The Courier Week 28

Edition 28

www.thecourier.es

Friday, September 2, 2011

Campaign hots up for jailed stabbing suspects

FREE THEM! A MAJOR campaign has been launched to free two Essex men who have been behind bars in Alicante for two months on suspicion of stabbing a Cabo Roig bar owner.

Their families and friends insist that Kyle Thain, 24, and James Harris, 29, are innocent – and a pal who was with them on their illfated long weekend in Spain insists they were all asleep in their apartment at the time of the alleged incident.

Thain, an estate agent, and underwriter Harris were arrested at Alicante Airport as they headed for their flight home on July 5. and are being held in Fontcalent

Friends in need: Kyle Thain and James Harris

Prison. Their supporters say they have not been charged and that their two months in custody could drag on for up to four years.

In a bid to raise awareness

and collect funds for the two men’s defence, pals in the UK have launched a support campaign which includes a Help Our Boys website, a Facebook page and the dis-

tribution of specially-made wristbands .

Recent fundraising events included a sponsored bike ride from Basildon to Southend, Kyle and James’s

hometown. Meanwhile, Joe Elliott – the third member of the party which travelled to Pilar de la Horadada on July 2 - told BBC TV’s Look East: ‘’ At the time of the incident, we were all asleep in the apartment. I am as guilty as them. None of us has done anything wrong, They’ve either got to arrest me or release them.’’

Kyle’s mother, Sharon Harris, has put her home up for sale to fund the ‘’frightening’’ cost of fighting her son’s case.

Mrs Harris, 56, who has been staying in Spain to support Kyle, says she and taxi driver husband, David, 58, have no choice but to sell their home in Southend. “I

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YOU don’t only get the big local stories in The Courier, we also bring you the top news from the week’s British and Spanish national press.

And for followers of our unique team of professional columnists, this week’s line-up is...

P4: TONY MAYES P7: DONNA GEE P10: DAVE SILVER P15: ALEX TRELINSKI P35: TRELI ON TELLY For sports fans, the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup is little over a week away. How will the Home Nations fare?

Former England and British Lions hero WADE DOOLEY gives his exclusive verdict on Page 47.

And of course our seven-page TV guide is on Pages 36-42.

Happy reading!

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Friday, September 2, 2011

There’s no place like foam...it’s oarsome TELEPHONE

679 096 309 96 672 6437 JUNGLE DRUMS E-MAIL office@thecourier.es WEB www.thecourier.es HEAD OFFICE Alto del Moncayo s/n, Guardamar del Segura, 03140, ALICANTE PHONE: 96 672 64 37 Email: office@thecourier.es OPENING HOURS Mon - Fri 1030 to 1730 EDITOR Donna Gee ADVERTISING SALES 96 672 6437 office@thecourier.es TELESALES 96 672 6437 616 332 178 Sally Los Alcazares, San Javier 618 391 491 Myra Quesada, Rojales, Torrevieja, San Miguel Tel. 618 583 765 Denise La Zenia, Playa Flamenca, Cabo Roig Tel. 616 332 178 Jean La Zenia, Playa Flamenca, Cabo Roig Tel. 618 898 034 Writers Donna Gee Sally Bengtsson Alex Trelinski Dave Silver Harry Nuttall Harold Heys Steve Bott Tony Mayes Jake Monroe Mick Hardy

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Picture of the week

96 672 7334

LEFT FOR RED! TENS of thousands of revellers pelted each other with ripe tomatoes in the annual Tomatina this week - leaving the town of Bunol, near Valencia, awash in red pulp.

Around 40,000 people, including many tourists, took part in the hour-long street fight, with 120 tons of tomatoes being hurled in an event which has its roots in a food

fight between childhood friends back in 1945.

Participants jumped and fell around in the sea of red mush as the they pelted each other with tomatoes, which are flung at the crowds from loaded trucks Those who participate are advised to wear goggles and old clothes for the fight - and the town's walls are hosed down soon after the battle ends.

A Tomatina victim enjoy the experience of being red and buried

Gorillas on rampage in Seville Publication Published by Rainbow Media, S.L. Printed by Localprint S.L Depósito legal A - 132 - 2011 The Courier, its publishers, members of staff and its agents do not accept responsibility for claims by advertisers nor can it be held responsible for any errors in advertisements which are reproduced from poor artwork, low quality electronic data or inadequate instructions for text or other layout features.

Further no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage caused by an error, inaccuracy or non-appearance of any advertisement, although all advertisements produced are checked prior to insertion. We regret that we cannot accept responsibility for more than ONE incorrect insertion and that no re-publication will be granted in the case of typographical or minor changes which do not affect the value of the advertisement. E&OE. NO PART OF THIS NEWSPAPER MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE PUBLISHERS.

IF you are planning a trip to Seville, beware gorilla attacks. That was the message from the city’s police as they announced that last week they charged more than 35 gorillas.

Before you rush to hide your bananas when entering the city, it’s not big, hairy apes the police are worried about - but illegal parking attendants.

Known as ‘gorillas’, these tricksters direct cars to parking spaces or waste

Monday Partly sunny High Temperature: 30°C RealFeel: 32°C

ground and take fees off unsuspecting drivers. Despite a police crackdown and hefty fines, the monkey business is continuing. l A British employee at a Valencia hotel has been charged with stealing a bag containing $24,000 from a guest - a wellknown poker player. The bag, with all the money still inside, was reportedly recovered in a search of th 35-year-old suspect’s vehicle.

Today Cloudy High Temperature: 27°C RealFeel: 28°C

Saturday Sun and showers High Temperature: 27°C RealFeel: 28°C

Sunday Partly sunny High Temperature: 31°C RealFeel: 32°C

Tuesday Partly sunny High Temperature: 27°C RealFeel: 27°C

Wednesday Sunny High Temperature: 27°C RealFeel: 28°C

Thursday Partly sunny High Temperature: 31°C RealFeel: 32°C

Friday, September 2, 2011

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THE BUNNY POT

As rampaging rabbits catch crops on the hop, farmers go in for the cull...

By SALLY BENGTSSON THE number of rabbits in the Murcia and Alicante region has risen so dramatically that they are now considered a plague.

Local farmers are pulling their hair out over how to overcome the problem. Their crops of broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce are being devoured by the crafty critters.

Brits are killed in Benidorm, Alicante accidents A 76-YEAR-OLD British woman died on Wednesday after being knocked down as she crossed a road in Benidorm town centre.

The incident happened near the crossroads with Avenidas Filipinas and Mediterr-áneo at around 10.30am, 10 metres from a zebra crossing. The victim was a resident in l’Alfàs del Pi and said to be of Asian origin.

Meanwhile, a 51year-old British man died after falling, it appears accidentally, from a second-floor balcony in Alicante.

It happened at 3.30am on Saturday at a home in Calle Berruguete, and the alarm was raised by the man’s wife, who called the emergency services.

Medics were unable to revive the victim and the duty judge ordered that the body could be removed.

Farmers have, until now, been unable to do anything about the rabbits.

However, due to the extent of the problem a massive cull has been authorised, to take place from now until January 8.

Farmers have previously tried to keep the rabbits away from their crops by installing special fences,

which only slightly reduced their loss of earnings. Many bunnies simply bit through the fences.

The hunting may take on a variety of forms, from throwing nets, using traps, with guns and with the help of dogs.

In other parts of the region, wild boars are reported to be damaging irrigation hoses and crops.

Best foot forward for tragic Laura’s family

By REBECCA MARKS THERE are few of us who do not know someone who has battled with cancer - and thankfully the majority will have come through it.

fundraising events throughout the South Costa Blanca.

The next is a sponsored walk this Saturday (September 3), commencing at 10:30. Participants will set off from El Kiosko at Cabo Cervera in La Mata, following a route along the sea front to Restaurant Alba.

The event will be officially opened by Councillor for Foreign Residents, Rosario Martinez, accompanied by Graham Knight.

Anyone wishing to participate is welcome to come along.

Then, after the hard work is done, it will be party time as the committee hosts a fabulous evening of entertainment at The Lounge Bar, Aguas Nuevas on September 13.

Sadly, this is not always the case, and it is the victim’s family and friends who are left behind with their own battles to face.

Many readers will recall The Laura Appeal, which was established to support the plight of young mum Laura Grewar, who after months of treatment finally lost her fight against cancer in August last year.

Laura left behind a husband, Jose, and four children, Connor (12), Callum (10), Cailan (8) and Naomi (7), who have not only had to come to Laura Grewar’s husband Jose (left) and two of their children with fundThe show kicks off at 20:30 terms with their loss, but also raising committee members Lyn and Ken Adams. Inset: A brave smile and will include performances from Laura during her battle against cancer face a major financial strugby outstanding musician and gle. vocalists Dougie Munroe and This is where the Dávila Grewar on the road as possible in order to Aside from this, Connor was diag- make ends meet, but leaving him litFund comes in. Formed on April 19 Woody. Tickets for the event cost nosed with a serious heart condition tle time to spend with the children. this year, it comprises five commit- just €5 each, with all proceeds being and requires an operation in tee members working to provide donated to the appeal.

They are really too young to be Valencia, meaning more stress, left unsupervised and he cannot For further information please financial support to the family, and heartache and additional costs to afford to pay for childcare; but with primarily to fund a six-days-a-week contact Lyn Adams on 965 077 014/ the family.

Carer to supervise the children while 676 650 210, or join the appeal on no support from the state, pensions Facebook at “Davila Grewar Family Jose works as a long distance or grants available to him, he is in an Jose is working. lorry driver, spending as many hours impossible position.

The fund is supported by regular Fund.”

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Friday, September 2, 2011

A FAT LOT OF HOPE Big-bellied Britain is going to pot

LAST week I was with friends and as our other halves spent our money in the clothes shops, we sat and watched the world go by in Winchester City centre, which is arguably one of the UK’s more affluent cities in the UK.

once stop pandering to big business and order food-producing companies and supermarkets to stop selling foods with excess fat and salt. And tax unhealthy foods.

Yes, the manufacturers would have to spend money and it could dent profits for a while, but lives and health are at stake. So Tories, stop putting money first and put lives first instead.

While we males were sitting on our bench at Winchester watching the fatties waddle by (and yes, there were some attractive females to look at, too - with flat stomachs and no love handles), our conversation turned to the recent riots. My friend remarked: "Did you hear all the rubbish which was talked about the people causing the riots being those who were really poor? Well, did you also see which shops they were looting?

Was it food shops? No, it was shops selling computers, electrical equipment and luxury goods.’’

Good point - bleeding hearts just grow up.

Our attention was drawn to the large percentage of passers-by who were grossly overweight or obese. Sadly, many were people in their 20s and 30s with children in tow. Most of these kids were overweight too, guaranteeing health problems for the next generation.

Those of you who haven't been back to Britain for a few years will be shocked by the change. It seems as though there has been a fat explosion.

It's sad to see how quickly the general health of the nation has deteriorated and it's little wonder that health experts are now warning of a catastrophe if this trend goes unchecked for a few more years.

Obesity They reckon that unless something is done soon and people change their fatty ways, the numbers will rise in Britain from one-quarter to 40 per cent by 2030 and to half of the US population.

Health experts warn that the obesity problem is just as serious as smoking or drinking to excess; the long-term damage to health is severe and will cost the NHS billions, stretching it to breaking point.

It wouldn't take much to bring people's weight gain under control. Obviously we all could do more exercise - just a few minutes every day of the simplest exercise would be better than nothing, and just a few minutes walking every day would burn off the calories.

But it's our food intake which is the main problem and people who say the reason they are fat is because they are "bigboned" or have an ‘’under-active thyroid" are living in cuckoo land.

Much of Britain's fat mountain has been caused through our obsession with chips with everything, beer, wine, chocolate, crisps and ready meals. At least once a week we go out to enjoy some pub grub but it’s sad to see so many meals with chips. I am looked at as if I've just arrived from Mars when I ask if I can have a steak with a salad rather than a

Complained

chip mountain. There's no push-point on the computer screen to order it.

If we go to a carvery where people can help themselves, just watch diners piling on the roast potatoes and roast parsnips, all laden with fat, like the chips.

Brits also have an obsession with ready-made meals and take-aways, many brimming with more fat, sugar and salt than necessary. And just watch people when they get their meals before them - how many are searching for the salt cellar to pour even more on their already salty meals, which raises blood pressure.

So, take a look in the mirror. If you think that a bulging tummy, love handles, flabby chin and arms and thunder thighs are acceptable, think again.

And here's a message for the Tory-led government - for

We've just heard about an employee at a doctor's surgery who complained about severe pains in her foot. She went to her doctor (not in the surgery where she worked) and was told the cause was gout.

She was given a course of medication to deal with the problem but the pain only got worse and finally her partner had had enough of her suffering and took her to hospital where it was discovered she had broken a bone her foot.

Apparently she had taken part in a charity run and it may have been this which caused the injury.

Just as we were getting over the shock of hearing that, came news of another friend who had a simple thyroidectomy (the removal of a thyroid gland in the throat). During the operation the surgeon nicked her vocal chord, paralysing it.

Now she has to go for a hopefully successful operation to another hospital to sew it together.

It saddens me that so called professional people earning a fortune, can get things so appallingly wrong.

And did you hear the latest NHS nonsense? Apparently nurses will be wearing "do not disturb" badges when doing their rounds so they will not be disturbed by patients' trivia.

Florence Nightingale, turn in your grave!

Courts back ‘right to die’

By SALLY BENGTSSON COURTS in Huelva have dismissed appeals by pro-life groups to stop a hospital from turning off a life support system for a terminally-ill patient.

The order to remove the nasogastric tube came from the regional government of Andalusia on behalf of the relatives of Ramona Estévez, a 91-year-old woman in an irreversible coma following a stroke.

The decision strikes down an attempt by the Right to Life Association to keep the patient alive despite her own express wish to be allowed to die peacefully.

The Catholic Bishop of Huelva,

José Vilaplana, criticised the decision to allow Ramona to die, and called it "an act of euthanasia in which death is caused not by the disease, but by thirst and hunger’’ (provoked by removing the tube).

Euthanasia remains illegal in Spain but the Federal Association for the Right to a Dignified Death, which provided legal advice to Estévez's family, said that "finally, the justice system is beginning to be sensitive to this type of cause."

This group helped José Ramón Páez, Ramona's son, to file a complaint with the Andalusian health department, asking it to apply a regional piece of legislation called

the Dignified Death Law, which went into effect in 2010 and allows for terminal sedation and patients' rejection of medical treatment.

The Socialist government has approved a similar draft at national level, although it has yet to pass through Congress. Aragón and Navarre have recently adopted similar laws.

The controversy began early last week, when the media picked up on Ramona's case. Supporters and detractors of removing life support got moving, and the Andalusian health department backed the family, which had unsuccessfully asked the hospital to remove the tube.

Friday, September 2, 2011

‘Mother left girl aged 4 and went on holiday’ A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl was found "home alone" in Sussex after her mother is feared to have left her and gone on holiday.

According to The Sun, police discovered the youngster after a 16-year-old believed to be her brother - was arrested on suspicion of driving offences early on Wednesday morning.

The mother is understood to have gone abroad over the weekend, leaving the little girl's brother in charge, according to reports. The girl's discovery was made after two teenagers were stopped by police in Crawley in the early hours of Tuesday.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of taking a car without the owner's consent, Sussex Police said.

The second boy was held on suspicion of being carried in a stolen vehicle and child neglect. Both have been freed on police bail until September 27.

Police said: "As a result of inquiries following the arrest of one of the boys, West Sussex Social Services have been informed by police that a four-year-old girl, known to one of the boys, was home alone at an address nearby.

"This matter is now being dealt with

by West Sussex County Council."

The mother has reportedly been contacted by police and will return to the UK in the next 24 hours.

A county council spokesman said on Wednesday night that they had no comment to make because police inquiries were still continuing.

JUICY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS

SCIENTISTS at the University of Manchester think that they have identified a once-massive star in the Milky Way that has been transformed into a small planet made entirely of DIAMONDS! The research team first detected an unusual star, called a pulsar. Pulsars are small spinning stars more then ten miles in diameter the size of a small city - that emit a beam of radio waves.

They then noticed that the pulsar was being orbited by a companion planet which, if it was any bigger, would be ripped apart by the gravita-

tional force of the star.

This 'diamond planet', estimated to be less than 40,000 miles wide - about five times the diameter of earth - is thought to be all that remains of the original star, most of whose matter was siphoned off towards the pulsar.

Research team member Dr Michael Keith said: "This remnant is likely to be largely

carbon and oxygen, because a star made of lighter elements like hydrogen and helium would be too big to fit the measured orbiting times."

The density means that this material is certain to be crystalline, which suggests that a large part of the star may be similar to a diamond.

Now that's some serious sparkle...

Free our boys Continued from Page One had to come back to put the house on the market to fund James’s defence. We don’t have any option,’’ she told a local newspaper in the UK. “The legal fees have already cost £5,000 for each of them.

If it goes to trial, it will be very expensive. ‘’The next step is to get them bail. It’s different in Spain. They can keep you in prison, even if you haven’t been charged.

“James and Kyle are still only accused of the offence, but they are in prison with people who really are criminals.

“It makes you appreciate how fantastic it is in this country. This couldn’t happen here.”

The friends have been accused of trying to kill two men during a night out.

But they insist they never even visited the bar where the double stabbing took place and claim it is a case of mistaken identity.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

FACEBERK!

Mafia man caught after ‘stupid’ girlfriend’s gaffe

Child-sex Brit held in Spain - after 11 years on the run A BRITISH fugitive has been arrested in Spain on suspicion of 18 counts of child sex abuse. The suspect – named only as LK – allegedly abused teenagers who worked for him at his newsagents in Bath between 1996 and 1999.

The 60 year old was arrested near Lleida after 11 years on the run and now faces 18 counts of abuse against teenagers aged

between 13 and 15 in the UK.He was previously charged with seven counts of abuse against two girls and a boy, and was released on bail pending trial in 2000. But he failed to appear in court.

The manhunt was recently stepped up after a Bristol court reopened the case when local police confirmed the suspect had assaulted two other children.

Salvatore D'Avino was arrested after girlfriend's Facebook blunder AN Italian Mafia member who had been on the run for almost 10 years has been arrested in Marbella after his ‘stupid’ girlfriend posted pictures of the couple on Facebook.

Salvatore D’Avino, 39, was caught out after detectives spotted photos on the social networking site of his pregnant girlfriend Brada Hint, 31, standing in front of the upmarket Nikki Beach Club.

Italian police alerted the Spanish authorities who then traced the couple to their Costa del Sol hideout.

D’Avino is said to be a member of the Giuliano clan, of the notorious Camorra mafia in Naples.

He was listed on the Italian police’s top 100 most wanted after police issued two arrest warrants for D’Avino in 2003 and 2007 on drug trafficking and mafia charges.

D’Avino – who was believed to have been hiding in Morocco for years – is also accused of being part of a plot to flood Marbella with more than 250,000 Ecstasy tablets.

Marshall Angelo Mazzagatti of the Naples

police, who led the operation, said: “He couldn’t believe it when police arrived and arrested him. He thought after nearly a decade on the run he was home free.

“When he asked how we had found him and we told him, he was not at all happy with his girlfriend who is heavily pregnant and about to give birth.

“When we saw the pictures on Facebook we could not believe his girlfriend had been so stupid. It was very easy to track them down as she was stood in front of a restaurant sign in Marbella.”

D’Avino now faces up to 20 years in prison

Captain of Spanish ferry which sank ‘may have been asleep’ PASSENGERS on board a popular Costa de la Luz ferry which sank, claim the captain had fallen asleep.

The El Vaporcito ferry – which operates between El Puerto de Santa Maria and Cadiz – went down on Tuesday after hitting the Reina Victoria quay.

All 40 passengers and three crew members were safely evacuated, but 15 people have now placed a denuncia, claiming that they had to alert the crew to the imminent collision.

The boat, officially named El Adriano III, took just seven

minutes to sink due to a hole near the bow.

A Facebook group with over 2,000 members has been set up to campaign for the refloating of the boat, which is the third to operate the route since the service began in 1929.

Friday, September 2, 2011

7

My life is going to the mogs but that’s

JUST PURRFECT

THEY say that cats have nine lives.Well, my life has nine cats. At least it seems that way as just about every waif and stray in the neighbourhood queues at my cat flap for its daily food fix.

Officially I have three moggies. The first is mad Molly, who is small, black, weirdly mis-shapen and has learning difficulties (the description of her previous owner, not mine). Poor Molly’s not intelligent enough to have learning difficulties. The cat flap’s been there for three years and she still doesn’t know how to use it.

MOGGY No.2 is Geoffrey (Geoffrey Boycat to give him his full name – apt for an animal that moves as slowly as his cricketing namesake used to score runs for England).

My Geoff is a black, long-haired softie of a stray who was probably lost or left by his previous owner a long time ago. Certainly someone cared for him because he was neutered and healthy when he first started coming to my place. In fact, it’s possible he still has another home because he sometimes goes missing for a day or two.

MOGGY No.3 is Henry, a young tabby who turned up at my back door last autumn with a hairless, bleeding chest and a megamiaow. ‘’I suspect he’s been in a fight but I can stitch it up, no problem,’’ said the vet. ‘’I would advise you to have him neutered as soon as possibly, though. Not only will it stop him fighting, it will also help to keep the cat population down and make him more of a house cat.’’

Twenty-four hours later, Henry moved in neatly stitched, snipped and tucked. When his chest took longer than expected to heal,

HENRY: Let sleeping mogs lie

I took him back to the vet…and a blood test revealed he was FIV-positive, the feline equivalent of HIV. ‘’It’s nothing to worry about,’’ said the vet. ‘’He was almost certainly born with it. It’s quite common and he has a good chance of leading a normal life. Because he has been neutered, he’s highly unlikely to pass the FIV on, even through sharing food bowls with other cats.’’

All of which makes Henry a bit special.

After all we’ve been mutually stitched up – him by the vet and me by Henry, who could have saved me a lot of money had he turned up on someone else’s doorstep! (I’m joking…wouldn’t be without him for anything.

Add to Molly, Geoffrey and Henry the halfa dozen feral waifs and strays which turn up at various times of the day and night – and the menagerie-a-trois moves into mega-moggy mode.

And thereby hangs another tail…the tale of why I prefer cats to dogs.

Now I’ve written a couple of lighthearted articles in the past about the respective merits and otherwise of each species, so apologies to those who have previously been subjected to what follows.

Cats are to me the most mysterious, fascinating and wonderful creatures MOLLY: on earth. Not only can they read your Learning mind, they can also manipulate it to difficulties their own advantage. or just plain That's the voice of 40 years of cat stupid? ownership speaking. Oh, and I didn't own any of my moggies - they owned

me.

