The Courier Week 96 by TKO UK

Edition 96

www.thecourier.es

Friday, December 21, 2012

SAN FULGENCIO’S €500,000 COUNCIL I did not conceal pay rises, insists under-fire Mayor By HEIDI WARDMAN O P P O S I T I O N Councillors in San Fulgencio are fuming over pay increments supposedly promised to Council members. Representatives of the APSFU and PSOE have accused the Mayor, Carlos Ramírez, of ignoring austerity measures handed down to local councils by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, suggesting that Ramirez (pictured) has approved a number of staffing payments for his cabinet. According to the complainants, the official bulletin for Alicante Province posted on December 4 reveals a pay

increase for the Councillor for Fiestas, Health and Social Services, Conception Castell Espinosa. And they claim she is “being paid

€2,100 per month, plus two months bonus pay per year”. Opposition councillors accuse the Mayor of attempting to conceal the pay increase, which was approved on May 15, by omitting it from the Official Provincial Bulletin (BOP) until this month. They maintain: “The annual payroll for San Fulgencio councillors and their personal assistants is now more than €500,000.” The opposition parties also highlight the matter of a news editor who reportedly receives €9,480 per year for journalistic services offered to the council Press Office. They claim his contributions are “pure propaganda, reporting for the PP Mayor in a national Spanish newspa-

per”. They also refer to a monthly payment of €2,323 made to a doorman for the outdoor sports facility in La Marina Urbanisation. The employee was allegedly “a member of the local election committee of the PP party and voted in favour of Carlos Ramírez as candidate for Mayor just before last year’s elections”. Finally, party representatives say there has been continued unrest within the San Fulgencio local government team following the resignation in November of María Asunción Prieto, who is said to have suffered “insurmountable differences with the PP Mayor”. Mayor Ramírez denies the allegations and claims that the figures posed by the opposition councillors are completely incorrect, including that referring to personnel payroll costs. He argues that “the total

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PAWS BARES CLAWS IN BITTER FAREWELL PAWS Animal Rescue said its final farewell this week – with a swipe at event organisers who use charities to put bums on seats. In an unsigned email to the press, the organisation announced its closure “with great sadness and regret’’ and thanked everyone who purchased tickets for the Red and Gold Ball, the proceeds of which they and their supporters had understood were for Paws. “The ball was a 200 persons x 5 euros sell-out,’’ they wrote. “We received only 450 euros as a result of the raffle. €1,000 from the seat sales was withheld by the organiser and entertainers, with no reason given. The venue was free for which we thank Marjal. “We urge all charities to think twice before allowing their name to be used to put bottoms on seats, when they will receive only a small percentage of the total raised! Please support your favourite charity by making purchases in their shops, or by direct donation. Make your money count!!’’ The email said there were two reasons for the demise

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The Courier would like to wish all our readers and advertisers a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. Please note that there will be no Courier next week due to the holidays.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Are you a snapper? Do you have a great photo? Send it to design@thecourier.es and if we think it is good enough we will publish it as our Picture of the Week TELEPHONE

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

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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.

Picture of the Week

JUNGLE DRUMS

Photo by Tony Jones of Urb. La Marina during the Santa Run 2012 in Torrevieja. Obviously, Santa was contemplating the busy weeks ahead and needed a quiet moment or two ...

MAYOR IN PAY STORM From Page One cost of all municipal and temporary personnel is €376 000 per year”€124,000 less than was reported by them. “All of these accusations are false, including that referring to concealment of a Councillors pay rise,” he insisted. He added that the omission from the BOP was made as a result of “the former Town Hall Secretary’s refusal to send the amendment to the Provincial Council until the pay increment had been implemented.” The Mayor maintained the opposition councillors are simply intent on damaging his reputation, as information relating to personnel expenditure is made public from the moment the budget is approved. With regard to the doorman’s appointment at La Marina Sports facility, the Mayor added: “it is ridiculous to criticise this expense when it was the previous Government that agreed the contract”. He concluded: “It is sad to think that APSFU and PSOE must base their campaign on lies, when all Town Hall invoices are placed at their disposal every Friday”.

THE LITERARY FEAST Local author’s career OF STEVEN enters a new chapter By HEIDI WARDMAN

EXPAT author Steve Lawrence has seen his dreams come true in a hobby which has exploded into a series of successful novels. AuthorHouse UK novelist Steve enjoyed a successful career in engineering, but early retirement to Spain in 2005, at the age of 52, has taken him on a completely new journey. He and his wife spent several years improving their campo home in Las Bayas, on the outskirts of Santa Pola. Both animal lovers, they now have a small menagerie with two Vietnamese pot bellied pigs, chickens, ducks, two cats, two love birds, a parrot named Charlie and a dog named Zeus. Plus around 80 fish in their pond. Steve’s writing hobby dates back to 2008, when he began to keep a journal, and as the words began to flow onto the page he became more inspired to pursue his interest. Since then, Steve’s passion for writing has blos-

Steve Lawrence: ‘What have you got to lose?’

somed, with the creation of three published novels, the latest being the inspirational Moondance. Each of his novels is based around mystery and suspense themes, and he cites his main influences as masters of the genre, James Patterson, Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin and Clive Cussler. Steve describes his own literary style as “basic and raw, but with a flowing storyline designed to keep the reader turning the pages”. Taking him back to his

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roots, Moondance is set in Cheltenham, which was home for several years. He says: “The actual story line came from nowhere in particular and although the characters in the book are purely fictional, some of the names are cheekily of friends and family.” The plot revolves around the work of Gloucestershire CID, where Detective Chief Inspector Derek Williams and his team have been trying to track down a serial killer who has been terrorising Cheltenham for several

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months. It is a race against time to stop the murderer, believed to be a woman, who they are convinced, could strike again at any moment. Says Steve: “I have tried to imbue the flavour and dialect of Gloucestershire and the West Country throughout the script, in order to really bring the story to life”. Steve is extremely proud of his writing successes, and gleans vast enjoyment from putting pen to paper. “My advice to anyone thinking about writing a book is to have a go, what have you got to lose?’’ he says. “Once you get those first few chapters written down as a rough draft, you will want to continue. Ideas will start popping up, so just get them down on paper, you can always edit it at a later date”. Steve has launched his own website detailing his books, direct links to bookstores and other info for the purchase of paperback or ebook. It’s at www.stephenlawrencebooks.com

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Friday, December 21, 2012

ARMED BRIT HELD IN DEATH-PLOT PROBE NATIONAL Police agents have arrested a 42-year-old Daya Vieja woman for plotting to have her ex-husband killed. The woman, who is Dutch, was being investigated following allegations that she had offered a third party €50,000 to kill her ex-husband. At the time of her arrest, her 44-year old British partner was found to be carrying a gun and was also detained by the police. Searches of two properties in Dolores and Daya Vieja revealed several pistols, a large blade, 10 bags of cocaine, 250 grams of marijuana, 12 marijuana plants, various computers, around €300 in cash, a car, a precision balance and a selection

of tools for the cultivation and handling of the drugs. The investigation was launched by officers from the Judicial Local Police in collaboration with Elche’s Local Public Safety Brigade several weeks ago, when it was reported that a man’s life was being seriously threatened by a Dutch hitman contracted by his ex-wife. Officers responded immediately, arresting the accused alongside her current partner, who was found to be carrying an 8mm calibre gun, ten bags of cocaine, five bags of marijuana and a precision scale. The detainees are still being ques-

tioned in relation to the allegations, and further arrests are anticipated. ORIHUELA Town Hall has been given six months to provide the Department of Land Registry with all relevant documentation relating to the environmental impact of the proposed construction of 1,500 houses by Grupo Gomendio in Cala de la Mosca. The Deputy Mayor, Antonia Moreno, said these procedures will be followed, although it will involve a lengthy process of reclassifying the whole site from urban development land to a green belt zone, in order to protect one of the few remaining rural zones on the coast.

THIS WEEK IN BRIEF SOME 200 residents of Rojales took to q the streets with the Association of Parents and Students (AMPA) to demand the construction of a new school for the town. The manifesto presented by AMPA stated that the area desperately requires a new education centre, as the only existing building is “unacceptable, deteriorating, shameful and inadequate.” A spokesperson for AMPA asked what it would take for the Ministry of Education to acknowledge the need for a new school, saying: “Does a child need to die before they will take note?” His complaint referred to the health risks posed by decomposing lead pipes, septic tanks overflowing when it rains, a lack of emergency exits and electrical deficiencies in the existing building. VALENCIA is one of the few Spanish cities to have salvaged its Tourism Sector despite the crisis. Figures of around 1.7 million were predicted for 2012, but the balance had already reached 2.06 million in November. The Department for Tourism says this is extremely positive news for the region’s economy and plan a promotion to make Valencia as attractive as Madrid and Barcelona to foreign tourists. MORE than 100 people gathered outside of the Education Headquarters in Alicante, to complain about the Government’s failure to pay dinner fees for schoolchildren. The government still owes around 70% of the €30 million grant destined to subsidise school meals in all public schools throughout the Community, having not made any payments since April. School Directors say they will have to withdraw the provision of meals during school hours if the debt is not paid by the time they re-open on January 7. THE management at Alicante’s Fontcalent prison has announced plans to remove one of its units for dangerous prisoners and re-allocate them to other more modern jails with better security systems. The vacant wing will be reserved for politicians and bank managers imprisoned for acts of corruption. A 47-year-old father of two from Ardales in Málaga committed suicide just a week before Christmas, after receiving an eviction notice from his mortgage lender. He had been unemployed for two years, as had his wife. This was the second suicide in Malaga in two days, after a woman jumped from a window of her home. She had apparently been depressed for some time due to her continuing financial difficulties. SOME 10,517 Torrevieja residents were without employment at the end of November - an increase of 260 on October figures, according to the local Unemployment Office (SERVEF).

Fears grow for missing British trekker q SUSSEX police are growing increasingly concerned for the safety of a 58-year-old trekker who failed to return from a holiday in Spain. Robert Golden, from Shoreham, flew to Seville alone on November 5 but failed to board his return flight on Easyjet two weeks later. He hasn't been in touch with his brother Barry or his colleagues in London, where he works in IT. "I'm really worried,’’ says Barry. “I'm really missing him and want to see him back home. "Robert loves walking and the outdoors. It is worrying that he can be away for that length of time and not use his bank cards. The last time was 10 November somewhere in Spain. I wonder what he is living on?

"I would appeal for him to get in touch." Detective Inspector Rob Walker said: "We are getting increasingly concerned for Robert. He was seen by neighbours at the beginning of November leaving his home with a large backpack. "He is a keen walker and mentioned to a friend about trekking to Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz and Jerez for about 10 to 12 days. “However he failed to return to work as expected and he was reported missing on November 23. We are in liaison with the British Embassy and are issuing the appeal to the media in Spain. "I would ask Robert to get in touch to say he is safe and well. Det Insp Walker urged anyone who recognises Mr Golden from his travels in Spain to contact Sussex Police on +44 1273 475432, quoting serial 804 of 23/11.

PAWS PADS OUT OF PICTURE From Page One

of Paws, the other being that on December 1st a new law came into place which meant the group could no longer function. They wrote: “Although our small group, operating in La Marina for seven years has never been fully registered, we have enjoyed the tacit acceptance of the Ayuntamiento and the police, because by dint of immaculate bookkeeping we have proved regularly that

our money was used, fit for purpose, for vet bills and food for our animals. Not for human expenses!’’ Looking to the future, the email warned: “Without proper control, it will not be long before many new litters will be born, and the feral cat population on the urbanisation will multiply quickly. For this reason Linda will keep the Paws telephone open (646 645 035). She is still willing to assist anyone wanting to pay for a feral

cat neutering at a reduced rate.’’ Thanks were extended to everyone who has purchased from, and donated to Paws; Linda's network of ladies who feed and monitor cats; Sue and Graham (Gran Alacant) for unstinting collections; Banco Sabadell for free use of their forecourt; Hillside for free use of their conservatory; the Gilbert & Sullivan Society; and .Nicki (formerly Picassos) for reduced price coffee and use of facilities.

Friday, December 21, 2012

10 Things You Didn’t Know About El Gordo

2,520 MILLION REASONS TO INVEST IN THE FAT ONE By HEIDI WARDMAN THIS weekend marks the 200th anniversary of the world famous Spanish lottery, with a whopping €2.5 billion cash windfall up for grabs! The Spanish consider their Christmas Lottery to be the opening of their festive celebrations. Acknowledged on December 22 each year, El Gordo (“The Fat One”) is a massive event with a total of €2,520 million to give away. It is deemed to be the biggest lottery in the world, with up to 98% of the population buying tickets. Naturally with such a humongous sum of money at stake, the draw itself is a high-profile event, which for the second year running, will take place at the Palace of Congress in Madrid. Pupils from the San Ildefonso School in Madrid work in pairs to generate the winning sequence, with one child retrieving a ball holding a 5-digit number from one drum and singing out the number, whilst the second youngster selects a wooden ball from another drum which is matched to a cash prize. The prize is then sung out to the audience, who sit poised on the edge of their seats throughout the event. This process is continued until the colossal El Gordo Jackpot prize is claimed and the partying begins! Here are a few more amazing facts and figures that put the Spanish Christmas lottery in a league of its own: 1. El Gordo dates back to 1812, when it was created by a Government Minister called Diriaco Gonzalez. The initial idea was to increase government funds without penalising citizens by increasing taxes. 2. Sadly, this year will be the last time winners will not be hit with IVA (VAT) against their winnings. From 2013, anyone winning a prize of €2 500 or more will be subject to a 20% tax payment. 3. To give you an idea just how BIG an event El Gordo is to the Spanish, last year’s ticket sales summed an average €71.28 per head. 4. The draw is viewed by millions nation-

wide, as well as being broadcast via live radio. Children are often kept off school and parents book the day off work so that they do not miss the event. 5. Employers often give lottery tickets as Christmas presents to their staff. 6. El Gordo is not meant to make one person filthy rich, but designed so that cash windfalls are divided among several winners across the country. Over 15,000 prizes are awarded during the draw, which takes three hours to complete. 7. The probability of winning the top prize is 1 in 100 000 but the odds are still far better than those of the EuroMillions. There’s a 1 in 10 chance of breaking even and 15.3% chance of actually winning something. 8. Tickets are available from as early as July, when a total of 180 million “decimos” go on sale at €20 a ticket. A decimo is a tenth of a “billete”, which makes up an entire sequence. Therefore, if you wish to purchase all of the decimos in one number you must buy the billete at a cost of €200. 9. Even those who have little money to spare can participate in the lottery, either individually or as part of a syndicate. They have the option to purchase “participaciones” which are shares of “decimos”. These are normally in tenths and are sold at €2 each. Groups of friends often buy shares between them, spending €20 on one decimo. 10. The El Gordo Jackpot pays out €4,000,000 per serial number, or €400,000 per decimo. This is followed by the second prize of €1,250,000 per serial number, and the third prize of €500,000 per serial number. A sequence of smaller pay-outs follow the major sums, starting at €200,000 then €60,000, €20,000 and so on. So whilst it may not mean that the end of the world has come when the shops, bars and streets in your area are deserted tomorrow morning (Saturday); it may mark the start of a whole new world for thousands of lucky winners!

Friday, December 21, 2012

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

When it CAMs to the crunch...

I, TOO, had a very harrowing time with CAM relating to the mis-selling of CAM Cuotas. After my wife passed away I went to the bank to access these funds and got exactly the same response as your reader Jack (Issue 95). So every three days I returned to the bank, kept my cool (with great difficulty) and eventually was told if I accepted the share offer from Sabadell, I would get the number of shares (at the quoted price)..which equated to a loss of €7,000 on my original amount. I was told I would get 6 percent if I kept them, but managed to persuade the bank that

Donna grumpy? Now that makes me laugh l FAR from being Grumpy, I love to read how Donna Gee is getting on. Donna, you're always so cheery about it all and your humour is just brilliant. I know how essential that is to you. So keep your humour and enjoy every second of every day. As sad as you will be if you have to leave Spain, it will be because you know in your body and mind, it is getting to the time when you NEED to be in the UK MORE. ELVIRRIA DREAMER

SAD to hear of Donna Gee’s health problems and thoughts of returning to the UK and all its problems. Still, you have to do what's best for yourself, Donna - and I wish you the best of luck if and when you go. I shall miss your column - when I can get hold of The Courier in Quesada, that is. My wife is of the same opinion as yourself. I am lucky in that, at 81, I am in pretty good shape,apart from the normal old man’s problems! My lovely wife is 69 and full of aches and pains. Like she said, looks good on the outside, falling apart inside. Take care. TED (the Grumpy Old Fart), Quesada

should the shares reach an acceptable level I could sell. I had to sign the offer that day...so I did. I kept a constant eye on prices via the Internet and eventually they rose to an acceptable level. I sold immediately and made €1000 profit. Then, as soon as the funds were in my account, I transferred the lot. No way was the CAM keeping that money. The upshot is that I now cannot wait to leave Spain. It’s very sad, but the reality is the banking system in Spain is similar to any other Third World country...along with

Iberdrola etc. I hope your reader can get some comfort. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep on to them, keep your cool...and good luck. RICHARD CARDER I’ve banked at CAM for several years and am consequently now with Sabadell CAM. I never had a cross word with CAM (or a friendly one!) because I avoided contact as long as my direct debits were going out corrrectly. I figured nothing could go wrong if I didn’t give them the opportunity to mess things up. I do the same with the electric and water supplier - and so far, so good -EDITOR

MEDICS ARE NOT INFALLIBLE, TONY Beware the plant pot pinchers

I WAS incensed by Tony Mayes’ arrogant comments concerning Sally Roberts, the mother who questioned her son Neon’s treatment with radiation (not to mention his comment about women who let their emotions override basic common sense). This is a mother looking out for her child’s welfare. EVERYONE has a voice and EVERYONE has a right to use it. All this mother did was ask the questions, “ what if he doesn’t have the radiation?; will the cancer return?”; “will he survive?”; “what are the possibilities of brain damage?” etc. etc. Surely this is what every mother would do under the circumstances - and because the medics could not categorically answer in a positive way, she chose to question elsewhere. I know from personal experience the advantages of asking questions and whilst not always completely disagreeing with the medical profession (experts, as Tony puts it), there is ALWAYS the possibility that they could be WRONG (no-one is infallible, not even the medical professionals). My sister had radiation when she was 24 years old and subsequently had to have a colostomy operation because the radiation had burnt the bowel wall. Yes, she survived but hence 30 odd years later she developed intestinal failure and was told by the ‘professionals’ that not only would it be a miracle if she survived but also that she would be tube fed for the rest of her life because the radiation had disintegrated her intestines to such a degree they were like paper! Everyone knows that radiation, however it is used, continues to work for many, many years and is virtually indestructible . However, we relentlessly pushed for further advice/consultation from other medical specialists until she was admitted to a specialist Intestinal Failure Unit, having been told her problem was a direct result of radiation treatment as the radiation had continually been rotting away her bowel. Yes, you could say at that pioneering time when it was given it saved her life - but at what cost? She spent 18 months in the intestinal failure unit and thanks to the

Neon Roberts: His mother has a right to ask questions Professor and his team in Hope Hospital in Manchester (who disagreed with the initial medical team) eventually arrived home and IS NOT TUBE FED and now leads a normal active life. So you see, Mr Mayes, there is something to be said for having a voice and using it for the right reasons - and not just to fill your column. LORRAINE DELLA, Los Alcazares TONY MAYES replies: Of course the medical profession make mistakes. After all, they are not God. And of course everyone wants to do the very best for a loved one. This mother could have sought advice from other doctors/surgeons and obviously radiotherapy carries risks, as do most medical procedures, but you have to weigh up the advantages against the disadvantages. What this mother did was to go to law, spend months in the process, split with her husband because he did not agree and now the cancer has apparently returned. No, my comments are not arrogance. I believe this mother was perhaps arrogant and totally misguided, putting raw emotion before anything else. I sincerely hope her son hasn't paid the ultimate price for it.

PLACE: La Zenia ll, Orihuela Costa. Occurrence: Between 10pm on December 16 and the following morning thieves forced open the residencia gate, entered the pool area and removed two very large plant pots. The size of these would suggest that more than one person would be needed to carry them and it is likely that a vehicle was used. Advice: Protect ornaments, including plants and pots which are normally left outside. If it is possible and if the owners are away over the Christmas period, move them to a secure area. WATCH OUT THERE'S A THIEF ABOUT. Vecinos Colaborando, Orihuela costa

Airport couple stole our computer

I AM writing this email to warn your readers of an incident at Alicante airport. We were early to book in for our flight so we sat just inside departures by the information board. We had our cases and two rucksacks with us. A young couple came and pointed at the

information board and diverted our attention. When we looked around one of our rucksacks was gone, as had he young man - and the young lady just strolled out of the airport. The bag contained a new laptop, a camera, and car and house keys. Luckily we had no

address in the bag and an iPod plus a few personal things. By the time we made a police report down on level 0, there was nothing to be done, just get a report. It was a very bad start to our holiday so please warn your readers. SUSAN BEST

Friday, December 21, 2012

Grace and flavour MY HOME in Guardamar is not short of wild life - particularly in the summer. . OK, I can do without the eerie twilight flapping of bats around the turrets of neighbouring houses. And I wasn’t best prepared for the three baby hedgehogs my grandson rescued from the hedgerow as they tried vainly to suckle milk from their dead mother. But the suction-padded lizards that whiz up and down the walls fascinate me. So does the incessant chatter of the crickets or whatever they are. (I wonder if they ever play Test matches with the bats?) In September, I felt I was in the Garden of Eden when a litter of tiny feral kittens took temporary tenancy of the bamboo gazebo in my garden. But for all that, I have yet to see anything in Guardamar to match the urban beauty of my furry friends Grace and Samantha. Grace Quirrel and Samantha Fox (cringe

cringe) have taken up semi-residency at my UK home in Manchester- and I adore them. The hunting fraternity would no doubt dismiss both species as vermin...and happily rearrange Samantha’s fur into a ‘Manc’ coat. But urban foxes and grey squirrels have become as much a part of life in the northern ferretlands as flatcaps and black puddings. Even four miles from Manchester city centre. They get a helping hand from local councils, too. There are no nightly refuse collections in my area - it’s once a fortnight if you’re lucky. So Grace and Samantha will have bags and bags of goodies for Christmas...courtesy of a garbage cycle which leaves enough overflowing bins to fill the bellies of an entire colony of foxes. Meanwhile, Grace is getting positively fat legacy of the unending supply of peanuts chucked out to her through the patio doors. But did you ever see a more beautiful piece of vermin?

What a difference a year makes...

Buddy fights for his life in intensive care and, right, on his first birthday IT’S exactly one year since my sixth grandchild came into this world – and went perilously close to leaving it at the same time. Buddy John Harry Holmes was born

The Broadband and Telephone

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by Caesarian section, three months early and just 28 weeks into my daughter Hayley’s pregnancy. He had no heartbeat, wasn’t breathing and weighed less than one kilo. For the next few days, it was touch and go whether our Buddy would survive. We all hoped and prayed he’d make it and that the lack of oxygen in Company those first few minutes had not caused any permanent damage. For the answer, look at the picture above, taken at his first birthday party in Burscough, Lancashire. Apart from his model looks (I would say that, wouldn’t I?), our Buddy is as good as gold. He rarely cries and always has a smile. And baby, look at him now!

Grace after meals...my favourite garden marauder does her nut on the patio

Friday, December 21, 2012

A HARD LOCK STORY

WHEN I was smaller, in the days when Wagon Wheels seemed to be bigger, I was known to visit the cinema twice in one day. I'd watch one film in the afternoon, grab a swift snack, and then hotfoot it into the darkness of a different picturehouse to view another movie. 'It's no wonder you suffer regular headaches and bouts of indigestion,' my mother once observed. 'I am deeply moved, Mother,' I responded. 'You DO care about my welfare even though it lingers a little behind your feelings for the dog, the cat and the budgie.' 'Nonsense!' snapped Mother. 'I love you just as much, if not more, than Rover, Tiddles and Joey. But you ARE costing me a fortune in aspirin and acid reflux remedies.' I shook my head. 'You've never understood that I'm a hopeless romantic and that movies mean so much to me. That thing that Paul Henreid did in Now, Voyager, when

he lights two cigarettes at once and hands one to Bette Davis. It was beautiful.' Mother snorted. 'Romantic? More like dangerous. The idiot could have set his nose hairs on fire. 'Anyway, I'm a romantic, too,' she argued, furiously plucking a chicken on the back doorstep. 'My favourite film is that one about the loving, devoted mother who makes sacrifices for her family. It tugged at my heartstrings,' sighed Mother as she pulled more feathers from that evening's supper. 'I must agree with you,' I enthused. 'Irene Dunne was wonderful in I Remember Mama.' 'Maybe she was,' shrugged Mother. 'But I was thinking of Anthony Perkins in Psycho.' Anyway, I don't want to talk about my mother any more . . . 'Why ever not?' asked my psychiatrist 40 years later. 'Because my place in the family menagerie made me feel small and insignificant.'

