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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

THIS WEEK IN

The View

IMPORTANT EDITOR’S MESSAGE T

PAGE 1 – COVER PICTURE – THE SPINNAKER TOWER, PORTSMOUTH PAGE 3 – GENERAL NEWS STORIES PAGE 4 – THE WEEK IN PICTURES PAGE 5 – WATER, WATER NOWHERE PAGE 6 – THE ED’S WEEKLY VIEWS PAGE 7 – SPANISH RELATED NEWS PAGE 8 – 1715 FLEET DISASTER PAGE 9 – LIKE IT OR GRUMP IT PAGE 10 & 11 – SPANISH RELATED NEWS PAGE 12 – DID ANYONE KILL COOK, ROBIN? PAGE 13 – J K ROWLING AT 50 PAGE 14 – SPANISH RELATED NEWS PAGE 15 – CROCKER’S CORNER PAGE 16 – READERS LETTERS & LOTTERY RESULTS PAGE 17 – OH JUDY, JUDY. A TRUE HERO PAGE 18 & 19 ­ UK RELATED NEWS PAGE 20 – THE TRAIN WAS STANDING PAGE 21 – UNDERSTANDING THE PLATES PAGE 22 – WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS? PAGE 23 to 26 – FOR YOUR INFORMATION PULL­OUT PAGE 27 – OLLIE’S MOOD SPILLS PAGE 28 – WHAT’S ON THE TELLY? PAGES 28 to 31 – CONCISE TV LISTINGS PAGES 32 & 33 – FASHION, HEALTH & BEAUTY PAGES 34 & 35 – FOOD & DRINK PAGE 36 – OVER 50s LIFESTYLE PAGE 37 – RECOGNISE THESE? PAGES 38 & 39 – PUZZLE PAGES PAGE 40 – CAPTION COMPETITION PAGE 41 – MOTORING PAGE 42 – BUS JOURNEY – SANTA POLA PAGE 43 – TRAVEL AROUND SPAIN – LA GOMERA & EL HIERRO PAGES 44 & 45 – THE VIEW OUTLETS / CLASSIFIED ADVERTS PAGES 46 – BRITISH SPORTING LEGEND – DALEY THOMPSON PAGE 47 ­ SPORT

omorrow (Saturday) is the beginning of August and the start of the main holiday season for many workers and businesses in Spain, and it’s going to be no different for us at THE VIEW. Yes, we are having a break for the month of August and we are off on our holidays!

We have a number of members of the team who had pre­booked holidays before THE VIEW was conceived back in April, and this, combined with the fact that many of you, our readers, are off on your holidays to escape the intense heat, prompted us to make the decision to close in August.

THE VIEW will return with Edition No 13 on FRIDAY 4th SEPTEMBER at all your normal stockists and it will be full of all the usual news, features, articles and information that you’ve come to expect from your new favourite local publication.

Keep an eye out for some new features too!

For those of you going away during August, you’ll be able to catch up with anything local you may have missed thanks to a special feature in that edition.

Please continue to send me your letters and comments, your stories and also some of your holiday photos that we can hopefully feature in THE VIEW. I’d like to thank Mrs. Jenkins from La Marina who wrote to me with some very kind words about THE VIEW and in particular about our comprehensive coverage of the Spanish and other lotteries.

I share your frustrations about the lack of a lottery office in our area and will be making some representations during our break.

We’ll also be giving you and other readers the extra details you requested.

The story behind the young eight year old American boy, Zion Harvey, should be

an inspiration to so many people.

There I am complaining about a touch of gout in my right big toe, and there’s this bright and bubbly child recovering from the world’s first double hand transplant. He also lost both feet to gangrene at the age of two and needed a kidney transplant. It’s a triumph for medical science.

The Spanish heatwave looks like it might just be ever so slightly coming to an end. I’m writing this editorial with some threatening clouds around and a few loud rumbles this morning and the forecast of temperatures plunging by at least six degrees over the weekend.

This recent episode has explained fully why an Englishman always talks about the weather. I feel I must warn my friends and others that I regularly come into contact with that if I hear anybody say from September that they’re cold, I WILL give them a deserved slap!”

For the quiz fans among you, there’s another “Recognise These” competition (Page 37) to keep you going throughout August, and offering another of our popular €50 restaurant of your choice in the coverage area of THE VIEW prizes.

Also, as promised, we’ve the second of our four page information pull­out sections with new features and bus timetables, especially if you live in Torrevieja and use the public transport. For those of you living in Ciudad Quesada and Urbanisation La Marina, enjoy your local fiestas that begin next weekend – I might just bump into you.

On behalf of all the team at THE VIEW, I wish you a happy and safe August, wherever you’re spending it.

Don’t forget, next edition of THE VIEW, FRIDAY 4th SEPTEMBER.

The thing I love most about going on vacation is that I get to leave behind my schedule. my entire life is scheduled from morning to night, and when I’m on vacation, there is no schedule.

(Kelly Clarkson) Editor – DEREK JAMES SHANKLAND

News Editor – DARREN JAMES The professional NEWSpaper The View is solely owned by the owners of TV CHOICE

Mobile – 602 604 213 E-mail – editor@theview.es Postal Address – Apartado De Correos 255, 03193 San Miguel De Salinas, Alicante

Deposito Legal –

A 440 - 2015

Printed by – LOCALPRINT, c/Manuel de Falla, 16 Elche Parque Empresarial 03203 Elche, Alicante

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PAUL CAMPBELL E-mail – design@theview.es

UK Sales & Marketing Executive – CAROLINE KANE

Mobile – (0044) 077663 47461 E-mail – caroline@theview.es

Advertising Sales Hotlines DEREK – 620 440 152 ANDREW - 602 600 816

DISCLAIMER – THE VIEW, its publisher or members of staff do not accept responsibility for claims by advertisers or its contributors nor can it be held responsible for any errors in advertisements which are reproduced from poor quality artwork or inadequate instructions for text or any other features. Any artwork produced by THE VIEW remains the property of THE VIEW. 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 for advertisers 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.

THE VIEW does not guarantee distribution times. Any change to distribution days will, where possible, be publicised a week in advance.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

HEAT CLAIMS THIRD VICTIM

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orrevieja Hospital has notified the Spanish Ministry of Public Health of the death of a 47 year old suffering from the effects of heatstroke.

The SAMU ambulance rushed the patient to the hospital where he was admitted with a temperature of 41.3C and in a coma. This is the third such death in the Valencian region in recent weeks. On July 9th, an 83 year old woman from San Juan and nine days later an 84 year old man from Mislata also died.

The dead man was a passenger in a van who suffered a blackout. 112 was called an he was taken to the emergency department having suffered from a cardiac arrest. His high body temperature fitted all the clinical criteria for death from heat stroke.

This death is the latest of a line of incidents connected with the extreme temperatures in the region. At the end of June, a 13 year old boy playing football in the sun for a long time was admitted to the Marina Baixa Hospital and discharged a few

days later. In early July, a male aged 26, running a marathon was admitted and a few days later a 56 year old man, working in the sun for a prolonged period spent almost two weeks in hospital in Castellon. Around this time, a 73 year old woman was also admitted to Torrevieja Hospital.

Everyone needs to take extra care in these conditions, especially the elderly, pregnant women, children and people with chronic illnesses taking medication. As well as the advice contained in THE VIEW on page 7, avoid drinking alcohol and caffeine, eat plenty of fruit and veg and simply use common sense by not imitating the traditional Englishman and going out in the midday (or later) sun.

The heat and the humidity levels for the area are forecast to continue for the next fortnight but not with the intensity of recent weeks. It will stay at an average of 30C until the middle of August when levels of 25 to 28C are forecast alongside some welcome rainfall and even a thunderstorm or two.

PETER O’SULLEVAN

1918 to 2015

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ccurately described since the news of his passing on Wednesday at the age of 97 as “the voice of racing”, Peter O’Sullevan was one of the last of a long line of sports broadcasters that spent over 50 years behind the microphone.

He first became interested in horse racing at the age of 10 when he

put bet on a 100/1 outsider in the Grand National in 1928 – Tipperary Tim. For someone born in the Republic of Ireland, it was an appropriate flutter and so his passion began. He joined the BBC in 1947 and was their principal commentator until his retirement in 1997, describing some of the greatest moments in horse racing history

such as the triumphs of Red Rum and Aldaniti.

Sir Peter was knighted in 1997 – the first sports broadcaster to be so recognised – and his name is engraved on a special Grand National Legends plaque at Aintree race course alongside those of Ginger McCann and Martin Beecher.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

MH370 MYSTERY SOLVED?

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ebris that appears to be from a large plane has reportedly been found off the east coast of Africa, raising the possibility it could be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The Boeing 777 aircraft went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew onboard.

A search off the West Australian coast has failed to find any trace of the plane.

The plane wreckage, which appears to be part of a wing, was discovered after it washed up on the coast of the French island of Reunion, located in the Indian Ocean some 6,000kms east of Madagascar.

"It is way too soon to say whether or not it is MH370," Adjutant Christian Retournat, a member of the French Air Force, told CNN. "We just found the debris this morning in the coast of Saint Andre."

The large piece of wreckage appears to be covered in barnacles, which would suggest it had been in the water for a long time.

Xavier Tytelman, an expert in aviation security, said that images of the debris displayed "incredible similarities between a #B777 flaperon and the debris found," referring to a Boeing 777.

Tytelman also said a reference on the wreckage: BB670.

"This code is not a plane's registration number, nor serial number. However... it's clear that this reference would allow a quick identification. In a few days, we will have a definitive answer. We all think it is likely that the wing is that of a Boeing 777 – the same plane as MH370.”

Search teams have been focusing on a 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq mile) area off the coast of Western Australia, where it is believed to have crashed.

No lives lost in French coach crash

n a spectacular accident where no lives were lost, six young Spaniards were seriously injured when the top of the bus they were travelling in was shorn off, while trying to pass under a low bridge.

Twenty­eight other people also suffered injuries.

The public prosecutor in the northern city of Lille, Frederic Fevre, said six people were in a grave condition after the bus from Spain carrying 58 passengers, attempted to drive under a bridge that prohibited to vehicles exceeding 2.6 metres in height.

Twenty­eight other passengers, mostly Spanish students aged 18 to 29, were slightly injured aboard the bus servicing the Bilbao­ Amsterdam route, when the accident occurred outside Lille.

“Most people were sleeping... (and) nobody understood what was happening,” said a passenger from Spain’s Basque region identifying herself as Carlota.

“All of a sudden, the roof of the tunnel was right there,” she said gesturing with her hand just above her head.

According to witnesses, the most severely

injured passengers were located at the rear of the bus, towards which the debris of the roof was thrust as the vehicle ploughed into the bridge.

Fevre said the 59­year old driver of the bus when the accident occurred had a good record and assured authorities he had followed instructions provided by his GPS. The driver was held for questioning on Sunday and the authorities said that subsequent testing for alcohol and drugs had come up negative. Those passengers who didn’t need to be taken to hospital were put up in a local sports centre, waiting for repatriation to Spain.

Initial investigations showed that all relevant signposting required by the local highway code were present, although one important aspect missing was the group of hanging metal sheets normally placed 150 meters before the tunnel, which hits a vehicle that exceeds the maximum height and alerts them to stop. However, this equipment is not mandatory.

There are a number of “mini tunnels” in this area and there have been a number of similar incidents recently, including a truck in June whose driver didn’t notice the maximum height sign.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

THE WEEK IN PICTURES....

CECIL THE LION Iconic Zimbabwean attraction killed for sport

ZION HARVEY 8 year­old becomes youngest double hand transplant recipient.

ELLIE GOULDING – Rumoured to have recorded the theme song for SPECTRE.

PETER DICKSON The voice of the X­Factor calls it a day

LORD SEWELL ­ Disgraced Peer caught with prostitutes.

Finally resigns from Lord’s

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

WATER, WATER NOWHERE T

By Matt Collins

he unbearably hot temperatures in Spain since many records began, the high humidity, and the wall to wall sunshine isn’t just causing serious health problems across the region.

The combination of the weather conditions is having equally serious and potentially disastrous consequences in another major area too.

Local reservoirs are simply running out of water. It was reported that the drought experienced last year in the Alicante region was the most serious since records began in 1893 and threatened ruin for many local fruit growers. The almond crop was very badly affected and it was feared that if the drought continued trees would begin to die at the roots.

The growth of urban areas means that the water priority in a year with hardly any rainfall has been to keep serving the needs of urban domestic water users to the detriment of agriculture. It’s a vicious circle. The vast increase in urban water use during the summer period when hotels are fully occupied use copious quantities of water from one of the main reservoirs on the Costa Blanca, at Guadalest.

The other nearby reservoir, the Amadorio, is already virtually empty: the old road bridge from Orxeta to Vila is now clearly visible from the new road that passes around the banks of the man­made reservoir. When it was full this old bridge was 20 metres under water.

Up to date figures (as at 28 July) show that the Amadorio Reservoir (pictured) is only 3.2% full. It has a total capacity of 15.83hm3

(Cubic Hectometres). 1hm3 is equivalent to 1 billion litres of water and would fill 400 Olympic size swimming pools. In the Amadorio, there is only 0.5hm3 – enough for only 200. Not an enormous amount of water when you consider the area it serves. On the same date last year, and during the middle of what was then described as the worst drought in history, the the same reservoir was 20% full compared with 3.2% now.

The principal reservoir that the Vega Baja area relies upon is based near La Pedrera and similar up to date (Wednesday) figures show it to be at 56.50% capacity. Compared to its counterpart up the coast, there are no immediate concerns but even this is down almost 15% to this time in 2014 and showing a downward trend.

Incredibly, this absence of rain makes the Alicante Province one of the driest inhabited

places on earth, making some parts actually as dry as Saudi Arabia. The difference being that nobody lives in those areas. Common sense says that with the much publicised increase in house building, following the seven year financial crisis in the country, this can only increase the demand for this natural resource.

Add to that the extra infrastructure of business premises, shops, bars and restaurants – all needing water – and the problem is there for all to see.

Returning to the Amadorio, the situation there has required some drastic action causing the local water authorities to obtain authorisation to transfer five cubic hectometres of water from an adjoining region at a cost of €2.7million which had already been included in the 2015 budget to cover this likelihood. The last time a similar transfer took place was fifteen years ago.

6 THE ED’S WEEKLY VIEWS By Darren James KEPLAR 452b – A WASTE OF SPACE Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

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sat and watched the almost wall to wall coverage of the “discovery” of what many astronomers and NASA scientists believe is Earth’s second cousin.

Hot on the heels of the New Horizon’s arrival on platform nine on Pluto, this story was everywhere. The ever present trolls on Facebook were on atmosphere nine as they brought out their predictable wit. “Don’t tell David Cameron. He’ll slap a bedroom tax on the people living

there.”

The figures about Keplar 452b

are mind blowing; out of this world, you could say. It is 1,400

CALAIS CRISIS CONTINUES

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nce again, the British and French governments either side of the English Channel are spending millions more on so­ called “security” at the entrance to Eurotunnel to stop the nightly invasion – and there is no other word to describe it – of people trying to get into the UK. Over the past three nights alone, almost 5,000 have tried and will continue to try to get across and into the UK to begin a new life.

Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that anyone with a genuine asylum claim will have their cases looked at in the usual way. Fine, so if they’re genuine, why can’t they buy a ticket for the train with some of the money they no doubt possess to have made the journey so far and enter the UK legally and then claim asylum status? I read that the British are controlling the immigration points in

Calais. Again, if many of these people are really genuine as is being portrayed, then simply let them go through the formal channels. Show their passport, fill in the paperwork (no problem with the English because they all speak it – that’s the main reason they want to go to Britain in the first place, so we’re told) and claim asylum.

Why the need to enter illegally with a threat to their safety and that of others?

And where are all the women? Don’t women want to better their lives in Britain and claim asylum themselves? I

can’t believe all the young men are single, and there is no way I would leave and abandon my wife thousands of miles away and let them suffer and exist in a country that I had to leave because I was being persecuted; another reason for the amount of migrants.

Is there an answer to this before the whole situation turns very nasty?

Talking isn’t working, negotiations aren’t working. It’s not like a strike when everyone will return to work and abandon their picket lines. Send the army in? They can guard the tunnel entrances

24/7 but what are the consequences when the first bullet is fired and the first migrant killed? It will happen. Damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Politicians of all colours can talk until the proverbial cows come home, but whatever action has been taken to date simply isn’t working.

Higher fences just encourage more risky and dangerous clambering over them or stronger wire cutters.

As I’ve written before, you need to sort the source of the problem and solve that.

Prevention and not cure.

Discover and stop the reasons why thousands and thousands feel they need to leave the country of their birth. Trouble with that policy is others pipe up and say stop getting involved with the problems of other countries. Iraq and Libya come to mind to justify the last sentence. Sorry to admit this, but I believe it’s simply too late to do anything.

light years from Earth. I’m not being patronising here, but I guess not everyone reading this piece knows how far away in miles a light year is? ONE light year equals 6 TRILLION miles.

Get the calculators out. 1,400 x 6 equals 8,400 TRILLION miles away, and if you set off today at the same speed as the New Horizon’s probe (33,000mph) it would take you just short of 26 MILLION years to get there. What’s the point? Is it worth all the money for the expedition?

Can the NASA scientists justify the no doubt very high salaries they receive?

I would be the first to support and indeed encourage money being spent on tracing and destroying rogue meteorites that may be heading for Earth, a la Armageddon and Deep Impact.

The View

That investment (or spending to give it the real meaning) would be aimed at saving the planet. But I really can’t see the point of scientists being paid to study a pinprick sized spot of light for 385 days just to report that the magnitude has dropped by 50%.

And then comes the artist’s impression of what the new Earth would look like. Sketches of Spanish hotels in the 1970s were more convincing.

Some will argue that it’s all about preparing for future generations when this planet has been gobbled up by the sun in only a few million (or is it billion?) years. I subscribe to the fact that too much time effort and money is spent on the future whilst ignoring the problems of the present.

KICKED INTO TOUCH

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here are some very good, very imaginative and also very poor TV commercials at the moment. We all have our favourites and our most hated.

As soon as Lenny Henry starts snoring in his comfortable double bed, the sound is muted. As someone that has recently appeared on stage in a jacket and high­heel shoes, I can hardly complain about being Money Supermarket.com – but it’s become a bête noire after so long. A favourite has to be the Seat car advert with the young boy sat in the back of the car cursing and waiting to get his promised ice cream when they next have to fill up with petrol...but it’s a long time, such is the excellent fuel consumption of the car.

Has anyone else noticed that over the past few weeks, the hilarious ending of the commercial when the boy kicks the car tyre giving vent to his frustration has been cut? Have the advertising authorities had complaints that his actions have caused an increase of young boys going around and kicking cars? Probably.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

SPANISH POLITICAL SCENE BARCELONA OR BUST

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he changes in the town halls up and down Spain since the municipal elections at the end of May are taking effect, although the actions of some of the Mayors have raised more than one eyebrow.

In the City of Barcelona, the bust of the previous monarch, King Juan Carlos I was removed as part of a “review of royalist iconography.”

The first deputy mayor, Gerardo Pisarello said, “There is a symbolic oversizing of the monarchy which contracts with the other more typical representations of the civic traditions of the city.”

In a performance worthy of any stage farce, at precisely 18.41 two municipal workers entered the chamber and after falling over twice trying to climb a metal stepladder , they removed the 34cm high bust of Juan Carlos – the 1976 work of Swiss sculptor Charles Collet – which had been placed in front of a portrait of the Queen Regent and Prince Alfonso XIII on the wall behind the mayor’s chair.

Since 1986, it’s been a state regulation that images of the head of state, whether photographic or bust, should be displayed in government buildings throughout the country. It’s no coincidence that

this act coincided with the visit of King Felipe VI to Barcelona.

A representative of the Partido Popular (PP) described the removal of the bust in such a public manner as, reprehensible and “mocking the monarchy of a city that owes much to Juan Carlos, such as the Olympic Games.”

Following the withdrawal of King Juan Carlos I bust from the Barcelona''s council hall, the new authorities in several Spanish communities also began to remove monarchical symbols during the week.

Although these actions are not new in Spain, they had previously taken place only in regions marked by the influence of separatist forces like the Basque Country. Now,they are spreading to areas managed by alternative groups since regional elections held last May. Ada Colau explained those actions by saying that, Juan Carlos is no longer the Spanish King since his abdication in 2014. A day after new mayor of the leftist bloc BComú, ordered a bust of former King Juan Carlos I to be taken down from the chamber in front of television cameras, members of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) walked in with a portrait of the current monarch, Felipe VI and

placed it in the exact same spot where the bust once rested.

“After yesterday’s mockery of the monarchy, we’ve placed this image here in order to comply with the law. Colau no longer has the excuse that she doesn’t have a portrait handy,” said Alberto Fernández Díaz, the PP leader in the Catalan capital.

Under a 1986 law, all council chambers must display an image of the reigning monarch, whether it’s a painting, a photograph or a bust.

When the bronze likeness of Juan Carlos was removed on the Thursday afternoon, municipal sources told Spanish newspaper "El Pais" that they had no image of King Felipe VI to replace it.

The new picture did not last long in its place, however. Just a few seconds later, an employee took it down.

Mayor Colau said she was “taking note” of the message, but added that “the portrait should have been placed there a year ago,” when Felipe VI became the new king of Spain.

The original action to remove the bust triggered strong controversy, but it also spread to other regions such as the Catalan city of Montcada i Reixac, the city council of which decided that the portrait of King Felipe VI should stop chairing the plenary hall of the community.

According to the document passed "it is necessary to remove the image of the King of Spain from all municipal areas as a gesture of normality, maturity and democratic hygiene".

According to regional media, the new mayors of Simat de la Valldigna (Valencia) and Cadiz (Andalusia) decided to remove from their offices the pictures of the monarchs.

The Zaragoza City Council also

changed the name of the sports hall Prince Felipe to Jose Luis Abos, a basketball coach, meeting the will of the people.

This rebellion against the monarchical symbols follows last May regional elections, in which traditional ruling parties as the PP

and PSOE had significant setbacks.

Many positions previously belonging to those parties which support monarchy, were won by left­wing organizations and social movements that favour the re­ establishment of a republic in Spain.

HOT TIME SUNDAY

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ou don’t need us to tell you that it’s been a little hot in the past few weeks. It’s not just the daytimes that have seen blistering sunny days; it’s been more than uncomfortable sleeping too.

Facts now back up the feelings as the early hours of Saturday night / Sunday morning in the region, especially south of Alicante, the mercury didn’t drop below 26C. In fact, the capital of Alicante has experienced some of its warmest temperatures for 11 years.

The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) in Alicante, said it recorded a minimum temperature of 26.4 degrees and since records began in 1938, there have been only two warmer nights ­ April 9 2004 and August 8 1956.

It has been the warmest night too at the Alicante/Elche Airport since it opened in 1967, registering with 26.9C.

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1715 FLEET DISASTER

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hurricane strikes the east coast of Florida, sinking 10 Spanish treasure ships and killing nearly 1,000 people, on this day, July 31st, in 1715. All of the gold and silver onboard at the time would not be recovered until 250 years later.

The Spanish 1715 Fleet disaster was probably the greatest to befall any of the Spanish treasure fleets in terms of casualties and money, with reports of a loss of 14 million pesos and as many as 1,000 or more lives.

The modern salvage of this fleet, begun in the early 1960s and still ongoing today, has been the largest single source of gold cobs ever in the coin market, turning former rarities and unknown issues, into collectible and popular commodities. In typical fashion, the 1715 Fleet was a case of overloaded Spanish galleons that floundered in a hurricane after delayed departure, but on a much larger and devastating scale than anything previously seen.

The main elements of the fleet, known as the Nueva España Fleet, had gone to Veracruz in Mexico to deliver mercury (an essential substance in the refining of silver cobs), sell merchandise and pick up quantities of Mexican­minted bars and cobs. An unfortunate series of complications kept the fleet in Veracruz for two whole years before it could rendezvous in Havana with the vessels of the Tierra Firme

Fleet, bearing the Peruvian and Colombian treasure brought from Panama and Cartagena. After still more delays in Havana, what was ultimately a twelve or thirteen­ship convoy, did not manage to depart for Spain until July 24, 1715, well into hurricane season.

The trip back should have been a routine one: up the coast of Florida on the Gulf Stream, which gradually turns outward into and across the Atlantic, at about the location where the fleet was lost. On the 30th of July, the fleet encountered a hurricane, driving the ships toward the shore. Some of the ships sank in deep water, some broke up in shallower water and others ran aground close to the beach, while a lone vessel, the tag­along French ship Grifón, sailed onward without incident. Hundreds of the crews and passengers lost their lives while other hundreds of survivors improvised a camp on shore, to await aid from the Spanish fort at St. Augustine, to which a party was sent. Ultimately news of the disaster reached Havana, whence salvage ships were dispatched to the scene.

With the help of Indians, the Spaniards undertook salvage operations for many years. They recovered nearly half of the vast treasure from the holds of ships whose remains rested in water sufficiently shallow for breath­holding divers.

Gradually the salvagers enlarged their base and built a storehouse on the spit of dune land, just behind the beach that bordered a jungle. In 1716, a flotilla of British freebooters under Henry Jennings appeared on the scene, raided the storehouse and carried off some 350,000 pesos of the treasure to Jamaica. The Spaniards however, resumed operations until they could salvage no more and quit in 1719.

The rest of the treasure remained on the ocean floor until around 50 years ago.

Modern salvage on the 1715 Fleet began in the late 1950s, when local resident Kip Wagner found a piece of eight on the beach after a hurricane and decided to pursue the source.

With the help of a 1774 chart and an army­surplus metal detector, he located the original Spanish salvage camp and unearthed coins and artefacts. Then using a rented airplane to spot the underwater wreck site from the air and check the location again by boat, Kip found the source of the coins and soon formed a team of divers and associates backed by a salvage permit from the State of Florida. All of this took place over a period of years before it evolved into the Real Eight Company.