I was THEIR pet, not the reverse. If it didn't suit them to live in my home, they'd have been off like a flash to appoint some other purr soul as honorary daily foodand-milk supplier.

Some of us are cat people, some dog people and some, like myself, care for both.

Only we usually have a preference and in my household, moggies have always held the edge.

To start with, they allow their owner more independence. If you're not around for a few days, it doesn't really matter as long as someone is there to feed them. Leave a dog on its own for two days and you're not only in serious trouble with the animal authorities, the poor mutt will also have moped itself into a candidate for the canine nuthouse.

Then there is the cleanliness issue. Dogs love to pepper their noses with the ghastliest of savouries left for them by their fellow barkers. The browner and smellier the better for Fido and his pals, and the worse for those of us whose shoes squelch the stink into our rugs and carpets when we get home.

From my experience, there's nothing more frustrating than trying to house-train a puppy. It will pee and poo to order providing you let it out a minimum of 250 times a day. But pop out yourself for five minutes and you open the door on your return to a mound of doggy dung and a floor awash with a ship-load of urine.

The yelps when Little Poo is left momentarily on its own are bad enough. But they are nothing to the yelps of human anger that boom into the stratosphere when Mr and Mrs Owner discover what poochie was up to while they were out of the room.

Yet to a dog lover, those Close Encounters of the T*rd Kind are all acceptable in exchange for the pure, uncomplicated love you are guaranteed in return for just being there. Who cares that Fido spends all

Zedward and the Z list eejuts THE re-emergence of that appalling ‘show’ Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 5 took me by surprise because I thought it had gone forever.

What I find even more surprising is that anybody watches something that is presumably supposed to feature celebrities...but is made up almost entirely of has-beens and never wases.

I’m not trying to invade Alex Trelinski’s TV territory but I have to ask how Channel 5 gets away with using the word ‘Celebrity’ in the title? Of the weird array of contestants who started the show, I

only recognised that notorious publicityseeker Sally Bercow, wife of that creep of a Speaker – along with that mumbling, talentless Louis Walsh creation Jedward (both of him).

I had, of course, heard of the dizzy, dopey (take that any way you want) Kerry Katona, but had no idea what she looked like. As for the others, they wouldn’t even make a Z list in most people’s books.

Nevertheless, I spent the first Sunday evening of the show being shooshed by my 11-year-old granddaughter as she hung on Jedward’s every word (person-

ally I’d rather the young Irish eejuts were hung, but that’s another thing).

So I left Daisy to it. Then I discovered Celebrity Big Brother is to be followed by months of the ‘non-celebrity’ edition, with its customary cast of half-wits, morons, dropouts and weirdos. Half of them no doubt already lined up for Celebrity BB following their instant fame.

They call the country Great Britain – yet I estimate that in 2011 half the nation is effectively brain dead. Still, it’s good to know they can actually count one station higher than Channel 4.

day rolling in mud, urine, vomit and the faeces of every animal on earth? It only takes a couple of hours to clean him up - and then those luscious licks and doggy hugs make it all worthwhile.

Unless, like me, you're already so browned off by those pooper bloopers that you've vowed never to have a dog again.

Cats are a complete contrast. Housetrained before they've ever seen a house, all a kitten needs is a litter tray and it will wee and poo into it ad infinitum. Mind you, removing the hail of stones that hurtle around the house in mini-puss's attempts to bury the residue with its lethal back feet can take twice as long as clearing up after any untrained puppy.

Moggies also need no teaching when it comes to cleaning themselves. And thereby hangs another tale - plus body, head and legs. Before you know it, puss has licked herself bald and is coughing up a two-ton hair ball. You rush her to the vet thinking she's on her last legs but fear not...they all do it.

Unless, like my Molly, the furry one suffers from feline asthma and vomits up nothing but wheeze.

If your cat is a Tom, then you have another problem or three. First and worst is his territory spraying, and the pungent, difficult-

GEOFFREY: Cat with a bat

to-remove smell it creates. Then there's his sexual appetite, which he'll inevitably impose on all the local moggettes - accompanied by a cat's chorus loud enough to drown out a 30-piece orchestra.

The solution to that one is simple. Have Tiger Tom snipped in the bud when he's a few months old and the spraying and s****ing will be a thing of the past.

If you have a dog, you will of course need to take it for walks. Unless you are a lazy bitch like one or two of my friends - and end up with a mutt that's even fatter than its owner. In such instances, at least fatso and her pet won't need a pooper scooper to clean up the dog mess, though not that many people seem to bother if the pavements in my locality at El Raso are anything to go by.

People not clearing up the mess left by their dogs in public places is a big problem everywhere. But here's a question for you: If you saw a threatening-looking yob's pit-bull pooing outside your home and he didn't clean up the mess (the yob, not the pitbull), what would you do? If your answer is 'nothing', score a brownie point for honesty.

As for me, I'll stick with my moggies. I just wish they could purr in English.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

Friday, September 2, 2011

CRACKED!

Police nail UK drugs gang in Ibiza SPANISH police say they have broken up the largest gang of British drugs traffickers on Ibiza, involved in supply to the island during the summer.

Some 3,600 Ecstasy pills were seized which officers say appear to be the type linked to the death of a British woman on the island in July.

Thirteen people were arrested, including 10 from the UK and two from the Republic of Ireland.

Also found were €69,000 (£60,000), cocaine and Ecstasy crystals.

The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was also involved in the investigation.

A spokesman said: "Those arrested are suspected members of an organised crime gang responsible for a significant amount of drugs being sold on the island."

Police said the trafficking group were supplied from the UK and went to Ibiza specifically for the summer season to supply the huge demand for drugs, a pattern which happened every year.

The Guardia Civil's central operational unit searched eight properties, three in Sant Josep de sa Talaia and five in San Antonio de Portmany.

The operation led to drugs and equipment, such as precision scales, being seized.

Police said the majority of the pills found were branded as Pink Rock Star, similar to those believed to have caused the death of

a young British woman and the poisoning of eight other people in Ibiza in July.

Officers in Spain have said the death of Jodie Nieman, 20, from Croydon, was "almost certainly" caused by drugs. She suffered a heart attack after a night out at the Space club in the Playa d'en Bossa resort.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil said: "The detainees are members of one of the most active gangs on the island which is the main supplier of cocaine and other designer drugs around the clubs and bars.

"Inquiries were carried out on the basis of intelligence obtained by the Guardia Civil after other gangs involved in drugs trafficking on the island were dismantled. ‘‘The majority of these gangs were British and took advantage of the influx of young people during the summer.

"Inquiries found that the gang, which is now dismantled, only travelled to Ibiza in summer as to meet the large demand for drugs on the island during this period."

Those from the UK who were arrested, all men, were from places including Plymouth, Croydon, Liverpool, Manchester and Antrim.

In a simultaneous raid, 60 suspected drugs traffickers were arrested, most of them Italian and thought to be linked to the Camorra crime organisation. Some 19,500 Ecstasy pills and other drugs were seized as well as €21,000 (£18,500) in cash.

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Into computers? Join the Club!

THE Torrevieja Computer Club has been running continuously since December 1993, meeting on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month with short breaks for Christmas, Easter and during the summer.

The members range from complete beginners to many with considerable experience, who are able and willing to share their expertise with other members at Club meetings.

During these meetings, many computer-related topics are discussed and explained. These include word processing, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, transferring and enhancing digital photos, using the internet and sending and receiving emails.

The Club caters for all levels of proficiency, with the accent on technical help and the sharing of computer skills in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

Whatever your personal knowledge of computing, the Torrevieja Computer Club would be delighted to meet you and offer you a warm welcome.

For further details please contact us on 966 700 041 or 966 786 281 or visit the website at www.torreviejacomputerclub.com

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Friday, September 2, 2011

STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET

MY mother always told me never to talk to strangers -- a piece of advice which was easy to follow because I didn't know any.

That’s not quite true because I met a very nice stranger some years back. We started chatting over a pint at the pub after he pointed out that he would feel more comfortable if I got my own beer instead of drinking out of his glass.

'Welcome to my local,' I said. 'Do you live local, too?' The young stranger named the street on which he resided. 'Wow!' I said.

'What a coincidence. I live on the same street. What number?'

'Thirty-six,' he said.

I drained his pint in amazement. 'I'm gobsmacked,' I said. 'I live at No.36, too.' The young stranger sighed. 'Stop messing about, Dad.' I stared at him over my packet of cheese and onion crisps. 'You can't be my son,' I said. 'He's a mere schoolboy. He wouldn't even be allowed in a pub.

'Come on,' I cajoled. 'Tell me who you really are. I have a right to know if we live in the same house.'

'But I adore him, mother,' my beloved cried, scattering tears and fag ash over her bouquet.

'He has no prospects,' argued my motherin-law to-be.

'I did go for a job interview once!' I yelled through the keyhole. 'But the guy wanted to see my curriculum vitae - and I don't drop my trousers for anyone.'

Anyway, our wedding did go ahead although my mother-in-law (now official) couldn't resist one final barb. 'You have no class,' she sneered at me. 'Why, you didn't

Nights The young stranger shook his head. 'Dad, I left school years ago. I work nights these days.

'So when you get back from your day shifts at the abattoir I'm already out of the house. And vice versa. We're never at home together.'

'But what about weekends?' asked Dave the barman who had come over to see why we were drinking out of the one glass.

'Weekends I'm at my fiancee's,' said the young stranger.

'I'm gobsmacked again,' I said. 'You're going to get married? Wow! Let me buy you a pint.'

Dave the barman came back with a glass of foaming ale for the young stranger and I downed it in one go.

Which reminds me. Just minutes before my own wedding I thought it was never going to happen.

The mother of the future Mrs S had ushered my beloved into a side room and whispered in her ear: 'It's not too late, daughter.

Before the minister arrives to conduct the execution . . . er, wedding ceremony . . . I implore you to think twice about marrying this . . this person.'

even think to put a folded snot-rag in your jacket top pocket.'

Back at the pub 20 years later I turned to the young stranger.

'How come your intended bride has never been to our house, son? After all, I am going

to be her father-in-law.'

The young stranger looked somewhat embarrassed. 'Er, Georgina HAS been to our house, Dad.' he said, blushing.

Dave the barman laughed and pointed at me. 'I bet Mrs S didn't want her to meet you so she invited her round when she knew you'd be out.'

Dave the barman continued giggling. 'I bet Mrs S denies your existence and told Georgina that you were a one-parent family.'

I grabbed hold of Dave the barman's metal tray and threatened to play Mule Train with it on his bonce.

'Go away, Dave,' I said. 'Do something you're good at - like watering the bitter.' I clutched the young stranger by the shoulders.

'Pay no attention to Dave the barman.

He's just a mischief maker. Now tell me the truth. Why have I never met your fiancee?'

'Because mum denies your existence and invites Georgina round when you're not in.'

Bookies

Dave the barman was clutching a violin and plucking a sad song

I choked back a tear. 'All these years I've dragged myself off to the bookies every day to try to support my family. For what? To be taken for granted or ignored.'

Dave the barman had reappeared. He was clutching a violin and plucking a sad song. 'But, Dad,' said the young stranger.

'You have a son and a daughter who love you. And I'm sure Mum does, too, in her own, er, unique and individual way.'

'A daughter?' I exclaimed. 'Blimey, I'd forgotten about her. Dave! A pint of your best bitter -- and I use the term loosely.'

I collapsed into my chair and thought how fortunate I'd been meeting the delightful fellow sitting opposite me.

'You've turned into a fine specimen of manhood, son,' I crowed with pride. 'I can't wait for your wedding.'

'Hopefully, Dad, after I've talked Mum round we'll be able to send you an invitation.'

I stood up and raised my son's glass.

'I'd like to propose a toast to you and whats-her-name, son. I'd buy you another drink but I think you've had enough.'

Friday, September 2, 2011

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12

Friday, September 2, 2011

La Vuelta fans cheer cheeky Scots bikers

Nightmares and rescued mares...

By ANDREW ATKINSON

CONCERNED animal lovers inundated the Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre following the revelation that horses were being kept in horrendous conditions by gypsies in San Luis.

Tethered and starving, Blanca the white mare was the first horse discovered – after which Mimosa was found in a filthy, cage-like enclosure (pictured) and two donkeys in complete darkness. None had food or water and all were seriously malnourished.

The following day, Spanish local TV broadcast the situation on its evening news bulletin – and this media coverage encouraged the gypsies to negotiate a financial settlement for the animals. All are now safe at the Easy Horse Centre, thanks to the support of readers, as well as kind donations.

The EHCRC relies solely on charitable donations and is open to the public every day from 1-4pm. On Sundays and Wednesdays there are guided tours and visitors can also enjoy a light lunch or light refreshments. For more information visit www.easyhorsecare.net or call Sue on 652 021 980.

A GROUP group of cyclists from Scotland Dales and Fullarton Wheelers 'hijacked' the prestigious 2011 La Vuelta cycling tour of Spain last week.

"At one stage we had a Policia escort!" said Ian Collins from Kilmarnock, one of the Scottish contingent who unofficially took part in the race.

The group arrived in Los Montesinos ahead of the first two stages of Spain’s biggest cycling event.

And after taking in the team time trial in Benidorm the Scottish raiders headed for

SPAIN IS SO COOL FOR SAHARA DESERT KIDS

WITH temperatures that soar above 55 degrees, the summer months in the Sahara Desert region are unbearable.

So each year the Vacaciones en Paz association bring children from a remote Algerian refugee camp to Spain for a little respite, writes ENID WINSKILL. This year San Pedro del Pinatar welcomed five children from the Tinduf camp, all of whom stayed with Spanish families.

The Vacaciones en Paz charity is very close to the heart of President Jane Cronin and members of the ADAPT Association.

And after a Town Hall meeTHE Looking Good ting with Mayoress Visitacion Boutique is showing off Martinez Martinez and Silvia Egea Morales, the Councillor its latest range of fabufor Citizens Participation, lous fashions next Jane handed over a €1,500 Friday at La Herradura cheque from ADAPT to Vacin Los Montesinos - and aciones en Paz’s Nuria Mesa boutique owner Louise in order to help them contipromises an event nue with their great work. where everyone will be a ADAPT members also winner. brought smiles to the faces of Show goers will not the children, who range in only enjoy a catwalk age from 8 to 11, when they show with models dispresented them with large playing the latest styles bags of toys. now selling in the La ADAPT resumes after the Zenia shop, they will summer with the monthly also receive a €10 voumeeting at Castelar College, cher to spend with San Pedro, on September 3 Looking Good and an at 11 am. extra €10 voucher to use at OTT Hair Design Centre in Los Balcones.

Plus, there will be lots of great raffle prizes up for grabs.

THE Hideaway Bar at Playa Paul Cunningham Flamenca’s Via Park II raised Nurses will win, too, as more than €500 at a charity all proceeds from the event for the Butterfly event will be donated to Children recently. The donation was greatly received by this worthwhile charity.

Anne, who represents the Numbers are strictly DEBRA organisation. limited so book your ticThe day was based on a ket today by calling 966 country and western theme 760 479 or 639 318 526. and Terry and Mark would Tickets cost €10 and the like to thank all who supporfun starts at 11am. ted and helped.

You can be a fashion winner...

Hideaway’s €500 boost

THE JOYS OF SPAIN: The Tinduf children with their goodies and their hosts

Torrevieja.“The riders followed a coach through a perimeter barrier at Torrevieja 30 minutes before the stage came through," said veteran rider Collins.

"At every other junction the police looked rather bemused but allowed us to continue. We had two police outriders escorting us!"

The Scots were cheered by the crowds en route bfore being ushered off the course.

And Collins added: “Other cyclists followed official team cars after a sprint stage - cheered on by the crowd - until they too were pulled in by the police."

High-flying fun of the Murcia fair THE funfair in Murcia this month boasts amongst its 150 rides, the highest roller coaster in Spain - the Ala Delta.

Situated in La Fica, the fair offers a huge variety of activities, including inflated rings spinning on water and a Sponge Bob boat.

Next Tuesday (September 6) is Children’s Day in Spain, when the rides will cost half price, at 1.50€, from 6pm till midnight.

Exotic reptiles and strange animals are also on show until Sunday (September 4).

Along the river bank traditional regional products will be on sale throughout the duration of the fair until September 13.

What the Dickens is all this about?

DRAMATIC LICENCE (and Mrs Reece) PROUDLY PRESENT The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of A Christmas Carol. Directed by Colin Bird FOLLOWING the critically unacclaimed Farndale Murder Mystery play, the ladies of the Townswomen’s Guild are at it again.

Under the leadership of their indomitable and unbelievably attractive leader Mrs Reece, they will be staging that tried and tested world-renowned Christmas favourite - A Christmas Carol by Charles what’s his name.

In their own inimitable style and with the panache that has become the trademark of this highly-polished group of actors, the ladies (and Gordon) will transport the audience back to a bygone era of poverty and despair; where beggars sit in supermarket doorways shaking their bowls at customers, and a dog with more than three legs is a rarity.

An age when justice is harsh, breaking wind in public is a capital offence, and Lidls gin can be bought for threepence farthing a pint. This then is the Dickensian world of Charles . . . damn, I’ll think of his name in a minute . . . and his classic character creation, the miserly miserable melancholy umm, miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.

Thrill to the three, or was it four, spirits appearing to Scrooge on Christmas Eve. The first visitation, his dead

and yet very much alive ex-partner, deceased and late of the parish – Jacob Marley RIP. Followed by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and the one after this. One, two . . . yep, that’s four ghosts.

Marvel at Scrooge’s miraculous transformation from a mean cheapskate shyster, into a Scrooge who wasn’t ...one...any more.

Meet Scrooge’s long suffering employee, Bob Scratchet and his sickly son, Tiny Jim. But no, we mustn’t give too much away must we? Suffice it to say that you are guaranteed a festive evening of entertainment, with high drama and raw emotion, and of course a feast of quite brilliant acting.

DRAMATIC LICENCE are back at their usual venue, Teatro Cardenal Belluga in San Fulgencio with performances on December 1, 2 and 3. Tickets are €8 each and are already selling. Please book early to avoid disappointment by ringing: 616089943 or logging on to www.dramatic-licence.eu Dramatic Licence are pleased to have donated €27,000 to date in support of The Alzheimer’s Association.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

These guys are Nameless... but this one is Ray!

Ray’s out to drum up a Nameless vocalist A NEW Quesada band made up of experienced musicians are calling themselves Nameless - because they couldn’t think of a better name!

And they are now looking for an experienced vocalist to complete their lineup and front the band.

Says their founder and drummer Ray Prentice, better known until now as a key member of the Q4 viocaal harmony group: ‘‘Male or female, if you can sing rock and pop music and have a good sense of humour, give me a call on 966 712 987.’’

Ray has been playing the drums since childhood and has been in many bands and groups since the late 60s. ‘‘I moved to Spain on taking early retirement three years ago but have been missing those round things I used the beat the hell out of,’’ he says. ‘‘First of all I tried to join a band by advertising my drumming skills in the papers but to no avail. Then I had an idea; I advertised for musicians and started up my own band. ‘‘It worked and I seemed to have the luxury of being picky about who I chose as there were more than I anticipated.

Needless to say I have the best!’’

Bass guitar John Wiggan and lead guitar Eric Tuite have been gigging together for a long time and were looking to join a band.

Says Ray: ‘‘I heard them play and took them both on as they certainly knew what they were doing. They showed me a list of 80 songs they cover but with backing tracks to enhance the two guitars which will no longer be needed. ‘‘We were looking to cover music from the 60s to the 80s and from artists like The Hollies, Free, Bad Company, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bad Finger, Eric Clapton and Elvis to name just a few. ‘’Keith Parsons was our next signing as we needed a rhythm guitarist to cover Eric when he goes into his lead-guitar solos.

Keith is used to playing a heavier rock sound than we are looking to do - but he’s happy to `go with the flow`. ‘’At our regular practise day at Casa Ventura, manager Kevin Robinson asked us the name of the band so he could put it in the diary each week. ‘‘We haven’t got one,’’ I said and Eric shouted: ‘’Just put Nameless in.’’ ‘‘That’s it,’’ we all said. ‘‘Nameless!’’

Glenn Miller is back - with Don’s Big Band concerts ARE you a fan of Big Band music? Does the thought of 16 top musicians pounding out Glenn Miller classics fill you with nostalgia?

Then you can’t afford to miss Don Mather’s Miller Men in concert at the Asturias Restaurant in Punta Prima on Sunday, September 25 (8.30pm).

Don’s boys and their vocalist Ron Rogers started their successful series of concerts in the middle of last year.

And the public response demonstrated that there is still a strong demand for Big Band Music with quality vocals.

Apart from Don and the band’s interpretation of Glenn Miller’s music, Ron Rogers delivers the songs of Frank Sinatra, Matt Munro, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett. The Big Band also perform classic arrangements from the library of Ted Heath, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Buddy Rich and many more.

Don says: “We are fortunate to have the services of the best musicians avai-

lable on the Costa Blanca. Many travel considerable distances to play with the Band at these concerts and the rehearsals that precede them.”

This is a genuine Concert of LIVE music. There are no backing tracks or pre-recorded music. What you hear is what the participants actually deliver on the night.

Tickets are 10€ and are available from The Asturias (965 326 369), Cards & Things, Quesada (690 371 419), Don Mather (966 717 039) or Ron Rogers (966 720 455).

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Friday, September 2, 2011

THE GOLDEN QUIZ

HAROLD HEYS asks the questions. A valuable tip… they all contain a reference to gold

2. But that night on our honeymoon. What’s the next line from Freda Payne’s hit Band of Gold?

3. What’s the chemical symbol for gold?

4. Carassius auratus auratus is better known as what?

5. Sir Jammy Fishpaste as Private Eye called him. Who is he?

6. Who are the big rivals of Isis?

7. What’s the Spanish word for gold?

8. According to the gospel of St Matthew, who gave baby Jesus a gift of gold?

9. Golders Green is in which

London borough?

10.Which group recorded

the 1982 Top Ten hit Golden Brown?

11.In what year did Mary Peters win her Olympic pentathlon gold medal?

12. Aquila chrysaetos is better known as what?

13. In which city would you

16. Which song gave Shirley Bassey her biggest hit in the USA? 17. Who composed the Gold and Silver waltz in 1902?

18. In which Shakespeare play is the line: All that glisters is not gold?

19. Sir Francis Drake set off in the Pelican. What did he

rename the ship?

20. A Golden Wedding celebration marks 50 years.

What’s a 55th anniversary?

21. According to Greek mythology, who set out to find the golden fleece?

22. The Barclays Golden Boot award for top scorer in the Premier League season of 2010-11 was shared by Dimitar Berbatov and who?