'And how do you feel now that you're an adult?' 'Taller but still insignificant.' 'And boring?' queried the psychiatrist. 'Boring?' I said, puzzled. 'Who said anything about boring? I certainly don't think I'm boring.'

'Hmm,' said the psychiatrist and scribbled the words 'self-deluded' on his notepad. I jumped off the couch and legged it home. Peeping through my living room window I spotted Clark Gable chatting up Vivien Leigh. 'Wouldn't you know it,' I said aloud. 'The telly's on but Mrs S is fast asleep on the sofa. How the hell am I going to get in? Surely I'm old enough to have my own front door key.' 'There is no point in giving you a key. You'd only lose it,' I answered myself in my best mock Mrs S voice. 'Don't start!' I huffed in my own voice. 'You are being insubordinate,' I boomed, speaking as Mrs S again. At that point, next door's front door opened and my neighbour said: 'I thought I heard voices.'

'Er, that was just me,' I responded sheepishly. 'The other voice was me doing an impression of Mrs S.' 'You'd best be careful,' my neighbour warned. 'If you continue to speak like Mrs S, the condition will become permanent. Just as it did with Anthony Perkins in Psycho.' 'That was my mother's favourite film,' I said. 'I know it's a long shot but do you think you and I could be related?' 'I doubt it,' sighed the neighbour. 'You are a pale Lancashire lad and I'm a black African woman from Trinidad and Tobago.' We chatted on for a while - me because I was locked out of my house and had nowhere else to go (the pub was shut for a sawdust and spittoon refurb) and my neighbour because she obviously found me charismatic and compelling. 'So why have we been standing here for the past half-hour?' my neighbour eventually asked. 'It's not as if I find you charismatic and

compelling.' I pointed at my house. 'It's like this, Mrs Ngwenyama. Mrs S is watching Gone With the Wind but she's nodded off. And once she falls into the arms of Morpheus, nothing will rouse her. Not even the noisiest battle of the American Civil War.' My neighbour thought for a moment. Then: 'Haven't you got a front door key?' 'David Silver with his own key? God forbid!' I snapped, switching back to my Mrs S voice. 'Then would you like to borrow mine?' asked Mrs Ngwenyama. 'I think I might be misplacing the plot here,' I conceded in my own voice. 'How would YOUR key admit me to MY house.' 'Because it IS your key,' declared Mrs Ngwenyama. 'Mrs S gave it to me as a spare because she's always losing hers.' Gotcha, wifey, I thought. I let myself in, ready to declare war on Mrs S. And it would not be civil.

Friday, December 21, 2012

SAY IT IN SPANISH Learn the lingo - with a little help from JEANETTE ERATH LESSON 51

Use ponerse + adjective to express changes of an emotional or physical nature that are naturally occurring: Él se REFLEXIVE verbs can take some getting used to and, as pone triste – he becomes sad, Ella se pone pálida cuando with every verb, it is important that you use them whenever su jefe la habla – she becomes pale when her boss speaks to her. you can. Here are the answers to last week’s homework. Volverse + adjective is used to express an involuntary I like to get up early – me gusta levantarme temprano, now I am brushing my teeth – ahora me estoy cepillando sudden change: José se vuelve loco – Jose becomes crazy Hacerse + noun or adjective is used to describe attaining los dientes, the two teams admire each other – los dos equipos se admiran mutuamente, I want to get up now – a profession or social status that requires a lot of effort: quiero levantarme ahora, I am brushing my hair - me estoy Puedes hacerte abogado, si estudias – you can become a cepillando el pelo, Jack and I hug (abrazarse) each other – lawyer if you study, Juan se hace una persona respetable – John becomes a respectable person. Jack y yo nos abrazamos, we understand each other – nos entendemos. So we are going to finish learning reflexive verbs this week and don´t forget 4th January will be our end of year test. I have been writing lessons for The Courier for one year and it has flown by. If you have been following my advice and lessons you should now have a good grasp of Spanish and be more confident than a year ago. Just think how far you have come and how much you have learnt and imagine how much better again your Spanish will be after another year ´saying it in Spanish´ with me and The Courier. In Spanish the reflexive version is used to express how in English we say ´to become´. There are three verbs you need to remember and they each have a specific meaning. The verbs are: poner(se), volver(se) and hacer(se) When are they used:

Jose se vuelve loco

We have just been learning the present tense during this year and as such I have stuck with the present tense with regards to reflexive verbs, however as already mentioned, reflexive verbs can be used in all the Spanish tenses, I won´t list them all here for fear of putting you off Spanish for good! However there are quite a few and they can all be used reflexively with the correct conjugation. I am going to finish with some homework covering reflexive verbs over the last three weeks just to check any gaps you may have found with the previous homework. And then, be prepared for next week’s lesson, a full year’s revision of all that you have been learning with me from the most basic to the more advanced. It is always a great idea to check your knowledge whenever possible. For now though, translate the following into Spanish: If you study physics (física) you can become an engineer (ingeniero(a)), When our team does not win we become sad, if you eat too much you become fat, I wake up at seven o´clock, I call myself Anna, Ted prepares himself for the party, Ángel takes off his shoes. I hope you have managed to understand reflexive verbs and now know when to use them. The best way to remember is if you can say in English myself, etc. even though we do not always use them. Have a great week, I hope you have a peaceful Christmas and a relaxing week with friends and/or family and I look forward to helping you throughout the next year with some more Spanish. Please keep your comments and requests coming to me via The Courier and I will answer you all. Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo, Paz y Armonía a todos.

Friday, December 21, 2012

WHY DO THEY DO THAT? Top dog psychologist PETER SINGH writes exclusively for The Courier. Check out www.thedogyouneed.com or email Peter at peter@thedogyouneed.com

SAY NO TO A SECOND DOG UNLESS....

If you already have a dog and are thinking of the rescue centre, as she did not want anyone to come near getting another, this addition is something I am her. I brought Billy along to the rescue centre to meet her and it was simply love at first sight. always promoting to my clients. Dogs always like to live with their own kind and as long as the process is thought through, all that will happen is lots of happiness for everyone. The main mistake people make in this process comes when they already have a dog who is not balanced and is behaving in a negative way. By getting another, the owner thinks the newcomer’s arrival will calm their dog down, but this is not the case. It will simply make matters worse and I have many clients who have done just that in the past. The simple rule to follow is that your first dog must be balanced when the second one comes in. That way, your new dog will follow the example set by your first dog. This process has happened in my house many times as I currently have six dogs and each time it has worked to perfection. There is no exact science involved, just common sense. My first dog was Billy, my male German Shepherd. He is the only dog I have ever obtained from a breeder. I have had the pleasure of owning this amazing little man since he was eight weeks old, when he sat in the palms of my hands - and he has not left my side since. Billy was about 18 months old when Lola, my next German Shepherd, came to live with us. She was about a year old and had been physically abused by humans and found on the streets of South London. When I first met Lola, she was at rock bottom, afraid of her own shadow. She used to sit in the middle of her kennel at

When she came home with us, she behaved in a very erratic way, jumping over furniture and panicking in general. I will always remember that night. During her panicked state, I remember she looked over at Billy, who has always been very laid back. Billy looked back at her, as he lay down calmly, and Lola then went into the same state Billy was in. It was as if she looked at him and thought, “Oh, so this is what you do around here, lie down calmly”. Pickle, the Border Collie, came in next, followed by Pedro Rodriguez and Sanchez Rodriguez, our two little Spanish rescues. There has been about a one-year gap between each of our dogs arriving, so when new ones come in, they are meeting a very organised pack of dogs. All have settled in with no problems whatsoever. Our latest Spanish rescue, Ria, arrived and met our five dogs. Billy and Lola gave her a great welcome, but the rest of the pack were a little reserved for about a fortnight. When they realised she was here to stay, they very quickly made friends with her. She is now about nine months old and took a little longer than the others to start behaving in a balanced way, which the rest of my pack did not appreciate. The importance of having a balanced dog or pack of dogs for when a new dog arrives is simply vital - and the last part of this article will make you realise why. The other night I was working away upstairs on my computer. All of a sudden I was met with the noise of Ria screaming frantically downstairs. I knew exactly what was happening

Ria - now the perfect puppy! and did not panic as I knew what the rest of the pack were doing. Ria is a gentle soul and if another dog tells her off, she tends to get a little scared and lets out a scream! What had happened was Billy and Lola had told her off in a very assertive way and her screams were just her way of showing her fear of the situation. Since that night, though, Ria has not put a foot wrong! She has been as balanced and well behaved as a nine-month-old puppy could possibly be and she absolutely adores the rest of the pack, including her teachers Billy and Lola! I sincerely hope that my experiences have inspired you or at least make you think about getting another dog - and just remember that simple rule. As long as your first dog is balanced, the rest will fall into place. I would like to wish you all a very peaceful and happy Christmas and remember, tickets are still available for my first dog seminar talk in Spain in February. For details and to buy tickets please visit my website www.thedogyouneed.com and click on the courses tab.

PETS’ CORNER: CAN YOU TAKE IN A HOMELESS DOG OR CAT?

Pinky was born about the end of August 2012 and is a lovely natured “Felix” look alike little girl. She is very playful and loves to sit on your lap. Call Joe (The Cat Man) on 966719272

ROMUS is a 7 yr old Pointer crossbreed who has been at the kennels since Dec last year. He is friendly, good with other dogs and walks well on the lead, fully vaccinated and micro chipped. 966 710 047 or email us info@satanimalrescue.com

George: Born early Sept and will be small sized. He was hand-reared in a loving home and is a healthy bright, playful and very affectionate cute pup. Health vaccinated. Please call 650304746. www.pepaspain.com

Casper is just 12 weeks old. He was dumped and rescued at just 4 weeks old, not the greatest start to his life. He is a lovely little chap, with the sweetest nature and all he needs is love. Ring 965077378

Pepe is 18 months and a big softie! He has all vaccinations up to date and he has been neutered. Pepe is calm when needed and when it is time he likes to get-up-andgo, he loves to play and go on long walks. Call: 655 103 082. www.petsinspain.com

Sinitta is approx 10 weeks old and was rescued from a perrera. She is a lovely, friendly girl, possibly a Labrador cross, good with other dogs and will be medium size when fully grown. Call: 966 725 975. www.petsinspain.com

Romus

George

Casper

Pepe

Sinitta

Pinky Omalley O’MALLEY is a 10 month old male crossbreed who was abandoned with two litter mates when he was 6 weeks old. He is a very friendly and happy youngster who is fully vaccinated, micro chipped and castrated.966 710 047 or email us info@satanimalrescue.com

Stella STELLA is 10 months old and was found wandering in the campo in July. She is a happy and healthy small dog She is now fully vaccinated, micro chipped and spayed. 966 710 047 or email us info@satanimalrescue.com

Friday, December 21, 2012

Accident black spots: the 15 most dangerous Spanish roads Drivers on the M-40 in Madrid, the Avenida Diagonal de Barcelona or the Puente del V Centenario in Seville, must be aware of the fact that they are travelling on one of the three most dangerous urban areas in the country. This is the main conclusion of the study “Black spots: traffic accidents in Spanish capitals” carried out by Línea Directa Aseguradora in which more than 1.2 million motor vehicle accidents in provincial capital cities in the last six years were analysed. The main aim of the report, which has attracted a great deal of media attention, is to analyse a phenomenon causing 18% more fatal accidents than on interurban roads. To this end, the areas of the Spanish capital cities in which Línea Directa has registered the highest number of accidents, have been identified, which has made it possible to create, for the first time, a map of accident black spots, i.e. those streets and roads on which over 100 accidents a year have been recorded. . According to the list of black spots, Barcelona, Madrid and Seville head the Top 15 of provincial capitals. Madrid also has three of the five most dangerous areas in the whole country.

Call now for more information on 902 123 104

Friday, December 21, 2012

GOLDEN OLDIES I LOVE Christmas songs; if there is one time of year when the charts become alive with music it´s December, or at least it used to be.

For the last goodness knows how many years, the charts seem to be full of reality TV winners and wannabe celebrities. I am going to sound old now, I mean I am getting on a bit but what I am going to write is probably what a lot of people over 40 now think - I cannot be the only one: They don´t make music like they used to. I´ve said it and the younger generation can feel free to criticise or judge but I firmly believe that growing up the 1980s was the absolute best decade for music. Fashion may have got incredibly lost and there were some huge tragedies - Hungerford, The Herald of Free Enterprise and Lockerbie to name just three, but music-wise it was the decade to be young in. However, this week’s article isn´t about the 80s, or music Shane MacGowan

in general, but more specifically Christmas music. As I´m writing this I am listening to the television playing Christmas songs of previous years. While they were playing music from the 1990s onwards, my mind wandered but then came a song from the 80s and my ears pricked up. Maybe it was because it was my decade but I believe the songs from 30 years ago still have strength and depth. The lyrics actually are about Christmas, they were not afraid to say the word as many times as they could. I know Merry Christmas Everyone was from the 1970s but I will adopt it as an 80s anthem. Then there was the Shakin´ Stevens classic, Merry Christmas Everybody - first released in 1985 after it was held back for a year so as not to clash with arguably the best Christmas song ever - Do They Know It´s Christmas?. Then there were the classics - The Power of Love (I am referring to the Frankie Goes To Hollywood version, A Winter’s Tale by David Essex and Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and the late, great Kirsty McColl. They are all beautifully written, exquisitely composed and sung to perfection. A Spaceman Came Travelling and Stop the Cavalry are other songs that touch as they tell a story; the lyrics mean something about this season, this season of goodwill to all and peace on earth.

I guess we can all hope but in the meantime what are we going to be listening to over our Christmas dinners this year? No doubt the latest offering from the newest X Factor winner will top the charts. I have no idea who it is nor what the song will be as I don´t watch British television, and I sadly no longer listen to very much modern music. I know this time of year there will be Father Christmas coming to visit the children and his sleigh being pulled by his reindeer. There will be festive films on television and festive music played on the radios; however I am sure the films will not be modern and the music will be from decades past. I don´t understand why people buy new Christmas albums, the songs are the same ones just put in a different order and with maybe one modern addition which has absolutely no reference to Christmas, snow, Santa or anything else associated with the season. This December 25 we will be putting our old music on and singing along, remembering Christmases past and looking forward to many more in the future, when we can watch children and grandchildren grow and we try and keep the magic forever. I hope you have a very happy, peaceful Christmas and I look forward to sharing new stories with you in 2013. Let´s grow together and never lose that part of us that is forever 18 and listening to ´proper´ Christmas songs.

Friday, December 21, 2012

IT’S the season of tidings and good joy, as well as the time to have a party game. In fact we got the ultimate treat of a high level game of charades with The Queen going to a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street. The Monarch hasn’t had the patience or energy for a Cabinet visit since the days of Queen Victoria, but this time she couldn’t refuse the Prime Minister‘s invitation. That’s because she had to pick up her Diamond Jubilee present, courtesy of a ministerial whip-round, though I was dying to know who said no to it! Of course, all the Cabinet ministers were well behaved, so it was an utter charade, with the Queen musing that she would rather have watched that morning’s edition of Cash in the Attic. I rather suspect that she also thought she could make a far better fist of running the country rather than this generation’s crop of uninspiring and unprincipled politicians. Meanwhile, David Cameron is clearly enjoying his relationship with The Queen and is quick to milk every opportunity he can to rub shoulders with the boss at Buck House. There’s surely nothing wrong in try-

HRH REIGNS ON PM’S CHARADE ing to book an Order of the Garter award and a Peerage as insurance for an election defeat in 2015! Last weekend’s dreadful events, with yet another nutter killing innocent children in an American school, brings to focus once more the craziness of the

US gun laws. Yes, you need a license to buy a gun, but anybody can get one as easily as buying a soda from the local supermarket. The American gun lobby is a strong one and love to quote the constitution about the rights to own and buy a weapon. All that may have

been fine and dandy in the alleged good old days, but this current tragedy may give some fresh impetus to the recently re-elected President Obama to take on these vested interests. All decent people will wish him well, but once all the tears have been shed, the usual

gun lobby lovers will prevail with words more appropriate to the era of Wild Bill Hickok and the gangsters of the Roaring Twenties, rather than dealing with the problems of modern society. It could only happen in Britain. The legal aid bill for the radical cleric Abu Qatada’s non-stop battle against deportation has now reached over half a million pounds! All this comes when the government has slashed legal aid for poor families who have some genuine cases to fight over, and who have lived all their lives in Britain and paid their taxes. By the way, old Captain Hook Abu Hamza’s failed legal fight against deportation to America cost the public purse £1 million! Can you please tell me which other country on this planet would allow such stupidity to happen? The sight of Spanish people pitching up out-

side local supermarkets playing musical instruments and begging for money is getting more and more widespread, especially in areas with large nonSpanish populations. It’s a frightening comment on what happens in tough economic times, and in a country which doesn’t have the generous safety net of benefits that, say, Britain has. Taking all of this further, I was impressed by the TV documentary last Sunday put together by the alwayslucid BBC Newsnight economics correspondent, Paul Mason. He came over here to analyse some of the problems and crucially what might happen if nothing changes. That includes the very framework of democracy being challenged in a country that was run by the Franco dictatorship up to his death in the middle 70s. The fact that I hear some of my older Spanish friends fondly harking back to those times makes me shudder, but you can understand why they do it. All kinds of strange and nasty things can happen if economies collapse, and there are plenty of lessons to be learnt from contemporary history on that front!

No baby boom in the gloom and doom… By Heidi Wardman

THE National Statistics Institute (INE), has released some interesting figures relating to births and deaths for 2012. Between January and June this year 223,853 children were born, which represents a decrease of 2.7% over the same period in 2011. Quite surprising when there are so many people sat at home at the moment, with very little to do…. Conversely, the death rate has increased by 9.7 percent, with 217,017 recorded throughout the six-month period. The average age of motherhood is also continuing its upward trend. Spanish females in their twenties are now far more likely to pursue their careers than start a family, with the

average age now lying around the age of 32. During the first half of 2012, the number of marriages increased by 5.2% over the same period last year to 73,217. However, this still only leaves 3.5 married couples per 1,000 inhabitants, which is another move away from the rigid Catholic beliefs that were upheld in Spain until a decade ago. THE continuing economic crisis and the tightening up of eligibility rights to unemployment benefit, which were approved by the Government in July, have resulted in an increase in the number of unemployed people in Alicante who are receiving no financial support. According to the Public Employment

Service, the number of people with no resources to meet their basic needs stood at 94,134 in October, and has now risen to over 109 681. This figure represents 48.5% of unemployed people in Alicante and is 15,547 more than a year ago. IT SEEMS that foreign residents are not the only ones who are suffering as a result of the Regional Health Department’s SIP card crack down. A 27- year old Spanish woman who now lives in France, had a shock when she returned to her hometown of Callosa de Segura for Christmas, to find that she had been struck off the Social Security register, and therefore lost her rights to healthcare in her own country.

The university graduate left the country a year ago, having struggled to secure employment here, and has been working in France since then. She attempted to make an appointment at her Health Centre this week, to find that she no longer existed on the system, and would not be seen by her GP. She complained: “During my university years I worked in shops, supermarkets and as a promoter, paying into the system for six consecutive years, for which I now get nothing!” The situation affects hundreds of other young Spaniards who left the country to seek opportunities overseas, and will now only be attended in emergency cases in their country of origin.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christmassssssss

HONEY MUSTARD GLAZED DUCK Ingredients 1 small duck , about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz 1 tsp sunflower oil 2 tsp five spice powder 200g clear honey 2 tbsp dark soy sauce 2 tsp dry sherry 2 tsp Dijon mustard

a dusting of flour 1 tbsp picked thyme leaves 500g block all-butter puff pastry 140g Stilton , sliced 1 egg , beaten

Method

1. About an hour before cooking, take the duck out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Heat oven to 140C/ 120C fan/gas 1. Pull out and discard any large lumps of fat from inside the duck, then rub it all over with some salt, the oil and five-spice powder. Sit the duck in a roasting tin, then roast for 2 hrs. 2. For the glaze, mix the honey, soy, Sherry and mustard in a bowl. When the duck has had its time, remove it from the oven, pour off any fat from the tin and baste generously with the glaze. Turn the oven up to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and roast the duck for a further 20 mins until sticky and bronzed. Remove the duck to a clean dish to catch any juices and allow it to rest for at least 20 mins before serving. 3. To make a simple gravy, pour the juices from the roasting tin into a jug or bowl and leave to settle. Use a ladle to remove the fat from the juices, then tip the juices back into the saucepan and reheat to serve.

1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and sizzle the mushrooms for 3-4 mins on each side until golden and cooked through - add a drop more oil if needed. Lift the mushrooms out onto kitchen paper to drain. 2. Place the same pan back on the heat with the rest of the oil. Fry the garlic for a moment, add the spinach to the pan, then cook for 2-3 mins over a high heat until completely wilted. Season with salt and pepper, then tip the spinach into a large sieve to drain thoroughly. 3. On a lightly floured surface scattered with the thyme leaves, roll the pastry out to the thickness of a ÂŁ1 coin. Using a saucer and a larger-size plate, cut out 4 circles about 5cm wider than the mushrooms (for the bottoms) and 4 circles about 10cm wider (for the tops), re-rolling the trimmings if you need to. 4. Place the 4 smaller circles on a baking tray and top each with a quarter of the spinach, making sure the pile of spinach isn't wider than the mushrooms. Top the spinach with a slice of cheese, then a mushroom, smooth-side up, and top the mushroom with another slice of cheese. Brush the border to each circle with egg, then gently stretch the larger circle over the mushroom, trying not to trap any air, then press the edges together with a fork. Trim the edges with a knife if you want, then brush each generously with egg. Bake for 40 mins until golden, then leave to cool for a few mins before serving.

MELTY MUSHROOM WELLINGTON Ingredients

BAKED HAM WITH BROWN SUGAR & MUSTARD GLAZE Ingredients

Method

4 large field mushrooms 4 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove , chopped about 400g/14oz spinach leaves

4-5kg/9-11lb raw smoked ham on the bone 90g/3oz soft brown sugar 6 tbsp wholegrain mustard dark rye bread, sweet sliced pickles and bay leaves , to serve

200C/180C fan/gas 6.Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the rind off the ham, leaving about 1-2 cm of fat; cut a diamondshaped pattern into this. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and mustard, then rub all over the ham. Roast for 30 mins until the ham is tender and the outside nice and sticky. 4. Bring to the table on a large platter lined with bay leaves. To serve, cut 1cm-thick slices off the ham to go alongside the rye bread, pickles and mustard sauce

STICKY SPICED RED CABBAGE Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 1 medium-size red cabbage , quartered, cored and shredded 1 finger-size piece fresh root ginger , finely chopped 2 onions , sliced 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tbsp mustard seed 100g golden caster sugar 150ml red wine vinegar

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan, add cabbage, ginger, onions, allspice and mustard seeds, then cook for 5 mins until just starting to wilt. 2. Scatter over the sugar and pour in the vinegar. Cover pan, gently cook for 10 mins, then remove lid and turn up the heat to medium. Simmer the liquid in the cabbage for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally, then stir continuously for the last few mins until all the liquid has evaporated and becomes sticky on the bottom of the pan. Tip cabbage into a large bowl and serve.