To salvage the wreck, the Real Eight divers originally used a dredge and suction apparatus; only later did they adopt the use of a prop wash­blower (known as a “mailbox”), developed by their subcontractor Mel Fisher. Eventually they found gold jewels, Chinese porcelain, silverware, gold and silver ingots and as many as 10,000 gold cobs of the Mexico, Peru, and Colombia mints; and, mostly in encrusted clusters, well over 100,000 silver cobs of all denominations.

The salvaged coins were all cobs, both gold and silver, minted primarily between 1711 and 1715, although some of the dates extended well back into the 1600s. Many of the dates and types of the 1700­1715 period had been either rare or unknown prior to the salvage of the 1715 Fleet. The gold

coins, as can be expected, have been generally pristine, as have been some of the silver coins. But most silver cobs from the 1715 Fleet are at least somewhat corroded, some no more than thin, featureless slivers. Every denomination of cob made in silver and gold, with the exception of the quarter real has been found on the 1715 Fleet, as well as several different denominations of round “Royal” presentation issues.

Promotions of the coins by Real Eight and others have spanned the decades, in addition to auctions by Henry Christensen (1964); Parke­Bernet Galleries (1967), Sotheby Parke Bernet (1973); the Schulman Coin and Mint (1972 and 1974); Bowers and Ruddy Galleries (1977); and even the U.S. Customs Service (2003). The demand for these coins over the years has steadily risen, while the supply of new finds has dwindled.

As the salvage operation on the 1715 Fleet reached diminishing returns, some of the associates like Mel Fisher headed for Key West and other areas to search for new wrecks. Do not believe, however, that the 1715­Fleet search is over. As many as five or six of the twelve or thirteen galleons remain undiscovered. Search areas are still leased from the state and even the old wreck sites continue to relinquish a few coins to an insatiable numismatic market. Even the beaches themselves yield fabulous finds (one gold “Royal” 8 escudos ­ equivalent to six figures these days ­ was found on the beach by a metal detector enthusiast in 1989), especially after direct­hit hurricanes like Frances and Jeanne, which devastated the treasure beaches in rapid succession in the summer of 2004.

Much of the finds stays in the hands of locals throughout the State of Florida — divers, beachcombers and old­time collectors, who love their cobs and sell only when they must.

The one collector that never sells is also the one with the largest collection of them all—the museum of the State of Florida.

Spain lost it all to America, whence it came.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

LIKE IT OR GRUMP IT The fats of life: WWE is proof that I’m past it

DONNA GEE’S VIEW ORANGE YOU GLAD IT WAS ONLY 103 IN THE SHADE?

HEAVY BRIGADE: 48­stone Giant Haystacks and (right) WWE’s American hero John Cena

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aybe it’s just old age, but I get the impression that America has more brain­dead citizens than any other nation.

And Britain is not far behind, judging by the popularity of the grapple­and­grope circus the Yanks call World Wrestling Entertainment.

I’m talking about the moronic parade of extrovert fall guys which to me represents the World’s Worst Entertainment.

During the 60 seconds I allowed my intelligence to be insulted by WWE on Sky TV, I gathered that the general idea is for some flamboyant 30­stone freak of nature to bellow theatrical death threats at another fat b****** before the two bit­part actors fling their flab at each other in a contrived collision of greased blubber.

The winner is whichever blobby bit­part actor the promoters have decided will bring in the biggest profit from pin­headed punters who buy into the rubbish at inflated ticket prices. And there are millions of them ploughing 3D amounts of dinero, dollars and dosh into the pockets of the moneybags marketeers who peddle their technicolour tripe not only to kids, but also to adults with a mental age of eight and under.

Last year, my son­in­law paid £250 or so to take my two grandsons, aged 14 and eight, to watch one of these over­the­top gushings of Las Vegas glitz on tour in Manchester. That is approximately one per cent of the amount it would have cost WWE to lure my ancient butt into a front­row seat at the Arena. Top that up with danger money to cover decapitation by a mass of flying flab and my total attendance bill

would have come to around £30,000. All subject to Fall­you Added Tax, of course. Or FAT as it is known in the States.

Having said that, the WWE scenario is a throwback (or should that be throw forward?) to the halcyon days of the ‘60s and ‘70s, when Kent Walton's mid­Atlantic twang marketed the theatrics of Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Jackie Pallo and Co to British TV viewers. The outcome of these contests was usually pre­arranged and the so­called world titles were of course a complete fabrication.

For all that, Walton’s waffle was good fun to listen to and a celebrity cult developed with the names of the heaviest contestants becoming almost as big as their elephantine waistlines.

I had the dubious privilege of living a couple of streets away from 48­stone Haystacks and his family in north Manchester. On the one occasion I saw him out and about, old straw belly was wedged into the driver's seat of his parked car, which he had outgrown by at least 25 sizes. The 6ft 11in monster was also sitting in the

passenger seat, the back seats, and for all I know under the bonnet as well. How he had levered himself into the vehicle, I have no idea. For all I know he could still be trapped inside, 17 years after his death.

One thing I’ll concede to ITV’s Walton package, which ran until 1988, is that Haystacks and Co. were good entertainment. You knew the results were of the much­publicised Pallo v Mick McManus showdowns were meaningless, but it was fun to watch the showmen goading each in the build­up to their imaginary ‘world title’ showdowns.

A kind of 1970s WWE, I suppose. The sort of thing I used to enjoy in my long­lost youth.

What am I saying? That I was once no better than the fat, brain­dead American whose ultimate hero is WWE’s so­called world heavyweight champion John Cena?

You win, WWE ­ by a submission. I’m a Grumpy Old Gran who is forgetting that she was once young and full of fight like any Cena fan.

But at least I'm not a fat American.

f you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen, the saying goes. If the alternative is to melt away on a patio lounger at 103 degrees Fahrenheit, then gimme the chef’s furnace every time.

Even with every hotplate at Level 10 and the oven on maxi­ mum heat.

My kitchen is currently like an ice­box compared to the garden, which has been in meltdown since the authorities sounded that Orange Alert at the start of the week. The bells on my orange tree have been peeling ever since.

If Monday’s 103­degree burn­ up turns out to be the hottest sun day of 2015, then the rest of the week in my part of the Costa Blanca has also had a distinct taste of Britain about it.

Not that stewing in a pan of hot­ pot is my idea of enjoying the Spanish summer.

The forecasters reckon that temperatures will remain in the 90s and above for at least ano­ ther fortnight. The consolation is that I’m talking Fahrenheit, not Celsius.

The heat is also affecting my sense of humid. I mean humour.

I am so disorientated by it all that I’m starting to believe that Chile is a South American ice­ cream company.

Don’t talk sweat, did I hear someone say?

GRIM FURRY TALE WITH A HAPPY ENDING...

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he wilderness bordering La Mata salt lake is home to all sorts of wild life. The network of abandoned access roads makes it ideal territory for dog­walking at El Raso...and for inhuman humans who think it is acceptable to dump unwanted pets in the jungle of overgrowth.

I hope the people responsible for leaving a mother cat and her three mottled white kittens in the bushes recently have some sort of conscience. I doubt they'll care that mum was too weak to survive, leaving her six­week­old triplets to fend for themselves.

Fortunately there is a happy ending to this particular furry tale, thanks to the handful of caring dog owners who left food and water

which helped the tick­infested trio to stay alive.

My friend Iola and her husband Mick were among residents who fed the kittens. When they told me about them last weekend, I called Christine Hoggett at Impact Charity. “If the poor things are left in this heat, they will certainly die,'' I was told. “We are really struggling for space, but we'll find room for them.''

So, armed with a rusting cat­trap and my caring friends, I paid a couple of visits to the El Raso jungle over the weekend. By Sunday afternoon the three waifs were safe

in the hands of Christine, her son Andy and their team of carers – and by the time you read this, you can be sure they'll be tick­free and purring.

Veterinary care and inoculations will follow and within weeks the triplets, pictured left, will all hopefully have permanent homes.

Many thanks to the caring dog owners of El Raso, particularly Iola, Mick, Susan and Simon, without whom the unprotected kittens would surely have perished. Also to Jackie Loosely for her help in catching and transporting the three waifs to Impact HQ in La Marina.

Comments to Donnagee1@aol.com (Read more of Donna’s articles at www.donnagee.blogspot.com)

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

DISASTER FAMILIES DEMAND ANSWERS

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elatives of some of the 79 people killed in a high­ speed train crash in northwest Spain marked its second anniversary Friday, angrily demanding Spanish leaders answer for the tragedy.

After two years of judicial investigation, only one person ­ the train's driver ­ has been charged over the crash on the outskirts of the pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostela on July 24, 2013.

The Santiago de Compostela rail disaster occurred on 24 July 2013, when an Alvia high­speed train travelling from Madrid to Ferrol derailed at high speed on a bend about 4 kilometres outside of the railway station at Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Of the 222 people (218 passengers and 4 crew) aboard, around 140 were injured and 79 died. Many were travelling to the annual celebrations for the fiesta of San Santiago.

The train's data recorder showed that it was travelling at about twice the official speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph) when it entered a bend in the line. The crash was recorded on a track­side camera, which shows all thirteen coaches derailing and four overturning. On 28 July 2013, the train's driver Francisco José Garzón Amo, was charged with

79 counts of homicide by professional recklessness and an undetermined number of counts of causing injury by professional recklessness.

The crash was Spain's worst rail disaster in 40 years, since a crash near El Cuervo, Seville, in 1972. The Torre del Bierzo crash in 1944 remains the deadliest.

An association representing victims of the accident puts the full death toll at 81.

The courts have questioned various officials from the state

NOT ENOUGH EARTHQUAKE INFO

railway company Adif, but have dropped charges against all of them.

Dozens of protesters rallied on Friday on the square in front of Santiago de Compostela's grand cathedral ­ a destination for Roman Catholic pilgrims from around the world.

The association behind the rally said in an online statement that victims had suffered "humiliation and deceit" by the government and authorities, which they said were "causing them even more pain. They are trying to bury the truth," said Arturo Dominguez, a spokesman for the victims' association.

"This was a foreseeable accident, so the driver is not the only one guilty," he told reporters.

The protesters demanded a parliamentary commission be set up to investigate the causes of the crash.

A judge has brought charges against the driver Garzon, but is still investigating the case and has yet to rule on whether he will face trial.

"Tommy forever. I will never forget you, my son," wrote Tomas Lopez, who lost his 21­year­old son Tomas in the crash, on his Facebook page on Friday.

"On a day like this, a big hug to you and all the victims of the Alvia tragedy."

MIGRANTS LAND IN SANTA POLA S

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he professor of Sociology at the University of Alicante (UA), Antonio Aledo, has spoken out on the lack of information given to both residents and tourists alike on the subject of earthquakes, especially in Torrevieja.

His main concern is that when people are considering buying property in the area, clients are not being told that Torrevieja could be subjected to tremors and earthquakes. It is one of the conclusions of a study published

by Professor Aledo, which analyzed seismic risks in tourist towns and said that the municipal action plan in the event of an earthquake wasn’t enough.

Torrevieja has a history of minor tremors in recent years, but are small compared to one of the biggest earthquakes ever in the Alicante province that took place in 1829.

It was March 21, 186 years ago, that a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck Torrevieja, Guardamar and Almoradi at 6.15pm. It was a Saturday night and many people were indoors living at the time in buildings of various heights, with little foundations and in narrow streets. Almost every building in the three zones was affected in some way and had to be completely rebuilt.

In terms of figures – 2,965 houses destroyed and 2,396 other properties damaged. 47 churches, 4 bridges and 96 factories also suffered severe structural problems. The death toll was 389 with a further 209 injured.

anta Pola Coastguard officials were alerted when a small motorboat carrying four people attempting to enter the country was spotted off the coast. It was round 4.15pm on Monday afternoon when a craft of only 12 feet in length with an outboard motor was spotted having just made the dangerous crossing from northern Africa and was about to dock.

The boat did in fact touch dry land, reaching the beach near the esplanade and the Tabarca island viewpoint, meaning the occupants are now officially 'immigrants' and cannot be sent straight back.

They will be kept in a high­security migrant residential centre, where they will not be allowed off the premises, until their individual cases are examined and they are either granted refugee status or deported.

Guardia Civil officers are continuing to search the area for other possible passengers who may have jumped out of the craft and swum for it when they saw authorities had spotted them.

In the last two weeks alone, extra boatloads of would­be immigrants from Africa have reached Cabo de Palos in Murcia, and Torrevieja.

Tens of thousands of African migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean this year when trying to reach Europe illegally, often paying mafia­style organisations their life savings for a place on an unseaworthy craft.

Italy and Greece are sinking under the weight of

illegal migrants who have made the crossing in desperation, knowing the risks they face on the open water are nothing compared with what they are fleeing from, but Spain also bears extreme migration pressure as it is the only European country which borders Africa by land.

Around 40,000 refugees from Syria and Eritrea, and another 20,000 from mostly African countries, are currently waiting to see if they will be granted asylum and the European Union wants to give set quotas of them to each member State.

Spain has agreed to take 1,300 Syrian and Eritrean war refugees and 1,449 from elsewhere over two years, instead of the 4,288 and 1,549 respectively the country was asked to take by the EU.

The View

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

OBAMA’S ROYAL GUESTS

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he King and Queen of Spain will head to Washington later this year for their first official visit to the White House.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will arrive in the U.S. on the 14th September and meet with President Barack Obama the next day.

The King and Queen will also visit Miami and travel to St. Augustine, Florida. The White House says the visit reinforces strong and lasting ties between Americans and Spaniards. Their Majesties were last in the USA and also met the President and the First Lady in September last year (pictured).

Spain's 47­year­old king was proclaimed the new monarch last year, replacing his scandal­hit father, former King Juan Carlos.

He pledged to restore trust in the monarchy following allegations of corruption.

A recent poll in Spain's "El Pais" newspaper shows 81% approved of Felipe's

performance and 74% approved of his wife Letizia, a former television presenter.

SPAIN TRAIN IN INDIA

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f everything goes as planned, people living in India may soon be travelling in a Madrid­based locomotive and reaching their destination early.

Prime Minister Narendra, Modi­led NDA government, has given an in­principle nod to Madrid­based locomotive­maker Talgo to undertake trial runs of its lighter and faster trains.

Jose Maria Oriol, Talgo's Chief executive Officer, met Modi and said a formal nod was awaited to start shipping process of trains from Spain to India.

The Economic Times reported that, Talgo was hopeful to start trial process by October­ November at its own risk on Indian Railway tracks. If the trial is successful, it could cut travel time between Mumbai and Delhi from 17 hours to 12 hours, as these lighter locomotives can run with a speed of 160 kilometres to 220 km an hour and are being used across the world on legacy rail tracks, including the US. "Most of the technical part has been solved, now it is the practical part of doing it. Up to now, we have an informal approval. What we need is a piece of paper to say,go ahead. I don't think it would take too long after this set of meetings," said Oriol.

He also emphasised the company will bear the costs of bringing the train from Spain.

"Of the 60,000 km of railway tracks in India, some would be upgraded, but most would remain as it is. That's where we can make a difference, by increasing the speed of the train without changing the track infrastructure.”

Talgo is also interested to establish a manufacturing hub in India to tap the Indian and Asia­Pacific market, using the recently opened window for 100% FDI in the sector.

Sñr Oriol continued, "I see a willingness to invest and improve. I don't know how long it will take. Whenever you deal with politicians, whether it is India or Spain or Italy, you have to be patient. But in this case, knowing that this government is keen to show some improvements in services to the citizens, it is looking to do that in a rather short time period.”

Talgo has had a commercial office in India for some while and it has used the time to identify a potential supply chain of tier­I and tier­II vendors, that can help it localise its product swiftly once it sets up shop.

"We are pleased to say that we can find most of the components we need at a very attractive cost here. We have also sub­ contracted design and development to a lot of Indian engineers here and they are very skillful at a very attractive price," Oriol said, adding they were also exploring options in China, Japan and Malaysia.

TWO CHARGED AFTER DOG DEATH

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ocal police in Torrevieja came to the rescue of three dogs that had been locked in a car in the very high temperatures.

During Tuesday afternoon around 1630, concerned residents alerted the authorities saying they had discovered three dogs in a “worrying” state inside a car parked near to the Playa de la Cura. It appears the animals had been locked in the car for several hours.

Arriving at the scene, police had to break the glass to rescue them but sadly, one of the dogs was showing no signs of life. All three were taken to the local vet where one was declared dead and the other two were hospitalised.

Police have already arrested two youths who after being question by local police were taken to the local Guardia Civil HQ to give evidence in the presence of a solicitor.

They had been arrested and charged for an alleged crime of animal abuse that resulted in death Local councillor Carmen Morate appealed

to everyone to take more care of their animals to prevent any such further incidents. “These dogs have been subjected to temperatures of around 50 degrees centigrade and the results have produced this tragedy.” She went on to thank all the neighbours for getting involved and for their swift actions in calling the police.

SPANISH GET PICKY IN FRANCE

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round 15,000 people will travel from Spain to France in the coming days to take part in the annual grape harvest.

The Agricultural Union "Federacion Agroalementaria" (FEAGA) expected a similar number of people to make the trip this year as in 2014 for the harvest, which will start on August 10. This year's harvest in France will start several weeks earlier this year due to the hot weather in the region, which has caused grapes to ripen earlier.

FEAGA estimates that over 75% of those who make the annual pilgrimage will do so from the region of Andalusia in the far south of Spain, with around 11,250 crossing all of Spain to get to France. There will also be a further 2,000 travelling from Valencia and over a thousand from Castilla la Mancha. The majority of those trips will be made by coach

as the workers look to earn a minimum salary of between €1,100­€1,500 for 15 days' work, depending on how many hours they work.

According to FEAGA officials, around 80% of those who make the long trip for the first time are aged between 30 and 60 years old and have only a basic education, while 20% are younger than 30 and have studied at university.

FEAGA also highlights that although 15,000 people will travel to France this summer, the demand for the work has fallen compared to 2014, given that the Spanish harvest has also been brought forward as a result of the hot weather. The increased offer of work in the Spanish tourism industry means less people need to travel in order to earn money.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

DID SOMEONE KILL COOK, ROBIN? I

f you’re not a conspiracy theorist, turn to the next page now! The article in THE VIEW last week about the crash of the Condorde in the year 2000, shed light on a suggestion for other reasons that led to the disaster, that weren’t made public at the time; namely, that a plane carrying the President of France was about to be hit by the supersonic aircraft on the same runway.

Throughout the 20th and 21st century, major news items that usually involve a sudden death of a well­known person, tend to be questioned by many doubting Thomas’s. Marylin Monroe, JFK, Diana and Dr David Kelly to name but a few. In the words of Hercule Poirot played by Albert Finney, in "Murder on the Orient Express", “There are too many clues” coupled with many unanswered questions. People come up with these theories simply due to a lack of trust in areas of authority and in politicians.

I believe similar questions remain unanswered about Robin Cook. As the 10th anniversary of his passing approaches, I remember well that he died on a Saturday and his name was never mentioned again on the news programmes after a few days. The newsprint was used for Fish & Chip wrapping on the Friday. There was something not quite right. A former Foreign Secretary and senior politician, virtually ignored and forgotten about overnight, when others would have reams and hours dedicated to them.

Born Robert Finlayson Cook on 28 February 1946, he was a formidable Labour Party politician, who was the MP for the Scottish constituency of Livingston from 1983 until his death.

Cook was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and from 1960, the Royal High School in Edinburgh. At first, Cook intended to become a Church of Scotland minister, but lost his faith as he discovered politics. He joined the Labour Party in 1965 and became an atheist. He remained so for the rest of his life. He then studied English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, where he obtained an MA with Honours in English Literature. He began studying for a PhD on Charles Dickens and Victorian serial novels, supervised by John Sutherland, but gave it up in 1970. In 1971, after a period working as a secondary school teacher, Cook became a tutor­ organiser of the Workers' Educational Association for Lothian and a local councillor in Edinburgh. He gave both up when elected a member of parliament on his 28th birthday, in February 1974.

In parliament, he joined the left­wing Tribune Group of the Parliamentary Labour Party and frequently opposed the policies of the Wilson and Callaghan governments. He was an

early supporter of constitutional and electoral reform (although he opposed devolution in the 1979 referendum, eventually coming out in favour on election night in 1983) and of efforts to gain more women MPs. He also supported unilateral nuclear disarmament and the abandoning of the Labour Party's euroscepticism of the 1970's and 1980's.

He became known as a brilliant parliamentary debater and rose through the party ranks, becoming a frontbench spokesman in 1980 and reaching the Shadow Cabinet in 1987, as Shadow Social Services Secretary. He was campaign manager for Neil Kinnock's successful 1983 bid to become leader of the Labour Party and was one of the key figures in the modernisation of the Labour Party under Kinnock.He was Shadow Health Secretary (1987–92) and Shadow Trade Secretary (1992–94), before taking on foreign affairs in 1994, the post he would become most identified with (Shadow Foreign Secretary 1994–97, Foreign Secretary 1997–2001).

In 1994, following the death of John Smith, he ruled himself out of contention for the Labour leadership, apparently on the grounds that he was "insufficiently attractive" to be an election winner, although, two close family bereavements in the week in which the decision had to be made may have contributed.

His first Cabinet post was that of Foreign Secretary in the first Blair Government from 1997 to 2001. Shortly after he became Foreign Secretary, Cook ended his marriage with Margaret, revealing that he had an extra­marital affair with one of his staff, Gaynor Regan. He announced his intentions to leave his wife and marry another woman via a press statement made at Heathrow on 2 August 1997.

Cook was responsible for achieving the agreement between Britain and Iran that ended the Iranian death threat against author Salman Rushdie, allowing both nations to normalize diplomatic relations. He is also credited with having helped resolve the eight­year impasse over the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, by getting Libya to agree to hand over the two accused (Megrahi and Fhimah) in 1999, for trial in the neutral venue of the Netherlands, but according to Scots law.

After the 2001 general election he was moved, against his wishes, from the Foreign Office to be Leader of the House of Commons. This was widely seen as a demotion—although it is a Cabinet post, it is substantially less prestigious than the Foreign Office—and Cook nearly turned it down. In the event he accepted and it was believed that Blair's fears over political battles within the Cabinet over Europe and especially the euro, which saw him unexpectedly demote the pro­European Cook.

He resigned from his positions as Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons on 17 March 2003, in protest against the invasion of Iraq.

In early 2003, during a live television appearance on BBC current affairs show Question Time, he was inadvertently referred to as "Robin Cock" by David Dimbleby. Cook responded with attempted good humour with "Yes, David Bumblebee".

In early August 2005, Cook and his wife, Gaynor, took a two­week holiday in the Highlands of Scotland. At around 2:20 pm, on 6 August 2005, whilst walking down Ben Stack in

Sutherland, Scotland, Cook suddenly suffered a severe heart attack, collapsed, lost consciousness and fell about 8 feet down a ridge. He was airlifted to hospital (without his wife who apparently walked back down the mountain) where he was declared dead. Two days later, a post mortem examination found that Cook had died of hypertensive heart disease. However, some ­ including former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker ­ believe that Cook did not die of natural causes, but was the victim of an intelligence agency­led conspiracy, in much the same manner that David Kelly (another prominent critic of the Iraq war), was believed to have been murdered.

A funeral service was held on 12 August 2005, at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, even though Cook had been an atheist. Gordon Brown gave the eulogy and Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was on holiday at the time, did not attend. In his speech at the funeral, Cook's friend, the racing pundit John McCririck, criticised Blair for not attending.

Cook’s cause of death was eventually given as 'hypertensive heart disease’, yet no mention was made of any injuries to the head and neck. However, early press reports indicated that, after having had a heart attack, he had fallen down a ridge and had broken his neck. The group (or individual) walkers that came to the aid of Cook have never been identified. In fact, it was suggested that to see more than one person on the Ben Stack Mountain would be a rarity – certainly not within shouting distance. The remoteness of the location of his death, far away from London, almost meant the story was over before the press could send anyone to cover it.

After Robin Cook died, the local police released a statement: "As this would appear to be a medical matter, there is no further police involvement.” A high­profile former foreign secretary, who had maybe started to leak official secrets due to his opposition of the Iraq war, dies suddenly and unexpectedly; maybe of a broken neck, with an unidentified man, or group, nearby and the police decide not to get involved?

In January 2007, a headstone was erected in The Grange, Edinburgh Cemetery, where Cook is buried, bearing the epitaph: "I may not have succeeded in halting the war, but I did secure the right of parliament to decide on war."

Matt Collins

The View

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

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J K ROWLING AT 50

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oanne "Jo" (J.K) Rowling (and also known on occasions as Robert Galbraith) celebrates her 50th birthday today (Friday). Just in case some of you have spent the last 20 years on another planet, she is a British novelist and synonymous the world over as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series.

The books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards and sold more than 400 million copies. Not only have the books become the best­selling book series in history, they’ve also been the basis for a series of films that became the second highest­grossing film series in history.

Rowling was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England and the family moved to the nearby village of Winterbourne when Rowling was four. She attended St Michael's Primary School, a school founded by slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce.

Her headmaster at St Michael's, Alfred Dunn, has been suggested as the inspiration for the future Harry Potter headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

As a child, Rowling often wrote fantasy stories which she frequently read to her sister. Aged nine, Rowling moved to Church Cottage in the Gloucestershire village of Tutshill, close to Chepstow, Wales, where she attended secondary school at Wyedean School and College. When she was a young teenager, her great­aunt gave her a copy of Jessica Mitford's autobiography, Hons and Rebels and Mitford became Rowling's heroine, reading all of her books.

Rowling has said that her teenage years were unhappy. Her home life was complicated by her mother's illness and a strained relationship with her father. Rowling later said that she based the future character of Hermione Granger on herself when she was eleven. Sean Harris, her best friend in the Upper Sixth, owned a turquoise Ford Anglia, which she says inspired a flying version that appeared in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

In 1982, Rowling took the entrance exams for Oxford University but was not accepted, so read for a BA in French and Classics at the University of Exeter. Martin Sorrell, a French professor at Exeter, remembers "a quietly competent student, with a denim jacket and dark hair, who, in academic terms, gave the appearance of doing what was necessary".