23. Which group had a No.1 hit with Silence is Golden in 1967?

24. The yellow colour of iron pyrite has earned it what nickname?

25. Who was the star of the 1925 film The Gold Rush?

Answers: 1 Odd Job. 2 We slept in separate rooms. 3 Au. 4 Goldfish. 5 Sir James Goldsmith. 6 Goldie (Boat Race reserve crews). 7 Oro. 8 It doesn’t say. It doesn’t actually say how many Magi there were. 9 Barnet. 10 Stranglers. 11 In 1972. 12 Golden eagle. 13 San Francisco. 14 Miami. 15 The Grand National. 16 Goldfinger. 17 Lehar. 18 The Merchant of Venice. 19 Golden Hind. 20 Emerald, 21 Jason (and the Argonauts). 22 Carlos Tevez. 23 Tremeloes. 24 Fool’s gold. 25 Charlie Chaplin.

1. What role did Harold Sakata play in the Bond film Goldfinger?

see Golden Gate bridge?

14. The Golden Girls was a US sitcom of the late 80s.

Where was it based?

15. Which race is further, the Cheltenham Gold Cup or the Grand National?

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Friday, September 2, 2011

A MAJOR IN FAILURE

WHILST stuffing myself with some paella one recent afternoon, I stumbled across a fascinating BBC TV documentary about the former Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.

As I imbibed some sangria, my television picture began to wobble a little and then go a peculiar shade of grey. As I began to make adjustments with my remote control, the eerie figure of a former Prime Minister, John Major, came out of the misty haze. On adjusting the brightness and contrast settings to the maximum, I realised there was nothing wrong with the picture, and that I had completely forgotten Major’s zero impact British political life during his six years or so in Downing Street.

His grey puppet character eating peas on ‘Spitting Image’ summed him up perfectly, but I’ll give him a tiny bit of credit for being a cricket fan.

It says something that Major is best remembered for poking around with the vile publicity-seeking Edwina Currie behind his wife’s back, rather than doing anything of any lasting substance for the UK. The bespectacled hypocrite then had the gall to tell a Tory Party Conference about the importance of family values and that we needed to get ‘back to basics’! Even the brass-necked Currie admitted some years later that she squirmed at hearing that speech.

I also thought of John Major recently when the A-level results came out, and students were chasing places at the countless universities around the country. In the old days, your needed high grades to give you a shot of getting into a comparatively small selection of British universities. Then, in the early 90’s, Major thought it would be a great idea for loads of new universities to be created, and the floodgates opened.

I well remember that Ken Clarke, as Education Secretary,

refused to grant permission for a Higher Education College in the Midlands to become a polytechnic in 1990. Four years later, it miraculously became a university, and it now has 25,000 students, with a variety of courses that are a complete waste of money.

My partner employed a girl as a waitress, after she had completed a three-year degree course in American Folklore and Culture at that establishment, and she came out with the totally unsurprising revelation that she couldn’t get any other work on the back of her wonderful degree.

Which brings me to my point. With universities pouring out of every orifice in the UK, I’m all in favour of student fees, so long as there is a safety net to make sure that those from poorer backgrounds are not disadvantaged.

Remember that Labour introduced them in the first place, and that the Coalition plans that come into force next year, are based on an independent report that Gordon Brown and his team commissioned. They would have done exactly the same had they been in power, but they try to avoid telling you that.

Most countries have fee and loan systems, and I’m all for it, especially if it stops crackpot courses being taken by teenagers who have no real idea of what they want to do with their lives. These new fees, which start next year, should really now start to focus a few minds on the rest of their lives, rather than a three year period of total irrelevance.

How about more science and engineering courses, which the boss of Google told a Edinburgh audience last weekend were sadly missing as major subjects in the UK, rather than the zillions of students taking Media Studies, whatever the hell that might be.

There are times when politicians need to shut their gobs, especially when they

spout needless rubbish. Take the London MP, Kate Hoey, who I normally respect for her honest and forthright views over many subjects. She decided to weigh in on the recent ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ appearance of the Speaker’s wife, Sally Bercow, saying that her £100,000 appearance fee should be used to help pay for her husband’s “grace and favour” flat.

I presume that somewhere down the line, Ms. Hoey forgot to pick up the information that Bercow only made an appear-

CHARITABLE: Sally Bercow

ance on this wretchedly revived drivel, so that she could give all the money to an autistic children’s charity. A classic case, I reckon, of mouth being engaged before brain!

By the way, I can’t wait for the House of Commons to return after the summer recess to spot which honourable member will have the guts to chide the diminutive Mr. Bercow with a joke about his wife’s TV activities. I suspect, though, that there are many candidates from the Tory backbenches who feel that Mr. Speaker hasn’t exactly been too kind to them over the last year or so, and who are scribbling their ‘Big Brother’ ad-libs right now.

Will one of them perhaps receive a summons to the ‘Diary Room’ behind the Speaker’s chair to pour out their grievances?

Till next summer do us part

A Galician town is recreating the annual Celtic wedding festival of Lughnasadh, which sees couples get married for just one year FOREVER seemed too long for the Celts.

For them, matrimony was a temporary, and equal, union between men and women that had to be renewed and strengthened throughout the years.

Therefore, they pragmatically scheduled weddings at the end of August, right before winter, with the aim of sharing the tough times in the cold together. Every summer, couples could renew their vowels or separate. They called it "Lughnasadh," and it is one of the four big festivals in the annual Celtic calendar, along with Samhain on November 1.

The town of Cedeira in Galicia has embraced this Celtic ritual, offering it up as a tourist attraction- a chance to say goodbye to the summer and exploit its meiga tradition of witchery. Last weekend, the self-proclaimed druid "Dos Ártabros," Manuel Aneiros, married around 20 couples on the town's A Magdalena beach for the third edition of Lughnasadh.

At the first event in 2009, Aneiros, the promoter of this Celtic revival, gathered eight couples, a number that went up to 15 in 2010. This year, almost 30 couples signed up- even if not all of them showed up. In the end, 25 couples- from Peru, Madrid,

Terrasa, Bilbao, Sevilla, Ponferrada, Ourense, Boiro, Fene and Ferrol- made it last Saturday to the Celtic village in Cedeira, which is situated close to a forest, at the end of the beach. Dressed in- supposedly- medieval Celtic outfits, but really looking more like something out of The Lord of the Rings saga, the soon-to-be-married pairs paraded around the streets during the morning and in the afternoon walked around the pine grove, reconverted into a Celtic village where various groups camped in small huts made up of branches, wood and plastic that they named after the likes of Clan Breogán, Triskel and Lian Clan. The most impressive construction was one made of adobe bricks and straw that included a well and hearth.

At midnight on Saturday, Aneiros the druid put all the couples in the centre of a circle made of sand and lit by torches. Joining in were the colourful helpers: a blonde woman acting as the witness who called herself the Lady of the Lake and a short man with viking

horns operating as the altar boy. One after the other, to the sound of Galician bagpipes, Aneiros dos Ártabros called each couple up and placed a flower crown on their head as he proclaimed their annual union that would last until the next Lughnasadh.

The ceremony carries a strong sentimental meaning but doesn't carry any legal obligations. The satisfied newlyweds were grateful for the applause they received from the almost 500 strangers who gathered in the sand enclosure for the ceremonyGermán from León and Peggy from Peru were so enthusiastic about the Celtic mis-

match that they even decided to remarry this August for the third time. Yoana and Daniel also repeated their engagement for a second consecutive year- "the best part was when the druid repeated that men and women are equal," said Yoana. After three years together, Raquel, 17, and Luis, 21, from Ferrol, showed up for their first wedding dressed in white, simply because they felt it was "beautiful and romantic."

Among all the happy brides and grooms, a precocious couple of two eight-year-olds made an appearance, as did a pair of 63year-olds. Cedeira residents José Ríos and Herminia got back together to continue a brief juvenile romance begun 40 years before and decided to celebrate in Celtic style. "We are making the most of life," explains José, a local wood contractor.

The wedding reception menu featured roasted wild boar, curd cheese and honey for €15 a plate and lasted until the early hours of Sunday, culminating with a big queimada ritual (the preparing of a flaming Galician punch) with an extended version of the accompanying spell and the druid in full trance. "You can't read about it, you have to describe it from memory," he says in a scholarly tone.

16

Friday, September 2, 2011

A LOOK AT THE

DEADLY PLANT DRUG KILLS 2

SPAIN’S youth culture has been hit by a new home-made drug that has killed two people and put another two in hospital.

The thorn apple plant, which grows all over Spain, has deadly poisonous seeds which produce hallucinations and can also cause death.

Two 18-year-olds died and a 20year-old became seriously ill last week after being given a drug brewed from the leaf of the plant at a rave in the town of Getafe, near Madrid.

Seeds and leaves from the thorn apple, which is also known as devil's

By SALLY BENGTSSON

trumpet or devil's weed, are hallucinogenic and dangerous – though scientists warn that the whole plant, including its flowers, can seriously damage health.

Side-effects include an increased pulse, muscular twitches, diarrhoea, convulsions, coma and even death.

The thorn apple comes from the same family of plants as belladonna, otherwise known as deadly nightshade.

A man was released on bail on Monday to await trial on homicide charges. Spanish newspapers said he had been trying to "create a market" for the

drug by giving it away. A fourth victim was admitted to hospital in Badajoz, western Spain, in a coma over the weekend after taking the drug.

He regained consciousness on Monday but Dr Elena Gálvez of Badajoz's Infanta Cristina hospital warned: "Even though the patient is progressing, he is still fighting for his life."

The mayor of Getafe has ordered municipal staff to destroy the plant, which grows wild, wherever they find it.

Town halls elsewhere in Spain have issued similar orders.

tip a e k a T ? e m o h r u o y g in Sell N

By SALLY BENGTSSO ain has Sp in flat or SELLING a house “Mission as ed crib des gly sin been increa wners’ frustration Impossible” as home-o ed. bat continues una sold in March The number of homes us year. vio pre the on was down 12% the horizon on t However, there is ligh that sellers gs thin tain cer and there are more likely ty per can do to make their pro to sell. all the personal One tip is to remove your home. ting ora dec e items you hav

h-power light bulbs Another is to install hig s light and airy. ear app so the property spotless and smell Your home should be hen and bathrokitc the nice, especially om. re is much more If the price is right, the property than if it is chance of selling the slightly over priced. e and see your To get people to com ss and on the pre the house, advertise it in ers come, buy ted res inte en Wh internet. ’t pressudon and e let them take their tim ision. rise them to make a dec

LETHAL: The thorn apple plant

Good Samaritan saved

by Samaritans

SOME 300 unemployed people will be able to carry on eating at the social dining hall in Cartagena every day – thanks to the solidarity of a few committed souls.

The Home of the Good Samaritan has been resurrected by good-hearted individuals after forced closure ha d been announced due to lack of funding.

The director of the charity, Juan José Sánchez, managed to raise €15,000

in two days and is confident that both God and the Cartagenan people will keep the doors open and enable an accumulated €70,000 debt to be paid off.

Five thousand euros were donated by Social Services, €2,000 by a the fruit company Carrichosa, €1,000 by a construction company, and €500 anony-

mously. Other donations have included calor gas bottles and small sums of money which are all a huge help. This will mean that a large number of families, including children, will continue to have at least one decent meal a day.

Many have no income, and this is the one thing that keeps them going.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

SPANISH PRESS

CHE’S MOTORBIKE PARTNER DIES AGED 88

Did whale beach itself to die?

By SALLY BENGTSSON

IT IS always sad to see an exotic creature losing its battle for life and be unable to do anything to save it.

Residents of Zarautz in northern Spain were stunned last Friday when a 50-foot sperm whale died after being washed up on a local beach. The creature was so big that a tug-boat was unable to pull it back out to sea.

The whale was still alive when it was found early in the morning stranded on the sands, but it died shortly after, said marine scientist Enrique Franco. The cause of the whale's demise was not known, but Franco said: "It almost certainly came here to die. It's not uncommon for such animals to beach when they are very ill."

Despite its large size, the whale had not yet reached maturity, said Franco, vice president of the Society for the Study and Conservation of Marine Fauna in Spain's Bay of Biscay. "It was a five-year-old male and mature specimens can live as long as humans, to 60 or 70 years of age.’’

When the powerful tugboat was unable to drag the carcass from the beach, officials made arrangements for two large cranes to lift it onto a truck.

The aim, Franco revealed, is to determine the cause of death and preserve the bones for scientific and teaching purposes. "These are big animals and this one could weigh between 20 and 30 tons," the scientist said, adding that the whale's sheer size made it very difficult to fully examine on the beach.

BEYOND HELP: The dead sperm whale A large crowd of tourists and residents had gathered on the sands of Zarautz to take photographs and watch the attempts to remove the dead whale.

Franco said sperm whales, like Herman Melville's Moby Dick, were hunted almost to extinction during the last century because of an exceptionally fine oil in their heads. It was particularly prized for lubrication in clocks and watches.

He added that these whales can descend to a depth of 3,000 metres (9,850 feet) and hunt there in absolute darkness for up to two hours, using a sonar location system to detect prey and navigate the terrain. "Part of their mystique is that no other animal can dive so deep," he.said.

Motorbike horror crash, but holiday death toll drops

By SALLY BENGTSSON A 39-year-old motorcyclist died in hospital last weekend, hours after reportedly losing an arm and a leg in an horrific early-morning crash on the Denia – Ondara road.

The driver of the car is believed to have been over the legal alcohol limit.

The last days of August are notorious in Spain for

traffic accidents as holidaymakers return home after their month-long holidays on the coast. The Spanish Traffic Office expected 4.4 million to hit the motorways last weekend. The flow was smoother than expected, and while 14 people died in accidents, the figures were much lower than last year’s 23 fatalities.

No hiding place for killers of Brit, 15 A FRENCH court has ruled that two 21-year-old men should be handed over to Spanish authorities investigating the fatal stabbing of a British teenager on the Costa Brava.

The pair were arrested in France last week by French police acting on a European arrest warrant issued following the death of 15-year-old Andrew Milroy in a late-night dispute in Lloret del Mar. The suspects returned to France from the Spanish resort the day after the killing. They were given three days to appeal the court's decision, in the absence of which they were expected to be sent back to Spain to face a possible murder charge.

Milroy's mother is originally from Richmond, Surrey, but is believed to have moved to Spain 26 years ago. Son Andrew was attending a Spanish school in his local community.

Spanish press reports suggested at the time of his death that he and a group of friends had intervened to break up a fight between French youths. But French prosecutors say the precise sequence of events is unclear.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

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

The sands of crime

ON the Orihuela Costa we have had a number of thefts from cars left unattended near to the beaches and handbags stolen from people using the beaches.

I do not know if you have received a press release from the Policía Local of seen the recent article on Orihuela Digital relative to the arrest of a man responsible for a good number of these crimes.

If not, I would like to praise the actions of the agents of the Policía Local who were on cycle patrol on the beach at Campoamor and arrested the man responsible.

This man was found to be in possession

ONE MAN ARRESTED...BUT BEWARE BEACH THIEVES

of a number of stolen items which included mobile phones, cameras, watches, sunglasses and perfumes.

Anyone who has been robbed on or near to the beaches is asked to visit the Guardia Civil Cuartel at Torre de la Horadada to see if their property has been recovered.

Although this man has been apprehend-

ed, please still be on your guard, especially when leaving cars unattended. Don´t leave valuables inside and only take to the beach what you need there - and nothing of value.

LOOK OUT – THERE ARE STILL THIEVES ABOUT. CHRIS POOLE, Vecinos Colaborando, Orihuela Costa

RYANAIR DIGS ARE SO CHEAP Confusion over the ‘Last Resort Rate’

YOUR report concerning HC Energia prompts me to ask if you have any information on Iberdrola's 'Last Resort Rate'?

We have a letter dated 28 July 2011 with a full copy of our supply contract and stating that these conditions will come into effect 30 days from the date of the letter and last for a year. Nowhere does it state what the rate is!

We live on an urbanisation of 88 properties and it seems that we are the only property to have received this letter.

I am more than happy to bring a copy of the letter and the general conditions to your office - if I knew where it is!

GEORGE AND JANINE WILLIAMS There is a considerable amount of information about the Last Resort Rate on the Iberdrola website in English. Key in https://www.iberdrola.es/webibd/ corporativa/iberdrola?IDPAG=ENWEBCLIHOGGA SSUM&codCache=13146489375253529 Hopefully the answers to all your questions will be in there somewhere!. The Courier office is at present in the Procomobel building on the N332 (near the junction with the Lemon Tree Road). However, we will be moving to new premises shortly and will keep you posted.

l

A new home for Hope I JUST wanted to say a big thank-you to The Courier for your write up on Hope, the dog with a hole in her heart.

Thanks to your article, we had five phone calls and in the end an English vet from Benidorm is adopting her. We really did think it was going to be a struggle to find a home for her - but thankfully not so. Many thanks again.

YVONNE (www.petsinspain.info)

YET again we are fed Donna Gee’s blatantly biased, misguided, unresearched article about Ryanair.

When is she going to realise that they are a business and not a charity?

They can charge whatever they like for whatever they like because they do not hold a gun to your head and say “book with us”.

THE CHOICE IS YOURS/HERS. Why this vendetta? Maybe it is because Ryanair are easy meat to have a go at and she knows they will not reply.

Maybe if, instead of just complaining, she used her time researching other airlines and maybe different airports, she would have found a cheaper flight, or maybe not!

I am a rational person and I decide which carrier will get my business once I see the bottom line and the times etc. and also the additional costs of getting to and from my “chosen airports”. Is that too simple? If you are too lazy to do the research then you get what you deserve.

Bleating You want “convenience” then you have to accept their (the carriers) terms and conditions and stop bleating.

If she wants a “proper” carrier, see what Iberia/B.A. charge.

Oh I am sorry they only fly to Manchester not Liverpool (I wonder why) from Alicante and charge around €1,000 per person one way. Your choice, simple.

I have no connection with Ryanair except I sometimes use them if I am happy with their prices and times.

Otherwise I will use another carrier.

I could go on and on, just like Donna Gee but I do not need to give Ryanair any more free advertising.

STEPHEN, Costa Calida

YOU MISSED THE POINT, STEPHEN DONNA GEE REPLIES: Whilst I was admittedly scathing of Ryanair in this particular article, I have in the past been critical of just about every airline plying the skies between the UK and the Costas. That’s why they call me Grumpy Old Gran!

Regarding the suggestion that I am ‘too lazy to do the research’, it’s clear that Stephen hasn’t read the article properly. I’m not an idiot and would normally trawl around for the best deal. However, (and this is the bit he missed) we had no option but to book Talia with Ryanair since she has to travel with an adult and her mother’s entourage had booked both ways with Ryanair some time ago.

The only way Talia could have used any other airline would have been for Lisa or her partner Rob to sacrifice the trip they had already paid for - and make an alternative booking with Talia. What I was trying to highlight is the injustice of fares which fluctuate from the sublimely cheap in winter to the ridiculously expensive during the peak holiday season.

Torry Army and CD Montesinos: Putting Mr Wright right I HAD to send you a line regarding the letter from Darryll Wright from Torrevieja FC (Issue 27) following the article on CD Montesinos in the previous week’s Courier.

I did not agree with the letter, insofar as it suggested the Torry Army had ceased to exist...or was on its last knees.

The article in Issue 26 stated that CDM were being supported by... 'a former group of FC Torrevieja supporters'...due to wranglings at theclub.

At no time was it stated or suggested that The Torry Army supporters had ceased supporting FC Torrevieja.

Likewise As with many football clubs fans have changed allegiance for one reason or another.- an example being Manchester United.

Supporters eloped from Old Trafford due to unrest, and FC United was formed, and thousands of former United fans support their cause.

This, I believe, is the case at CD Montesinos, where many Torry Army fans have eloped the club and decided to support CDM. Manchester United are still well supported - and I do not doubt FC Torrevieja are likewise.

For Torry Army Comms’ Darryll Wright to suggest that the article deemed that The Torry Army had ceased to exist - or was on its knees - was nonsense.

ANDREW ATKINSON

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Friday, September 2, 2011

ALTHOUGH the bubble may not have completely burst, the recession is certainly having a huge impact on many of our lives. And the bubble is definitely looking deflated.

Unemployment has hit an all-time high in Spain, which is not good news for business owners or employees.

Despite feeling the pinch, many of us still recognise the benefits of family life in Spain and don´t want to return to the UK. If this sounds like you, then it is time to get back to basics, batten down the hatches and cut your cloth accordingly.

If you are worried that your children will suffer as a result of reduced income, it is worth revisiting the important things in life. Provided you have a roof over your head and food on the table, and that your children are receiving a good education and are growing and well loved, the rest is window dressing.

The good thing about life in Spain is that “keeping up with the Joneses” does not appear to be so important.

People do not put you into a box according to the size of your house or the make of your car. Equally, children don´t seem to hanker after clothes with a label or a logo at such an early age and a second-hand Nintendo from Ebay is really no different to a new one if it has been well looked after by its first owner.

HAPPY (cheap) BIRTHDAY! Cutting the cost of kids’ parties in the Recession The next few articles will all feature recession-busting, starting this week with children´s birthdays.

Birthdays are expensive for two reasons: the party and the presents. Most children nowadays expect both.

This isn´t because they are spoilt but purely because this is what they have always had.

Wrapped You do not need to spend a fortune on presents. For younger children, it is the number of parcels wrapped up that is important and not the monetary value. So take a visit to your local Euro shop and buy lots of small items and wrap them all separately.

Put small things in large boxes with lots of tissue paper to add to the excitement of opening them. Add one or two larger items and they will be perfectly content.

For older children who

understand the value of money a little more, if they want a really big item, then you could ask them to save up some of their own pocket money to contribute towards their desired present.

If you have several children who want the same large present – a Nintendo Wii for example – perhaps it could be a joint Christmas present for sharing.

An alternative for an older girl is to give money for her birthday and have a shopping party. Turning our attention now to the all-important birthday party, there are a huge range of exciting options for children of all ages which don´t have to break the bank.

For little tots, you can´t beat the magic of a traditional party at home and with generally better weather here in Spain, the chances are you will be able to hold it out-

doors thus cutting down on the clearing up.

Toddlers love playing musical statues, chairs and bumps as well as the fun of pass the parcel. It is a good idea to ensure that everyone gets a turn at unwrapping the parcel and perhaps receives a small gift or lollypop.

Games There is very little point in spending a fortune on food, either. Little children are much more interested in the party games than the food, so a few sandwiches, crisps, the trusty jelly and ice cream and the birthday cake will keep them happy.

If you have a little more time on your hands, you can make a hedgehog using half a cabbage wrapped in foil and sticking cocktail sticks in it with sausages or cheese and pineapple.

