while others complaining of dry mouth may be producing normal quantities of saliva. Certain symptoms are known to occur together with dry mouth such as; blurred vision, inability to cry, intolerance to light, and dry­ ness of the nose, itchiness, as well as voice changes. Those who breathe through the mouth – mouth breathers are more prone to suffer from dry mouth and its complications. The log­ ical approach to therapy is to establish the possible causes of the problem rather than to jump into treating symptoms.

Prescribed medications are a common cause of dry mouth, and it is estimated that over 500 prescription medications cause dry mouth as a side effect. In fact over half of the most commonly prescribed medications are known to cause dry mouth. Drugs used to manage blood pressure, antidepres­ sants, steroids, antihistamines and a host of other classes of medications can give rise to dry mouth. Are you on any med­ ications? Have your medications been changed recently? A consequence of the downturn in economy especially here in Spain is the preference for cheaper and most likely low quality prescription drugs by public health doctors in order to reduce hospital costs. Dry mouth can also be triggered by any condi­ tion that leads to loss of fluids from the body such as vomiting, diarrhoea, and excessive sweating. If you haven’t suffered

from dry mouth most of your life, it is reasonable to assume that it must have been triggered by something – drugs, foods, chemicals. Perhaps you’ve recently moved home and this has led to a change in Lifestyle. Dry mouth can also be caused by worsening chronic disorders especially autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s disease and lupus.

Xylimelts or Xylomelts contains xylitol, a type of alcohol with a sweet taste that stimulates the glands to produce saliva. Dry mouth is also associated with a dysfunctional nervous system because salivary glands have complex nerve connections, and if these nerves become inflamed, the glands may produce a lot less saliva. Nutritional deficiencies can cause dry mouth because saliva although mostly made up of water, also con­ tains several minerals, proteins and enzymes that give it a unique consistency. Even though you may have a healthy diet, you may need to take supplements to ensure you are receiv­ ing all essential nutrients. The presence of contaminants or toxins can also inflame the salivary glands, and this in turn affects the secretion of saliva. Poor dental hygiene is also a common cause of dry mouth. An effective and cheap way to maintain adequate dental hygiene is by swishing with 2 table­ spoons of coconut oil for about 15 minutes every day for a week. This is called ‘Oil pulling’ and is a therapy that has been used for thousands of years by several cultures. This will extract toxins in the oral cavity. Sweats and candies also help increase the production of saliva and this alleviates the prob­ lem until a cure is found. And if these actions don’t help, you may need to consider having a full health­check to find out the root cause.

How to reduce your health risks this winter if you suf­ fer from respiratory problems

tis, emphysema, COPD, sinusitis and allergy. In my experi­ ence as an asthma sufferer and in medical practice, I know that respiratory illnesses tend to worsen in cold and damp weather. And there are a number of reasons for this. Those suffering from respiratory illnesses usually have a lowered immunity and because certain microbes such as influenza viruses are more active in the cold season, there is an increased risk of contracting a viral infection. The weak lungs of those suffering from respiratory problems are also very sen­ sitive to the cold weather and this makes it absolutely vital for such individuals to keep very warm in the cold season. Make sure your chest area in particular is well covered. Warmers are a must have, and good ones can cost less than a tenner in shops. The weather can change without warning here in the coasts and so you should have a coat with you especially when out in the late evenings. Also stay away from dust. Most respiratory problems are caused by an allergy to dust. If you live in a construction site or next to one, be quick to shut your doors and windows on windy days, or better still, purchase an air purifier. Avoid using chemicals to do your cleaning. A steam vaporizer is a better option. Ceramic floor tiles are also easily cleaned with ordinary water. Maintaining a healthy diet is paramount as those with chronic respiratory problems are known to be deficient in a number of essential nutrients. My own health improved dramatically when I became conscious of my diet and also started taking supplements. Extra supple­ ments like vitamin D are needed in the cold months, even here in Sunny Costa Blanca. Spending time out­doors is also a healthy idea. It used to be recommended by doctors for respi­ ratory patients not long ago.

The winter season is usually a difficult one for those suf­ fering from respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchi­

PLEASE SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO contact@medb.es or to the editor of the courier.

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Friday, November 29, 2013

SPANISH NEWS

FAMILY TIES

Barcelona archaeologists have discovered the 6,400 year old remains of four people, who were bound together with a rope and wrapped in a shroud. The University of Barcelona team found the bones of a 50­year­old man, a teenag­ er and two younger children in a cave outside the city.

The bodies were in unusu­ ally good condition because a rockfall had blocked off the entrance to the cave.

All four corpses had been placed in an "extreme foetal position" and lined up along the north wall of the cave, and the scientists believe they had been tied together with ropes and wrapped in a funeral shroud.

"The funerary rites here are different to those seen

elsewhere", said Manel Edo, the director of the excavations. He said the rites, which date from the early stages of the Middle Neolithic period, were the first to be found in Spain.

Edo also explained the bodies had been placed in a fetal position because "that is how you arrive on Earth and how you leave".

“Madman” watched

Spanish police are keep­ ing a sadistic killer known as the "tracksuit madman" under close watch after his release from prison under a European human rights rul­ ing. Manuel Gonzalez was released last Friday from a jail near Barcelona where he had been serving a 169­year sentence handed down in 1997 for horrific sexual assaults on 16 women and At the site, the archaeolo­ the resulting death of one of gists also found household the victims.

"According to the experts, objects including a double­ handed vase, and the he is not cured of his urges," remains of two goats and a a regional interior ministry ficial, Ramon Espadaler, cow, while the man of the of told the media, “and police group had a bone pendant have been ordered to keep below his left arm. The Gonzalez under watch”, he cave also included the added. remains of a bonfire, which Spanish media quoted a may have been lit during prison medical evaluation the funeral. saying Gonzalez presented a "high risk" of reoffending,

and "other acts of violence" cannot be excluded. Several of Gonzalez's traumatised victims were collectively informed by officials a day before his release. Gonzalez was jailed for a string of vio­ lent attacks in the early nineties on randomly chosen girls and women walking in Barcelona's streets in which he approached them from behind and stabbed their genitalia.

His release complied with an October 21st European Court of Human Rights rul­ ing that found Spain had acted illegally by denying certain prisoners shortened sentences for good behav­ iour. That ruling, which has created fury in Spain, has already led to the release of dozens of dangerous con­ victs ­­ including rapists and members of the Basque armed separatist group ETA.

OPEN WOUNDS NO KIDDING

The 38th anniversary of the death of Spain's fascist dictator Francisco Franco was marked by both right­wing and anti­fas­ cist demonstrations over the weekend as his legacy continues to divide the country.

Up to 500 people representing the right wing of Spanish politics gathered outside the Royal Palace in Madrid on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the death of Franco, who ruled Spain from the end of the country's bloody civil war in 1939 until his death on November 20th 1975.

The group included members of Spain's fas­ cist Falange party, the Catholic group Movimiento Católico Español, and the nationalist group the Nudo Patriota Español (Spanish Knot).

Speaking during the two­hour demonstra­ tion, Spanish Knot president Eduardo Arias said Spain needed to cut immigration because of the country's high unemploy­

ment. Attendees at the event jeered the king, calling him a traitor while also mocking mem­ bers of Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party party and the opposition socialist PSOE party. They also performed fascist salutes and sold right­wing memorabilia.

On Saturday, meanwhile, anti­fascist pro­ testers gathered at the El Valle de los Caídos, the giant mausoleum just outside Madrid w h e r e Franco is buried.

The pro­ testers called the rally "to denounce the main­ taining of the Valley of the Fallen as a mausoleum for Franco and a place of pil­ grimage for international fascism", they said in a statement.

The period of Franco's rule remains highly controversial in Spain with many saying the left­wing victims of the 1936–1939 civil war and the four decades of dictatorship that fol­ lowed have never received justice.

SCIENTISTS in Aragón are hoping to clone a breed of mountain goat which is cur­ rently extinct using frozen cells from the last­ known survivor of the species. Named Celia, the only bucardo or Pyrénéen Ibex thought to be left, passed away 13 years ago after being crushed by a falling tree in the Ordesa National Park in the province of Huesca.

Fortunately for the future of her race, experts had taken cells from her the year before and frozen them in liquid nitrogen. In 2003 – three years after the bucardo became officially extinct – they successfully cloned a kid after just seven of 57 nanny goats of a similar species who were artificial­ ly­inseminated became pregnant, with only

one carrying the baby to full term. But the off­ spring only survived for a few minutes, since it had a defect in one lung.

No further attempts have been made, but scientists are now carrying out tests to see whether Celia's cells – currently stored in liquid nitrogen at ­196ºC – are still fertile. If this is the case, they will attempt to clone bucardo embryos and implant them in sur­ rogate mothers, being other types of female mountain goat. The main problem, if babies were born, would be that the embryos would all be female as they come from a female bucardo's DNA. In the meantime, Celia, who has been stuffed, takes pride of place in the informa­ tion office at the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park in Huesca.

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Friday, November 29, 2013

Focus on

CIUDAD QUESADA

MORE THAN JUST A GYM

If you want to improve your body with a workout or perhaps try Zumba or aerobics, then it’s all under one roof at the Quesada Fitness Gym and Dance Studio: Boxing and MMA Club.

The new owner, Vivienne Shepherd, refurbished the gym during the summer to make it a great little place to put you through your paces, be it boxing or weight training, or the less strenuous but equally rewarding activities of Pilates or Yoga. It’s also become a venue where you can make new friends quickly with a variety of members from across all coun­ tries.

The newly­equipped gym includes a top class air­conditioning system as well as sun screened windows, shades, and WiFi for those of you who need to be on the internet! The studio side of the building has also been redecorated with only qualified top line instructors being used for the many classes which also include Spinning, Body Sculpture, Dance Boxercise to mention but a few. There’s also the highly popular xTreme Dance Skool, in addition to a hair salon and aesthetic beauty room, plus Chiromassage and Reike services. Coming soon a sports outlet on site There’s something for everybody under one roof, and with the com­ pany fully legal with the authorities, it’s going to be around for a long time!

NOW OPEN IN GRAN ALACANT NEW ASSSA CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICE • Personal advice in your own language in our customer service offices • Immediate access to English speaking doctors • No premium increase due to increasing age • Health cover and protection against policy termination from day 1 • Easy transfer options with special conditions from anoth­ er Company Health Insurance cover from 44 € per month !

Invest in your health! Ask for advice, learn more. You can visit us in the clinic Scandinavian Surgery, Avda.

Escandinavia nº 37. Opposite the new market. Every Thursday 9:30 to 13:30 Tel: 965 725 421 or 616 716 349, Email: ciudadquesa­ da@asssa.es

IF IT’S HIGH TEC, IT’S IBERTECH! Ibertech computers have been in business in Quesada for a decade providing support from qualified technicians who’ve spent their lives dealing with anything to do with the IT world!

Ibertech provides new and re­furbished computers, all of which come with a 2 year guarantee and genuine operating software. There’s a wide range of accessories plus SIM cards for mobile phones and data and support for any system that you use be it Windows, Apple or Android.

Ibertech also have the skills to repair your tablet or smart­ phone, and they specialise in on­site support and configura­ tion of business networks and data backup solutions. If you are looking for a multisite solution then they are also experts in Office 365 and SharePoint. Whatever your needs, small or large, Ibertech give you a free quotation and a free diag­ nosis on all work.

SWITCHED ON TO WHAT YOU WANT If you miss some of the great electrical brand names from the UK, then don’t worry as Discount Electrical and Home Appliances can come to the rescue! They opened back in December 2002, and after 11 years in business, they are still going strong supplying well known branded electrical goods from Britain, as well as the very best that Spain has to offer. You name it, and they have it with TV satellite sys­ tems through to central heating as well as everything for your kitchen, including gas cookers, slow cookers, washing machines and fridge freezers, in addition to smaller items and vacuum cleaners.

Everything on sale comes with a full warranty and great after sales service.

If Discount Electrical do not have what you want in stock, then they can easily track it down from their direct database linked through to all the key suppliers around Europe. And they also supply top quality fur­ niture for both the home and garden. Add the special touch of friendly and helpful service where customer service comes first, and you can see why so many people have been pleased with what Discount Electrical and Home Appliances have to offer. Try us and see!

Friday, November 29, 2013

Focus on

CIUDAD QUESADA

PROPERTY CONSULTANTS THAT CARE

SPC International are your professional real estate agents in Spain, offering not only property sales but a full in house fiscal and financial department as well. They will guide you through the minefield of buying a house in Spain, and you can rest assured that you will be not be hit by any nasty surprises or extra costs that you are not told about. All the money transfers and legal paperwork involved with buying your prop­ erty are dealt with by the in­house team that has worked in the Spanish real estate business for many years. Due to the wealth of experience that they have, SPC International have a stream of repeat clients, and our office door is always open if need some helpful and friendly advice from our expert team. When you have found your dream home on the Costa Blanca, SPC International will work with you through every step of the purchase process to ensure you fully understand everything.

Professionalism and honesty is paramount and they will get you the answers and help you need before and after you buy your property. All of their offices offer a complete currency transfer service with HiFX, the worlds leading currency transfer company, a full building refurbish­ ment/alteration service, and a comprehensive range of insurance prod­ ucts. We also are now able to offer the services of Ruth Lopez, a lawyer who specialises in criminal and civil cases, and who is available by appointment from our head office in La Siesta.

PM SERVICES EVERYTHING If you need help with any aspect of your home, then why not call in PM Services:­ the one stop contact for all your property needs.

This newly formed property maintenance company looks after everything from cleaning your pool through to installing your TV and satellite equipment.

PM Services use professional tradesmen to carry out all the work and all the projects are managed by their highly experienced after sales office team based in Quesada. Customer service and being friendly and professional is top priority for PM Services, and so just call into their office or give them a call to find out what they can do for you, PM Services include dealing with painting, plumb­ ing, extensions, heating, tiling, home Improvements, pool con­ struction, security, and key holding, security cameras for maxi­ mum home security, special wifi device to protect your data on the internet, alarm systems, home management: domestic cleaning, house keeping amongst many things. Just make contact to find out the full range of help that PM can offer you.