Rowling herself recalls doing little work, preferring to listen to the Smiths and read Dickens and Tolkien. After a year of study in Paris, Rowling graduated from Exeter in 1986 and moved to London to work as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International.

After working at Amnesty International, Rowling and her then boyfriend decided to move to Manchester, where she worked at the Chamber of Commerce. In 1990, while she was on a four­hour­delayed train trip from Manchester to London, the idea for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry "came fully formed" into her mind. Determined to get her ideas down onto paper, when she had reached her Clapham Junction flat, she began to write immediately.

In December of the same year, Rowling's mother Anne died after ten years suffering from multiple sclerosis. Rowling was writing Harry Potter at the time and had never told her mother about it. Her death heavily affected Rowling's writing and she introduced much more detail about Harry's loss in the first book, because she knew how it felt.

The seven­year period that followed, included divorce from her first husband and living in well­documented

relative poverty, until Rowling finished the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997.

There were six sequels, the last being; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows completed ten years later in 2007.

In 1995, Rowling finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on an old manual typewriter.

Upon the enthusiastic response of Bryony Evens, a reader who had been asked to review the book's first three chapters, the Fulham­based Christopher Little Literary Agents, agreed to represent Rowling in her quest for a publisher. The book was submitted to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected the manuscript. A year later she was finally given the green light (and a £1,500 advance) by editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, a publishing house in London. The decision to publish Rowling's book owes much to Alice Newton, the eight­year­old daughter of Bloomsbury's chairman, who was given the first chapter to review by her father and immediately demanded the next. Although Bloomsbury agreed to publish the book, Cunningham says that he advised Rowling to get a day job, since she had little chance of making money in children's books! Soon after, in 1997, Rowling received an £8,000 grant from the Scottish Arts Council to enable her to continue writing.

Although she writes under the pen name "J. K. Rowling" her name, before her remarriage, was simply Joanne Rowling. Anticipating that the target audience of young boys might not want to read a book written by a woman, her publishers asked that she use two initials, rather than her full name. As she had no middle name, she chose K (for "Kathleen") as the second initial of her pen name, from her paternal grandmother.

In July 2012, Rowling was featured at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London, where she read a few lines from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, as part of a tribute to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

An inflatable representation of Lord Voldemort and other children's literary characters accompanied her reading.

Over the years, Rowling often spoke of writing a crime novel.

In 2007, during the Edinburgh Book Festival, author Ian Rankin claimed that his wife spotted Rowling "scribbling away" at a detective novel in a café. Rankin later retracted the story, claiming it was a joke, but the rumour persisted, with a report in 2012 in The Guardian speculating that Rowling's next book would be a crime novel. In an interview with Stephen Fry in 2005, Rowling claimed that she would much prefer to write any subsequent books under a pseudonym, but she conceded to Jeremy Paxman in 2003 that if she did, the press would probably "find out in seconds".

In April 2013, Little Brown published The Cuckoo's Calling, the purported début novel of author Robert Galbraith, who the publisher described as "a former plainclothes Royal Military Police investigator who had left in 2003 to work in the civilian security industry". The novel, a detective story in which private investigator Cormoran Strike unravels the supposed suicide of a supermodel, sold about 1,000 copies in hardback and received acclaim from other crime writers and critics India Knight, a novelist and columnist for the Sunday Times, tweeted on 9 July 2013 that she had been reading The Cuckoo's Calling and thought it was good for a début novel. In response, a tweeter called Jude Callegari said that the author was Rowling. After discovering that Rowling and Galbraith had the same agent and editor, he sent the books for linguistic analysis which found similarities and subsequently contacted Rowling's agent who confirmed it was Rowling's pseudonym. Within days of Rowling being revealed as the author, sales of the book rose by 4,000% and Little Brown printed another 140,000 copies to meet the increase in demand. After her exposure as the true author of The Cuckoo's Calling led a massive increase in sales, Rowling announced she would donate all her royalties to the Army Benevolent Fund, claiming she had always intended to, but never expected the book to be a bestseller.

Rowling later said that she had enjoyed working under a pseudonym, explaining that she took the name from one of her personal heroes, Robert Kennedy and a childhood fantasy name she had invented for herself, Ella Galbraith.

In April of this year, she announced that work on the third book was completed. Titled Career of Evil, the novel will be released on 22 October 2015 in the UK.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

More economic positives T

he Spanish Ministry of Employment announced that the Social Security system gained an additional 4,882 foreign contributors during the month of June, which is an increase of 0.29% over the previous month, and thus takes the number of foreign contributors to the system at 1,668,099.

June’s increase in the foreign affiliation to the Spanish Social Security system means there have been five consecutive months of the upward trend in this demographic.

Year­on­year (June 2015 over the same month of 2014), the number of foreign social security contributors increased by 58,421 (+3.6%), representing the first year­on­year increase in foreign contributors registered since 2008.

Of the total number of foreign social security contributors registered at the end of last month, some 974,371 came from non­EU countries and the remaining 693,728 came from EU countries.

From the non­EU countries, 202,992 of the contributors at the end of June were of Moroccan nationality and 93,612 of Chinese

nationality, while 72,190 came from Ecuador and 58,077 were from Bolivia.

The remaining non­EU contributors were made up of citizens from Colombia (54,532), Ukraine (38,342), Paraguay (33,799), Peru (32,311), Argentina (30,051) and Pakistan (28,413).

With regard to the nationalities of the foreign contributors from other EU countries, the Romanians, Italians and British are the most numerous, with 298,424, 75,746 and 58,816 contributors, respectively, followed by the Bulgarians (54,619), Portuguese (41,720), French (39,505) and Germans (39,495).

Spanish media, El Economista, reported that around four out of every ten foreigners affiliated to the Spanish Social Security system at the end of June were registered in the regions of Catalonia and Madrid, together accounting for 43.3% of the total number of foreign contributors. Specifically, Catalonia had 386,005 foreign contributors, while Madrid accounted for 336,027.

Following those two regions stood Andalucía, with 198,725 foreign affiliates, Valencia (172,217), and the Balearic Islands, with 90,391 contributors.

The regions with a lower presence of foreigners registered in the Social Security system at the end of June were Extremadura (12,684), and Cantabria (10,088), in addition to the autonomous cities of Melilla (4,301) and Ceuta (2,546).

SÑR TEBBIT WOULD APPROVE

A

s the Spanish economy shifts gears towards recovery, Spaniards are jumping on their bikes.

AMBE, Spain’s national cycling production association, reported that 1,088,548 bicycles were sold in 2014, up 5.24% from the previous year.

Bicycles sold for an average of €499.50 with over 50% of the sales coming from large store brands. Sales are predicted to rise even more with the approaching Vuelta a España cycling race just a month away.

The cycling industry itself grew in 2014, adding 2,004 jobs, more than any other sporting industry in Spain. Spaniards also bought more cycling accessories, rising 6.61%, but even they can’t be more fashionably equipped than British cyclists.

According to research by Mintel, Brits spent €1.8 billion on bicycle parts, accessories and clothing, a figure that raced ahead of the €1.4 billion spent on actual bicycles.

Brits perhaps could learn from one Spanish change. While Mintel reported that only 38% of British cyclists wear helmets, Spanish helmet sales increased by 25% last year.

The View

BARCELONA SHOOTING

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panish police said that one person has been injured after a gunman opened fire in a street in downtown Barcelona.

A regional police official said two people were standing outside a hotel when the shooter arrived and opened fire on them, wounding one. The pair fled and

were later found by police. The official said the second person had also been injured when he fell on glass.

The gunman fled the scene and is being sought by police.

The official said the two people had not been staying at the hotel and that police are as yet unable to

say what the motive for the shooting was.

The incident occurred where the city's tourist­popular boulevard, Las Ramblas, intersects with Pintor Fortuny street. There were no details on the nationalities of the people involved.

The View

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

Crocker’s Corner Chris Ashley shares more contents of his corner with readers of THE VIEW, looking at some of his early jobs, defending the tough role of a DJ, scoffing some chunky chocolate whilst singing like Pavarotti and being stung in a flea pit!

Since we arrived on these Iberian shores 10 years ago one step ahead of the bailiffs ­ no not really! – (MrsC3 gets really twitchy and vexed when I write puckish and whimsical stuff like that. She actually told me in rather industrial terms what I could do with my puck and whim). During the decade I've worked on a number of radio stations, I'm known in some circles as Marconi's Revenge, and really all it entails is handing out large lumps of old rope and getting money back, so don't let any jumped up D.J. tell you any different. The job's a good 'un and a doddle. With that in mind, let's explore the jobs market.

Who remembers Derek & Clive aka Peter Cook & Dudley Moore? They recorded very rude albums, under the influence of something a tad stronger than Woodbines and Bovril, which could never be introduced to a mainstream audience although they sold well throughout the underground market.

One of the subjects discussed – What's the worst job you've ever had?

This involved a crustacean and Jayne Mansfield. Look, if you have no idea what I'm on about it's best left that way. If however you know exactly what's on the go ­ you naughty, naughty old sausage. But it does beg the question – what's the worst job YOU ever had? Now I'm going to do something I have always thought to be lazy broadcasting and journalism – get you to send in suggestions

instead of being creative myself ­ but I'm feeling a bit dozy so drop me a line. The email dooshanky thing (a phrase my father used to describe things he didn't understand like Rock'n'Roll. “Turn that dooshanky din down!”) is at the end of this ramble. Actually I feel no shame because I know your input will be as always tip­top and I only plagiarize from the very best.

For me the worst job in a way was also the best ­ long distance lorry driver on the Isle of Wight. Think about it, you can only get half way through your Yorkie Bar before you've arrived at your destination, and if you're groovin' along to Chuck's Route 66 on your 8 Track you'll be driving in the same postcode all the way to your journey's end. Never mind Oklahoma City being mighty pretty, you ain’t gonna see it, and if you are fortunate enough to stop for a stunningly beautiful blonde Swedish hitch­hiker you'll only be halfway through telling her how profound and life changing the lyrics of “Knowing Me Knowing You” (ah­ah!) are, and how the two of you will name your first born child Ikea and live happily ever after on roll­mop herrings in an igloo before she's off and away on her toes on the Ryde to Pompey Ferry. However, the possible up­side is every day you'll be home in time for Tea and The Chase.

Being an all­round entertainer is not what my aforementioned father would call a proper job (“Poncing around, more like!”), so

while we're at it what are your thoughts on the local Costa Blanca entertainment scene?

MrsC3 & I have seen many acts at the Vistabella Golf Club (Ed the Freebie Anorak “Should see you right for copious amounts of gratis grog Crocker”) with varying degrees of enjoyment. Saw the band Snowblind the other week. Excellent and young (I've got a verruca older than the lead guitarist) the drummer made Keith Moon look like Bing's Little Drummer Boy(rum pum pum). Lead singer, painfully cool (baseball cap on back to front and a great voice) and the bass player was everything a bass player should be.

Shades on at night and looking detached (the only exception to this bass player rule is Verdine White of Soul funksters Earth,Wind & Fire. Check him out on YouTube in concert jointly with the band Chicago at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles).

Snowblind are top shelf. Never thought I'd enjoy a rock version of La Parton's Jolene. See them before they get snapped up by the Devil Incarnate Cowell – otherwise known as D.I.C. One gripe – why oh why do some warblers when they've got a crowd up boppin' & rockin' with tried and trusted floor filling flare flapping favourites (still got a pair of 70s flares – very wide. You do a Northern Soul spin in them you finish up with whiplash singing lead vocals for The Vienna Boys Choir) tunes like “Tiger Feet” or “Hi Ho Silver Lining” and then suddenly they get the urge to go all luvvie darlings and sing some dirge from Les Mis or Les Miz? (Let's not get into that inane debate) or bellowing Nessun Dorma?

It's showing off and it has to be stopped – it's bad enough at your actual opera when some 18 stone Brunhilda wearing a horny helmet screeches for three hours before dying of consumption or self inflicted

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wounds. STOP IT NOW! (Ed the Culture Vulture Anorak “Quite finished Crocker?”) Yes sorry about that, must be time for my nap, but before I slip into the arms Morpheus let's go all Hollywood where the movie stars twinkle until they wrinkle, Demi Darling!

So far we have never been to the cinema in Spain. In fact the last film we saw was in the late 90s The Sixth Sense. By the way Bruce Willis is dead the entire film. Ooh err, you haven't seen it but you just got the DVD as a present? Well I've just saved you a couple of hours leisure time you'll never get back; with that in mind I'd better not tell you how Titanic ends. The last time we went I moaned about the cost of tickets – the price of popcorn and soft drinks (no Kia­Ora or a lady with a tray walking backwards down the aisle either) and as the callow youth checked our tickets I said “Blimey at least Dick Turpin had the good grace to wear a mask – last time I went to the flicks I got change from a Guinea” (£1.05. children) “and enough for a fish supper to feed four.”

The sullen ticket tout smirked patronisingly “Well, Sir you are going to LOVE our 2015 experience. We now have sound with colour, however there's no 'B' feature or Pathe News and you can't loaf around all day in the stalls until it stops raining outside.”

Think I'll stick with the old Betamax and Bonanza re­runs.

Continuing though the cinematic theme in our next THE VIEW I will tell you about striking up a chummy conversation in a local Sussex Flea Pit with one of the last men hanged for murder in England. FOLLOW THAT BABY! Before MrsC3 mops me up and tucks me in, how about Crocker's Accursed Cryptic Conundrum? Last week’s answer – Deacon Blue, and out of the draw came Isobel Brown, Torreta 11, Torrevieja. This week we are looking for, aptly. the name of a film actress.

A BLESSING FOR THIS MOTHER'S THICK SARNIE. Send your answer and maybe worst job suggestion to crockerscorner@yahoo.com and if you get the Conundrum spot on and come out of the draw there's Cod or Haddock & Chips with a bottle of wine for 2 at Quesada Fish & Chips for you and yours. Good Luck & Good Night. Zzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

The Reader’s View on....

THE VIEW will feature a selection of your letters every week on this page. If you have anything to say about something you read in THE VIEW, or you have opinions or views on stories of the day, please contact us via e­mail at editor@theview.es or by post to Apartado De Correos 255, 03193 San Miguel de Salinas, Alicante.

We do our best to publish as many as we can and reserve the right to edit where necessary.

Dear Editor, I wonder if some of your readers are fans of Radio 4´s I´m sorry I Haven´t A Clue?

One of the rounds is about finding alternate meanings for words. Here’s a taste of some of mine with a Spanish flavour.

Perhaps others can add to the list over the coming weeks.

Charcuteria ­ Where cleaners go to get dolled­up Farmacia ­ Italian agriculturalist looks out of the window Playa ­ A dramatic performer on a beach in Spain Ferreteria ­ Sanctuary for weasel like creatures Mucho Gusto – Very strong wind Paella ­ Overweight Spanish lady Jose ­ Spanish fire fighter Ole ­ Instruction to reluctant chicken Hombre – French Hooray Henry in a wine bar Toreador – Conservative love Regards ­ Les Adams Editor’s Note: Always a pleasure to hear from you Les and thanks for this great selection. Our political opinions may be wide apart but our sense of humour is very close. Humphrey Littleton is one of my radio heroes as well as a great musician. I must ask the lovely Samantha to think of some of her own. I’m sure she’ll give me one! I actively encourage our readers to supply their own contributions as you suggest.

Dear Editor, First can I say what a great paper you have, I look forward to it every week, it's such a refreshing change from all the rest.

In edition 11, you wrote an article about the Nazi salute and the Queen, and mentioned Edward VIII, and in it you wrote "the more I read about this man, his womanising, his well documented Nazi sympathies, and indeed his alleged parentage on his father's side." Like you I like

the history of the Royal Family, and I'm intrigued to know more about this. I've tried Googling it, to try and find any gossip or scandals about it, without any success. Could you tell me what you know, or where I can read about it?

It can't be any worse can the Queen Mother being known as Cookie.

Keep up the good work. Beryl Burgess.

Editor’s Note: Far be it for me to divulge my sources Beryl! I understand from people I know that lived in Windsor at the time that Edward VIII’s parentage was the talk of the town for many years, as were the alleged reasons that his mother, Queen Mary, wore a choker of pearls.

Interestingly, it was the later­to­become Duke & Duchess of Windsor that gave the Queen Mother the nickname of Cookie. I feel a case of getting one’s own back was possibly well in order...allegedly!

Dear Editor, I cannot concur with the previous correspondent who advocated the lengthening of a cricket track by up to ten feet, for safety reasons.

1. There is continuing development in helmets and body armour which should be given the opportunity to prove increased efficiency (Remember the motor scooter type helmets which appeared during the Kerry Packer era? We've come a long way since then).

2. Having played the game at a reasonably good level, I do not believe despite all the bluster that a fast bowler deliberately sets out with the intention of maiming or killing a batsman. I can think of only one possible exception in the last 60+ years and it was later learned that he had mental issues.

3. The excitement of the quick "pinched" run would be lost if a batsman was required to sprint an extra ten feet.

4. As you remarked, the bouncer or bumper is a legitimate weapon to unsettle a batsman or induce a false stroke and the use

of it is usually tempered by the Umpire anyway. Players may be fitter but they are not faster than in previous times as anyone who has seen or even faced the likes of Tyson, Lindwall, Holding, Trueman etc. will no doubt agree.

5. The art of spin bowling would be lost with a longer wicket. It is a battle of wits.

How I would have loved the extra second to judge if a bowler was delivering a leg break, googly, flipper etc. to me but it kept me on my toes.

No, leave the dimensions alone and rely on the improving technology. The development of "truer" wickets, offering something to batsmen and bowlers alike would I feel, be of much greater value.

Of more concern are the scrum spinal and neck injuries in rugby where a sensible solution must be found before there are many others who die or are permanently disabled for life (I say this as a past rugby player too) Yours, John Wallace Editor’s Note: As a former player myself John, I concur with your thoughts. As an occasional slow “leggie”, the extra ten feet would’ve made any shout for LBW useless as the ball wouldn’t be going fast enough to dislodge the bails!

Dear Editor, I had the pleasure of experiencing the newly opened drop off zone at Alicante Elche Airport last Wednesday night. Full in the knowledge that the new facility was due to open on Tuesday I wasn't certain what I would encounter as I drove up the ramp to departures.

As I approached the top of the ramp I could see two ticket gates ahead with vehicles at each, so waiting my turn I was quickly into the drop off zone with my ticket in hand. As I was driving my neighbour’s car, which he bought in Cardiff, the steering wheel was on the right hand side; fortunately my neighbour whom I was taking to the airport

took my ticket from the machine, saving me from diving across the passenger seat risking life and limb. Once in the drop off zone there were many parking places to choose from, no double or triple parking with flashing hazard lights which the Spanish believe makes illegal parking legal.

Having dropped my neighbours, children, luggage et al, I climbed back in to the driving seat to drive off, under my breath cursing the now absence of anyone to put my ticket in the machine exiting the drop off zone. No need for cursing however. As I approached the ticket machine a young man, dressed in suitable hi­viz clothing, saw that I was on the wrong side of the car unable to reach the ticket machine without either leaving the vehicle or performing acrobatics in order to do so.

Signalling to me to hand him my ticket, he took it from me and inserted in the required slot. I departed saying “gracias y buenas noches,” leaving him standing in the evening darkness. I drove off having had a very good first experience at the airport drop off point a big improvement all round.

There is absolutely no doubt that someone will write soon, moaning about their horrendous experience: perhaps they prefer the hazard lights approach to airport double parking.

Kind regards, Iain Bennett Editor’s Note: Delighted to learn that everything seems to be “plane shape” at the Alicante / Elche Airport following the much promoted new parking services. I can honestly say that I’ve had no complaints as yet. By the way, I didn’t know you were so fluent in Spanish!

OUR DARLING KATIE WE WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER NAN JANN & GRANDAD RON, AUNTIE JULIE, UNCLE DOUGIE AND JASON

SPANISH & UK LOTTERY WINNING NUMBERS

The View

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

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OH JUDY, JUDY! A TRUE HERO C

anine hero Judy, stole the nation's heart when she saved thousands of lives during the Second World War. She saved countless lives, survived sinking ships and spent several years in internment camps – so it’s little wonder Judy the dog became one of the most famous and unlikely heroes of the Second World War. The pure­bred liver and white­coloured pointer stole the hearts of the nation in 1945, when news of her exploits and time served as an official Prisoner of War were revealed to the public. She returned to Britain, along with thousands of Allied troops, following Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day), which is being remembered this year on 15 August for the 70th anniversary.

Judy was the ship’s mascot on board the gunboat HMS Gnat in 1936, part of the defence fleet in the Far East. Animals would often be adopted by warships as mascots to help with security, pest control and companionship for those on board.

Initial attempts to train Judy as a gundog for shooting parties ashore were a failure and she would often end up falling overboard, forcing the ship to come to a stop to retrieve her.

But before long, Judy proved her worth to the ship’s company. She alerted the sailors to the presence of river pirates, who would have done them harm in the darkness.

She could point out the approach of hostile Japanese aircraft using her superior sense of hearing.

Years later, Judy transferred to the gunboat HMS Grasshopper, which in 1942 was attacked by Japanese aircraft forcing all those on board to abandon ship and head to the nearest land – an island in the South China Sea. With no fresh water supply to be found, the situation looked grim for the survivors of HMS Grasshopper and HMS Dragonfly; another British ship whose sailors ended up stranded on the island. But once again, Judy’s instincts saved the lives of her compatriots.

Leonard Walter Williams, a British seaman who served on board HMS Grasshopper, recalled his memories of Judy in an interview for the Imperial War Museum.

He said: “We landed on the island and naturally water was short. Judy was lost one day and we couldn’t find her so we went to search for her. She had found a patch where she dug a big hole and she had found fresh water for the survivors of the Dragonfly and Grasshopper. Judy was a saviour then. She was a marvellous life­saver.”

Judy and the men trekked for hundreds of miles in a bid to reach safety at Padang in Sumatra, but missed the last evacuation ship as the Japanese were due to invade the city at any moment.

At the arrival of the enemy forces, the survivors of the bombing of the Grasshopper were taken into custody as Prisoners of War – along with Judy – and taken to a camp in Medan, in North Sumatra.

It was at this camp in Medan in August 1942 that Judy bonded with Leading Aircraftman Frank Williams, from Portsmouth. The young British sailor shared his meagre rice ration with Judy and from that moment she never left his side.

Judy protected Frank and the other Prisoners of War by distracting the camp guards when they were dealing out punishment to their captives.

Later, the Prisoners of War were told they would be heading to Singapore on board the SS Van Warwyck – but the Japanese would not allow Judy to board the boat with them and ordered she be left behind.

Leonard Williams, of no relation to Frank, recalled: “We weren’t going to have that happen. Judy had been with us all that time. So we had a sack and we would train her to hop in the sack at a given signal and then we would put her on our shoulders. Judy was put in the sack and we carried her on board.”

The next day, on 26 June 1944, the SS Van Warwyck was torpedoed by a British submarine, unaware the vessel was being used to transport Allied prisoners of war. Of the estimated 700 prisoners on board, 500 were killed – but

amid the fires and wreckage, Judy emerged unscathed.

Mr Williams added: “When we were torpedoed we heeled over and luckily Judy was by a port hole.

We opened the port hole and Judy was pushed through and she ran down the ship’s side.

Quite a few of us were lucky to get out at that particular time. A lot of people owe their lives to Judy. She was pushing pieces of wood towards people who couldn’t swim.”

Eventually, the survivors swam towards a Japanese tanker and climbed up the nets on its side. Judy too was hauled aboard, but the Japanese guards were not happy to see the dog, who they knew should never have been on board the ship. They declared they would have her killed as soon as they reached land.

However, as the execution was due to take place, the former commander of the prisoner of war camp they had travelled from in Medan intervened. He had taken a liking to Judy and to ensure her safety, ordered she be listed as an official Prisoner of War – making her protected from execution and eligible for rations.

Judy was reunited with Frank and remained with him throughout the war, surviving several camp moves as well as gunshot wounds, alligator bites and attacks from wild dogs before the Japanese surrender in August 1945.

Once back home in Britain, Judy was met with national adoration. She was presented with the PDSA Dickin Medal – known as the animals’ Victoria Cross – which is the highest honour an animal can receive. It recognises the bravery and devotion shown by animals serving in time of military conflict.

She received a citation that would make any human soldier, sailor or airman proud. It read: “For magnificent courage and endurance in Japanese prison camps, which helped maintain morale among fellow prisoners and also saving many lives through intelligence and watchfulness.”

Judy remained with Frank and died on 17 February 1960.

She was buried in Tanzania, where Frank was working at the time. As a last tribute to his companion, Frank built a monument at the grave and attached a large metal plaque, which records the history of Judy’s life and all her daring feats.

During the Second World War, dogs were recruited by the Armed Forces to serve on patrol and as guards. Ships would also often have animals on board as their mascots. The Second World War also saw the first use of mine detection dogs in the British Army. In total, the Army and Ministry of Aircraft Production employed around 3,500 dogs for guard, patrol and mine detection duties.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

THE SKY NOT LIMITED

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n a move that could have major positive consequences for people living in Europe that want to officially have access to a SKY TV system, or considering having one for the first time, the European Commission believe that many of the current practices are going against their own competition laws. Whilst this is principally concerned with the supply of film channels, it could be the start of further challenges to contract agreements.

The European Commission last week sent a Statement of Objections to Sky UK and six major US film studios: Disney, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. The Commission takes the preliminary view that each of the six studios and Sky UK, have bilaterally agreed to put in place contractual restrictions, that prevent Sky UK from allowing EU consumers located elsewhere to access, via satellite or online, pay­TV services available in the UK and Ireland. Without these restrictions, Sky UK would be free to decide on commercial grounds whether to sell its pay­TV services to such consumers requesting access to its services, taking into account the regulatory framework including, as regards online pay­TV services, the relevant national copyright laws.