You can also make pinwheel sandwiches by rolling

the sandwiches into thin circles or make a chequered flag using squares of alternating brown and white bread. Older children may well have outgrown the joys of pass the parcel but can still feel happy to have a party at home.

If you have a strong constitution and can turn a blind eye to lots of mess and noise, a sleepover involving one or two close friends can be a fun way for children to spend their birthday.

Ironically not much sleep is likely to take place so make sure sleepover parties take place on Friday or Saturday night so there is time to play catch up.

For a girly sleepover, you could organise an artistic friend to do their hair and make-up for them or, for boys, a football tournament in the garden will burn off excess energy. For the birth-

day tea, provide them with some pizza bases that they can decorate themselves, add some garlic bread and oven chips and some corn to pop in the microwave and you have the perfect, easy solution.

If the idea of a party at home has you reaching for the valium, what about a barbecue or picnic at the local beach or park with your child´s classmates?

Bring along a swingball, some racquets and shuttlecocks or rounders equipment and they will have a great time. Alternatively, arrange an ‘It´s a Knockout’ tournament. You will be surprised how little equipment you need to make an obstacle race. Add a few balloons to pass over and under your legs and an orange to pass under your chin - before you know it you will have a tournament on a grand scale.

Visit our display at the Indoor British Market/Auction Room at Formentera.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

THIS WEEK IN

£27bn clean-up bill Boy rioter, 11, for Hurricane Irene was already on arson rap

A DEVASTATED dad comforts his weeping daughter on wooden steps rising from the sea – all that remains of their cottage swept away by Hurricane Irene.

The pair were among millions of Americans hit by the 500-mile-wide wave of destruction that has caused at least £27billion of damage.

Billy Stinson’s family home on Albemarle Sound at Nags Head, North Carolina, was 108 years old and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

His daughter Erin said through her tears: “We pretended, just for a moment, the cottage was still behind us and we were sitting there watching the sunset.”

Irene began as a hurricane as it swept north up the eastern US seaboard from the Carolinas to the New England states.

It was downgraded to a tropical then a post-tropical storm – but was still so powerful it left at least 21 dead in its wake, flooded communities and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.

The storm moved into

The Sun

Daily Mirror Canada after knocking out electricity supplies to five million US homes. President Obama warned: “This is not over yet. This storm’s impacts will be felt for some time and the recovery effort will last weeks or longer.”

He said there was a risk of yet more power cuts, and also flooding as swollen rivers threaten to burst their banks.

One of the worst-affected states was Vermont, where

officials called the deluge its biggest natural disaster since 1927.

Many of its historic covered bridges were washed away along with roads, and Governor Peter Shumlin predicted further damage to come. “The bigger rivers haven’t crested yet because the smaller brooks feed into them,” he said. “That means even more flooding.”

Householders, hospital patients and nursing home

AN 11-year-old lout was sentenced for arson and criminal damage five days before getting caught up in the riots that rocked England, a court heard this week.

The lad from Romford in Essex is the youngest rioter in London to face prosecution, according to Scotland Yard.

He was spared detention and given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order at Havering Magistrates' Court in Essex on Tuesdayafter admitting burglary.

He stole a £50 bin after a group of males smashed windows at a Debenhams store in Romford, causing £6,000worth of damage.

The court heard that just five days before the offence, he was given a referral order for arson, criminal damage and carrying a pointed instrument in an unrelated incident.

Passing sentence, District Judge John Woollard said: residents had to be "You seem to think that nobody can stop the way you behave." evacuated to safer ground as The lad had previously cut the seats of a bus with a every single Vermont craft knife and tried to set fire to the exposed foam on emergency worker was July 18. called up to help.

When the driver would not let him off, the 11-year-old But officials said conditions threw a stone at the exit door of the route 174 bus, and were so terrifying that some then kicked a hole in the shattered glass so that he of the helpers had to turn could jump out while the bus was still moving. back and abandon their resThe district judge said the boy, who sat in court next cue attempts. At one time to his mother, had been involved in a "major disorder" every road in the state just days after appearing before magistrates. except two interstates was He said: "My view is that the offence is a very serious closed by flooding. one. If you were a little older, you would be ending up in Airlines resumed full prison, you would be looked after there rather than elseschedules after US airports where. forced to close by Irene final"You need to understand very clearly that you can't get away with committing offences of this nature." ly reopened.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

THE UK PRESS

CHE’S MOTORBIKE PARTNER DIES AGED 88

Daily Mail

Hospital’s ‘mistake’ leaves teenager paralysed for life The Sun

GREAT-GREAT grandmother Dorothy Affleck (above) has become the oldest person in Britain to undergo surgery for breast cancer - just before her 100th birthday.

She was diagnosed with the disease last summer and underwent an operation to remove the tumour at Tameside Hospital.

Mrs Affleck, a retired hairdresser and former dancer from Hyde, Greater Manchester, has recovered well and was able to celebrate her centenary in March.

Because of her age, she had to have the twohour operation last August under local anaesthetic instead of the more commonly used general anaesthetic.

But her surgeon, Pardeep Arora, was confident she would be strong enough to survive surgery so gave the procedure the green light.

Mrs Affleck said: ‘When I was told "you've got cancer", I couldn't believe it. I was horrified.

But Mr Arora was absolutely marvellous.’’

A HOSPITAL has finally apologised after a blunder left a pretty schoolgirl paralysed from the waist down.

Bright and fun-loving SophieTyler was just 14 when medical staff made a mistake during a routine op which means she will never walk again.

An anaesthetic needle put in her spine as an epidural was left there for TWO DAYS when she went into hospital to have her gallstones removed.

It wasn't until Sophie complained of numbness to her legs that it was removed, but the damage had been done.

An MRI scan showed the anaesthetic had damaged the membranes and paralysed her from the waist down.

Sophie, now 17, is confined to a wheelchair for life and has been told there is no hope of her regaining the use of her legs.

Birmingham Children's Hospital has now admitted liability and a compensation settlement is being negotiated for the teenager, of Risca, near Newport, South Wales.

Her mum Sue, 44, said: "From being an

outgoing teenager her life has altered overnight and we have all had to come to terms with what has happened.

"Sophie is still taking her A-levels and hopes to then go to university.

"But to do so she has had to be very determined and needs a lot of support to enable her to achieve her goals."

Family solicitor Tim Deeming said: "Other than suffering from gallstones, Sophie was a very healthy and active young girl.

"She and her family put their trust in the hospital and believed that within a few days she would be on the road to recovery.

"At the age of 14 to be told the news that you will never walk again is unimaginable.

"Then to discover that there were mistakes which were entirely avoidable has been incredibly hard for them to cope with."

LEEDS TOWER BLOCK PLUNGE: TWO DIE TWO people have died falling from a tower block moments after cops entered their flat.

Police confirmed that a man, 23, and a woman, 20, died in the Wortley area of Leeds at around 4am on Wednesday.

Witnesses said they fell from the 12th floor of the 16-storey block.

Second floor resident Jason Small said he saw the man and woman hit the ground under his window.

Mr Small described how he had been woken up by a disturbance. He said: "I just heard some screaming and

The Sun

carrying on.It woke me up and I've gone to window. It all went quiet then I heard some more carrying-on. As I looked over towards my mates I've heard a scream and then two bodies landing on the floor. It was horrible."

Mr Small said the man clearly died instantly but police and paramedics treated the woman at the scene for about 20 minutes. He said: "I've seen them about but I don't know them."

A policeman said the Independent

Police Complaints Commission had been informed because of the involvement of the officers immediately before the deaths.

The spokesman said: "At 4.08am today, police received a call from a flat that made them concerned for the welfare of the two occupants.

"A short time later, officers entered the property and a 20-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man fell from two windows to the ground below. ‘’Attempts were made to resuscitate them but they were both pronounced dead at the scene.

22

Friday, September 2, 2011

23

Friday, September 2, 2011

RICHARD CAVENDER

Bluemoon Solutions www.bluemoonsolutions.es

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

Richard moved to Spain four years ago having left his management background behind in the UK and decided to use his IT skills to help home users and small businesses with their PC problems. Now a relaxed 'computer man' he is out and about in the Spanish sun every day, making house and shop calls and using his vast experience and qualifications to (usually) sort out the problem there and then.

Computers are his hobby as well as his work so don’t be surprised to get an answer to your email in the early hours!

ADVICE: Michael was experiencing problems with a slow ADVICE: Patricia wanted to know how to get hold of her and crashing web browser.

Gmail password.

Hello Richard, I wonder if you can shed any light as to why I keep getting problems with some of my internet pages. I have a system supplied by a company in Gran Alacant, along with my T.V. that uses a small receiving dish as opposed to a fixed line.

This is then via a cable to the computer as opposed to a router. The icon tells me that the speed is 100mbps.

Over the last 2/3 weeks some of the pages I try to access either take a long time, 10 minutes + to load or will not load at all, followed by the message `this programme is not responding`. The only way forward then is to shut down the computer and start again, which is very annoying as it can happen very frequently.

Some pages load as normal and in a short time.

I do know I have some things that do not help matters, such as I have only 250 RAM memory, and the machine runs a bit hot in this climate, but that as always been the case and the problems are only new, so I don`t think that can be too much of an issue. I did have a new heat sink fitted last year and so think the heat problem is purely down to the outside weather. I would appreciate any suggestions as to the cause of this you may have, regards Michael.

Q

A

Hi Michael, thanks for taking the time to email me with your question, firstly let me point out that the “speed” that you are seeing (100mbps) is the maximum speed that is possible between your computer and the router (the thing at the end of the cable that your computer is plugged into, probably nestling close to the dish on your roof) it is not the speed of your Internet connection.

I suspect that your problems are not related to your Internet connection but rather to your computer’s specification as 256Mb of RAM is pretty low even for Windows XP (which I assume you have?) The absolute minimum requirement for Windows XP is 64Mb of RAM, however its generally accepted that nowadays even 256Mb of RAM is too little to run all of the modern applications that we use.

It’s impossible to be sure without seeing first hand however I suspect that you don’t have sufficient RAM installed and therefore your computer is creating and using its page file (virtual memory) - do you get messages on the screen saying that your system is running low on virtual memory?)

It’s probably more likely that your “program is not responding” error messages are related to either this or perhaps in addition your computer needs a bit of a ‘clean up’.

Q

Hola Richard, I need to access emails when out of Spain. How can I find out my Gmail password? Gracias Patricia

With regards to getting hold of your Gmail password, you will need to visit the web page https://www.google.co.uk/accounts/recovery and enter your email address; a password reset form will then be emailed to you. I am assuming that you receive your email via some sort of email client (outlook express or Windows mail), in which case once you receive and complete the password reset form you will need to enter the new password that you have created into your email client to enable it to continue to work – or simply access your emails online at www.gmail.com

A

ADVICE: Ray was having trouble getting the pictures from his BlueTooth enabled mobile phone.

Hi. Hoping you can help me I have a Toshiba Laptop with Bluetooth I cannot get it to recognise my phone or if it does my phone doesn't recognise the computer I have tried with Dongle that says it works with Vista plus another one that includes a Disc, but I just cannot get Photos from my Phones to the Computer. Hoping you can help. Thanks in anticipation. Regards Ray

Q A

Hi Ray, it “sounds” like you are missing the software that is specific to your phone?

I.e. Nokia PC Suite for a Nokia phone? Have you “paired” your phone and your “blutoothed” PC already? If you have then do a search on your phones manufacturers website for your phone’s computer software and you should be home and dry.

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

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

Office: 902 906 200

24

Friday, September 2, 2011

KNOBBLY LUVVERLY!

Using not-so-pretty produce helps to prevent food waste. These knobbly vegetable recipes have been made using weird and wonderful (but just as tasty) items...

Warm roast vegetable salad with hazelnuts and rose harissa

This wintry recipe is a delight for hungry vegetarians, while meat eaters will embrace it as a sexy side dish.

Ingredients 100g blanched hazelnuts 250g parsnips 250g carrots 350g beetroot 400g potatoes 250g turnips 4 large salad onions or a bunch of spring onions 12 fresh bay leaves 2 tbsp rose harissa (we like Belazu) 6 tbsp olive oil 1 lemon 2 garlic bulbs 200ml sour cream or crème fraîche 130g watercress

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Tip the hazelnuts into a baking tray and roast in the oven for 5-6 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool, then crush well in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or whizz in a food processor until finely chopped. Set aside.

2. Scrub the vegetables well (no need to peel them). Trim, top and tail, then remove any stringy bits. Halve the carrots and parsnips lengthways and chop all of the veg into even-sized 5cm chunks. Tip into a large roasting tin. Slice the onions in half lengthways (or trim the spring onions), then add to the tin with the bay leaves, harissa

and oil. Squeeze over the juice from the lemon, season well with salt and ground black pepper, then toss together well. Cut the garlic across the middle (horizontally) and add to the veg along with the squeezed lemon halves.

3. Roast the vegetables for 50 minutes to 1 hour until tender and nicely golden, turning occasionally.

4. Remove the lemon halves and carefully

squeeze the soft lemon flesh into a small bowl. Squeeze the garlic flesh out of the papery skins of one of the bulbs, then mash together well with the lemon flesh. Stir in the sour cream and season.

5. Squeeze out the remaining garlic cloves from their skins and stir back into the vegetables with the hazelnuts. Serve the vegetables with a clump of watercress and a spoonful of the lemon and roast garlic sour cream.

Crumbed carrots with frothy mint and lemon hollandaise Ingredients 500g carrots, scrubbed well 200g fresh breadcrumbs 3 tbsp black onion seeds (nigella) 50g unsweetened desiccated coconut 2 large free-range eggs Plain flour for dusting

For the sauce 1 lemon 375g unsalted butter 5 fresh mint sprigs, leaves picked 1 tsp white peppercorns, lightly crushed 2 shallots, finely chopped 3 large free-range eggs, separated Groundnut oil for deep frying

Method 1. Start making the sauce. Using a vegetable peeler, pare off 4 strips of lemon zest into a small saucepan. Add the butter and mint leaves and heat gently until the butter melts.

Boil for a minute or two, then remove from the heat. Cover and set aside to infuse for at least an hour, but ideally for 2-3 hours (keep it in a warm place – you don’t want it to solidify).

2. Break off any knobbly bits of carrot and chop any larger chunks into finger-size pieces. Tip the breadcrumbs onto a large tray. Sprinkle in the black onion seeds and coconut and mix together well.

3. Beat the whole eggs in a shallow dish with a fork. Tip a little flour onto a large plate and season with salt and pepper. Roll each carrot piece in the flour, then dip into the beaten egg. Shake off any excess, then coat evenly in the crumb mixture. Set aside on a tray until ready to cook.

4. Finish the sauce. Take the lemon you used earlier, halve and squeeze it into a small pan. Add 2 tbsp water, the pepper-

corns and shallot, then boil until only 1 tbsp liquid remains. Strain the liquid, while still warm, through a fine sieve into a bowl set over a pan of hot (not boiling) water.

5. Add the egg yolks and whisk well to combine. Continue whisking and add the lemony clarified butter in a thin, steady stream (being sure to leave the sediment that may have settled at the bottom of the pan, as well as the lemon rind and mint) until the butter has been used and the hollandaise is thick and glossy. If it is very thick, whisk in 1 tbsp hot water. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

6. Meanwhile, heat the groundnut oil in a large deep pan, wok or deep fat fryer to 180°C (a small cube of bread will turn brown in 1 minute). Deep-fry the crumbed carrots in batches for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.

7. In a large bowl, whisk 2 of the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir a third of them into the hollandaise, then carefully fold in the rest. Serve immediately with the carrot fingers.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Garlic and ginger vegetable dauphinoise Ingredients 4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole 200ml whole milk 450ml double cream 1 knob of preserved ginger in syrup 500g parsnips 350g carrots 350g beetroot

Method 1. Put the garlic in a small pan of boiling water, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until very tender.

Remove and crush to a purée in a pestle and mortar, or press through a fine sieve, then add to a pan with the milk

and cream. Chop the ginger finely and add to the pan. Season well, bring just to the boil, then remove from the heat.

2.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3. Scrub the veg well (no need to peel), then slice very thinly (a mandoline is best for this) into a large bowl. Toss to mix and spoon half into a 1½ litre ovenproof dish. Pour over half the gingery, garlicky cream mixture. Top with the remaining vegetables and the rest of the cream, then press the veg down with the back of a spatula. The cream should come to just under the top of the veg.

3. Bake for 1½-2 hours, pressing the vegetables down gently once or twice.

The cream will be absorbed gradually.

Test the vegetables with a knife to check when they are tender. When cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes, then serve.

Pot roast vegetables in red wine

Ingredients 500g carrots 500g beetroot 4 tbsp olive oil 1½ tbsp coriander seeds, crushed well Small handful of fresh thyme sprigs 150ml red wine Large handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

the beetroot, then chop the carrots and beetroot into 4cm chunks.

2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan (big

Method 1. Scrub the carrots (no need to peel) and beetroot well, trim, top and tail them and cut off any stringy bits. Peel

enough to fit the vegetables in an almost single layer) over a moderate heat. Add the beetroot, carrot, coriander seeds and thyme sprigs. Season, then cook, turning the veg regularly, for 8-10 minutes.

3. Add the red wine and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and simmer gently, shaking the pan occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

4. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped fresh coriander. Cover and leave for 5 minutes, then serve.

Grilled spring onions with cottage cheese Ingredients

Method

250g cottage cheese 2 bunches spring onions Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling 1 small cucumber 1 small cos lettuce or 2 Little Gem, washed and roughly shredded 1 bunch small radishes A dozen or so whole mint leaves

1. Drain the cottage cheese in a sieve to get rid of any excess whey.

2. Meanwhile, trim the spring onions of any wilted greens. Heat a frying pan or griddle and dry-fry them for about 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Set aside on a plate.

3. Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Season well and set aside.

For the dressing

Juice of 1 lemon (plus a little zest) 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 tsp Dijon mustard

4. Peel and halve the cucumber lengthways. Run a teaspoon along the seed cavity to remove the seeds and discard. Finely slice the cucumber, then toss togeth-

er with the lettuce, radishes, spring onions, mint and dressing.

Scatter the cottage cheese curds over the salad to serve.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

HOW TO TREAT AND PREVENT SUNBURN THE sun warms you, relaxes you, brightens your mood. But get too much, and you could end up with an agonising burn.

You can blame a tootanned hide on Old Sol's ultraviolet (UV) rays. They destroy cells in the outer layer of your skin and damage tiny blood vessels just below the surface. This produces the redness, swelling, and pain that you normally think of when you hear the word sunburn.

While the inflammation subsides with time, a sunburn does have long-term effects.

A burn is an injury to your skin, and the damage from it is cumulative. Repeated overexposure to the sun erodes elastic fibers in your skin, causing wrinkles.

Even more serious, it could set the stage for skin cancer. Here are some tips that you can consider to adopt to ease your pain.

1. Safeguard Your Skin

TO prevent another burn, always wear sunscreen when you head outdoors. It is recommended to have a product with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. Apply it ½ hour to 1 hour before you go out so it can soak in, and take it with you so you can reapply it. This goes for waterproof sunscreen too. If you perspire or go in for a swim, some of the sunscreen's effectiveness will be lost. No product is absolutely waterproof.

THE proper attire can protect your skin from the sun's UV rays. Tight-knit fabrics work especially well. But be sure to keep your clothing dry. If it is wet, about 50 percent of the UV rays will filter through.

5. Coat It With Cream

ONE percent hydrocortisone cream, available over the counter, helps to relieve sunburn pain. Use it directly on the affected area three or four times a day.

And don't wash it off; just leave it on and keep reapplying it.

For added benefit, it is recommended to first apply the cream and then place a cool compress over the top.

6. Bathe With Care

2. Read The Label

3. Put It In Neutral

SOME ointments intended for sunburn relief contain allergy-causing ingredients.

Skin that is inflamed is more susceptible to an allergic reaction.

It affects only a small number of people, but when you have sunburn, you don't want to experience an allergic reaction besides.

If you are allergic-prone, you may want to ask your doctor or pharmacist to recommend a product.

A COLD compress helps neutralize sunburn. To make the compress, dip a washcloth or towel in cool tap water, wring it out, and lay it on your skin. As the water evaporates, it has a cooling effect, which helps control the burning and pain. It is recommended a ½ hour application two or three times a day.

4. Wear Added Protection

TO cleanse sunburned skin, use relatively cool water and a mild hypoallergenic soap such as Cetaphil or Oilatum. Don't scrub your skin or use a washcloth.

And if you take a shower, aim the spray away from the affected area.

THE prostate gland is an organ of the male reproductive and urinary system, found at the base of the urinary bladder. It is made of two semicircular lobes (left and right), that encircle the urethra, which is the tube that carries urine from the bladder and down through the penis. It is normally rubbery and smooth, and its size can be anywhere from a walnut to a small apple.

The prostate gland has two main functions. Because it surrounds the urethra, its muscle fibres squeeze the urethra during urination, and help control the flow of urine. Its second function is the production of alkaline fluid which nourishes sperm cells, and is estimated to constitute 80% of the fluid released during ejaculation.

The prostate gland undergoes two main growth spurts. At birth, the prostate is small, about the size of a grain of wheat. It remains the same until around puberty, when, fuelled by the sex hormones produced by the testicles; it begins to increase in size and continues until the age of 21.

It remains the same in size until about the age of 40 when it begins to grow again due to hormonal changes occurring, and in some cases can grow to a very large size. This is called benign prostate Hyperplasia (BPH).

Due to the slow progression of growth after 40, most men do not notice any symptoms of BPH until they are older, and the prostate gland has grown to such a size that it affects the flow of urine. Because the prostate surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine down through the penis, enlargement can

7. Pop A Pain Reliever BOTH ibuprofen and aspirin can ease the pain and inflammation of a mild sunburn. A more severe burn may require a prescriptionstrength anti-inflammatory or corticosteroid.

These can have gastrointestinal side effects, though.

Ask your doctor about them.

You’ll feel really special at Medaesthetics KAREN & DAVID have been working and building a successful beautiful hairdressing salon at Medaesthetics in Punta Prima.

London-trained at Toni & Guy, they give their customers one-to-one time, encouraging them to look and try different styles. They

Facts about the Prostate gland

have fantastic Italian colours, with precision cutting techniques. They also have the most up-to-date protein and keratin hair straightening that doesn’t react to salt so you can swim in the sea!

The Medaesthetics salon has a lovely top terrace where you can sit and enjoy a glass of sparkling wine or iced water.

They also have a full range of other treatments and procedures available including; Cosmetic Surgery, Dermal Fillers, Botox, Dermaroller, Permanent Hair Reduction IPL Laser, Semi Permanent Make Up, a full range of Beauty treatments, Acupuncture, Physiotherapy and CACI.

cause problems with urination. The effect is similar to squeezing a garden hose to decrease or alter the flow of water through it. The most common symptoms of BPH include urinating more often than normal (frequency), having a sensation that you need to urinate immediately (urgency), difficulty starting the urine stream ( hesitancy ), and getting up to urinate multiple times during the night (nocturia).