JOIN THE GOLD RUSH

Don’t delay and miss out on the Gold Rush, your ideal place to buy and sell your gold, with people who know what they are talk­ ing about. Gold Rush is a family run business, and you can rest in confidence that they are fully licensed to carry out their trade.

Their Police Licence is displayed on the shop wall for all to see, unlike some other dealers who claim to be legal but in fact they are not. Besides offering the area’s best prices for gold, they are interested in buying silver, high end watches, diamonds, as well as coins and medals. If something is gathering dust in a corner in your home that you don’t want, then go to Gold Rush to see if you can net a pre­Christmas bonanza of money, and they also run a professional pawn service which is highly competitive in what they offer you.

Gold Rush also has an on­site workshop for all of your jew­ ellery repairs, some of which may only take a matter of minutes, as well as a service which analyses the precious metals that you have. Try them out because once you have, you will not want go anywhere else.

GREAT FOOD AND FUN Quesada Fish and Chips has become a landmark in Quesada and offers probably the best fish and chips in the area. As well as their classic and popular fish and chips, they also offer other deli­ cious dishes such as pies, ribs, and gammon as well as healthier options for those of us who are watching our waistlines. We can­ not forget about Quesada Fish and Chips II in Villamartin Plaza and like the Quesada shop, is open seven days a week from 12pm – 10pm. The atmosphere in both restaurants is very friend­ ly and welcoming and they offer great value for money on all their meals. Tony and his team are really accommodating and offer specials every day of the week as well as a take­away service, so you can ring up, order and collect with ease.

Green Baize is adjoining Quesada Fish and Chips and offers all 4 full size Snooker Tables, Match Play darts boards, pool tables, Sky Sports Screens, and Special Food Menus whilst being a great family venue. The Food Offers include 1 meal for 3.50 Euros or 2 meals for 6 Euros.

A CUT ABOVE THE REST With 30 years’ experience in both London and here in Spain, it is no doubt that Martin is a traditional, fully trained barber of considerable talent. Martin completed 8 years of intensive training and went to achieve a number of national titles, includ­ ing London Champion in Gents Hair and competed for England along the way before moving to Spain eight years ago. Martin has built a considerable reputation working in Quesada and with customers from the surrounding areas.

After years of looking for the “ideal” premises, Martin & The Cutting Crew opened in March 2012 and in April 2013 opened the second branch in Camposol, Commercial Sector B, Murcia.

Martin & The Cutting Crew is an authentic barbershop with a modern twist. If you fancy a hot towel shave with a cut throat razor, short back and sides to the latest styles for the younger generation they cover it all. No appointments are needed so walk straight in and take sit and enjoy the experience.

25

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Friday, November 29, 2013

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Friday, November 29, 2013

DINNER PARTY RECIPES SLOW-ROAST PORK BELLY WITH CELERIAC & PEAR MASH Ingredients 1½ kg pork belly, skin scored 3 rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped 2 tsp coarse sea salt crystals 10 black peppercorns purple sprouting broccoli, steamed, to serve For the mash 750g celeriac, cubed 1 large potato, cubed 2 ripe pears, peeled and cubed 3 tbsp double cream large knob of butter

Method

1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Take the pork out of the fridge and pat the skin dry. Put the rosemary leaves, salt and pepper in a mini chopper and grind together (or do this with a mortar and pestle). Rub the rosemary salt all over the pork, making sure it gets into the cuts in the skin. Sit the pork in a large roasting tin, ideally on a rack, and roast for 30 mins.

2. Reduce heat to 170C/150 fan/gas 3 and roast for 1½ hrs more. Turn oven back up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and roast for 20­30 mins to crisp. Leave to rest on a board for 10 mins before carving.

3. When the pork is nearly ready to come out, put the celeriac and potato in a large pan of water, bring to the boil and cook for 10 mins until just tender. Add the pears and cook for 2 mins more. Drain well, then mash until smooth – a mouli or potato ricer does this job best. Beat in a splash of cream and some butter, and serve with the pork and broccoli.

ONE-PAN DUCK WITH SAVOY CABBAGE Ingredients 2 duck breasts 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed 600g cooked new potatoes, thickly sliced bunch flat­leaf parsley, roughly chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped 1 Savoy cabbage, trimmed, quartered, cored and finely sliced 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Lightly score the skin of the duck breasts, then generously season with the peppercorns and a sprinkling of salt. Lay the duck breasts, skin­side down, in a non­stick sauté pan, then

place over a low heat. Leave the duck for 15 mins to brown and release its fat, then flip over onto the flesh side for 5 mins.

2. Remove the duck from the pan, then turn up the heat. Add the potatoes to the pan, fry until brown and crisp, then scatter over the parsley and garlic. Scoop out with a slotted spoon onto a plate, then season with salt.

3. Keep the pan on the heat. Fry the bacon until crisp, then add the cabbage. Cook for 1 min, add a splash of water, then fry for 2 mins, just until the cabbage is wilted. While the cab­ bage is cooking, whisk any juices from the duck with the vine­ gar and olive oil. To serve, carve the duck breast into slices.

Fan out on large dinner plates, spoon a neat bundle of cab­ bage on one side, then pile a serving of potatoes on the other. Drizzle over the dressing and serve.

PAN-FRIED SALMON WITH WATERCRESS, POLENTA CROUTONS & CAPERS Ingredients 250g cooked polenta, either bought ready­made or made from the grain (follow pack instructions and allow it to cool and set on a tray) 50g plain flour 3 tbsp olive oil 6 boneless, skinless salmon fillets approx 140g/5oz each 200g watercress, washed and thick stalks removed

Continued on pg 28

28

Friday, November 29, 2013

2 tbsp capers in brine, drained squeeze lemon juice

Method

1. Cut the polenta into approximately 1.5cm cubes, toss in flour and fry in a little oil until slightly coloured. Keep warm.

2.

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.

Heat the remaining oil in a non­stick pan and fry the salmon portions for 1 min on each side until lightly golden, then transfer to a non­stick baking tray and cook in the oven for 8­10 mins. Test the fish to see if it is cooked by pushing a cocktail stick into the top of it. If the fish offers resistance, then it is not fully cooked and will need fur­ ther cooking. When cooked, remove from the oven and set to one side.

3. Dress the watercress with a little olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice. Scatter the polenta croutons and capers over each salmon fillet and serve with the watercress.

FISH PIE WITH SAFFRON MASH Ingredients 3 shallots, finely chopped 3 tbsp white wine vinegar 150ml white wine 142ml pot double cream 900g fresh haddock fillets, skinned 200g bag raw, peeled prawns, preferably unfrozen 800g fresh spinach (about 2 bags) 200g crabmeat For the topping 3 garlic cloves 1 red chilli, halved and deseeded 200ml full­fat milk

pinch saffron strands 1¼kg potatoes, cut into large chunks 4 tbsp olive oil zest and juice 1 lemon

Method

1. Tip the shallots and vinegar into a saucepan and place on the heat so the vinegar evaporates quickly.

Splash in the white wine and reduce until practically dry. Add cream, bring to the boil, then simmer gently until reduced by two­thirds and very thick. Leave to cool. Cut the fish into bite­size chunks and set aside with the prawns.

2. Tip spinach into a large colander and pour over boiling water from a kettle until all the spinach is wilted (you may need to do this more than once). Cool under the cold tap, then squeeze the spinach tightly to get rid of any excess liq­ uid.

3. To make the topping, mash the saffron, garlic and chilli together using a pestle and mortar. Tip into a saucepan with the milk, bring to the boil, then remove from the heat to infuse. Bring the potatoes to the boil and simmer for 15 mins until soft. Drain, then mash well with the infused milk, olive oil, lemon juice and zest.

4. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. To assemble the pie, mix the fish and prawns into the cold cream until completely coated. Tip the fish into the bottom of a large gratin dish and scatter over clumps of crabmeat. Unravel the spinach and lay it over the fish, then top with the mash. Cook the pie for about 30 mins until golden and starting to brown and bubble around the edges. Serve with green veg if you like.

CREAMY CHICKEN & PUMPKIN Ingredients 20g pack dried porcini 1 free­range chicken, about 1½ kg/3lb 5oz, jointed into 8

pieces (ask your butcher to do this for you) 1 lemon, halved 2 tbsp olive oil 25g unsalted butter 1 small onion, finely chopped 300g/10oz pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 2cm cubes 200g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped 284ml carton double cream

Method

1. Soak porcini in 300ml/1∕2 pt hot water for 30 mins. Skin chicken and rub the cut side of the lemon over them. Heat oil in a pan large enough to hold chicken in one layer. Add chick­ en and brown on both sides. Transfer to a casserole.

2. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Melt the butter in a medium pan. When it stops foaming, add onion and 1 tsp salt, then sauté until pale gold.

3.

Meanwhile, remove the porcini from the water and rinse well. Pat dry and chop small.

Strain the water through a sieve, stopping before the last spoonful.

4. Add porcini and pumpkin pieces to onion and sauté for 5 mins. Add fresh mushrooms and cook for 5 mins more, stirring fre­ quently. Stir in the cream, 4­5 tbsp of the porcini water and seasoning if you wish. Simmer uncovered for 10­12 mins until reduced slightly, then pour over the chicken.

5. Cover and cook in the oven for 30­40 mins, turning the chicken once or twice and adding a few spoonfuls of water if the sauce becomes a little dry.

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Friday, November 29, 2013

BlueMoon Solutions is the computer and IT services com­ pany 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 hav­ ing 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: Sandra wanted to ensure that her Internet ADVICE: Pat wanted advice on photo editing software for Explorer was always running in a maximised window. scrap booking.

I saw you this morning at Moncayo mar­ ket about my "outlook" (when I log in the page is about an inch deep and have to enlarge the page every time". I have Outlook.com. Many thanks, Sandra

Q A

Hi Sandra, you could try this…

1. Right hand click the icon for Internet Explorer

2. Click Properties and you should get a window like this appear…

Hi Richard. Could you please advise me? I do Scrap Booking as a hobby, and have always used the UK Photo machines (boots/max speilman) etc. to edit my photos. Basically removing red eye, zooming in a bit etc. These machines now are increasingly unavailable. So I want to download onto my laptop a basic programme to do the editing, then simply having the photos developed already edited.

I have looked on the web, and the programme "lightbox Image Editor" seems to be good, but my questions are 1) Will it download in Spanish? (Not a good idea!)

2) The software seems to "belong" to another provider ie "Softone" or others which one do I choose?

I am just dithering about what to do – Help. I would be grateful for your advice, before I do anything. Thank you very much, Pat

Q

3. Click on the drop down box next to “Run” and select “Maximised” and then click OK This will tell windows to always run this program in a maximised window.

ADVICE: Peter wanted to convert .mp4 files to .mp3 Hi Richard, this may not be within your field of expertise, but is there a way of re­configuring Windows media music files, along with MPEG ­ 4 audio files, and making them mp3 files?

Kind regards, Peter.

Q A

Hi Peter, I quite like Miro Video Converter for this sort of thing, it strictly speaking is for converting video into different formats but it should serve you just as well.

You can get a free copy from here… http://www.mirovideoconverter.com/ …once you load up the file you want to convert, in your case just click on format > audio > MP3 and it should do the rest.

Don’t forget you can follow me on twitter @bluemoonspain Alternatively 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.

A

Hi Patricia, I’m not familiar with that particular piece of software, however I can rec­ ommend Picasa, it’s a free program that you can download (in English) and will do what you need.

You can download it from http://picasa.google.co.uk

ADVICE: Peter was having problems with his Windows 7 laptop crashing

Q A

Hi, I have an HP Windows 7 laptop that creates a blue screen every time I hover over icon the for Internet Explorer, but it only does this when I have more than one window of Internet Explorer open, the blue screen gives the error as igpmd64.sys Hi Peter, have a look and see if you have the following Microsoft patch installed ­ KB2670838 – if you do then remove it. It looks like there is a known problem with this patch and the driver for your video card.

office@bluemoonsolutions.es www.bluemoonsolutions.es Mobile: 655 044 970

Office: 902 906 200

30

Friday, November 29, 2013

Shuttlecock special BOWLED OVER

El Altet Badminton Club recently enter­ tained Guardamar Badminton club in an 18 match contest that featured play­ ers from Spain, Germany, England, Ireland and Scotland. Though El Alet triumphed by 12 games to 6, the points margins were close in many of the

matches.

The El Altet Club are always looking for new players of all standards and ages, so phone Iain on 646 240 026, and the same applies to the Guardamar Club who also offer coaching. You can get more details from Gill on 689 159 487.

Nearly 400 Euros was raised for the Torrevieja Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal with a special competition day at the San Luis Bowls Club, Torrevieja,

where the emphasis was on fun. There was generous support from local busi­ nesses who donated all the raffle prizes.

It’s birthday time for the Velvetones Harmony Chorus as they’ll be cele­ brating 15 years together this coming Wednesday (December 4th) with a special show. Tickets will be only 5 Euros for the entertainment at Restaurant El Paraiso, Jardin Del Mar

(behind Carrefour),Torrevieja.

There’ll be a fair smattering of Christmas Carols, and all the pro­ ceeds will go to local charities. For more information, phone Mary­Anne on 966 714 973 or visit the website, www.velvetones.org

HAPPY TONES

Torrevieja carols

Torrevieja will be awash to strains of all your favourite Christmas Carols with the 10th annual Carol Concert in the Plaza de la Consitución on Friday December 13th starting at 5.50pm The event has proven to be a big suc­ cess since starting in

2003 and has become a regular fixture in the area’s festive calendar with local choral groups and the Phoenix Concert Band leading the singing.

Most of the carols will be sung in English but there’ll be a few in Spanish to test out your

knowledge of the local lingo! Carol sheets will be supplied and a collec­ tion will be made for local charities. The very popular annual nativity scene (“Belen”) will be on display as well, and will be open until after the visit by the ‘Three Kings’ on January 6th.

HAPPY MEDIUM Whilst some places of worship are struggling with falling numbers, there’s no such problem for the Rainbow Spiritual Awareness Centre based at Sacko’s Bar in the El Limonar area of Torrevieja. Although it was only consecrated last month, it has already attracted many large congregations and people have travelled from as far away as Almeria to take part in the vari­ ous workshops being run by Trish Doherty.