If the Commission's preliminary position were to be confirmed, each of the companies would have breached EU competition rules prohibiting anti­competitive agreements.

The sending of a Statement of Objections does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.

EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said: "European consumers want to watch the pay­TV channels of their choice regardless of where they live or travel in the EU. Our investigation shows that they cannot do this today also, because licensing agreements between the major film studios and Sky UK do not allow consumers in other EU countries to access Sky's UK and Irish pay­TV services, via satellite or online. We believe that this may be in breach of EU competition rules. The studios and Sky UK now have the chance to respond to our concerns."

US film studios typically license audio­visual content, such as films, to a single pay­TV broadcaster in each Member State (or combined for a few Member States with a common language). The Commission's investigation, which was opened in January 2014, identified clauses in licensing agreements between the six film studios and Sky UK, which require Sky UK to block access to films through its online pay­ TV services (so­called "geo­blocking"), or through its satellite pay­TV services to consumers outside its licensed territory (UK and Ireland).

The Commission's preliminary view as set out in the Statement of Objections is that, such clauses restrict Sky UK's ability to accept unsolicited requests for its pay­TV services from consumers located abroad, i.e. from consumers located in Member States, where Sky UK is not actively promoting or advertising its services (so­called "passive sales"). Some agreements also contain clauses requiring studios to ensure that, in their licensing agreements with broadcasters other than Sky UK, these broadcasters are prevented from making their pay­TV services available in the UK and Ireland.

As a result, these clauses grant ‘absolute territorial exclusivity’ to Sky UK and/or other broadcasters. They eliminate cross­border competition between pay­TV broadcasters and partition the internal market along national borders. The Commission's preliminary conclusion is that, in

HOME OFFICE VIRUS WARNING

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he National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), is warning the public to be wary of emails that appear to come from the Ministry of Justice or the Home Office because they may infect your computer with the TorrentLocker ransomware.

The email – which does not come from any government department – contains a link or attachment which contains information about an upcoming “court case”.

If you click on the link or open the attachment, it downloads a virus onto your computer and encrypts all files on the machine or server it is attached to.

Victims are then asked to pay a

ransom, usually requested in Bitcoin in order to retrieve the files.

The Home Office does not send unsolicited emails and will not ask for personal information or passwords in an email. All links in emails from the Home Office will be to a government service on a .gov.uk domain and will use https.

As a general warning, do not open attachments in emails you deem suspicious and do not reply to emails soliciting personal information. Also be warned of receiving unsolicited Facebook friend requests that can also lead to websites asking for bank and credit card details.

the absence of convincing justification, the clauses would constitute a serious violation of EU rules that prohibit anticompetitive agreements (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).

The Commission previously also set out concerns as regards licensing agreements between the film studios and other major European broadcasters (Canal Plus of France, Sky Italia of Italy, Sky Deutschland of Germany and DTS of Spain). The Commission continues to examine cross­ border access to pay­TV services in these Member States.

These antitrust investigations focus on contractual restrictions on passive sales outside the licensed territory, in agreements between studios and broadcasters. At the same time, broadcasters also have to take account of the applicable regulatory framework beyond EU competition law when considering sales to consumers located elsewhere. This includes, for online pay­TV services, relevant national copyright laws. In this context, in parallel to its actions under EU competition law, the Commission will propose to modernise EU copyright rules and review the EU Satellite and Cable Directive as part of its Digital Single Market Strategy adopted in May 2015. The aim is to reduce the differences between national copyright regimes and allow for wider access to online content across the EU. Background As part of its Digital Single Market strategy, the Commission will propose to reform EU copyright rules. It seeks to improve people's access to cultural content online, as well as to open new opportunities for creators and the content industry. More specifically, the Commission wants to ensure that users who buy online content such as films, music or articles at home, can also enjoy them while travelling across Europe. Currently, service providers, in particular in the audio­visual sector, may be prevented from providing such portability features by copyright licensing arrangements. The Commission also wants to facilitate wider access to online content across borders.

SOFTER ON BURGLARY I

f you’ve always been concerned that local Spanish police appear not to respond, if at all, in the event of a house break­in then people in the UK are about to experience something similar.

One of Britain’s most senior officers has said that burglary victims will no longer receive routine home visits from police because of spending cuts and the need to concentrate on crimes such as sex offences and online fraud.

The warning comes from Sara Thornton, the head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), and follows a 25% reduction in police resources over the past four years and a further squeeze announced in this month’s Budget.

Signalling a dramatic shift in chief constables’ priorities, she said senior officers nationwide were being forced to move resources from responding to “traditional” offences towards “really protecting the public”. But her comments caused anger among victims’ groups which protested that burglary had a devastating impact on homeowners, who suffered a lasting sense of violation.

Ms Thornton, the former Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, said crime patterns were changing, with far lower levels of burglary and car crime.

“The sorts of crimes that are on the increase – sexual offences, concerns about terrorism, cyber crime – that’s where we really need to focus,” she said. “We need to move from reacting to those traditional crimes

to thinking about focusing on threat and harm and risk and really protecting the public.”

She told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme that officers might not attend a break­in as quickly as they had in the past if the burglar had escaped, although they would still collect evidence.

“Over 10 years we will have lost about 70,000 posts and I don’t think it’s possible for us to carry on doing what we’ve always done, because we will just fail the public, but also we will cause unacceptable stress amongst our officers.”

Derbyshire told her: “That sounds like you are saying, ‘If your iPad has been nicked from your home, frankly an officer isn’t going to be coming round to help’.” Ms Thornton replied: “It could be that.” She added: “In terms of the threat to children from sexual offences, from sexual abuse, from online abuse, I think that’s what we’ve got to prioritise.”

The shadow policing minister, Jack Dromey, said the comments revealed “a disturbing picture of the police’s capability to protect the public and respond to serious crimes.” He accused Theresa May, the Home Secretary, of “taking a reckless gamble with the safety and security of families”.

Meanwhile, a government spokesman said: “We are clear that all reported crimes should be taken seriously, investigated thoroughly and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with tough sentences.”

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

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OPERATION STACK

£206 A MILE – ARE YOU RICKSHAW? T

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he practice of rickshaw drivers touting for business in Central London first came to the notice of many last year, thanks to a BBC series entitled Oxford Street, when they were discovered to be charging unsuspecting tourists large fares for short trips.

One such driver that was caught on film trying to charge tourists £206 for a one­mile trip has defended his fee, claiming the brief journey was actually worth more than £400!

Juris Dzjabovic, 22, was shown refusing to back down during a heated exchange with the family after taking them from Oxford Circus to Marble Arch last week.

Black cab driver Richard Long, who filmed the argument on his smartphone, told a reporter from The Evening Standard: "To be fleecing tourists like that ­ it's just disgusting."

But Mr Dzjabovic said the fee was justified because he had been pedalling uphill.

"I don't come cheap," the Moscow­born opera singer said. "I work my legs hard, I look good and I play good music – you have to pay a lot if you want that kind of luxury. I charged £206 because there were four people and I was going uphill. I didn't even charge them the full amount – it should have been £412."

Mr Long, a licensed cabbie for 16 years, said he would have charged about £7 for the journey. The rickshaw driver said it was obvious taxis would be cheaper because "the engine does everything".

The astonishing footage shows the rickshaw driver being challenged by passing police officers, who accuse him of "extorting" cash from the passengers. But Mr Dzjabovic insists the bill is backed up by his price list and refuses to back down.

Mr Dzjabovic said that he ended up taking just £40 for the trip ­ less than 20% of what he claimed he was owed. He called his practices "good business".

he Road Haulage Association welcomes proposals to improve Operation Stack, which were set out at a resilience meeting in Kent last week, on the eve of the big summer getaway from the UK. But the plans will not cope adequately when the demands on Stack reach their peak, as has been repeatedly seen in the past month, the RHA warned.

RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “This is a crisis and demands swift and dramatic action.

It appears that the Tunnel is being laid siege to my many hundreds of people desperate to get to Britain. Tragically, migrants are being killed and our members are being subject to a daily gauntlet of intimidation and long expensive delays. It is also totally unacceptable that the people of Kent should bear this burden".

“I re­iterate my call for the French government to put their military into Calais to secure the port and the Tunnel terminal if the police are unable to do so on their own. By taking this decisive action, one of the main causes of Stack will be reduced.”

The RHA also said that a more determined, holistic and co­ordinated approach is needed on both sides of the Channel and raised this point at this morning's meeting in Kent, as European Gateway chaired by Kent County Council. It is calling on the French and UK governments to establish an authoritative panel to tackle road haulage and related supply chain issues, relating to the ferry and tunnel crossings at the Dover Straits. There is one for the Channel Tunnel, primarily focussed on safety, but nothing for road haulage.

The panel would have representatives of the UK and French governments, the ferry and tunnel operators,

the highways and local government authorities in Calais and Kent, the road haulage industry; and the shippers who use haulage services. It would inject a greater sense of urgency to addressing problems and would promote the sharing of ideas and good practice.

There is no equivalent of Operation Stack in France, for example, although that is badly needed. Despite greater truck parking availability at the ferry and tunnel terminals on the French side (at Calais and Sangatte), it is insufficient to cope with the volume of traffic when there is serious disruption. There is no method of queuing or traffic control outside the terminals. The absence of controls adds to the stress of drivers and the problems they face with migrants.

The haulage industry and its customers urgently need a settlement to be found to the strike at Calais; and a lasting solution to the threat posed to drivers, their vehicles and loads in the Calais area, the RHA says.

The strike needs to be resolved, the authorities need to find a swift way to resolve the continuing threat posed to our drivers on a daily basis, by the ever increasing number of migrants in the Calais area.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

THE TRAIN WAS STANDING I

By Robert W. Barnes

t was in 1825, that George Stevenson's "Locomotion No. 1" took on the 25 mile Stockton to Darlington journey, receiving the acknowledgement and accolade from the United Kingdom government of the day, that of being the first loco­hauled public railway in the world.

The last train, Torrevieja Station.

Is was some 20 years later, that Spain decided that perhaps the "Iron road" after all, was the future means of transportation for both people and commercial goods across the vastness that is España. The government made more money available for investment in a railway network across the country. Alicante was linked to Madrid in 1858, with Alicante being connected with Murcia during the 1880's.

Torrevieja was fast becoming a centre for salt extraction. To reach the many ships that waited patiently at the docks, an underground conveyor was constructed between the salt lakes and the port, allowing to this day, salt to be loaded

directly to the holds. But what about the demands of inland Spain, from Torrevieja, now known as "The City of Salt?"

With the link between Alicante and Orihuela now established, the thought was given to link Torrevieja with this main line, thus enabling salt to be transported, via the rail network, across Spain. A single branch line was decided upon, coming off the main arterial route close to Albatera. The track bed ran south of Catral, Dolores, Rojales, Ciudad Quesada, passing through what is now the township of La Torreta, terminating close to the salt works and the edge of Torrevieja.

The line was inaugurated in May 1884. It was decided that a grand opening should take place. Only problem was, where?

Alicante felt it better placed to hold the event, but so did the good people of the City of Murcia. After much deliberation and falling out, it was decided that Orihuela City would be best, as it was halfway along the main line, between Alicante in the north, and Murcia in the south.

Prime Minster Antonio Canovas del Castillo was invited, along with ministers from the government, railway officials and the great and the good from Murcia, Orihuela and Alicante. Following an aperitif of good food and wine in the platform marquee and looking forward to the organised banquet at the end of the line, the official party climbed aboard "The Special" and headed off down the line to Torrevieja.

Unfortunately, the permanent way, well, wasn’t! As the train took a bend, close to Los Montesinos, the engine jumped the tracks, and shuddered to a halt. Being a single line, any thought of a rescue locomotive from Torrevieja, was out of the question. It was some three hours before a second locomotive could be found to pull the carriages back to the junction and north to Alicante. By this time, Prime Minister Antonio, was not a happy bunny. As soon as he reached the city, he took off, we are told, with a face like thunder, back to Madrid.

The branch line continued to carry salt, fresh fish, and

OLIVE OIL PRICE SURGE

S

panish olive oil prices surged to near an all­time high on slumping output and after disease hit trees in top consumer Italy.

According to Hamburg­based industry researcher Oil World, stockpiles in Spain, the world’s largest producer, have fallen to “critically low levels.” Hot, dry weather cut the Spanish harvest, while exports to Italy haven’t slowed enough to make up for reduced supplies and shipments to Asia remained strong, the researcher said.

Prices for Spanish extra­virgin olive oil rose 5% last week to $4,272 a metric ton, the highest since April 2006 and near a record.

“It’s quite a concerning acceleration in the price of olive oil,” Lamine Lahouasnia, head of packaged­food research at Euromonitor International in London, said on Tuesday. “The supply shortages as a result of the drought, and particularly under­production in Spain, have filtered through to the marketplace.”

Output in Spain and Italy plunged by more than 50% in the 2014­15 season that ends on September 30 according to figures from the Madrid­based International Olive Oil Council. Italian trees have been hurt by the spread of xylella fastidiosa, a deadly bacterial disease first discovered in the country in 2013, as well as fruit­fly infestations, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

Spanish olive oil exports totalled 380,000 tons in the five months through May, down 27% from the same period a year earlier, Oil World said. The drop wasn’t enough to make up for lower production, and shipments were 66% larger than in the same time in 2013.

Consumer prices for olive oil increased about 10% on average globally in the past year, faster than overall inflation for packaged foods at about 3.7%.

"Stop, Trains Crossing" Still warning us today, Los Montesinos passengers and was reasonably successful, but eventually lack of investment caused problems with the track and rolling stock. It was soon considered unsafe to carry passengers and this service ceased in 1985, with the line closing two years later in 1987.

Torrevieja terminus station was demolished, but a building that befits this proud little branch line was constructed and is now used by charity organisations. Within the Bar Estacion, across the road, now sadly closed, could be found the old station clock, porter’s uniforms and a collection of photographs. At the bar, your feet would have been resting on an original length of track.

I just hope these important items of history, have been salvaged, and kept safe, until new owners for Bar Estacion can be found.

Will diesel or electric locomotives ever return to the City of Salt? It could happen, but it would require an injection of cash from Brussels, something probably at the moment, best not to ask for!

The View

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

21

UNDERSTANDING THE PLATES

I

n edition 11 of THE VIEW (24 July 2015), we featured a story about the increase in Spanish registered vehicles and that if you spotted a number plate ending in three letters beginning with J – JFK etc, you would know immediately that it was a new or relatively new car.

letters. You would think that 52 would be the next number in the sequence? You’d be wrong. Cars registered from March 2002 through to August 2002 used the numbers 02 – e.g.

EA02 SMR. Using this sequence, the current numbers being used are 15; 65 will be used from September this year – EA65 SMR.

SPANISH REGISTRATION PLATES

Number plates are things that stick with you throughout your life. I can remember the first car I drove after passing my test, a green Ford Escort registration AUL 380H. The UK system of registration was based on the first three letters signifying where the car was registered. In this case, anything ending in UL meant London and the A in front indicated the year as well as the – H (1969).

UK SYSTEM

The system using letters of the alphabet in order to indicate the year of the car was introduced in 1963 and began, unsurprisingly, with A, such as DRT 452A. This carried on until the letter Y (from August 1982 to July 1983). The letters I, O, U, Q & Z were not used, due to them being able to be manipulated to look like other letters. The Q (imported cars) and Z (Diplomatic and Northern Ireland registrations) had other significances. Be honest, we all used to look on the streets from August 1st to see if we could see our first brand new car!

By August 1983, the end of the alphabet had been reached, so a new system was implemented in the UK. This time, the year letter was placed at the front of the license plate such as A673 GCD, reversing the previous layout. With the same letter exclusions, this arrangement itself came to a natural conclusion in August 2001, although by this time and since 1999, two letters were issued per year changing every six months.

September 2001 unveiled the new and possibly the most complicated system of car registration numbers. An example from that time would be EA51 SMR. The EA indicates it was registered in Essex (Chelmsford to be precise), the 51 means it was issued in the first six months of the system (September 2001 to February 2001) and the SMR are simply random

Vehicle registration plates have existed in Spain since 1900.

Most motor vehicles which are used on public roads are required by law to display them. The government agency responsible for the registration and numbering of vehicles is the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT).

The first system, introduced in 1900, consisted of a letter code denoting the province the vehicle was registered in, followed by a sequence number of up to six digits. The codes were normally made up of the first one or two letters of the province name, or the name of the provincial capital (many provinces are named after their capitals), under the provisions of a 1926 regulation. In the earliest days, some provinces used three­letter codes, but these were abolished after 1926. A couple of examples of the first system would be M 187307 from Madrid and GR 7643 from Granada. This system came to an end in October 1971, by which time both Madrid and Barcelona were approaching the number 999999.

A very rare number of these older vehicles with such registrations, usually with five or six­digit numbers, can still be seen on Spanish roads.

The second system used the format XXX­NNNN­YY, where XXX was the province code or a one, two or three­letter special code (such as ET for army cars and DGP for police cars), NNNN was a sequence number from 0000 to 9999 (always four­digit numbers, padded with leading zeroes if necessary), and YY was a "counter" series consisting of one and then two letters, which incremented after the sequence number reached 9999. A couple examples of these would be MU 0688 BH – Murcia and A 8024 CJ – Alicante.

No "counter" series used the consonants Q and R (and Q has never been allowed in any way. The apparent reason for this being its resemblance to the vowel O and the digit 0 – as in the UK), while two­letter combinations ending in the vowels A, E, I and O were also forbidden, apparently to avoid the forming of potentially offensive Spanish words when combined with some province codes, (such as MA­LA, meaning "bad one", or CU­LO, meaning "bottom"). This meant that, for instance, Z was followed by AB, while AN was followed by AP and then AS, and PZ was followed by SB.

Further examples of this system are B 6431 DD, would be followed by B 6432 DD and so on until B 9999 DD. The next registration number for this area, Barcelona, would be B 0000 DE. This system lasted until September 2000, by which time Madrid was again running out of registrations, its letter counter reaching series ZX. Barcelona reached series XG, while the next province by registration volume, Valencia, was far behind at series HJ. The allowed combinations ZY and ZZ were therefore never issued in any province.

Both systems were susceptible to problems with rivalries between regions, as they caused trouble for motorists travelling out of their provinces or trying to sell their vehicles second­hand.

The current format for Spanish number plates was introduced on 18 September 2000 and is used nationwide, so there is no way of knowing where the vehicle was registered.

With tongue firmly in cheek, it was always useful seeing a number plate beginning with M which told it came from Madrid, the driver was probably from Madrid and you stayed well back from it and never expected to see an indicator!

Now the registration plates are in the format of four numbers followed by three letters, the first one of this series being 0000 BBB. The letter counter only gives a very rough idea of when the vehicle was registered, but is less reliable for determining its age, as imported second­hand vehicles are registered in the same way as new models. My own car originally came from Belgium and was put on to Spanish plates in 2005.

As of July 2015, the letter counter combinations are at the J series, and at the current rate of approximately five series per decade, the system will be exhausted around 2040, when the number plate reaches 9999 ZZZ. The consonants B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y and Z are used, which allows for 8,000 possible combinations (from BBB to ZZZ) and hence a total of 80 million possible registrations in the system.

My money would be on the sequence being reversed after that date BBB 0000 when I hope to still be driving at the age of 79!

DJ

DO YOU HAVE A PHOTO OF YOU WITH YOUR OLD CAR, OR THE ONE YOU PASSED YOUR DRIVING TEST IN? PLEASE SEND YOUR PICS AS AN E-MAIL ATTACHMENT TO editor@theview.es AND WE’LL PLACE A SELECTION OF THEM IN A FUTURE EDITION OF THE VIEW.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS? I f you’re of a certain age you probably remember television advertising campaigns for, “A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play”; “Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet” and even “Do the Shake N Vac and put the freshness back!” In the 1970s, a campaign for the Olympus Trip compact camera helped sell over 10 million cameras, helped by the strapline of “The Olympus Trip – so simple, anyone can use it” and endorsed by legendary photographer David Bailey. It spawned the famous slogan still in use today – “Who do you think you are – David Bailey?”

David Bailey CBE is now 77 years old and a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. He was born in Leytonstone, East London, and from the age of three lived in East Ham. In his own words, he remembers those early days growing up during World War II. "In the winter", he recalled, “the family would take bread­ and­jam sandwiches and go to the cinema every night because in those days it was cheaper to go to the cinema than to put on the gas fire. I'll bet I saw seven or eight movies a week."

I remember our house being bombed when I was three. It was in Leytonstone ­ Alfred Hitchcock was born in the next street – in the East End, and we moved to East Ham. Some days you went to school and some days you didn't, and some days at school you went into the shelter.

“I remember watching the doodlebugs [V­1 flying bombs] in the sky. A V­2 rocket knocked out a cinema in Upton Park where I used to go. I was not happy, I thought Hitler had killed Mickey Mouse and Bambi. I remember looking through the railings, waiting for my mum to take me home from Plashet Grove school. And I remember that for once in my life I got something right: when we were asked, "Who built the Suez Canal?" I said, "The French." I got it right by accident: I thought everyone who was foreign was French. After that, it was downhill all the way.”

Bailey developed a love of natural history, and this led him into photography. Suffering from undiagnosed dyslexia, he experienced problems at school. He attended a private school, Clark's College in Ilford, where he says they taught him less than the more basic council school. In one school year, he claims he only attended 33 times.

He left school on his fifteenth birthday, to become a copy boy at the Fleet Street offices of the Yorkshire Post. He raced through a series of dead end jobs, before his call up for National Service in 1956, serving with the Royal Air Force in Singapore in 1957. Just before he was demobbed in August 1958, he bought a Rolleiflex camera and determined to

pursue a career in photography, he then purchased a Canon rangefinder camera. Unable to obtain a place at the London College of Printing because of his school record, he became a second assistant to David Ollins, in Charlotte Mews. He earned £3 10s (£3.50) a week, and acted as studio dogsbody.

In 1959, Bailey became a photographic assistant at the John French studio, and in May 1960, he was a photographer for John Cole's Studio Five, before being contracted as a fashion photographer for British Vogue magazine later that year.

Along with Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy, Bailey captured and helped create the 'Swinging London' of the 1960s: a culture of fashion and celebrity chic. The three photographers socialised with actors, musicians and royalty, and found themselves elevated to celebrity status. Together, they were the first real celebrity photographers, named by Norman Parkinson as "the Black Trinity".

The film Blowup (1966), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, depicts the life of a London fashion photographer (played

by David Hemmings).

This character was inspired by Bailey. The "Swinging London" scene was aptly reflected in his Box of Pin­Ups (1964): a box of poster­prints of 1960s celebrities including Terence Stamp, The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Jean Shrimpton, PJ Proby, Cecil Beaton, Rudolf Nureyev, Andy Warholand notorious East End gangsters, the Kray twins.

The Box was an unusual and unique commercial release. It reflected the changing status of the photographer that one could sell a collection of prints in this way. The record sale for a copy of 'Box of Pin­Ups' is reported as "north of £20,000".

Bailey's ascent at Vogue was meteoric. Within months he was shooting covers and, at the height of his productivity, he shot 800 pages of Vogue editorial in one year. Penelope Tree, a former girlfriend, described him as "the king lion on the

Savannah: incredibly attractive, with a dangerous vibe. He was the electricity, the brightest, most powerful, most talented, most energetic force at the magazine".

American Vogue 's creative director Grace Coddington, then a model herself, said "It was the Sixties, it was a raving time, and Bailey was unbelievably good­looking. He was everything that you wanted him to be – like the Beatles but accessible – and when he went on the market everyone went in. We were all killing ourselves to be his model, although he hooked up with Jean Shrimpton pretty quickly".

Of model Jean Shrimpton, Bailey said: “She was magic and the camera loved her too. In a way she was the cheapest model in the world – you only needed to shoot half a roll of film and then you had it. She had the knack of having her hand in the right place, she knew where the light was, she was just a natural.”

One of Bailey's most famous works depicts the Rolling Stones including Brian Jones, who drowned in 1969 while under the influence of drink and drugs. He is seen standing slightly apart from the rest of the group.

In 1972, rock musician Alice Cooper was photographed by Bailey for Vogue magazine, almost naked apart from a snake.

Cooper used Bailey the following year to shoot for the group's chart topping 'Billion Dollar Babies' album. The shoot included a baby wearing shocking eye makeup and, supposedly, one billion dollars in cash requiring the shoot to be under armed guard. In 1976, Bailey published Ritz Newspaper together with David Litchfield. In 1985, Bailey was photographing stars at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium. As he recalled later: "The atmosphere on the day was great. At one point I got a tap on my shoulder and spun round.

Suddenly there was a big tongue down my throat! It was Freddie Mercury."

Bailey has been married four times: in 1960 to Rosemary Bramble; in 1965 to the actress Catherine Deneuve (divorced 1972); in 1975 to American fashion model and writer Marie Helvin; and in 1986 to the model Catherine Dyer (born 20 July 1961), to whom he remains married. He is a long­time vegetarian and refrains from drinking alcohol. An art­lover with a long­held passion for the works of Picasso, he now lives near Glastonbury, Somerset.

The View

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

FOR YOUR INFORMATION THE FIESTAS ARE COMING! ALMORADI – MOORS & CHRISTIANS

URB. LA MARINA Friday 7th to Sunday 9th August

Friday 31st July to Sunday 2nd August

The main parades are on the nights of Friday (tonight), Saturday and Sunday 31st July and 1st & 2nd August with the concentration of the events on Calle Mayor, Plaza de la Constitution and Calle Valencia. Most of the parades begin around 9pm.

There is a change of venue this year and will be held on Fase 1, Plaza Sierra Castilla near to the Banco Sabadell.

FRIDAY 7th 2030 – Union of San Fulgencio Orchestra 2130 –Tribute to Michael Jackson 2300 – Tribute to El Ultimo de

CIUDAD QUESADA ALL EVENTS BEING HELD IN THE PLAZA BLANCA (In front of the Ayuntamiento) Sunday 2nd August 1pm - GIANT PAELLA Thursday 6th August to Sunday 9th August THURSDAY 6th 9pm - Ibiza Party with dancing school “Sofía Sánchez”.