Other problems that occur with the prostate include prostatitis, which is the inflammation of the prostate gland, and cancer of the prostate. Unlike BPH, prostatitis can affect men at any age, and in most cases its cause is unknown. Symptoms include difficult or painful urination, frequent urination and fever. If caused by bacteria, it is easily treated with antibiotics.

Prostate cancer develops when a part of the prostate continues to grow non-stop, and in the process becomes a tumour. Its symptoms are very similar to BPH; in fact all three common problems of the prostate BPH, prostatitis, and prostate cancer can have very similar presentations, but can easily be told apart after medical examination and diagnostics.

Prostate cancer and BPH can be successfully treated by medical or surgical intervention; however there are steps that can be taken to prevent their occurrence.

Exercise has been shown to help by balancing the hormones, and preventing obesity. Evidence has also shown that a diet rich in Vitamin D, essential fatty acids: omega-3 and omega-6, and selenium (an antioxidant found in Brazil nuts, seafood, onions, asparagus), protect the body against cancer by combating cellular damage. This is probably why Mediterranean men have a much lower incidence of prostate cancer, and is believed to be down to diet!

Please send your queries to Dr. Machi Mannu, neurorep@gmail.com.

Friday, September 2, 2011

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Friday, September 2, 2011

5 CHEAP-TO-INSURE CARS WHETHER you’re a new driver or an older person looking to save money, any of these cars will be suitable for you. Even if you’re the motorist looking to save a few bob, then you won’t go wrong with these. This is not least because not only are these cars cheap to insure, but they all have relatively small (and economical) engines. So, without further ado, let’sa look at the five.

meaning that there’s actually quite a bit of room inside.

Going for the 1.2 litre will see you getting almost 50mpg, something that you won’t see from many other engines.

NISSAN MICRA Granted, this car will probably be the least popular in this review. Why is that? Well, the perky little car is what a huge

SKODA FABIA Don’t listen to those who are still telling the same old badge jokes. In fact, poke them in the eye and tell them they are about ten years behind the times. Since VW took over Skoda way back in 1991, things have got better and better.

The Fabia is based on the V Polo and is extremely reliable, hardwearing and very safe. The 1.2 litre Classic is insursance group one – that fact’s sure to make your wallet fatter.

FORD FIESTA

This is a car that has been around for about 30 years now – which must tell you something. Granted, there are so many superminis out there now that the Fiesta can look a bit of an oldie (not least because the design has never really been altered that much) but it is a testament to the quality that so many are still going. The newer and younger models however are really geared for the modern generation and feature such additions as Bluetooth and new-design alloys. Why get it? Well the 1.25 litre version is a group two and will give you about 45mpg. You can chuck it in corners and it’ll give you a smile. With that in mind, what’s not to love?

number of people learn to drive in every year. However, the modern Micra is actually a damn good car. You’ll get keyless entry, parking sensors, air con and many other perks you wouldn’t necessarily expect. Overall, it’s a really good car and it won’t cost the Earth to run.

FIAT PUNTO RENAULT CLIO The third generation of the supermini is a modern classic in many ways and the quality certainly goes some way to explaining why you see them just about everywhere. The way in which the internal space is handled is very clever,

There is a large number of this particular Italian supermini on the road and for good reason. It enjoys being revved. It really is that simple. Much like James May said in his review of the Fiat 500, these Italian cars are made to be lit up by pushing the revometer until the valves have “jumped up and are dancing on the bonnet”. It is one of the more involving cars here. Not only that, but even the 1.3 litre sporting will see you managing to get very reasonable insurance quotes.

Conclusion You’ll have seen that there’s a trend in these ‘cheap to insure’ cars – and that is the fact that they are pretty much exclusively superminis with small engines. There’s nothing wrong with that, in fact they can offer a great drive along with frugal performance. So, for a change, let’s all hail these little metal marvels of money saving.

Friday, September 2, 2011

HOLIDAYMAKERS ARE DITCHING HIRE CARS THE ECONOMIC climate is starting to affect holiday car rentals, with many people preferring to drink rather than drive on their break, a new study shows.

Research among more than 1,000 adults revealed that one in three will not even consider hiring a car on their next trip abroad, with one in 10 just wanting to "flop" and 6% aiming to enjoy sun rather than culture.

The study by price comparison website Kelkoo showed that one in five people hired a car on their last holiday, with twice as many using public transport and 19% opting for organised tours.

More than two-thirds of those questioned said they drank alcohol every day on their last holiday abroad.

Chris Nixon, managing director of Kelkoo Travel, said: "The current economic climate has hit the holiday industry hard and this has had a knock-on effect on car rental.

"With car hire prices dropping for the first time in four years, holidaymakers who are looking closely at their budgets may find that they can pocket some significant savings by choosing this option rather than relying on organised tours or taxis when they next go abroad.

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OPEN A WINDOW AND SAVE ON FUEL

CAR drivers who turn off their car’s air con at low speeds and open a window instead can improve engine efficiency and fuel economy by up to 20%, it is now claimed.

Tests by BP proved that using the air con at normal city centre speeds reduced engine efficiency by 20.4%.

Over 12,000 miles, this equates to an additional fuel spend of £1,376.

Andrea Abrahams from BP Target Neutral said: ‘If you’re crawling along in a motorway or A-road jam, or driving through town, turning off the aircon and letting the fresh air in naturally can have a big impact on your fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.’

Of course, the theory does not hold true for higher-speed motoring. Opening a car

window at speed has a disastrous effect on aerodynamics, and can easily outweigh the effect air con has on overall efficiency.

This is not a factor at slower speeds, though. The big question is, will YOU be prepared to put up with a hot and sticky car in return for saving on fuel? The windows-down advice is sound in theory, but will it be so welcome in practice?

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Friday, September 2, 2011

Casa Ventura: A lot to fuss about!

This week I called in to see the guys down at Casa Ventura in San Luis. I keep hearing about this hidden gem tucked away at the back of the urbanisation, so wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It was well worth the visit. This has got to be the place for entertainment in the area. It really has everything you could want – and more than you could imagine.

It has been owned by Vic Slater for 12 years and he has put together a great team, with Kevin as manager and even Paul from the 118 TV ads working behind the bar – well he was until they made him shave his moustache off!

Casa Ventura is a hub for live entertainment.

It regularly hosts the Jukebox Legends, featuring giants of the jukebox age. Cliff and Elvis will be the next legends to take to Casa Ventura’s stage – September 23rd, tickets €7.50 from the bar.

For music quiz buffs, Casa Ventura is the place to be on Sunday afternoons when they hold a free music quiz with loads of great prizes up for grabs.

But Casa Ventura is so much more than just a bar. It has a huge swimming pool where you can splash around or lounge on sunbeds from 10am to 8pm for just €5, adults, or €3, children. You don’t even need to go inside if you fancy a cooling drink as there is a handy outside bar.

The venue also boasts the best bowling green in the area, a full size pool table, skittles, table tennis and crazy golf. Fitness fans, or those who aspire to be, can choose from a range of classes including body conditioning, pilates, yoga, aqua aerobics and callanetics.

And it doesn’t stop there. Casa Ventura hosts many local groups and societies so you can pop along to join in some choral singing, try a bit of acting, shed a few kilos with Weight Watchers or protect your community with

Neighbourhood Watch. Even the local Royal British Legion has made this place home.

Then there’s the dancing – adult and children’s classes in ballroom, line dancing and tap. Casa Ventura is also home to the Dance Academy & Stage School, a professional school for children and young people from four to 19. The school offers lessons in ballet, tap, disco, hip hop, jive, street dancing, speech and drama, singing and modelling.

Students take exams with UK examiners and regularly perform in shows. They are even planning a performance at Benidorm Palace and maybe in London’s West End. Pop along to rehearsals on Mondays from 11am to 1.15pm or call 627 371 731 for details.

Away from Casa Ventura, don’t forget it’s the Thriller King of Pop show this Sunday – 4th September – at La Zenia Hotel.

The show’s selling out fast and all premium tickets have been snapped up but there are a few normal tickets left so hurry and reserve yours online at www.ticketplanner.es Whatever you have planned for this weekend make sure you have a great time.

Well, that’s me finished for another week. If you’re a bar owner or an entertainer and want to appear in the gig guide, or you have any events coming up that you would like me to tell everyone about, then please contact me by email at mandy@starsinbars.org, call me on 685 302 529, or just visit my website www.starsinbars.org

Mandy

DATE

VENUE

ACT/ EVENT

OTHER INFO

FRIDAY 2nd

Celtic Drop in Playa Flamenca El Mundo in Benimar Inn at the Green in Entre Naranjos Arches in Los Alcazares Dos Chicas in Torrevieja Hillside in La Marina

Cabaroke with Davy Jones Lynden B Debbie Slater Jimmy Mac Jukebox Legends X2

Starting at 10pm Comedy Elvis Show

SATURDAY 3rd

Celtic Drop in Playa Flamenca Inn at the Green in Entre Naranjos Arches in Los Alcazares Diablo’s in Cabo Roig Lodosol in San Pedro Vista Bella Golf in Entre Naranjos La Roca in Balsicas Bar Sioux in Gran Alacant

Cabaroke with Davy Jones Lynden B Tony Lincoln Kids Disco/ Magician / DJ Jay Jukebox Legends It takes Two Stars & Stripes Mark Bailey

Starting at 10pm Comedy Show

Snug in Torre de la Horredada Inn at the Green in Entre Naranjos Casa Ventura in San Luis Diablo’s in Cabo Roig Lo Marabu in Dona Pepa

Steve Finn Cabaroke with Matt Christian Fun Music Quiz with Lynden B DJ Jay Karaoke Bobby Dazzler’s Karaoke

MONDAY 5th

Diablo’s in Cabo Roig

D.J Jay

TUESDAY 6th

Inn at the Green in Entre Naranjos Bar Rosa in Los Montesinos Arches in Los Alcazares Diablo’s in Cabo Roig Bills Bar in Los Dolses

Kens Quiz Quiz night with Darren James Karaoke with Ruby Blues Karaoke with D.J Jay Lynden B

Starting at 9pm

Inn at the Green in Entre Naranjos Montes Bar in Los Montesinos Restaurant La Boca in Playa Los Locos Arches in Los Alcazares Diablo’s in Cabo Roig Bar Sioux in Gran Alacant Inn at the green in Entre Naranjos

Crazy Bingo with Spike Fun Music Quiz B.J Bluesman Pat Martin Magician & D.J Jay Emily Hullmann Karaoke with Darren Jones

Starting at 4pm Starting at 9pm

Inn at the Green in Entre Naranjos Sisoma Romana in Dona Pepa The Priory in El Galan Bobby’s Bar in Quesada Alejandro’s Restaurant in La Zenia

Fun Music Quiz with Lynden B Tony Lincoln Lenny Mitchell Bobby Dazzler’s Karaoke It Takes Two

SUNDAY 4th

WEDNESDAY 7th

THURSDAY 8th

Starting at 8pm Starting at 8.30pm Elvis & Tina Turner Tribute Michael Buble Tribute

Starting at 5pm Starting at 6pm

Starting at 8.30pm Comedy Show

Starting at 10pm

Starting at 9.30pm Starting at 8.30pm

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Friday, September 2, 2011

HOT GOSSIP

FUN IN THE SUN

Here at the TKO Towers this week we are still managing to have FUN IN THE SUN. It has been buzzing with activity as we continue to make TKO bigger and better. This week we gave away a mobile phone courtesy of Lumsden Auctions on TKO fm.

Lumsden Auctions auctioneers have over 28 years experience specialising in the disposal of commercial assets on behalf of a vast range of clients including Sole Traders, Corporates, Bailiffs, Liquidators, & Government Bodies. You can find them at The British indoor market in Formentura and you can find out more from their website www.lumsdenauctions.com.

It´s a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, not only is it fun, but you’re guaranteed to pick yourself up a bargin as well.

We continue our road shows through September, so look out for our TKO Rig and DJs at charity events

many more features to choose from.

Whatever your budget we can fit you in somewhere.

One of our customers who benefit hugely from advertising on TKO is Property Choice. Property Choice has sold over 70% of their properties that are advertised on TKO. So if you have

and don’t forget if you would like to hire our rig all you need to do is to contact us here at The Towers. Also make sure to tune into the Costa Blanca’s number one radio station ´TKO fm, for the very best tunes by the best artists from rock to soul, electronica to modern Chill out music and everything in-between. TKO is the perfect way to get you through your busy day, whether you are at work or play, with a fantastic selection of sounds that will be guaranteed to get you singing out loud!

If you need to get your business and your brand identified you need to be advertising on TKO, you can do that in many different ways from sponsoring a show to the weekly power play or the news and

FUTURE GOLD On TKO Gold we play a wide range of music from the 50s to the present day with community news, features, competitions and of course great music that will bring those memories flooding back. Hours and hours of feel good music from across the decades from classic country to golden hits, with top quality presenters that entertain you every day.

This week our future gold track has been Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers with their song Gravity, on Gift Horse, their second album for Vanguard and fifth studio effort overall, Stephen Kellogg and his band mates— Kit “Goose” Karlson (keys, bass, vocals), Brian “Boots” Factor (drums, vocals) and Sam “Steamer” Getz (guitars, vocals)—bring the rich legacy of American rock & roll into the present tense.

This is thrilling music, muscular, immediate and life-embracing, steeped in tradition but addressing the present moment boldly and eloquently. Next week we will be delving into one of our TKO Gold DJs lives and seeing what they get up to when they’re not working on TKO Gold.

a house for sale, contact Property Choice on 966 111 970 and if you have a business that you need everybody to know about, just contact us here at the Towers. We can make you great adverts, from funny ones to more serious ones, depending on your business.

WIN A MEAL FOR TWO AND WINE AT QUESADA FISH & CHIPS POP QUIZ September 2 Welcome to the famous TKO Gold pop quiz! We sure did have some fun with last week’s questions. Let´s see if you can win yourself a meal for two at Quesada fish and chips.

All you have to do is take the first letter from each answer to find the name of a band or artist. Once you have found the key word listen in to Chris Ashley´s show on TKO Gold, Saturday mornings 9am – 12pm 1. Drummer with the Monkees.

2. She flowed up the Orinoco.

3. Lead guitarist and singer with legends Ten Years After.

4. They gave advice for the young of heart in 1990.

5. His girl friend was Bony Moronie.

6. First UK number one for The Big O. 7. Simon & Garfunkel and Razorlight sang about this country.

8. Yardbirds first major UK hit.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

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, 5 represents C and 6 represents L, when these letters have been entered throughout the puzzle, you should have enough information to start guessing words and discovering other letters.

QUICKIE

Across 1 Flagrant (7) 5 Oddity (5) 8 External (7) 9 Fruit (5) 10 Pulsate (5) 11 Own (7) 12 Harass (6) 14 Bother (6) 17 Backslide (7) 19 Jargon (5) 22 Surprise (5) 23 Understand (7) 24 Casts off (5) 25 Genuine (7)

Down 1 Encourage (5) 2 Thespian (5) 3 Affable (7) 4 Twits (6) 5 Disorder (5) 6 Inhibit (7) 7 Supervise (7) 12 Maybe (7) 13 Save (7) 15 Refrain (7) 16 Rubble (6) 18 Crush (5) 20 Similar (5) 21 Seabird (5)

Last weeks Solution Across: 1 Frantic, 5 Sects, 8 Intro, 9 Mariner, 10 Raspberry, 12 Ill, 13 Stolen, 14 Harass, 17 Tin, 18 Mausoleum, 20 Surface, 21 Hoard, 23 Yells, 24 Barista.

Down: 1 Friar, 2 Apt, 3 Trouble, 4 Camera, 5 Surly, 6 Candidate, 7 Surplus, 11 Scoundrel, 13 Satisfy, 15 Another, 16 Superb, 18 Meals, 19 Media, 22 Ass.

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

CRYTPIC CLUES Across 1 Valuable things Tessa’s sorted out (6) 4 Moved quickly and traded tentatively (6) 9 A plot of land or a vehicle to drive over it (7) 10 Clipped trees replaced (5) 11 Screen is back before the day before (5) 12 Cover ran back and score (7) 13 Squealer knits her pop a small jumper (11) 18 Australia began before it became bleak and forbidding (7) 20 Sample some of the pasta’s texture (5) 22 Ron is not actor Jeremy (5) 23 Good position for a servant, a gentleman found (7) 24 The man and two journalists paid attention (6) 25 A succulent primarily causes a child to use soap (6)

Down 1 Act as witness at critical trial (6) 2 Hades could be in semidarkness (5) 3 Del Boy’s family have no registered Rolls (7) 5 Service centre? (5) 6 Outdoor area where a caterer served up (7) 7 Fuel from Leeds I used (6) 8 The Parisians depart, apparently without permission (6,5) 14 Bring back from hardware store (7) 15 Favourite lady introduced single flower (7) 16 Breakfast treat for Hamlet? (6) 17 Cuts off perpetually in the ship (6) 19 The Spanish head of state, that is Doris’s sister (5) 21 It’s shrewd to reverse street cars (5)

STANDARD CLUES

Down 1 Prove (6) 2 Semi-darkness (5) 3 Staggers (7) 5 Communion table (5) 6 Veranda (7) 7 Type of fuel (6) 8 Departure without permission (6,5) 14 Renovate (7) 15 Garden flower (7) 16 Type of pastry (6) 17 Cuts off (6) 19 Girl’s name (5) 21 Clever (5)

Across 1 Possessions (6) 4 Dashed (6) 9 Farm vehicle (7) 10 Succinct (5) 11 Strainer (5) 12 Tell (7) 13 Plant-eating insect (11) 18 Stark (7) 20 Flavour (5) 22 Metal shackles (5) 23 Benefit (7) 24 Listened to (6) 25 Desert plant (6)

Last weeks Solution Across: 1 Opens, 4 Steals, 9 Set fair, 10 Apart, 11 Siam, 12 Teenage, 13 Cue, 14 Cope, 16 Toad, 18 Sly, 20 Respite, 21 Cent, 24 Arena, 25 Average, 26 Easier, 27 Treat.

Down: 1 Obsess, 2 Extra, 3 Swag, 5 Travesty, 6 Alabama, 7 Sateen, 8 Orate, 13 Celibate, 15 Oysters, 17 Grease, 18 Sedan, 19 Attest, 22 Evade, 23 Bent.

FILL IT IN

Complete the crossword grid by using the given words:

2 letter words Our To Pax Up Pea 3 letter words Sap Amp Sup Ant Tau Ate Tis Cue Tog Den Ups Doe Yap Due 4 letter words Emu Adam Fin Alas Ice Apex Ion Apse Its Aria Lea Arid Mot Aunt Nab Bras

Cape Dole Drag Euro Even Glee Lost Lull Luxe None Odds Omen Opal Pace Plea Pore Romp Slap Slim

5

6 7

8

Teen Tuna Ugly letter words Costs Sting Upset letter words Cellar Sesame letter words Explain Footpad Legatee Topless letter words Ravenous Seaplane

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

Across 1 También (además) (4) 3 Ghost (8) 9 Profesor (7) 10 Square (town) (5) 11 Perdedor (5) 12 Sound (6) 14 Pulir (cristal, metal, suelo) (6) 16 Towel (6) 19 Week (siete días) (6) 21 Gum (anatomical) (5) 24 To look at (5) 25 En contra de (7) 26 Reservado (8) 27 Room (large, public) (4)

Down 1 Antílope (8) 2 Cisnes (5) 4 A través de (6) 5 Plug (in bath, basin, barrel, for leak) (5) 6 Escándalo (tumulto) (7) 7 Abbot (4) 8 Tiburones (zoológico) (6) 13 Guarantee (8) 15 Hares (7) 17 Ears (6) 18 Passage (6) 20 To open (5) 22 Ribbon (5) 23 Love (of person) (4)

33

Friday, September 2, 2011 Across 1 What name is given to newspapers having pages half the size of those of the average broadsheet, typically popular in style and dominated by sensational stories? (8) 7/11 Which Welsh-born poet was the author of the ‘play for voices’ Under Milk Wood? (5,6) 8 From the Greek for ‘the many’, which phrase is often used to describe the common people generally? (3,6) 9 Which snake-like fish with a slender elongated body and poorly developed fins is renowned for its slipperiness? (3) 10 Which word means a feeling of strong eagerness, usually in favour of a person or cause? (4) 11 See 7 13 What name is given to a drill for cutting circular holes around a centre? (6) 14 Which word derived from the French for ‘again’, means an extra or repeated performance, usually given in response to audience demand? (6) 17 What word meaning to descend a rock face using a doubled rope coiled round the body and fixed at a higher point, comes from the German for ‘down’ and ‘rope’? (6) 18 See 23 20 In what type of popular music of US black origin are words recited rapidly and rhythmically over a pre-recorded, typically electronic instrumental backing? (3) 22 In computing, what name is given to a small picture of an image or page layout? (9) 23/18 What is the name of the first American woman to fly into outer space? (5,4) 24 What name was given to young people in the 1950s and

SUDOKU

Quiz Word

early 1960s belonging to a subculture associated with the beat generation? (8) Down 1 Which freshwater lake on the California-Nevada border takes its name from the Washo Indian word meaning ‘big

water’? (5) 2 What name is given to a subdivision of an army, typically consisting of a small number of infantry battalions and typically forming part of a division? (7) 3 Which slender woodwind instrument has a conical bore and a double-reed mouthpiece? (4) 4 Which ancient Greek city on the slopes of Mount Parnassus was the site of the Temple of Apollo? (6) 5 With what type of music would you principally associate Bessie Smith and Sonny Boy Williams? (5) 6 What name is given to an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct from the foreign territory that surrounds it? (7) 7 Singer/songwriter Noah Kaminsky is better known as Neil who? (7) 12 Which word means of or relating to a university, especially Oxford or Cambridge? (7) 13 What name is given to a female tiger? (7) 15 What name is given to the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes and figures? (7) 16 Which period of time is equal to 60 seconds or a 60th of an hour? (6) 17 New York is often referred to as the Big what? (5) 19 Ruth who was the last woman to be hanged in Britain?

(5) 21 What word means to encourage or assist someone to do something wrong, in particular to commit a crime or other offence? (4)

SALLY’S SIMPLE SPANISH INSECTOS – INSECTS Match these words with their Spanish translations then find them in the wordsearch.

(Answers below)

history QUIZ 1. In sailing ship days who often acted as the ship's doctor?