The weekly Sunday service starts at 11.00am whilst anybody interested in spiritual aware­ ness can come to the weekly Wednesday Open Circle at 5.45pm followed an evening of mediumship at 7.30pm. For more details, call Trish on 966 844 795.

Christmas spirit The San Miguel­ based Vivace Choir is celebrating Christmas with a special musical celebration in the town’s Casa de Cultura. The informal evening, on Saturday December 7th starting at 8.00pm, will feature a selection of carols sung in English and Spanish that you can join in with, along with a few special items from the choir. For more information, phone 965 720 919

31

Friday, November 29, 2013

Beanstalk speaks shock CALLOSA COPS HELP HORSES

Today, speaking as a performing and talk­ ing beanstalk myself, I would like to make a stand for all the beanstalks that have ever appeared in the panto “Jack and the Beanstalk”. I realise that we do get a men­ tion in the title but there any recognition begins and ends. Can I point out that the hero of the story, Jack, would get nowhere without us. We provide the only opportunity for Jack to take the giant by surprise and thereby overthrow him. Do we ever get any praise for this? No! Its three cheers of Jack, what a hero Jack is, we all love Jack! What about the beanstalk?! All I can say is thank goodness for Stagestruck! In their produc­ tion of Jack and the Beanstalk I get to be the beanstalk you will not overlook or ever for­ get. I am the daddy of all beanstalks! I stand a full fourteen feet tall and without giving anything away, I will blow your mind!

Come and see me tonight (Friday) or tomorrow night at The Cardenal Belluga Theatre, San Fulgencio, with the curtain up at 8.00pm, with a matinee performance on Sunday at 3.00pm. Tickets are just 6 Euros for adults and 3 Euros for children, which includes a free glass of wine and squash for the kids. Drinks will also be available during the interval. For tickets, phone Stella on 965 076 700 or 693 267 458. Tickets are also on

Two distressed horses in the Callosa de Segura area have been rescued by the team at the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre in Rojales. Co­founder Sue Weeding got a call from the police saying that they had heard about a horse and pony on scrubland that were not being looked after properly, with the owner being ordered to hand over the animals because they were being mistreated.

Sue Weeding explains, “When we arrived with the horsebox, the police officer escorted us to where the horse and pony were tied to a tree on wasteland. He stayed with us while we led the animals to safety into the horsebox. The mare was so weak through dehydration and lack of food that she fell down while we were walking her to safety. The pony, we noticed, has a deformed sale at The Card Place, Benimar; The Post nose caused we believe by a tightly Room, Benijofar; and The Laundry, La fitted head collar which he must Marina. All proceeds will go to AFA have been wearing for a very long Alzheimer’s and the San Fulgencio time.”

Ambulance Appeal.

When the animals were examined at the Rescue Centre, they were found to be rid­ dled with worms, but no other problems, and they will now spend the rest of their lives there.

Sue adds, “What is so positive and pleas­

TO BOLDLY GO…….

ing now is that the police are taking action when they are alerted to horses in distress.

They are contacting us to see if we can help them instead of looking the other way. This bodes very well for the future of animal wel­ fare in Spain and is something we have been working towards for many years.”

PING PONG HELP

The Torrevieja Stroke Support Group has received a welcome pre­Christmas boost with a 500 Euro dona­ tion from the San Fulgencio­ based Brian O’Reilly Table Tennis group. The generous donation will help the Stroke group to continue their work in supporting people in the aftermath of a stroke and their carers for some time to come.

The Star Trekkers will be beaming down next month for the latest production from The Rascals, with a show crammed full of music and dance, including those all­important Christmas Carols.

Footworks Dance will be providing the young

dancers, and you’ll also be able to enjoy a seasonal drink courtesy of The Rascals during the interval.

There’ll be two perform­ ances, firstly this coming Wednesday December 5th at the Los Montesinos School of Music and Culture, and then at the

Virgen del Carmen Theatre in Torrevieja on Thursday December 12th.

Both shows start at 7.00pm, and tickets cost just 5 Euros, which you can get by call­ ing Sue on 966 784 874.

All of the ticket money will go to local children’s chari­ ties.

GET READY TO RUB

Aladdin’s lamp will be getting a lot of use at San Fulgencio’s Cardenal Belluga Theatre next month in a Studio 32 presenta­ tion of the ever­popular story. Aladdin will bring together a cast of all ages, including the young dancers of Totally Dance (pic­ tured). The panto will be staged on Friday December 13th and Saturday December 14th with curtain up at 7.30pm, plus a 2.30pm Saturday afternoon matinee.

Proceeds will go to the Alzheimer’s Association.

For tickets, phone Ann on 966 318 019 or E­mail liz@alpha9.co.uk They are on sale at The Christmas Shop, San Luis; News 4 U, La Marina; The Card Place, Benimar; The Post Room, Benijofar; Catorce, Benijofar; and Totally Dance, Benijofar.

FAYRE DEAL

There’ll be loads of Christmas bargains on offer tomorrow (Saturday) at the La Siesta Ladies Friendship Group’s Christmas Fayre.

The event is being staged at La Siesta Church in Torrevieja starting at 10.30am, with all pro­ ceeds going to local char­ ities.

IN A PICKLE

Some tasty homemade jams and pickles were the star of the show for the recent Help Murcia Mar Menor Christmas Fayre at Paddy Singh’s restaurant in Los Urrutias. Tricia Brister’s marmalade and chilli piccalilli were especially popu­ lar, with the whole event raising 310 Euros for Help MMM.

32

Friday, November 29, 2013

Horoscopes Aries March 21 ­ April 19 If you had to take a test today and had a choice between poetry and physics, you wouldn't hesitate. Poetry. Today is about interpretation, not analysis. A change in the atmosphere over the next few days is going to affect your thinking. You should expect some confusion in your contact with the people closest to you.

Taurus April 20 ­ May 20 Do you have a talent for writing? You seem to have a precise and clear way of expressing yourself. And it's possible you use this gift of yours in your career. Today you might want to use it to express your feelings about someone. Whether you write to a family member or compose a love letter, you'll be particularly inspired.

Gemini May 21 ­ June 20 You have a pleasant day ahead. People may be a little less playful, but they'll be all the more caring in their relationships.

That's just how you like them! Everything is on your side for you to express your feelings to someone close. Do it now! This atmosphere will only last a few days.

Cancer June 21 ­ July 22 You should expect to feel warmth in your con­ tact with other people today. Your relations will have something particularly tender and caring about them. It's like people are sud­ denly much more attentive and sensitive.

The universe is like one big, happy family.

You can confide in other people. Don't be afraid to talk about your most intimate feel­ ings with a friend.

By Pandora Leo July 23 ­ August 22 You won't be disappointed today. Over the next few days you're going to put your analytical way of thinking aside and let your feelings guide you. You'll be atten­ tive to the people you love. If someone needs your help, you can be counted on to come to the rescue. You'll spare them the lecture about what they've done wrong!

Virgo August 23 ­ September 22 Today is great for creativity, especially the kind that shows your special style. You're productive, although what you've been creating is just a reflection of the latest fashions. This is one of your drawbacks, as it keeps you from being true to your special style. Today you should use your feelings as your inspiration.

Libra September 23 ­ October 22 Today someone might ask what you're thinking about. You often think about things that are inaccessible to others.

Today it will be like you've gone inside yourself on your quest for answers to spiritual questions or the secrets of life.

Just tell him or her you're trying to rest, as they probably won't understand what you're thinking about anyway.

Scorpio October 23 ­ November 21 You love to have very serious discussions about important issues well into the night.

You rebuild the world the way you'd like to see it with your friends. But now you start yawning around ten and are in bed within the hour. This is true today, too. Are you tired or do you need to be alone to think about things?

Sagittarius November 22 ­ December 21 Do you often act as if the world is static and nothing ever changes? Sometimes you may think that humankind is a certain way, the world is a certain way, and so this is what you're going to do. Have you ever heard of evolution? The human race is constantly evolving, and so is the world.

Look around!

Capricorn December 22 ­ January 19 Today let your emotions mingle with your thoughts. What good is telling yourself that you must like something if you really can't stand it? What good are grand prin­ ciples if your heart isn't in them? Take the time to put your head in sync with your heart today.

Aquarius January 20 ­ February 18 Today you may feel like going into your past. One half of you feels nostalgia for the "good old days." The other half lives for the future and is unafraid to project into the unknown. Even though this sounds a bit contradictory, both these sides of you help the world move forward.

Think about this today.

Pisces February 19 ­ March 20 You're sensitive to the world around you.

It's like you're thinking with your heart. It's possible you'll be more impressionable and less objective when your emotions get the better of you in your relationships. If you'd hoped to hide something from someone, it won't work. Even if you say nothing, it's written on your face.

Friday, November 29, 2013

33

Winter warmers at The Ready Made Curtain & Bedding Store, CC Los Dolses, Villamartin!

Brrrr! With the sudden drop in temperatures the time has come to think about keeping warm!

Here at The Ready Made Curtain & Bedding Store we are pleased to have received our new winter warmers! We have luxurious duvets in all sizes with tog ratings from 4.5 to 13.5.

We have anti­allergy microfiber filled duvets as well as fab­ ulous goose down and new to our range are All Seasons duvets which are three duvets in one! 4.5 plus 9.0 making a super warm 13.5 tog duvet for the cold nights. Our range of pillows has expanded with bouncy extra fill microfiber pillows from only 12 euros a pair, in addition we have goose down, memory foam pillows and comfortable V Shaped pillows Our new winter warmers range also includes lots of fantastic cushions, cosy blankets and throws to brighten up your

room. Our new hot water bottles with cov­ ers are proving very popular and we have these in various styles ­ just what you need to keep you warm during the chilly nights!

We have now added a range of super warm door curtains in different widths.

It's amazing the difference you will make by curtaining off doors and arch­ ways, this will significantly add warmth to your room. We have these ready­ made and can alter them to fit even the most awkward gap, we also offer a home installation service for this which includes the rails or poles.

With new stock arriving every week, we have crammed our shop full of fantastic home textiles direct from the UK, cur­ tains, bedding, blankets, throws, duvets, pillows, towels, cushions, kitchen textiles and mattresses. We ensure these brand new ranges arrive as soon as they become available, so we are happy to be able to offer our customers the most up to date styles.

Our shop is situated in CC Los Dolses, Villamartin, next to the card shop near the canal (please see map). We are open from 10 am until 5.30 pm Monday to Friday and 10 am until 4 pm on Saturdays.

34

Friday, November 29, 2013

Aston Martin to recall nearly 17,000 cars

Aston Martin has announced it is to recall 16,825 cars globally to rectify an issue that has emerged with the throttle pedal of its cars.

Models built between November 2007 and October 2013 will be recalled, the firm says, because they “may exhibit a defect in the throttle pedal”.

This includes 1,382 right­hand drive cars built between May 2012 and 3 October 2013, plus 15,443 left­hand drive cars built between 11 November 2007 and 3 October 2013.

Because the right­hand drive cars affected by the recall were built for little more than a year, it means British Aston Martin owners

will be less impacted by the recall than its international owners: the firm sells cars in more than 40 countries.

The firm also confirmed the new Vanquish is unaffected by the recall.

“Although there has been no report of any accidents or injuries involving the throttle pedal, Aston Martin’s commitment to cus­ tomer safety is paramount, which is why the company is taking this action,” it said in a statement.

The issue won’t take long to rectify, though. “The throttle pedal exchange and associated work takes up to an hour to com­ plete and will be carried out with no charge to the customer.”

£10 MILLION CASH BOOST FOR LOTUS

Business secretary Vince Cable has vis­ ited Lotus’s Norfolk headquarters today, where he announced the company would be awarded £10.44 million from the Regional Growth Fund.

The money will be used for research and development of products, as well as staff training. The sports car company expects to create 313 full time jobs to support production over the coming years.

Cable said: “Lotus is an iconic British carmaker, with some of the most innovative engineers in the business. The car industry is one of

Britain’s great success stories, employ­ ing over 130,000 people and helping to build a stronger economy by contribut­ ing £11 billion a year.

“The Government’s industrial strategy is working and giving business the confi­ dence to invest, creating more high skilled, long term jobs in the UK.” Lotus CEO Aslam Farikullah added: “We have very exciting plans for our sports cars and it’s a very positive move for Lotus that we’re in a position to cre­ ate new jobs and to significantly con­ tribute to Britain’s automotive industry.”

Some good news for Lotus fans at last.

PORSCHE has unveiled its new Macan compact SUV, which has been tipped to take its sector by storm.

At 4.68 metres long and 1.92 metres wide, the smaller brother to the hugely successful Cayenne is a considerably more manage­ able size than its full­size sibling, as well as being more affordable and still packed with performance.

Two closely­related turbocharged petrol engines are being touted by Porsche as the initial flagship powerplants. The Macan S uses a 3.0­litre unit with 336bhp and 339lb.ft, while the 3.6­litre Macan Turbo puts out 395bhp and 406lb.ft.

Performance figures for the Turbo model include a top speed of 165mph and the abil­ ity to sprint from 0­62mph in 4.8 seconds – a length of time that falls by 0.2 seconds if the optional Sport Chrono pack is specified.

A diesel model is offered as the ‘touring’ Macan, with a larger cruising range linked to its lower fuel consumption. The Macan S

Diesel can return more than 46mpg for a range of 611 miles, despite weighing almost 1.9 tonnes and boasting both 254bhp and 428lb.ft – more torque than the Macan Turbo.

Four­wheel drive and tyres as fat as 255mm as standard, with 295­section rubber optional, mean the Macan can call upon massive traction to give it a real­world per­ formance edge over any of its potential rivals.

At its launch at the Los Angeles Auto show, Porsche vowed to build the Macan to the same standard as its 911. The Macan will actually share factory space with the Cayenne and Panamera models at the firm’s Leipzig facility.

A vast array of options and customisations will be made available to Macan buyers from the outset.

In the UK the Macan S and the Macan S Diesel will both cost £43,300, with the Turbo starting at £59,300.