FRIDAY 7th 1030pm - “The Troupers Swing Band” (1970s) To follow, Mobile Disco until 5.30am SATURDAY 8th 9pm - Mobile Disco 10pm - Summer Carnival Parade Followed by Mobile Disco till 5.30am SUNDAY 9th 1030am - Holy Mass in honour of San Justo in the San José church of Ciudad Quesada.

10pm - Rock Band “Phoenix” at the Plaza Blanca.

12 Midnight - Fireworks followed by Mobile Disco till 5.30am

la Fila 0100 – DJ & Foam Party SATURDAY 8th 2100 – Joan Vidal - Illusionist 2200 – Tribute to B.B. King 2300 – Tribute to The Rolling Stones 0100 – DJ & Foam Party SUNDAY 9th 1000 – Sunday Mass (Urbanisation Church) 1230 – Classic Car and Motorbike Exhibition 1400 – Giant Paella 2100 – Tribute to Tom Jones 2330 – The Athens International Orchestra 0100 – Fireworks, DJ & Foam Party

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

TORREVIEJA LOCAL BUS ROUTES LINE A

LINE D-F

TORREVIEJA TO LA MATA

TORREVIEJA TO ROCIO DEL MAR

From Hotel Fontana Via Playa del Cura, Playa Los Locos, Cabo Cervera, La Mata Health Centre OCTOBER TO MAY Monday to Friday 0730 to 2200 ­ Every 30 mins Weekends & Fiesta Days 0730 to 2200 – Every 40 mins JUNE & SEPTEMBER Every Day

0730 to 2300 – Every 30 mins JULY & AUGUST Every Day 0730 to 2300 ­ Every 15 mins

LINE B

TORREVIEJA TO LAGO JARDIN

JUNE TO SEPTEMBER Every Day 0730 to 2300 – Every 40 mins

From Eres de la Sal Via Acequion Health Centre and Los Balcones OCTOBER TO MAY Monday to Friday 0730 to 2200 – Every 40 mins Weekends & Fiestas 0730 to 2200 – Every 65 mins

LINEA C

LINE G

TORREVIEJA TO LOMAS

TORREVIEJA TO SAN LUIS

From Eras de la Sal Via Avenida Paris, Avenida Corinto, Parque Mar, Vial de Ronda OCTOBER TO MAY Monday to Friday 0730 to 2200 – Every 35 mins Weekends & Fiestas 0730 to 2200 – Every 65 mins

Every Day 0730 to 2300 – Every 40 mins

LINE E

TORREVIEJA TO TORRETAS

From Eras de la Sal Via Torrevieja Bus Station, Carrefour, Urb.Torrealmendros, San Luis Health Centre OCTOBER TO MAY Monday to Friday 0730 to 2200 – Every 40 mins Weekends & Fiestas 0730 to 2200 – Every 60 mins

From Eres de la Sal Via Torrevieja Hospital and Los Altos OCTOBER TO MAY Monday to Friday 0730 to 2200 – Every 40 mins Weekends & Fiestas 0730 to 2200 – Every 65 mins JUNE TO SEPTEMBER

JUNE TO SEPTEMBER Every Day 0730 to 2300 – Every 40 mins

From Hotel Fontana Via Carrefour, Calle Rembrandt, Calle Paganini

JUNE TO SEPTEMBER Every Day 0730 to 2300 – Every 35 mins

OCTOBER TO MAY Monday to Friday 0730 to 2200 – Every 40 mins Weekends & Fiestas 0730 to 2200 – Every 65 mins

JUNE TO SEPTEMBER Every Day 0730 to 2300 – Every 40 mins

NEW 24 HOUR DUTY CHEMISTS

T

he commitment of THE VIEW to bring you important information continues with more lists of 24 HOUR DUTY CHEMISTS in our coverage area. Known in Spanish as FARMACIAS DE GUARDIA, most towns have at least one chemist on the duty rota which changes on a weekly basis.

TORREVIEJA

There are two chemists that open 24 hours, 7 days a week: CALLE RAMON GALUD, 196 (Corner of Calle Virgen de La Paloma) AVENIDA ANTONIO MACHADO, 115

Of course, we hope you’ll never need to use the services of the emergency chemists. The advice of THE VIEW is to visit your local farmacia to see if they’re on the rota. There is usually a list posted outside the building if they are.

The View

THE CABIN VIEW Cruising from this part of the world has been made easier thanks to the popular ports of ALICANTE, CARTAGENA, VALENCIA and BARCELONA relatively nearby! But what if you don’t want to go on a cruise but simply want to go and visit and perhaps photograph some of the world’s greatest cruise liners?

How many times have you read a report about one of the famous ships docking in the area AFTER the event and end up kicking yourself that you missed it?

THE VIEW will have a regular feature showing some of the principal arrivals in the nearest ports so you can plan a future day out.

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER DOCKINGS ALICANTE 4th ,18th August & 1st September – ZENITH 1000 to 1800

QUEEN ELIZABETH

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015 NORWEGIAN EPIC

20th August – SEVEN SEAS MARINER 1200 to 2000 3rd September – VENTURA Early Afternoon to Early Evening 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th September – AIDAAURA 1300 to 2000 17th September – HORIZON 1300 to 1900 28th September ­ EMPRESS CARTAGENA 5th August & 9th September – VENTURA Early morning to early afternoon 8th August – MV MINERVA 1400 to 2300 13th August – EXPLORER OF THE SEAS 0800 to 1700

13th August – MS EUROPA 2 0700 to 1800 19th August & 5th September – ANTHEM OF THE SEAS 0800 to 1700 20th August – AIDAAURA 1000 to 1800 20th August – THOMSON DREAM 0900 to 1700 4th September – ORIANA Morning to Early Evening

BRITANNIA

7th September – WIND SURF 0900 to 1500 11th September – QUEEN ELIZABETH Morning to Afternoon 15th September – SILVER CLOUD 0900 to 1800 21st September ­ BRITANNIA Early Morning to Early Evening 21st September – NORWEGIAN EPIC 1100 to 1800 21st September – M S RYNDAM 0800 to 1700

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

OUR LOCAL ENTERTAINERS Over the rest of the summer THE VIEW will be featuring some of the very best of the local entertainers of all kinds. You may be a resident and possibly never had the chance of seeing these performers before or you’re a visitor looking for a great night out.

C

No2 – CHLOE LEIGH

hloe Leigh was born and bred in Sheffield, and started singing at school as a teenager. It was when she was asked to do a record to raise funds for Ethiopia, which included doing some local performances, live on the radio and a studio recording with a full group of backing singers that she got her first taste to what she now does with great success.

It’s hard to believe when you see Chloe’s supremely confident performances nowadays that she was once very shy. But it was the chance to sing in a local band which enabled her to really shine and find herself.

The shyness disappeared and many years later after gaining experience in the tough environment of the Northern Working Men’s Club scene, she went on to perform in duos.

It was around this time that she began suffering with S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and

G

No3 – GRAEME MYKAL

raeme Mykal was a rather late starter to the world of magic. Many start when they’re very young but he only began to perform at the age of 18. He’d always loved watching magicians work and getting that feeling of OMG, how did they do that? Now he knows himself how they did it, and more, he loves seeing a similar look in the eyes of his own audiences.

Similar to Chloe Leigh above, Graeme was the shy type at school but the magic brought him out of himself and give him an immense confidence to engage with people he had never previously met. A trait that certainly helps in the execution of what he’s become famous for on the Costa Blanca.

After joining his local Magic club in 1996 he then met many more similarly minded magicians all willing to help develop

convinced Chloe that she wanted to live in the sun, so she packed her bags and moved her whole life to Gran Canaria in 2004. Up until this point, she’d never sung solo before. It was a frightening experience, but she did it, hit the island running, sang in some incredible venues and has never looked back since.

Always looking to the future, Chloe decided that if she needed to keep working during the off­ season she needed to develop her act. One of her fans said she had a bit of a Cher twang to her voice so she worked on a tribute to one of the great singing divas.

It opened more doors for her and was flown back specially to her home town of Sheffield to perform at the 02 Academy. This lead to her working on a country and western style act and, with a close friend, Abbalicious. She also started compering at this time and so ended up with four different shows to offer.

Chloe has continued her singing career in mainland Spain and can be seen in many of the popular venues up and down the Costa Blanca. What she could never have foreseen was to be approached by the producers of a film that was being shot locally in the Torrevieja area, where she had the opportunity to work with former EastEnders star Tom Watt. She’s not only one of the main actresses in the film, The Cucaracha Club, where she plays an agent, but had the theme song written for her too which is being played on local radio stations and is available for download via the usual sites. She had the great pleasure of performing the song at the recent European Flag Day in Torrevieja which impressed the Mayor so much she

was offered the local theatre to headline a concert in time for the movie premiere later this year. Chloe is going to be a natural on the red carpet!

Her acting career also took another unexpected, but welcome turn when she was asked to play the role of Janet Weiss in a local sell­out production of The Rocky Horror Show.

It was her first stage musical role and another aspect to add to her growing CV. She particularly enjoyed the comedy aspect of the part and is looking forward to reprising the role in October.

Overall, Chloe has a full working schedule but is never complacent and is continually working on her shows; there is a new stage act in process so watch this space. She is one of the most talented and versatile of the local performers and is by no means just a singer. Chloe is an all­round entertainer with a bubbly and infectious personality which guarantees and first class and professional act.

Check out Chloe Leigh online at www.chloeleighstageshows.com where you can find out details of her forthcoming gigs and events.

his skills and in later years Graeme became president of the same club. Then in 2000 Graeme took a big step and applied to, and successfully joined The Magic Circle. He has been gigging ever since for weddings, restaurants, bars, corporate events and private parties and amazing people with his tremendous skills.

In 2010 he decided to make the move here to the Costa Blanca where over the past five years has built himself up a great reputation in entertaining both kids and adults alike, and in summertime can be seen seven nights a week scattered around the bars of Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa.

He has been a regular face now for five years at Paddy's Point, La Zenia performing his magic and balloon modelling for all the families on holiday. He can also be seen in the Stray Sod Irish Bar in La Fuente, and The Friendly Bar in Playa

Flamenca.

If you have ever been sceptical about the world of magic and illusions; that you think it’s all camera tricks when you see them on the TV, then you must go and see Graeme work literally up close and personal. You will leave the experience talking about his slick act, professional performance and very funny banter whether it be in front of a full audience or right in front of your own eyes. You might not see a rabbit pulled from a hat or a dove fly from the wings of his coat, but simply be prepared to be amazed and astounded by a talent that the Costa Blanca are very lucky and proud to have as part of the entertainment scene.

So, all in all, Graeme has found his perfect job and enjoys every gig he performs at. As for his move to Spain? It’s been magic! His best ever trick.

The View

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

27

OLLIE’S MOOD SPILLS “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

S

ince I was a young boy, I did not understand the reality that was banking. It never made any sense to me that you could be charged money for someone to store your hard earned cash. It made less sense that it could be taxed after the fact it had already been taxed when you earned it. It seemed barmy to me that you could only withdraw a tiny part of the hard earned cash you had deposited, but that you could run up lists of interest laden debt on plastic cards.

It seemed also heinous, that you could not receive more than these small amounts daily, yet if for any certain reason you became overdrawn past the line of credit you had, even by a penny, you would receive a hefty fine, which would make you further overdrawn, creating another fine, while they proceeded to send you a letter about the event, which they charge you £20 to send, pushing you further overdrawn.

Before you had any idea that Sky had taken their subscription money early causing this problem, you had £200 worth of fines accumulated and absolutely no idea. All because someone had chosen to debit you earlier than it was contracted. All of this debt, just appeared. It came from nowhere, without much cognitive recognition. All the time this was going on, to many I am sure, the bankers and shareholders pockets were getting fatter and fatter.

Debit (noun) ­ The recording or an entry of debt in an account.

Debt (noun) ­ A liability or obligation to pay or render something and the condition of being under such an obligation It is widely regarded as a legend, a myth, a fallacy, the way with which Nathan Rothschild crashed the stock market with false information, (a false flag operation?) by selling his bank annuities, even with knowledge of Wellington’s win. It is claimed that because of the knowledge of the British defeat at Quatre Bras previously, many a man in his position would have been buying weakened stock, however he was selling and fast. The stock exchange rippled, the room whispered to each other, "he knows. Waterloo is lost," and the room sold heavily as did Rothschild, until suddenly he bought a gigantic package of consoles, or bank annuities just before the real news of Wellingtons great victory spread, sending the annuities through the roof.

So the story goes, this is the moment, Nathan Mayer, Freiherr von Rothschild, took complete financial control of Britain and its commonwealth, subjecting its people to debt slavery forever. Or at least, until the system becomes revolutionised.

Supposedly, Britain’s debt was then owed to one man, the man who controlled every bank in the country. So every penny on tax, earned by the good people of the country, would pass directly to the House of Rothschild.

This always seemed quite fantastical to me, a great film, a huge idea, but quite ridiculous and something which never quite seemed possible. Until I found out more about the U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE. The Federal Reserve holds the sole right to print money in the U.S.A. No one may enter the Federal Reserve, not government, C.I.A. F.B.I. No police force, no member of senate. It is a privately run business and holds so much influence and power that not even Presidents can stand up against its might.

The Federal Reserve was conceptualised in a meeting upon Jekyll Island, off the coast of the U.S. State of Georgia, under the guise of a club duck hunt, where many of industry and the world of banking’ largest heads collected together to decide the future of business. It’s what could possibly be noted as the very first Bilderberg meeting.

Economic troubles began in 1907. Several of America’s larger banking firms, The Knickerbocker trust, The Trust Company of America and the Lincoln Trust Company all collapsed because depositors withdrew all funds, for fear of unwise investments and misuse of money.

George F. Baker, President of the First National Bank, James Stilman President of National City Bank and several others met at the "duck hunt" with financier J.P. Morgan, along with senators, economists and professors. Morgan proceeded to

examine all assets of the firms and offered loans to the solvent businesses, acting like a one man central reserve, bailing out the banks and cementing the foundation for the "Fed".

Everything about Jekyll Island was always kept in utmost secrecy, even to claims that only first names were ever used.

All the way to the passing of the bill. It is believed that the campaign funding and support of President Woodrow Wilson that brought him to power was passed because of an agreement to sign the Federal Reserve System into completion. Surely enough, shortly after his electoral win into office, on the 23rd December 1913, Wilson signed the law, after being passed by a scarcely attended senate, as the majority of the house was with their families for Christmas.

This was all very cloak and dagger. A bill brought to law on the quiet, but possibly one of the most intrusive and oppressive pieces of legislation that will ever be brought to law, due not only to the debt slavery brought to America, but to the destruction of countries and millions of lives, all due to one thing. Paper.

What the Federal Reserve Act passed was that the Fed would have the sole right to print the dollar. That there would be 12 national reserve banks that would centralise and control the American banking system. The law very simply put, passed the power of the nation to a private company. Privatised a constitutional Republic. Meaning quite simply, that every penny passed into existence was owned by a private company, not by the American government or the people.

Now what does that mean exactly? Where does the money come from in the first place? Well, officially, any mint that produces money, give the bonds, or cash, as a promise to pay, it is a bearer bond for gold. Plain and simple, the official stand is that money is a bond for gold reserve held by the bank. It would seem pretty straight forward.

However the Federal Reserve doesn’t have any gold. In fact it refutes that it has owned any gold since the Gold Reserve Act of 1934.

So how can the Fed actually keep printing money that has no monetary value? The very simple quick answer is DEBT. Debt and interest are how the banks create a profit. But what the Federal Reserve does is at quite another level.

When a banker has two lines of customers in his bank, one to deposit cash, one to borrow, it becomes a dilemma when his vaults are empty. How can he physically give out more cash than he holds? The banker will phone the Fed, who confirms a LOAN to the bank plus interest charged. Now let’s look at this very strange first situation.

The Fed loan the bank, say $1,000. The mint prints the money, out of thin air with no collateral. But the bank owes interest on top; say 10%. So the bank receives $1,000 of unaccountable cash, and owes $1,100. The interest doesn't exist. It is imaginary. It doesn't exist it is just debt. Now, let’s

leave this insanity and get back to normality.

The banker comes to you and loans you the imaginary $1,000 plus 25% interest. Wait..... WHAT...?? Where does the 25% magically appear from? The answer, it doesn't exist, so now for a $1,000 imaginary loan from the fed, $1,350 is in the system. But it doesn't really exist. It is just invented out of thin air. Does this sound correct to you? Let’s put it to a child.

Ask your children or grandchildren. Take 20 of their favourite sweets. Give them the sweets. The child will come back for more. Draw some sweets on paper but tell the child if they want the sweets they must give back the same amount of real sweets plus two more. The child will say you are crazy.

So why do we sign our lives away because it is done at a bank?

A place that is solely there to make profit. A place that takes your money and gives you an I.O.U. If you think that’s bad, the I.O.U. in America is worth NOTHING. Because there IS NO RESERVE TO BACK UP FRAUDULENT IMAGINARY MONEY. Now, on top of all this I would like to ask you, who owns the Federal Reserve? This privately owned capitalistic machine, with sole intent of profiteering and zero percent concern over the lives it harms. The answer is it is a complete secret. This private business cannot be traced of ownership, but very few people are in the frame to hold ownership. If I had to lay money on it, it would be a look in the direction of the House of Rothschild.

America has been thrown into perpetual debt. The statistics show that every child born in America holds $50,000 debt at birth. In the first five years of Barrack Obama’s presidency he spent $11 trillion, $6.4 trillion of which was put down as debt.

The previous 43 presidents only accumulated $6.2 trillion dollars debt combined.

It doesn't compute. Is Obama deliberately trying to crash the dollar? What good would it do?

Well, here is one idea based upon Waterloo, 200 years after the event. Devalue the dollar to such a huge degree, that it is on the brink of collapse. Buy all the stock at nothing and then start World War 3. The dollar becomes highly valuable due to commerce of war and all the eggs are back in one basket.

The loser in all this? The working classes. The debt slaves.

Because when this game of musical chairs goes on and the music stops, somebody loses everything. It will never be the rich; thousands of normal people will bankrupt, losing homes and cars and loves. Because the money they owe, doesn't exist.

I have always loved the game of Monopoly but never became really good at it until I played a computer version. It wasn't until recently I understood why. To win at Monopoly you must be ruthless, cold hearted and not care about the human nature. Capitalism cannot afford to be compassionate.

Capitalism is evil. The mirror image of live. Devil = Lived There is no human nature in Capitalism. It is the antichrist.

Business has destroyed religion and taken over as our new God. We live and breathe consumerism. All our spare cash goes to business. 200 years ago everything was religion.

Religion was the rich elite. Now the shopping centres are our churches, the huge monoliths to society, and the shining beacons of consumer delight, of shallow empty want. The antithesis of need.

We give away our most basic of liberties with a scribble of ink.

Blindly accepting everything we are told to believe.

We must awaken from our lackadaisical mental slumber.

Government is just crooked men. Bankers are just crooked men. We all know this. We are all very aware, but we just let them continue, like the drunken nephew who steals anything he can to further his habit. It’s easy to ignore, because it’s not in your house. Well it is in your house, it is in your life and it controls us all.

I urge you all to go and play Monopoly together. Become that winner, become the capitalist for a couple of hours, but take note. At the end of the game it all goes back in the box. That game and its content is older than you or I and there is a good chance it will be long after we are gone. All we can do is teach our children that ultimately, it all goes back in a box.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

WHAT’S ON THE TELLY?

SHOVE THE LAMB ON THE BAR-B-Q

A

ugust is traditionally regarded in the press as the “silly season” mainly because of the lack of news to report.

Parliament is closed down until a few weeks before they take their Christmas vacation and nothing emanates from the corridors of power of any importance, not even a snort of a story.

When I see the trailers for what is due to appear on our screens for the next few weeks, I’m rather delighted that I’m in my own demob and vacation mood and will probably spend not only the entire day on the beach but into the evening as long as possible too. If the best ITV companies can come up with are Flockstars and BBQ Champ, then the BBC license fee is worth every penny for those that pay it. BBC1 are putting a new series of Ripper Street up against a potential raw and undercooked meat feast on ITV. Am I the only person who’s at a loss to work out why a series set in late 19thC London has to have a trailer

dominated by loud rap music?

So, come by and away with me to see which “celebrities” who my Nan would’ve remarked, “They must be hard up!” are taking part in ITV’s rip off of One Man & His Dog. The original professional celebrity who along with Su Pollard made a living out of appearance fees for appearing on This Is Your Life, Lesley Joseph, leads a group of well known’s alongside Tony Blackburn.

And that’s it. Unless you’re a

Strictly fan, you wouldn’t know Brendon Cole (a Kiwi who should be quite at home surrounded by sheep as opposed to some of the mutton he’s had to dance with), and can anyone enlighten me as to who are Fazer (wasn’t he a dangerous Star Trek weapon), Amanda Lamb (appropriate), Lee Pearson, Kelle Bryan and Wendi (without a y) Peters? Answers, please to this ignorant telly addict on a postcard!

Tony Blackburn has already

admitted he’s fallen head over heels for his bitch called Bess. Funny, I thought her name was Tess..

Then comes the piece de resistance on prime­time Friday night summer TV. BBQ Champ has already coined another phrase to encourage kids to spell even worser than I was teached as they look for the champion amateur BBQuer.

Myleene Klass is surely wasted presenting such a show that is yet another ITV rip­off; this time of The Great British Bake Off – also back on next week. Give me Mary Berry’s soggy bottom over a charred chipolata any day of the week. Each contestant is given “one hour and 45 minutes to create a BBQ that tells the judges a little about them.” After that amount of time it would suggest to me that they love burnt food. Needless to say, one will be eliminated each week but without the viewer’s ‘phone calls. My £5 note borrowed from Lord Sewell is on a celebrity version for Christmas.

That annual money making

scheme called The X­Factor begins during August – probably around the 15th or 22nd of the month – and it will be almost unrecognisable. No Dermot, no nodding dog suffering from Pruritus Ani Louis Walsh, and no....what’s her name?

Nick Grimshaw has the perfect CV for replacing the booking agent Walsh in that he knows nothing about music – he’s a radio DJ! I didn’t watch a single second of X­Factor last year, but might be tempted to watch the auditions and one which features an old school friend of orange juice inventor Kia Ora. Allegedly.

So enjoy your August TV delights and we’ll continue with our slightly tongue in cheek look at the small screen in our next issue on Friday 4th September. In the meantime, and what promises to be the catchphrase of the summer, “It’s time to unleash the sheep.” Oh, Phil Drabble, you must be turning in your pen somewhere.

DJ

00:40 Murder, She Wrote 01:30 Jackpot247 04:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 04:45 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Guess This House 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News London 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 Secret Dealers 17:00 Hello Campers 18:00 The Chase 19:00 ITV News London 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 Gino's Italian Escape 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 BBQ Champ 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News London 23:40 Crank (2006)

00:00 24 Hours in Police Custody 01:00 One Born Every Minute 02:00 The Tribe 02:55 The Auction House 03:50 Dogs: Their Secret Lives 04:50 You Deserve This House 05:45 Kirstie's Vintage Gems 06:00 Secret Eaters 06:55 How I Met Your Mother 07:45 Will & Grace 08:35 The King of Queens 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:00 The Simpsons 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me Abroad 14:05 Jamie's 15 Minute Meals 14:35 Channel 4 Racing 17:00 French Collection 18:00 Couples Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Location, Location, Location 22:00 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 23:00 The Last Leg

01:00 SuperCasino 04:10 Weather Terror: Brits in Peril 05:00 Wildlife SOS 05:25 Great Scientists 05:50 House Doctor 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Lily's Driftwood Bay 07:30 Fireman Sam 07:40 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 09:55 Milkshake! Monkey 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Builders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Accidental Friendship 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Cricket on 5 21:00 Weather Terror: Brits in Peril 22:00 20 Moments 23:30 Lip Sync Battle 23:55 Tattoo Disasters UK

Friday 31stJuly 00:35 Operation Wild 01:35 Holiday Weatherview 01:40 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Fake Britain 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Close Calls: On Camera 12:30 Heir Hunters 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Link 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 The Instant Gardener 17:30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 Animal Super Parents 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Would I Lie to You? 22:00 Ripper Street 23:00 BBC News 23:25 BBC London News; Weather 23:35 Room 101 - Extra Storage

00:15 Weather 00:20 Cake Bakers and Trouble Makers: Lucy Worsley's 100 Years of the WI 01:20 Panorama 01:50 The Met: Policing London 02:50 Laurence LlewelynBowen: Cracking China 03:50 This Is BBC Two 07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Close Calls: On Camera 08:30 Heir Hunters 09:15 Gardeners' World 09:45 Nigel Slater: Eating Together 10:15 Victoria Derbyshire 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Animal Park 14:00 Golf: Women's British Open 18:15 Flog It! 19:00 Two Tribes 19:30 Eggheads 20:00 Gardeners' World 20:30 Live Challenge Cup Rugby League 23:00 The Perfect Morecambe & Wise 23:30 Newsnight

The View

29

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

Saturday 1st August 00:15 AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001) 02:35 Weather for the Week Ahead 02:40 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 11:00 Saturday Kitchen Live 12:30 The Box 13:00 BBC News; Weather 13:15 Live Challenge Cup Rugby League 15:45 Live Women's FA Cup Football 18:20 Pointless Celebrities 19:05 BBC News 19:15 BBC London News; Weather 19:25 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 21:15 The National Lottery: Five Star Family Reunion 22:10 Casualty 23:00 BBC News; Weather 23:20 Mrs Brown's Boys 23:50 Not Going Out

00:00 Artsnight 00:30 Weather 00:35 The Road (2009) 02:15 Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners 03:15 Imagine: Beware of Mr Baker (2012) 04:45 This Is BBC Two 07:25 Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece (1961) 09:05 The Maggie (1953) 10:35 The Master of Ballantrae (1953) 12:00 Animal Park 12:30 The Women's Football Show 13:00 Escape to the Continent 14:00 Athletics 15:00 Golf: Women's British Open 19:00 Cycling 20:00 Proms Extra 20:40 Edwardian Farm 21:40 Dad's Army 22:10 First Light 23:30 Mock the Week

01:20 Jackpot247 04:00 Britain's Best Bakery 04:50 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 The Aquabats! Super Show!