2. Where Was Thomas Becket Murdered?

3. In What Century Were The War Of The Roses Fought?

4. What food was invented in a sanatorium in 1890?

5. What does Humphry Davie, Michael Faraday,and Madam Curie?

6. Who was the first US citizen to have indoor plumbing installed?

7. Which Architect Designed The Whitehouse?

8. Which Roman Emperor was killed by an overdose of laxative?

9. In 1656, Christian Huygens invented what type of timekeeper?

10. Whaich US president was nicknamed Miss Nancy?

11. How did Attila the Hun die on his honeymoon?

12. Which Magician Was An Advisor To King Arthur?

13. In What Year Did Mikhail Gorbachev Become Leader Of The Soviet Union?

1. Cook 2. Canterbury Cathedral 3. 15th Century 4.

Kellogg's Corn Flakes 5. They were all poisoned by chemicals at work 6. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 7.

James Hoban 8. Nero, by an aunt 9. Pendulum clock 10.

James Buchanan 11. 30 day booze up 12. Merlin 13. 1985

ANSWERS

Last Week’s Solutions Code Cracker Last weeks Quiz Wordsolution Across:1 The Twist, 7 Brawn, 8 Irene Cara, 9 ABC, 10 Ebro, 11 Ben Hur, 13/16 Edward Teller, 14 Lawson, 17 Mosley, 18 Mall, 20 A-Ha, 22 Arlington, 23 Orion, 24 Brussels.

Down: 1 Tripe, 2 Eyebrow, 3 Whey, 4 Spacek, 5 Radar, 6 Unicorn, 7 Baghdad, 12 Tristan, 13 Equator, 15 Seattle, 17 Mafia, 19 Links, 21 INXS.

16. tarantula, 17. avispon, 18. garapata. a. grasshopper, b. cricket, c. tick, d. butterfly, e. flea, f. mosquito, g. moth, h. scorpion, i. lice,

ABSYHZVAXCOAQLE SLFGAQLXURBSLTU AC U MAAI C U C G O Y O I LPBTCRAGTUFPTIH TI S R N RATI U Q I RAM AJAIAAAP Y S U R S P Q MNACVGRGAQQAOIJ O J H B LAOAS T B M O O K NAUUEABOTHAQLJY TGPLMJMQVOBWLOC E M O S C AAT L R J T I R G SNOPSIVANMXLRKQ XWELKSULBIZVGGE LI B E LU LAJ G Q C Y DA YTDFKRVAHAHFJFY Soduko

Span - Eng

j. ant, k. tarantual, l. cockroach, m. fly, n. hornet wasp, o. dragon fly, p. ladybird, q. bee, r. wasp.

Answers: 1e, 2j, 3l, 4m, 5q, 6r, 7d, 8f, 9p, 10e, 11o, 12a, 13b.

14g, 15h, 16k, 17n, 18c.

1. pulga, 2. hormiga, 3. cucaracha, 4. mosca, 5. abeja, 6. avispa, 7. mariposa, 8. mosquito, 9. mariquita, 10. piojo, 11. libelula, 12. grillo, 13. saltamontes, 14. oruga, 15. alacran,

ABEJA

MARIPOSA

ALACRAN

MARIQUITA

AVISPA

MOSCA

AVISPON

MOSQUITO

CUCARACHA

ORUGA

GARAPATA

PIOJO

GRILLO

PULGA

HORMIGA

SALTAMONTES

LIBELULA

TARANTULA

Quizword

Fill It In

34

Friday, September 2, 2011

Horoscopes

By Pandora Aries March 21 - April 19 The way you feel is not necessary limited to what you eat and drink. You may also want to go for walks and conduct yourself properly at the table. Screaming loudly only serves to wake the neighbours. They'll only investigate once they're sure you're dead and the murderer has left the crime scene.

My son’s afraid of his ex-wife Dear Rose, My son divorced a year ago and has brought up his son alone since then. He has done a wonderful job and my grandson is a well-adjusted and happy child. His mother rarely contacts him and so he has got used to living without her.

My son is now in another relationship which is quite serious and although he has sole custody of his son he is still terrified of his ex-wife and is frightened that if she knows, she will try to get custody back.

I have told him this will be impossible as, since leaving my son, she was in another relationship from which she has a daughter. The child has now been taken into care as she has serious health problems and was not being cared for properly.

My son wants to move to Spain and start a new life for himself and his family. How can I convince him this will be fine?

JANICE, El Raso

l

Hi Janice, How lovely to hear your son’s commitment to his child. It is especially hard for men to bring up a youngster from both the working aspect and also the social one, as women tend to be more supportive of each other.

First, tell your son to seek the advice of the solicitor who dealt with the divorce and custody, as I am sure there is no cause for concern. Then tell him to notify the mother and inform her of the plans. Even though she will not be happy there will be nothing she can do legally.

When your grandson is a little older he will be able to make his own choice of

Taurus April 20 - May 20 "Hunky-dory" - a beautiful phrase that will sum up the day, week and month for you.

You see, it's just going to be tip-top from here-on-in and the smile on your face is going to bug the living hell out of everyone.

One of the things you've always liked about life is how seemingly lucky you are.

Gemini May 21 - June 20 If you never liked sprouts before, try them again. Your tastes may have changed.

Your worst fears may come to light today when you are shoved into a very small hole filled with sharks, insects, spiders, snaked and moths.

Cancer June 21 - July 22 Any deliveries you receive may turn out to be blessings in disguise this week. Watch out for incorrect addresses. Sleep deprevation can affect you negatively today, so ensure you murder all the dogs in your area for a guaranteed good night's kip.

If you have a problem Romany Rose can help you with, email her at office@thecourier.es

where he wants to live but until then he can continue to live in a loving environment with his father and grandparents for support.

Good luck to you all. your predicament. It's a bit like reading someone's diary and discovering things you really don't want to know.

You will have to tell your husband as this will not go Dear Rose, away and you will feel I am writing to you as I canworse and worse. not discuss this problem I know this is a very comwith my friends. mon problem (it does not Last week my husband make it any better for you) was out and left his com- but many men get a thrill puter running. I know I was from watching this type of wrong but curiosity over- thing and part of the took me and I wanted to excitement may be due to the fact it's a secret activisee what he was doing.

To my horror I discovered ty.

It really is no different he was accessing hardcore from buying smutty magapornographic sites and zines and as long as your material. I was shocked husband is not asking you and disgusted and physito do things you are cally felt sick. uncomfortable with, there I have not told him I know is no real harm done. as he would be so angry Tell your husband you with me. However, it's eat- are unhappy about his ing away at me. What obsession with other women but remember it is should I do? all in his imagination and MAUREEN, Dolores none of it is for real. If you can talk about it openly I Dear Maureen, I am am sure you will feel a lot very sorry to hear better. Best wishes.

My husband is into porn

l

My sister or Spain?

Dear Rose, I moved to Spain last year and am really enjoying my new life. The only thing is

that I have a seriously disabled sister who relies on me for both physical and mental help. She has a son who suffers from Aspergers syndrome and is very mentally unstable, and a 41-year-old daughter who is married but acts like a teenager and is no help to her mother.

I constantly feel how lucky I am compared to her and am back in the UK now as she is in hospital again.

I am due to return to Spain at the weekend and I don't know what I should do.

Should I stay or return home? I have a short holiday booked for the day after I return.

MELISSA, Campoverde

l

Well Melissa, this is a very difficult decision for me to help you with. I can understand your feelings of guilt but it really is not your fault that things have worked out as they have.

As long as your sister is recovering, you should come back to Spain now to go on your break - and her daughter will have to help more. If things deteriorate you would obviously return but you also have a life of your own so try to enjoy it. I hope things will improve soon for your sister.

Leo July 23 - August 22 You will be plagued by happy people, but don't be swayed by them, stay miserable.

Employee of the month awards carry a penalty - the penalty of ridicule.

Screaming seems to be on the agenda for you, too.

Virgo August 23 - September 22 Open all boxes with caution today. Some boxes may contain deadly surprises and traps. If you feel like you're struggling to go ahead with the rest of the world, sit down, relax and perhaps watch some day time television.

Libra September 23 - October 22 The word "Wobble" might mean something to you today that it simply hasn't meant before. The colour blue will give you cause for resentment today. Love may be in the air for one lucky person tonight. I'm talking world-wide here, not about you - UGLY!

Scorpio October 23 - November 21 Other people are not as crazy as you make them out to be. Regret can hurt you over a long period. Lament today, but tomorrow must be a day for anger and retribution. Can you be held responsible for everything you *don't* do? Who knows.

Sagittarius November 22 - December 21 A Turkish man or woman may delight you today in some manner. Chocolate desserts are your friend today. You are not the person you once were, try to reflect those changes in your general appearance and, please, smile for a change.

Capricorn December 22 - January 19 If you are extremely tired, you may find that you fall asleep at some point. Take your time over getting where you're going today. You're only going to have crappy things happen when you get there.

Aquarius January 20 - February 18 Day time television can motivate you to rethink the monotony of your life. You may decide to pep up your life by going on a short cookery course. "Have a good day!" is not something you'll want to hear from anyone as you suffer from a bottom related illness.

Pisces February 19 - March 20 Try to avoid challenging yourself today. You may find that you are ready for a fall.

Become as the rabbit. All will become clear as the moon begins its wane. Malicious gossip may reach your ears this week and cause a great deal of paranoia.

35

Friday, September 2, 2011

TRELI ON THE TELLY JUST MATT-TASTIC! ISN’T Matt Smith just fantastic as Doctor Who? The show returned to BBC1 on Saturday with a funny and frantic episode called ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’, penned by the programme’s boss, Steven Moffat.

The coverage has been excellent, led by the experienced commentator John Rawling, who brings major authority to the programming. Plus the honest and perceptive Michael Johnson is back after mysteriously disappearing from BBC screens.

I’ve known Rawling for a very long time as a colleague and as a friend, and that he very much fancied taking over David Coleman’s microphone when he retired from the BBC back in 2000. For whatever reason, it wasn’t to be, despite John’s Smith has real charisma in the fine pedigree as BBC Radio’s voice of athletics, but I suprole, with some wonderful facial pose it would be too much to ask for the Beeb to consider expressions, and the rest of the bringing him in for the Olympics next year? cast rise to his high standards. His Steve Cram, nice guy that he is, just isn’t in Rawling’s energy is matched in equal measure by Alex Kingston, who league. clearly revels in her role as River Song, and there’s plenty of Please can we have more of the grumpy doctor on BBC1’s fun to be had by the cast and viewers alike. classy drama was that this story picked up twice as many Casualty? I know that William Beck’s character, Dr.Dylan It’s clearly best to record the show and to watch it at your viewers as any of the offerings that ITV1 limply served up on Keogh, has many shades of Hugh Laurie’s House about him, but he’s easily the most interesting and left-field character on leisure, as there are so many plotlines and timeframes to be the same evening. worked out. It’s certainly a far cry from the poor acting, scripts At least they have Downton Abbey waiting in the wings to the show. And please… no more stupid endings like in the last episode, where half the staff converged on a girl’s bed to and budget that save their Sunday night skins very soon.

Michael Grade merI make no apologies in returning to the brilliant Sky News eat crisps and to watch a DVD. What was all that about? cifully exterminated coverage of the Libyan Revolution, which I honestly believe Surely Sister from BBC screens to be the finest moment in the channel’s 22-year history. A T e s s back in the late 80s. Matt dozen or so years ago, I interviewed the former BBC corre- B a t e m a n would have Ms Kingston’s for- Smith: spondent, Martin Bell, who at that time was an MP. mer hubby, Ralph Has real We talked extensively about covering wars and atrocities, gone through Fiennes, popped up charisma and he said that he just didn’t like the fact that uncomfortable the roof if she found as a devious Prime pictures were not being screened by broadcasters in case had Dr Dylan out!

Minister on Sunday they upset people.

Keogh: It’s been a night in an absolute Shades of Last weekend, Sky’s Stuart Ramsey put together a report fond farewell corker of a drama.

Hugh with graphic footage of people who had been massacred by to the sci-fi Page Eight on BBC Lawrie’s Gaddafi’s henchmen. It was extraordinary and moving, and 2 was a treat of a spy film, where words spoke a lot louder made me sick and angry. It was unsanitised reporting but I’m s e r i e s , House Falling Skies, than anything else, and a very different experience from glad it was done. which finwatching the comic book fun of Spooks.

Then, in common with so many other aspects of the last ished with a The best part of two hours whizzed by with a top script by fortnight, it took the BBC a day to catch up with this major d o u b l e David Hare, and a string of fine performances led by the tragedy and do their own report, but by then Sky had a major episode on the FX UK channel this week. I always like the always reliable Bill Nighy. It’s just so good to immerse your- world exclusive. premise of nasty aliens invading planet Earth and doing no self in an intelligent story packed with humour and twists, and If you’re an athletics fan, and had deep concerns over good, and after some early slow moments, this show ended it was remarkably as close as you can possibly get to a rea- Channel 4 taking the rights for the World Athletics up being a cracker. sonably happy ending with such a tale of intrigue.

Championships from the BBC, then I’m sure that you are We’ve been left with a cliffhanger, but safe in the knowlWhat was doubly reassuring for people who like some feeling a lot happier now. edge that it will return with more episodes next year!

with ALEX TRELINSKI

HANNA 12

DEEP within in a German forest lives teenager Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) and her father, Erik (Eric Bana).

Maintaining a woodsy fortress of solitude, Erik has raised Hanna to become an expert survivalist, with unmatched combat skills and worldly knowledge gathered from books.

Reaching the end of her conditioning, Hanna looks to take on CIA ghoul Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett), the woman who killed her mother. When her initial plan goes awry, Hanna is pushed out

into a world she’s never known, meeting peers (Jessica Barden) and oily enemies (Tom Hollander), fighting her way back to Wiegler, who’s commenced her own hunt for the elusive father and daughter, stopping at nothing to see them both dead.

Saoirse Ronan brings both an irresistible inno-

Bill Nighy: Always reliable

CAST: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett.

DIRECTOR: Joe Wright GENRE: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller RATING: 4/5 RUNNING TIME: 111 min. cence and frightening ferocity to the title role, the delicate actress injecting the part with a radically impressive helping of physicality.

Whilst the storytelling may somewhat meander, Ronan ensures the audience always remain on her side, enchanting us as she flees her

This dvd review was brought to you by MOVING MOVIES - OVER 7000 DVDS IN STOCK. Delivering all over Spain and the UK Visit www.movingmovies.biz Tel 650 751 072 or email movingmoviesdvds@gmail.com

aggressors and desperately attempts to comprehend a life in civilisation. The young actress has shown tremendous ability in the past and she acquits herself breathtakingly here, providing the picture with a consistently engaging hero.

The action sequences don’t roll around often, but when they do Wright shows fantastic precision and placement with his camera.

Often opting for long continuous shots, Wright adds a

refreshing intimacy to his set-pieces, wringing out excitement and adrenaline soaked tension with every frame.

The over arching plotting would have undoubtedly benefited from a tauter grasp, but the moments of violence and combat are perfectly pitched, anchored by viable stakes, which incidentally add massively to the suspense.

For the most part, "Hanna" is a thrilling, exciting and strangely touching epic that is one of the few cinematic high point of the year to date and one of the rare action movies that can be thoroughly enjoyed by those

who love that particular genre and those who loathe it in equal measure.

36

Friday

2nd Semptember

00:35 House of Sand and Fog 02:40 Countryfile 03:35 Food Fighters 04:25 Saints and Scroungers 04:55 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Heir Hunters 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Fake Britain 12:30 Cash in the Attic 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 BBC News; Weather; Regional News 16:05 Sorry, I've Got No Head 16:35 Bear Behaving Badly 17:00 Dick & Dom Go Wild 17:30 Fee Fi Fo Yum 18:00 Newsround 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Regional News Programmes 20:00 The One Show 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 My Family 22:00 Outnumbered 22:30 Miranda 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 John Bishop's Britain

00:20 The World's Most Expensive Paintings 01:20 The Tudors 02:10 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report

04:45 Sport Today 04:55 Close 07:00 Little Red Tractor 07:10 Dipdap 07:15 Pinky Dinky Doo 07:30 Garth and Bev 07:45 Octonauts 07:55 Roar 08:30 The Jungle Book 08:40 Deadly Art 08:55 Newsround 09:00 The Scooby-Doo Show 09:25 LazyTown 09:50 Bob the Builder 10:00 The Koala Brothers 10:10 Driver Dan's Story Train 10:30 Raa Raa the Noisy Lion 10:45 Kerwhizz 11:05 Gigglebiz 11:20 Zingzillas 11:45 Waybuloo 12:05 In the Night Garden 12:35 The Purple Plain 14:15 Diagnosis Murder 15:00 Animal Park 16:00 Weakest Link 16:45 The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain 17:30 Flog It! Ten of the Best 18:15 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 19:00 Eggheads 20:00 South Africa Walks 20:30 Attenborough and the Giant Egg 21:30 Gardeners' World 22:00 Wogan on Wodehouse 23:00 The Rob Brydon Show 23:30 Newsnight

00:15 Meridian Tonight and Weather 00:20 Help! I Caught It Abroad 2 01:20 The Zone 03:20 The Working Life - Life After Work: Tonight 03:50 ITV Nightscreen 05:30 The Jeremy Kyle Show 06:30 ITV Morning News 07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Let's Do Lunch with Gino & Mel 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 Meridian News and Weather 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 House Hunt in France 16:59 Meridian Weather 17:00 Midsomer Murders 18:00 The Chase 19:00 Meridian Tonight 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 The Working Life - How to Get a Job: Tonight 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 Fraud Squad 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 Meridian Tonight and Weather 23:35 Police Academy

POLICE ACADEMNY

An American police college lowers its entrance requirements in the hope of attracting new recruits, and in response a whole array of dubious candidates turn up for enrolment. A short-tempered instructor is determined to weed out the bad apples, but a riot provides the clueless cops with a chance to prove their worth. Comedy, starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, Bubba Smith and GW Bailey.

00:05 Seven Dwarves 01:05 360 Sessions 01:35 Hollyoaks Music Show 02:05 Sounds from the Cities 02:30 My Name Is Earl 03:00 Live Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 05:45 IAU Trail World Championships 06:10 Countdown 06:55 Sali Mali 07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 The Hoobs 08:05 Freshly Squeezed 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:00 According to Jim 10:00 Frasier 11:00 Live Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 12:45 Channel 4 News Summary 12:50 Live Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 14:45 The Big Bang Theory 15:10 Three in a Bed 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Coach Trip 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:25 4thought.tv 20:30 Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 21:00 Come Dine with Me: Athletics Special 22:00 The Million Pound Drop Live 23:30 Comedy Showcase: Chickens

00:00 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 01:00 SuperCasino 05:00 Meals in Moments 05:10 New Cowboy Builders 06:00 County Secrets 06:10 Wildlife SOS 06:35 House Doctor 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Roary the Racing Car 07:20 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 07:35 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 07:40 Fireman Sam 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 The WotWots 08:05 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:30 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:10 Peppa Pig 09:30 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Little Princess 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Wright Stuff Extra with Gabby Logan 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Meerkat Manor 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 16:15 A Stranger to Love 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Meerkat Manor 19:25 OK! TV 20:00 5 News at 7 20:30 Pawn Stars 21:00 The Gadget Show 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother: Live Eviction 23:00 The Bachelor

37

Saturday 3rd September

00:05 Mrs Brown's Boys 00:35 The National Lottery Friday Night Draws 00:44 Weatherview 00:45 Runaway Train 02:35 Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape 03:35 Wonderstuff 04:05 Food Fighters 04:50 Newswatch 05:00 BBC News 05:30 British Olympic Dreams 06:00 BBC News 06:30 Our World 07:00 Breakfast 11:00 Saturday Kitchen Live 12:35 Rachel Allen: Home Cooking 13:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 13:15 Football Focus 14:00 World Olympic Dreams 14:30 A Question of Sport 15:00 Rowing 17:30 Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers 18:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 18:20 Epic Win 19:00 All New Total Wipeout 20:00 Doctor Who 20:45 The National Lottery: Secret Fortune 21:35 Casualty 22:25 John Bishop's Britain 22:54 BBC Weather 22:55 National Lottery Update 23:15 Ghost Town

00:05 01:05 02:35 03:55 07:00 07:10 07:20 07:35 07:45 08:00 08:30 08:55 09:20 09:50 10:00 11:00 11:25 11:40 12:00 12:15 Lab 12:40 13:00 13:30 15:05 17:05 17:50 18:20 19:45 20:45 21:15

The Secret World of Whitehall Reading Festival Highlights Song of Songs Close Little Red Tractor Guess with Jess Pinky Dinky Doo Little Charley Bear Rastamouse Roar Arthur Hounded Prank Patrol Frankenstein's Cat Trade Your Way to the USA Mission: 2110 League of Super Evil Wolverine and the X-Men OOglies Richard Hammond's Blast MOTD Kickabout Homes Under the Hammer On the Town Robin and the 7 Hoods Escape to the Country Victorian Pharmacy Carry On Loving Flog It! Dad's Army The Normans

01:20 The Zone 01:21 ITV News Headlines 03:20 Columbo: Ransom for a Dead Man 04:55 ITV Nightscreen 06:30 ITV Morning News 07:00 Mini CITV 08:25 CITV 10:25 Coronation Street 12:45 This Morning: Saturday 13:45 ITV News and Weather 13:49 Meridian Weather 13:50 Death on the Nile 16:30 You Only Live Twice 18:40 Meridian News and Weather 18:55 ITV News and Weather 19:05 All Star Family Fortunes 20:00 Red or Black?

21:15 The X Factor 22:15 Red or Black?: Results 22:45 The Jonathan Ross Show 23:45 The Bourne Ultimatum

RED OR BLACK?

New series. Game show broadcast over seven nights, hosted by Ant and Dec. Contestants guess the outcomes of a series of challenges for the chance to win ÂŁ1million on the spin of a wheel. Each night, 1,000 hopefuls gather at Wembley Arena, before being whittled down to eight in the studio.

The show closes with two finalists remaining, one of whom could end the night a millionaire. The results are at 10.15pm. Continues tomorrow.