Brand new Porsche Macan compact SUV

Friday, November 29, 2013

35

36

Friday, November 29, 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, 10 represents N and 16 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

Across

Down

1 Travel through water (4) 4 Quick (4) 9 Belief (7) 10 Child (5) 11 Choose (5) 12 Shock (7) 13 Son of your brother or sister (6) 15 Shriek (6) 19 Allegory (7) 21 Tubers (5) 23 Associates (5) 24 Greed (7) 25 Overtake (4) 26 Not any (4)

2 Produce a high­pitched sound from the mouth (7) 3 Sixty seconds (6) 4 Thighbone (5) 5 First light of day (7) 6 Rule (6) 7 Eat (4) 8 Address a deity (4) 14 Carnivorous river fish (7) 16 Drapery (7) 17 Captain (6) 18 Stay (6) 19 Wan (4) 20 Foundation (5) 22 Leave out (4)

Last weeks Solution

Across: 1 Bird, 4 Sack, 9 Often, 10 Routine, 11 Run, 12 Excellent, 13 Greasy, 14 Badger, 18 Escalator, 21 Rat, 23 Deliver, 24 Brave, 25 Ally, 26 Ties.

Down: 2 Intense, 3 Dangers, 4 Strict, 5 Cruel, 6 Poor, 7 Give, 8 Better, 13 Greedy, 15 Acrobat, 16 Garbage, 17 Sturdy, 19 Calm, 20 Level, 22 Toes.

Scribble Pad

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

CRYTPIC CLUES Across 1 Game backlash (4) 4 Hans is new style town planner (4) 9 Bounders’ foot parts (5) 10 Write about a side view (7) 11 ‘Jumped over it almost’ cries the cow (3) 12 Right, vote here and change in that place (4,5) 13 Acclimatise model and French aunt (6) 14 Lashes out in scuffle (6) 18 Relatives become adaptable (9) 21 Subdue small company to start with (3) 23 Fix blemishes and cure hot ailment (7) 24 Manual for a director (5) 25 Use a spoon back in the bunker, it seems (4) 26 Stinking row (4)

Down 2 Expand and start the innings before being dis­ missed (4,3) 3 Garland made of notes (7) 4 Little one who gets a grip of things (6) 5 Chooses Portsmouth to host the game (5) 6 A close friend is much troubled (4) 7 Sort of snack that would suit an angler (4) 8 Harsh to cut the last tie (6) 13 Somehow braved reck­ lessly, for example (6) 15 Badly engrave ‘retalia­ tor’ (7) 16 Notices about the parti­ tion (7) 17 Damaged their last musical instrument (6) 19 Bunk and a roll (4) 20 Big promotion last month (5) 22 Three points about river bird (4)

Down STANDARD CLUES 2 Expand (4,3) Across 1 Ball game (4) 3 Adorn (7) 4 American poet (4) 4 Claw (6) 9 Parts of shoes (5) 5 Recreation (5) 10 Side view (7) 6 Buddy (4) 11 Sound made by 21A (3) 7 Seize with teeth (4) 12 Yonder (4,5) 8 Very strict (6) 13 Adjust (6) 14 Bother (6) 13 Modifying word (6) 18 Capable of many uses 15 Retaliator (7) (9) 16 Division (7) 21 Bovine (3) 17 Stringed instrument (6) 23 Improve or repair (7) 19 Roster (4) 24 Lead (5) 20 Grown­up (5) 25 Agitate (4) 22 Small bird (4) 26 Row (4) Last weeks Solution Across: 1 Scum, 4 Hades, 9 Orbiter, 10 Gavel, 11 Palma, 12 Sea legs, 13 Rabies, 15 Bedsit, 19 Sliding, 21 Helix, 23 Hello, 24 Tactile, 25 Doses, 26 Lady.

Down: 2 Cabal, 3 Methane, 4 Heresy, 5 Dogma, 6 Soviets, 7 Copper, 8 Elms, 14 Bridled, 16 Ethical, 17 Taxied, 18 Agates, 19 Soho, 20 Idols, 22 Laird.

FILL IT IN

Complete the crossword grid by using the given words:

2 letter words As At Be To 3 letter words Act Ago Are Cab Dot Eat Ens Era Eve Gee Gnu Hew Hoe

Hue Kit Lea Net Oat Opt Pad Pan Pet Pie Pig Pot Ran Red Ski Sly Wed 4 letter words Ages Aids

Anew Aper Best Biro Bore Burr Busy Cape Case Cite Gets Gore Ires Isle Lass Lath Lest Lots Papa Poet Pure

Rage Sale Sick Slat Smut Sole Spas Spat Sure Urns Yeti 5 letter words Aunty Avail Bread Clove Cooks Later Litre Ogres

Pants Pearl Petty Tense 6 letter words Assets Cheese Cirrus Grassy Salted Thwart 7 letter words Atelier Sidearm 8 letter words Overalls Settlers

SPANISH-ENGLISH CROSSWORD

Improve your Spanish ­ clues in Spanish, answers in English or vice versa.

Across 1 Lápiz de labios (8) 5 No Clue 9 Cloudy (sky, day, weather) (7) 10 Gigante (5) 11 Sedas (5) 12 Espinacas (7) 13 Lawn (6) 15 Falcon (6) 18 Blowtorch (7) 20 Behind (at the back) (5) 22 Dejar (5) 23 To smile (person) (7) 24 Jabón (4) 25 Transfer (move) (8)

Down 1 Monday (5) 2 Guijarros (piedras) (7) 3 Equipos (deporte) (5) 4 Elegir (escoger) (6) 6 Stage (phase) (5) 7 Cocina (habitación) (7) 8 Eagle (6) 13 Castillos (7) 14 Once (6) 16 Plum (7) 17 To think (6) 19 Silver (5) 20 Asses (donkeys) (5) 21 Serious (not frivolous) (5)

37

Friday, November 29, 2013 Across 1 ‘With your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue’ is the opening line of which song that was a UK hit for both the Merseys and David Bowie? (6) 4 From the Greek for ‘line measuring across’, what is the name of the straight line pass­ ing from side to side through the centre of a circle or sphere?

(8) 9 What name is given to the red powder or cream used as a cosmetic for colouring the cheeks or lips? (5) 10 According to Christian mythology, what was the name of the dish, plate, or cup used

by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers? (4,5) 11 What was the surname of the British home secretary who helped create the modern con­ cept of the police force? (4) 12 Which British boy band active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, consisted of twins Matt Goss and Luke Goss along with Craig Logan? (4) 13 What was the name of the household pet cat of Bill Clinton, during his presidential terms in the White House? (5) 15 What name is usually applied to ‘the tidal mouth of a large river’? (7)

16 During a game of golf, which word is shouted out as a warning when it appears possi­ ble that a golf ball may hit other players or spectators? (4) 19 What is the surname of the lyricist who is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita? (4) 20 What name is given to a negatively charged electrode that is the source of electrons entering an electrical device?

(7) 23 Which rhythmic dance with Spanish and African ele­ ments, originated in Cuba? (5) 24 By what name is a fur­ nace or oven for burning, bak­ ing, or drying, especially one for firing pottery, usually known?

(4) 25 Which word can precede: act, age, arm, blown, call, cast, draft and draw? (4) 27 By what name is ‘a river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake’ usually known? (9) 28 What is the name of the public announcement of an intended marriage read out in a parish church? (5) 29 What word meaning ‘the feeling that a person or a thing

SUDOKU (Medium)

Quiz Word

is worthless or beneath consid­ eration, comes from the Latin for ‘despise’? (8) 30 What name for ‘scattered items or pieces of rubbish’

comes from the French for ‘break down’? (6) Down 1 How are the small metal

fragments thrown out by the explosion of a shell or bomb normally referred to? (8) 2 The name of which casino gambling game comes from the French word for ‘small wheel’? (8) 3 Which river in Central Europe begins in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming the northern 187 km of the bor­ der between Poland and Germany? (4) 5 St Mary’s, Tresco, St Martins, Bryher and St Agnes all form part of which archipela­ go off the south­western tip of England, near the entrance to the English Channel? (5,2,6) 6 What name is given to a civil officer who administers the law, especially one who con­ ducts a court concerned with minor offences and holds pre­ liminary hearings for more seri­ ous ones? (10) 7 By what name is a roof covering of straw, reeds, or similar material usually known?

(6) 8 Which word can mean both ‘enjoy greatly’ and ‘a piquant sauce or pickle eaten with plain food to add flavour’?

(6) 10 Which former profession­ al footballer has managed:

Bournemouth (1983­1992), West Ham United (1994­2001), Portsmouth (2002­2004), Southampton (2004­2005), Portsmouth (2005­2008), Tottenham Hotspur (2008­ 2012) and Queens Park Rangers (2012 ­ present)?

(5,8) 14 What name is often given to a depiction of a person in which distinguishing character­ istics are exaggerated for comic or grotesque effect? (10) 17 What name for ‘a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event’ is derived from the Latin for ‘occur to the mind’? (8) 18 What name is sometimes applied to a mild mental illness not caused by organic disease and involving symptoms such as depression, anxiety, obses­ sive behaviour, or hypochon­ dria? (8) 21 The region around the North Pole is often referred to as the (what)? (6) 22 What is the name of the innermost membrane of the sac enclosing the embryo of a mammal, reptile, or bird? (6) 26 Which double­reed wood­ wind instrument has a range of nearly three octaves and a high, penetrating, melancholy tone? (4)

SALLY’S SIMPLE SPANISH

CUIDADO MEDICO – MEDICAL CARE Match these words with their Spanish translations then find them in the wordsearch.

(Answers below)

el cirujano

la curita

el estetoscopio

la enfermera

el jarabe

la pomada

el medico

la receta

el soporte

la silla de ruedas

la camilla

las muletas

la cita

los rayos equis

movies/tv QUIZ

ANSEWRS: 1. Haddock 2. Goats Named Tanngrisni Tanngnost 3. I'm Still Waiting 4. Dawn Swann 5. Bury 6.

Hercules 7. Neil Morrisey 8. Lady Ghislaine 9. Bleak House 10. Sn 11. Cheryl Cole 12. Prinz Eugen

Last Week’s Solutions Code Cracker Last weeks Quiz Word Solution Across: 7 Grease, 8 Lancet, 9 King, 10 Kim Novak, 11 Faggots, 13 Bates, 15 Fauna, 17 Sweeney, 20 Balmoral, 21 Mars, 22 Jordan, 23 Taiwan.

Down: 1 Eroica, 2 Fang, 3 Beckett, 4 Alamo, 5 Annotate, 6 De Sade, 12 Ganymede, 14 Twelfth, 16 Amazon, 18 Earwax, 19 Grant, 21 Muir.

Empareja estas palabras ­ Match the Spanish and English words You will find the answers at the bottom of the quiz.

1.el cirujano, 2.el estetoscopio,

12.la silla de ruedas,

g.the wheelchair, h.the surgeon,

3.el jarabe, 4.el medico,

13.las muletas,

i.the nurse, j.the plaster,

5.el soporte, 6.la camilla,

14.los rayos equis

k.the stetescope, l.the stretcher,

7.la cita, 8.la curita,

a.the prescription, b.the doctor,

m.the syrup, n.the appointment.

9.la enfermera, 10.la pomada,

c.the X­ray, d.the ointment,

11.la receta,

e.the sling, f.the crutches,

Soduko

Span ­ Eng

Quizword

Answers: 1h, 2k, 3m, 4b, 5e, 6l, 7n, 8j, 9i, 10d, 11a, 12g, 13f, 14c.

1. Which fish is used to make an 'Arbroath Smokie'?

2. In Norse mythology Thor's chariot is pulled by two what?

3. What was Diana Ross's first solo U.K. Number One single?

4. Who portrays 'Kara Tointon' in TV's 'Eastenders'?

5. Which English football league club play their home games at 'Gigg Lane'?

6. In Greek mythology Deianeira was the wife of whom?

7. Who is the voice of 'Bob the Builder'?

8. What was the name of the boat which was the sus­ picious scene of death for Robert Maxwell?

9. Which of Charles Dickens books was the only one with a female narrator?

10. What is the chemical symbol for Tin? Sn 11. Who had a 'Number One' single, 'Fight For This Love', and a 'Number One' album, in the U.K. charts in the same week, in November 2009?

12. Which German ship accompanied the Bismarck on its only voyage into the Atlantic when it sank H.M.S. Hood?

Fill It In

38

Friday, November 29, 2013

TRELI ON THE TELLY with ALEX TRELINSKI Great Time Lords of Gallifrey! Last Saturday’s 50th birthday special for Doctor Who delivered in spades for BBC1, both in quality and also ratings (Close to 11 million…not far behind Strictly, and 4 million above The X Factor).

MANY HAPPY ☺ REGENERATIONS!

You had to keep your wits about you on the plot, which meant the odd bit of winding back here and there on my SKY box, but there was great chemistry between the 3 Doctors on parade, with John Hurt showing some great tim­

ing as the newcomer, joining Matt Smith and David Tennant. The cameo from Tom Baker and the 2 second eye­brows and forehead of Peter Capaldi added to the rich­mix, but excuse me for my dumbness, but where

exactly did Rose Tyler fit into this and who sent her to act as a conscience for John Hurt’s Doctor? That aside, the plot cracked on with some good laughs and lots of little nods to the history of the show.

I liked the opening which featured a reference to the old scrap yard where we first saw the Tardis in episode one, along with the school bill­ board next to it, which listed a certain I.Chesterton as chair­ man of the board of gover­ nors, he being one of the Doctor’s first companions.

Rumour has it that Christopher Eccleston turned down the chance to return for the special, and so we got a new bonus Doctor in the form of John Hurt instead. Not one of Mr.Eccleston’s better deci­ sions considering the colossal worldwide audience, with 94 countries screening the episode simultaneously which has gone into the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest ever international simulcast of a drama. Oh dear, Chris! He must have been really really upset when

he quit as the Time Lord after one series in 2005, especially as today’s production team is totally different.

The Doctor Who boss, Steven Moffatt then launched an attack on ex­ BBC boss, Michael Grade, during BBC 3’s after­show party. Grade had rightly dumped the Doctor in the late 80’s(after a second chance) and Moffatt slagged him off for pulling it.

Now, I’m a big fan, but even I was cheering when Grade put it out of its misery with the programme having become a total joke in every aspect. It was the correct decision and if it had not been made then, I suspect the show would have withered and died a year or two later, rather than returning with today’s excellent version with great writers and produc­ tion values that we now can enjoy.