07:25 Pat & Stan 07:35 Dino Dan 08:00 Canimals 08:15 Sooty 08:30 Super 4 08:45 Fish Hooks 09:00 Young Justice: Invasion 09:25 ITV News 09:30 Weekend 10:25 Murder, She Wrote 11:20 The Jeremy Kyle Show 13:25 ITV News and Weather 13:30 The Jeremy Kyle Show 14:35 Surprise Surprise 15:35 The Chase 16:30 All Star Family Fortunes 17:15 Tipping Point 18:15 Catchphrase 19:00 ITV News London 19:15 ITV News and Weather 19:30 Mamma Mia! (2008) 21:30 The Cube 22:35 The Nation's Favourite Queen Song

00:05 Rude Tube 01:10 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) 02:55 Toast of London 03:20 Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners 04:15 Supernatural 05:00 You Deserve This House 06:00 Secret Eaters 06:55 How I Met Your Mother 07:45 Everybody Loves Raymond 08:30 The Grid 09:00 The Morning Line 10:00 Frasier 11:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:25 The Simpsons 14:00 Rude(ish) Tube 14:30 Channel 4 Racing 17:15 Come Dine with Me 19:40 Channel 4 News 20:00 Homes by the Sea 21:00 Walking Through History 22:00 The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

00:30 Tattoo Disasters UK 01:00 SuperCasino 04:10 Transporter: The Series 05:00 Police Interceptors 05:45 House Doctor 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Bananas in Pyjamas 07:20 Angelina Ballerina 07:30 Pip Ahoy!

07:45 The Mr Men Show 07:55 Milkshake! Monkey 08:00 Chloe's Closet 08:10 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:20 Make Way for Noddy 08:30 Paw Patrol 08:45 Little Princess 09:00 Wanda and the Alien 09:10 Zack and Quack 09:30 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:45 Jelly Jamm 10:00 LazyTown 10:30 Dora and Friends 11:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:35 Cowboy Builders 14:30 Columbo: the Greenhouse Jungle (1972) 16:00 The Dog Rescuers with Alan Davies 17:00 The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 18:00 Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords 19:00 Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away 20:00 Cricket on 5 20:55 5 News Weekend 21:00 Transporter: The Series 22:00 Tut

00:00 Ill Manors (2012) 01:55 The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) 03:15 This Is BBC Two 07:15 Big Dreams Small Spaces 08:15 The Instant Gardener 09:00 Countryfile 10:00 Gardeners' World 10:30 The Beechgrove Garden 11:00 Cycling 11:30 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites 13:00 The Box 14:00 Alex Polizzi: Chefs on Trial 15:00 Golf: Women's British Open 19:00 Hair 20:00 Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways 21:00 Dragons' Den 22:00 Odyssey 22:45 The Javone Prince Show 23:15 Family Guy 23:35 Family Guy 23:55 Family Guy

00:00 ITV News and Weather 00:15 The Chase 01:15 Jackpot247 04:00 Ejector Seat 04:50 ITV Nightscreen 07:00 The Aquabats! Super Show!

07:25 Pat & Stan 07:35 Dino Dan 08:00 Canimals 08:15 Sooty 08:30 Super 4 08:45 Fish Hooks 09:00 Young Justice: Invasion 09:25 ITV News 09:30 Weekend 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 13:25 ITV News and Weather 13:35 Love Your Garden 14:35 Long Lost Family: What Happened Next 15:35 The Unforgettable 16:05 The Chase 17:05 The Man in the Iron Mask (1997) 19:35 ITV News London 19:45 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Nature Nuts with Julian Clary 21:00 Midsomer Murders 23:00 ITV News and Weather 23:20 Brits Behind Bars

00:00 This Means War (2012) 01:50 The Last Leg 02:45 Hollyoaks 04:55 Double Your House for Half the Money 05:55 You Deserve This House 06:50 How I Met Your Mother 07:40 Everybody Loves Raymond 08:05 Caterham Motorsport 08:30 National Paralympic Day 09:30 Frasier 10:30 Sunday Brunch 13:30 Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast 14:30 The Simpsons 15:30 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 16:35 Location, Location, Location 17:35 A Place in the Sun: Home or Away 18:40 Channel 4 News 19:00 The Three Musketeers (2011) 21:00 Experimental 22:00 Humans 23:00 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

00:35 Caught on Camera 01:10 SuperCasino 04:10 Police Interceptors 05:50 Make It Big 06:45 Angels of Jarm 07:00 Peppa Pig 07:05 Bananas in Pyjamas 07:20 Pip Ahoy!

07:30 The Mr Men Show 07:40 Milkshake! Monkey 07:45 Chloe's Closet 08:00 Roobarb and Custard Too 08:05 Make Way for Noddy 08:20 Paw Patrol 08:30 Little Princess 08:45 Wanda and the Alien 08:55 Zack and Quack 09:10 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:20 Jelly Jamm 09:35 LazyTown 10:00 Dora and Friends 10:30 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11:00 Access 11:10 Police Interceptors 14:05 White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994) 16:10 The Water Horse (2007) 18:20 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) 20:00 Cricket on 5 20:55 5 News Weekend 21:00 Police Interceptors Unleashed 22:00 Tut

Sunday 2nd August 00:20 Tropic Thunder (2008) 02:00 Weather for the Week Ahead 02:05 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:00 BBC News 11:00 Sunday Morning Live 12:00 Homes Under the Hammer 13:00 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News 14:10 Weather for the Week Ahead 14:15 Songs of Praise 14:50 Nigel Slater: Eating Together 15:20 Escape to the Country 16:05 Live Cycling 19:35 BBC News 19:50 BBC London News; Weather 20:00 Countryfile 21:00 Fake or Fortune?

22:00 Partners in Crime 23:00 BBC News 23:20 BBC London News; Weather 23:30 Match of the Day

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

Monday 3rd August 00:15 Don't Tell the Bride 01:15 Weather for the Week Ahead 01:20 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Fake Britain 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Close Calls: On Camera 12:30 Heir Hunters 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Link 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 The TV That Made Me 17:30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The Housing Enforcers 21:00 EastEnders 21:30 Panorama 22:00 Britain at the Bookies 23:00 BBC News 23:25 BBC London News; Weather 23:35 Have I Got a Bit More News for You

00:20 Dead Poets Society (1989) 02:20 X the Unknown (1956) 03:40 Countryfile 04:35 Holby City 05:35 This Is BBC Two 07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Close Calls: On Camera 08:30 Heir Hunters 09:15 Escape to the Continent 10:15 Victoria Derbyshire 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 World War One: Beyond the Trenches 13:05 Railways of the Great War with Michael Portillo 13:35 World War One: Beyond the Trenches 13:40 The Rockford Files 14:30 Cash in the Attic 15:15 Athletics 16:15 Live Swimming 19:00 Two Tribes 19:30 Eggheads 20:00 Carol Klein's Plant Odysseys 20:30 Great British Menu 21:00 University Challenge 21:30 Only Connect 22:00 Life in Squares 23:00 Hair 23:30 Newsnight

00:20 Piers Morgan's Life Stories 01:15 Jackpot247 04:00 Motorsport UK 04:50 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Guess This House 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News London 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 Secret Dealers 17:00 Hello Campers 18:00 Freeze Out 19:00 ITV News London 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 Vet School 21:30 Coronation Street 22:00 Travel Guides 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News London 23:40 Plebs

00:05 The Guard (2011) 01:55 Channel 4's Comedy Gala 02:40 Come Dine with Me 05:05 Double Your House for Half the Money 06:00 You Deserve This House 06:45 Close 06:55 How I Met Your Mother 07:45 Will & Grace 08:35 The King of Queens 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:00 The Simpsons 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me Abroad 14:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Fifteen to One 17:00 French Collection 18:00 Couples Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Flying to the Ends of the Earth 22:00 24 Hours in Police Custody 23:00 A Very British Brothel

00:35 Secrets Of 01:35 Caught on Camera 02:05 SuperCasino 04:10 Under the Dome 05:00 House Doctor 05:25 Make It Big 06:45 Angels of Jarm 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Lily's Driftwood Bay 07:30 Fireman Sam 07:40 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Milkshake! Monkey 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:30 Milkshake! Bop Box 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Builders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 The Dog Rescuers with Alan Davies 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Profile for Murder 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Police Interceptors 21:00 Stop! Roadworks Ahead 22:00 Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild 23:00 Under the Dome

00:20 Have I Got a Bit More News for You 01:05 Weather for the Week Ahead 01:10 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Fake Britain 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Close Calls: On Camera 12:30 Heir Hunters 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Link 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 The TV That Made Me 17:30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 Rip Off Britain: Food 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Holby City 22:00 New Tricks 23:00 BBC News 23:25 BBC London News; Weather 23:35 Transplant Tales

00:00 Weather 00:05 Dragons' Den 01:05 Odyssey 01:45 Panorama 02:45 Britain at the Bookies 03:45 This Is BBC Two 07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Close Calls: On Camera 08:30 Heir Hunters 09:15 The House That £100K Built 10:15 Victoria Derbyshire 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Coast 13:05 World War One: Beyond the Trenches 13:30 Railways of the Great War with Michael Portillo 14:00 The Rockford Files 14:50 Cash in the Attic 15:35 Yes Minister 16:05 'Allo 'Allo!

16:30 Are You Being Served?

17:00 Live Swimming 19:00 Two Tribes 19:30 Eggheads 20:00 The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure 20:30 Great British Menu 21:00 The House That £100K Built 22:00 Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School 23:00 Hair 23:30 Newsnight

00:10 Britain Sees Red: Caught on Camera 01:05 Jackpot247 04:00 The Jeremy Kyle Show 04:50 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Guess This House 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News London 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 Secret Dealers 17:00 Hello Campers 18:00 Freeze Out 19:00 ITV News London 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 21:00 Love Your Garden 22:00 Abducted 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News London 23:40 Benidorm

00:00 Tattoo Fixers 01:00 Confessions Of 01:55 Child Genius 02:50 One Born Every Minute USA 03:45 The Food Hospital 04:40 Double Your House for Half the Money 05:35 You Deserve This House 06:35 Draw It! 07:00 Countdown 07:45 Will & Grace 08:35 The King of Queens 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:00 The Simpsons 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me Abroad 14:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Fifteen to One 17:00 French Collection 18:00 Couples Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 The Three Day Nanny 22:00 Hunt for the Arctic Ghost Ship 23:00 Not Safe For Work 23:50 A Very British Brothel

00:00 20 Moments 01:00 Tattoo Disasters UK 02:05 SuperCasino 04:10 Botched Up Bodies 05:00 Wildlife SOS 05:25 The Great Artists 07:20 Lily's Driftwood Bay 07:30 Fireman Sam 07:40 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Milkshake! Monkey 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:30 Milkshake! Bop Box 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Builders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Nightmare Tenants 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Secret Liaison (2013) 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Police Interceptors 21:00 The Dog Rescuers 22:00 Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away 23:00 Botched Up Bodies

Tuesday 4th August

The View

31

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

Wednesday 5th August 00:35 Then She Found Me (2007) 02:10 Weather for the Week Ahead 02:15 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Fake Britain 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Close Calls: On Camera 12:30 Heir Hunters 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Link 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 The TV That Made Me 17:30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The Sheriffs Are Coming 21:00 The Great British Bake Off 22:00 Earth's Natural Wonders 23:00 BBC News 23:25 BBC London News; Weather 23:35 Cashing In

00:00 Weather 00:05 Back in Time for Dinner 01:05 Don't Tell the Bride 02:05 Great Ormond Street 03:05 A Deadly Warning: Srebrenica Revisited 03:35 This Is BBC Two 07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Close Calls: On Camera 08:30 Heir Hunters 09:15 See Hear 09:45 Antiques Roadshow Detectives 10:15 Victoria Derbyshire 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Britain's First Photo Album 13:30 Railways of the Great War with Michael Portillo 14:00 The Rockford Files 14:50 Cash in the Attic 15:35 Yes Minister 16:05 'Allo 'Allo!

16:30 Are You Being Served?

17:00 Live Swimming 19:00 Two Tribes 19:30 Eggheads 20:00 The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure 20:30 Great British Menu 21:00 Horizon 22:00 Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Inside the Post Office 23:00 QI 23:30 Newsnight

00:40 Murder, She Wrote 01:30 Jackpot247 04:00 Don't Blow the Inheritance 04:50 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Guess This House 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News London 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 Secret Dealers 17:00 Hello Campers 18:00 Freeze Out 19:00 ITV News London 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Coronation Street 21:00 Foyle's War 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News London 23:40 Abducted

00:50 Poker 01:50 KOTV Boxing Weekly 02:15 Gillette World Sport 02:45 The Grid 03:10 National Paralympic Day 04:05 Double Your House for Half the Money 05:00 You Deserve This House 05:55 River Cottage Bites 06:10 Fifteen to One 07:00 Countdown 07:45 Will & Grace 08:35 The King of Queens 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:00 The Simpsons 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me Abroad 14:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Fifteen to One 17:00 French Collection 18:00 Couples Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Kirstie's Fill Your House for Free 22:00 One Born Every Minute 23:00 Witnesses

00:00 Benefits Britain 02:00 SuperCasino 04:10 The Holiday Airport 05:00 Wildlife SOS 05:25 The Great Artists 05:50 House Doctor 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Lily's Driftwood Bay 07:30 Fireman Sam 07:40 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:45 Milkshake! Monkey 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:30 Milkshake! Bop Box 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Builders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Flirting with Danger 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Trauma Doctors 21:00 The Nightmare Neighbour 22:00 Undercover Benefits Cheat

00:35 Britain at the Bookies 01:35 Weather for the Week Ahead 01:40 BBC News 07:00 Breakfast 10:15 Fake Britain 11:00 Homes Under the Hammer 12:00 Close Calls: On Camera 12:30 Heir Hunters 13:15 Bargain Hunt 14:00 BBC News; Weather 14:45 Doctors 15:15 The Link 16:00 Escape to the Country 16:45 The TV That Made Me 17:30 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 18:15 Pointless 19:00 BBC News 19:30 BBC London News 20:00 The Olympic Stadium: How the Hammers Struck Gold 20:30 BBC News; Regional News 20:30 EastEnders 21:00 Traffic Cops 22:00 Death in Paradise 23:00 BBC News 23:35 Reggie Yates: Extreme Russia

00:05 Back in Time for Dinner 01:05 See Hear 01:35 Trust Me, I'm a Doctor 02:35 Alex Polizzi: Chefs on Trial 03:35 This Is BBC Two 07:00 Homes Under the Hammer 08:00 Close Calls: On Camera 08:30 Heir Hunters 09:15 Coast 10:15 Victoria Derbyshire 12:00 BBC News 12:30 BBC World News 13:00 Britain's First Photo Album 13:30 Railways of the Great War with Michael Portillo 14:00 The Rockford Files 14:50 Cash in the Attic 15:35 Yes Minister 16:05 'Allo 'Allo!

16:30 Are You Being Served?

17:00 Live Swimming 19:00 Two Tribes 19:30 Eggheads 20:00 The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure 20:30 Great British Menu 21:00 Coast 22:00 Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth 23:00 The Javone Prince Show 23:30 Newsnight

00:40 Tipping Point 01:35 Jackpot247 04:00 Ejector Seat 04:50 ITV Nightscreen 06:05 The Jeremy Kyle Show 07:00 Good Morning Britain 09:30 Lorraine 10:25 The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30 This Morning 11:55 ITV News 12:00 This Morning 13:30 Guess This House 14:30 ITV News and Weather 14:55 ITV News London 15:00 Dickinson's Real Deal 16:00 Secret Dealers 17:00 Hello Campers 18:00 Freeze Out 19:00 ITV News London 19:30 ITV News and Weather 20:00 Emmerdale 20:30 Real Stories with Ranvir Singh 21:00 Emmerdale 21:30 Flockstars 22:00 The Wonder of Britain 23:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 23:30 ITV News London 23:40 Sports Life Stories

00:10 Married Behind Bars 01:10 Four to the Floor 01:35 Embarrassing Bodies 02:35 24 Hours in A&E 03:30 Mona Lisa Smile (2003) 05:30 River Cottage Bites 05:40 Fifteen to One 06:35 Draw It! 07:00 Countdown 07:45 Will & Grace 08:35 The King of Queens 09:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00 Frasier 11:00 The Big Bang Theory 12:00 The Simpsons 13:00 Channel 4 News Summary 13:05 Come Dine with Me Abroad 14:10 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 15:10 Countdown 16:00 Fifteen to One 17:00 French Collection 18:00 Couples Come Dine with Me 19:00 The Simpsons 19:30 Hollyoaks 20:00 Channel 4 News 21:00 Location, Location, Location 22:00 Sex in Class 23:00 999: What's Your Emergency?

00:00 Gypsies on Benefits 01:00 Benefits 01:55 SuperCasino 04:10 Supersized 05:00 Wildlife SOS 05:25 The Great Artists 05:45 House Doctor 07:00 The WotWots 07:10 Igam Ogam 07:20 Lily's Driftwood Bay 07:30 Fireman Sam 07:40 Toot the Tiny Tugboat 07:50 Peppa Pig 07:55 Pip Ahoy!

08:10 Little Princess 08:20 The Mr Men Show 08:35 Thomas & Friends 08:50 Noddy in Toyland 09:00 Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom 09:15 Peppa Pig 09:35 Toby's Travelling Circus 09:45 Bananas in Pyjamas 10:00 Tickety Toc 10:15 The Wright Stuff 12:10 Cowboy Builders 13:10 5 News Lunchtime 13:15 Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild 14:15 Home and Away 14:45 Neighbours 15:15 NCIS 16:15 Gracie's Choice (2004) 18:00 5 News at 5 18:30 Neighbours 19:00 Home and Away 19:30 5 News Tonight 20:00 Cricket on 5 21:00 The Holiday Airport 22:00 Supersized 23:00 Person of Interest

Thursday 6th August

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

fashion forward

ILLUSION DRESSES THAT FLATTER CURVES

The creation of the ‘illusion dress’ a few years ago — with dark panels at the sides, to trick the eye into seeing a slimmer figure — was a game-changer for larger women.

There was just one problem — they also obliterated your curves, as if they were something to be ashamed of. Now, with women like the Kardashians and Jennifer Lopez making it acceptable to look like real women again, there’s a new trick in the designer’s armoury: the curvy illusion dress, which accentuates your assets — creating the impression of a tiny waist and curvy hips.

The View

ACCESSORIES BODY SHAPERS LINGERIE SOLUTIONS

Feel confident and look fabulous all summer long with these sillouette­perfecting lingerie solutions.

FIGLEAVES is the ultimate destination for designer lingerie, nightwear and shapewear. www.figleaves.com

EASY­UP STRAPLESS SHAPING BODY by Maidenform – 60 Euros

TUMMY TRIMMER – Royal Blue dress with navy panels ­134 Euros www.marksandspencer.com

VANISHING ACT Blue floral and white, 65 Euros. www.newlook.com

PERFECT HOURGLASS – Red, black and white dress.78 Euros. – www.vesperdresses.com VESPER SALE NOW ON – Delivery to Europe 20 Euros RETROLUTION WAIST CINCHER from GOSSARD – 54 Euros

FAT­FREE DRESSING HIGH WAIST THONG by Maidenform­ 34 Euros

BLUE BEAUTY – Dress 80 Euros. www.lipsy.co.uk

SEXY AND ELEGANT – Mono­ chrome Dress – 73 Euros – www.vestryonline.com VESTRY SALE NOW ON – Delivery to Europe – 8 Euros

WHOA – IS THIS FOR REAL? – Black and white maxi ­95 Euros. www.lipsy.co.uk LIPSY SALE NOW ON – All sale items 50% off. Delivery 7 Euros (please allow 7­10 working days for some locations and during sale)

AND SOMETHING FOR THE MEN­ SALE NOW ON – 20% OFF

The View

33

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

WELCOME TO YOUR HOLIDAY HOME Anti-age your look WESTERN STYLE

Using the wrong powder, dark eye liner and dyeing your hair all one colour: The beauty mistakes that are ageing your face revealed • Sticking with the same beauty regime can leave you looking older • Swap black eye makeup for softer browns or mauve shades • Use a primer and ensure under­eye concealer is used sparingly There may be a lot of changes to get used to as you get older, but there's no need to let go of an effective and suitable beauty regime.

From skipping lip liner, to going too heavy on the concealer, there's plenty of common beauty errors that can leave you looking old beyond your years.

T

omorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” ­ John Wayne in a 1971 Playboy interview Any sets from Old­West movies are all about cabin­style interiors. That description may immediately scream "man cave," but it doesn't have to. Dark tones layered upon one another can be super sophisticated.

Also, since cabins usually have some utilitarian use to them, it's common to see tools hung on walls as accessories, such as military binoculars. Layers of rustic logs, heavy iron light fixture, rich wood table and weathered chairs set the scene. By stopping there, it creates a beautiful balance.

WEARING BLACK EYE MAKEUP Dark eye liner and shadow may have been great in the past for achieving a party­ready, smoky look, but in older age, the key is definitely to lighten up.

Dark lines can look severe on aged skin, making eyes look smaller or even drawing attention to crow's feet.

Opt for a soft smoky chocolate tone in mascara and liner.

WEARING HEAVY MAKEUP ON LOWER LASHES It's not uncommon to be keeping the same beauty regime from your early twenties, but heavy dark mascara or eye liner on the bottom water line or lower lashes can add years onto your face, by drawing attention to dark shadows and fine lines.

Textured cushion ­ 21 Euros.

Ram’s head ­ 25 Euros. Cable knit cushion ­ 16 Euros.

From GEORGE HOME. Similar chair try BLOOMINGVILLE. Rugs JOHN LEWIS

LIPLINER As you mature, thin lines can develop around mouth, which is emphasised by any bleeding lipstick, use lip liner to keep in place.

HAIR Opt for multi tonal hair dye that will add dimensions and give the appearance of layers.

THESE ARE THE DON’TS

GLITTERY EYE SHADOW – Draws attention to wrinkles and lines. Use eye primer and matte shades.

CUSHION COVER 10 Euros – H&M

VASE –23 Euros­ An­ Atkin and Thyme.

MONTANA CHEST thropologie OF DRAWERS 485 Euros

MOUNTED FAUX BISON 108 Euros – Urban Outfitters

Caroline’s view on.....

N

HEAVY BLACK EYE LINER – Too harsh – use soft shades like brown or mauve to give eyes intensity.

FOLKTHREAD RUG 670 Euros­ Anthropologie

THICK CONCEALER POWDER – looks caked and dated. – Opt for liquid instead

Hair Straighteners

o longer the bulky, hair­burning flat irons of the late 90s, today's versions are seriously sleek, lightweight wands that can actually care for your hair as you style.

2D VI Wide Hair Straighteners, 135 Euros These H2D VI Wide Hair Straighteners are a must for thicker haired ladies. The big plates make light work of heavy styling.

Easy to use, these straighteners are also ion­infused to help make hair softer and smoother to touch ­ a revelation if you are used to knotty, frizzy locks. They glide effortlessly through the hair, so no strand is missed and use infrared heat to penetrate the hair, in turn helping to relax the curl for longer­ lasting straightness.

The unique plus point of this straightener is the secret ingredient, tourmaline (a mineral usually found in gemstones), which gives a polished texture to even the most unruly 'dos. A must­buy for creating a natural­looking style with mirror shine.

Remington Shine Therapy Hair Straightener with Moroccan Argan Oil, 54 Euros This classic Remington Shine Therapy Hair Straightener has been saturated with Moroccan Argan Oil to give tresses an extra coat of glossy shine.

The Moroccan Argan Oil reacts with the heat of the

straighteners to emit its nourishing benefits deep into the hair, for a healthy look that holds your new style for hours ­ even in extreme heat.

Remington's Shine Therapy Straighteners feature an integrated digital display and temperature range that means you're always in control. The product has advanced ceramic­ coated plates which glide effortlessly through your hair, leaving it with a glossy high­shine finish.

Toni & Guy Professional Straightener, 40 Euros These Toni & Guy straighteners are a classic option that still work their magic to give poker straight locks or defined waves in super­quick time.

A more purse­friendly option that still packs a punch, Toni & Guy use a unique 'colour lock technology' to protect and care for damaged or dyed hair, making them a wise choice for parched locks and bottle blondes.

Brittle and dry ends? Flyaway and static? All instantly smoothed thanks to the floating ceramic plates, which flatten cuticles to hold in colour and shine.

Nicky Clarke Hair Therapy Straightener ­ 54 Euros This sleek Nicky Clarke Hair Therapy Straightener is my top pick for baby fine hair that suffers from flyaway strands or kinks and curls.

Designed to salon­quality standards, these smart

straighteners are made with your hair's needs in mind ­ whatever your hair type. The varied heat options mean you can tailor the settings and find one best suited to your tresses ­ so no more burning or damaged ends.

Negative ions and far infrared rays lock in moisture to condition and protect hair, for flawless style and lust­worthy locks.

THIS WEEK’S WINNER IS REMINGTON SHINE THERAPY – Love the idea of the Moroccan oil and styled my hair beautifully with lots of healthy shine. A big 10 out of 10.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

Grilled tuna with tomato spaghetti Keep the other half happy with this hugely popular combo of tuna and pasta fresh, simple, delicious.