00:05 Chris Moyles' Quiz Night 00:55 Channel 4 Presents - Will Bayley 2012 01:00 Live Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 05:00 Beach Volleyball 05:50 KOTV Boxing Weekly 06:15 Volkswagen Racing Cup 2011 06:30 Cookery School 06:40 Countdown 07:25 Sali Mali 07:30 The Hoobs 07:55 MSA British Rallycross Championship 08:20 The Grid 08:55 The Morning Line 09:55 Hollyoaks Music Show 10:25 Hollyoaks Special 10:55 Road to London 2012: That Paralympic Show 11:30 Live Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 14:45 Channel 4 Presents - Ellie Simmonds 2012 14:50 Channel 4 Racing 17:05 Come Dine with Me 19:40 Channel 4 News 20:10 4thought.tv 20:15 Great Migrations 21:15 Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 22:15 The Million Pound Drop Live 23:50 Beverly Hills Cop III

00:00 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 01:00 SuperCasino 05:05 Motorsport Mundial 05:35 Nick's Quest 06:00 County Secrets 06:10 Wildlife SOS 06:35 House Doctor 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Roary the Racing Car 07:15 Fifi and the Flowertots 07:25 Fireman Sam 07:40 Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs 07:50 Elmo's World 08:05 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:15 The Save-Ums! 08:25 Noddy in Toyland 08:45 Hana's Helpline 09:00 Little Princess 09:10 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:30 Mist: Sheepdog Tales 09:45 Rupert Bear 10:00 Olivia 10:10 The Mr Men Show 10:25 Roary the Racing Car 10:40 Animal Families 11:00 Animal Rescue Squad 11:15 The Gadget Show 12:15 Celebrity Big Brother 13:20 The Man Who Knew Too Much 15:45 Mister Roberts 18:05 The Shootist 20:00 One-Day International Cricket 21:00 5 News Weekend 21:05 Jackie Chan's First Strike 22:45 Celebrity Big Brother 23:50 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

38

Sunday 4th September 00:50 The Football League Show 01:35 Reporters 02:00 BBC News 02:30 Portrait of an Artist 03:00 BBC News 03:30 Dateline London 04:00 BBC News 04:30 Our World 05:00 BBC News 05:30 Click 06:00 BBC News 06:30 Portrait of an Artist 07:00 Breakfast 10:00 The Andrew Marr Show 11:00 Sunday Morning Live 12:00 Country Tracks 12:59 Weather for the Week Ahead 13:00 BBC News 13:05 EastEnders 15:00 My Family 15:30 Bargain Hunt 16:00 Escape to the Country 17:00 Village SOS 18:00 Songs of Praise 18:35 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 19:00 Deadly 60 on a Mission 19:30 Nature's Miracle Babies 20:30 Countryfile 21:30 Inspector George Gently 23:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 23:25 My Favourite Joke 23:55 Outnumbered

00:15 The Rob Brydon Show 00:45 Ruth Jones' Summer Holiday 01:25 Pirates 03:20 Close 07:00 Little Robots 07:10 Guess with Jess 07:20 Pinky Dinky Doo 07:35 Little Charley Bear 07:45 Rastamouse 08:00 Roar 08:30 Arthur 08:55 Junior MasterChef 09:25 Bear Behaving Badly 09:45 Hotel Trubble 10:15 Jinx 10:35 Wingin' It 11:00 Something for the Weekend 12:30 The Great British Bake Off 13:30 Live MotoGP 15:00 Burghley Horse Trials 16:45 Rowing 18:00 Natural World: The Woman Who Swims With Killer Whales 19:00 Flog It! 19:30 Harry's Arctic Heroes 21:00 Dragons' Den 22:00 World's Most Dangerous Roads 23:00 Grumpy Guide to Driving

00:45 00:59 01:00 02:05 02:05 04:10 05:00 06:30 07:00 08:25 10:25 10:30 10:45 10:50 11:00 11:20 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:30 14:39 14:40 15:40 16:40 17:10 19:15 19:30 19:45 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:30 23:44 23:45

ITV News and Weather Meridian Weather The Bourne Ultimatum The Zone ITV News Headlines In Plain Sight ITV Nightscreen ITV Morning News Mini CITV CITV Monk Horrid Henry Horrid Henry Planet Sketch Tricky TV Finger Tips Mini 60 Minute Makeover This Morning: Sunday Survival: Tales from the Wild ITV News and Weather Meridian Weather You've Been Framed!

The X Factor Ladies of Letters Midsomer Murders Meridian News and Weather ITV News and Weather Red or Black?

Coronation Street Red or Black?: Results Appropriate Adult ITV News and Weather Meridian Weather Serenity

SPIDER MAN 2

Fantasy action sequel starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Alfred Molina.

Two years after walking away from his sweetheart Mary Jane, Peter Parker is struggling to balance his dual identities as a college student and mysterious superhero SpiderMan. He finds his life further complicated by the appearance of multi-tentacled villain Doctor Octopus...

01:50 3 Minute Wonder: Youthdance 2006 01:55 3 Minute Wonder: Youthdance 2006 02:00 Live Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 04:30 Brothers & Sisters 05:15 Hill Street Blues 06:05 Grudge Match 06:20 Countdown 07:05 Glasgow Riverside Rat Race 07:30 Freesports on 4 07:55 Hollyoaks 10:25 Channel 4 Presents Hannah Cockroft 2012 10:30 Live Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 14:30 Channel 4 Presents Stephen Miller 2012 14:35 The Golden Child 16:25 The Simpsons 16:55 The Simpsons 17:25 Holiday Hijack 18:25 Deal or No Deal 19:25 Channel 4 News 19:55 4thought.tv 20:00 Athletics: IAAF World Championships 2011 21:00 Nelson's Navy: Back from the Dead 22:00 Four Lions

00:45 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 01:40 SuperCasino 05:00 The FBI Files 05:50 Chinese Food in Minutes 06:00 Hana's Helpline 06:10 The Milkshake! Show 06:35 Thomas & Friends 06:45 Roary the Racing Car 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Roary the Racing Car 07:15 Fifi and the Flowertots 07:25 Fireman Sam 07:40 Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs 07:50 Elmo's World 08:05 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:15 The Save-Ums! 08:25 Noddy in Toyland 08:45 Hana's Helpline 09:00 Little Princess 09:10 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:25 Mist: Sheepdog Tales 09:45 Rupert Bear 10:00 Olivia 10:10 The Mr Men Show 10:25 Roary the Racing Car 10:40 Animal Families 11:00 Animal Rescue Squad 11:15 Hayley Westenra: Live in Concert 11:45 New Cowboy Builders 12:45 Celebrity Big Brother 13:45 The Bachelor 14:45 Calamity Jane 16:45 5 News Weekend 16:50 Firefox 19:30 Spider-Man 2 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:00 The Craft

39

Monday

5th September 00:25 The Sky at Night 00:45 Down with Love 02:25 Dragons' Den 03:25 Holby City 04:25 The Good Cook 04:55 Sport Today 05:00 Newsday 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Operation Hospital Food with James Martin 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 To Build or Not to Build 12:45 Cash in the Attic 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 BBC News; Weather; 16:05 Animals at Work 16:35 Scoop 17:00 Dick & Dom Go Wild 17:30 Horrible Histories 18:00 Newsround 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Regional News Programmes 20:00 The One Show 20:30 Bang Goes the Theory 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Gerry and the GPs Panorama 22:00 New Tricks 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 The Field of Blood

00:00 01:30 03:15 03:30 03:45 04:00 04:30 04:45 04:55 05:25 07:00

Savage Grace Critical Assignment Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today The Super League Show Close Little Robots

07:10 Guess with Jess 07:20 Pinky Dinky Doo 07:35 Little Charley Bear 07:45 Rastamouse 01:55 The Zone 08:00 Hai! Karate: Journey to Japan 03:00 British Superbike 08:30 The Jungle Book Championship Highlights 08:45 League of Super Evil 08:55 Newsround 04:20 Motorsport UK 09:00 Mission: 2110 05:10 ITV Nightscreen 09:25 Green Balloon Scrapbook 06:30 ITV Morning News 09:55 Bob the Builder 07:00 Daybreak 10:05 The Koala Brothers 10:15 Driver Dan's Story Train 09:30 Lorraine 10:35 Raa Raa the Noisy Lion 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 10:45 Kerwhizz 11:30 This Morning 11:05 Get Squiggling!

11:20 Zingzillas 13:30 Loose Women 11:45 Waybuloo 14:30 ITV News and Weather 12:05 In the Night Garden 12:35 The New Pink Panther Show 14:55 Meridian News and Weather 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 13:00 Daily Politics 13:30 GMT with George Alagiah 16:00 The Alan Titchmarsh Show 14:00 Diagnosis Murder 16:59 Meridian Weather 14:45 To Buy or Not to Buy 17:00 Midsomer Murders 15:15 Animal 24:7 18:00 The Chase 16:00 Weakest Link 16:45 The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour 19:00 Meridian Tonight of Britain 19:30 ITV News and Weather 17:30 Flog It! 18:15 Put Your Money Where Your 20:00 Emmerdale 21:00 Red or Black?

Mouth Is 19:00 Eggheads 22:00 Coronation Street 19:30 Reel History of Britain 22:30 Red or Black?: Results 20:00 Coast 23:00 ITV News at Ten and 21:00 University Challenge 21:30 Antiques Master Weather 22:00 How Facebook Changed the 23:30 Meridian Tonight and World: The Arab Spring Weather 23:00 Shooting Stars 23:35 Syriana 23:30 Newsnight

SHOOTING STARS Comedy quiz show, chaired by Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. Team captain Jack Dee is joined by actress and impressionist Ronni Ancona and The Only Way Is Essex star Sam Faiers, while Ulrika Jonsson has Diversity group leader Ashley Banjo and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? host Chris Tarrant on her side. The hosts provide food for their guests and score-keeper Angelos Epithemiou has a large helping of parrot.

00:05 Street Kings 02:05 Stand Up for the Week 02:50 Without a Trace 03:35 Hud 05:25 Smallville 06:10 Countdown 06:55 Sali Mali 07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 The Hoobs 08:00 Freshly Squeezed 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 08:55 According to Jim 09:25 Frasier 09:55 The Secret Millionaire USA 10:55 Channel 4 Presents - Mandip Sehmi 2012 11:00 Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance 12:00 A Place by the Sea 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Three in a Bed 14:00 The Secret Supper Club 14:25 Murder Ahoy 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Coach Trip 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 Ground Zero Mosque 22:00 9/11: Emergency Room 23:00 Mission: Impossible III

00:55 JLC: Living Las Vegas 01:50 SuperCasino 04:55 Chinese Food in Minutes 05:10 Great Scientists 05:35 Divine Designs 06:00 Hana's Helpline 06:10 The Milkshake! Show 06:35 Thomas & Friends 06:45 Roary the Racing Car 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Roary the Racing Car 07:20 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 07:35 Elmo's World 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 Milkshake! Music Box 08:05 Little Princess 08:15 The Mr Men Show 08:30 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Wright Stuff Extra with Gabby Logan 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 16:15 Love Finds a Home 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:25 OK! TV 20:00 5 News at 7 20:30 How Do They Do It? 21:00 Royal Navy: Submarine Mission 22:00 Soho Blues 23:00 Celebrity Big Brother

40

Tuesday

6th September 00:35 The Celebrity Apprentice USA 02:00 Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets 02:30 The Great British Bake Off 03:30 Food Fighters 04:15 Antiques Road Trip 05:00 Newsday 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Operation Hospital Food with James Martin 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 To Build or Not to Build 12:45 Cash in the Attic 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 BBC News; Weather; 16:05 Animals at Work 16:35 Scoop 17:00 Gimme a Break 17:30 Barney's Latin America 18:00 Newsround 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Regional News Programmes 20:00 The One Show 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Holby City 22:00 Catch Me If You Can: Armed Robbers 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 The Twins of the Twin Towers

00:20 World's Most Dangerous Roads 01:20 Torchwood: Miracle Day 02:15 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 Close

07:00 Little Robots 07:10 Guess with Jess 07:20 Pinky Dinky Doo 07:35 Little Charley Bear 07:45 Rastamouse 08:00 Hai! Karate: Journey to Japan 08:30 Trust Me I'm a Genie 08:45 League of Super Evil 08:55 Newsround 09:00 Mission: 2110 09:25 Green Balloon Scrapbook 09:55 Bob the Builder 10:05 The Koala Brothers 10:15 Driver Dan's Story Train 10:35 Raa Raa the Noisy Lion 10:45 Kerwhizz 11:05 Get Squiggling!

11:20 Zingzillas 11:45 Waybuloo 12:05 In the Night Garden 12:35 The New Pink Panther Show 13:00 Daily Politics 13:30 GMT with George Alagiah 14:00 Diagnosis Murder 14:45 To Buy or Not to Buy 15:15 Animal 24:7 16:00 Weakest Link 16:45 The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain 17:30 Flog It! 18:15 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Reel History of Britain 20:00 Escape to the Country 21:00 The Great British Bake Off 22:00 Adopting Abroad: Saira's Story 23:00 Mercury Prize: Live 23:30 Newsnight

01:50 The Zone 03:55 Champions League Weekly 04:20 ITV Nightscreen 05:35 The Jeremy Kyle Show 06:30 ITV Morning News 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 Meridian News and Weather 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 The Alan Titchmarsh Show 16:59 Meridian Weather 17:00 Midsomer Murders 18:00 The Chase 19:00 Meridian Tonight 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Live International Football 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 Meridian Tonight and Weather 23:35 International Football

THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF The remaining bakers test their biscuitmaking skills as they embark on a series of challenges. After cooking their own interpretation of a classic, the contestants face the task of baking brandy snaps. Preparing a display of macaroons forms the final leg of the challenge, before the judges reveal who will leave the competition. Presented by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.

01:20 Foo Fighters: A New Light 01:55 4Play: Benjamin Francis Leftwich 02:10 Rockfeedback Presents: Underage Festival 02:40 World's Worst Century: Agincourt 03:40 Rome: The Model Empire 04:35 Atlantic Convoys: The War at Sea 05:30 Smallville 06:15 Cookery School 07:10 The Hoobs 08:00 Freshly Squeezed 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 08:55 According to Jim 09:25 Frasier 09:55 The Secret Millionaire USA 10:55 Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance 11:55 A Place by the Sea 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Three in a Bed 14:05 River Cottage Bites 14:20 The Gentle Sex 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Coach Trip 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 Inside Nature's Giants 22:00 Seven Dwarves 23:00 Shameless

00:00 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 01:00 Grey's Anatomy 01:50 Inside Hollywood 02:00 SuperCasino 05:00 Chinese Food in Minutes 05:15 How Not to Decorate 06:00 County Secrets 06:10 Wildlife SOS 06:35 House Doctor 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Roary the Racing Car 07:20 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 07:35 Elmo's World 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 Milkshake! Music Box 08:05 Little Princess 08:15 The Mr Men Show 08:30 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Wright Stuff Extra with Gabby Logan 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 16:15 Mary Higgins Clark's The Cradle Will Fall 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:25 OK! TV 20:00 5 News at 7 20:30 Chinese Food in Minutes 21:00 World War Two's Luckiest Man: Revealed 21:00 5 News at 9 22:00 CSI: Miami 23:00 Celebrity Big Brother

41

Wednesday 7th September

00:35 Possession 02:15 Britain's Bravest Cops 03:00 Can't Take It with You 04:00 Wonderstuff 04:30 Antiques Road Trip 05:20 Newsday 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Operation Hospital Food with James Martin 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 To Build or Not to Build 12:45 Cash in the Attic 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 BBC News; Weather; 16:05 Animals at Work 16:35 Scoop 17:00 School of Silence 17:30 Serious Explorers: Livingstone 18:00 Newsround 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Regional News Programmes 20:00 The One Show 20:30 National Treasures Live 21:00 Village SOS 22:00 Who Do You Think You Are? 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 The National Lottery Wednesday Night Draws 23:45 Live at the Apollo bbc 2 00:20 01:20 02:10 02:30 02:45 03:00 03:30 03:45 04:00 04:30 04:45

The Death of Respect The Tudors Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today

05:00 Newsday 05:20 Close 07:00 Little Robots 07:10 Guess with Jess 07:20 Pinky Dinky Doo 07:35 Little Charley Bear 07:45 Rastamouse 08:00 Hai! Karate: Journey to Japan 08:30 Trust Me I'm a Genie 08:45 League of Super Evil 08:55 Newsround 09:00 Mission: 2110 09:25 Green Balloon Scrapbook 09:55 Dirtgirlworld 10:05 The Koala Brothers 10:15 Driver Dan's Story Train 10:30 Raa Raa the Noisy Lion 10:40 Kerwhizz 11:05 Get Squiggling!

11:20 Zingzillas 11:40 Waybuloo 12:00 In the Night Garden 12:30 Daily Politics 14:00 See Hear 14:30 To Buy or Not to Buy 15:15 Animal 24/7 16:00 Weakest Link 16:45 The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain 17:30 Flog It! 18:15 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Reel History of Britain 20:00 Dragons' Den 21:00 Natural World: Animal House 22:00 Horizon 23:00 Have I Got Old News for You 23:30 Newsnight

00:35 Cops with Cameras 01:30 The Zone 03:35 Crossing Jordan 04:20 ITV Nightscreen 06:30 ITV Morning News 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 Meridian News and Weather 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 The Alan Titchmarsh Show 16:59 Meridian Weather 17:00 Midsomer Murders 18:00 The Chase 19:00 Meridian Tonight 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 21:00 Red or Black?

22:00 Coronation Street 22:30 Red or Black?: Results 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 Meridian Tonight and Weather 23:35 Mystery Men

BIN LADEN: SHOOT TO KILL Analysis of the American operation to track down and capture al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, featuring an interview with President Barack Obama and the recollections of several other White House insiders.

The documentary includes dramatic reconstructions of the events and reveals how a last-minute intelligence assessment caused some senior officials to advise against continuing the mission.

00:05 Coming Up: Geronimo 00:40 Comedy Showcase 01:10 UK & Ireland Poker Tour 02:05 Sailing 02:30 FIM Superbike World Championship 03:00 The Grid 03:25 Glasgow Riverside Rat Race 03:50 Freesports on 4 04:15 KOTV Boxing Weekly 04:45 Beach Volleyball 05:35 MSA British Rallycross Championship 06:00 Cookery School 06:55 Sali Mali 07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 The Hoobs 08:00 Freshly Squeezed 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 08:55 According to Jim 09:25 Frasier 09:55 The Secret Millionaire USA 10:55 Jo Frost 11:55 A Place by the Sea 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Three in a Bed 14:05 River Cottage Bites 14:10 Black Narcissus 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Coach Trip 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 Location, Location, Location 22:00 Bin Laden: Shoot to kill

00:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 00:55 One-Day International Cricket 01:55 SuperCasino 04:55 Chinese Food in Minutes 05:10 HouseBusters 05:35 HouseBusters 06:00 County Secrets 06:10 Wildlife SOS 06:35 House Doctor 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Roary the Racing Car 07:20 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 07:35 Elmo's World 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 Milkshake! Music Box 08:05 Little Princess 08:15 The Mr Men Show 08:30 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Wright Stuff Extra with Gabby Logan 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 16:15 A Kiss at Midnight 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:25 OK! TV 20:00 5 News at 7 20:30 Garden ER 21:00 Emergency Bikers 22:00 JLC: Living Las Vegas 23:00 Celebrity Big Brother 23:40 Shameless

42

Thursday 8th September

00:30 Green Card 02:15 Watchdog 03:15 Bang Goes the Theory 03:45 Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets 04:15 Country Tracks 05:10 Newsday 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Operation Hospital Food with James Martin 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 To Build or Not to Build 12:45 Cash in the Attic 13:15 Bargain Hun 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:30 Regional News and Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 Escape to the Country 16:00 BBC News; Weather; 16:05 Animals at Work 16:35 Scoop 17:00 Gimme a Break 17:30 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab 18:00 Newsround 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Regional News Programmes 20:00 The One Show 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Watchdog 22:00 Torchwood: Miracle Day 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 Question Time 9/11 Special bbc 2 00:20 01:20 02:15 02:30 02:45 03:00 03:30 03:45 04:00 04:30 04:45 05:00

The Secret War on Terror The Tudors Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday Asia Business Report Sport Today Newsday

05:10 Close 07:00 Little Robots 07:10 Guess with Jess 07:20 Pinky Dinky Doo 07:35 Little Charley Bear 07:45 Rastamouse 08:00 Hai! Karate: Journey to Japan 08:30 Trust Me I'm a Genie 08:45 League of Super Evil 08:55 Newsround 09:00 Mission: 2110 09:25 Green Balloon Scrapbook 09:55 Dirtgirlworld 10:05 The Koala Brothers 10:15 Driver Dan's Story Train 10:35 Raa Raa the Noisy Lion 10:50 Nuzzle & Scratch 11:05 Get Squiggling!

11:20 Zingzillas 11:45 Waybuloo 12:05 In the Night Garden 12:35 The New Pink Panther Show 13:00 Daily Politics 13:30 GMT with George Alagiah 14:00 Diagnosis Murder 14:45 To Buy or Not to Buy 15:15 Animal 24:7 16:00 Weakest Link 16:45 The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain 17:30 Flog It! 18:15 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 19:00 Eggheads 19:30 Reel History of Britain 20:00 Live Athletics 22:00 Adopting Abroad: Saira's Story 23:00 Mock the Week 23:30 Newsnight

01:45 The Zone 03:50 ITV Nightscreen 05:05 Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie 06:30 ITV Morning News 07:00 Daybreak 09:30 Lorraine's 9/11 Special 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 13:30 Loose Women 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 Meridian News and Weather 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 The Alan Titchmarsh Show 16:59 Meridian Weather 17:00 Midsomer Murders 18:00 The Chase 19:00 Meridian Tonight 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 What Price Justice?: Tonight 21:00 Red or Black?

22:00 Coronation Street 22:30 Red or Black?: Results 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 Meridian Tonight and Weather 23:35 The Jonathan Ross Show

UNDERCOVER BOSS USA Mark Mallory, the first directly elected AfricanAmerican mayor of Cincinnati, discovers how budget cuts are affecting frontline services in the city.

Working undercover for a week, he joins the police and fire brigade fleet services, picks up roadkill and visits an after-school recreation centre earmarked for closure, before returning to his office to see how he can manage the city's budget to benefit the its inhabitants.

00:45 Chris Moyles' Quiz Night 01:35 Album Chart Show Introduces: Foster the People 01:50 4Play: Ed Sheeran 02:05 The Album Chart Show: Spotlight 02:20 Basic 04:00 Hung 04:30 Smallville 05:15 Countdown 06:00 Cookery School 06:55 Sali Mali 07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 The Hoobs 08:00 Freshly Squeezed 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 08:55 According to Jim 09:25 Frasier 09:55 The Secret Millionaire USA 10:55 Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance 11:55 A Place by the Sea 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Three in a Bed 14:05 River Cottage Bites 14:10 Channel 4 Presents - Jody Cundy 2012 14:15 Channel 4 Racing 16:10 Countdown 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Coach Trip 18:30 Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 Country House Rescue 22:00 The Killing 23:00 Undercover Boss USA

00:00 The Beat Goes On 00:55 Poker: The Big Game 01:50 SuperCasino 04:55 Chinese Food in Minutes 05:10 HouseBusters 05:35 HouseBusters 05:55 Rough Guide to Beaches 06:10 Wildlife SOS 06:35 House Doctor 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Roary the Racing Car 07:20 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 07:35 Elmo's World 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 Milkshake! Music Box 08:00 Little Princess 08:10 The Mr Men Show 08:20 Milkshake!