ROSEMARY & GARLIC ROAST POTATOES WITH CHIPOLATAS Ingredients 2kg King Edward potatoes , cut into large pieces 2 tbsp each butter and olive oil 1 bulb garlic , separated into unpeeled cloves 2 tbsp chopped rosemary 12 pork chipolatas

Method

Method 1. Place the raw ham in a large, clean bucket. Add enough water to cover and soak overnight, or up to 24 hrs ahead, changing the water twice. 2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Drain and place the ham in a large roasting tin, cover tightly with foil and bake for 3 hrs. 3. Remove the ham from the oven and turn the heat up to

1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Put the potatoes in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins. Meanwhile, put the butter and oil into a large, shallow roasting tray and heat in the oven. Drain the potatoes in a colander, giving them a good shake to fluff the edges up a little. Toss in the hot oil in the tray and roast for 20 mins. 2. Add the garlic, rosemary and chipolatas to the tray, toss well together and roast for a further 50 mins until the potatoes are crunchy and golden brown and the sausages are cooked through.

CRANBERRY AND CHAMPAGNE SAUCE Ingredients 200g golden caster sugar 450g fresh or frozen cranberries

Friday, December 21, 2012

splash Champagne or sparkling white wine

Method 1. Tip the sugar into a medium saucepan and place over a medium heat. Cook without stirring until the sugar has dissolved and turned into a bubbling, light-brown caramel. 2. Throw in the cranberries and let them cook in the caramel, stirring until they start to burst, then simmer everything for about 10 mins until you have a harmonious, thick, jammy sauce. 3. Pour in the Champagne or wine, bring the sauce to the boil, then remove and pour into a bowl to cool completely.

CREAMY PARSNIP AND MUSTARD GRATIN Ingredients 800g parsnips , peeled 400ml milk 200ml double cream 200ml vegetable stock 4 tsp wholegrain mustard 4 tbsp grated Twineham Grange cheese whole nutmeg , for grating

Method

1. Slice enough parsnips thinly lengthways to cover the surface of a small ovenproof dish, then slice the rest thinly into rounds. Combine the milk, cream, stock, mustard and half the cheese in a large, lidded saucepan and bring to the boil. Add a good grating of nutmeg and some seasoning - the sweet parsnips can take a bit of salt - then tip in the parsnips. When the cream is simmering again, cover and cook for 6 mins. 2. Using tongs, fish out the long slices of parsnip and set aside. Tip the rest into your dish, then arrange the long slices over the top. Scatter with the rest of the cheese and another grating of nutmeg. Can be chilled for up to 24 hrs. 3. To serve, heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and bake for 1 hr, then turn up to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and brown for 15 mins more - you can do this while the pie is resting.

SAUSAGE, SAGE & ONION STUFFING Ingredients 2 onions , sliced 25g butter 1 small Bramley apple , peeled, cored and diced 2 x 400g packs meaty Cumberland sausages , removed from their skins handful sage , leaves chopped, plus extra for topping 140g granary breadcrumbs

Method

1. Fry the onion in the butter for 5 mins, then add the apple and cook briefly. Cool, then mix with remaining ingredients and seasoning. 2. Use to stuff the neck end of the bird, then roll any leftovers into balls. Or, pack the whole mixture into a 1kg loaf tin and top with extra sage leaves. Bake with turkey for 30-40 mins. Drain off any fat and serve sliced.

STICKY CARROTS WITH THYME AND HONEY Ingredients 1kg Chantenay carrots , unpeeled, larger ones halved 25g butter few thyme sprigs 1 tbsp honey

Method

1. Tip the carrots into a deep frying pan with the butter, thyme and honey. Cook for 5 mins until starting to brown. Pour in 250ml water, bring to the boil and cook until the water has evaporated and the carrots are tender. Turn down the heat and cook the carrots slowly, stirring, until glazed.

CREAMY LEMON, PANCETTA & ROSEMARY TURKEY Ingredients 4.5-5kg oven-ready turkey , thawed if frozen, giblets removed 25g pack each rosemary and thyme 2 lemons , finely zested 80g pack sliced pancetta , chopped 150g pot mascarpone 2 onions , thickly sliced FOR THE GRAVY 1 tbsp flour 100ml white wine 600ml turkey or chicken stock

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Wash the turkey and pat dry. Strip the leaves from half the rosemary and thyme stalks and finely chop. In a bowl, combine the lemon zest, chopped herbs, pancetta and mascarpone. Season well. 2. Halve the zested lemons and stuff into the cavity, along with the remaining herb sprigs. Use your hand to loosen the skin lying over the breast of the turkey, to create a pocket. Push the mascarpone mixture under the breast skin to create a thick, even layer. 3. Put the onion slices into a large, flameproof roasting tin, place the turkey on top and cover loosely with foil. Cook for 3-3¾ hrs, until the juices of the bird run clear. Baste every 30 mins and uncover for the last 30 mins if needed, to brown the bird. When cooked, take the turkey from the oven, remove from the tin and leave to rest on a platter, covered loosely with foil, for 30 mins. 4. To make the gravy, pour away any excess fat from the roasting tin and discard the onion slices. Set the tin over a medium heat, then sprinkle over the flour. Stir through and cook for 2 mins. Slowly whisk in the wine and stock. Bring to a boil, scraping the bits from the bottom, then simmer over a low heat for 15 mins. Serve the gravy with the turkey.

RASPBERRY & ROSE TRIFLES Ingredients 2 cubes Turkish delight , optional 500g pot good-quality vanilla custard ½ a 350g/12oz bought Madeira loaf 300g pack raspberries juice 1 orange 200ml tub crème fraîche (use reduced-fat if you like) handful pistachios , roughly chopped

Method

1. If you don't want to add the Turkish delight, move on to step 2. Snip the Turkish delight into pieces with kitchen scissors into a large bowl and add a few tablespoons of water. Microwave on High for 1 min, stirring after 30 secs, or until dissolved and smooth. Tip in the custard and stir together. 2. Break the cake into rough chunks and divide between 6 sundae dishes or serving glasses. Mix half of the raspberries with the orange juice in a bowl and crush gently with a fork to break the fruit up slightly. Spoon over the cake layer. Cover with the custard, then leave to cool in the fridge for at least 30 mins. Can be made up to 1 day ahead. To serve, top the trifles with a dollop of crème fraîche, the remaining raspberries and a sprinkling of pistachios.

Friday, December 21, 2012

LET US PAMPER YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!!! Christmas and New Year are normally busy times for the women of the house and often the New Year actually finds us stressed and tired with a low immune system and feeling pretty unenthusiastic about the remainder of the winter… Let us pamper you in the New Year for absolutely no cost! It will be your treat from us! With every hair colour and cut booked in January and February we will offer you a complementary pedicure. Whilst your hair colour is developing we will give you a lovely aromatic foot spa, followed by removal of hard skin, exfoliation, foot and leg massage and your toes painted in a colour of your choice. You will leave us feeling pampered from head to toe!

All returning clients for hair will receive a 10% discount on all hair treatments for January and February. All appointments must be booked before the 6th January to take advantage of this not to be missed special offer. Microdermabrasion and Non Surgical lifting treatments for January and February will have a 25% discount when 4 treatments are booked. This can include “bring a friend” so you pay for 2 each! Another of our special offers not to be missed. Watch this space for our workshop days coming soon! Flabélos Whole Body Vibration Plate, the first 10 people to book and pay for a month a get a half price offer!

Go for dairy daily

Eating three servings of fat-free or low-fat dairy products is one of the best things you can do for your bones and belly. It protects against heart disease, too. And, if you like yoghurt, emerging research suggests that healthy bacteria in fermented dairy products may act as protective, anti-infection agents. Increased yoghurt consumptions might even help raise your resistance to immune-

related disease. There is good evidence for the beneficial effect of yoghurt in maintaining certain aspects of gastrointestinal health, and there is some preliminary evidence for colon cancer. Check the label to make sure that the brand you choose contains live and active cultures to ensure that you’re getting all the benefits of healthy bacteria.

Treat and prevent your toothache

The most common source of dental discomfort is tooth decay. As decay progresses, bacteria invade the pulp which is the mass of blood vessels and nerves at the centre of the tooth and activate pain receptors there. It hurts when you bite down or drink something cold. And sometimes it just throbs for no apparent reason. A cracked tooth also produces pain, but you may feel it only when you bite a certain way. The pressure of biting opens the crack further. In general, whenever you have an aching tooth, you should see your dentist as soon as possible so that he can determine what is causing your pain. However, here are some tips that you can consider to adopt for temporary relief.

1. Get to the Point

The time-honoured practice of acupressure works quite well in relieving tooth pain. To give it a try, you will first want to locate the appropriate acupressure point, which lies between the thumb and index finger of either hand. The point is called hoku. It means 'mountain' in Chinese. If you close your thumb and index finger, you will notice a little rise next to the crease. That is where the point is. Then, simply press the point on the hand opposite the affected tooth. In other words if the sore tooth is on the left side of your mouth, work the point on your right hand, and vice versa.

2. Plug the Hole

Oil of cloves also works well as a temporary filling for a tooth that has lost its filling. Simply fill the hole with cotton soaked in oil of cloves until you can get to your dentist. Another good temporary filling is soft orthodontic wax, which you can buy in most chemists. Gently rinse your tooth and fill the hole with the wax. This will protect the tooth

WHAT CAUSES ALZHEIMER’S? In the past decade, scientists have made significant progress in our understanding of the changes that occur in the cells and ultimately lead to Alzheimer’s disease. This knowledge has led to advances in the science of preventing and slowing down already progressing Alzheimer’s. One of the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s is forgetfulness and loss of memory. Long term occurrences can be remembered with vivid clarity, while more recent events such as a TV programme seen just a few hours ago is not. There is also increasing difficulty concentrating, adding numbers, and finding the right words to describe a situation. Although mild versions of these symptoms are perfectly normal with increasing age, overwork and stress, they are apparently more severe in someone suffering the condition. Mood swings, dramatic personality changes and disorientation

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

also occur. As Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) progresses, it robs its victims of their memory, identity and dignity. Scientists now understand that AD is a consequence of a malfunction that occurs in the production of protein structures that are critical to the memory-forming functions of the brain. The malformed proteins (Beta-amyloid and Tau) are then deposited in the nerve cells, kick-starting the disease process. While these damaged protein structures are a normal part of the aging process and are effectively removed if diffused throughout the cell, their deposition as concentrated clusters eventually leads to nerve degeneration and death. Tau proteins are necessary for the formation of the internal structure of cells, and their malformation leads to the

collapse of nerve cells and the loss of a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger), acetylcholine. It is now believed that the depletion of acetylcholine leads to the degradation of short-term memory. Furthermore, the malformed proteins react with sugars in a process similar to the ‘browning of turkey in the oven’ to form proteinsugar complexes. These complexes bind with free metals in the body such as copper, iron and aluminium to generate a flood of toxic chemicals that destroy nerve cells. In addition, the proteinsugar complexes stimulates the immune system to cause inflammation, which causes even more production of malformed proteins, setting in motion a vicious cycle which eventually leads to the symptoms associated with

Alzheimer’s. Environmental toxins and heavy metals such as aluminium have been implicated as triggers for Alzheimer’s. It is known that AD sufferers have high levels of aluminium in the brain. Exposure to aluminium is usually through drinking water, anti-deodorants, long term consumption of antacids, and cookware. The use of chelating agents which bind aluminium and other metals is known to produce a significant reduction in the progression of the disease as well as being a preventative measure. A good example is magnesium, which competes with and displaces aluminium from the body. Also useful for managing Alzheimer’s are supplements such as Lecithin and Choline which boosts the brain levels of

from cold water, food, and other elements.

3. Give up The Triggers

The easiest way to alleviate the discomfort of dental hypersensitivity is to stop consuming whatever is causing you problems. If you experience pain when you eat sweets, for example, then do your best to avoid them.

4. Wash Away Pain

It is recommended treating a toothache with frequent saltwater rinses. Salt is an excellent astringent. It draws things out. Use warm not hot water, and rinse as often as you can. You cannot overdose. Be sure not to swallow the saltwater.

5. Ease up a Bit

Being physically active is a very good thing, but when you have a toothache, going full steam ahead can actually intensify your pain. When you move around a lot, your heart pumps harder. Since your heart and your jaw are so close to each other, an increase in the pumping action of your heart can heighten the pressure in your tooth and possibly aggravate your discomfort. This does not mean that you should lie in bed. But you might want to limit your activity until you see your dentist.

6. Take a Pill

You can try an over-the-counter oral medication to ease a toothache. Acetaminophen or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as ibuprofen might give you relief.

7. Be Finicky About Food

Chewing can stimulate your tooth and make it hurt even more. It is recommended that you stick with soft foods and chew on the side of your mouth opposite your sore tooth. Also, avoid foods that are spicy or extremely hot or cold.

acetylcholine. Studies have also shown that nutrient deficiencies in Vitamins B1, B3, B12 and Vitamin E can produce AD-like symptoms. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) mimics and potentiates the ‘brain messenger’ acetylcholine, involved in memory. B1 supplements have been clinically shown to improve the memory functions of AD suf-

ferers. Zinc is known to prevent the formation of malformed proteins and a study in 1992 reported that 80% of AD patients given zinc showed remarkable improvements in memory, understanding and communication. For Full Body Diagnostics and Therapy, Call Dr Machi Mannu, 965071745

Friday, December 21, 2012

Putting a price on supplements Q

I buy supplements online, and have noticed a difference in price between the different brands. As much as I would like to save money and buy the cheaper brands, I cannot help but wonder if I may be compromising on quality. Are there any differences between brands, or is it just a case of some companies wanting to make more money? Thank you for your email. Yes, there are huge differences between the different grades of supplements. Nutritional supplements are typically available in four different categories: pharmaceutical grade, medical grade, cosmetic or nutritional grade and food or agricultural grade. Pharmaceutical grade is the highest quality grade of supplements. This means that the purity, dissolution, absorption and bio-availability of the supplements meet the highest regulatory standard verified by an outside party. Pharmaceutical grade supplements may be available without any prescription, but they are typically only sold by licenced healthcare practitioners. Medical grade supplements are also of high quality, although they may not meet all of the standards of pharmaceutical grade vitamins. Most supplements taken during pregnancy, fall into this category. Cosmetic or nutritional grade supplements are typically sold in pharmacies and health food stores. These supplements are not always tested for absorption, dissolution or purity. Additionally, these supplements do not always have the same concentrations of active

ingredients as what is listed on the label. Feed or agricultural grade supplements are produced for animal consumption. An important word when comparing supplements is ‘Bio-availability’, which refers to the amount of nutrients in a supplement that is available for absorption by the body. Pharmaceutical grade supplements are very high on the bioavailability spectrum, while nutritional grade supplements are much lower down on the bioavailability spectrum. Nutritional grade supplements normally bought from health food stores have many types of substances such as; filler, binders and other chemical substances that are legally allowed for use in manufacture, although toxic to the body. Low grade supplements that contain a lot of chemicals can cause abdominal problems when taken on empty stomach. On the other hand, high grade pharmaceutical grade supplements do not contain fillers and binders, making them readily available to the body. Furthermore, the ability of a supplement to work well can also depend on the form of nutrient used. For example natural vitamin E is absorbed better from the intestines, and is more active than its synthetic counterpart. Magnesium aspartate is better absorbed and more bioavailable than magnesium oxide, but manufacturers of lower-grade supplements will usually use the cheaper and mostly less active nutrient form. Pharmaceutical grade supplements are also checked for impurities such as mercury, lead and other toxic chemicals, and are continuously monitored in the laboratories for safety and efficacy.

The best way to make sure you are purchasing a high quality nutritional supplement is to buy a pharmaceutical grade form. These are usually only sold by a licensed health care practitioner. The manufacturers of pharmaceutical grade supplements understand that their high quality products can have a profound effect on an individual’s health; therefore, they want a licensed health care practitioner monitoring the use of these products. The supplements we sell on our website and prescribed to our patients are all pharmaceutical grade supplements manufactured by Douglas Laboratories. I have had warts on my knees and elbows and sometimes the soles of my feet for some years. Please tell me how I can manage them. Warts are caused by infection with a skin virus known as the human papillomavirus (HPV) of which there are over 60 different strains. There are as many as 10 different varieties of warts, and many are considered harmless. Warts can be spread by contact, and the transmission can occur between two people as well as between different parts of the body of the same person. To prevent spreading the virus, warts should not be scratched. Genital warts are found around the genital regions of the body, and can be spread through sexual intercourse. The warts that have appeared on your knees and elbow are known as common warts, while those on your feet are referred to as plantar warts. Different strains of HPV infect specific areas of the body. Those on the soles of the feet can become flattened by the weight

of the body to form painful bumps known as verruca. These verrucas tend to grow quickly and can spread very rapidly if the feet are left moist or wet all the time. Most sufferers find out that their warts naturally disappear on their own within a year without any form of therapy. This may be why many folk remedies seem to work. In a clinical trial, raw garlic cloves applied directly on the skin was used successfully to treat warts in a group of children. A clove was cut in half each night and the flat edge of the clove was rubbed onto each of the warts, carefully cleaning the surrounding areas, so as not to spread any garlic juice. The areas were covered overnight with Band-Aids or waterproof tape and were washed in the morning. In all cases, the warts cleared completely after an average of nine weeks. Zinc is also very effective for managing warts. In one study, supplementing with zinc resulted in complete disappearance of warts in 87% of people treated. Applying vitamin E oil directly to the wart and covering with plaster also seems to work after several weeks. Taking immune boosters such as Echinacea helps strengthen the immune system against viral infections. High dose antioxidants such as Vitamin C have been shown to reduce the growth of warts. Warts and verrucas can also be frozen at home by the use of ‘freezing’ products which are available in the pharmacies or by applying wart-dissolving gels. For High-Grade Supplements visit: www.medb.es

Friday, December 21, 2012

RICHARD CAVENDER

Bluemoon Solutions www.bluemoonsolutions.es

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

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

ADVICE: Keith was getting an error in FireFox every time ADVICE: Jake was having some problems with his Google he tried to play a YouTube video Chrome profile.

Q A

Hi Richard, for the past 2 days I cannot play any YouTube videos. I get a message "An error occurred. Please try again later." That message comes up on every video I try to play over the last period.

Hi Keith, with regards to your “An error occurred. Please try again later” issue, there seems to be a problem with the RealPlayer Browser plugin on FireFox that causes this problem, if it is a plug in issue then you can test this by starting FireFox in safe mode, if the problem goes away then you do have a plug in that is causing the problem. In order to start FireFox in safe mode, do the following… 1. Exit Firefox 2. Click Start > Run 3. Type the following then press [Enter]: firefox.exe –p 4. Click Continue in Safe Mode If you find that the problem doesn’t occur in safe mode then disable your plug ins one by one until you find the one that is at fault.

ADVICE: Thomas wanted to know how to stop AVG from asking permission before acting to remove threats. Hi Richard, from time to time AVG pops up on the screen and asks me whether it should remove a potential threat, of course I don’t have the knowledge to say whether it should or not so I just always click “yes”, is there a way to stop these messages and just get it to always remove threats?

Hi Tom, you can change the AVG settings to just remove the threat and not inform you by going into the AVG settings, Advanced Settings, Computer Protection, AntiVirus, and uncheck the box that says “ask me before removing threats”

Hi Richard I hope you can solve the following problem for me, I receive the following message when connecting to Google chrome or Gmail. Your profile could not be opened properly, check profile exists and you have permission to read and write its contents. How does one stop this message appearing and what can one do to correct problem. Regards Jake Hi Jake, it looks like you have some corruption in your Google Chrome profile, you don’t mention which operating system you are using so I am going to assume you have Windows 7, you should do the following to resolve the problem. 1. Make sure that Google Chrome is not running – a good way to do this is to restart your computer. 2. Click Start, then Computer. 3. Navigate to C:\Users\{your username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default 4. Delete the file named “Web Data” 5. Start Google Chrome and the error should be gone. Hope this helps.

Q A

ADVICE: Janice wanted to know whether there was an alternative for ExpatShield for the Mac

Q A

Hello Richard, I use a mac computer & am wondering how i can download something like free ExpatShield on it so i can connect to iplayer etc. I have found a site that charges but is there a free site for mac users? Many thanks, Janice Hi Janice, I am not aware of a free one, perhaps some of our readers will email in and let us know if they are using one. I can confirm that the system I recommended to Val does work with Mac’s and indeed iPad’s and iPhones – www.my-privatenetwork.co.uk

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

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

Office: 902 906 200

Friday, December 21, 2012

IT'S happened again, a deranged idiot shoots his own mother and then runs riot in a primary school, killing children and teachers. The slaughter of innocents as one newspaper so aptly described it. Crazy America! How long must these massacres go on until they realise that much of it can be prevented by removing guns from the hands of the population? Americans rushed to churches all over the country, hypocritically wringing their hands in yet another display of anguish, praying for an end to this type of slaughter. God is not going to stop it, Americans can by ending this obsession that they must own and carry guns. They are up against those who are making huge amounts of money out of manufacturing and selling guns - blood money, just like the hateful tobacco industry. Americans must be very insecure people to need to carry guns for protection. They must come to realise that this insecurity is born of the very thing they so far have protected - the right to carry arms. Barack Obama must take on the money-mad gun lobby and remove these weapons from the population. Yes, atrocities will still happen because there's little way of knowing when someone is deranged enough to commit such a crime. But without guns, and only knives to attack with, there will be fewer casualties. Something is seriously going wrong in America when these atrocities keep happening. I keep saying it, Americans were not ready for independence and still

TIME TO BITE THE BULLET

Gun-crazy Yanks must see sense

arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. They continue to need the steadying hand of the motherland. MY wife and I are volunteers for the charity Help at Home, which looks after mainly Englishspeaking people in the Torrevieja area. The work provided by the charity is much needed because, unlike Britain, there is no aftercare for patients after leaving hospital following an operation. Spanish families rally around to help but expats don't enjoy that support and find themselves in considerable difficulties if illness strikes. We have come across many folk who are in great distress and difficulty. Some have come out to Spain during the good years, earning money, buying expensive properties and living the good life. But they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think about

getting older. They lived up to or beyond their means during the good years, on mortgages and with no savings. And when the recession struck, they were without a job and quickly ate into what money they had. With debts mounting, their homes were repossessed. Some of those who remain are living in absolute poverty, relying on the kindness of neighbours and friends to struggle on. Imagine living in a house without water and electricity and no money for food; the husband suffers a stroke, leaving him paralysed apart from the use of one arm. Friends rallied around and

brought him home, where he was left on a mattress on the cold floor. He needs more hospital treatment to prevent a further stroke, followed by physio, but w i t h o u t money it won't happen. In Britain, social services would help with housing, medical care would be provided and accommodation in a nursing home would be available. But not in Spain - unless you have money. Imagine the plight of this couple, who are just short of retirement age. At best it's inhumane, at worst it's barbaric. Those younger people reading this - please take note and get your mortgage paid off as your number one priority. Save for your old age and forget about spending on cruises, holidays, partying, boozing and other stuff, which grabs your money. Because, believe me, I wouldn't like to face what this couple and many others are facing and I'm sure you wouldn't either. On a political level, Europe must get healthcare,

same time, took its eyes off what was happening in the banking world, let them run riot and virtually bankrupt the country as a result. Not to mention them selling off much of Britain's remaining gold reserves. You would have thought Labour would hang its head in shame and slink off into the sunset for a few decades to let wiser souls put things right. Yes, immigration works if the people you attract have something to contribute. But Labour didn't do that; it attracted anyone, even closing its eyes to those who got in through the back door and ended up swelling the criminal under-class. The result is that in Britain now we have large ghettos of immigrants not integrated into the new chosen culture with a birthrate that far exceeds that of white British born. Within a few generations white British will be in the minority throughout the country, as it is already in London. The challenge now is to properly integrate those immigrants already in Britain and put the brake on new arrivals. LAST week I wrote about the tragedy of a young mother who refused to allow her seven-year-old son to have radiotherapy for a brain tumour, ignoring doctors' advice. Now we hear about a 27-year-old dad with an inoperable brain tumour who has also refused radiotherapy and instead turned to faith healing. Alternative therapies are costing a fortune and sadly there are many who prey on the most vulnerable, some claiming they can cure all ills by faith. I cannot understand people shunning the advice of doctors and turning to the weird and oddball. Yes, the human body has an amazing ability to heal itself, after all, but it needs help on occasions, and the best help comes from medical science, not mumbo jumbo. NOW, are you sober? Because this task is best undertaken when you are. Sit yourself on the floor and get up. Do you need to use one hand or two to achieve it, or hands and knees, and support with furniture? A new survey says that the easier it is for you to get up from the floor, the longer you are likely to live. So, there you are folks, those exercises which keep you supple really do pay dividends. A resolution for 2013 methinks.

aftercare and every other aspect of social welfare under control. Until it's sorted, every euro spent on frivolity should be put on hold. DURING the Labour years, Socialists embraced multi-culturalism with a vengeance, closing eyes to immigration rules and allowing virtually anyone to come into the UK. At last Ed Miliband has admitted Labour got it wrong - and allowed too many immigrants into Britain too quickly. He admitted the capacity of the British economy to absorb new migrants outran the capacity of some of its communities to adapt. And he added: "We should celebrate multi-ethnic diverse Britain. We are stronger for it - and I love Britain for it." Isn't politics amazing? While in power, Labour closed its eyes to Britain being the number-one target for immigrants, and, at the

Friday, December 21, 2012

Friday, December 21, 16, 2012 2011

€700 DONATION FITZ THE BILL FOR SUZI’S CLASS ACT THE ladies from Suzi4fitz fitness classes presented a cheque for €700 to Yvonne Jeffries from the Reach Out team. The money was collected by the group over the last year through various events including car-boot and book sales, a quiz night and class quizzes. More recently, Suzi and her pupils enjoyed their annual Christmas Party at Las Ramblas, where more funds were raised though a tombola and raffle. Next year the group hope to contribute to The Skin Cancer Foundation in memory of the loss of Karen, one of their lovely friends, to cancer this year. Sue’s classes are held three times a week at Las Ramblas Golf Club. For info call 966774059/692354295 or email suzi4fitz@yahoo. com

THE irresistible aroma of mulled wine, chestnuts and minced pies hung over the Easy Horse Rescue Care Centre’s fourth Magical Christmas Carol Concert at Rojales. Animal lovers travelled miles to meet Santa and his four legged helpers, Dexter Elf (the mule) and the three little rein-ponies Taffeta, Trixie-Belle and Little Miracle, all decked out in Christmas bling. The atmosphere was electric at the centre, lit solely by thousands of Christmas lights. Food, drinks and entertainment were provided by Cathy Carson and The Taabs Group. Founder Sue Weeding thanked everybody for all the work and contributions during the year. Almost €500 was raised on what can only be described as a night of Pure Magic.