The Courier Friday TV

November 29

00:40 01:30 01:35 07:00 10:15 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:15 14:00 14:30 14:45 15:15 16:10 16:55 17:40 18:15 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 22:30 23:00 23:25 23:35

This Week Holiday Weatherview BBC News Breakfast The Legalizer Homes Under the Hammer Caught Red Handed Operation Hospital Food Bargain Hunt BBC News; Weather Regional News and Weather Doctors The Doctor Blake Mysteries Pressure Pad Paul Hollywood's Pies & Puds Flog It! Pointless BBC News BBC London News The One Show A Question of Sport EastEnders Miranda Have I Got News for You Live at the Apollo BBC News Regional News and Weather The Graham Norton Show

00:20 Tudor Monastery Farm 01:20 Panorama 01:50 This Is BBC Two 05:00 Schools ­ Ten Minute Tales: Sailmaker, Kidnapped and Bold Girls 05:30 Schools ­ Regency Life: 3 Lives in 1 Day 06:00 Schools ­ Vikings 06:35 What Makes Me, Me 06:55 Schools ­ Wonders of Nature:

Polar Bear ­ Mother and Baby 06:55 Schools ­ Wonders of Nature: Cold ­ Temperature/Adapting 07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Caught Red Handed 08:30 Operation Hospital Food 09:15 Real Rescues 10:00 Flog It! Trade Secrets 11:00 Question Time 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Cash in the Attic 14:45 The A to Z of TV Gardening 14:50 Coast 15:50 Floyd's American Pie 16:20 Cagney & Lacey 17:05 Are You Being Served?

17:35 'Allo 'Allo!

18:00 Natural World 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Strictly Come Dancing ­ It Takes Two 20:00 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 21:00 Mastermind 21:30 Kangaroo Dundee 22:00 Wild Burma: Nature's Lost Kingdom 23:00 QI 23:30 Newsnight

00:40 01:10 04:00 04:25 06:05 07:00 09:30 10:25 11:30 13:30 14:30 14:55 15:00 16:00 16:59 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 Here!

23:30

Wild Britain with Ray Mears Jackpot247 Tonight ITV Nightscreen The Jeremy Kyle Show Daybreak Lorraine The Jeremy Kyle Show This Morning Loose Women ITV News and Weather ITV Meridian Weather 60 Minute Makeover Dickinson's Real Deal ITV Meridian Weather Show Me the Telly The Paul O'Grady Show ITV News Meridian ITV News and Weather Emmerdale Coronation Street Off the Beaten Track Coronation Street I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of ITV News and Weather

WILD BURMA: NATURE’S LOST KINGDOM New series. Film­makers from the BBC's Natural History Unit and scientists from America's Smithsonian Institution venture into Burma's jun­ gles to catalogue its species in the hope of getting protected status for the area. The team sets out to discover whether the mountains in the west are home to a population of Asian elephants that could prove critical to the survival of the species.

00:05 01:10 01:15 02:10 Next?

03:05 03:30 04:05 04:30 05:25 06:20 06:25 07:10 08:05 08:30 08:55 09:55 11:00 12:00 13:00 13:05 13:35 15:10 Under 16:10 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:55 21:00 22:00 23:00

Gogglebox Random Acts 24 Hours in A&E One Born: What Happened Unreported World Dispatches Health Freaks SuperScrimpers Deal or No Deal SuperScrimpers Countdown The Hoobs According to Jim Will & Grace Everybody Loves Raymond Frasier Undercover Boss Canada Beat My Build Channel 4 News Summary Jamie's 15 Minute Meals The Tall T Phil: Secret Agent Down Countdown Deal or No Deal Four in a Bed Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News 4thought.tv Marvel's Agents of SHIELD 8 Out of 10 Cats Alan Carr: Chatty Man

00:00 Myra Hindley: The Untold Story 01:00 SuperCasino 04:05 Bomb Patrol 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 House Doctor 05:45 Divine Designs 06:10 Nick's Quest 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Bananas in Pyjamas 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:35 The WotWots 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Milkshake! Bop Box 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 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Hotel Inspector Returns 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Emergency Bikers 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Hitched for the Holidays 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 Arctic Icebreakers 21:00 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 22:00 Troy

39

The Courier Saturday TV

November 30

00:20 Bluestone 42

00:00 ITV News Meridian 00:10 The Hitcher 01:40 Jackpot247 00:05 The Culture Show 04:00 Columbo: Butterfly in Shades of Grey 01:05 Nemesis 05:35 ITV Nightscreen 02:35 Question Time 07:00 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 03:35 The Paradise 07:10 Matt Hatter Chronicles 07:35 Dino Dan 04:35 This Is BBC Two 08:00 Canimals 08:00 Dean Spanley 08:15 Text Santa: Help with Hattitude 08:25 Sooty 09:35 On the Town 08:35 Horrid Henry 08:45 Text Santa: Help with Hattitude 11:10 Reel History of Britain 08:50 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:40 The Life of Birds 09:15 Bottom Knocker Street 09:30 Munch Box 12:30 Refugees of the Lost Rainforest 10:25 The Home of Fabulous Cakes 11:25 Murder, She Wrote 13:00 The Great British Bake Off 12:25 ITV News and Weather 14:00 Live Snooker: UK 12:29 ITV Meridian Weather 12:30 Surprise Surprise Championship 13:35 Holiday on the Buses 17:30 Live International Rugby Union 15:15 Doc Martin 16:15 Harry Potter and the 20:00 Jonathan Davies ­ Trimsaran Philosopher's Stone 19:05 ITV Meridian Weather Boy 19:15 ITV News and Weather 19:30 New You've Been Framed!

21:00 Dad's Army 20:00 The Chase 21:30 The Culture Show 21:00 The X Factor 22:45 I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of 22:30 QI XL Here!

23:50 The Jonathan Ross Show 23:15 Carnage 00:00 Weather

00:50 The Stepford Wives 02:20 Weatherview 02:25 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 11:00 Saturday Kitchen Live 12:30 Food & Drink 13:00 Football Focus 13:45 Sportsday 14:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 14:15 Inspire: The Olympic Journey 14:45 Live Rugby League World Cup 17:30 Final Score 18:10 My Family 19:00 BBC News; Regional News

00:05 Stand Up for the Week 00:55 Was It Something I Said?

01:40 Random Acts 01:45 The Scouting Book for Boys 03:15 The Big C 03:45 2 Broke Girls 04:05 Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23 04:50 90210 05:30 Deal or No Deal 06:25 Countdown 07:10 FIA GT 08:05 Volleyball 09:00 The Morning Line 10:00 The American Football Show 11:05 Frasier 11:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 12:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:30 The Big Bang Theory 13:00 The Simpsons 13:30 Heston's Feast 14:30 Channel 4 Racing 17:00 Come Dine with Me 19:35 Channel 4 News 20:05 Marvel's Agents of SHIELD 21:00 Walking Through History 22:00 Charlie Brooker's How Videogames Changed the World

A CAROL CHRISTMAS

and Weather 19:15 Pointless Celebrities 20:00 Strictly Come Dancing 21:15 Atlantis 22:00 Casualty 22:50 The National Lottery Live 23:00 BBC News; Weather 23:20 National Lottery Update

Seasonal comedy fantasy, a modern take on the classic Dickens tale, starring Tori Spelling as self­ obsessed television personality Carol Cummings, who bullies everyone around her. But as Christmas approaches, Carol is visited by someone from her past who makes her think about the true spirit of the season.

01:10 SuperCasino 04:05 Monty Halls and 04:55 Motorsport Mundial 05:20 House Doctor 05:45 Divine Designs 06:10 Nick's Quest 06:35 Wildlife SOS 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Roary the Racing Car 07:15 Fifi and the Flowertots 07:25 Bubble Guppies 07:35 The Mr Men Show 07:50 Chloe's Closet 08:00 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:10 Bananas in Pyjamas 08:25 Make Way for Noddy 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 Jelly Jamm 10:30 LazyTown 11:00 Power Rangers: Megaforce 11:35 Slugterra 12:00 Inside Hollywood 12:10 Ben Fogle's Animal Clinic 13:10 Trading Christmas 14:55 Christmas Mail 16:45 The Christmas Gift 18:40 Meet the Santas 20:20 A Carol Christmas 21:55 5 News Weekend 22:00 The Bible 23:55 Heartbreak Ridge

The Courier Sunday TV

December 1

Extra 03:30 This Is BBC Two 00:40 The Football League Show

07:00 This Is BBC Two

01:55 Weatherview

08:05 Battle Cry

02:00 BBC News

10:30 Life in a Cottage Garden with

07:00 Breakfast

Carol Klein

08:40 Match of the Day

11:00 Life in a Cottage Garden with

10:00 The Andrew Marr Show

Carol Klein

11:00 Fern Britton Meets

11:30 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites

12:00 Sunday Politics

13:00 Paul Hollywood's Pies & Puds

13:15 MOTD2 Extra

13:45 Paul Hollywood's Pies & Puds

14:00 BBC News

14:30 Live Snooker: UK 14:10 Weather for the Week Ahead Championship 14:15 EastEnders 18:30 Inspire: The Olympic Journey 16:10 Nigel Slater's Dish of the 19:00 Flog It! Day

20:00 This World

16:30 Bargain Hunt

21:00 Great Continental Railway

17:15 Escape to the Country

Journeys

18:15 Songs of Praise

22:00 Morecambe and Wise: The

18:50 BBC News; Regional News

Whole Story

and Weather

23:30 Hebburn

19:20 Countryfile 20:20 Strictly Come Dancing 21:00 The Paradise 22:00 Britain and the Sea 23:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 23:25 Match of the Day 2

00:35 Snooker: UK Championship 01:25 Snooker: UK Championship

00:50 ITV News and Weather 01:04 ITV Meridian Weather 01:05 Take Me Out 02:10 Jackpot247 04:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 04:45 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 07:10 Matt Hatter Chronicles 07:35 Dino Dan 08:00 Canimals 08:15 Text Santa: Help with Hattitude 08:25 Sooty 08:35 Horrid Henry 08:45 Text Santa: Help with Hattitude 08:50 Victorious 09:15 Bottom Knocker Street 09:30 Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge 10:25 ITV News 10:30 Storage Hoarders 11:30 Sunday Side Up 12:30 Sunday Scoop 13:30 ITV News and Weather 13:34 ITV Meridian Weather 13:35 Countrywise 13:55 Inside the National Trust 14:55 Love Your Garden 15:55 The X Factor 17:40 All Star Mr & Mrs 18:40 Prize Island 19:35 ITV Meridian Weather 19:45 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Surprise Surprise 21:00 The X Factor 22:00 I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

23:30 ITV News and Weather 23:44 ITV Meridian Weather 23:45 Off Their Rockers

SISTER ACT Comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg. After seeing her gangster boyfriend Vince LaRocca murder an informant, cabaret singer Deloris Van Cartier becomes a marked woman. When she agrees to testify against Vince, Deloris is sent by the police to hide in a San Francisco convent where she has trouble adapting to the nuns' way of life.

00:05 Indie Game: The Movie 02:10 Stand Up for the Week 02:55 Fresh Meat 03:40 Hollyoaks 05:45 90210 06:25 Countdown 07:10 The American Football Show 08:05 FIA GT 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:30 Frasier 10:00 Frasier 10:30 Sunday Brunch 13:30 The Big Bang Theory 13:55 The Big Bang Theory 14:25 The Big Bang Theory 14:55 The Simpsons 15:25 The Simpsons 15:55 Gadget Man 16:25 Monster­in­Law 18:25 Sister Act 20:25 Channel 4 News 20:55 The Political Slot 21:00 Time Team 22:00 Homeland 23:00 Rock Night: 50 Years of Rock Excess ­ Amps, Whips and Rebel Riffs

02:25 SuperCasino 04:05 Goering's Last Secret: Revealed 05:00 Wildlife SOS 05:25 Make It Big 05:50 Roary the Racing Car 06:00 Angels of Jarm 06:10 Hana's Helpline 06:20 Angels of Jarm 06:25 The Funky Valley Show 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 Bubble Guppies 07:35 The Mr Men Show 07:50 Chloe's Closet 08:00 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:10 Bananas in Pyjamas 08:25 Make Way for Noddy 08:35 Mio Mao 08:45 City of Friends 08:55 Little Princess 09:05 Milkshake! Monkey 09:10 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:30 Angelina Ballerina 09:45 Rupert Bear 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 Jelly Jamm 10:30 LazyTown 11:00 The Mr Men Show 11:15 Power Rangers: Super Samurai 11:50 Slugterra 12:15 Jungle Babies: Tarsier Tails 12:45 Cowboy Builders 13:45 I'll Be Home for Christmas 15:30 Snow Dogs 17:20 Happy Feet 19:20 5 News Weekend 19:25 Spider­Man 3 22:00 Warrior

40

The Courier Monday TV

December 2

00:45 The Sky at Night 01:05 Weatherview 01:10 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Heir Hunters 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Caught Red Handed 12:30 Operation Hospital Food 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Doctor Blake Mysteries 16:10 Pressure Pad 16:55 Escape to the Country 17:40 Flog It! 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 20:00 The One Show 20:30 Panorama 21:00 EastEnders 22:00 Ripper Street 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 Have I Got a Bit More News for You

00:00 00:30 01:20 Extra 03:20 04:15

Never Mind the Buzzcocks Snooker: UK Championship Snooker: UK Championship Countryfile Holby City

05:15 This Is BBC Two 07:00 This Is BBC Two 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Caught Red Handed 08:35 Operation Hospital Food 09:20 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 10:05 The House That £100K Built 11:05 Swansea Market 11:35 Click 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Live Snooker: UK Championship 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Strictly Come Dancing ­ It Takes Two 20:00 Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 21:00 University Challenge 21:30 MasterChef: The Professionals 22:00 The Choir: Sing While You Work 23:00 Never Mind the Buzzcocks 23:30 Newsnight

00:15 Premiership Rugby Union 01:15 The Store 03:15 Motorsport UK 04:05 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 60 Minute Makeover 16:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Show Me the Telly 18:00 The Paul O'Grady Show 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green 21:30 I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:35 The Agenda

00:10 iTunes Festival 2013 01:05 Rock Night: Queen ­ Live at Wembley 02:10 American Football Live 05:50 KOTV Boxing Weekly 06:20 Hugh's 3 Good Things: Best Bites 06:25 Countdown 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Will & Grace 08:55 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 Ruth Watson Means Business!