08:25 Thomas & Friends 08:40 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 The Wright Stuff Extra with Gabby Logan 13:05 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Celebrity Big Brother 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 16:15 Accidental Friendship 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:25 OK! TV 20:00 5 News at 7 20:30 Meerkat Manor 21:00 New Cowboy Builders 21:00 5 News at 9 22:00 Celebrity Big Brother: The Inside Story 22:30 Celebrity Big Brother: The Final

Friday, September 2, 2011

43

44

Friday, September 2, 2011

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

10 cold drinks /snack vending machines with sites 44,900 euros.

Excellent cash income, no overhead, operate from home 31,000 euros NETT per year one day p.w. to service.25 Pringle vending machines with sites 14,900 euros 250 euros per week NETT guaranteed, machines and sites available individually. 965 326 442 / 659 696 455 (09) Bar for sale. Quesada area.

Going cheap. For information pack, email: . Tel: 688 800 960 (16)

CHURCH SERVICES

Torrevieja, Los Balcones, San Javier. Ladies meeting Thursdays 11:00am. Pastor, Rafael Restrepo. All nationalities welcome 966 799 273 // 660 127 276.

Pilar Christian Community Church Calle Canalejas 3. Pilar de la Horadada.

Sunday Service at 11am, and Thursday at 5pm for Bible study and Prayer.

Home groups meet during the week.

All welcome from any church background or none.

For further information contact PilarChristian.

CommunityChurch@gmail.c om or contact Reverend Eddie on 966 7693 00 or 650 509 606. Reg No:2009-SG/A

Tel 685 777 254 (26)

ENERGY SAVING Want to save money on your electricity bills ? New energy saving device. Simply plug into wall socket and start saving on your bills. No installation.

Guaranteed results. C E. Certification. www.powertunespain.com, powertunespain@gmail.co m, 625457555 agents wanted ! (29)

HAIRDRESSER English mobile hairdresser.

20 years experience. Prices from 6 euros. Almoradi, Algorfa, Benijofer, Rojales, Quesada, Guardamar, San Luis, Torrevieja areas. Call Jeri on 966 318 550 / 698 257 200. (25)

CARS FOR SALE

PROPERTY FOR RENT

1995 VW. Westfalia Campervan 1.9 Diesel .

New Engine 2007. Many Extras.

11-000 euros Immaculate Condition.

Details and Photos email ann.nicklin@hotmail.com

Luxury appartments, 2/3 bedrooms in San Miguel De Salinas.

Floor heating, Elevator, Roof terrace with swimming pool,

from 385 euros/month Also holiday rentals and appartments in San Miguel de Salinas from 350 euros / month. 966 723 437 and 616 487 493 (27) Viva Villa and Vacation Services, For Short or Long Term Rentals visit: www.villaandvacation.com or Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 49, 2nd floor one bedroom apartment situated conveniently located in the town centre of Torrevieja, with a small sun balcony overlooking the lovely communal pool. Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 78, South facing 3 bedroomed property situated injardin Del Mar VII, with communal pool nearby.

Close to amenities. Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 112, Spacious 3 bedroom detached villa with its private pool is located on the El Raso urbanisation near

COMPUTER CLUB

Guardamar. Convenient for all amenities, shops, supermarket, restaurants and bars. Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 63, Two bedroom 1st floor apartment situated in Monino Blanco. The property overlooks a superb communal pool area, in within walking distance of bars, restaurants and shops.

Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 128, A lovely One bedroom 2nd floor apartment, American style kitchen, Lounge with patio doors to balcony, in the San Luis area. Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 104, Lovely Two Bedroom Apartment in Torrevieja, within walking distance of Friday Market and the beach. The Property

is close to the Habaneras Shopping Centre and Aquapark. Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 155, Luxurious Three Bedroom Villa With Private Pool, in Quesada Close to shops and restaurants within a five minute drive, and Guadamar Beach is within a ten minute drive. Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 709, A lovely 1 bedroom apartment within a 5 minute walk of the beach.

There is a terrace outside with views to the sea. Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 708, A lovely two bedroom, one bathroom corner ground floor apartment with a spacious patio &

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45

Friday, September 2, 2011 Residents off road parking.

Communal pool near by.

Short or long term rental available.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397

PROPERTY FOR SALE Gran Alacant, corner semi detached 3 bedroomed, 2 bathrooms, large garden, enclosed terrace, fully furnished, private drive for 2 cars, on gated desirable urbanisation Monte Faro, many facilities priced for quick sale 185,000 Tel 680333242 House for sale. Santiago de la Ribera, 3-4 bedrooms, lovely garden, two balconies, two fireplaces, quiet neighbourhood, five minutes walk to beach.

Tel: 616596647 or 672192482 (22).

Balsares, terraced 4 bedroomed house, 3 bathrooms, large underbuild, private underground parking direct to house, small gated urbanisation, directly over looking proposed new golf course opposite Gran Alacant, priced for quick sale at original off plan price 180.000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, 3 bedroomed, 3 bath mid terraced Altomar 1, views of Alicante Bay,

close to communal pool, walking distance to bars and resturants opportunity at reduced price 145,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, front line, 2 bed, 1 bath, downstairs toilet, fully furnished, roof terrace, walking distance to beaches, large communal and resturants, beach front property priced for quick sale 125,000 Tel 680333242 Quesada, detached 3 bedroomed, 2 bath, all large rooms, front enclosed conservatory, fully furnished, oiled fuelled heating, outdoor poolside kitchen and bbq area enclosed, large pool, outside toilet, garage for 2 cars, newly refurbished, established garden with fruit trees, set in a cul de sac on 1000m2, the overall plot can be divided, as registered as two plots, so this house could be a substantial investment opportunity, situated in the Dona pepe area close to Quesada town centre, priced 299,000 negotiable Tel 680333242 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 Ref: 513, €115,000. Two

PROPERTIES REQUIRED

bedroom ground floor apartment, in Aguas Nuevas, close to all amenities including the beach. It has a good size lounge, kitchen and has off road parking facilities.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 521, €105,000. This comfortable bungalow is located in San Luis with a new roof and solarium tiles.

It is close to supermarkets, bars, restaurants and is on the local bus route.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 520, €85,000. Two bedroom apartment in Dream Hills, with a fully equipped kitchen, large lounge, glazed-in terrace and a large solarium. This property comes with a large communal swimming pool.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 516, €39,999. Studio apartment in San Luis, close to amenities. Open plan fully equipped kitchen. Good sized lounge, bedroom and out onto balcony which has been glazed to create another room.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 510, €79,999.

Bungalow located in San Luis. It is close to the supermarkets, bars and restaurants and is on the local bus route. An Opel Corsa car is included in this sale.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626

397 397 Ref: 146, €85,000. Three bedroom Two bathroom quad house in Dream Hills.

Off road parking on the front driveway with gates that can be padlocked for security.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: KP3100, €195,000.

Three bedroom, two bathroom detached villa, located in San Luis, on a 450sqm plot, with communal pool.

Garage to side of house.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626

397 397 Ref: 30, €119,000. Two bedroom detached house with large front terrace. This villa is in the Punta Marina area close to Playa Flamenca , Close to amenities.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 78, €120,000. Three bedroom Quad in Jardin Del Mar VII. There is off-road parking and small storage shed in the enclosed garden area, communal pool nearby.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 128, €34,950. One bedroom 2nd floor apartment located in San Luis.

American style kitchen, Lounge with patio doors to balcony, with lovely views in the San Luis area.

Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 709, €60,000 A lovely 1 bedroom apartment 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

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46

Friday, September 2, 2011

A DOUBLE SMASH FOR SPURS AS TRANSFER WINDOW SHUTS

By STEVE BOTT

TOTTENHAM appear to have made two of the most astute signings in the build-up to last Wednesday’s transfer deadline.

The acquisition of Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Manchester City and the signing of the much-vaunted Scott Parker from West Ham should go a long way to bolstering Spurs' bid for honours once again in the Premier League and Europe.

Adebayor may be a handful in more ways than one, but he is a proven goalscorer and worth his place in any side at the top level.

Much has been said and written about Parker's abilities, but he has yet to prove he can perform consistently at the very top level, having had a short and unsuccessful stint at Chelsea and the odd appearance for England so far.

If he is to move on and reveal his credentials fully now is the time to do it and he couldn't ask for a better setting than White Hart Lane and a better manager than Harry Redknapp to work with.

None of the other top four clubs, other than Chelsea have been prepared to gamble on him so now he has the chance to show what they missed out on with one of the clubs pushing to join that elite group on a permanent basis.

Moving out at Spurs is Wilson Palacios who has joined Stoke and Peter Crouch was on the brink of completing a £20m double deal for the Potters.

Bolton continue to build impressively under Owen Coyle and the acquisition of Dedryck Boyata on loan from Manchester City gives them a very solid look at the back with Gary Cahill and David Wheater already on board.

Bolton also made a statement of intent when they turned down Arsenal's bid for Cahill and they will be aiming for at least a Europa Cup spot by next May.

OWEN HARGREAVES: Strangest of moves to Manchester City

Liverpool have also bolstered their defence by signing Uruguayan defender Sebastien Coates and are tipped to bring back Craig Bellamy from Manchester City on a free transfer while offloading Joe Cole to Lille on loan.

Raul Mereiles also banged in a last minute transfer request and sparked a move to quit Liverpool for Chelsea.

Defence was also the focal point for Arsenal's transfer

moves - hardly surprising after their 8-2 mauling at Old Trafford last Sunday.

Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker and Brazilian Andre Santos, a full back at Fenerbahce, were on their way with South Korean skipper Chu Yung Park set to add to the Gunners striking power in a move from Monaco.

Arsenal have also moved in for Mikel Arteta, a player they have long admired and they have now followed up that interest with a £10m bid. Arteta demanded a move after Everton rebuffed Arsenal’s advances and striker Nicolas Bendtner is set for a loan move to Sunderland.

And Yossi Benayoun has also been snapped up by Arsene Wenger from Chelsea on loan as he bids to resurrect Arsenal’s season after a disastrous last few weeks.

The strangest move is that involving tendonitis victim Owen Hargreaves and his switch to Manchester City. For obvious reasons, i.e. no one would touch him with a bargepole, United consistently refused to admit that Hargeaves’ career was over until they released him in the summer.

Now City, like West Brom before them, have done an appearances-related one-year deal in a bid to resurrect the player’s career. Maybe the possibility of severely embarrassing their trophy-laden neighbours was just too appealing a prospect for City to turn down should a miracle cure for tendonitis suddenly appear on the market!

City have left everyone else trailing in their wake with multi-million pound deals for Gail Clichy, Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri in recent weeks. United meanwhile have undoubtedly secured a real winner in Ashley Young and once again worked the oracle in the home-grown stakes with the emergence of Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley after both have been on a learning curve with Sunderland, Watford and Wigan.

As it stands, the rest will have a lot to do to keep pace with United and City - whoever they sign!

Vettel, Webber in Red Bull charge WORLD Champion Sebastian Vettel scored his seventh win of the season on Sunday when he led Mark Webber home in a Red Bull one-two finish at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The German's latest victory has enabled him to open up a 92-point lead over Webber at the top of the standings. Yet it was hardly plain sailing for Vettel in a race which saw a multitude of lead changes.

Jenson Button started 13th on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps and also headed the field briefly before settling for third place.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Poulter Rose for England

McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton likewise hit the front but retired spectacularly on lap 13 after a collision with Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi.

With seven races remaining, Button and Hamilton are respectively 110 and 113 points adrift of Vettel. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is 102 points behind after finishing fourth. Mercedes GP's Michael Schumacher

Scrum on down to Tigers!

with Mick Hardy of Kidease

celebrated the 20th anniversary of his F1 debut by coming through the field from 24th and last on the grid to finish fifth ahead of his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who led at the end of lap one after making a storming start.

Force India's Adrian Sutil finished seventh ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa, while Renault's Vitaly Petrov and Williams driver Pastor Maldonado finished ninth and 10th to edge Paul Di Resta just out of the points.

IAN Poulter will partner Justin Rose in the England team at the World Cup in China in November. Poulter, 35, selected close friend Rose, 31, after higher-ranked players Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey all turned down the event.

The pair were partners in the 2008 Ryder Cup, winning two of their three games together, and at the 2007 World Cup, where they finished fourth. Ireland will feature US Open heroes Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.

Current champion McIlroy, the world No.6, and fellow Northern Irishman McDowell, who won the US Open in 2010, came up one stroke adrift in 2009.

The Scotland team will be made up of Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher, with Jamie Donaldson and Rhys Davies representing Wales.

$337,500. Lewis shot a 67 - the best round of the day - to match Wie (72) at 12 under.

TEAMING UP: Rose and Poulter The United States go with world No.7 Matt Kuchar and the big-hitting Gary Woodland, while Italy will once again comprise the Molinari brothers, Francesco and Edoardo, who won the title two years ago.

Brittany’s rain dance BRITTANY Lincicome was singing in the rain on Sunday after her second LPGA Tour victory of the season.

"The weather was not great, but I was still having fun. I'm definitely going to remember this win." she said after her Canadian Women’s Open triumph.

To stay focused, the longhitting American sings to herself as part of her sports psychology programme.

Lincicome saved par on the 18th hole for a two-under 70 to edge defending champion Michelle Wie and Stacy Lewis by a stroke at Hillsdale Golf & Country Club. Lincicome finished at 13 under and earned

TORREVIEJA Tigers RFC training has started in earnest at the Nelson Mandela stadium under the auspices of the Federacion Rugby Comunidad Valenciana - with regular sessions at the ground for all ages.

Under 12s and Under 14s train on Mondays and Wednesdays (5-7pm), under 16s and under 18s on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (5.30-7.30pm), Ladies Tuesdays and Thursdays (5.30-7.30pm), seniors Tuesdays and Fridays (7-9pm). Club president Ian Baker says: “Torrevieja Tigers urgently need sponsors. We also need rugby players of any age, along with referees, trainers and volunteers to assist in general running of the sports club.” Further information from Ian on 650 892 044 or Glyn Horsfall on 617 357 259. Or just pop along.

47

Friday, September 2, 2011

ENGLAND’S FINAL FRONTIER LAST weekend saw the end of the Rugby World Cup warm-ups with England beating Ireland in Dublin and the Aussies turning over the All Blacks to win the Tri-Nations championship.

The national squads will all be busy now packing their shoulder pads and toothbrushes, making last-minute preparations in readiness to depart for their respective training camps in 'Aotearoa the land of the long white cloud' - more commonly known to you and I as New Zealand.

Martin Johnston and his England side will take a lot of positives from turning over an eight year drought – they hadn’t beaten the Irish in Dublin since 2003. England always looked in control of this one with the forwards dominating the Irish eight and the centre pairing of Mike Tindall and Manu Tuilagi looking impressive.

England have come through the warm-ups relatively unscathed and just await the all-clear for their iconic captain Lewis Moody and fellow back-rower Tom Wood, who are expected to

Jonno’s boys can go all the way but not in black shirts, please!

Chris Ashton: A try machine for England

be on the plane.

England have the pedigree and the players. There won’t be many teams who would want to face them in the knockout stages. Their key players new boy Tuilagi,

JOHNSON MUST BE GIVEN TIME MARTIN JOHNSON, the man who took my place in the England team after I retired, went on to become a great player and captain. But he has yet to prove himself a great manager.

I am a big fan of the straight-talking no-nonsense Leicester legend, who deserves to be given a fair shout at developing the current England side for the future.

Most people forget that Johnson’s predecessors Geoff Cooke and Clive Woodward, who developed a big part of today’s game and put many of the present-day systems in place, both took time - nay years - to build and mould their settled squads.

It was only then that they gained success in the form of Grand Slams and World Cup finals with their respective international squads.

scoring machine Chris Ashton and the impressive young lock Courtney Lawes.

With Jonny Wilkinson keeping the scoreboard ticking over, there is no reason why England can't go all the way…as long as they don't have to wear that ridiculous all-black strip to do it.

IRELAND COACH Declan Kidney won’t be getting much sleep on the plane after his Ireland side slumped to a fourth successive warm-up defeat which will see them tumble down the IRB world rankings.

Defeats against Scotland, France home and away and finally England put them below the Scots, who are now ranked seventh. Add to that injuries to the impactive David Wallace (knee ligaments), Cian Healy (eye socket) and Gordon D’Arcy (calf strain), and Irish confi-

Battle of the Bulg From Back Page the best is what should be motivating them.

My top England lineup would be Joe Hart in goal, with Micah Richards, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand across the back and Ashley Cole completing the four in defence. Then it would be Aaron Lennon, Steven Gerrard ,Gareth Barry and Ashley Young in mifdfield. And with Wayne Rooney partnering Andy Carroll up front, we are off and running.

OK, before you start yelling – Gerrard and Ferdinand are injured so we have to find replacements.Tottenham’s Michael Dawson has done well enough in the

few chances he has been given to merit another go but there are a whole host of others who could slot in. I would go for Dawson, though, slightly ahead of Bolton pair Gary Cahill and David Wheater.

Gerrard’s replacement would be Rooney. Yes, drop him back into the role he loves and play Jermain Defoe or Theo Walcott alongside Carroll in the position freed up by Rooney’s tactical switch.

Right, so that’s got it sorted. Oh, and if they fail to qualify, I’d send Capello packing and bring in an ENGLISH manager. Someone like Harry Redknapp or, wait for it – Gary Neville.

dence must have taken a big knock.

Before this run of defeats I had a good feeling that the Irish, with their blend of youth and experience, could be the dark horses. They can beat anybody on their day and just need to regroup and get that confidence back to make the quarters.

Key players as ever will be captain Brian O'Driscoll, and with Paul O'Connell leading the charge from the front and young Jonathon Sexton marshalling his back line, keep one eye on the Irish.

of the 'sweaty socks'. They will be on the plane homeward soon afterwards "tae think again".

Scotland mysteriously have left one of their best players at home. The rampaging John Beattie has been discarded so key players without Beattie will be flyhalf Dan Parks (pictured), if he can get back to his best scoring ways) and the huge, impressively mobile lock Richie Gray.

SCOTLAND MUCH as I respect my old team-mate Andy Robinson, he has his hands full and a massive challenge. Scotland have prepared quietly and secured two wins in their warm-up matches against the Irish and Italians - boosting Celtic confidence that they can make the knockout stages.

Having a series win against the Pumas in Argentina in their last meeting, they should in theory have the edge on the Pumas and accompany England through to the quarter finals.

But don't expect much more

WALES WALES probably have the toughest group of all the home union sides -having to face South Africa, Samoa and Fiji in the aptly named the 'Pool of Death'.

Warren Gatland’s men have shown in recent outings that they have the quality, particularly in the backs, to

MANU TUILAGI: A key player for England cause anybody problems.

With the likes of Shane Williams, James Hook, George North, Jamie Roberts and Mike Phillips, Wales have one of the most exciting back lines in world rugby at the moment and one that can worry the best of defences.

Coach Gatland just needs a set of forwards who can stand up and be counted, hold their own in the tight against the big guns and win enough possession to release the talent out wide.

If it was possible to put the Welsh back line behind the English forwards in this competition, you could safely guarantee the World Cup would be heading back to the northern hemisphere.

Key players for the Welsh Hook at fly-half, young winger North and captain Sam Warburton, who has got to instil some steel into his fellow forwards.

MY PREDICTION: All four home nations to make the knockout stages with England moving forward to the final stages.

The Spanish feel...and the training blasts that amazed Ovett and Coe

I’M told that Courier readers have been asking if I know your part of Spain. Well, not yet - but hopefully I’ll put that right before too long.

I have been to the Spanish islands of Menorca, Tenerife and Lanzarote, though.

England used to have a winter training camp on Lanzarote and I believe still do.

In my playing days, we used to share the place with holidaymakers and also with athletes like Steve Cram, Steve Ovett and Seb Coe. The pitch was in the middle of the running track and the athletes used to sit on the side stretching off and watching in amazement as we knocked seven bells out of each other.

They just didn't get rugby training at all or understand how anybody could be left stan-

ding by the end of the session.

The highlight of those trips was when the coaching team dragged us out of bed at daft o'clock (their idea of a punishment) to go down to the pool area and take part in the early-bird aerobics sessions run by the green goddesses – a group of extremely lithesome young ladies wearing tight green leotards. The holidaymakers and blue-rinsers had no chance of getting anywhere near the front when we were about!

What have I been doing since hanging up my rugby boots for good at 40? Well, I went on to qualify as a garden designer/landscaper and these days I also support my wife Sharon in the daily running of Dizzy Ducks Tea rooms in the twee village of Wrea Green on the Fylde coast.

48

Friday, September 2, 2011

THE COURIER No.1 for SPORT! All the action p46, 47

BATTLE OF THE BULG

STEVE BOTT reports ENGLAND go into a crucial European Championship qualifying double header tonight (Friday) with nothing less than victory acceptable as they bid to end their 45-year trophy drought.

Bulgaria are the opposition in Sofia followed by Wales at Wembley next Tuesday - games which England should be winning comfortably if they seriously want to be considered among the world’s top football nations.

The latest FIFA rankings places them fourth behind Holland – but it beats me how the Dutch can be top of that list. Correct me if I am wrong, but aren’t Spain the current World and European champions?

Even more baffling is how England manage to be fourth. They haven't won a carrot since 1966 and aren't likely to with their current couldn't-care-less attitude.

People keep banging on about the quality players Fabio Capello has in his squad. Yes, he’s got quality when it comes to sporting stupid hairstyles and tattoos and doing ridiculous celebration routines when they manage to score a goal. But they have very little of the qualities that really count, i.e bottle and the burning desire to win when it really matters.

No, the England players are far happier driving their Porsches to the bank to deposit their latest ridiculous salary or merchandising cheque.

I am afraid people are quickly becoming disenchanted with them and the game in general - particularly when it costs around £100 a time for a father or mother and two kids to attend a top-level match.

How does that compare with other pursuits in the value for money stakes? Divide 100 by 90 and it works out at more than £1 a minute. The cinema equates to around 20 minutes per £1 and as for fishing, windsurfing, climbing or walking, well now you are really talking value for money!

So let’s see Capello motivate his men into two truly dominating performances. Bulgaria will prove slightly more difficult than Wales, but if they are not beaten by at least a two-goal margin and the Welsh trounced I will still be berating the players – and with total justification.

England does not seem to matter greatly to the players because they don’t get the money they do at club level turning out for their country. They shouldn’t need paying. Pride in being selected and making your country Turn to Page 47

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