Di de Di, campers!

CAMPO Verde Theatre Group group took a well-earned break from rehearsals to get into the Christmas spirit. Their spring show, Di de Di, has something for everyone – holiday mayhem, fun, laughter and memorable songs. The group meet Monday and Wednesday afternoons at the

Horse chestnuts and mince pies on the menu...

Community Centre, Blue Lagoon and also enjoy a range of social activities. New members are always welcome, not just budding or experienced actors, but also dancers, singers, artistic, creative, technical and backstage crew. For further information contact Tony on 96 618 2415 or Colin on 96 677 4127

Friday, December 21, 2012

MO’S TREK OF A CHALLENGE Inca trail ordeal raises £4,500 U3A member Maureen Moffatt recently returned from a trek to Machu Picchu which the Lonely Planet Guide describes as “ the most famous hike in South America perhaps the world - and a must do, lifechanging experience. ‘’ The guide adds dauntingly: “Hiking the Inca Trail is both arduous and awe-inspiring. Four days of cold, pain and exhaustion dissipate as the mist lifts to reveal the emerald peaks and terraced ruins of the mystical ancient city.” Mo decided to do something she never thought she would after reading in the Big Issue about a challenge that included trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and raising money for the charity Yorkshire Cancer Care. This included eight months of fundraising, and, thanks to friends almost all of whom are Torrevieja U3A members -

over £4,500 was raised. This included a BBQ, a Brunch, a Casino night and an 'elegant' Tea Party, all held here in Spain. The total net amount raised by the 21strong group completing

the trek was an astonishing £46,000. After some practice training on the South Downs Way, Mo was ready for the flight from Manchester via Schiphol to Lima. Then, following four days in the Inca city of Cusco to acclimatise, the group set out en route to Machu Picchu, the leg-

endary Lost City of the Incas. However, altitude sickness soon claimed five of the party while another six needed attention for stomach complaints - all this before the trek

began! The challenges of the trek itself included no running water, no electricity, no hard cover at any time during the four days and nights and, worst of all, no loos! Plus, as you might imagine, very little oxygen. The trek through the cloud forest reaches heights of 4,200 metres so the air is very thin and

walking steep inclines takes a lot of energy at the best of times. Early morning starts became the norm as each day’s trek had to be completed before dark, which descends suddenly. Says Mo: “Our porters were magnificent and the meals on the trek, all prepared for us, were another feat of endurance and originality. “Dinner the first night on the trail was fresh trout and chips! How did they do it? “Another foodie memory is of the huge sandwich I was served at Paddy’s Point bar in Cusco, reputed to be the highest Irish owned pub in the world. Craic at altitude!’’ But it was all worthwhile. “I brought back so many memories,’’ she says. “ The friendliness of the local people, the vibrant coloured clothes they wear and the wonderful produce in the market at Pisac and, of course a whole new group of great friends.’’

KIDS’ HOME CAUSE DRIVES EILEEN AND HER SHOWSTOPPERS ON AFTER a tremendous show at Alan’s Bar in Aguas Neuvas two weeks ago where they raised over €300 - The Variety Show Group made a Saturday afternoon appearance at The New Pegasus Bar in Torrevieja. Since the end of the summer, every performance by the group, led by Eileen Carpenter-Walker, has been to raise money for the Children’s Home in Elche. Eileen’s team includes Cherrie, Bonnie, George, Jim and last but not least Graham - fondly known as Cookie - who provides all the electrics, support and backing music. So far over €200 has been raised from The Pegasus Bar event - and they are still counting!

Smashing splashing!

TORREVIEJA swimmers gained two first places and two thirds in their age categories at Petrer Municipal Pool on Saturday. Piroska Rideg and Ruth Brassington both won their events in personal best times, while Konstantin Badminov and Yuriy Lymar finished third. On Sunday, Louise Brassington finished first in the 400m freestyle, while Piroska Rideg recorded a splendid double – taking first place in both the 200m backstroke and 100m medley. For more information regarding Torrevieja Swimming Club please contact Rosa on 665454126 or President Felipe on 609418776 or e-mail info@clubnataciontorrevieja.com

A BUCKET collection during last Friday’s annual Carol Singing in Torrevieja Town Square raised a remarkable €985 for local charity Alimentos Solidarios, which provides a 'social kitchen' and up to 300 meals a day for needy families.

THE Age Concern Centre in La Siesta will be closed from Friday 21st December until Monday 7th January 2013. The shops in Torrevieja and Los Montesinos will be closed from Friday 21st December and will reopen on Thursday 3rd January 2013.

50+ Solos’ first get-together of 2013 is on January 5 at The Grand China on La Siesta Roundabout on the Crevillente road (1pm for 1.30pm). Call Ruth on 966789063 or Anne 966786281 to book a place or ask for information. The next lunch will be on Saturday 19 January at Meson Esgueva, near Lomos Medical Centre.

HAPPY Wanderers Golf Society members have raised €2,100 for the Irene Megias Meningitis Foundation. “It is a charity very close to my heart, having nearly lost a daughter to the disease,’’ says society captain Rosalind Smith. The charity’s President Señor Jorge Megias Carrion, whose daughter Irene died of the disease at the age of 17, was a guest at the Happy Wanderers Christmas Dinner at Las Ramblas last Saturday.

U3A Harmony is pure poetry! TORREVIEJA U3A’S Christmas meeting attracted a record attendance. The packed programme included a selection of original festive poems and short readings from the Creative Writing Group led by Joy Lennick, which set the mood for what was to come. Centre stage was then taken by Nigel Hopkins and In Harmony, who entertained with a selection of traditional Carols and songs from around the world. Torrevieja U3A meets on the last Monday of each month at the CMO in Torrevieja (behind Carrefour). Doors open at 10am. Next meeting is on January 28 and the AGM is on February 25. For further information please visit www.torreviejau3a.org or contact the Secretary on 966 844 349

Friday, December 21, 2012

UK HEADLINES

BEWARE THOSE SANTA CLAWS!

Cheshire Qat

Harrods has CCTV installed to soothe nervous parents

THE Father Christmas at Harrods has been told to keep his palms on show at all times to protect visiting children following the Jimmy Daily Savile sex allegations. Bosses at the worldfamous department store in Knightsbridge, London, were reportedly determined not to risk its reputation besmirched by any similar claims. The grotto also now has CCTV installed and a helpful elf on hand to ensure Santa is never alone with a child. Youngsters are only permitted to sit on Father Christmas's lap if their parents give permission. Although the measures may calm the fears of some nervous parents, many believe they are a step too far. “It is political correctness gone mad,' a source said. 'But following all the press coverage of Jimmy Savile, bosses felt they could take

Mail

no chances and decided to take out strict preventative measures. 'They couldn't risk nervous parents misconstruing anything.

'Not surprisingly, poor Father Christmas feels incredibly restricted in what he can and cannot say; he wouldn't have these problems in Lapland.'

Harrods have not yet commented on the claims. The popular grotto has been open seven days a week since November 3, and is now booked up until it closes on Christmas Eve at 3.30pm. Visits come with a £10 administration fee, which is refunded as store credit on customers' reward cards after they attend their slot. The credit can be spent across Harrods, excluding in the Christmas Grotto Shop. Each child gets to talk to Father Christmas and receives a gift - with a professional photo of the moment available to buy for an extra £9. Customers have to be members of the luxury store's rewards scheme to buy tickets.

Clifford rebailed £3,000 Mac-lash PR GURU Max Clifford — arrested by Operation Yewtree cops in the wake of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal — had his bail renewed on Tuesday. He must report to police again in February. The publicist, 69, was held on December 6 at his Surrey home on suspicion of sex offences not connected to Savile. He denies the “totally untrue” allegations. Bail for comic Freddie

Starr, 69, was also renewed this week. He must return in March following his arrest on November 1. He denies groping a girl of 14 while in a dressing room with Savile. Seven people have been questioned as part of Yewtree which has so far cost £2million. Former pop star Gary Glitter, 68, and a man in his 70s, reported to be Wilfred De’Ath, were rebailed last week.

SARAH Finch, 19, was fired for gross misconduct after giving extra chocolate topping to a workmate on a 99p McFlurry. Miss Finch took the McDonald's restaurant to an employment tribunal after her bosses accused her of giving away food without payment. The unfair dismissal claim was settled out of court and she was awarded more than £3,000 in compensation. Miss Finch said in a statement: "I was dismissed on the grounds of gross misconduct. I was accused of stealing food. The matter was trivial in that I provided a fellow employee, who was purchasing a dessert, a generous sprinkling of chocolate pieces. "There is no standard for such measures - they are always imprecise and will vary among customers. My colleague had asked me: 'Make it a nice one'. So the measure I gave erred on the side of more than, rather than less than the mean."

BUT GRINNING HATE CLERIC MAY SOON BE COUNTING COST GRINNING Abu Qatada smirks at British justice as he strolls near his new taxpayer-funded home. But the hate preacher — beaming like a Cheshire cat as he returned to the £1,400-amonth London house yesterday — might soon have the smile wiped off his face. Home Secretary Theresa May told MPs at least £217,000 had been seized from his bank accounts and assets. Officials are now trying to use it towards some of his legal aid bill. The Sun revealed last week that Qatada had been moved from his old North London home after protests about his battle against extradition to Jordan — said to have

cost £3MILLION in legal and other bills. Meanwhile, Abu Hamza claims he can’t wash or comb his hair properly because he is banned from using his trademark metal hooks outside his cell. The hate preacher, 54, is being held in a high security jail in Manhattan, US, after being extradited from Britain. Officials fear Hamza, who is having rubber hands fitted, could use the hooks as weapons. He leaves his cell to shower and says he can’t even hold a bar of soap. His lawyer Lindsay Lewis said: “It’s virtually impossible for him.” Hamza is to face trial in August for al-Qaeda related activities.

Friday, December 21, 2012

UK HEADLINES

5,000 NHS staff off sick every day

SICKHEAD! Fury over Helen Flanagan’s ‘brainless’ photo pose as 26 lie dead in US school horror

The Mirror

MORE than 5,000 NHS workers are calling in sick every day with the winter vomiting bug. Cases of norovirus have reached a five-year high and dozens of hospitals are resorting to banning visits from relatives to prevent its spread. It is estimated that around 900,000 people have been hit by the virus since the summer. In the past week alone nearly 100,000 adults and children were struck down with the infection; nearly twice as many as this time last year. Four in ten NHS trusts – 67 in total – have reported outbreaks among patients. This includes Birmingham City Hospitals NHS trust which has banned visitors from all wards – even those without outbreaks. Data from the Department of Health shows that 2,398 hospital beds are ‘closed’ due to norovirus – equating to 1 in 50 of all available beds. Figures from Firstcare, which monitors absence rates, show that an average of 5,263 NHS staff are calling in sick with typical symptoms every day. And during November some 128,800 working

days were lost in the NHS due to employees being off with sickness. It is estimated that 0.4 per cent of the 1.4million workers in the NHS are off sick with symptoms. It is not known what proportion are frontline staff but they are likely to be in the majority, as they are mostly in contact with patients. Officials from the Department of Health insist that the NHS is ‘coping well’ with the outbreak. But experts said that the high numbers of staff falling sick was putting extra pressure on already-overstretched wards. Dr Ian Hosein, director of infection and prevention control at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals in East London, said: ‘There is significant norovirus activity out there in the community and of course our staff go home, and they will become exposed. The danger for us is that they could bring it into hospital. ‘Staff will also catch it on the wards.’ Experts are not sure as to why norovirus is so severe this year, with the number of cases 83 per cent higher than this time in 2011.

HELEN Flanagan has caused outrage after publishing a picture of herself with a gun to her head - on the day the first victims of the Sandy Hook massacre were laid to rest. The soap star posted the picture of herself in a lacy black bra on Monday, as the world still reeled in shock from the tragedy in the US. Along with the picture she posted the message: ‘Head f***’. Twenty children aged six and seven, and six adults, were brutally shot dead in their classroom in Newtown, Connecticut, by gunman Adam Lanza, shortly after school began last Friday. In reality show I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! the Coronation Street actress, 22, was ridiculed for showing off her figure at every opportunity. But her latest quest for attention has backfired as she was accused of 'insensitivity and brainless stupidity'. The crass stunt was condemned on Monday by an angry father at the shrine to the victims in Connecticut. He told a newspaper: ‘It’s just ignorance when the eyes of the world are on what hap-

pened here, to be posing with a gun like that is insensitive and stupid.' The move has also caused outrage from online fans, particularly as it came on the day of the first funerals of Lanza's victims. One took to the microblogging site to condemn the soap star, branding her an 'insensitive b**ch', while another wrote (sic): 'You are sick & should be disgusted. cannot believe your stupid gun photo.' And one person took the insults even further, writing: 'Helen Flanagan should've just pulled the trigger sick b***h.' Another added: 'Helen Flanagan musn’t have a brain cell on her beautiful body to pose with a gun to her head after what's hap-

pened in America.' Helen originally posed for the photographs back in October as she attempted to emulate her idol Marilyn Monroe for a shoot. But her decision on Monday evening to re-post the image is probably her most misguided yet. Helen has since removed the image, along with the original photo she posted up in October. But the soap beauty insisted she has the 'biggest heart' and it would seem she hadn't made the connection between the photographs and the Connecticut tragedy. Claiming she was being 'bullied' after a newspaper posted the picture on its front page under the headline 'Brainless', Helen admitted she was upset by

the reaction. She tweeted: 'I am absolutely disgusted in this. Completely cruel. I will absolutely NOT stand for this kind of bullying. 'Anyone who knows me knows I have the biggest heart.... I feel really chocked up that's so cruel. 'Honestly I've got tears streaming down my face how can you do that to someone over something so tragic #feelsick can't believe I woke up to that. 'I've just been crying to my bf before he left for work.... Now I am just absolutely livid. I am really worried about my mum :(.' But it would appear Helen was aware of the tragedy after having posted 'Pray For Newtown' on her page on December. 14.

Friday, December 21, 2012

SPANISH NEWS

FATAL SEA COLLISION ‘CAUSED BY FAULTY CIVIL-GUARD BOAT’ THE Civil Guard has admitted that the accident off the coast of Lanzarote that resulted in the death of a would-be immigrant to Spain was caused by a mechanical failure on the patrol boat sent out to intercept the craft, which was carrying 25 people. The central government delegation in the Canaries initially claimed it was an "unfortunate accident," but it has now emerged that a turbine failure meant the crew lost control of the boat as it approached the immigrants' vessel. After the crash, the four Civil Guard officers took to the water and rescued 17 of the passengers, including two children. One body was later recovered a mile from the site of the impact. According to survivors, there were 25 people on board. The remainder are

ing to the officers, the skipper of the immigrant's craft left the helm at that same instant and was unable to take evasive action. Civil Guard sources have confirmed that an "in-depth" investigation has been opened. The officers, said the same sources, were "devastated, especially the skipper," after their search for survivors. The central government delegation in the Canaries, headed by María del Carmen Hernández Bento, has refused to comment. Survivors of the accident have testified in the open investigation at an Arrecife still unaccounted for. the boat in the darkness. picked up the boat and the court that "the patrol boat The incident occurred at Around 2am they realised officers abandoned the idea was going very fast" when it 12.20am on Saturday. The that one of the propellers of returning to port. But as crashed side on into their patrol boat Cabaleiro was that guide the boat was brosent out to investigate ken and reported back that the two boats neared each vessel. Witnesses have also reports of a craft approach- they were going to abandon other the Civil Guard vessel told the investigation that the ing the coast. Despite the the search and head for was unable to make its patrol boat's lights were off. approach safely due to the The officers have stated that new moon and the calm sea, Arrecife. they turned on the lights the civil guards could not see At that moment the radar technical failure and, accord-

TUNNEL-CRASH DRIVER WAS ON WRONG SIDE OF ROAD A CAR travelling on the wrong side of the AP7 was involved in a head-on smash in the Pilar de la Horadada tunnel last Saturday morning. The vehicle, driven by a 64y e a r - o l d Spaniard, is believed to have travelled more than two kilometres on oncoming car. the wrong carriageway The driver of the rogue before crashing into an car was rushed to

Torrevieja Hospital with multiple injuries. The other driver was treated at

the scene by the ambulance crew, and passengers in his car were also hurt. The accident caused traffic to be stopped for some time while the injured were treated and police checked the scene. They hope to get more answers after questioning the driver, and establishing whether he was under the influence of alcohol

when they saw the boat and that as they did so the skipper of the immigrants' vessel abandoned the helm. The police investigation originally launched to determine who the skipper of the vessel was for a possible charge of illegal immigration - has now been expanded to determine the circumstances of the crash. According to several organisations that offer social services to immigrants, "the public prosecutor would do well to ask for footage from the Integrated External Surveillance Service," which was set up to exert greater control over Spain's maritime borders. The survivors were moved to a Gran Canaria centre. One of them was taken to hospital last Friday with head injuries sustained in the crash.

Laser thieves in 60k San Pedro jewellery heist THIEVES are believed to have used a thermal laser to carry out a sophisticated robbery at a San Pedro del Pinatar jewellery business in the early hours of December 12. The laser is believed to have been employed to break the safes open and steal valuables worth 60,000 euros. The jewellers, E. Egea, is situated in the centre of town opposite the old casino. It is believed the thieves managed to enter in silence after breaking the door locks. No alarm went off and no finger prints were left as the intruders used professional robbery methods. This is the fifth burglary of jewellers in the Murcia region this year and police in San Pedro say security measures in the town have been increased to protect local businesses. This includes 24-hour patrols by both uniformed and non-uniformed police.

Friday, December 21, 2012

SPANISH NEWS

AMBULANCE REQUIRED? THAT WILL BE 5 EUROS By SALLY BENGTSSON CALLING for an ambulance in Spain in the future may not be as straightforward as it is now. In the latest government ploy to cut expenses, the Health Ministry is proposing a co-payment system for non-urgent use of ambulances, amounting to five euros per trip. The co-payment concept was approved by the government in April as part of its austerity drive. The payment system is expected to be passed next Thursday in the form of an executive order between the central government and the regions which are responsible for healthcare in Spain. Patients will be asked to pay 10 percent for each ambulance trip, assessed on a base price of 50 euros, independent of the real price and length of the trip. A return journey would therefore cost 10

euros. The draft order defines three types of trip: the transfer of a patient from a health centre to his or her home after receiving emergency treatment or being released from hospital. Then there are those who are "occasional" and those who are "periodic" in the case of chronically ill people receiving, for example, dialysis or cancer treatment. As with the co-payment system for medicines, the order establishes a monthly maximum that patients will be required to disburse on the basis of their income. For those earning between 18,000 and 100,000 euros, the monthly maximum is 20 euros. For those on less than 18,000 euros, it is 10 euros, and for those earning over 100,000 it is 60 euros.

IBERIA BOSSES IN BID TO STRIKE NEW DEAL UNDER pressure from the government, Iberia’s management has agreed to sit down with representatives of the airline’s workforce to negotiate a new five-year adjustment plan aimed at guaranteeing the carrier’s viability and including investments amounting to millions of euros. IAG, the holding company for the merger of Iberia and British Airways, had presented a restructuring plan that calls for 4,500 job cuts, about 23 percent of the Spanish airline’s workforce, a reduction in the number of routes Iberia offers, and salary reductions of between 25 to 35 percent on average. The unions argued that BA wants to run Iberia into the ground to get hold of its assets on the cheap. In response, labour unions representing cabin crew and groundstaff announced a series of one-day stoppages just ahead of the Christmas period, which they eventually called off out of “consideration” for the public. Further strike calls were being considered for the start of next year. Iberia’s management has agreed that some 3,000 of

the planned 4,500 layoffs would take the form of early retirement deals. The two sides will also work on the assumption that the labor force adjustment plan to be applied will be based on rules that predate the rigorous labor reform introduced in February of this year. Labour union sources attributed the shift in the company’s stance to ongoing pressure from government officials for dialogue between the two sides to agree a plan that guarantees the future of

the airline. The government urged Iberia to ensure that the planned cut in 15 percent of the routes served by Iberia does not impact Spain’s connections with the rest of the world. Iberia planned to cancel direct flights to Havana and Santo Domingo, sparking a complaint by Industry, Energy and Tourism Minister José Manuel Soria. Iberia also agreed to invest in the renovation of its fleet to save on fuel and to keep its handling and maintenance division until 2017. The com-

pany is still looking to reach an accord by the end of January but acceded to demands to continue negotiations beyond that deadline if the talks were heading in the right direction. Previously, Iberia had threatened even more “drastic” measures if there was no agreement by January 31. Public Works Minister Ana Pastor said on Monday that her department “will continue to work to ensure the two sides reach an agreement.”

Santander to absorb Banesto through share swap

LEADING Spanish bank Banco Santander said Monday it plans to absorb its Spanish retail unit Banesto and its private banking subsidiary Banif through a merger. It’s part of a restructuring that will see the closure of 700 branches, after which Santander will operate under a single brand. The minority shareholders of Banesto, who hold 10.26 percent of its capital, will receive existing shares in Banco Santander at a rate of exchange that will include a premium of 24.9 percent over Banesto's closing share

price last Friday. After being initially suspended, Santander’s shares were down 0.97 percent at 5.843 euros at 2.30pm. Banesto’s shares were up 19.26 percent at 3.566 euros. “This transaction is part of the restructuring of the Spanish financial system, which involves a significant reduction in the number of competitors and the creation of larger financial institutions,” Santander said in a statement. “Against this backdrop, Banco Santander has decided to operate under a single brand in Spain by

Friday, December 21, 2012

Market Commentary 21st December 2012

UK unemployment falls by 82,000 Welcome to your weekly market analysis from Currencies Direct where you can stay one step ahead of your friends on the latest news and reviews of the financial markets. Our aim is to provide you with an easily digestible weekly update of how the financial market is performing using the expertise of our dealers who make it their sole aim to keep on top of the market movements.

STERLING

After last week’s Autumn Statement from Chancellor Osborne, news flow remained negative with industrial and engineering data triggering a sell off on Sterling. Wednesday saw unemployment figures released; the number of people out of work fell by 82,000 between August and October, to 2.51 million. It was the biggest quarterly fall in unemployment since 2001 with unemployment rate down to 7.8%. The Office for National Statistics also said that the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell 3,000 to 1.58 million in November. Despite the good news, the British pound weakened against all of the major currencies following S&P’s decision to cut the U.K.’s rating outlook from stable to negative. S&P is now yet another major rating agency that has now put the U.K. on watch for a possible downgrade next year. S&P is concerned about weak growth and rising debt levels in UK.