12:00 Building the Dream 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Kirstie's Handmade Treasures 13:10 The First Wives Club 15:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Four in a Bed 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:30 Turner Prize 2013 21:00 A Great British Christmas with Sarah Beeny 22:00 Liberty of London 23:00 Fresh Meat 23:50 Cardinal Burns

LIBERTY OF LONDON Documentary going behind the scenes at one of London's oldest department stores as it gears up for a make­or­break festive season. The programme fol­ lows the race to get the Christmas shop open on time, via fashion weeks in the capital and in Paris, celebrity visits, and the daily rituals at the heart of Liberty. In the first edition, yuletide­themed stock arrives in the middle of a heatwave and a wealthy customer reveals how he views the store as his local corner shop.

00:45 Treblinka: Inside Hitler's Secret Death Camp 02:15 SuperCasino 04:05 The Gadget Show 05:00 Wildlife SOS 05:25 Make It Big 05:50 Roary the Racing Car 06:00 Angels of Jarm 06:10 Hana's Helpline 06:20 Angels of Jarm 06:25 The Funky Valley Show 06:40 Roary the Racing Car 06:50 Hana's Helpline 07:00 Bananas in Pyjamas 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:35 The WotWots 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Milkshake! Bop Box 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Little Lodgers 08:40 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:05 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:30 Olly the Little White Van 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Hotel Inspector Returns 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Charley Boorman's Extreme Frontiers 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 The Good Witch's Family 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan 21:00 The Gadget Show 22:00 Monty Halls and 23:00 Hatfields & McCoys

The Courier Tuesday TV

December 3

00:20 01:05 01:10 07:00 10:15 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:15 14:00 14:30 14:45 15:15 16:10 16:55 17:40 18:15 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:25 23:35

The Graham Norton Show Weatherview BBC News Breakfast Heir Hunters Homes Under the Hammer Caught Red Handed Operation Hospital Food Bargain Hunt BBC News; Weather Regional News and Weather Doctors The Doctor Blake Mysteries Pressure Pad Escape to the Country Flog It! Pointless BBC News BBC London News The One Show EastEnders Holby City Last Tango in Halifax BBC News National Lottery Update Imagine

00:20 Snooker: UK Championship 01:10 Snooker: UK Championship Extra 03:10 Film 2013 03:40 No Sex Please, We're Japanese

04:50 Schools 07:00 This Is BBC Two 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Caught Red Handed 08:35 Operation Hospital Food 09:20 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 10:05 Antiques Roadshow 11:05 Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food 11:35 HARDtalk 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Live Snooker: UK Championship 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Strictly Come Dancing ­ It Takes Two 20:00 The Mary Berry Story 21:00 MasterChef: The Professionals 22:00 Pilgrimage with Simon Reeve 23:00 Hebburn 23:30 Newsnight

00:10 Training Day 02:15 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 Meridian Weather 15:00 60 Minute Makeover 16:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Show Me the Telly 18:00 The Paul O'Grady Show 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 21:00 Coronation Street 21:30 I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:35 Trauma: Level One

PILGRIMAGE WITH SIMON REEVE New series. Author and broadcaster Simon Reeve retraces the steps ofl British pilgrims, exploring the faith, hopes, desires and even the food that helped keep them on the road. In the first episode he sets out on a journey to Canterbury, beginning at the Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumberland, one of the earliest sites of Christian pilgrimage in Britain.

00:25 Man Down 00:55 Random Acts 01:00 The Shooting Gallery 01:30 Nader and Simin, a Separation 03:35 From Iran, A Separation 04:30 Nashville 05:15 Secret Removers 06:10 Countdown 06:55 River Cottage Bites 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Will & Grace 08:55 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 Ruth Watson Means Business!

12:00 Building the Dream 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 River Cottage Bites 13:20 Footsteps in the Fog 15:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Four in a Bed 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 Stephen Hawking in Brief 21:00 Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners 22:00 The Sound of Musicals 23:00 Masters of Sex

01:05 7 Days That Made the Führer 02:05 SuperCasino 04:05 The True Story 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 House Doctor 05:45 Divine Designs 06:10 Nick's Quest 06:35 Michaela's Wild Challenge 07:00 Bananas in Pyjamas 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:35 The WotWots 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Milkshake! Bop Box 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 08:40 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:05 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:20 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:30 Olly the Little White Van 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Hotel Inspector Returns 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Ben Fogle's Animal Clinic 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Christmas Comes Home to Canaan 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 The Dog Rescuers 20:30 The Dog Rescuers 21:00 Cowboy Builders 22:00 The Mentalist 23:00 Castle

41

The Courier Wednesday TV

December 4

00:35 Film 2013 01:05 Walkabout 02:45 Weatherview 02:50 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Heir Hunters 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Caught Red Handed 12:30 Operation Hospital Food 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Doctor Blake Mysteries 16:10 Pressure Pad 16:55 Escape to the Country 17:40 Flog It! 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The One Show 21:00 Nigel and Adam's Farm Kitchen 22:00 New Tricks 23:00 BBC News 23:25 National Lottery Update 23:35 Match of the Day

00:20 Extra 03:10 04:10 05:00 Music 06:00

Snooker: UK Championship The Midwives This Is BBC Two Howard Goodall's Story of Schools: Dance with the

Elements 06:30 Loona Balloona 06:45 Jirka and the White Mice 06:55 Schools ­ Wonders of Nature: Flamingo ­ Courtship Spectacle 07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Caught Red Handed 08:30 Operation Hospital Food 09:15 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 10:00 David Attenborough's Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates 11:00 Ronnie's Animal Crackers 11:30 See Hear 12:00 BBC News 12:30 Daily Politics 14:00 Live Snooker: UK Championship 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Strictly Come Dancing ­ It Takes Two 20:00 The Mary Berry Story 21:00 MasterChef: The Professionals 22:00 Tudor Monastery Farm 23:00 The Culture Show 23:30 Weather

00:35 02:30 04:00 04:45 06:05 07:00 09:30 10:25 11:30 13:30 14:30 14:55 15:00 16:00 16:59 17:00 18:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:30 Here!

23:00 23:30 23:35

The American President 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 60 Minute Makeover Dickinson's Real Deal ITV Meridian Weather Show Me the Telly The Paul O'Grady Show ITV News Meridian ITV News and Weather Emmerdale Coronation Street I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV Meridian Weather 28 Up South Africa

00:10 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 01:15 8 Out of 10 Cats 02:10 Random Acts 02:15 Poker 03:15 KOTV Boxing Weekly 03:40 Volleyball 04:35 FIA GT 05:30 FIA GT 06:25 Countdown 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Will & Grace 08:55 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:55 Frasier 10:30 Frasier 11:00 Ruth Watson Means Business!

12:00 Building the Dream 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 River Cottage Bites 13:15 Cat Ballou 15:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Four in a Bed 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 Stephen Hawking in Brief 21:00 Location, Location, Location 22:00 24 Hours in A&E 23:00 Gogglebox 23:45 British Comedy Awards Nominations Show 2013

SNATCH Comedy crime drama starring Brad Pitt, Jason Statham and Benicio Del Toro. In Antwerp, jewel thief Franky Four Fingers steals a huge diamond, but before he can deliver it to his New York boss he is ambushed in London by a Russian mob­ ster's henchmen. Elsewhere in the capital, crimelord Brick Top demands that Irish boxer Mickey One Punch take a dive in an unlicensed fight. When Brick Top joins the hunt for the miss­ ing gem, mayhem ensues.

00:00 NCIS 00:55 Born to Kill?

01:55 SuperCasino 04:05 Charley Boorman's Extreme Frontiers 04:55 House Doctor 05:45 Divine Designs 06:10 Wildlife SOS 06:35 Michaela's Wild Challenge 07:00 Bananas in Pyjamas 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:35 The WotWots 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Milkshake! Bop Box 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 08:40 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:05 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:10 Milkshake! Show Songs 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Little Lodgers 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Hotel Inspector Returns 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Cowboy Builders 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Meet the Santas 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 World's 21:00 Stop! Police Interceptors 22:00 Criminals: Caught on Camera 23:00 Snatch

The Courier Thursday TV

December 5

01:05 01:10 07:00 10:15 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:15 14:00 14:30 14:45 15:15 16:10 16:55 17:40 18:15 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:30 23:00 23:25 23:35

00:20 01:10 Work 02:10 02:40 05:00

Weatherview BBC News Breakfast Heir Hunters Homes Under the Hammer Caught Red Handed Operation Hospital Food Bargain Hunt BBC News; Weather Regional News and Weather Doctors The Doctor Blake Mysteries Pressure Pad Escape to the Country Flog It! Pointless BBC News BBC London News The One Show Restoring England's Heritage EastEnders Keeping Britain Safe 24/7 Mrs Brown's Boys BBC News Regional News and Weather Question Time

Snooker: UK Championship The Choir: Sing While You See Hear This Is BBC Two The Modern Monarchy

06:00 Schools ­ Cracking the Code 07:00 This Is BBC Two 07:05 Homes Under the Hammer 08:05 Caught Red Handed 08:35 Operation Hospital Food 09:20 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 10:05 The Crane Gang 11:05 Ronnie's Animal Crackers 11:35 HARDtalk 12:00 Autumn Statement 15:00 Live Snooker: UK Championship 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Strictly Come Dancing ­ It Takes Two 20:00 Live Snooker: UK Championship 21:00 MasterChef: The Professionals 22:00 The Silent War 23:00 The Sarah Millican Television Programme 23:30 Weather 23:30 Newsnight

01:00 Jackpot247 04:00 Columbo: Murder in Malibu 05:35 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 60 Minute Makeover 16:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:59 ITV Meridian Weather 17:00 Show Me the Telly 18:00 The Paul O'Grady Show 19:00 ITV News Meridian 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 21:00 Britain's Secret Treasures 21:30 I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News Meridian 23:35 The Jonathan Ross Show

GETTING RICH IN THE RECESSION Former second­hand car salesman Steve Elwis is now a prolific trader who buys up all sorts of excess stock and sells it on for a profit. From cor­ ner shops and family run firms that have gone bust, to large high­street stores in administration and manufacturers in trouble, every day Steve and his team are out on the road identifying opportunities and doing deals with people des­ perate to make back some of the money they have invested.

00:50 Drifters 01:20 What Happens in Kavos 02:15 Random Acts 02:20 Running Scared 04:20 SuperScrimpers 05:10 Deal or No Deal 06:00 Countdown 06:45 River Cottage Bites 07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 According to Jim 08:30 Will & Grace 08:55 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 Ruth Watson Means Business!

12:00 Building the Dream 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 SuperScrimpers 13:25 Carry On Constable 15:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Four in a Bed 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 Stephen Hawking in Brief 21:00 George Clarke's Amazing Spaces 22:00 Getting Rich in the Recession: The Man Who Buys Anything 23:00 What Happens in Kavos

01:10 Poker 02:05 SuperCasino 04:05 Myra Hindley: The Untold Story 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 House Doctor 05:45 Divine Designs 06:10 Wildlife SOS 06:35 Michaela's Wild Challenge 07:00 Bananas in Pyjamas 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:35 The WotWots 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Milkshake! Bop Box 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:40 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:05 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Three Wise Women 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 NewsTalk Live 20:00 7 Days That Made the Führer 21:00 Charley Boorman's Extreme Frontiers 22:00 Surviving ­ with Chris Terrill 23:00 Person of Interest

42

Friday, November 29, 2013

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CHURCH SERVICES International Christian Assembly, Calle Pilar de Horadada 5, Torrevieja.

Evangelical non­denomina­ tional church. Sunday serv­ ices 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

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 Prayer and Praise and Worship Home groups meet during the week. All wel­ come from any church back­ ground or none. For further information contact PilarChristian.CommunityC hurch@gmail.com 968 575 417 or 966 848 806. Reg No:2009­SG/A Carol Service 12th December at 7pm, all welcome to join in with 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.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Unlimited earnings for ambi­ tious people; low cost, money back guaranteed, phone Suzanne on 627 371 731 Hair & Beauty Salon for sale.

Visit www.torrysun.co.uk

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.

PROPERTY FOR RENT Viva Villa and Vacation Services, For Short or Long Term Rentals visit: www.vil­ laandvacation.com or Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 2 or 3 bed / 2 bath apart­ ments in San Miguel. Lift, communal rooftop pool & solarium, video entry sys­ tem. Available for short or long term rent from 350 pcm. Tel 966723437 or 616 493 487. (148) Ref: 61, A lovely two bed­ roomed ground floor apart­ ment, located in the centre of the small Spanish town of Los Montesinos, With a pleasant communal swim­ ming pool adjacent & all amenities in walking dis­ tance. Long and short term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 104, 2 Bedroom apart­ ment in Torrevieja, (near gypsy lane), small balcony, near all amenities and Friday market. €350pcm Call: 965 707 188 or 626

ALARMS

397 397 Ref: 112, Spacious 3 bed­ room detached villa with its private pool is located on the El Raso urbanisation near Guardamar. Convenient for all amenities, shops, super­ market, restaurants and bars. Short term rental avail­ able. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref 702: Beautiful 2 bed­ room apartment, located near los Locos beach, beau­ tifully 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 proper­ ty overlooks a superb com­ munal 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 Ref 114 This upstairs apart­ ment is situated just out of the town centre on a lovely urbanisation with a good communal pool. It has two bedrooms with an open plan kitchen, diner and lounge and kitchen. €350 per month plus bills. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397

LONG TERM RENTALS WANTED! Properties, all types, in the Torrevieja area wanted for long term rentals.

Call us on 96 692 3963 CBR35 : Townhouse with garage, 3 bedrooms, 2 bath­ rooms, communal pool, near San Jaime Hospital in Aguas Nuevas area, 450 € pcm, call 966 923 963 CBR37 : Smart & modern 1 bedroom ground floor apartment with seaviews inc.private gated parking.

Ideal for a retired couple; located in quiet residential area, shops nearby. La Mata, 325 € pcm, call 966 923 963.

CBR38 : Detached villa 5

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.