Ingredients • 1 clove of garlic • 200 g cherry tomatoes • 30 g black olives • 30 g green olives • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds • sea salt • 30 g Parmesan cheese • a small bunch of fresh basil • olive oil • 1 lemon • 2 x 120 g tuna steaks (roughly 1.5cm thick) • freshly ground black pepper • 150 g dried spaghetti • extra virgin olive oil • ½ fresh red chilli • 35 g rocket Peel and finely slice the garlic and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Stone the olives and tear into thirds or quarters. Next, add the fennel seeds to a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt and smash to a powder. Tip into a cup and put aside.

Finely grate the Parmesan. Pick the basil leaves and set aside. Roughly chop the stalks, then add to the pestle and mortar and smash to a paste with a pinch of salt. Mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a grating of lemon zest and the juice of half the lemon with the basil paste. Spoon it out onto a plate and place the tuna steaks on top. Turn the tuna over in the dressing, then leave them to marinate for about 20 minutes in the fridge.

Meanwhile, fill and boil the kettle. Put a deep pasta pan

on a medium heat and fill with boiling water, add a good few pinches of salt and bring back to the boil. Drop the spaghetti into the water and cook according to packet instructions.

Once cooked, scoop out half a mug of cooking water, then drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, put a medium saucepan over a medium heat, then add a splash of olive oil and the garlic. As soon as the garlic is golden, tip in the bashed­up fennel seeds and the cherry tomatoes. Season with a little pepper, cover with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Cook gently for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and sweet, then turn the heat off.

Tip the drained pasta into the pan with the cherry tomatoes, stir together and season with a little salt, pepper and a

squeeze of lemon juice, if needed. Cover with a lid.

Put a griddle pan on a medium heat. Tear the basil leaves into a bowl with the olives. Add the rocket, then dress the salad with a squeeze of juice from the remaining lemon half and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Finely chop and sprinkle over the chilli.

Season the tuna with a little salt, then place in the hot griddle pan and cook for 30 seconds on each side for rare, or for a bit longer if you prefer it more well done. Stir the grated Parmesan into the spaghetti, adding a splash of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed. Divide the spaghetti between your plates, lay a tuna steak next to each pile and top with a good pinch of the olive salad.

Jamaican ginger cake Ingredients

• For the sponge • 375 g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing, softened • 330 g soft dark brown sugar • 225 g black treacle • 75 g golden syrup • 6 large free­range eggs • 375 g self­raising flour • 4 tablespoons ground ginger • 3 tablespons ground cinnamon • 4½ tablespoons soured cream • 8 pieces of jarred stem ginger, and 6 tablespoons of syrup • For the icing • 150 g unsalted butter, softened • 240 g cream cheese • 840 g icing sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C fan/375°F/gas 5. Place the butter, sugar, treacle and golden syrup into a large bowl, then beat with an electric mixer (I prefer the free­standing type) for 5 to 7 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Crack in the eggs one at a time, whisking well before adding the next – if the mixture starts to split, whisk in 1 tablespoon of the flour. Sift in the ground ginger, cinnamon and flour and fold through, then stir in the soured cream.

Strain the ginger syrup into a bowl and set aside, chop the ginger into 0.5cm pieces, then stir them into the cake mixture.

Equally divide the mixture between the prepared cake tins, smoothing it out with a spatula. Bake the cakes for 25 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean, then turn them out on to a wire cooling rack and leave to cool.

Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until pale and smooth. Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl, then add to the butter mixture in two stages, beating well between each until beautifully smooth – if the mix seems too loose, add a little more icing sugar until the consistency is just right.

Once the cakes have cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to trim the tops off them to make the surfaces nice and flat. Generously brush some ginger syrup over a flat round and spread with some of the cream cheese icing. Layer over another sponge, top with another layer of ginger syrup and icing, then finish with the remaining sponge. Use a palette knife to smooth the sides and the top of the cake with the rest of the icing, finish with an extra drizzle of ginger syrup, et voilà!

The View

Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The Natural High of Intoxicating Foods The H U

ave you ever been in search of, shall we say, a natural high?

Are you looking for some extra excitement in your grilled fish dinner? Want more out of your spice rack? This week, we’re looking at some very different foods that share a common trait.

These intoxicating foods can make you hear voices, see shadows, and sometimes act downright crazy.

Some have a long history of ingestion by humans for their hallucinogenic properties, while others were discovered accidentally in recent years.

At first glance, it’s not hard to see why chili peppers are one of our intoxicating foods. Aficionados scarf up even the hottest chilies, regardless of the painful side effects. But truly hot chilies can also have mildly hallucinogenic effects. The Mayans used them as stimulants in ancient Mexico, and humans have enjoyed their titillating effects for over 8,000 years. Modern day chili eaters have reported seeing objects that aren’t in the room and losing feeling in limbs, among other mind­numbing effects.

Of all the intoxicating foods, nutmeg is probably the most innocuous. No one would think that that small jar on the spice shelf holds anything more than a nice addition to pumpkin pie. But nutmeg contains the compound myristricin, a powerful narcotic, which causes hallucinations in humans when taken in large doses. The key word, of course is “large”: it takes the equivalent of two whole seeds to produce any effect at all. And the body can’t metabolize the nutmeg compound very efficiently, which means that any high that results from ingesting the spice doesn’t begin until six or so hours after it’s been eaten. Additionally, the hallucinogenic effects of nutmeg might be noticeable, but they aren’t enjoyable: it involves vomiting, nausea

and dry mouth. Users have even compared it to having a bad bout of flu.

A nice piece of grilled fish doesn’t look like a place for an intoxicating food, but a species of sea bream native to the Mediterranean Sea has a long history of bewitching those who dine on it. The Salema porgy was even used as a drug during Roman times. Scientists don’t think the fish is naturally hallucinogenic, but think the fish ingests a type of plankton or other microorganism that gives it hallucinogenic properties.

Aficionados claim the head of the fish is the most potent part. The fish was in headlines recently after two separate cases in Europe when men fell sick within minutes of eating it. Both reported seeing visions, hearing things, and terrifying nightmares.

Did You Know?

• The most commonly used intoxicating food seems relatively innocent: coffee. That pleasant buzz you need in the morning is actually a mild stimulant. But when taken in larger doses, say, 100 cups of coffee instead of your daily one or two, coffee can cause disorientation, delusions and psychosis.

35

story of Pepper

nlike salt, which can be found or made practically anywhere in the world, black pepper is indigenous only to Kerala, a province in southwest India.

References to pepper appear in Greek and Roman texts, suggesting an ancient trade between India and the West. As early as 1000 B.C., traders from southern Arabia controlled the spice trade and pepper routes, enjoying a huge monopoly over an increasingly profitable business. To protect their valuable routes, traders created fantastical stories about the hardships endured in order to procure spices. What Englishman in his right mind would want to travel around the globe just to be attacked by a dragon guarding a pepper pit?

By medieval times, the middle leg of pepper trade routes was still firmly controlled by Muslim traders, while Italian city­states like Venice and Genoa held a monopoly on shipping lines once the spice reached the Mediterranean. Pepper was costly to ship—the Silk Road, the most well­known trade route, stretched over 4,000 miles—but was such a desirable spice that Italian traders could essentially set their own prices. This led to pepper’s status as a luxury item in medieval Europe. Even today, the Dutch phrase “pepper expensive” refers to an item of prohibitive cost.

Eventually, the rest of Europe got

tired of paying the high Venetian prices for pepper imports and decided to take matters into their own hands. Thus began the age of Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama, Sir Francis Drake and other explorers. Indeed, Columbus stocked the holds of his ships with what he believed to be pepper and brought the spice all the way from the West Indies. Only back in Spain did he discover that his ships weren’t full of priceless peppercorns but worthless chili peppers.

Pepper’s popularity quickly spread through world cuisines once more trade routes were established. At one time it accounted for a whopping 70 percent of the international spice trade. As it became more readily available, the prices dropped, and ordinary people were able to enjoy it. Regional cuisines began incorporating pepper into their foods alongside native spices and herbs. This resulted in typical spice blends such as garam masala in India, ras el hanout in Morocco, quatre épices in France and Cajun and jerk blends in the Americas.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

WINTER FUEL PAYMENT – IT’S OFFICIAL S

ince the subject was first raised in the UK Parliament at some point last year, there have been rumours or counter rumours as to whether ex­pat British living in Spain would receive their next winter fuel payment. The answer is a resounding NO, they won’t!

According to the official Government information website, you’ll need to satisfy certain requirements before being able to receive the annual payment but living in Spain isn’t one of them.

The official rules are that you’ll qualify for Winter Fuel Payment if you were born on or before 5 January 1953 (for winter 2015 to 2016 ­ this date changes every year) and you’ll be living in the UK throughout the week of 21 to 27 September 2015.

You may be able to get the payment if you live in Switzerland or a European Economic

Area (EEA) country and you have a genuine link with the UK. However, you can’t get the payment if you live in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain because the average winter temperature is higher than the warmest region of the UK. People also won’t qualify if throughout the week of 21 to 27 September 2015 they are in prison, in hospital getting free treatment for more than 52 weeks, need permission to enter the UK and don’t qualify for help from the Department for Work and Pensions, have lived in a care home for the previous 12 weeks or more and get Pension Credit, income­based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income­related Employment and Support Allowance or have lived in Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal or Spain.

NHS DISPUTE DRINK FINDINGS UK OVER 50s WANT

E.V.E.L PLAYING FIELD

M

iddle­class over­50s have become a generation of problem drinkers, the Mail Online reports – a headline that actually has little basis in fact.

This follows the analysis of more than 9,000 adults aged over 50 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. It found that over­ 50s falling into a "higher­risk drinking" category were more likely to have middle­class traits such as high educational achievement, better self­rated health, and being socially active.

Higher­risk drinking was defined as drinking more than 50 alcohol units per week (equivalent to five or more bottles of wine) for men, and over 35 units per week (three­and­half bottles of wine) for women.

The Mail's headline got the wrong idea though, because only 3­7% of over­50s drank at these "higher­ risk" levels. While an obvious issue of concern, it a stretch to say this is a generation of problem drinkers.

There were also significantly different patterns between men and women. For example, higher­risk drinking was linked to higher income, but only in women.

These uncertainties aside, the study does reinforce the fact that alcohol misuse and the risks of drinking too much do not respect class boundaries. You can do just as much damage by drinking champagne to excess as you can by drinking cheap cider.

ALL WRITE FOR PARKINSON’S PEN

O

ne of the most bothersome things about Parkinson’s Disease is when it forces your handwriting to become tiny and unreadable, even when you try your darnedest to make it look larger.

A new vibrating pen helps overcome this disorder, which is called micrographia and is one of the earliest symptoms common to almost all Parkinson’s patients. Called “ARC”, the pen improved writing in 86% of cases.

Created by Dopa Solution, the pen uses high­frequency vibrating motors to stimulate muscles in the hand to address the progressively smaller, more cramped handwriting.

Keith Welton, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2010, was one of 14 people with micrographia in the original tests of the ARC prototype. He noticed a marked difference immediately. Without the pen, he said, no matter how hard he would fight to keep his writing large, “I’d end up with virtually a straight line.”

The ARC to him was like magic.

“I started with very big writing, for some reason that I can’t explain,” he said in the Dopa video, before chuckling at the results. “It just went large. We heard stories of how frustrating it was for people with Parkinson’s who were still working, or who wanted to write a card, sign documents, anything that had to do with writing,” Lucy Jung, one of the ARC designers said. “We went through lots of different possible solutions with the

participants and found out that with the right frequency it increased the size of the writing.”

The thick, ergonomic design of ARC makes it easy to hold. It also rests in a recharging stand when not in use, so users don’t have to struggle with replacing batteries.

This may be the first in a whole series of tools for people affected by Parkinson’s, designed by this team of mechanical engineering and design students from the Royal College of Art, Imperial College London.

“As our theory of using vibration works for other tools,” Jung said, “It could be [used in] make­up tools, brushes, computer mice and other tools.”

The pen is still a prototype and the team is looking for funders, manufacturers and distributors for further development.

A

ccording to a Saga poll of over 50s from across the UK, ‘most want the Union to remain intact’, but support English Votes for English laws.

The issue of English votes for English laws has caused some division in parliament for some time and more so since May 2015.

SNP MPs were criticised for threatening to vote against reform of hunting laws, a matter that would only affect English constituencies. David Cameron then dropped the vote on hunting, knowing that a certain backbench rebellion from his own Party couldn’t ensure the passing of the Bill.

Building on this, a new poll by Saga asked people aged 50 and over, to give their views on Scotland’s relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom.

The UK­wide research found that a majority of people in that age group were against Scottish independence, despite the Scottish National Party decisive victory north of the border in May’s General Election.

According to the data, which surveyed 10,991 people, the subject of English Votes for English laws continues to divide the nation with three quarters (75%) of those questioned, stating that they thought Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish MPs should be excluded from voting in Westminster on issues which have been devolved to their respective parliaments and assemblies.

Further, three in five or those living in Scotland (62%), agreed that this should apply and 58% of those living in Wales supported the principle. 70% of those asked would prefer Scotland to remain part of the UK, although the research also showed that support for independence was growing.

Amongst Scots aged 50 and over, backing for independence is up 2% since Saga’s last poll in August 2014 ­ from 28% to 30%, while support among the English has increased from less than 10% in 2014 to 28% in May 2015.

The Welsh are the most against the break­up of the UK, with just 20% in support.

Asked about future public spending in Scotland, 52% of Scots and just 15% of the English thought it should remain as it is at the moment – with the Barnett Formula guaranteeing higher spending per head in Scotland.

However, three­quarters of English (74%) and Welsh (76%) respondents thought that spending per head ought to be equalised, while this appealed to fewer than a third (27%) of Scots.

Saga’s director of communications Paul Green, said: “It appears that despite the increase in support for the Scottish National Party in the recent General Election, most want the Union to remain intact, but would also like to see fairness when it comes to funding and voting at Westminster.”

The View

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

RECOGNISE THESE? To keep you teased throughout August, THE VIEW gives you 12 more people for you to identify. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know them all, just send in your answers to editor@theview.es or post to APARTADO DE CORREOS 255, 03193 San Miguel de Salinas, Alicante.

The first person drawn out with the most correct answers will win a €50 VOUCHER for the restaurant of your choice in THE VIEW distribution area. Closing date and time is FRIDAY 28th AUGUST 2015 at 1800.

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ANSWERS TO EDITION 9 1. ALFIE BOE 2. ZOE WANNAMAKER 3. CHRISTIAN BALE 4. ROBERT POWELL 5. DARREN CLARKE 6. PALOMA FAITH 7. DAVID SUCHET 8. NOEL EDMONDS 9. DENNIS SKINNER 10. MICHAEL CAINE 11. GLENN CLOSE 12. JUDI DENCH The winner of the €50 voucher was Ray & Maria Atkinson from Urb San Luis, Torrevieja.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

THE BIG CROSS WORD

lower leg? (5) 24 See 13 Down

Down

1 Which graceful carnivore of the weasel family, Mustelidae, is found in the forests of northern Asia and

GEOGRAPHY QUIZ

1. In What County Is Broadmoor Located?

2. What city has a newspaper called the plain dealer?

3. Which country was previously called Abyssinia?

4. Between Which 2 Countries Would You Find Lake Olirid?

5. What Is The Capital Of Australia?

6. What Is The Highest Peak In England And Wales?

7. Which Country Is The World's Leading Exporter Of Salmon?

is highly valued for its fine fur? (5) 2 In Greek mythology, what was the name of the place at the ends of the Earth to which certain favoured heroes were conveyed by the gods after death? (7) 3 In law, what name is given to a right to keep possession of

property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged? (4) 4 What name is given to the movable indicator on a computer screen identifying the point that will be affected by input from the user? (6)

8. What US national park contains gumbo limbo trail?

9. Where can you find the first iron bridge ever built?

10. Which Islands Were The Subject Of A War Between Argentina And Britain in 1982?

11. In which continent would you find the Amur river?

12. What's the longest river in the Americas?

13. In which city was the famous 'Black Hole'?

14. What Type Of Shop Predominates On The Ponte Vecchio In Florence?

15. Which Was The First Suspension Bridge In London?

Answers:

1/11 Which fictional detective has been portrayed on film by Basil Rathbone and on television by Jeremy Brett and Benedict Cumberbatch? (8,6) 7 Which venomous snake with large hinged fangs, typically has a broad head and stout body, with dark patterns on a lighter background? (5) 8 Who was the lead singer of 1980s pop group Culture Club? (3,6) 9 From the Latin, from ‘and the rest’, which adverb is used at the end of a list to indicate that further, similar items are included? (3) 10 Which one of the five Great Lakes of North America is situated on the border between Canada and the US? (4) 11 See 1 13 What name is given to a small boat of a kind used in the Far East, typically with an oar or oars at the stern? (6) 14 Which desert­dwelling rodent with very long hind legs that enable it to walk upright and perform long jumps, is found from North Africa to central Asia? (6) 17 What is the state capital of New York? (6) 18 Derived from the Latin for ‘to swallow’, which word means ‘an excessively abundant supply of something’? (4) 20 Which alcoholic spirit is distilled from sugar­cane residues or molasses? (3) 22 Which actor starred opposite Paul Newman in the 1986 film The Color of Money? (3,6) 23 What names are given to the hinge joints that are formed by the meeting of the thigh bone (femur) and the larger bone (tibia) of the

5 Which town in NW Belgium, near the border with France, was the scene of some of the bitterest fighting of the First World War? (5) 6 Which fictional vampire first appeared in an 1897 gothic horror novel by the Irish author Bram Stoker? (7) 7 Jan who was a 17th century Dutch painter who generally painted domestic genre scenes, such as The Kitchen­Maid? (7) 12 In chess, what names are given to openings in which a player makes a sacrifice, typically of a pawn, for the sake of some compensating advantage? (7) 13/24 Which undercover cops were played on television in the 1970s by Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul and on film in 2004 by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson?

(7,3,5) 15 In which 1968 movie does Steve McQueen play a San Francisco detective who conceals the death of an underground witness in his charge and goes off after the killers himself? (7) 16 What is the name of the projecting piece on a sundial that shows the time by the position of its shadow? (6) 17 Which hard translucent fossilised resin originating from extinct coniferous trees of the Tertiary period, is typically yellowish in colour? (5) 19 Which bony enamel­coated structures in the jaws of most vertebrates are used for biting and chewing? (5) 21 What name is given to a curved symmetrical structure spanning an opening and typically supporting the weight of a bridge, roof, or wall above it? (4)

1. Berkshire 2. Cleveland 3.

Ethiopia 4.

Albania & Macedonia 5. Canberra 6.

Mount Snowdon 7. Norway 8.

Everglades National Park 9.

"Ironbridge, near Telford in Shropshire, England" 10.

Falklands 11. Asia 12. The Amazon 13. Calcutta 14.

Jewellers Have Had The Monopoly Since 1593 15.

Hammersmith Bridge

Across

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

SUDOKU

FILL-IT-IN

Complete the crossword grid by using the given words:

3 letter words Ads All Ass Ate Awl Cob Coo Cot Cox Dab Dip Ell Era Eta Gun Hub Jam

Jet Lad Law Lay Lea Lei Mac Neo Rag Ram Res Rib She Shy Ten Tum Yob

4 letter words Alum Bare Bear Boot Care Coat Deal Dean Elan Gate Hate Hour Lode Loot Lute Oath Sari

Cryptic

Across 1 Given the wrong impression but smiled anyway (6) 4 Money for rum puree (5) 8 Out of tune harps are incisive (5) 9 Hide it in South East Crete (7) 10 Former tenant about end of time limit (7) 11 Police department reveals surrender (4) 12/18 Extremely unconventional exit (3,3) 14 It never ceases to amaze us about the legends surrounding the greatest of Greek Gods (4) 15 Sign me on outside (4) 18 See 12 21/4D Running battle?

(4,4) 23 Finished a bishop’s domain, boss (7) 25 Stop ale being distributed to one with a mission (7) 26 It’s so silly the way Ian points (5) 27 She and the Queen are fine (5) 28 Hate can be tested Seas Soar Soda 5 letter words Abbey Balsa Cameo Ether 7 letter words Breeder Capable Nemesis Relaxed 9 letter words Bagatelle Cameraman Schematic Sidelined

(6) Down 1 The common people in the services (6) 2 Begin the French surprise (7) 3 Two­point reporters love strong coffee (8) 4 See 21 Across 5 It’s reported that no war is just a part of it (5) 6 Level with the Spanish team (6) 7 That’s how we like the gardens ­ disordered (5) 13 Moist eye resulting from a national park in California (8) 16 Nearness somehow loses its point and that’s the catch (7) 17 Dress rehearsal adsorbed in Caesar and Waldorf (6) 19 Add ‘em up quickly to get a kind of pole (5) 20 Give in about fast time (6) 22 Bridge players under low deer (5) 24 Vermin return to play the lead (4)

8 Pointed (5) 9 Conceal (7) 10 Intense (7) 11 Surrender (4) 12/18 Exit (3,3) 14 Greek god (4) 15 Warning (4) 18 See 12 21/4D Armaments competition between nations (4,4) 23 Supervise (7) 25 Disciple (7) 26 Senseless (5) 27 Utter (5) 28 Hate (6)

Down 1 Heap (6) 2 Surprise (7) 3 Strong black coffee (8) 4 See 21 Across 5 Fragment (5) 6 Number in football team (6) 7 Lopsided (5) 13 Californian National Park (8) 16 Tap (7) 17 Cold dishes (6) 19 Charm (5) 20 Give in (6) 22 European elk (5) 24 Asteroid (4)

Last weeks Crossword Solution

Standard

Across 1 Deceived (6) 4 Indian currency (5)

The Big Crossword Answers

Sudoku Solution

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

The View

CAPTION COMPETITION THE VIEW has reproduced an image taken from recent news archives. We’re challenging you to come up with a caption to fit. We’ll publish our favourite suggestion in the next edition of THE VIEW on Friday 4th September. E­mail your wit to editor@theview.es or send them to Apartado de Correos 255, 03193 San Miguel de Salinas. Alicante.

Last week’s image was of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The entry that made us laugh the most came in from Robin Parkes. “...and that’s when Bill tried to tell me he did not have a relationship with that Monica woman”

The View

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

UK produced three new cars a minute in first half of 2015 T

hree new cars rolled off a production line somewhere in the UK every minute during the first half of 2015 as production hits new levels not seen before since the recession.

According to the SMMT, 793,642 new cars were built in the UK between January and June this year.

That may be a meagre improvement of just 0.3% over the same period last year but it marks the best half­year for UK car production since 2008 and a volume increase of more than 50% since 2009.

More than three quarters of new cars built in Britain were exported with 188,598 cars staying on home soil, 13.7% more than in the first half of 2014.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “Today’s figures are testament to the ever­increasing demand for the diverse, high­quality range of cars we make in the UK.

“The sector is ahead of the game on productivity, with investment in efficient, high­tech manufacturing processes and a highly skilled workforce resulting in huge gains over the past decade.

“This success has been built on significant industry investment and has also relied on a positive relationship with government, essential if the industry is to maintain its international competitiveness.”

What we build:

Mini – Hatch, Clubman, Coupe and Roadster in Oxford Honda ­ Civic, CRV and Jazz in Swindon Toyota ­ Auris and Avensis in Burnaston, Derby Nissan ­ Juke, Qashqai, Note, Pulsar and Leaf in Sunderland Jaguar ­ F­Type, XE, XJ, XF and XK in Solihull and Castle Bromwich, both West Midlands Land Rover ­ Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Evoque,

C Flying car to be sold in UK within six years - but it will cost you £200,000

T

he prospect of Jetsons­ style flying cars in our skies moved a step closer with the announcement by Terrafugia that its new TF­X four­seater, unveiled in 2013, could go on sale by as early as 2021.

Terrafugia’s earlier Transition car­plane made a successful maiden flight in 2012. Powered by a 99bhp Rotax aircraft engine, it had a cruising speed of 100mph and a claimed 35mpg on the road.

By contrast, the TF­X features a plug­in hybrid powertrain which powers the wheels in car mode and two electrically­driven rotors in flight. No runway is needed as it can take off and land vertically. Claimed air range is 500 miles, 90 more than that of the Transition.

The makers also say that the TF­X can autonomously avoid

other air traffic, bad weather and restricted air space and find its own way to a pre­ specified landing zone, although the driver must approve the final landing.

There are manual controls and overrides and a full­vehicle parachute system.

Terrafugia quotes five hours for learning to drive the TF­X,

which fits into a standard single­car garage, and says that its final design “should be statistically safer than driving a modern automobile".

Pricing will be set to compete against luxury cars.

The Transition currently costs $279,000 (about £180,000), so expect a starting price of over £200,000 for the TF­X.

Freelander, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport in Solihull, West Midlands and Halewood, Merseyside Aston Martin ­ DB9, Rapide, Virage, DBS and one­77 in Gaydon, Warwickshire Bentley ­ Continental, Flying Spur and Mulsanne in Crewe, Cheshire Rolls Royce ­ Ghost, Phantom and Wraith in Goodwood, West Sussex MG ­ 3 and 6 at Longbridge, Birmingham Lotus ­ Elise, Evora and Exige in Hethel, Norfolk Vauxhall ­ Astra at Ellesmere Port, Merseyside and the Vivaro van in Luton, Bedfordshire Morgan ­ Aero, 4/4, Plus 4, Plus 8, Roadster, 4­seater, 3­ wheeler in Malvern, Worcestershire Caterham – Seven in Caterham, Surrey Mclaren ­ MP4­12C and P1 in Woking, Surrey

3D print your own Knight Rider car

hild of the 80s? Want your own Knight Rider car? No problem ­­ just 3D print the right parts and you can turn your Pontiac into a replica of David Hasselhoff's best friend KITT. You do have a Pontiac, right?

A trio of French designers did, and used their own custom­built large­scale 3D printers to remodel the base vehicle into the iconic AI­controlled supercar. And yes ­ ­ the finished version even has most of the tricks and hidden components of its televisual inspiration, including fold­out spoilers, extending motor detail, and rotating number plates. The only thing that seems to be missing is Turbo Boost mode.