EUR

Mario Monti, Prime Minister of Italy, announced last week he will resign after the 2013 Italian budget is passed, prompting an election to be moved forward to February. Euro sentiment took a double hit after German and EU growth is likely to falter moving in 2013, with Spain flirting with a full bailout if their expectations are met. German ZEW economic investor confidence figures released last week show a jump in December way above market expectations and this helped EUR to pair some of its losses. The rally was also supported by renewed optimism that Greece has been successful in drawing enough bonds to its sovereign debt buyback to ensure further aid requirements are unlocked by the IMF and EU. This positive sentiment in the Eurozone led Spanish borrowing costs to fall. In the second half of last week finance ministers have managed to reach a deal for a Euro zone banking union after many months of negotiation. Structurally the ECB will have the power to supervise the largest banks and this brings Europe a big step closer to the goal of integration.

USD

A good non-farm payroll figure helped to shore up the Dollar in trading this week. Analysts were expecting a sharp pull back in job creation last month, mostly related to Hurricane Sandy but it appears Santa Claus may have had a helping hand with employment in the run up to Christmas. On Wednesday the market focused on the US Federal Reserve monthly interest rate meeting. As expected the FED replaced the expiring operation twist programme by outright treasury purchases of $45bn per month confirming a significant expansion of the FED balance sheet for 2013. What was surprising however was the announcement of numerical threshold values for unemployment and inflation in relation to rate hikes. This is a form of further easing from the Fed by setting clear guidelines and the markets responded positively before being reined in by fears of the looming fiscal cliff, which seems to be yet again stuck in endless negotiations. Information provided by Currencies Direct, leading providers of foreign exchange. Call to find out how we can help you get the best rates and save your transfer fees. Contact the La Zenia office on +34 965 994 830 or email costablanca@currenciesdirect.com. The contents of this report are for information purposes only. It is not intended as a recommendation to trade or a solicitation for funds. Currencies Direct cannot be held responsible for any loss or damages arising from any action taken following consideration of this information.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Horoscopes Aries March 21 - April 19 Why so blue? You’re usually seeing red by now. Sure, you may go off half-cocked and a third-informed, but your firecracker style lights up the sky more often than blowing up in your face. You’re at your fiery best in Wile E. Coyote mode: the explosions don’t hurt anyone else, and you bounce back, accordion-style.

Taurus April 20 - May 20 Be careful over the next few days; someone wants to take the bull by the horns, and they’re eyeing you. You may have to step back and tell someone you don’t swing that way. If they don’t get the message, give them a courtesy kick in the breadbasket. All signs point to ‘yes.’ Literally. All the road signs seem to be giving you messages lately

Gemini May 21 - June 20 The ‘perky’ strand of your DNA has kicked into overdrive this week, so here are some things to remember: there are ten million ‘I Hate Mondays’ mugs for a reason, no one likes to talk about their flair, and you can’t put Baby in a corner. There, that should keep you from getting punched until you settle down.

Cancer June 21 - July 22 Being a homebody is one thing, but the only calls you’ve made lately are for the current time and temperature. Paranoid? You’d make E.T. show his I.D. at the U.F.O. convention. Put away the tinfoil hat and start trusting your loved ones more, before they call the Men in Black. Take our word: a few trust exercises are waaaay better than alien anal probes.

By Pandora Leo July 23 - August 22 Are people taking your incredibleness for granted? Remind them that you may be bright, but you’re not just another fuzzy star in the sky. After a few dark days, they’ll appreciate basking in your light. Resist the temptation to give them all peely, flaky sunburns, though. Tired of waiting for your ship to come in? Grab a tow rope and drag that bad boy into port.

Virgo August 23 - September 22 Take all the notes you want; life doesn’t have a logical lesson plan. It’s filled with pop quizzes on subjects you didn’t study, and, more than a few times, you’ll end up naked in the classroom. Try to learn with your heart, not your notebook. Not everyone wants you to be Superman, so put away those tights before you get a superwedgie

Libra September 23 - October 22 Something really great is coming your way…aw, you missed it. Wait a minute, it’s making a U-turn….rats, you were looking the other direction. Hang on, it’s gearing up for a third pass, you lucky thing, so stay sharp! Sure, some days you’re the windshield and some days you’re the bug, but this week you’re the fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror.

Scorpio October 23 - November 21 You’re giving someone that warm, tingly gaze…and nothing happens. Don’t worry, your mojo isn’t gone for good, it’s just taking a breather. Watch a few James Bond movies to lure it back to its rightful place: the center of your personal space. Things are looking up: you’ve lost some weight, some unexpected money will come in, and someone will give you the eye this week.

Sagittarius November 22 - December 21 Skeptical? You’ve been there, done that, and sold the T-shirt to some sucker for twice the price. Use that critical eye at work tomorrow, and you could be up for a raise. Or a lawsuit. This will be a good week to find your happy place, rent a room, and check out the mini-bar. Even five-euro, stale Snickers bars will be easier to handle than reality right now.

Capricorn December 22 - January 19 Icy drinks with umbrellas, a cheap novel at your side, and no computer in front of you; this may sound scary to the hard-driven goat, but it’s called re-lax-ation. Say it with me. Try it out, you might like it. You know you can win the game, but you just can’t seem to make the winning shot. Forget ‘Jerry Maguire,’ and think more like the Harlem Globetrotters.

Aquarius January 20 - February 18 You’re creative, fun, and carefree; no wonder you have more groupies than Hannah Montana at a free concert. Enjoy your time as a guru, before someone spikes the Kool-Aid and ruins the buzz. No man is an island, but everyone loves a nice, big peninsula, so stay connected to the mainland this week; you’ll need all the help you can get.

Pisces February 19 - March 20 Miracles are afoot this week, and thank goodness they wear your shoe size. You’ve been working very hard lately, so leave those steel-toed boots by your bed for the kindly elves to fill. You’ll giggle with delight come morning. Get some solid ground under feet and lose that tension. Maybe Aquarius will let you use that peninsula for some holiday time.

Friday, December 21, 2012

MACH 5 CARTOON CAR BROUGHT TO LIFE

Meet the Mach 5 - the crazy cartoon racing car from the Street Racer cartoon series. Except this is no cartoon. US-based car customiser Mark Towle hand built the car for owner Len Mosco staying faithful to the drawings of the 1960s animated series and the original Japanese manga comics that spawned it. It’s a fantasy car made metal and yes, you can drive it on the road - as long as the rotating circular saw blades are retracted.

Nickelodeon.

What is the Mach 5? The Mach 5 is the car driven by the eponymous hero in the Speed Racer cartoon. The series has Speed Racer and the Mach 5 getting into various racing-related scrapes as they try to avoid being run off the road by a procession of nefarious baddies. Watching over them is the mysterious Racer X, who actually turns out to be Speed Racer’s older brother Rex.

What is the real Mach 5 based on?

What is Speed Racer? Speed Racer was originally a 1960s manga comic series by Tatsuo Yoshida brilliantly titled Mach GoGoGo (Murray Walker was not involved). The concept soon made the jump to Japanese TV as a cartoon before being translated into English and becoming Speed Racer in 1967. Speed Racer gained a cult following in the early 1990s when an updated version of

the cartoon was shown on MTV. In 2008, a feature film version starring Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox and Christina Ricci was made while a new cartoon - Speed Racer: The Next Generation - was aired on

Underneath its curvaceous fantasy bodywork, the real Mach 5 is a Chevrolet Corvette C4. The donor car was produced by Chevrolet between 1983 and 1996 and powered by a typically muscular 5.7-litre V8. How close is the ‘real’ Mach 5 to the cartoon car? It looks like Mark Towle, the man behind the real Mach 5, has done an amazing job. He’s captured the outlandish lines of the original drawings and produced a vehicle that’s unlike anything else on the road.

Does the real Mach 5 have any special features? The cartoon Mach 5 is loaded with gadgets designed to give Speed Racer the upper hand over his assailants and some of them have also been built into the real Mach 5. There’s a periscope that pops up behind the driver that doubles as a reversing camera but the stars of the show are the twin circular saw blades that emerge from the back of the car and really work! Heaven knows what EuroNCAP would make of that.

What’s the Mach 5 like inside? The attention to detail inside the car is just as impressive. The gadgets on the cartoon Mach 5 were deployed using buttons on the steering wheel hub marked A through

to G and the real Mach 5 has a similar steering wheel custom-made. The dash has shielded switches that look like something from an attack helicopter and the pillar less windscreen design curves around the whole cockpit.

How easy is the Mach 5 to drive? The driving position is so low that the rear-view mirror sits on top of the dash itself. That must make seeing out over the long bonnet and hunched rear deck a challenge. The periscope-style reversing camera is a handy addition to help keep the car’s unique bodywork free of parking knocks.

How can a car with functioning circular saw attachments be road legal? It’s an interesting question. The real Mach

5 really does have saws that emerge from its front bumper just like the cartoon car. It’s hard to think of a real-world application for them but they might be handy once a year when it’s time to go out and get the Christmas tree. We’re told that the car is legal to drive on US roads as long at the saws aren’t deployed.

Are there any other links between the real Mach 5 and the Street Racer cartoon? The car has been signed by many of the voiceover artists who worked on the Street Racer cartoon series, including Peter Fernandez, who was the voice of Speed Racer and Racer X. Fernandez died in 2010.

What does the owner do with the real Mach 5? The real Mach 5 car has been a regular star turn on US television shows and makes frequent appearances at car shows and other automotive events.

Are there any other Mach 5 replicas doing the rounds? In a word, no. This is the only officially licensed Mach 5 in the world.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Car insurance for women on the up Car insurance premiums for women are ALREADY up by 15% – around £114 on average – despite a European Court of Justice gender equality ruling not coming into force until 21 December. According to data from price comparison website Gocompare.com, the average car insurance quote for women is now £862, compared with an average premium of £748 recorded six weeks ago. New laws become active next week that will stop insurers offering cheap car insurance policies based on gender. Gocompare.com analysed all its female car insurance quotes over the last 12 months to observe what effect the ECJ decree will have on premium prices. With the new rules approaching, it recorded its biggest shift in premiums so far. Where younger female motorists once used to represent a significantly reduced insurance risk over younger males, new gender laws have meant an average insurance premium of

£2,191 for women aged 17 and 18, up by £281 since the beginning of November. Comparison website Confused.com reinforced the predictions, adding that drivers aged between 17 and 25 will be hit hardest, with insurance premiums rising by £299 on average – around 24% – due to the EU gender ruling. The same is true for other age groups. It predicts prices for drivers aged 26 – 30 will rise by 18% (£128) to

£839, while 31 – 35year-olds will also be hit by a 10% increase, up £53 to £587 for 12 month’s full comprehensive coverage. It is thought this rise is only a hint at how the market could develop – the full impact of the ruling will be seen next Friday. Alongside rising costs, the number of quotes offered to young motorists in general is also shrinking striking fears that developments in the insurance industry could price people off the road. Gocompare.com found that 17-year-olds seeking car insurance today would be offered 32 quotes on average, three fewer than they would have had the choice of at the start of November.

Friday, December 21, 2012

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

QUICKIE

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

CRYTPIC CLUES Across 1 A clique or a division (6) 4 Use some of the Pearl Harbor Rowing Club’s equipment (6) 9 Accomplice in crime is a gambler (7) 10 Conceal some rediscovered items (5) 11 Rates rearranged flower (5) 12 Arrange to tour school building (4,3) 13 To make plain characters strangely wish to steal (11) 18 Clumsy tourist? (7) 20 Girl with New York student’s material (5) 22 Mickey’s pet planet (5) 23 Alarm business (7) 24 English medium ends improvements (6) 25 They say they’re opposed to parts of the poem (6) STANDARD CLUES

Down 1 Hoax by a new sorcerer (6) 2 Split when a hundred departed (5) 3 The projection is a terribly poor cut (7) 5 Nothing but the evidence of a wound yet the aspiration of many an actor (5) 6 Dish Ivor and Ali cooked (7) 7 What’s different about the small room? Comfortable level of temperature (6) 8 A carrycot is unusual for the upper crust (11) 14 Holiday garland guaranteed (7) 15 Further loan (7) 16 Secure an ingredient of primary importance (6) 17 Industrial buildings’ beds (6) 19 Stuck up for university degree (5) 21 Cries out for massages, say (5) Down

FILL IT IN

Complete the crossword grid by using the given words:

2 letter words My Pi 3 letter words Ads Dun Lie Oar Ran Son Sty Use 4 letter words Anew Atop Echo Eels

Ekes Espy Esse Glum Iced Idol Late Lazy Lone Lute Mews Rely Rice Rose Saga Sane Seal Seek Sell Sera

Shot Sits Sore This Tubs Tyre Uses Yoke 5 letter words Abyss Boots Canal Corny Cycle Flats Inert Loner Noisy Onset

Puree Sawer Scald Scare Scrum Shine Sooth Stags Stale Stare Stave Steer Stole Stone Stove Table Tokyo Truck 6 letter words

Astute Estate Graced Magnet Market Recess Snooze Stalls 8 letter words Shortage Stiletto 9 letter words Downloads Reinforce

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

Across

Down

1 Run away (7) 5 Arrange (5) 8 Disentangle (5) 9 Film preview (7) 10 Unlike (9) 12/17 Playground toy (3,3) 13 Floor covering (6) 14 Not quite (6) 17 See 12 18 Religious ceremony (9) 20 Recount (7) 21 Blemish (5) 23 Japanese dish (5) 24 Unsubstantiated (7)

1 Noise (5) 2 Do something (3) 3 Go before (7) 4 Decayed (6) 5 Elegant (5) 6 Magnifier of images of distant objects (9) 7 Omen (7) 11 Pyrotechnics (9) 13 Gambling establishments (7) 15 Connection (7) 16 Agree to (6) 18 Hindu teacher (5) 19 Pincers (5) 22 Commotion (3)

Last weeks Solution Across: 1 Fiasco, 4 Chasm, 8 Short, 9 Explain, 10 Ethical, 11 Beat, 12 Old, 14 Brim, 15 Idle, 18 Boy, 21 Area, 23 Expense, 25 Glamour, 26 Reels, 27 Sweet, 28 Went in. Down: 1 Fester, 2 Another, 3 Catacomb, 4 Cope, 5 Aware, 6 Minute, 7 Cello, 13 Disperse, 16 Lenient, 17 Haggis, 19 Yearn, 20 Reason, 22 Erase, 24 Most.

Scribble Pad

1 Priest-doctor (6) 1 Zone (6) 2 Fissure (5) 4 Have on loan (6) 3 Rock formation (7) 9 Assistant in a crime (7) 5 Academy Award (5) 10 Blanket (5) 11 Flower (5) 6 Pasta dish (7) 12 Classify (4,3) 7 Gentle heat (6) 13 Stealing compulsion 8 Upper class (11) (11) 14 Spare time (7) 18 Tourist (7) 20 Flooring material (5) 15 Go forward (7) 22 Greek god of the 16 Basic commodity (6) underworld (5) 17 Sows seeds (6) 23 Be relevant to (7) 19 Conceited (5) 24 Corrects (6) 25 Lines of a poem (6) 21 Requires (5) Last weeks Solution Across: 1 Thanked, 5 Cocoa, 8 Warts, 9 Cordite, 10 Restrains, 12 Odd, 13 Trifle, 14 Remand, 17 Ice, 18 Titillate, 20 Operate, 21 Poser, 23 Indus, 24 Stencil. Down: 1 Tower, 2 Air, 3 Kestrel, 4 Deceit, 5 Cares, 6 Chipolata, 7 Amended, 11 Swineherd, 13 Tripoli, 15 Eclipse, 16 Others, 18 Traps, 19 Enrol, 22 Sic.

Across

Down

1 Volver a poner (6) 4 Tratar (5) 8 Beard (5) 9 Hora de acostarse (7) 10 Comer en exceso (7) 11 Twelve (4) 12 Gold (3) 14 Isla (4) 15 Duck (bird) (4) 18 Rojo (3) 21 Abierto (4) 23 Anuarios (7) 25 Estar contento (7) 26 Formación de hielo (5) 27 Avaro (5) 28 Devout (f) (6)

1 Cinta (6) 2 Paquetes (grandes) (7) 3 Daybreak (8) 4 Ordenado (4) 5 I choose (5) 6 Trains (6) 7 Fir tree (5) 13 Chimenea abierta (4,4) 16 Traffic (7) 17 Borla (de gorro) (6) 19 Papá (5) 20 Allot (6) 22 Aguamaniles (5) 24 To roast (4)

Friday, December 21, 2012 Across 1 What title is applied to someone who specialises the art of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines or books? (7,8) 9 Which adjective can mean ‘not open or ‘not communicating with or influenced by others’? (6) 10 In geology which adjective means ‘of or belonging to the earlier period of the Cenozoic era, between 65 and 1.8 million years ago’? (8) 11 Derived from the Greek for ‘empty tomb’, what name is given to a monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially one commemorating people who died in a war? (8) 14 Which short heavy club with a rounded head was formerly used as a weapon? (6) 17 Which Willy Russell musical, based loosely on a 1844 novella by Alexandre Dumas, père, won the 1983 Olivier Award for Best New Musical? (5,8) 20 Which very light, pale sponge cake made of flour, egg whites, and no fat, is typically baked in a ring shape and covered with soft icing? (5,4,4) 23 What name is usually given to a hot spring in which water intermittently boils, sending a

tall column of water and steam into the air? (6) 25 In chemistry what name is given to a group of atoms bonded together, representing the smallest fundamental unit of a chemical compound that can take part in a chemical reaction? (8) 28 What name is given to wooden or concrete beams laid transversely under a railway track to support it? (8) 29 Yaris, Corolla, Camry and Avalon are all models produced by which Japanese vehicle manufacturer? (6) 30 In which board game do two to six players attempt to move marbles or counters from one corner to the opposite one on a star-shaped board? (7,8)

Quiz Word

Down 2 Which word can mean both ‘the lightening or removal of any burden, discomfort, evil, pressure or stress’ and ‘a person who releases another by taking his or her place’? (6) 3 Which Italian sauce is made chiefly of basil and cheese, with pine nuts and olive oil? (5) 4 Which country in South Asia is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people and the most pop-

SUDOKU

ulous democracy in the world? (5) 5 What name is given to a narrow channel dug at the side of a road or field, to hold or carry

away water? (5) 6 Which hot wind, often dusty or rainy, blows from North Africa across the Mediterranean to southern

Europe? (7) 7 What name was given to a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power? (5) 8 What name was usually applied to ‘supporters of the King against Parliament in the English Civil War’ and ‘supporters of the British during the War of American Independence’? (9) 12 The name of which ugly cave-dwelling creature has come to mean ‘a person who provokes others (chiefly on the internet) for their own personal amusement or to cause disruption’? (5) 13 Derived from the Greek for ‘stone’, what is the Portuguese, Galician and Spanish form of the name Peter? (5) 15 Which diving water bird with a long neck, lobed toes and almost no tail, typically has a bright breeding plumage used in display? (5) 16 In medicine, what name is given to a drug acting to relieve pain? (9) 17 What sort of trousers did Madness sing about according to the title of their 1980 UK Top 10 hit single? (5) 18 What name is usually given to an exhibition or contest in

which cowboys show their skill at riding broncos, roping calves, wrestling steers? (5) 19 According to William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title character is known as the [What] of Glamis (and, latterly, Cawdor) (5) 21 What name is given to a pair of pincers with broad gripping parts that is used to encircle a baby’s head and assist in birth? (7) 22 Which loose long overcoat of heavy fabric shares its name with a historic division of Ireland located in the northeastern part of the island? (6) 24 What was the surname of the American writer whose best known book was The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas, first published in 1933? (5) 25 What was the title of the first UK Top 10 hit single by singer/songwriter John Miles? (5) 26 The name of which drink made by adding a shot of espresso coffee to a glass or cup of frothy steamed milk, is derived from the Italian for ‘milk’? (5) 27 Which large semiaquatic beaver-like rodent, native to South America, is often kept in captivity for its fur? (5)

SALLY’S SIMPLE SPANISH NAVIDAD - CHRISTMAS Match these words with their Spanish translations then find them in the wordsearch. (Answers below)

árbol de navidad

las uvas

el angel

los adornos

el pavo

los regalos

el trineo

los renos

feliz navidad

los reyes magos

la alegria

los villancicos

la estrella

noche buena

la nieve

papa noel

GEOGRAPHY QUIZ

ANSWERS: 1. Russia 2. Sudan 3. Rome 4. Belgium 5. The Hudson 6. The Lanlois Bridge In Arles 7. Poland 8. Colorado 9. Palermo 10. Rotterdam 11. Freemantle (Perth) 12. The USA & Canada 13. "Constantinople, Byzantium" 14. The Galata Bridge Over The Bosphorus In Istanbul 15. Denmark

Last Week’s Solutions Code Cracker Last weeks Quiz Word Solution Across: 1 Cavern, 4 Lollipop, 9 Earwig, 10 Jews harp, 12 Tricolor, 13 Devout, 15 Hair, 16 Side Saddle, 19 Santa Claus, 20 Flea, 23 Dollar, 25 Peroxide, 27 Carousal, 28 Dynamo, 29 Rhodesia, 30 Errand. Down: 1 Cheetah, 2 Vermilion, 3 Rhinos, 5 Oder, 6 Las Vegas, 7 Piano, 8 Pipette, 11 Gorilla, 14 Requiem, 17 Dalai Lama, 18 Malamute, 19 Sidecar, 21 Aneroid, 22 Bowyer, 24 Largo, 26 Saki.

las luces Empareja estas palabras - Match the Spanish and English words You will find the answers at the bottom of the quiz. 16.noche buena, 17.papa Noel.

1.el árbol de navidad,

j.the three kings, k.the lights, l.the Christmas carols,

2.el angel, 3.el pavo, 4.el trineo, 5.Feliz Navidad, 6.la alegría,

a.the reindeer, b.Father

m.the grapes, n.Christmas eve,

7.la estrella, 8.la nieve,

Christmas, c.the sledge,

o.the star, p.the snow,

9.las luces, 10.las uvas,

d.Merry Christmas,

q.the presents,

11.los adornos, 12.los regalos,

e.the Christmas tree,

13.los renos, 14.los reyes

f.the angel, g.the joy,

magos, 15.los villancicos,

h.the decorations, i.the turkey,

Soduko

Span - Eng

Quizword

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

1. In Which Country Is Europe's Highest Mountain Mt Elbrus? 2. Khartoum is the capital of which country? 3. In which city is the Coliseum located? 4. In what country is the Waterloo Battlefield? 5. On which River does the City of New York stand? 6. Which Bridge Had Van Gogh Just Finished Painting Before He Cut Of His Ear? 7. where would you be if you landed smack in the middle of Plock? 8. In What State Is The Grand Canyon Found? 9. What is the capital of Sicily? 10. What city stands on the Maas River? 11. What port lies at the mouth of the Swan River? 12. Which Countries Are Divided By The 49th Parallel? 13. Can you give me the two former names of the modern Turkish capital of Istanbul? 14. Which Bridge Connects Europe With Asia? 15. The Airline Danair Is Based Where?