RS116 – 3 bedroom, 2 bath­ room towncentre apartment in Los Montesinos, beauti­ fully furnished/decorated, pool on solarium, 85.000€, call 966 923 963 Rare opportunity to pur­ chase 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 RS80 : Spanish style town­ house in Algorfa, totally reformed and redecorated, 110m2, 3 lrg.bedrooms, 1 bathroom, many extras, absolute bargain at 99,500€, call now on 966 923 963 for no obligation viewing.

Ref: 510, €70,000.

Bungalow located in San Luis. It is close to the super­ markets, bars and restau­ rants and is on the local bus route. An Opel Corsa car is included in this sale. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 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 com­ munal pool. Walking dis­ tance to beach. 139.000 Euros, Call 627 711 155 and quote Ref No. K10 Don Pueblo, Gran Alacant. 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Large Kitchen with Galleria, Secure underground park­ ing, Gas Central Heating, Glazed in Porch, Solarium with stunning views.

Viewings absolutely essen­ tial. Very large property at reduced price of 190.000 euros. Ref No. K38 Call 627 711 155

CARPENTER

CAR HIRE

minutes from San Miguel, 3 Beds, 2 Baths, with garage, 175 m plot, furnished. 500 € pcm, call 966 923 963 .

KGVM1 : Quad house in Villamartin, 4 beds, 2 baths, fireplace, garden & balcony, communal Pool.

Close to all shops, etc. 650 € pcm. Call to us to view on 966 923 963.

CBR36 : Torrevieja town­ centre, 2 bed top floor apartment with all ameni­ ties nearby, communal swimming pool. Private bal­ cony, furnished, ideal for liv­ ing in all year round. 300€ pcm, call 966 923 963 Horse Riding Stables For Rent in Catral: 14,000 m2 land, 10 individual stables and five paddocks. Includes a 3 bedroom house, Long term rent only. 16,800 euro for the year. 966 923 963 Horse riding Stables for Rent in Algorfa : 3,000 m2, 22 individual stables and 2 paddocks.

Long Term Rental only. 11,200 euro for the year. 966 923 963 CBR21 : Frontline apart­ ment on the ground floor, right on the beach! Consists of 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lovely terrace just off the sandy beach, 400€ pcm, call to view on 966 923 963.

CBR20: Beachfront apart­ ment 4th floor with fantastic sea views! 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, good sized bal­ cony, 400€ pcm, call now on 966 923 963 Ref: 709, A lovely 1 bed­ room 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

PROPERTY FOR SALE

BLINDS

CARS FOR SALE Car insurance quotes – new extra discount on fully com­ prehensive policies at the price of third party!

CATERING

CLEANERS

43

Friday, November 29, 2013 Ref: 104 Lovely 2 Bedroom Apartment, close to Shops, walking distance to Friday Market and Town Centre and the beach. The property is close to the Habaneres Shopping Centre and Aquapark. Recently refur­ bished apartment in a good central location.

Conveniently situated for all the facilities of this modern vibrant town, and only a few blocks away from Torreviejas excellent sea front with its abundant cafes, restaurants and shops. Price €43950 Call:

965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref. BRJ1 – 1 bedroom top floor renovated apartment in San Luis. Great sea and lake views. 45.000€. Tel. 966 923 963 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 KBJ3 : 3 bed penthouse in Guardamar, furnished, fan­

GARDENER

CAR BREAKERS

tastic sea views, communal pool and parking, 155.000€, call 966 923 963 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 pro­ jected golf course. Ref No. K52. 627 711 155 RS1 : 3 bed large villa in Torrevieja on 950m2 plot, private pool, Jacuzzi / sauna, parking, 289.000€, call 966 923 963 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 Ref: 78, €120,000. Three bedroom Quad in Jardin Del Mar VII. There is off­road parking and small storage shed in the enclosed garden

by. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 2 Bed, 1 Bath Ground floor duplex. Central heating, Grills, Fully furnished, Glazed in Galleria, 2 com­ munal 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 Ground Floor Duplex, on the Monte y Mar estate of Gran Alacant. 3 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, Fully furnished, Private Parking, Communal pool Ref. GA0094 NOw only 83.000e Tel. 680333242 Recently reduced 4 Bed, 3 Bath Villa, in Gran Alacant.

Quiet Location, Exceptional Views. Converted Under build, 2 Lounges, 2 Kitchens, Private Garage and being sold Fully Furnished, now only 239.950 Ref: L81 Tel. 680333242

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), Lounge­Diner, fully equipped Kitchen, Porch and Solarium with Alicante & Sea Views. ref.L81. €258,000 neg.

Tel. 680333242 Ref: KP3100, €183,000.

Three bedroom, two bath­ room 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

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 Corner Plot Property in the lower end of Gran Alacant. 3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Under build, Roof top Solarium Being sold Fully Furnished including White goods. Walking distance to all local amenities. 139.950e Ref. GA0087 Tel. 680333242

MAN AND A VAN

DRAINAGE PETS

area, communal pool near­

Gran Alacant Detached villa,

44

Friday, November 29, 2013

Gran Alacant immaculate villa, 3 bedroomed, 3 bath­ roomed property maintained to a very high standard inside and out and the interi­ or furnishings are top quali­ ty, offering a feeling of luxury and good taste. The plot size is 400m2 and has been beautifully tiles, and grav­ eled 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 show­ er 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 Ref: 516, €39,999. Studio apartment in San Luis, close

POOLS

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: 520, €85,000. Two bed­ room apartment in Dream Hills, with a fully equipped kitchen, large lounge, glazed­in terrace and a large solarium. This property comes with a large commu­ nal swimming pool. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Lovely clean detached Villa just as you enter Gran Alacant. Very central loca­ tion, 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Glazed in Porch, Garden Shed, Private Parking, Attractive Gardens, Private pool Ref: K59 240.000e Tel. 627711155 Large 4 Bedroom, 4 Bathroom, 2 Kitchens, 2 Lounges, 600m2+ plot Large Retractable Glazed in Pool for all year swimming, Private Parking for 4 cars, Very low­maintenance, Fully Furnished. 330.000e but Negotiable. Very different to the other properties in Gran Alacant and is disabled friendly Ref: L80 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 Limited Edition Fortaleze in Gran Alacant Exceptionally Large Plot. 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Large Private Pool with Decorative Garden, Private Parking, Electric Gates, Glazed in Porch, Solarium, Under build. Quiet sought after area. Very tastefully fur­ nished and all included 370.000e Ref. K52 Tel. 627711155

SURVEYOR

PLUMBERS

POOL TABLES

Situated at the end of a small cul­de­sac which means this villa enjoys a very peaceful location.3 Bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, 3 Bathrooms, lounge­diner with working fireplace, fully fitted kitchen with including white goods, large front porch, solarium,workshop and stor­ age in under build, central heating, air con H/C, ceiling fans, grills, UK T.V, off road parking and plenty of out­ side 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

QUIZZES

RAG AND BONE

Experienced quiz­ master/question setter with personality available to host quiz nights in local bars.

Tel:­ 664 838 581

SITUATIONS VACANT CHEF/COOK REQUIRED. MUST HAVE AT LEAST 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN A KITCHEN, ALL ENGLISH FOOD. MUST BE CRE­ ATIVE AND HAVE FLAIR FOR NEW MENUS. HYGIENE CERTIFICATE REQUIRED. PLEASE RING 672929585 FOR MORE INFO. RADIO COSTA INTERNA­ TIONAL needs motivated

REMOVALS

PERSONAL

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 gar­ dens 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 south­facing, very private villa, with wood­ land and Alicante views.

VAN HIRE

sellers. Spanish, English and German language is a bonus but not essential.

Training and good earnings guaranteed. For more info call 644 126 600 or email info@radicocostainterna­ tional.com Medaesthetics require a Beautician. Must have NVQ Level 3 and working self employed email cv to sabinebrooks@hotmail.com

SOLICITORS Need English speaking solicitors in Torrevieja? Let us help to solve your prob­ lems 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 dif­ ferent Hair Replacements, top fillers, Hair prostheses, Toupees and Wigs, Natural and Artificial hair and much more. Also fashion/festival accessories TV/TS are wel­ come to our service. Please call our salon reception for an appointment with Margaretha on Tel no 966 921 846 Torrevieja (90)

WANTED

45

Friday, November 29, 2013

Greenside Gossip VIDEO JUDGES NOW HAVE LESS TO DO IVIE DAVIES takes a weekly look at the golf scene - golfdavies@gmail.com

It’s as if the powers that be were reading my column earlier this month, because we’ve had some key changes to the Rules of Golf that will start this January 1st, and this crucially involves the use of high­definition or slow­motion video and other visual evidence in enforcing the game’s rules. Golf’s governing bodies may well have been prompted to make this move as a result of several contro­ versies during this season, especially after the “oscillating ball” incident with Tiger Woods receiving a two­shot penalty for his ball moving at the BMW Championship.

Rule 18/4 says that when there’s enhanced technological evidence — i.e.

HDTV, digital recording or online visual media, etc. — showing that “a ball has left its position and come to rest in anoth­ er location, the ball will not be deemed to have moved if that movement was not reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time.” In other words, the game of golf will fall back on a player’s word or his/her honour at the time, which, had the rule been in effect at the time, would have also prevented Woods from being slapped with a two­shot penalty on the first hole in the sec­ ond round of the BMW Championship in September. The world no. 1 player was also involved in several other inci­ dents in the 2013 season — several that resulted in two­ stroke penalties — which happened at the Abu Dhabi Championship, the Masters and the Players Championship and caused his honour to be questioned in some cases, and of course Simon Dyson’s repairing “on­line call in” episode.

The rule change on video stops short of preventing viewer call­ins, so armchair officials (aka rules officials not on­site, players not in the field, and other industry insiders) may con­

KNOW YOUR RULES QUESTION My ball is stuck in the overhead cables – do I get to replay my shot?

A: No, it’s the rub of the green.

B: Yes, but it’s a one shot penalty.

C: Yes, if it’s a local rule you can replay your shot without penalty.

ANSWER C: If your ball hits a power line or overhead cable, and the Local Rule covered in Decision 33­8/13 is in effect, you must cancel the stroke and replay it without penalty, as close pos­ sible to the spot of the original stroke. If such a local rule is not in effect, you must play the ball as it lies.

tinue to call that non­existent hotline number! It also doesn’t limit the timeframe for potential infractions to be brought to the player’s attention before he/she signs his scorecard, which leaves disqualification for signing an incorrect one on the table Among the changes for 2014­2015, here are the two other that are noteworthy: • New Decision 14­3/18 confirms that players can access reports on weather conditions on a smart phone during a round without breaching the Rules. Importantly, this new Decision also clarifies that players are permitted to access information on the threat of an impending storm in order to protect their own safety.

• Revised Decision 27­2a/1.5 allows a player to go forward up to approximately 50 yards without forfeiting his or her right to go back and play a provisional ball.

Here is some legal jargon to further explain the new decision 18/4, in case you need any help falling asleep tonight!

THE USGA AND R&A RELEASE JOINT STATEMENT ON THE USE OF VIDEO AND OTHER VISUAL EVIDENCE IN ADMINISTERING THE RULES OF GOLF (in part) In recent years, the rapid devel­ opment of video technology, such as HDTV, digital recording and on­ line visual media, has brought a new level of scrutiny to Rules issues arising in elite golf tourna­ ments. This has led to an increas­ ing number of inquiries to officials from television viewers and others about whether a breach of the Rules has occurred, sometimes resulting in breaches of the Rules being identified (and penalties being applied) after the incident itself occurred.

Occasionally, the identification of the breach has been after the player has returned his or her score card, which has therefore resulted in disqualification under Rule 6­6d. These developments have generated considerable discussion con­ cerning whether, how and when such video evidence should be used.

The Rules of Golf Committees of the USGA and The R&A have been reviewing the operation of the Rules in the light of these continuing technological developments in order to

determine whether any changes to the Rules are appropriate. In April 2011, the USGA and The R&A adopted Decision 33­7/4.5, which authorizes Committees to waive the disqualifi­ cation penalty for a breach of Rule 6­6d in nar­ row circumstances in which the player could not reasonably have been aware of a breach of the Rules that later was identified only through video evidence.

Since adopting Decision 33­7/4.5, the USGA and The R&A have continued to review the impact of video technology on the game. With input and assistance from representatives of the professional tours who serve as consulting members of the Rules of Golf Committees, the USGA and The R&A are now introducing a fur­ ther modification of the Rules, with effect from January 1, 2014, to address the use of video technology in determining whether a ball at rest has “moved” within the meaning of the Rules.

New Decision 18/4 will provide that, where enhanced technological evidence shows that a ball has left its position and come to rest in another location, the ball will not be deemed to have moved if that movement was not reason­ ably discernible to the naked eye at the time. The Decision ensures that a player is not penalized under Rule 18­2 in cir­ cumstances where the fact that the ball had changed loca­ tion could not reasonably have been seen without the use of enhanced technology Beyond these Decisions, as part of the 2016 Rules review, the Rules of Golf Committees will be discussing other issues concerning the possible effect of video technology on the application of the Rules to the playing of the game, such as the necessary degree of precision in marking, lifting and replacing a ball, the estimation of a reference point for taking relief, and the overall question of the appropriate penalty for returning an incorrect score card where the player was unaware that a penalty had been incurred. As is true of the rules in many other televised sports, adapting to develop­ ments in technology and video evidence is an important ongoing topic in making and applying the Rules of Golf.

To reach a correct ruling, all evidence from witnesses con­ cerning a possible breach of the Rules should be consid­ ered, whether those witnesses are participants in the com­ petition, non­participants such as spectators, or persons who have reviewed television footage and the like.

Additionally, the Decisions provide that a Committee may make or revise a ruling at a later time if further information becomes available before the competition has closed.

TITTER ON THE TEE One day Jack accidentally overturned his golf buggy.

Elizabeth, a very attractive and keen golfer who lived in a villa on the golf course, heard the noise and called out.

“Are you okay, what's your name?"

"It’s Jack, and I’m OK thanks," he replied.

"Jack, forget your troubles. Come to my villa, rest a while and I'll help you get the buggy up later."

"That's mighty nice of you," Jack answered, “but I don't think my wife would like it."