The final build is the end project of a decade­long labour of love by Nicolas Rambaud, Clément Bonfils, and Patrick Masson. Having gone through two test builds where they used traditional manufacturing methods and recycled materials in their quest to create a Knight Industries Two Thousand, the three changed tactics for the third attempt.

Using a Pontiac Firebird owned by Rambaud's cousin Sebastian, they began designing and 3D printing the components they'd need, rather than trying to repurpose existing parts and resources. The shift had another benefit, in that using a mix of thermoplastics ­­ mainly ABS and PLA ­­ drastically reduced the weight of the car.

While plastics of any kind and the heat generated by a combustion engine may seem a poor match, printed parts were sealed with acetone, before being painted

and varnished, giving them a protective coating. In total, more than twenty parts of the kit­bashed KITT were 3D printed, from the retro­futuristic facade for the dashboard and the mechanised supports for the moving parts, to smaller components such as custom cable ties and the button on the gearstick.

The makers did have a bit of an advantage over the average car modification enthusiast though ­­ Rambaud, Bonfils, and Masson are the owners of 3D Modular Systems, a business specialising in 3D printing and design. They also launched their own scalable 3D printers, the Scalar M and XL, which allow for customisable configurations and printing of components at various sizes.

For Francophones (or those willing to rely on Google Translate), an exhaustive step­by­step guide to building your own KITT can be found at http://hexman.free.fr/fr/k2000.php. Now, about that Turbo Boost mode....

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The View

SANTA POLA

It’s been a long journey on our Cartagena to Alicante bus, but we’re almost at our final destination. The scenery is spectacular as the N332 goes through the salt flats and we arrive in Santa Pola – and the new bus station too!

Santa Pola has an area of 58.6 km2 and has a population of 30,000 inhabitants, of whom 10,000 are residents of the nearby town of Gran Alacant.

The town has an important salt evaporation pond known as the salines which remains in business, additionally, most of it is recognized as the Natural Park of Salines de Santa Pola, an important RAMSAR site. The town was settled over the ruins of a Roman village called Portus Ilicitanus (literally, Harbour of Elche); after being abandoned for decades, then a castle was constructed in the 16th century which marked the repopulation of Santa Pola. The town has an archaeological museum covering these phases.

Santa Pola is, at present, a coastal fishing and tourist town. Population more than doubles during the summer, with people coming mostly from the rest of the Alicante province and also from the Basque autonomous community, Madrid, France and the UK, just to mention some. The nearby island of Tabarca (part of Alicante) can be visited by boat.

The town of Gran Alacant, about 5 km north of Santa Pola along the Alicante bay, accounts for about one third of the population of the district. Next to it is the Carabasi area, a nature reserve. Gran Alacant lies only a few kilometres from Alicante Airport and a few hundred metres from the town of Los Arenales, which is located in the Elche district.

The name is derived from Saint Paula, itself derived from Saint Paul the apostle, who, as tradition holds, arrived at Tabarca Island.

The first settlements in the area can be traced to the third millennium BC, proof of which have been tools and paintings from the Neolithic found in the Cueva de las Arañas del Carabassí, as well as remains found from hunter­gatherers of the Palaeolithic in the Cueva de las Teresitas. During the 4th Century BC, a small walled settlement was built near the Vanalopó river. This served mainly as a Greek­Iberia economical hub. During

the 1st Century AD, near the former site a port was built, serving the city of Illici, named Portus Illicitanus (cited by Claudio Ptolomeo in Civitates Mediterraneae). This port proved paramount for the development of the region's maritime commerce, together with Cartagena's. In 460 AD, emperor Mayoriano's flotilla set sail to attack North African vandals, but was burnt at that same port.

From the Roman settlement a necropolis is still in place, as well as a fish­salting factory and the Roman House of Palmeral. Their remains are described as far back as 1621 by Cristòfol Sanz, although they were excavated during the 20th century.

Economical activity in this region is based on agriculture, craft­making and fishing. 1.3% of the population was dedicated to agriculture in 2003, but that's only successful when coupled with artificial watering systems, needed for the hundreds and hundreds of hectares of orange and mandarin trees. There’s also pomegranate trees together with 230 hectares used for vegetables such as melons, shallots, broccoli, etc.

Santa Pola is a very busy town which is best known for its fishing industry, salt lakes that produce salt for use on the roads and more recently, as a great destination for kite surfers – especially on a weekend afternoon throughout the year.

It has some 13 kilometres of coastline and a modern marina from which you can take a boat trip to the nearby Island of Tabarca. The town boasts a helpful tourist office, a fortress castle, a palm park, an aquarium and an interesting range of cultural and historic museums. There is a daily fish market during the week and a busy market on a Monday and Saturday morning in the giant car park opposite the new bus station.

There is a marked walking route alongside the rural beaches at the southern end of Santa Pola and a 7 kilometre promenade which connects all of the beaches in the central area. To the north of Santa Pola the scenic drive to Gran Alacant begins. The road, which is an extremely popular cycling route, hugs the rocky shore line, passing the CIMAR marine research facility and during the summer a number of chill out bars, finishing at the little hermitage.

Next stop – El Altet

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TRAVEL AROUND SPAIN

L

A GOMERA is the second­smallest of the seven main islands of the Canary Island group and is part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is divided into six municipalities ­ Agulo, Alajeró, San Sebastián de la Gomera, Hermigua, Valle Gran Rey and Vallehermoso. Its capital is San Sebastián de La Gomera, where the headquarters of the Cabildo are located.

The island is of volcanic origin, roughly circular and about 22kms in diameter and rises to 1487m at the island's highest peak, Alto de Garajonay. Its shape is rather like an orange that has been cut in half and then split into segments, which has left deep ravines or barrancos between them. The uppermost slopes of these barrancos, in turn, are covered by the laurisilva ­ or laurel rain forest, where up to 50 inches of precipitation fall each year.

The upper reaches of this densely wooded region are almost permanently shrouded in clouds and mist. As a result they are covered in lush and diverse vegetation: they form the protected environment of Spain's Garajonay National Park, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

The slopes are criss­crossed by paths that present varying levels of difficulty to visitors and stunning views to seasoned hikers.

The central mountains catch the moisture from the trade wind clouds and yield a dense jungle climate in the cooler air, which contrasts with the warmer, sun­baked cliffs near sea level.

The amount of vineyards makes the local wine distinctive and is often accompanied with a tapa of local cheese, roasted pork or goat meat. Other culinary specialities include almogrote, a cheese spread and miel de palma, a syrup extracted from palm trees.

The inhabitants of La Gomera have an ancient way of communicating across deep ravines by means of a whistled speech called Silbo Gomero which can be heard 2 miles away.

This whistled language is indigenous to the island and its existence has been documented since Roman times. Invented by the original inhabitants of the island, the Guanches, Silbo Gomero was adopted by the Spanish settlers in the 16th century and survived after the Guanches were entirely assimilated. When this means of communication was threatened with extinction at the dawn of the 21st century, the local government required all children to learn it in school.

Marcial Morera, a linguist at the University of La Laguna has said that, the study of silbo may help understand how languages are formed.

Christopher Columbus made La Gomera his last port of call before crossing the Atlantic in 1492 with his three ships. He stopped here to replenish his crew's food and water supplies, intending to stay only four days. Beatriz de Bobadilla y Ossorio, the Countess of La Gomera and widow of Hernán Peraza the Younger, offered him vital support in preparations of the fleet and he ended up staying one month. When he

finally set sail on September 6, 1492, she gave him cuttings of sugarcane, which became the first to reach the New World.

L HIERRO, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano, is the smallest and farthest south and west of the Canary Islands with a population of just over 10,000.

The name El Hierro, although spelled like the Spanish word for 'iron', is not related to that word. The H in the name of the metal is derived from the F of Latin ferrum.

The confusion with the name of the metal had effects on the international naming of the island. As early as the 16th century, maps and texts called the island after the word for 'iron' in other languages: Portuguese Ferro, French l'île de Fer and Latin Insula Ferri.

The ancient natives of the island, called Bimbaches, were subjected to Spanish rule by Jean de Béthencourt – more by the process of negotiation than by military action.

Béthencourt had as his ally and negotiator Augeron, brother of the island's native monarch. Augeron had been captured years before by the Europeans and now served as mediator between the Europeans and the Guanches. In return for control over the island, Béthencourt promised to respect the liberty of the natives, but his son eventually broke his promise, selling many of the bimbaches into slavery. Many Frenchmen and Galicians subsequently settled on the island.

There was a revolt of the natives against the harsh treatment of the governor Lázaro Vizcaíno, but it was suppressed.

E

El Hierro is a 268.71 km2 island, formed approx 1.2 million years ago. After three successive eruptions, the island emerged from the ocean as a triangle of basaltic dykes, topped with a volcanic cone more than 2,000 metres high. With continued activity resulting in the island expanding to have the largest number of volcanoes in the Canaries (over 500 cones, another 300 covered by more recent deposits), together with approximately 70 caves and volcanic galleries, including the Cueva de Don Justo whose collection of channels is over 6 km in length. The current highest point is situated in the middle of the island, in Malpaso, 1501 metres high.

There is evidence of at least three major landslides that have affected El Hierro in the last few hundred thousand years. The most recent of these was the 'El Golfo' landslide that occurred about 15 thousand years ago, involving collapse of the northern flank of the island.

El Hierro is home to many unique species, such as the critically endangered El Hierro giant lizard (Gallotia simonyi), for which there is a captive breeding programme, allowing its reintroduction.

In 2000, El Hierro was designated by UNESCO as a

Biosphere Reserve, with 60% of its territory protected to preserve its natural and cultural diversity. Like the rest of the Canary Islands chain, El Hierro is sharply mountainous and volcanic; only one eruption has ever been recorded on the island from the Volcan de Lomo Negro, in 1793. The eruption lasted a month.

Like all of the Canary Islands, El Hierro is a tourist destination. Although El Hierro has a Parador, hotel accommodations are generally in small family enterprises; as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, El Hierro has limited construction to less than half of its total surface and buildings to two floors, maintaining its traditional look and social structure more than the other six major Canary Islands.

According to the Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commerce, El Hierro will become the first island in the world to be energy self­sufficient. This will be achieved through a €54 million project combining a greater than 11 megawatt wind farm and two hydroelectric projects.

This project, created by the local Gorona del Viento El Hierro consortium, with financial aid from the European Union, officially inaugurated in 2015. It consists of five wind turbines of type E­70, capable of producing 11.5 megawatts of wind power to supply electricity for approximately 11,000 residents, an additional number of tourists and three water desalination facilities. The hybrid wind/pumped hydro storage system stores surplus wind power, by pumping water up 700 metres (approximately 2,300 feet) to fill the crater of an extinct volcano. When winds are calm or when demand exceeds supply, water is released from the crater to generate 11.3 MW of electricity, filling an artificial basin created at the bottom of the extinct volcano. Water in the lower basin is then pumped back up again to the upper reservoir when there is excess wind power.

The island of Hierro is mentioned in Umberto Eco's novel The Island of the Day Before (L'isola del giorno prima, 1994), a novel about a 17th­century Italian nobleman trapped on an island on the International Date Line.

So, our first set of journeys around Spain has come to an end. We’ve covered the major cities and all the Balearic and Canary Islands. When we return in September, we’ll discover more about the country and visit some of the lesser known cities, towns and villages and uncover some of their delights.

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING is more effective than you think!

All you need to do is complete and cut out the form opposite (and use an extra sheet of paper if your advert exceeds the limit) and take it to any one of the businesses listed on these pages.

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BRITISH SPORTING LEGENDS W

No3 – DALEY THOMPSON

inning the decathlon at the Olympic Games is often considered synonymous with conferring the coveted title of ‘World's Greatest Athlete’ on a person.

Winning this title more than once, has caused many to regard Daley Thomson to be the world’s greatest all­ rounder in the field of athletics.

Francis Morgan Ayodélé "Daley" Thompson, was born on 30 July 1958 – celebrating his 57th birthday yesterday (Thursday). He famously won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984 and broke the world record for the event four times. Add to those achievements three Commonwealth titles and wins in the World and European Championships, Thompson is considered by many to be one of the greatest decathletes of all time. Robert Chalmers described him as, "the greatest all­round athlete this country [United Kingdom] has ever produced."

Thompson was born in Notting Hill, London, the second son of a Nigerian father and Scottish mother. His father was a taxi driver who was shot dead in Streatham when Thompson was about twelve. At seven years old Thompson was sent to Farney Close Boarding School, Bolney, Sussex, which he described as "a place for troubled children". Thompson's name of Daley is a contraction of Ayodele, a Yoruba word meaning "joy comes home". Thompson's first ambition was to become a professional footballer, but he later switched his interests to athletics.

Initially, he was a member of Haywards Heath Harriers, but when he returned to London in 1975, he joined the Newham and Essex Beagles Athletics club, training as a sprinter. He began to be coached by Bob Mortimer, who suggested he try for decathlon. He competed in his first decathlon later that year in Cwmbran, Wales, which he won along with his next competition. In 1976 he won the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) title and was a creditbale18th at the Montréal Olympic Games. The following year, he won the European Junior title and in 1978 came the first of his three Commonwealth titles. In 1979, he failed to finish in his only decathlon of that year, but won the long jump at the UK Championships.

Thompson opened the 1980 Olympic season with a world decathlon record of 8,648 points at Götzis, Austria, in May and followed this with a comfortable win at the Moscow Olympics.

After a quiet 1981 season, he was in devastating form in 1982; back at Götzis in May, he raised the world record to 8,730 points. Then in September, at the European Championships in Athens, he took the record up to 8,774 points. The following month in Brisbane, Thompson took his second Commonwealth title.

In 1983, Daley won the inaugural World Championships.

He became the first decathlete to hold a continental title; in his case the European title and the World and Olympic titles simultaneously. He also became by virtue of his World title, the first athlete in any athletics event to hold Olympic, World, continental and Commonwealth Games titles in a single event at the same time.

He spent much of the summer of 1984 in California preparing for the defence of his Olympic title, with Jürgen Hingsen, the West German who had succeeded Thompson as the world record holder, expected to be a major threat.

Thompson took the lead in the first event and was never overtaken throughout the competition, although it seemed that, by easing off in the 1,500 metres he had missed tying the world record by just one point. When the photo­finish pictures were examined, however, it was found that Thompson should have been credited with one more point in the 110 metres hurdles so he had in fact, equalled Hingsen's record. Then, when the new scoring tables were introduced, Thompson became the sole record holder once more with a recalculated score of 8,847 points – a world record that stood until 1992, when it was surpassed by the American athlete Dan O'Brien with a score of 8,891. His two victories in the decathlon are a feat shared only with the American Bob Mathias and Thompson's 1984 performance is still the UK record.

Thompson won his third Commonwealth title in 1986, but after that he never quite recaptured the superlative form of earlier years. In 1987 he suffered his first decathlon defeat for nine years, when he finished ninth in the World Championships, and at his fourth Olympics in Seoul in 1988 he finished fourth. He made the Commonwealth Games team for the fourth time in 1990, but was forced to withdraw because of injury.

Thompson's rivalry with West German athlete Jürgen Hingsen was legendary in the sport throughout the 1980's.

The pair consistently traded world records, but Thompson always had the upper hand in the major events, remaining undefeated in all competitions for nine years between 1979 and 1987.

Thompson was forced to retire from athletics in 1992, due to a persistent hamstring injury. In the 1990's he played professional football for Mansfield Town and Stevenage Borough F.C. and Non­League football for Ilkeston F.C.. He also worked as fitness coach for Wimbledon F.C.and Luton Town football clubs. He also took part in motorsport, entering the Ford Credit Fiesta Challenge Championship in 1994.

He went on to set up his own fitness firm in 2004, called Daley Fitness, which offers a variety of fitness training packages. He now has four children – Elliot, Austin and Rachel from his first wife Tish and Alex from his current partner Lisa.

He is also currently into making appearances at many

CLIVE RICE – 1949 to 2015

C

ricket fans from a certain era will be saddened to learn of the death of South Africa's first captain of the post­ isolation era Clive Rice. He died on Tuesday after battling a brain tumour, five days after reaching his 66th birthday.

He had appeared to be in remission after visiting India earlier this year to receive robotic radiation treatment in Bangalore.

Rice's family confirmed his death to South Africa's Eye Witness News, saying he was admitted to hospital on Sunday with severe stomach pains.

The all­rounder captained South Africa at the age of 42 on their historic post­isolation tour of India in 1991, but was left out of the squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year.

Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat

said in a media release that, "Clive was our first captain and we knew him to be a great fighter all his life. Even during his last few years he put up a typically courageous and inspirational fight against the illness that had threatened him for a lengthy period of time."

Rice played in 482 first­class matches for Transvaal, Natal and Nottinghamshire, scoring 26 331 runs at an average of 40.95.

He also took 930 wickets at 22.49 apiece before retiring in 1994.

Clive Rice led Nottinghamshire to the County Championship titles in 1981 and 1987, and was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year after the first championship success.

It was during this period that he and New Zealander, Sir Richard Hadlee (pictured), combined to such devastating effect in bowling sides out at Trent Bridge.

corporate functions, where people look forward to being enthralled by his oratory skills.

He was an ambassador for the London 2012 Summer Olympics, focusing during the bid stage on highlighting the benefits that hosting the Olympics would bring to education and sport in schools.

Throughout his prominent and successful athletics career, Daley Thompson was a natural showman, who endeared himself to the British public with his irreverent personality and anti­establishment attitude. He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, was awarded the MBE in 1982, the OBE in 1986, and the CBE in 2000.

He returned to Trent Bridge as the newly appointed cricket manager in 1999, a position he held until 2003. It was during that time he was credited with helping persuade Kevin Pietersen to qualify to play international cricket for England.

Compatriot and International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive David Richardson paid tribute to the allrounder.

"Clive Rice was a giant of the game, not just in South Africa, but across the cricketing world," Richardson said in a statement.

"Though his international appearances for the Proteas were limited to just three ODIs, Clive was a hugely inspirational figure for

those of us who had the privilege to represent our country.

"Clive was hugely regarded across the world game as a player, but later as a coach and mentor where he inspired the likes of Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock and Jonty Rhodes, and he will be greatly missed by those who knew him," he added.

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Edition 12 - July 31st 2015

MP FROM UEFA TO FIFA

M

ichel Platini has announced that he will run for FIFA president.

His decision comes as no surprise as rumours were abound for most of this week that the UEFA president and former France great had been encouraged to run by most leaders of FIFA's continental confederations.

Five of the six continental leaders, including Platini, were in St. Petersburg, Russia, last week for FIFA meetings and the 2018 World Cup qualifying draw.

The FIFA election is on Feb. 26 and would­ be candidates must apply by Oct. 26.

Platini is the first serious contender to announce he will stand, two months after Blatter was re­elected for a fifth four­year term.

Two former FIFA vice presidents from Asia are also possible contenders.

Prince Ali bin al­Hussein of Jordan, who lost a 133­73 vote to Blatter on May 29 with Platini's public support, and South Korean politician Chung Mong­joon have made public statements about the election in recent days.

Blatter was Platini's long­time mentor in FIFA politics until a rift developed as the 79­ year­old Swiss hung on to office in recent years. After 17 years as FIFA president, Blatter said on June 2 he was standing down, under pressure from American and Swiss federal investigations of corruption implicating senior FIFA officials.

Platini has not been linked to any wrongdoing, though his vote for Qatar as 2022 World Cup host has proved controversial. He was the first FIFA executive

committee member to reveal who he voted for in the December 2010 hosting ballots that also gave the 2018 event to Russia.

Platini, who turned 60 last month, chose last year not to oppose Blatter in the recent election.

"Now is not my time, not yet," Platini said last August in Monaco when announcing he would focus on getting a third term at UEFA, which he won in March unopposed for a second straight time.

His rise to the top job in European football in 2007 owed a little to Blatter's help and showed how much recent history they share in the game of soccer politics.

Platini ousted veteran UEFA leader Lennart Johansson of Sweden in a 27­23 vote which perhaps swung on his promise to add eight teams to the European Championship. The larger 24­team event will debut in Platini's home country of France in June. Blatter also

beat Johansson to get his FIFA job, in a 1998 election in Paris dogged by allegations of late vote­buying by supporters of Blatter.

Then, Platini was doing double duty as head of the 1998 World Cup organizing committee and as a campaign manager for Blatter. There is no suggestion Platini was involved in election wrongdoing.

Platini joined Blatter in Zurich after a successful World Cup, won by France, as a presidential adviser for four years before winning a FIFA executive committee seat representing UEFA. In eight years leading European soccer, Platini has tried to please less powerful voting federations by giving their national and club teams better chances to advance in UEFA competitions. Second­tier matches such as the Europa League final and Super Cup have been sent to Romania, Switzerland, Wales and Georgia.

Platini's Euro 2020 project will see 13 countries host the continent­wide tournament, including Azerbaijan and Hungary.

However, Platini's reign has seen the Champions League dominated by an elite group of wealthy clubs from the richest soccer nations. His signature "Financial Fair Play" policy designed to curb clubs overspending has seemed only to cement the elite in place.

If elected he’ll be FIFA's ninth president in 112 years, the third Frenchman, and will be the best player to occupy the office.

Platini is among the great No. 10s in history. He won three Ballon d'Or awards as the best player in Europe and lifted two of the three biggest team prizes open to him.

He captained France to win the 1984 European Championship — his nine­goal performance in his home country ranks among the finest individual tournament displays — and scored the winning goal for Juventus in the 1985 European Cup final.

Only FIFA's World Cup eluded him. France lost semi­final matches to West Germany in 1982 and 1986.

Platini's achievements would be neatly completed by becoming FIFA president

WORLD CUP DRAW – RUSSIA 2018

BOSTON OLYMPICS PULL-OUT

W

T

otally out of the blue, the US city of Boston have pulled out of the running to host the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, even though the decision isn’t to be made until 2017.

There had been an almost unprecedented public outcry against the amount of money not only being spent on the bid but also on the Games themselves.

Embarrassing as the debacle in Boston may have been, chances are it will be nothing more than a distant memory when the vote for the 2024 Olympics finally rolls around.

That's still more than two years away, and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) has seven weeks to replace Boston with a more willing candidate — one that shows more enthusiasm for hosting the games, and can withstand the criticism and questions that will invariably come in a contest against Paris, Rome, Budapest and others.

Odds are that city would be Los Angeles, where Mayor Eric Garcetti has already

expressed a willingness to listen if the USOC does call. San Francisco and Washington were also on the short list of the USOC's group of domestic candidates.

"We live in an age where people have pretty short memories," said Chuck Wielgus, the executive director of USA Swimming. "I think there's a great desire among people within international sport to see the Olympics come back to the U.S." Putting a U.S. city in play still seemed like a popular idea among those gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where international Olympic leaders were meeting to vote on where to hold the 2022 Winter Games.

Because the official deadline to enter a city for the 2024 Games isn't until September 15, the news about Boston wasn't taken as a sign the U.S. was out of the game.

"We always would welcome a bid from the States. It's been a long time since they had a good candidate," said IOC executive board member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., of Spain.

hen the draw for the 2018 World Cup took place in Russia this week, all media eyes were on who England were going to be paired with in their group.

Following the draw, for many there was only one fixture that mattered above all others – England against Scotland in Group F. Two of the other “home” countries were also paired in the same group (D) as Wales, now ranked at the dizzy heights if No10 in the world rankings, found themselves drawn with the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland were in Group C – the same as Germany.

GROUP F – ENGLAND, SLOVAKIA, SCOTLAND, SLOVENIA, LITHUANIA & MALTA GROUP D – WALES, AUSTRIA, SERBIA, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, MOLDOVA & GEORGIA GROUP C – GERMANY, CZECH REPUBLIC, NORTHERN IRELAND, NORWAY, AZERBAIJAN & SAN MARINO If you’re a fan of any of the home nations and want to plan ahead, the full fixtures are below for all the countries.

ENGLAND: September 4 2016: (A) v Slovakia ­ October 8 2016: (H) v Malta – October 11 2016: (A) v Slovenia – November 11 2016: (H) v Scotland – March 26 2017: (H) v Lithuania – June 10 2017: (A) v Scotland ­ September 1 2017: (A) v Malta – September 4 2017: (H) v Slovakia – October 5 2017: (H) v Slovenia – October 8 2017: (H) v Lithuania SCOTLAND: September 4 2016: (A) v

Malta ­ October 8 2016: (H) v Lithuania ­ October 11 2016: (A) v Slovakia ­ November 11 2016: (A) v England ­ March 26 2017: (H) v Slovenia ­ June 10 2017: (H) v England ­ September 1 2017: (A) v Lithuania ­ September 4 2017: (H) v Malta ­ October 5 2017: (H) v Slovakia ­ October 8 2017: (A) v Slovenia WALES: September 5 2016: (H) v Moldova ­ October 6 2016: (A) v Austria ­ October 9 2016: (H) v Georgia ­ November 12 2016: (H) v Serbia ­ March 24 2017: (A) v Republic of Ireland ­ June 11 2017: (A) v Serbia ­ September 2 2017: (H) v Austria ­ September 5 2017: (A) v Moldova ­ October 6 2017: (A) v Georgia ­ October 9 2017: (H) v Republic of Ireland NORTHERN IRELAND: September 4 2016: (A) v Czech Republic ­ October 8 2016: (H) v San Marino ­ October 11 2016: (A) v Germany ­ November 11 2016: (H) v Azerbaijan ­ March 26 2017: (H) v Norway ­ June 10 2017: (A) v Azerbaijan ­ September 1 2017: (A) v San Marino ­ September 4 2017: (H) v Czech Republic ­ October 5 2017: (H) v Germany ­ October 8 2017: (A) v Norway REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: September 5 2016: (A) v Serbia ­ October 6 2016: (H) v Georgia ­ October 9 2016: (A) v Moldova ­ November 12 2016: (A) v Austria ­ March 24 2017: (H) v Wales ­ June 11 2017: (H) v Austria ­ September 2 2017: (A) v Georgia ­ September 5 2017: (H) v Serbia ­ October 6 2017: (H) v Moldova ­ October 9 2017: (A) v Wales

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