Fill It In

Friday, December 21, 2012

TRELI ON THE TELLY Good times, Brad times

with ALEX TRELINSKI THE BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards have come a long way over their 59-year history - from a small group of sports stars crammed into a TV studio to a big arena event. Sunday night’s epic at London’s ExCel Arena was akin to War and Peace, but there was a lot to get in after the best year for British sport in my lifetime. It was well put together and hosted effortlessly by the triumvirate of Balding, Barker and Lineker, and I’m convinced that the deserved winner, Bradley Wiggins, could have a good career in comedy once he retires from cycling. We also had the novelty of David Beckham almost perfectly reading the autocue, something which would have been unthinkable a dozen or

so years ago. It was also a reminder that despite the impressive achievements of Sky Sports in their short history, the BBC is still regarded by viewers and competitors alike as the broadcaster which really

knows how to cover sport professionally. That’s a fact not lost on the International Olympic Committee, which gave the BBC the rights for the 2016 and 2020 games in preference to the pots of money offered

by commercial broadcasters. How many of you remember the great line from the wrestling commentator Kent Walton: “Have a good week, till next week”? For years, ITV offered Saturday afternoon entertainment that was watched by millions with great bogeymen like Mick McManus and Jackie “Mr. TV” Pallo. In the BBC Four d o c u m e n t a r y, When Wrestling Was Golden, we re-lived the time when we’d get engrossed with something we knew was rigged from start to finish. A lot of the great names are no longer with us, but it was wonderful to see Welsh miner’s son Adrian

Street looking so fit and well. He made his name dressing up in glamour gear and prancing around the ring in a limp-wrested manner far from his real personality. As we saw on the show, image and perception was what you needed to become a top TV wrestling star in those halcyon days, which frankly died a quick death in the early eighties. That’s when those two tubs of lard, Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, would face off against each other in contests that were devoid of any wrestling ability. It’s sad that since the days of Dixon of Dock Green and Z Cars and then the demise of The Bill nearly two years ago, there hasn’t been a good regular cop show on British TV. The Americans more than make up for it, though, with countless entries - and one of the best is back with its third series on Sky Atlantic. Blue Bloods stars Tom Selleck as New York’s police chief, and looks at how and he and his family (all with police and legal connections) live their lives. The story of the Reagans is a good mix of a police procedural with some personal stories, and a show like this

always works when you are interested in what’s going on. It’s certainly a notch or two above the rest that fill up countless hours on the satellite channels. I couldn’t keep up with the body count in the last episode of the current series of Boardwalk Empire on Sky Atlantic. It was as brutal as anything I’ve seen in a big screen gangster epic, but it was totally engrossing with enough fake blood to fill many bottles of tomato ketchup. The star, Steve Buscemi, was brilliant as always in a cast list that shone from top to bottom. I can’t wait for it to return next autumn, especially since Buscemi‘s character will have to do business with a certain gentleman called Al Capone! I always whiz past the sponsorship credits before and after a TV show, but the arrival of the Meerkats at Coronation Street has made me break an old habit. Alexander Orlov and his friends are a joy, but jokes do have a limit lifespan, so I hope the various routines are refreshed on a regular basis. Simples!

The Courier Friday TV

December 21

00:50 This Week 01:35 Skiing Weatherview 01:40 Panorama 02:40 Countryfile 03:40 Antiques Roadshow 04:40 MasterChef: The Professionals 05:40 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 11:58 BBC News; Weather 12:00 You've Been Scammed 12:30 Cash in the Attic 13:13 BBC News; Weather 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 Show Me What You're Made Of 16:30 The Cow That Almost Missed Christmas 17:00 Blue Peter 18:15 Pointless Celebrities 19:00 BBC News 19:30 Weather 20:00 The One Show 20:30 Nigel Slater's 12 Tastes of Christmas 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Outnumbered 22:00 Have I Got News for You 22:30 Live at the Apollo 23:00 BBC News 23:25 Regional News and Weather 23:35 The Graham Norton Show

00:55 00:20 01:20 01:50 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 03:45 04:00 04:30 04:45 05:00 05:55

Point Break The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff An Island Parish HARDtalk Newsday ABC World News BBC News Asia Business Report Sport Today BBC World News Asia Business Report Sport Today Spark Ask Lara

06:10 Life Stories 06:25 Schools 07:00 Tikkabilla 07:30 Balamory 07:50 Charlie and Lola 08:05 Cloudbabies 08:15 Everything's Rosie 08:25 Bob the Builder 08:35 Chuggington 08:45 Octonauts 09:00 Tilly and Friends 09:10 Woolly & Tig 09:15 Mike the Knight 09:30 Timmy Time 09:40 Tweenies 10:00 Numtums 10:05 Abadas 10:15 Alphablocks 10:20 The Rhyme Rocket 10:35 The Lingo Show 10:45 Something Special 11:05 Show Me Show Me 11:35 Mr Bloom's Nursery 11:55 I Can Cook on the Go 12:10 Mister Maker Comes to Town 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Daily Politics 14:00 Royal Upstairs Downstairs 14:30 To Buy or Not to Buy 15:15 Weakest Link 16:00 Real Rescues 16:45 Wanted Down Under 17:30 Flog It! 18:15 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 19:00 Celebrity Eggheads 19:30 Strictly Come Dancing - It Takes Two 20:30 University Challenge 21:00 Mastermind 21:30 An Island Parish 22:00 Westminster Abbey 23:00 QI 23:30 Newsnight

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

Jackpot247 Tonight ITV Nightscreen The Jeremy Kyle Show ITV Morning News Daybreak Lorraine The Jeremy Kyle Show This Morning Let's Do Christmas with Gino ITV News and Weather Meridian News and Weather Storage Hoarders Dickinson's Real Deal Meridian Weather Britain's Best Bakery The Chase Meridian Tonight ITV News and Weather Text Santa Emmerdale Coronation Street Text Santa

TEXT SANTA The festive charity appeal returns for a second year, as the evening's presenters Ant and Dec, Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield, Paddy McGuinness and Christine Bleakley are joined by a host of celebrities to raise money for six deserving causes. The show includes A Christmas Corrie, featuring stars of Coronation Street past and present, a comedy duet between Gary Barlow and Dawn French, a Family Fortunes special with Jonathan Ross and Jo Brand, and the Loose Women panellists in an X Factor audition.

00:40 Ferris Bueller's Day Off 02:30 David Blaine: Magic Man 03:20 Unreported World 03:45 Dispatches 04:15 Time Team 05:15 The Herd 05:20 Deal or No Deal 06:15 Countdown 07:00 Sali Mali 07:10 The Hoobs 08:00 Freshly Squeezed 08:30 According to Jim 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:00 Jamie's Christmas with Bells On 13:00 Channel 4 News 13:05 Kirstie's Handmade Treasures 13:25 CutThroat Island 15:40 Countdown 16:30 1001 Things You Should Know 17:00 Deal or No Deal 18:00 Come Dine with Me 18:30 The Simpsons 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 20:30 Unreported World 20:55 4thought.tv 21:00 King of Christmas Lights 22:00 The Hoarder Next Door 23:00 Alan Carr: Chatty Man

01:25 SuperCasino 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 HouseBusters 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Michaela's Wild Challenge 06:35 Michaela's Wild Challenge 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:05 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:20 Peppa Pig 09:30 Peppa Pig 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:50 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 Angelina Ballerina 10:35 Mist: Sheepdog Tales 10:55 Mexican Food Made Simple 11:25 Emergency Bikers 12:25 Superior Interiors with Kelly Hoppen 13:20 5 News Lunchtime 13:25 Build a New Life in the Country 14:25 Meet the Santas 16:10 Mistletoe over Manhattan 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Emergency Bikers 19:30 5 News at 6.30 20:00 Cowboy Builders 21:00 North Pole Ice Airport 22:00 The Mentalist 23:00 Castle

The Courier Saturday TV

December 22

00:20 The National Lottery Friday Night Draws 00:30 John Bishop's Britain 01:15 EastEnders 03:10 Weatherview 03:15 Natural World 04:15 MasterChef: The Professionals 05:15 BBC News 05:30 On the Road With 06:00 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 11:00 Saturday Kitchen Live 12:30 Nigel Slater's Christmas Suppers 13:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 13:15 Football Focus 17:30 Final Score 18:20 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 18:40 Pointless Celebrities 19:30 Strictly Come Dancing 20:55 Merlin 21:40 The National Lottery Saturday Night Draws 21:50 Strictly Come Dancing 23:05 BBC News; Weather 23:25 Match of the Day

00:00 00:05 01:05 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 04:30

Weather Grumpy Guide to Christmas Holiday in Handcuffs Click BBC News The Week in Parliament BBC News Click

04:45 Newswatch 05:00 BBC News 05:15 Close 07:00 Charlie and Lola 07:20 Little Charley Bear 07:30 64 Zoo Lane 07:40 Mr Bloom's Nursery 08:05 What's New Scooby-Doo? 08:30 Dennis and Gnasher 08:40 4 O'Clock Club 09:10 MI High 09:40 Deadly 60 10:05 Copycats 10:35 12 Again 11:05 The Ministry of Curious Stuff 11:30 Diddy Movies 11:45 Sorry, I've Got No Head 12:15 Horrible Histories 12:45 MOTD Kickabout 12:45 OOglies 13:20 SPYkids 3: Game Over 14:35 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 16:00 Nigellissima 17:00 The Game Plan 18:45 The Toys That Made Christmas 20:15 Porridge 21:00 Top of the Pops 2: Christmas 2012 22:30 Never Mind the Buzzcocks

00:00 ITV News and Weather 00:10 Meridian Tonight and Weather 00:15 Celebrity Juice 01:00 Text Santa 02:15 Jackpot247 04:00 Quadrophenia 06:00 ITV Nightscreen 06:30 ITV Morning News 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:25 The Hive 07:50 Canimals 08:05 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:30 Almost Naked Animals 08:50 Horrid Henry 09:30 Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge 10:25 ITV News 10:30 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 11:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 12:20 Murder, She Wrote 13:20 ITV News and Weather 13:34 Meridian Weather 13:35 Home Sweet Home 15:35 Steppin' Out with Katherine Jenkins 16:50 Meridian News and Weather 17:05 ITV News and Weather 17:20 Back to the Future Part III 19:30 The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song 21:00 Paddy's 2012 Show and Telly 22:00 The Jonathan Ross Show 23:30 ITV News and Weather 23:44 Meridian Weather 23:45 Terminator 2: Judgment Day

00:05 Father Ted 02:15 The Ricky Gervais Show 02:15 Full English 02:45 The Ricky Gervais Show 03:10 My Name Is Earl 03:35 Glory Daze 04:20 A Ninja Is for Life, Not Just for Christmas 04:25 90210 05:05 Deal or No Deal 06:00 Countdown 06:45 Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard 07:10 The Hoobs 07:35 The Hoobs 08:00 Triathlon 08:30 Everybody Loves Raymond 08:55 The Morning Line 09:55 Frasier 10:25 Frasier 10:55 A Christmas Carol: the Musical 12:50 The Big Bang Theory 13:20 The Simpsons 13:50 The Simpsons 14:20 Channel 4 Racing 16:30 River Cottage 17:35 Come Dine with Me 20:05 Channel 4 News 20:25 4thought.tv 20:30 George Clarke's Amazing Spaces 21:30 Stephen Fry: Gadget Man 22:00 Four Christmases 23:40 Die Hard 2

FOUR CHRISTMASES Vince Vaughn and Walk the Line Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon star in a lame-brained but blessedly short comedy about a happily unmarried couple who re-evaluate their relationship when forced to split their Christmas Day between all four of their divorced parents. Sissy Spacek and Robert Duvall play Vaughn's mum and dad, while Mary Steenburgen and Jon Voight are Witherspoon's.

00:00 Law & Order: Criminal Intent 00:55 Inside Hollywood 01:00 SuperCasino 04:50 Motorsport Mundial 05:20 HouseBusters 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Michaela's Wild Challenge 06:35 Michaela's Wild Challenge 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Fifi and the Flowertots 07:15 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 07:20 The Mr Men Show 07:35 Olive the Ostrich 07:40 Abby's Flying Fairy School 07:50 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:00 Bananas in Pyjamas 08:10 Animal Antics 08:20 Make Way for Noddy 08:30 City of Friends 08:45 Little Princess 08:55 The Adventures of Bottle Top Bill and His Best Friend Corky 09:15 Angelina Ballerina 09:30 Rupert Bear 09:50 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:00 Toby's Travelling Circus 10:15 Roary the Racing Car 10:30 Jelly Jamm 10:50 Chinese Food in Minutes 10:55 Dallas 11:50 Once Upon a Time 12:55 Once Upon a Time 13:50 Crazy for Christmas 15:40 Dear Santa 17:30 Debbie Macomber's Call Me Mrs Miracle 19:20 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 21:00 A Christmas Carol 23:00 5 News Weekend 23:05 Tommy Cooper's Christmas

The Courier Sunday TV

December 23

05:05 Close 07:00 Show Me Show Me 07:20 Rastamouse 00:55 The Football League Show 07:30 Gigglebiz 02:10 Weatherview 07:45 Mike the Knight 02:15 Rolling Stones: Crossfire 08:05 Shaun the Sheep Hurricane 08:10 Little Howard's Big Question 03:15 Rolling Stones: Crossfire 08:35 4 O'Clock Club Hurricane 09:05 MI High 04:10 Nigellissima 09:35 Bear Behaving Badly 05:10 BBC News 10:00 Copycats 05:30 Click 10:30 12 Again 06:00 BBC News 06:30 Brazil: Welcoming the World 11:00 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 12:30 The Great British Bake Off 08:30 Match of the Day 13:30 The Preacher's Wife 12:00 Only Fools and Horses 15:30 Coast 13:00 BBC News 13:05 Weather for the Week Ahead 15:40 Escape to the Country 16:25 Flog It! 13:10 'Allo 'Allo! 17:25 First Knight 13:55 Nigel Slater's 12 Tastes of 19:30 The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Christmas Show 14:30 The Borrowers 20:35 Victoria Wood with All the 15:55 Cool Runnings Trimmings 17:30 Songs of Praise 21:30 Dragons' Den 18:05 BBC News; Regional News 22:30 James May's Toy Stories and Weather 23:30 The Sarah Millican Television 18:30 Countryfile Programme 21:30 Loving Miss Hatto 23:00 BBC News; Regional News and Weather 23:25 Match of the Day 2

02:15 Jackpot247 04:00 In Plain Sight 04:45 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Engie Benjy 07:10 Special Agent Oso 07:35 Signed Stories 07:45 Monk 07:50 Canimals 08:05 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:30 Almost Naked Animals 08:40 Almost Naked Animals 08:50 Almost Naked Animals 09:00 Big Time Rush 09:30 Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge 10:25 Dinner Date 11:20 Columbo: Fade in to Murder 13:20 ITV News and Weather 13:29 Meridian Weather 13:30 Carry On Cowboy 15:15 All Star Family Fortunes 16:00 The McFly Show 17:05 Twins 19:05 You've Been Framed! 19:35 Meridian News and Weather 19:45 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Ade's Christmas Crackers 21:00 The Cube 22:00 Joanna Lumley: The Search for Noah's Ark 23:30 ITV News and Weather 23:44 Meridian Weather 23:45 Take Me Out

THE FAMILY MAN

00:00 The Mystery of Edwin Drood 01:00 The Story of Fairytale of New York 02:00 QI 02:30 Never Mind the Buzzcocks 03:00 Arch of Triumph

Romantic fantasy starring Nicolas Cage and TĂŠa Leoni. Nothing gets in the way of a deal for Wall Street workaholic Jack Campbell - not even Christmas Eve. Then, following an encounter with the enigmatic Cash, Jack is given the chance to see how life would have fared had he not deserted his childhood sweetheart for a life in the fast lane.

02:00 Rare Exports from the Land of the Original Santa Claus 03:20 This Is Me 03:25 Hollyoaks 05:30 90210 06:15 90210 06:55 The Treacle People Christmas Special 07:15 The Hoobs 07:40 The Hoobs 08:05 Prep & Landing 08:25 Prep & Landing: Naughty v Nice 08:50 The Bear 09:20 The Art of The Snowman and the Snowdog 09:25 Frasier 09:55 The Simpsons 10:30 Sunday Brunch 13:05 The Big Bang Theory 13:30 The Big Bang Theory 14:00 The Simpsons 14:30 The Simpsons 15:00 Deal or No Deal 16:00 100 Greatest Toys with Jonathan Ross 19:05 Channel 4 News 19:15 4thought.tv 19:20 The Art of The Snowman and the Snowdog 19:25 The Snowman 19:55 Night at the Museum 22:00 Homeland 23:30 Peep Show

00:10 The Plank 01:15 SuperCasino 04:55 Michaela's Wild Challenge 05:20 Great Artists 05:50 Rough Guide to Eco Escapes 06:05 Hana's Helpline 06:15 The Milkshake! Show 06:40 Thomas & Friends 06:50 Roary the Racing Car 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Roary the Racing Car 07:15 Fifi and the Flowertots 07:25 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 07:30 The Mr Men Show 07:45 Olive the Ostrich 07:50 Abby's Flying Fairy School 08:00 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:10 Bananas in Pyjamas 08:20 Animal Antics 08:25 Make Way for Noddy 08:40 City of Friends 09:00 Little Princess 09:10 Angelina Ballerina 09:25 Hana's Helpline 09:40 Rupert Bear 10:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 10:10 Toby's Travelling Circus 10:25 Roary the Racing Car 10:40 Jelly Jamm 11:00 Chinese Food in Minutes 11:20 Dallas 12:15 Once Upon a Time 13:10 Once Upon a Time 14:10 The Christmas Consultant 15:55 It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie 17:40 Christmas with the Kranks 19:40 The Family Man 21:55 5 News Weekend 22:00 Bad Santa

The Courier Monday TV

December 24

00:25 The Graham Norton Show 01:15 Grumpy Old Men 02:55 Weatherview 03:00 Season 4 Episode 6: Film 2012 03:30 Holby City 04:30 Nigel Slater's 12 Tastes of Christmas 05:00 Nigel Slater's 12 Tastes of Christmas 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:00 David Suchet: In the Footsteps of St Paul 11:00 The Two Ronnies Christmas Special 1984 12:00 Only Fools and Horses 13:00 BBC News; Weather 13:15 Regional News and Weather 13:25 The Santa Clause 14:00 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 17:15 Merry Madagascar 17:35 The Gruffalo's Child 18:50 Lady and the Trp 19:20 BBC News 19:35 Regional News Progrmes 19:45 A Christmas Carol 21:15 Merlin 22:00 EastEnders 22:35 Outnumbered 23:15 Mrs Brown's Boys 23:45 The Vicar of Dibley

00:00 TV 01:30 02:00 03:25

Victoria Wood: As Seen on QI French Film They Knew What They

Wanted 04:50 Close 07:00 Postman Pat 07:15 Bob the Builder: Project Build It 07:30 The Adventures of Abney & Teal 07:40 Timmy Time 08:05 Shaun the Sheep 08:15 Eliot Kid 08:30 League of Super Evil 08:40 4 O'Clock Club 09:10 MI High 09:40 Dani's House 10:10 The Nightmare before Christmas 11:20 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 12:55 The Great British Bake Off 13:55 Wartime Farm 14:55 Springwatch 15:55 Equestrian 16:55 Nativity! 18:35 Dad's Army 19:15 Carols from King's 20:30 Morecambe & Wise: Song and Dance 21:30 Open All Hours 22:00 Porridge 22:40 Ronnie Barker: The Many Faces Of 23:40 The Two Ronnies: The Studio Recordings

00:45 Premiership Rugby Union 01:45 Jackpot247 03:45 River Monsters 04:35 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 07:10 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 07:25 The Hive 07:35 The Hive 07:45 The Hive 07:50 Canimals 08:00 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:15 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:30 Horrid Henry 08:45 Horrid Henry 09:00 Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase 10:25 Dennis 12:05 Dinner Date 13:10 ITV News and Weather 13:30 The Chase 14:30 Doc Martin 16:30 Rod Stewart's Christmas 17:45 The Grinch 19:40 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:30 The Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever! 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:15 Christmas Carols on ITV

00:00 In Bruges 02:00 American Football Live 05:45 Brief Encounters of the Sporting Mind 05:50 Brief Encounters of the Sporting Mind 06:00 Freesports on 4 06:25 Unreported World 06:55 Sali Mali 07:00 The Treacle People 07:10 The Rugrats Movie 08:25 Famous Fred 08:55 Ivor the Invisible 09:20 The Art of The Snowman and the Snowdog 09:30 A Christmas Carol 11:05 The Big Bang Theory 12:00 The Muppet Christmas Carol 13:40 The Simpsons 14:45 Deal or No Deal 15:50 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 18:05 The Simpsons 18:40 Hollyoaks 19:10 Channel 4 News 19:25 4thought.tv 19:30 Heston's Fantastical Food 20:30 Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas 21:00 The Snowman and the Snowdog 21:30 Stephen Fry: Gadget Man 22:00 8 Out of 10 Cats 23:00 Peep Show 23:30 Friday Night Dinner

VIVA FOREVER! More than 15 years since they took the pop world by storm, this documentary tells the story of the Spice Girls' rise to fame and evolving relationships through interviews with all five members, plus those who know them best and worked with them along the way. The programme also looks at the making of Viva Forever!, a new musical based on the group's songs, as its writer Jennifer Saunders and producer Judy Craymer reveal how hits such as Wannabe and Who Do You Think You Are have been reinterpreted for the West End stage.

00:00 Superbad 02:15 SuperCasino 04:55 House Doctor 05:25 House Doctor 05:50 Rough Guide To 06:05 Hana's Helpline 06:15 The Milkshake! Show 06:40 Thomas & Friends 06:50 Roary the Racing Car 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:10 Milkshake! Show Songs 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:20 Peppa Pig 09:30 Roary the Racing Car 09:40 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:10 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 10:20 Mist: Sheepdog Tales 10:40 The Family Recipe 10:50 Dallas 11:40 Once Upon a Time 12:35 Once Upon a Time 13:35 Mistletoe over Manhattan 15:25 Trading Christmas 17:10 Scrooge 19:00 Rolf's Animal Clinic 20:00 World's Biggest Pets 21:00 A Right Royal Year 22:00 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 23:00 The Thomas Crown Affair

The Courier Tuesday TV

December 25

00:30 BBC News 00:45 Midnight Mass from Leeds Cathedral 02:50 Serendipity 03:30 Weatherview 03:35 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 BBC News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC News 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:00 The Gruffalo 10:25 Peter Rabbit's Christmas Tale 10:50 First Flight 11:00 Christmas Day Eucharist 12:00 Only Fools and Horses 13:50 BBC News 13:13 Weather 13:15 Shrek the Halls 13:40 Madagascar Escape 2 Africa 15:00 Top of the Pops 16:00 The Queen 16:10 Shrek Forever After 17:35 Room on the Broom 18:00 BBC News 18:10 Weather 18:15 Doctor Who 19:15 Strictly Come Dancing 20:30 Call the Midwife 21:45 EastEnders 22:45 The Royle Family 23:45 BBC News 23:55 Weather

00:10 Being Ronnie Corbett 01:10 QI 01:40 An Island Parish 02:10 The Tuttles of Tahiti 03:40 Close 07:00 Baby Jake 07:15 Let's Celebrate 07:30 The Cow That Almost Missed Christmas 08:00 The Slammer 08:30 12 Again 09:00 Horrible Histories 09:30 The Story of Tracy Beaker 09:45 Attenborough's Egg Hunt 10:45 Attenborough's Ark: Natural World Special 11:45 Carols from King's 13:00 On the Town 14:35 Singin' in the Rain 16:15 Cenerentola 18:15 The Queen 18:25 Arena 19:25 Top Gear 20:30 Dad's Army 21:00 Blackadder's Christmas Carol 21:45 The Choir: Military Wives 22:45 QI XL 23:30 The Sarah Millican Television Programme

00:15 The Jonathan Ross Show 01:45 The Unforgettable 02:40 Pushing Daisies 03:25 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 07:10 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 07:25 The Hive 07:50 Canimals 08:00 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:15 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:30 Almost Naked Animals 08:45 Almost Naked Animals 08:55 Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders 10:25 Aladdin 12:10 The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song 13:40 Text Santa 14:15 ITV News and Weather 14:25 Toy Story 16:00 The Queen 16:10 Tangled 18:00 You've Been Framed! 18:30 Emmerdale 19:00 Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:30 ITV News and Weather 21:45 Downton Abbey 23:45 Couples Retreat

THE ROYLE FAMILY A new neighbour's cleavage is one of the many topics of conversation as the couch-potato clan gathers for another fun-filled Christmas Day. This year Barbara has gone overboard with the presents after spending an entire two hours in the pound shop, Joe next door has turned to the lonely hearts column, although his advert leaves a lot to be desired, and Dave has had a flash of entrepreneurial inspiration that he intends to pitch to Dragons' Den - are the family on the brink of becoming millionaires?