"Oh, come on," Elizabeth insisted.

She was very pretty and persuasive.

"Well okay," Jack finally agreed, and added, "but my wife won't like it."

After a restorative brandy, she insisted that he remove his clothes and she would give me a massage and one thing led to another. After she'd finished, Jack thanked the hostess and made his way to the door.

"I feel a lot better now, but I know my wife is going to be really upset."

"Don't be silly!” Elizabeth said with a smile, “She won't know anything. Where is she, anyway?"

"Under the cart!"

46

Friday, November 29, 2013

BALE BEAUTY REAL MADRID 4 GALATASARAY 1

Gareth Bale scored a stun­ ning free­kick as 10­man Real Madrid eased their way to victory over Galatasaray and into the last 16 of the Champions League as group winners.

Sergio Ramos was dis­ missed after 26 minutes but Bale gave Madrid the lead 10 minutes later with a curled dead ball effort from 35 yards out. Umut Bulut responded with an equalis­ er immediately but Roberto Mancini's side crumbled after the break despite hav­ ing the extra man. Alvaro Arbeloa, Angel di Maria and Isco all got on the scoresheet for Real.

AJAX CLEAN UP AJAX 2 BARCELONA 1

Barcelona lost their first match of the season away to Ajax on Tuesday night, though the La Liga champions are already safely through to the next stage of the Champions League. The Dutch side took a shock 2­0 half­time lead as both Thulani Serero and Danny Hoesen netted their first European goals. Xavi scored a penal­ ty after Joel Veltman was sent off but Ajax withstood fierce pressure in the remainder of the second half.

EASY FOR BARCA BARCELONA 4 GRANADA 0

An under­strength Barcelona side con­ solidated top spot in the Primera Division last weekend with a comfortable 4­0 vic­ tory over Granada at the Nou Camp. Two first­half penalties, from captain Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas, set the champions on their way and Alexis Sanchez(pictured with Neymar) put the result beyond doubt 19 minutes from time ­ soon after the visitors had lost midfield­ er Manuel Iturra to a red card. Pedro added a fourth in the final minute to com­ plete the rout as Barca stayed 3 points clear at the summit ahead of Atletico Madrid who destroyed Getafe 7­0.

Barcelona are away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday evening.

FIVE STAR REAL DEBUT JOY! ALMERIA 0

REAL MADRID 5

ELCHE 2 VALENCIA 1

Substitute Cristian Herrera netted a late winner on his Primera Division debut for Elche as Valencia were made to pay for a host of missed chances in a 2­1 defeat. Valencia spurned a number of clear openings during a goalless first half and Elche made the most of their fortune by taking a 57th­minute lead through Fidel Chavez. The visitors finally made one of their many opportuni­ ties count when their own substitute Juan Bernat drew them level in the 73rd minute, but it was another replacement who decided the game as Elche striker Herrera slotted home the decider six minutes from time. The result lifts Elche on to 17 points and a very respectable 10th place in the table. They face a very different task tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) when they entertain the in­form 2nd placed Atletico Madrid with a 4.00pm kick­off.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring before being forced off early in the second half with an injury as Real Madrid kept up the pressure on Primera Division leaders Barcelona with a comprehensive 5­0 win at Almeria on Saturday night. Carlo Ancelotti's side made a bright start with Ronaldo need­ ing less than three minutes to break the deadlock. There remained only one goal in it until after the hour mark, but then the flood­ gates opened and further strikes from Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Isco and Alvaro Morata sealed the rout, with the only worry for the capital club the fact Ronaldo had to come off at the start of the second half due to injury. Real entertain Valladolid tomorrow evening (Saturday).

REF RUINS IT

ITV ORIHUELA 16

CARTAGENA 33

RAFA IS A LEGEND

A fussy and inexperienced referee led to a bitty game in the first regional section with a variety of decisions that left both sides baffled. Cartagena led 17­13 at half­ time, though Orihuela did have two per­ fectly good tries disallowed. More bad

decisions led to yellow cards being waved around, with Cartagena running out 33­16 winners with a bonus point to boot. Elsewhere, the problems continued for Torrevieja Tigers, with 76 points to 12 demolition at Albacete.

Rafael Nadal was presented with the “Legend Award” on Tuesday night at the sports daily Marca’s silver anniversary gala in Madrid, after being selected by the read­ ers as the best Spanish athlete of all­time.

Dozens of other legends, including four­time Grand Slam champion Manuel Santana, were in the audience to see Nadal, winner of eight French and an Olympic Gold Medal amongst other titles, receive the award from the vice­president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

“I would like to thank everyone who is here tonight and many others who aren’t, because I am not only a tennis player, but a huge sports fan in general,” said Nadal. “You have all given me some unforgettable moments and the excitement I get from sport, I'm not saying it's better or worse than other things, but it's different, and thanks to all of you for the thrills".

Nadal finished first in the Marca.com poll, held in commemoration of the paper’s 75

years, receiving 25.6% of all votes cast.

Five­time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain finished second with 11.6%, and NBA star Pau Gasol 3rd with 8.6%.

47

Friday, November 29, 2013

THE BEST OF TIMES:

GEORGE REMEMBERED

IN the week marking the eighth year of George Best’s prema­ ture passing away, in a charity shop the other day I came across something, and I felt like one of those antique specialists when they come across a gem.

As an avid reader of books, including sporting autobiographies, I think I’ve read most George Best books, either by him or about him, and I might even make a passable contestant on Mastermind on the fascinat­ ing subject of the Irishman and his life. This book*, not technically an autobiography, was written in 1975 by

Michael Parkinson, with alternating chapters by George himself using some very ripe Anglo­Saxon lan­ guage. I had lost my original copy along life’s way, but over the years I remembered parts of it well and the rest kick­started my (fading) memory as I re­read it last week with relish.

By the mid­seventies, George had scored 10 goals, been to bed with 25 Miss Worlds, drank 4 breweries dry and retired 254 times (I might have mixed up some of those statistics, but anyway).

I especially loved this particu­ lar book because of the myth­busting stories, about mighty Man United’s suc­ cess, the great names he outed, and authority issues.

Oh, and of course, the foot­ ball: here’s a few.

Success: ‘It amazed me we ever got it right at United because to me the training was a joke. Jack Crompton, the trainer, used to come out carrying these two balls under his arm and occasion­ ally he’d let us have a kick but only after we’d knackered ourselves running up and down and round the pitch.’

Denis Law and Bobby Charlton: ‘I used to call Denis Law a prick and he’d give it me back. I’d do the same to Bobby Charlton and he’d give as good as he got.

The only difference being that I didn’t mean what I said to Denis, but in Bobby’s case I was understating my feel­ ings. When I first went to Old Trafford I thought he was a god. Later I couldn’t stand the sight of him. In the last

Another draw for Torry FC TORREVIEJA 2

Top Spanish golfer, Sergio Garcia, came on as a substitute for Borriol and helped his side take a point at FC Torrevieja, on Sunday. The home side were bunkered when the golf star, who helps bank roll Borriol, entered the action halfway in the 2nd half, and won a corner, from which the visi­ tors scored.

The first half was a tepid affair with Eixea breaking the deadlock for Borriol with a close range strike on 25 minutes, though Torry were back on terms just before half­time as Borriol defender, Moriol, headed the ball into the back of his own net, after pressure from Rafa. A cracking shot from Alberto put Torry in front 10 minutes into the 2nd half, until Garcia came on to inspire his side, though Torrevieja had late chances to seal up all 3 points. Torry are now 8th in the table, but still

CF BORRIOL 2

three years at Old Trafford we never spoke.’

Matt Busby: ‘Later when he sent for me I used to sit and look at the wallpaper behind his head. I used to count the animals while he gave me a bollocking. There are 272 animals on Matt Busby’s wallpaper.’

Great stuff: Sadly for me I also recently read Alex Best’s autobiography ‘Always Alex’.

She was George’s second wife, and was with him for the last ten years of the Irishman’s amazing roller­ coaster of a life. This becomes a sad story of George’s final descent into the rock­bottom alcoholism that plagued this intelligent

man for all his adult life: their passionate­but­volatile mar­ riage, the controversial liver transplant, the revelations that George owned virtually nothing later in his life, exist­ ing on ‘readies’ supplied by willing tabloid newspapers ­ usually for George’s savage revelations of his sexual antics over the years, usually hurting the women he had loved at one time ­ including Alex, who eventually couldn’t take it any longer and left, with George tragically dying less than a year later at the age of 59.

Enough: I found one foot­ ball story in Parkinson’s book I had almost forgotten, but I love it. Before George hit the

heights he was kept back by Busby and one day was play­ ing in the reserves away to Blackburn. It was snowing and the conditions were atro­ cious.

George: ‘At half time John Fitzpatrick said “I bet you can’t score straight from the kick off”… he gives me the ball and I set off and beat about six players and stick in the bloody net. “Is that all right?” I said to Fitzy when I got back.’ Priceless: only a genius could do things like that intentionally.

RIP, George, the Best I ever saw. *BEST: An intimate biog­ raphy by MICHAEL PARKINSON, 1975, Hutchinson & Co Ltd.

VOODOO AT MONTE’S HOME CONTINUES CD MONTESINOS 2 SPORTING ORIHUELA 3

CD Montesinos may be thinking about hiring a witch doctor to do a dance of hope as the team’s woe­ ful string of home results contin­ ued with Sporting grabbed an 80th minute winner last Sunday.

Both sides created early chances, but Sporting took the lead, though Vaz and Edu wasted chances to level things by the interval. Omar came on for Edu and this paid div­ idends with more domination, and a Dario chip levelling up matters.

Sporting then regained the lead, but Monte went down to 10 men as Christian was sent off for a challenge with the goal­scorer, despite the ball going into the net.

Monte were not knocked back though and Vaz made it 2­2, only for the visitors to regain the lead just seconds after the re­start.

The excellent away form of Montesinos will be tested this weekend when they’re away to the leaders, Orihuela Costa.

SAINTS SETBACK

League leaders of the 1st regional group, San Fulgencio got a wake­up call last weekend when they lost 3­0 away to fourth team, Sporting Saladar from Almoradi. They’ll look to bounce just 2 points off the play­off zone, but 3 back tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) matches without a win. They travel away to at home to FC Bahia Santa Pola in a local derby.

2nd bottom Acero this Sunday afternoon.

Friday, November 29, 2013

48

JEEPERS KEEPERS! Will Goalie Gaffs Gift Wrap The Festive Season?

As it’s the time of the year, I blame Joseph – well, Joe actually.

Hartlessly he cocked­it­up once or twice with his Kompany­less compatriots, dropped a cross or two and was then dropped him­ self, firstly by Man City, then England ­ and now look ­ it’s like a contagious winter flu epidemic.

On Saturday, Saints stopper­ turned­sinner Artur Boruc brought early Christmas cheer to the Emirates by gifting Arsenal the opening Olivier Giroud goal, this howler only three weeks after swiftly conceding the fastest goal of the season so far at 13 seconds, a huge clearance from his opposite number Stoke stop­ per Asmir Begovic.

This weekend, Boruc braves the Bridge, but beware ­ Chelsea’s Samuel Eto cuckolds ‘keepers, he did it t’other week to normally­safe (they all are – usually) David Marshall, kicking it out of the Cardiff goalie’s hands for Eden Hazard to score (George Best did it first, of course, to Gordon Banks). As luck and the fix­ ture list would have it, Cardiff’s come­back kids can copy last week’s noisy welcome­not reception afford­ ed to Man United, when the Red/Bluebirds swooped back twice to draw and choke the Champions. Red

John McGregor reports

Rash Rooney nearly rooined it by getting sent off early, a lucky yellow enabling him to stay ‘n score the opener minutes later. League­leaders Arsenal come to Swales Saturday – game on!

Also at early seasonal goalie goal­gifting Sunday was Spurs’ Hugo Lloris, where the lucky recipient was Jesus Navas (no religious jokes, please…). Hapless Hugo then conceded another five from a frightening­ looking City attack ­ you know, the same one that couldn’t score last time out at suffering Sunderland, when the Blues inexplicably lost 1 – 0. Sunday at the Spurs blood­spattered City Coliseum sees the Swans nervously next to be fed to the lions, but the boyos be buoyant from bashing fading Fulham. Traumatised Tottenham can treat the Etihad experience as just an off­day, as the Lillywhites entertain City’s nasty­ neighbours Man United on steel­yourselves Sunday – will haunted Hugo make the cut? Your call, AVB. Did you deliriously drool over the derby draw at Goodison? A pre­Christmas cracker with both gal­ vanised goalies conceding three each, though cer­ tainly no Christmas gifts or love lost anywhere, the Blues Kevin Mirallas lucky to stay on the field after setting about Suarez (some history there…). At two­ all with eight minutes left it looked like Lucky Lukako had lashed in the winner, only for Liverpool’s sub Daniel Sturridge to nod in the equaliser with two min­ utes left, leaving Everton’s keeper Tim Howard look­

ing like one of the Three (un)Wise Men, complete with shaved head and black curly beard as he glumly picked the ball out. While Everton travel to Stoke this weekend, Liverpool visit Hull, who somehow lost at home to bottom club Crystal Palace, just as the Eagles at last unveiled Tony Pulis as manager. What a start for the Welshman ­ now a serious six­pointer Saturday as Palace go to nervy Norwich.

Post­match protests are prevailing as Sunderland’s successful appeal cancelled out Wes Brown’s red card against Stoke, awarded after only 36 minutes.

Hang on ­ if it was wrong, then Gus’s guys got robbed, having to play nearly an hour with 10 men – how can that be fair? The Black Cats go to Villa Park Saturday, scene of another great derby on Monday night where the Villains did well to come back from two­down at half­time to draw with nasty­neighbours West Brom. The Baggies go to nearly­normal­now Newcastle, all praise to Pardew’s players after putting nail­biting Norwich away 2 – 1.

Who­dares­lose in the Capital crunch this weekend, where weary West Ham face floundering Fulham; Sam’s stutterers were hammered themselves 3 – 0 at home by Chelsea. A few furious Fulham fans feel Martin Jol’s time is up, booing after the 2 – 1 home defeat to Swansea. P’raps it will be if the Cottagers lose at Upton Park ­ and if they win, it’s not good news for Uncle Sam.