00:05 The Inbetweeners 00:40 The Inbetweeners 01:15 The Inbetweeners 01:45 The Inbetweeners 02:15 The Inbetweeners 02:45 The Inbetweeners 03:15 Rude Tube 05:05 Deal or No Deal 06:00 90210 06:40 The Hoobs 06:55 The Treacle People 07:05 Little Wolf 07:30 Lost and Found 07:55 Father Christmas 08:25 The Art of The Snowman and the Snowdog 08:30 The Simpsons 08:50 The Simpsons 09:20 Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! 11:00 Gordon's Christmas Cookalong Live 14:55 The Snowman and the Snowdog 15:25 Scrooged 17:20 The Alternative Christmas Message 17:25 Deal or No Deal 18:30 Channel 4 News 18:35 4thought.tv 18:40 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 22:00 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 23:00 Rude Tube

01:15 NCIS 02:15 SuperCasino 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 HouseBusters 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Michaela's Wild Challenge 06:35 Michaela's Wild Challenge 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Little Princess 08:05 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:05 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:35 Roary the Racing Car 09:55 Inside Hollywood 10:00 Gone with the Wind 14:15 Ben-Hur 18:25 The Santa Incident 20:05 5 News Update 20:05 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 21:00 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 22:00 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 23:00 Greatest Christmas TV Moments

The Courier Wednesday TV

December 26

00:00 The Vicar of Dibley 00:40 On Christmas Night 00:45 Have I Got a Bit More News for You 01:30 Cold Mountain 03:55 Weatherview 04:00 BBC News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC News 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:00 CBeebies Panto 10:45 Room on the Broom 11:10 The Penguins of Madagascar 11:25 Cars 13:15 BBC News 13:30 Regional News and Weather 13:40 Mr Stink 14:40 Happy Feet 16:20 Enchanted 18:00 How to Train Your Dragon 19:30 BBC News 19:40 Regional News Programmes 19:50 Alice in Wonderland 21:30 EastEnders 22:00 Miranda 22:30 Mrs Brown's Boys 23:00 BBC News 23:20 The National Lottery Wednesday Night Draws 23:25 Match of the Day

00:00 The Christmas No 1 Story 01:00 Top of the Pops 2: Christmas 2012 02:30 The Hunchback of Notre Dame 04:20 Close 07:00 Justin's House 07:30 Octonauts 08:00 Naomi's Nightmares of Nature 08:30 4 O'Clock Club 09:00 MI High 09:30 Hero Squad 10:00 The Bear Family and Me 11:00 Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild 12:00 BBC Proms 2012: John Wilson on Broadway Uncut 14:10 Darcey Bussell Dances Hollywood 15:40 An American in Paris 17:30 Final Score 18:30 Miss Potter 20:00 Morecambe & Wise: Song and Dance 21:00 Blackpool: Big Night Out 22:00 The Girl 23:30 Rebecca

01:55 Christmas Carols on ITV 02:55 Pushing Daisies 03:45 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 07:10 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 07:25 The Hive 07:50 Canimals 08:00 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:15 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:30 Almost Naked Animals 08:45 Almost Naked Animals 09:00 Horrid Henry 09:15 Horrid Henry 09:30 Fort Boyard 10:25 The Railway Children 12:30 Dinner Date 13:30 ITV News and Weather 13:45 Land of the Lost 15:25 The Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever! 16:55 This Is Lionel Richie 18:00 ITV News and Weather 18:15 Toy Story 2 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 That Dog Can Dance! 22:00 Doors Open

00:05 C4's 30 Greatest Comedy Shows 02:05 Airplane! 03:35 David Blaine: What Is Magic? 04:20 KOTV Boxing Weekly 04:45 Extreme Sailing Series 05:15 Brief Encounters of the Sporting Mind 05:20 Ultimate Frisbee 05:25 International Volleyball 08:10 Wilde Stories 08:35 The Art of The Snowman and the Snowdog 08:40 According to Jim 09:10 Everybody Loves Raymond 09:40 The Morning Line 10:40 Valiant 12:10 The Simpsons 12:45 The Simpsons 13:15 Deal or No Deal 14:15 Channel 4 Racing 16:40 Turner & Hooch 18:40 The Simpsons 19:10 Hollyoaks 19:40 Channel 4 News 19:50 4thought.tv 19:55 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 23:30 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

MOST SHOCKING CELEB MOMENTS Countdown of the year's biggest showbiz stories, including Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes's divorce and Kristen Stewart's apology to Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson over her affair with director Rupert Sanders. From the Olympics to The X Factor and Celebrity Big Brother, the programme features all the scandal and gossip on the biggest celebrity moments of the past 12 months.

01:55 SuperCasino 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 HouseBusters 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Michaela's Wild Challenge 06:35 Michaela's Wild Challenge 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:10 Peppa Pig 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Roary the Racing Car 09:40 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:10 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 10:25 Mist: Sheepdog Tales 10:40 The Family Recipe 10:50 Dallas 11:40 Cowboy Builders 12:40 Once Upon a Time 13:40 The Greatest Story Ever Told 17:30 Will You Merry Me 19:15 Rolf's Animal Clinic 20:10 TV's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks 23:00 Most Shocking Celebrity Moments 2012

The Courier Thursday TV

December 27

01:00 Blades of Glory 02:25 Weatherview 02:30 ABC World News with Diane Sawyer 03:00 BBC News 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 BBC News 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC News 05:30 HARDtalk 06:00 BBC News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 09:00 Match of the Day 10:30 The Thief Lord 12:00 101 Dalmatians 13:40 BBC News 13:55 Regional News and Weather 14:00 My Family 14:50 Donkey's Carolling Christmastacular 15:00 Bolt 16:25 Monsters vs Aliens 17:50 Dragons 18:15 Wallace & Gromit 18:40 Pointless Celebrities 19:30 BBC News 19:45 Regional News Programmes 20:00 Celebrity Mastermind 20:30 Have I Got News for You 21:00 EastEnders 22:00 Restless 23:30 BBC News 23:45 Regional News and Weather 23:55 Coldplay

01:35 Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock 02:35 Mr and Mrs Smith 04:05 Close 07:00 Pingu 07:05 Timmy Time 07:20 Rastamouse 07:30 The Large Family 07:40 Andy's Wild Adventures 08:00 Naomi's Nightmares of Nature 08:30 4 O'Clock Club 09:00 MI High 09:30 Hero Squad 10:00 The Bear Family and Me 11:00 Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild 12:00 Viva Knievel! 13:45 Racing from Chepstow 16:05 Secretariat 17:55 Nature's Weirdest Events 18:55 The Cockleshell Heroes 20:30 Dad's Army 21:00 Racing Legends 23:00 Mock the Week

00:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 00:15 Atonement 02:25 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 03:20 Every Which Way but Loose 05:15 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 Babar and the Adventures of Badou 07:25 The Hive 07:50 Canimals 08:00 Fleabag Monkeyface 08:30 Almost Naked Animals 09:00 Horrid Henry 09:30 Fort Boyard 10:25 Dickinson's Real Deal 11:25 Columbo: Requiem for a Falling Star 12:55 Dinner Date 13:50 ITV News and Weather 14:05 Meridian News and Weather 14:10 Free Willy 3: the Rescue 15:50 Babe 17:30 Downton Abbey 19:30 Meridian Tonight 19:30 Weather 19:45 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 All Star Family Fortunes 21:30 Emmerdale 22:00 Panto! 23:30 ITV News and Weather 23:44 Meridian Weather 23:45 The Holiday

DIRTY DANCING This feel-good dance drama works a curious charismatic magic and catapulted the then-unknown Patrick Swayze to stardom. It was intended as a low-budget filler, a tale of sexual awakening at a Jewish holiday camp in 1963, but it became a much-loved blockbuster and kick-started major industry careers for its production team. The casting is perfect, with Swayze playing the sexy bad boy dancing coach and Jennifer Grey as the feisty middle-class teenager, and their relationship never strikes a false note.

02:20 03:45 04:25 05:15 05:55 06:35 07:25 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:15 09:45 10:15 10:50 11:20 11:50 12:20 12:50 14:35 16:25 17:25 18:30 19:00 19:30 19:55 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Airplane II: the Sequel The Good Wife St Elsewhere 90210 90210 Deal or No Deal Close The Hoobs The Hoobs Wilde Stories According to Jim Everybody Loves Raymond Frasier Frasier The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory The Simpsons The Simpsons Astro Boy City of Ember Deal or No Deal Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News 4thought.tv Mary's Bottom Line The Hoarder Next Door The Restoration Man Dorian Gray

01:55 SuperCasino 04:55 House Doctor 05:20 HouseBusters 05:45 Great Artists 06:10 Michaela's Wild Challenge 06:35 Michaela's Wild Challenge 07:00 Thomas & Friends 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Fireman Sam 07:30 Jelly Jamm 07:45 Peppa Pig 07:50 Olive the Ostrich 07:55 Little Princess 08:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Fifi and the Flowertots 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:25 Peppa Pig 09:30 Roary the Racing Car 09:40 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:10 Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures 10:25 Mist: Sheepdog Tales 10:45 The Family Recipe 10:55 Dallas 11:50 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 12:50 Once Upon a Time 13:50 Fiddler on the Roof 17:25 It's Christmas, Carol! 19:10 World's Biggest Pets 20:05 Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers 20:05 5 News Update 21:00 World's Strongest Man 22:00 Dirty Dancing

Friday, December 21, 2012

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CHURCH SERVICES

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International Christian Assembly, Calle Pilar de Horadada 5, Torrevieja. Evangelical non-denominational church. Sunday services 11am. Children's church 11am. House groups in Torrevieja, Los Balcones, San Javier. Ladies meeting Thursdays 11am. Craft club, Tuesdays, 2pm. Pastor, Rafael Restrepo. All nationalities welcome. Call 966 799 273 or 660 127 276. Pilar Christian Community Church Calle Canalejas 3. Pilar de la Horadada. Sunday Service at 11am, and Thursday at 5pm for Bible study and Prayer. Home groups meet during the week. All welcome from any church background or none. For further information contact Pilar ChristianCommunity Church@gmail.com or contact Reverend Eddie on 966

AIR CONDITIONING

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ALARMS

7693 00 or 650 509 606. Reg No:2009-SG/A The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) meet at 10.00 each Sunday at their Torrevieja meetinghouse in the Torreaguas building on the corner of Rambla Juan Mateo Garcia 104, close to the windmill in Torrevieja, 667 533 597.

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PROPERTY FOR RENT Viva Villa and Vacation Services, For Short or Long Term Rentals visit: www.villaandvacation.com or Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 2 or 3 bed / 2 bath apartments in San Miguel. Lift, communal rooftop pool & solarium, video entry system. Available for short or long term rent from 300 pcm. Tel 966723437 or 636615716. (98) Ref. RS69 – Spacious towncentre apartment only a two minute walk from the beach and well known Marina

International in Torrevieja centre. 2 large bedrooms, 1 full bathroom, fully furnished, 350 € pcm. 966 923 963 Ref: 61, A lovely two bedroomed ground floor apartment, located in the centre of the small Spanish town of Los Montesinos, With a pleasant communal swimming pool adjacent & all amenities in walking distance. Long and short term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref. KBJ3 – Luxury duplex penthouse apartment located near the marina in Guardamar. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, amazing panoramic views, inc.parking and storage. 600 € pcm. 966 923 963 Ref. CBR21 – A rare chance to rent a frontline beach apartment in Torrevieja! Ground floor with large terrace, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, direct and full-on sea views. 500 € pcm. 966 923 963

BLINDS

BUILDER

Ref. CBR20 – Spanish style 4th floor apartment right on the beach! 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lovely balcony to soak up the amazing sea views. 500 € pcm. 966 923 963 Ref. CBR19 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment in sought after area beachside Punta Prima, with communal pool and fully furnished, only 400 € pcm. 966 923 963 CBR22 : Modern 2 bed apartment only 500m from Los Locos Beach. Fully furnished, inc.storage room, 350€ pcm. 966 923 963 Ref. CBR3 – 2 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse located in Algorfa, communal pool, fully furnished, 300 € pcm. 966 923 963 Ref. RS20 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment within private enclosed residential in San Luis, large terrace, 350 € pcm. 966 923 963 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 CBR23 : Stylish new house in Los Montesinos, 3 bed 2 bath with large 65m2 garage, front and back terraces. 500 € pcm. 966 923 963

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Friday, December 21, 2012

Ref 33, Ground floor spacious 2 bedroom apartment, located in Torre la Mata. Close to all amenities and beach. 3 month rental €300pcm Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 104, 2 Bedroom apartment in Torrevieja, (near gypsy lane), small balcony, near all amenities and Friday market. €350pcm Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 112, Spacious 3 bedroom detached villa with its private pool is located on the El Raso urbanisation near Guardamar. Convenient for all amenities, shops, supermarket, restaurants and bars. Short term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 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 term rental €800PCM. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref 702: Beautiful 2 bedroom apartment, located near los Locos beach, beautifully furnished. Short term

rentals from 175€ per week. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 El Chaparel/La Siesta Two bedroom apartment in a quiet gated urbanisation for rent €350 per month plus bills. Reference No 17 Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 709, A lovely 1 bedroom apartment in Aguas Nuevas, within a 5 minute walk of the beach. There is a terrace outside with views to the sea. Short or long term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Ref: 117, A Lovely 3 Bedroomed 1st floor apartment on the outskirts of Torrevieja (Mar Azul). The Apartment is in walking distance of the excellent beaches and a good selection of restaurants, shops and bars. Long and short 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

PROPERTY FOR SALE Comprehensive cover for house and contents with CASER Seguros - excellent prices for expats; policies available in English or German. Call 966 923 963 for a quote.

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Ref. BRJ1 – 1 bedroom top floor renovated apartment in San Luis. Great sea and lake views. 55.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS96 – Charming 1 bedroom top floor bungalow, 300m from the sea in La Mata. 55.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS63 – 2 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse in Torrevieja, with communal pool and lots of extras. 95.000 €. Tl. 966 923 963 Ref. RS59 – Detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom villa in San Luis, plot of 350m2, private pool, and additional “granny annex”. 169.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS1 – Detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom villa with 900m2 plot located in Toretta Florida. Has private pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and much more! 345.000 € .Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS67 – 2 bedroom apartment with lovely sun terrace located in Playa Flamenca urb with communal pool. All amenities nearby. 61.500 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS58 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom second floor apartment located in La Mata, communal pool, fully furnished, 79.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS84 – Large 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment of 100m2 situated in Los Montesinos. Communal solarium upstairs with pool. 79.900 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS20 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment within private enclosed residential in San Luis, large terrace, 90.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS65 – 2 bedroom 1 bathroom penthouse apartment, communal pool and parking area, located near the beach in Guardamar. 79.950 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. RS90 – 2 bedroom detached villa all on one level, fully furnished, as new! Located in El Raso (Guardamar) 145.000 €. Tel. 966 923 963 Ref. KEIGUA – Luxury duplex atico apartment in

DAMP PROOFING

Guardamar. 3 bedroom 2 bathroom, 118 m2, private parking, storage room, communal pool, magnificent views of forest, beach and sea. 169.000 € Tel. 966 923 963 Lovely Corner property in Novamar V, Gran Alacant. 2 bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms Being sold fully furnished including appliances, Has secure underground parking and faces large oasis communal pool. Walking distance to beach. 139.000 Euros, Call 627 711 155 and quote Ref No. K10 Ground floor duplex, with splendid views. Quiet location in Gran Alacant. Immaculate condition. Price has just been reduced to 105.000 and includes everything. For viewing call 627 711 155 Ref. No K27 Rare opportunity to purchase on Mediterrania III, Gran Alacant. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Private Parking, F/Furnished, Large communal pools & Tennis courts S/W facing, Dramatically reduced for quick sale to 126.000 euros. Ref No. K58 Call 627 711 155 for immediate viewing Ref: 521, €105,000. This comfortable bungalow is located in San Luis with a new roof and solarium tiles. It is close to supermarkets, bars, restaurants and is on the local bus route. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Don Pueblo, Gran Alacant. 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Large Kitchen with Galleria, Secure underground parking, Gas Central Heating, Glazed in Porch, Solarium with stunning views. Viewings absolutely essential. Very large property at reduced price of 190.000 euros. Ref No. K38 Call 627 711 155 Opportunity to purchase at the off plan price of 195.000 euros. Large 4 Bed, 3 Bath Brand new property. Secure underground parking for 2 cars and communal pool. Situated opposite Gran Alacant and over looks projected golf course. Ref No. K52. 627 711 155 Viva Villa and Vacation Services are pleased to offer property sales for the Torrevieja and Oriheula areas of the Costa Blanca, Spain. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 or Visit : www.villaandvacation.com

2 Bed, 1 Bath Ground floor duplex. Central heating, Grills, Fully furnished, Glazed in Galleria, 2 communal pools, private parking and walking distance to the Gran Alacant commercial centre. Situated in the popular urbanisation of Puerto Marino. Now only 96,500 euros for quick sale Ref No. K46. 627 711 155 Immaculate ground floor Duplex, 2 beds, 2 bath, Private Parking, Situated in Novamar, Gran Alacant. Price includes very tasteful furniture and white goods. Walking distance to all local amenities and beach. Now only 129,750 euros. Ref No K24. 627 711 155 Gran Alacant Detached villa, located in a very sought after location.Situated on a 560m2 S/W facing plot and constructed in 2005. Comprising of 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (2 full baths), Lounge-Diner, fully equipped Kitchen, Porch and Solarium with Alicante & Sea Views. ref.L81. €258,000 neg. Tel. 680333242 Ref 533: Lovely 2 bedroom Townhouse located in the popular area of Punta Prima, the property has a large lounge and fully equipped kitchen, 2 double bedrooms, one with balcony, bathroom with double shower. €126,000 Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Gran Alacant Town House with a difference. 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Glazed in Porch, Quiet Location, Extra storage areas, and South Facing Private Pool as well as 2 communal pools. Fully Furnished, All mod cons. Greenland Views and all local amenities close by. Ref. No L79. 179.000 euros 680 333 242 Top floor Duplex. Very good price of 108.000 euros for a quick sale. Furnished to a very high standard, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, Lounge Diner, Glazed in Porch, Large Roof Top Solarium. Choice of Communal Pools, Private Parking. Walking distance to all amenities and on the First urbanisation as you enter Gran Alacant. Viewing essential. Ref No. K44. Tel. 627 711 155 Gran Alacant immaculate villa, 3 bedroomed, 3 bathroomed property maintained

to a very high standard inside and out and the interior furnishings are top quality, offering a feeling of luxury and good taste. The plot size is 400m2 and has been beautifully tiles, and graveled and has established palms and plants. Oil fired central heating throughout, log effect fire place, ceiling fans in all rooms, towel heater rails, glazed in shower units, instant hot water, water purifier, free English TV, phone & internet lines, fitted double hanging wardrobes, safe, glazed in front porch, vanity units and much more. The pool is an 8 X 4 m2 salt water pool, meaning maintenance is much easier plus outside toilet and shower. Sea views to front with Greenland views to the rear. ref K51. €245,000 Tel 680333242 Balsares is opposite Gran Alacant where the proposed golf course is now being started so this property will virtually be on the golf course, it is an investment not to be missed. The property is on a small gated urbanisation of 18 houses with private underground parking for 2 cars and direct access to the house, communal pool and toilets/changing rooms etc. The house is brand new and consists of 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, lounge with working fire place, large kitchen 12 m2, large galleria/ utility room, bedroom balcony and front tiled terrace. This property also has a converted under build for an extra lounge or bedroom. ref K52 €198,000 Tel 680333242 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

INTERIOR DESIGN

DRAINAGE ELECTRICIAN

ELECTRICIAN

HOUSE CLEARANCE

Friday, December 21, 2012

Ref: KP3100, €183,000. Three bedroom, two bathroom detached villa, located in San Luis, on a 450sqm plot, with communal pool. Garage to side of house. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 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: 709, €60,000 A lovely 1 bedroom apartment in Aguas Nuevas, within a 5 minute walk of the beach. There is a terrace outside with views to the sea. Short or long term rental available. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Gran Alacant Opportunity to purchase a beautiful 3 bedroomed, 3 bathroomed,large kitchen, detached property with roof- top solarium. Well established gardens and drive way for 2 cars, whilst also overlooking the projected 18 hole golf course. Comprising of fitted wardrobes, utility room, air con H/C, alarm system, electric wall heaters, intercom system, fireplace, ceilings fans, 8x7 gazebo, use of 2 large communal pools, immaculate condition with

many extras. ref K12. €180,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant bargain, detached villa with pool on 400m2 plot. Briefly comprising of 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, Lounge Diner, independent kitchen, solarium with views, well maintained gardens. Quiet location yet within walking distance of all amenities. Top quality furniture and appliances included in the price. Extras include, mosquito nets, grills, toldos blinds, built in wardrobes, gas fire, electric heating, ceiling fans, English & Spanish TV, tastefully tiled & graveled garden with irrigation system. ref K43. €229,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant South facing attractive corner house Situated in the sought after urbanization of Monte Faro, this secure gated urbanization offers a stunning oasis pool, with mountain views, tennis courts and football courts. Consisting of 3 double beds with balconies, 2 bathrooms, kitchen leading onto court yard which can easily be converted into an extra room, lounge diner with working fireplace, front garden with private parking for 2 cars. Being sold fully furnishes with white goods, built in 2006 so immaculate condition hardly lived in. Ref

LOCKSMITH

NEWS AGENTS

PETS

K48 €168,000 priced for quick sale Tel 680333242 Ref: 510, €70,000. Bungalow located in San Luis. It is close to the supermarkets, bars and restaurants and is on the local bus route. An Opel Corsa car is included in this sale. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Gran Alacant, Large detached villa with beautiful gardens set on 550m2 plot, built in BBQ area and large 10x6 pool.Comprising of 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Lounge Diner with fire place, Independent Kitchen, air con H/C, Solarium, front porch, converted under build with 3 extra rooms, private covered parking, irrigated gardens, close distance to beach and amenities. Ref. K18 €250,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant Gem! Fabulous detached Villa, with Alicante sea views to the front and wood land views to the rear, means this immaculate villa is very private and un-overlooked. Comprising of 2 large bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, 2 bath, large fully equipped kitchen,glazed porch sitting area, solarium, Attractive Pool with cover, well maintained Gardens. Central Heating, Air Con, Ceiling fans, Private Parking, Alarm system, Decorative working Fire Place complete with electric Fire. Outdoor workshop/storage area, Quality Pergola & BBQ. Constructed in 2006, on plot size of 380m2 and being sold fully furnished including white goods. ref L80. €234,995 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Ground floor south west facing apartment in Puerto Marino close to G.A commercial centre, comprising of 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, Lounge-Diner, Independent Kitchen with Galleria, Porch area and large tiled front garden, The property is being sold fully furnished and includes all kitchen appliances, H & C Air con is fitted as well as sky TV. The apartment enjoys the use of 2 large

communal pools and has private parking in an enclosed electronically gated car park. Competitively priced for a quick sale. Ref. K40 €91,000 Tel 680333242 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 Gran Alacant, this mid terraced Puerto marino townhouse has been priced low purely for a quick sale. Briefly comprising of: 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Lounge-Diner, Independent Kitchen with Galleria, Porch area, Front tiled garden, Private gated Parking & the use of 2 large communal pools Ref. K22 €123,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, corner property in Don Pueblo with no expense spared, comprising of 3 double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, 2 decoratively tiled bathrooms, very large independent kitchen with galleria. Included in the price are all kitchen appliances such as large fridge freezer, washing machine, dishwasher, microwave to name just a few. There is a huge lounge complete with chimney, plus large fully transformed under build,and small workshop. Front and rear private garden area, secure underground garage, tennis courts, football pitch and communal pools. Ref. K14 €209,00 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Situated in the "Alto" part of Gran Alacant, this 3 bedroomed,

PERSONAL TRAINER

4th floor apartment, offers luxury accommodation, with absolutely stunning sea views, as well as views of Alicante bay and the famous Santa Barbara Castle.The apartment is 89 square meters with open plan kitchen / living room and includes all electrical appliances & furniture also there is a utility room, open terrace, and private parking. The urbanisation also offers many communal pools, tennis courts, restaurants and bars. Ref. K20 €109,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant large detached villa with 3 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, lounge-diner, fully equipped kitchen, large porch, roof top solarium, 400 m2 Plot, with established low maintenance very private gardens with irrigation system, electronic gates, private parking, outside wc, sink & shower, terraces, air con ( h & c ), mosquito nets, grills, alarmed, large spa pool with separate Jacuzzi section. Within easy walking distance to Gran Alacant commercial centre and close to local bus and tram route. Ref K33. €260,000 neg Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Rare investment!! corner south facing opportunity on Novamar urbanisation.This immaculate ground floor duplex has been kept and maintained to a very high standard inside and out the position is fantastic, enjoys views over the lovely oasis communal pool, surrounded by lawned gardens. Comprising of plot size 100m2 Build Size 90m2, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fully furnished, AntiGlare Windows, Security Door, Security Grills, Built-in Wardrobes, Extra Storage, Galleria, Electric Panel Heaters, Heated Towel Rails, Air Con (h&c), Ceiling. Fans. Thermo Shower, Vanity Units and decoratively tiled throughout, exquisite garden, Underground private parking. Ref.K10 €139,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, detached villa

PLUMBERS

MASSAGE

POOL TABLES

in desirable road close to all amenities, comprising of 3 double bedrooms, 3 baths, lounge diner with working fire place, brand new kitchen with all appliances and black granite work tops, private pool, plot of 550m2, established irrigated gardens and fruit trees, private parking, solarium, also there is a converted under build giving more bedrooms ,bathroom & kitchen, this house has many extras and is being sold fully furnished. Ref.k47. €280,000 neg Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant south-facing, very private villa, with woodland and Alicante views. Situated at the end of a small cul-de-sac which means this villa enjoys a very peaceful location.3 Bedrooms with fitted wardrobes, 3 Bathrooms, lounge-diner with working fireplace, fully fitted kitchen with including white goods, large front porch, solarium,workshop and storage in under build, central heating, air con H/C, ceiling fans, grills, UK T.V, off road parking and plenty of outside parking also. Due to its orientation of this property enjoys full sun, all day, something very important in the winter months. Ref.K24. €237,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant detached villa with converted under build and pool. Comprising of 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, Lounge- Diner, Front Porch, Large Solarium, decoratively tiled, Irrigated Garden. BBQ and Log Storage Cupboard. Raised walls for Privacy. Also many extras, toldos blinds, freshly decorated interior, Grills, Mosquito Nets, Air Con H/C, Ceiling Fans, Log Burner Fire, Electric Radiators,

PLASTERER

Friday, December 21, 2012 Heated Towel Rails, Alarmed, Phone Line, Satellite UK TV, private parking. Plot size 310m2 under build 100m2. price includes all furniture.The under build consists of 2 beds, lounge, kit/utility room. ref L79. €250,000 Tel. 680333242 Gran Alacant immaculate outstanding south facing villa in sought after road. Set on a 350m2 plot with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths,large porch, solarium and terraces. The large under build includes a lounge, kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom and patio doors leading to pool area. Internal & external access for under build. Extras include electric radiators, air con H/C, ceiling fans, gas fire, heated towel rails, extended walk-in shower, fitted wardrobes. Decorative tiling inside and out. Panoramic views towards Alicante Bay, Sky TV, phone line and Internet & Private parking, established gardens, water features and fruit trees. Being sold with exquisite furniture

Immaculate finishes and decor. ref L84. €278,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant South facing attractive corner house Situated in the sought after urbanization of Monte Faro, this secure gated urbanization offers a stunning oasis pool, with mountain views, tennis courts and football courts. Consisting of 3 double beds with balconies, 2 bathrooms, kitchen leading onto court yard which can easily be converted into an extra room, lounge diner with working fireplace, front garden with private parking for 2 cars. Being sold fully furnishes with white goods, built in 2006 so immaculate condition hardly lived in. Ref K48 €168,000 priced for quick sale Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant limited edition villa, not very often available on the market. Only a few of this type were ever constructed- Very large 5 bedrooms, 4 bathroom(2 ensuit) property, situated on a large corner plot with a 10 x 5 private pool and private

REMOVALS

parking. Lounge-diner with working fireplace, fully equipped kitchen with utility room. Large landing area, leading onto solarium, with extra storage external room. Front porch area leading into large well established gardens with irrigation system and fruit trees. Being sold fully furnished. Within walking distance to Gran Alacant commercial centre and 5 minute drive to Carabassi beaches. ref. K11. €270,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Situated on the very first urbanisation as you enter Gran Alacant, this 2nd floor duplex offers taste and quality. Comprising of 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, lounge-diner, independent kitchen, full roof-top solarium with superb views and recently glazed in porch offering extra living area as well as extra privacy as the glass is mirrored. Ref.K44 €108,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant beautiful detached villa with very large pool and within walking distance to the Gran Alacant Commercial Centre. This villa comprised of 3 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, lounge-diner, Independent kitchen, roof top storage, solarium, porch & terrace.

RAG AND BONE

and

all

white

goods.

Large private pool, BBQ area, established gardens and private terraces, Private Parking, Solarium with Views to Alicante. 450m2 plot, fully furnished including white goods. Located in very quiet desirable road. ref.L96. €255,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant Limited edition bungalow. Only six of this type available in Gran Alacant. Constructed in 2003 and immaculately maintained on a large plot size of 500m2 with a 10 x 5 pool.Comprising of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, lounge-diner leading out onto front porch, independent kitchen including white goods, outside galleria, court yard, large garage with electric door, roof top solarium and private parking. Also built in wardrobes, Toldos blinds, air con H/C, security grills, alarm, security doors, bathrooms heaters, outside toilet, outdoor lighting, irrigation system, attractive and well kept gardens, beautifully tiled inside and out, fire place, English TV, phone line. Being sold with top quality furniture. ref L95. €275,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant villa located in a very quiet area , situated at the end of a cul-de-sac means there is no through traffic.3 bed, 3 bath, 330m2 plot, established large gardens, working fireplace, solar panel for hot water,private parking, south facing great views, fully furnished, fantastic opportunity. ref. L85. €215,000 Tel 680333242 Gran Alacant, Situated in the central area of Gran Alacant and within walking

SKY TV INSTALLATION

distance to all local amenities such as a selection of different cuisine restaurants, bars, pharmacies, banks, popular GA market and Carabassi Beach. Comprises of 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with a private garage and roof-top solarium. This property is part of a small urbanization which has the use of a large decorative communal pool. Ref. K36 €149,000 Tel 680333242 Ref: 513, €115,000. Two bedroom ground floor apartment, in Aguas Nuevas, close to all amenities including the beach. It has a good size lounge, kitchen and has off road parking facilities. Call: 965 707 188 or 626 397 397 Beach front Line property, over looks Carabassi Beach, Gran Alacant. 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Secure Underground Parking, Fully furnished, Roof Top Solarium. 3 Large Communal Pools, Fantastic communal Gardens, Tennis Courts and much more. 125.000 Euros Ref No. K23. Tel. 627 711 155 Gran Alacant, Situated front line to the famous blue flag beaches of Carabassi, the real beauty of this property is its proximity to the beach, but also on offer is a fantastic communal pool situated in beautifully kept gardens with little Spanish walk ways.Comprising of 2 bed-

STORAGE

rooms, 2 bathrooms, lounge diner, American style kitchen including all appliances, roof top solarium with stunning views, front porch area with front garden and a secure underground garage. fully furnished Ref. K23 €125,000 rare opportunity Tel 680333242 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

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

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

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

WANTED

ROLLER BLINDS

RECYCLING CLOTHES

Friday, December 21, 2012

Greenside Gossip IVIE DAVIES takes a weekly look at the golf scene - golfdavies@gmail.com

XMAS PREZZIE? I’LL TECH THAT!

ON distribution of this well-read newspaper, there will be just three days before Santa comes and delivers all those lovely presents. The grandkids will be jumping all over your bed shouting that Father Christmas has been and it is still only three o’clock in the morning. The rioja is still lurking around in your stomach and the brandy banging on the inside of your head. But what did YOU ask him for and to leave in your stocking? That nifty little blonde in the local bar is just too much to ask for - and it is not handing her her stocking we are talking about! With all the Hi-tech equipment and balls available (not that blonde again), it is very difficult to know what to ask for isn’t it? So before you tax your brain too much, just think of these references that manufacturers give to their products:

1. “Features new Brassball inserts, manufactured from 23,000 brass balls encapsulated in polymer’’. That’s a putter (I suppose you can’t use it in cold weather). 2. “Soft feel of the Polystromic insert combined with two weight portals in the heel and toe for lower CofG’’. (Is it anything like in-growing toenails?) 3. “Stainless steel head featuring a two-piece Titallium insert one in the face and one in the back separated by a 1mm mem-

brane’’. (Well it would have to, otherwise it could be painful - or is it body piercing?) 4. “Forged for ultimate feel, plus computer milled “U” grooves for precise ball control’’. ( Well it would have to for a wedge at €160, but I’ll stick to jockey shorts, thank you) 5. “Power Wave face creates a high COR’’. (Well it would, wouldn’t it?) 6. “The new HiPTi drivers have borrowed from the aerospace industry and use

TALKING of Christmas presents, these came early for European Tour professionals Keith Horne of South Africa and Sweden’s Magnus A Carlsson. After Horne’s astonishing exploits in the second and third rounds of the Alfred Dunhill Championship, Carlsson made it a terrific three holes in one in three days on the 12th at Leopard

Creek. That perfect seven iron saw him to finally seize the luxury BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. Incredibly, Horne made consecutive holes in one at the 192-yard downhill par three on Friday and Saturday and despite the

prize car only being designated as a reward for the first hole in one in Sunday’s final round, the South African was awarded a BMW ActiveHybrid 5, in recognition of his unique achievement, the like of which has never been seen in European Tour history. When Sunday finally did arrive, Horne could only manage a par while Carlsson, who finished with a two under par 70, holed that pinpoint seven iron from 195 yards to take that stunning BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. “The wind has been switching a lot today so I wasn’t really sure about it,” said an elated Carlsson. “I was in between an eight and a seven iron but decided to hit a seven like all the other days. “I thought the wind was going to be from the left. I pulled the shot but amazingly it stayed straight towards the flag. “I saw it land and then roll

a metal strengthening process called Hot Isostatic Processing HIP’’. (Hip was something very different in my day) 7. “Made from a mix of maraging and 15-5 steel’’. (I can’t even find that word in the dictionary) 8. “Fat shaft technology combined with metal matric composite face incorporating tungsten carbide, cobalt and nickel chromium. Dual rail design and weighted sole’’. (Could be a Virgin Rail canteen menu).

9. “Forged Titanium with cryogenic Superbeta face’’. (Must be another John Travolta Botox facelift) 10. “It is made from 304N2 stainless steel in three distinct thicknesses’’. (Thick, medium thick and bloody thick, I must be, not to understand that). So if you are thinking of writing your golfing “I want” Christmas list to Santa - forget it. He will not have a cat in hell’s chance of understanding all that gibberish, stuck away for 11 months in

Lapland. Better to try the good old terms like Brassie and Spoon or Hybrid (perhaps not, sounds like that blonde again). There are not many signs in the Caddy Masters office but thought this one should be placed in the Gents aseos: 1. Back straight, knees bent, feet shoulder width apart. 2. Form a loose grip. 3. Keep your head down. 4. Avoid a quick back swing. 5. Stay out of the water. 6. Try not to hit anyone. 7. If you are taking too long, let others go ahead of you. 8. Don't stand directly in front of others. 9. Quiet please...while others are preparing to go. 10. Don't take extra strokes. Well done. Now flush the urinal, go outside, and tee off!

ONETripleFOR THE ROAD! hole in one has Dunhill aces motoring TITTER ON THE TEE

Four golfing mates, who play every week together say to each other, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could roll out of bed Christmas morning without an argument and meet up for a round of golf?” They all agreed to do just that, no matter what the consequences. All four arrive early Christmas Day morning, the first golfer saying, “It has cost me an arm and leg to come today, I bought her a diamond ring and all she’s doing is admiring it”. The second friend says, “Cost me, too. I bought her a Caribbean cruise and she’s up to her eyes in brochures”. The third one responds, “It cost me a mint, I had her new car delivered and she was just sitting in it when I left”. The fourth member of the group is silent. The three friends say, ‘Well, what happened to you? “Didn’t’ cost me a penny, can’t understand you guys spending all that money for a round of golf. I just said Merry Christmas darling - sex or golf?” “Take a sweater”.

Your car, Mr Carlsson: Magnus takes delivery

in and I didn’t know what to say! It was an unbelievable feeling just to make it and I knew there was going to be a car as well so it was pretty incredible.’’ Carlsson, who currently drives a modest Volkswagen Passat, said it was the fifth ace of his life – and third in the professional sphere – and admitted it’s probably one of the most exclusive cars he had sat in and probably too quick for him, so he’ll have to get used to it and not press the pedal too hard.

A bonus for Orihuela ITV Orihuela chalked up an impressive 25-20 victory over Cartagena to capitalise on their great win in Albacete two weeks ago. They go into the New Year on a high with a four-try performance that earned them a bonus point for the second successive game. Orihuela tryscorers were Zapater, Samoano, Sergio and Ramon, with Alvaro adding a conversion and a penalty.

He also said have to share word with Keith reflect on their

he would a special Horne to respective

feats. What Horne did is really unbelievable and deserved the additional prize.

Having a week off next week so to all golfers and non golfers, in fact everyone: Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR and see you in 2013

Friday, December 21, 2012

THE MODFATHER

IF you didn’t see the BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday night, Tour de France and Olympic Time Trial gold medallist Bradley Wiggins (great name!) won the prestigious annual event in front of a huge galaxy of 16,000 other sportsmen and women, stars, wannabees, has-beens and hangers-on. He was presented with his award by the Duchess of Cambridge - her first public event since you-know-what happened (we won’t go into that). The BBC had a bit of a problem (another one!) in that Lancashire-based Wiggins is a bit of a handful to interview, even for highlyexperienced professionals like Sue Barker. His disarming manner of addressing her as ‘Susan’ spooked her

BBC crown Bradley’s night…your knight next, Ma’am!

a bit, but she recovered well, flirting with him, perhaps trying him out as a possible future ‘Question of Sport’ captain (if Phil Tufnell and Matt Dawson ever pack it up, God forbid). In a kind of sartoriallychallenged contrast to Sue’s awful dress sense, 32year-old Wiggins looks and dresses like an old Mod from the sixties, as indeed intended. All he needed afterwards was

to throw his parka on and roar off on his Lambretta, his award dangling from the luggage rack (real Mods used to that with their helmets – I know...). Did he deserve it? I’m sure those in the cycling world (you know who you are, ye who clog up the roads on a Sunday morning) would say yes. Wiggins deserved it for winning the Yellow Jersey in France alone; the only Englishman ever to d o that, a n d just

before the Olympics. To the man’s huge credit he’d won seven previous Olympic medals and many other awards - but what about the others, I hear you shout? The lovely Jessica Ennis, a stout-hearted Yorkshire lass, murdered the opposition in the Olympic heptathlon final to come a good second (she polled 22.9% of the vote to Wiggins 30.2%) . Those two pushed our new British (now he’s won at last, he used to be just Scottish) Olympic and US Open tennis champion Andy Murray into third with 14.2% of the vote. For the Scot’s award we were whizzed by satellite over to the USA where Murray is currently playing,

Eight-man Monte’s third class show Racing San Miguel 1 CD Montesinos 1 CD Montesinos remain third in the league despite having two players red carded and another rushed to hospital late on. Local pride was at stake here as the rivalry between the two teams goes back a long way in local sports and fiestas. On this occasion, the rivalry was very much on the pitch where the home side were, for much of the game, the better side despite their lowly league position. Despite having to rearrange his defensive line up after Fernando was injured in the pre-match warm up, it was Monte who scored first through after excellent work from Dimitry. The Russian’s cross found Edu inside the six-yard area and the striker scored at the second attempt. But this was as good as it got for the visitors, as the home side equalised after a goalmouth scramble in the 35th minute, the Monte A MOMENT of brilliance from Marco Aurelio and some typical Braulio persistence gave the Saints victory, despite Catral’s late flurry of attacks, writes JORDAN LUCAS. The first half consisted of a few half chances for both sides, and the second period began in similar fashion. But San Fulgencio began to control the play and eventually broke the deadlock after 65 minutes.

defence failing to clear the ball on at least three occasions. The second half was full of controversy, not least the two red cards issued. Monte captain Becker, in particular, was unlucky enough to be cautioned twice for unintentional handball, the ball bouncing awkwardly on the terrible, uneven playing surface. At the very end, another CD Montesinos player, Sito, collapsed with breathing difficulties and was taken to the local health centre after suffering a minor asthma attack. But the biggest talking point amongst the supporters was the lacklustre performance of the side who were simply not good enough for a team looking to gain promotion. Unless there is a massive improvement in form and attitude amongst the players, we can all say goodbye to this for another season – even at this early stage. On Sunday Monte are at home against second- placed Sporting Saladar (4pm). See www.cdmontesinos.com

MARCO SOLO LEAVES CATRAL LOBSMACKED

Atletico de Catral 1 Sporting de San Fulgencio 2 The Catral goalkeeper’s attempted clearance found Aurelio and the striker took full advantage, lobbing the keeper effortlessly from near the halfway line. The lead was doubled ten minutes later. Alex Lee

Hall found Braulio with a clever through ball and the recent signing’s inviting cross was put into his own net by the unfortunate Catral centre back. The hosts got a goal back with five minutes remaining. Aaron Lopez

mistimed his defensive header and it fell to the winger who couldn’t miss with his own header. San Fulgencio’s last game before Christmas is at home on Sunday (12noon) against F.C Jove Español San Vicente.

SORRY TORRY SUNK AGAIN FC TORREVIEJA lost their third consecutive match when a 74th-minute strike from Llosa’s Domingo stole all three points, writes JEFF SCOTT. A four-hour meeting after training on Monday night saw the departure of assistant manager Carlos Burguillos and the riot act read to everyone else. A further three-hour board meeting on Tuesday preceded a Wednesday morning showdown with the Town Hall when serious questions were asked about the commitment of the

Council to the football club. Thus the team travel to Ribarroja for a Saturday evening clash, knowing that defeat would see their struggling hosts overtake them and land Torry well and truly in the mire. The club are therefore making further changes within the organisation as they remain determined to challenge for honours this season. Torry's following match is at home on Sunday 6 January against Burriana. Merry Christmas one and all.

and where that bozo Lennox Lewis was supposed to present the trophy to him. He didn’t, it just sat on the table in front of them, loopy Lennox staring vacantly at the camera until our Andy caught on it was live, picked it up and, smiling (he does that these days), thanked everyone. My personal favourite, Mo Farah, who I thought would walk it (joke intended) as a double Olympic Champion at 5,000 and 10,000 metres came a disappointing fourth with a miserable 8.1% of the vote. Still, I always did get it wrong. For all his fame, David Beckham still hasn’t learned to talk proper (‘everyfink’... sigh), as he heaped praise on Lord Sebastian Coe,

rightly receiving his Lifetime Achievement award for services to sport. Other awards went for coaching to David Brailsford (cycling), Young Sports Personality went to 15-year-old swimmer Josef Craig, and the amazing Usain Bolt won the Overseas Personality award . The team award went to the Team GB Olympic and Paralympic squad after their incredible record medal haul. So well, yes, I now think the award was right, and ‘personality’ suits Brad the Mod well. The latest word is that Wiggins is rightfully in line for a New Year’s knighthood. I can just picture the scene at Buck Pal: Queen: ‘Arise, Sir Bradley’ Wiggins: ‘Thanks, Elizabeth!’

Every Day’s a Football Day December 23rd 1985 Video evidence at an FA enquiry shows that referee David Allison cautioned the wrong man in Southampton’s game with Newcastle. Come on, anyone could mistake Danny Wallace for Jimmy Case! 24th 1992 Ted Croker, the former secretary of the FA, dies aged 68. 25th 1936 Ambrose Brown of Wrexham shows scant regard to the spirit of Christmas when he is sent off after 20 seconds of the Division Three (North) game with Hull City. 26th 1932 James Oakes becomes the first player to play for both sides in a single match. Oakes played for Port Vale against Charlton but as the weather deteriorated, the game was abandoned. By the time the match was rearranged, Oakes had been transferred to the Addicks and took part in their 2 – 1 win. 27th 1983 Seven Notts County players are booked at the same time for not retreating 10 yards at a free kick. 28th 1993 Barnet’s 5 – 4 home win over Torquay provides the first instance of all four substitutes scoring in a senior league match in England. Only two subs per team were allowed at the time. 29th 1982 Ossie Ardiles returns to Spurs from Paris St Germain following his exile during the Falklands War. 30th 1995 Referee Dougie Smith shows a well rounded sense of humour by booking Paul Gascoigne in Rangers’ match at Ibrox versus Hibernian. Gazza committed the heinous crime of picking up Smith’s yellow card after he had dropped it, running 40 yards to return it to him and then jokingly booking him for his clumsiness. 31st 1994 Bookies favourite John Jensen scores at long last for Arsenal in his 97th game. His spectacular effort was to no avail as QPR won 3 – 1 Compiled by STUART EVANS

Friday, December 21, 2012

FLASH ’ARRY

Quality Pro Redknapp hits Quick Path to Redemption HARRY Redknapp has quickly done what Mark Hughes couldn’t in four months: manage QPR to their first Premier League win of this super-for-some season, the Loftus Road lads leaving Fulham floundering 2 – 1. Quite Possibly Reviving are off the bottom at last - can Harry really keep Rangers up? Wotch this space, mate! Now newly-nailed in bottom spot are Reading. It was all high fives this festive week as Santi-fied Arsenal put five past the luckless Royals to go fifth, with five young Gunners - Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson – signing new long-term contracts and keeping the heat off Arsene Wenger after Bradfordgate! Blue was the condition as well as the colour as Chelsea lost the prestigious-not World Club Cup final 1 – 0 against Corinthians of Brazil in Japan , after putting away Monterrey of Mexico 3 -1 in the semi-final. Fernando Torres missed a great chance to equalise near the end and Gary Cahill was sent off. Back on planet Earth – well, Yorkshire - Chelsea bounced back on Wednesday night in the quarter-finals of the slightly

John McGregor reports

more downmarket Capital One Cup, coming from a goal down at half-time to slam in five past Leeds in the second half. Little rest for the weary, though, as on Saturday at the Bridge Chelsea host a rejuvenated Aston Villa, fresh from barnstormingly blowing away a Luis Suarezreturned Liverpool team at Anfield 3 – 1, the Reds previously unbeaten in 12. That nicely-named Christian Benteke – big lad – weighed in heavily with the first two, then back-heeled a beauty for Andreas Weimann to easily score the third. Shock-horror on the Kop, three down before Liverpool scored; the Reds host Fulham on Saturday. Heavyweight fight of the week was between Stoke’s big bruiser Ryan Shawcross and Everton’s man-mountain mauler Marouane Fellaini. Early doors rueful Ryan put through his own goal, but then the belligerent Belgian elbowed him, nutted him twice and punched him, none of which referee, myopic Mark Halsey deemed guilty of any card. To his huge credit Everton boss David Moyes didn’t see it like that– so refreshingly unlike certain other visionally-challenged managers in our midst. Fellaini publicly apologised afterwards, and has been severely disciplined by Everton and banned for three key matches. Moyes’ men stayed fourth as Stoke later equalised. Toffees away to West Ham on Saturday,

TOP GUNS: Santi Cazorla (left) and Jack Wilshere are helping to take the heat off Arsene Wenger

Samsammers very up-and-down these days. Stoke go to Baled-out Spurs, who beat Swansea 1 – 0. In the Mancunia v Geordieland double bill it was all mainstream Manchester as leaders United beat sweating Sunderland 3 – 1 and second-City whipped nervy Newcastle by the same score, both Tynesiders now peering pensively over their shoulders at those below. And there’s not many... Oh, barmy Balo’s dropped his case against City, heavily fined for nine yellows, three reds, meaning 11 games he missed through suspensions. Hmm... Wayward Wigan, third from bottom, lost again, this time 2 – 1 to Norwich , the Canaries singing sweetly unbelievably in eighth. ’Oodathoughtit a couple of months ago? That nice guy Chris Houghton deserves all the praise. In the Championship, Cardiff stay top by two from Crystal Palace, despite losing to bottom-placed Peterborough: Hull and Middlesborough just behind... News from Espana is that Lionel Messi has signed on again for Barcelona until 2015. They’re still top, surprise, by nine points from Atletico and a widening 13 over Real Madrid. Our very own Elche are making strenuous efforts to join them up there next season, beating second-placed Almeria 1 – 0 on Sunday to move the Illicitanos six points clear of now-second Girona.